Chapter 29
Chapter 029.
The Academy I attended vanished in an instant.
To overhaul the Academy's professors, reorganize its principles, and resolve the corruption in student admissions and graduations would take at least a few years; closure was inevitable.
Graduating students who were about to graduate were given early exams and simple diplomas, while current students were encouraged to hire tutors within their families and study without official permission for the time being.
I was also given the option of transferring to another Academy or heading straight to an employment agency where I could find a job through practical training without a diploma.
"So, Orion. I have one more favor to ask."
"Again?"
Orion's beautiful face lit up.
His complexion, which had become even more radiant lately, softened as he spoke.
"You have something to ask of me, my sister."
"I do."
'But it's really scary to say it.'
It wasn't that I was worried he wouldn't grant it, but rather that I was a little scared he would grant it too readily.
How does he know what I'm going to ask?
I avoided the eyes of my new brother, who was embarrassingly telling me to 'tell me everything' with open arms.
At this point, I could suspect that he was using a high-level tactic to awaken my conscience and urge me to ask for a favor.
"The former Dean of the Academy..."
"If you ask the guild, assassination is also possible."
"No. Please don't."
Why assassination?
Orion looked regretful and said as if making excuses.
"I haven't inherited the Dukedom yet, so even bringing the royal guard only amounted to a threat. To summarily execute the head of an institution, I need to at least receive the Dukedom. My father is still quite healthy..."
"I hope the Duke remains healthy."
The weather had been getting colder lately, and since he was getting older, it was time for him to take good care of himself.
How disconcerted would he be if he knew his only son was thinking like this?
"How can you be so busy with your schedule and never catch a cold? You're so disappointed that the Duke is healthy."
Lenny, who was next to me, stepped forward to vehemently agree with Orion's words, instead of me, who had taken a step back.
"Exactly. I want to spend the budget lavishly, but my father is still the head of the merchant guild, so it's a problem."
I didn't know why the two of them were sympathizing with each other, but I sincerely began to worry about their parents' health.
Should I ask the clinic to prescribe some health-boosting medicine soon?
It's said that children are useless even if you raise them.
I don't know if their own children know what they're thinking.
I raised my voice and continued the words I was about to say, interrupting the conspiracy unfolding before my eyes.
"I want to meet the former Dean of the Academy."
Orion blinked at my words, looking surprised.
Seeing me slightly nervous about what to answer if he asked the reason, he simply replied.
"Okay. Let's do that."
Not only did he not ask the reason, but he also assured me that he would arrange a private meeting with the Dean, who should be temporarily detained until the trial.
Those words were true.
Soon after, I was able to meet the disheveled middle-aged man in a shabby building.
The man across from me hardly raised his head.
The mustache he had always boasted about was a mess, and his clothes, which he hadn't changed in days, smelled musty.
He, who had been looking down obliquely, looked at me with sunken eyes and opened his mouth.
"Do you still have something to say to me? It's surprising that you have more to say here."
His appearance was poor, but his dignity remained.
He was still using the informal 'hao' speech with me, not lowering his words.
His voice was trembling, but it didn't seem to be out of shame for the sins he had committed.
Rather, it was closer to anger towards me, who had brought him down in an instant.
I couldn't understand his anger, nor did I want to.
"You must be enjoying your power play, Princess."
"When you were Madam Tetiana's daughter, you hid your identity, but now that you're the Duke's daughter, you stab your benefactor in the back like this."
"I don't know what you're talking about. Who was it that made me reveal my identity in the first place?"
At my calmly spoken words, his fierce eyes flashed.
How could this person so completely forget what he had done?
"The problems that followed were all self-inflicted due to the Academy's sloppy management."
He trembled.
As if unable to bear the injustice, he raised his voice.
"If the Dukedom hadn't dug it up and amplified it, it could have been overlooked! There are unavoidable things when running an Academy!"
"You lost your reason because you had that kind of mindset."
I sighed and interrupted him.
It was obvious that his mind wouldn't change anyway.
I didn't call him here just to hear these words, so there was no need to continue a conversation that wasn't productive.
