How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 50

Click, click, click.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Greetings, Your Highness! It’s been a while.”

“Where are you headed?”

As Princess Francia slowly walked, many students gathered around her, greeting her warmly. She responded to each one with a bright smile.

“Hello, Lady Wikran.”

“Indeed. I almost forgot what you looked like.”

“I just finished my class and was heading back to my dormitory.”

No matter what anyone said, she was someone who always drew everyone’s attention wherever she went. She lived constantly in their gaze, always maintaining the demeanor of a kind, diligent, and exemplary noblewoman. She was the only member of the royal family currently at Flance Imperial Academy.

“See you next time.”

“Let’s have a meal together soon.”

“See you in class later.”

Princess Francia continued to greet everyone with a smile covering her face.

Click, click, click.

“You did well today.”

She whispered to herself, quietly praising her efforts.

“The air is nice, the atmosphere isn’t bad. Oh? Is there a breeze?”

Whiiiiish!

As a cool, gentle breeze blew, Princess Francia smiled softly. With a lighter heart and step than ever, she headed towards her dormitory. At that moment, she overheard a conversation.

“So, it was all just rumors?”

“Yeah, we confirmed everything. Didn’t you see? That magic was amazing.”

“Who said Kamon Vade couldn’t use magic? Whoever spread that rumor went too far.”

“Exactly. I want to see that guy’s face.”

A little distance from the laughing group, Princess Francia suddenly stopped in her tracks, biting her lower lip hard.

‘Kamon Vade.’

Recalling the name of someone she never wanted to see again, the happiness she had felt moments ago vanished completely.

Click! Click!

With a hardened expression, she walked quickly and firmly to her destination.

A little later, she stood face-to-face with a group.

“So, everything you told me was a lie?”

“N-no, Your Highness, that’s not—”

The ones she had summoned were Sol Crensh and his friends, who had recently spread the rumor that Kamon Vade might not be able to use magic—the Monster Trio.

“Sigh, never mind. I didn’t trust you from the beginning anyway.”

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Princess Francia spoke. The Monster Trio, with expressions of deep regret, bowed their heads.

“We’re sorry, Your Highness. We truly believed that guy had lost his ability to use magic.”

“But then he showed off an incredible spell in front of all those people?”

“Th-that was…”

“The only reason I listened to you was to verify the truth for myself.”

Her words made it clear she hadn’t been fooled by them, but rather was checking the facts. The Monster Trio reacted immediately.

“O-of course. You did the right thing, Your Highness.”

“You’re very wise, Princess!”

With awkward smiles and flattering words, they tried to appease her, but Princess Francia’s expression twisted slightly.

“No, that’s not why I brought this up!”

“Ah!”

“Sorry.”

“Enough with the useless talk.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Understood.”

“Anyway, since you were the source of those rumors, Kamon Vade might come after you soon.”

“W-what?”

“W-what do you mean by that?”

Crollin and Mork were shocked, but Sol, the leader, quickly understood.

“Princess, what do you need us to do? We are ready to do anything for you!”

With a resolute tone, Sol spoke up, and Crollin and Mork quickly followed suit.

“Yes, just give us orders.”

“Anything you need, Princess!”

For the first time, Princess Francia smiled faintly at their eager responses.

“Do you mean it?”

“Absolutely, we are sincere!”

“Just give the order.”

“Good, then.”

Nodding, Princess Francia continued.

“Remember, this isn’t an order from me.”

“…?”

“From now on, I want you to monitor Kamon Vade’s every move. What he does, who he meets—report everything to me.”

“W-what?”

They looked confused, not understanding her request. Seeing this, Princess Francia sighed again.

“Sigh, forget it. Just pretend I didn’t say anything…”

“N-no, no. We are perfect for this job. Leave it to us, Princess. We’ll investigate and report everything about Kamon.”

Realizing the seriousness in Sol’s voice, Crollin and Mork quickly agreed.

“Of course, we are good at this.”

“No need to worry!”

Though still unconvincing, Princess Francia nodded and spoke again.

“Remember, this is something you’re doing on your own, understand?”

“Yes, of course. This is just something we’re doing because we dislike Kamon. Don’t worry, Your Highness!”

***

Click, click, click.

Francia was returning to her dormitory, her mind heavy with the recent encounter. As she walked, she overheard a conversation about Kamon Vade’s magic demonstration. Biting her lip in frustration, she quickened her pace and sought out Sol Crensh and his friends.

“So, you lied to me.”

“N-no, Your Highness. We truly thought he couldn’t use magic.”

“Sigh, I never trusted you anyway.”

Princess Francia sighed, acknowledging that she had only used their information to verify the truth. She instructed them to monitor Kamon Vade and report back to her, a task they eagerly accepted.

“Remember, this isn’t an order from me.”

“Understood, Your Highness. We’ll do it because we dislike Kamon.”

Princess Francia walked away, her mind still troubled, but determined to keep a close watch on Kamon Vade.

Nodding slightly at Sol’s response, Princess Francia gave a brief answer.

“Good, that’s all. You may go now.”

“Then we’ll see you next time.”

As she watched the Monster Trio bow politely and exit, Princess Francia let out a frustrated sigh.

“Ha, really.”

Though she didn’t trust them at all, she had decided to use them since the situation had unfolded this way.

“After all, they can’t defy my words.”

She would use them as much as she could.

“…….”

Her thoughts returned to Kamon Vade, who had successfully cast powerful magic on stage.

“Tsk!”

She clicked her tongue and furrowed her brow unconsciously.

“Let’s see how long you can keep this up.”

One way or another, she would make sure he was expelled from the academy.

She would do it herself!

* * *

I had visited the academy administration office for the first time in a while and was staring at the paper in front of me, lost in thought.

“Why is my schedule such a mess?”

As soon as the weekend ended, the second semester would begin. Normally, I would have chosen my subjects and classes for the second semester much earlier, but…

‘Where have you been all vacation?’

The annoyed voice of the academy staff left me bowing my head in apology. I had spent the entire vacation outside the academy to obtain the ‘Orb,’ missing the appropriate timing for class selection.

The only silver lining was that the core general education courses for first-year students were automatically registered.

The problem was…

‘The class times are all over the place.’

My schedule was filled with core subjects like ‘Magic Studies,’ ‘Swordsmanship,’ ‘Dungeon Studies,’ ‘Basic Ethics,’ and ‘Imperial History.’

And each class…

“Swordsmanship is on Monday and Friday mornings, Dungeon Studies on Monday through Thursday afternoons, Magic Studies on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and Imperial History is on Monday and Thursday late afternoons to evenings?”

In addition to these, there were other courses like Herbology and Potion Making scattered throughout the week.

There was no day off, and the free periods between classes were terribly placed.

“Ha, seriously…”

As I stared at my chaotic schedule, feeling like I was back in my college days, a voice pierced my thoughts.

“Don’t be late next time.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I responded absentmindedly to the academy staff’s sharp voice and walked away, mentally exhausted.

“It would be so much easier if they were all lumped together… Ah, exam time is going to be hell.”

Shaking my head at the thought of exams, I tore my eyes away from the schedule.

“Well, it’s too late to change it now. Let’s just go.”

As I neared my dormitory.

“Kamon?”

I turned at the familiar voice from behind to see someone waving at me—someone I wasn’t too happy to see.

“Hello… caretaker.”

It was the maid who managed my dormitory.

“Hello, Kamon.”

She greeted me with a polite bow and continued speaking.

“I was just about to visit your room, but I’m glad I ran into you here.”

“Visit me? Why?”

Instinctively, I looked at her with wary eyes. Every time she sought me out, something seemed to go wrong or some incident happened. I had developed a habit of being cautious around her.

But then I thought, ‘Surely nothing will happen again, right? And even if something does happen, I can deal with it. I’ve handled tough situations before.’

I was different now from the old Kang Hyunsoo, or rather, Kamon Vade.

With that thought, I relaxed my guard and asked in a softer tone.

“Is there a problem?”

She smiled gently at me.

“Not a problem, per se… I was looking for you because your tuition and dormitory fees for the second semester haven’t been paid yet.”

“Tuition and dormitory fees?”

“Yes, you need to pay the full amount before the next semester starts to attend classes and stay in the dormitory.”

Money, suddenly?

Though taken aback by the unexpected news, I quickly gathered myself. In the past, I would have despaired or screamed silently in such a situation, but things were different now.

“Kamon?”

“So I need to pay the tuition and dormitory fees before the weekend ends, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Where do I pay? Can I give the money to you?”

“Yes, you can give it to me, or pay directly at the administration office.”

“Got it. See you later, caretaker.”

She tilted her head slightly and made a curious comment as I walked away.

“Hmm, you seem very different now, Kamon.”

“Excuse me? Suddenly?”

“Goodbye, Kamon.”

With a light farewell, I quickly moved away from the caretaker.

Squeak, bang!

Back in my dorm room, I climbed onto the bed and reached up to the ceiling. I inserted my fingers into a small gap and removed a wooden panel. I quickly pulled out a small box with a lock hidden there and opened it carefully.

Squeak.

From the box spilled a bright white light.

“Yes, this is it.”

Inside was the large diamond necklace I had received (or more accurately, was gifted) from Diana Fren.

I hadn’t expected to use it this quickly…

“This kind of bad luck is nothing now.”

Having endured so much absurd misfortune, I had developed a significant resilience. It would take much more to shake me now.

“See, it’s good to have things saved up for moments like this.”

I praised my past self for deciding to take Diana Fren’s necklace.

“Great, I’ve even found connections to fence the stolen goods, so let’s get this over with quickly.”

Muttering to myself, I set out to find someone who could help me.