He still doesn't understand.
The root cause of all these problems is by no means the misbehavior of a few students.
It was because every time a problem arose, he conveniently covered it up by creating a scapegoat like me.
It was because he didn't consider even a little bit of righteousness or justice in order to avoid suffering losses.
It was because he cared more about his personal success and maintenance than his responsibility as a professor who should teach students, or as the overall person in charge of all educational institutions.
"I have something to ask."
He turned his head without saying a word.
"Several years ago, there was an incident where the Academy dispatched Magic User students to other regions."
He flinched.
"At that time, quite a few promising students lost their lives, but the exact purpose of the dispatch and the reason for their deaths were not clearly revealed."
"There are no records left either."
I thought that if I investigated while the entire Academy was turned upside down, I would find some traces, but there was nothing left.
Even the related professor was reported missing at that time.
Magic User students are the Empire's most important talents who will all become prospective Magic Users.
It was strange that there were no proper records left even though they were massacred.
"That's already a closed case. Even the Imperial investigator..."
"Even the Imperial investigator covered it up without properly investigating."
"Don't you think it's strange? How can prospective Magic Users, who are such great talents, die in a group and yet nothing is known?"
At my words pointing out the facts, his body stiffened.
Fear slowly filled his eyes.
"Who was behind that incident?"
I was just asking, but he shook his head as if horrified and trembled as he looked at me in astonishment.
"Princess, you're crazy! The moment you say that out loud, both you and I could die without anyone knowing. Why are you digging into that incident?!"
"You took over the current Academy by pushing out the former Dean with that incident. I thought you would have left a record of the incident, at least to save your own life."
"You wouldn't do such a thing unless you were courting death! What is the Miller Dukedom thinking..."
"It has nothing to do with the Dukedom. It's my personal matter."
He looked at me with questioning eyes.
His face showed that he couldn't understand why I was digging into this matter.
With a distorted face, he spoke as if giving advice.
"Princess, you don't seem to know the ways of this place yet, but you shouldn't touch things like this. Even if Duke Miller or His Majesty the Emperor came, that incident..."
"I know well enough."
If that weren't the case, I wouldn't have approached it so carefully.
The reason I tried to come back the long way was because neither I nor anyone else should get hurt.
He was silent at my words.
His face still showed that he couldn't understand, but a strange change had occurred within him.
A little hesitation and a little hope.
I laughed because I felt like I knew his inner thoughts a little.
'How can this person disappoint expectations like this?'
"If I knew something about that matter, what would you do for me?"
"What should I do for you?"
He raised his thick fingers and counted one by one.
"My safety. And sufficient financial support. Also, reduce the crime to detention through sufficient defense against the charges."
His button-sized eyes sparkled.
However, if Orion's eyes sparkled with brilliance, his eyes now had an unpleasant oily sheen full of dark desires.
"I have no intention of making a deal with you. Unfortunately."
His eyes widened slightly.
I felt someone's presence behind me, which I had clearly not felt before.
I continued to speak, feeling him slowly standing behind me and watching the situation.
"You must now take responsibility for what you have done. You will be pointed at by people, your lifelong work will be denied, and you will lose everything you have built up until now."
"Those around you will leave you one by one, and nothing will remain by your side. Soon, even those luxury clothes you are wearing will create debts that you cannot repay even if you sell them all."
I don't know if it will be comforting to the students who have already been branded as scapegoats and lost everything and fallen into hell.
What is clear is that he is a man who deserves to be condemned.
Those who are angry need a place for their arrows of anger to return.
He, who has always appropriately appeased that anger by creating scapegoats, was now about to become the target of that anger.
He shouted in a desperate voice.
"Wait! You said you had something to know from me?!"
"I can find that out myself."
A familiar voice was heard softly in my ear.
As soon as the words were finished, someone's hand carefully covered my eyes.
Unlike the affectionate and warm embrace that held me, the voice had a coolness to it.
As my vision was blocked, the man's desperate scream echoed.
Light seeped through the covered eyes, and there was a terribly burning smell.
Everything was felt so vividly that the covered eyes were useless.
