Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Fall (4)

***

A shiver ran down my arms. Even though I was sitting under the cozy, warm light of the white lamp, I felt an eerie chill.

Isn’t this too much to simply be a coincidence? The dates matched perfectly, down to the very day.

I continued reading through the report on Lee Hwar-yeong’s disappearance.

No signs of abduction, no signs of resistance, no indications of torture or murder, and no traces of black magic or demonic energy.

Possibility of voluntary desertion or defection to the North. However, she had good interpersonal relationships, received high performance evaluations the previous year, had a family to support, and was known to be career-oriented. In conclusion, the likelihood of voluntary desertion was also low.

“…”

The military investigation ended there, without any definitive conclusion.

After reading the last page of the report, I sat quietly for a moment. Then, I conjured a small flame at my fingertip and set the papers on fire.

-Tak… Tak.

I watched the paper disintegrate without leaving any smoke as I sank deep into thought.

This whole sequence of events was starting to feel like a warning—an omen of something ominous.

Had I pushed my body too far and finally snapped…?

They say dreams are the mind’s way of randomly piecing together fragments of memory, occasionally creating surreal landscapes.

Dreams have duality. The waves of memory can bring joy, but they can also plunge us into profound sorrow.

Unfortunately for me, the latter had always been the case. Whether it was a dream of the happiness from my past, or the horrific nightmare of the day of the attack, the result was the same. The only thing waiting for me after those dreams was a dark ceiling and my empty hands.

But this time, it was different.

The problem was that the elements of that dream I had in the hospital, after the Southern Incident, weren’t drawn from any of my memories.

I had never heard the name Lee Hwar-yeong in my life. Nor had I ever come across the military investigation that was now classified as top secret.

The other matter was the same. The commander and my older sisters had all deliberately hidden Seol Yujeong’s existence from me.

They acted like lovers, with her arms casually around the commander’s neck, yet I knew nothing about her.

If I hadn’t accidentally seen that photo in the Heukryeon mansion, I would’ve never known who she was.

‘…Wait.’

Suddenly, a thought hit me.

The whirlwind in my mind quieted for a moment.

If—just if—the events in that dream were real, then it would make sense that the investigators couldn’t draw a conclusion.

After all, in the dream, Lee Hwar-yeong had willingly headed north.

And that had happened three years ago. Even if they issued a warrant for treason, they wouldn’t be able to catch someone who disappeared years ago. Especially when the only “evidence” was a ridiculous dream.

However, I knew the identity of another person from that dream.

***

The next day, as soon as my afternoon class ended, I headed straight for the basement of the main building.

By now, I was treating the contents of my dream as if they had really happened, allowing them to shape my thoughts.

Who were those women? When I revisited the conversation I had written down in my notebook, they didn’t seem like benevolent figures.

Demons? Spies? Black magicians? Or maybe just criminals?

If a criminal had been enrolled at Cradle and even served as the Vice President, that would be a serious issue in itself…

At least one thing was certain. Seol Yujeong. Her past seemed to hold the key to unlocking this mystery.

The personnel records in the archive didn’t just contain her activities during her time at Cradle, but also updates on her major and workplace afterward.

That meant there should still be records of Seol Yujeong, even after she graduated. The events in my dream only occurred three years ago, after all.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult or complicated task. Whatever I did later, the first step was to check her records.

“Eh…?”

However, when I reached the first floor of the main building in a hurry, I was met with an unexpected obstacle.

In front of the stairs leading to the basement was a large signboard that read “No Entry.”

Thick chains were wrapped around the entrance, blocking the path like a spiderweb.

“…”

What is this? There was nothing like this yesterday.

“Under… repair?”

I stood there dumbfounded for a while, but eventually managed to ask one of the maintenance staff controlling access to the area.

“Did something collapse?”

“No, nothing like that. Just routine inspections and maintenance. The basement of the main building, along with several other buildings in Section B, are part of the inspection. Cradle is almost 100 years old after all, so it’s pretty worn down, and there’s leakage in places…”

The maintenance worker said that the repairs in the basement of the main building would take about five days.

For a moment, I felt a surge of impatience, but I was able to calm myself down.

I had already mentioned Seol Yujeong’s name to Professor Shin Jae-yu once and had been promptly kicked out. Professor Kwon Chanyul, who was even more secretive, wouldn’t be of any help either. Even if they were friends of the commander, if they didn’t say anything, it was no use.

Similarly, it didn’t feel right to bring this up to Mok Jinwoo at the Intelligence Bureau. Who knows, he might even hinder my efforts.

There was no one else to rely on, so I would have to investigate it myself anyway. Compared to the three years that had already passed, five days was nothing.

The key the student council president gave me would expire, but considering the circumstances, I was sure he’d renew it without much trouble.

Just as I was trying to think positively about the situation, a much bigger problem arose from another direction.

“The private training rooms are under repair too…?”

“Yes. They’re undergoing expansion, so it’ll take longer. Even at the fastest pace, it’ll be at least two weeks…”

The maintenance worker’s words hit me like a bolt from the blue. My vision darkened. There wasn’t much difference in the equipment between the private and public training rooms. They were probably being repaired altogether due to the regular inspection period. Normally, if the private rooms were unavailable, I would just continue training in the public ones.

But having a spacious room to myself, without the interference or eyes of others, was a significant advantage. It was an essential element for me.

I already had trouble maintaining patience and composure, and the public training room was an environment where I couldn’t avoid the attention of those around me. It would be incredibly hard for me to focus on training there.

That’s why I had been making full use of the private training room, a privilege given to top-ranking students.

What am I going to do? I can’t just sit around doing nothing for two weeks. Unless I was injured and stuck in the infirmary, skipping training was out of the question.

Sensing my frustration, the maintenance worker hesitated before speaking carefully.

“Well… There is a private training room in Section A. It’s the only one there, and the facility is quite old, but if you really need a private room…”

“Section A? I’ve never been there before.”

“I can show you the way. It’s near the front gate, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Just go out and turn right…”

The facility being old wasn’t a problem for me.

I followed the path the worker had described to find the training room in Section A.

Near the front gate, adjacent to the massive walls surrounding the Cradle campus, stood an old building. It looked like it had been built during Cradle’s early days.

It wasn’t long before I found the structure that matched the worker’s description perfectly.

“Catch it!”

“Wait… Ahh!”

On the first floor, there were a few students engrossed in a mock duel in the public training room.

But the facility was clearly old, and there weren’t many people around. It seemed to be used mainly by students whose dormitories were nearby.

I climbed the worn, crumbling stairs to the second floor, where the private training room was located.

“Damn…”

However, the only private training room that wasn’t closed had a lit sign that read “In Use.”

-Huff… Huff…

-Bang! Boom!

Through the soundproof walls, I could faintly hear someone’s heavy breathing and the explosion of magic.

I approached the guard, who was sitting in a chair with his chin resting on his hand, half-asleep, and asked him a question.

“Excuse me. How long has the person in the room been inside?”

“Zzzz… Who…? Oh, oh dear…!”

The guard, waking up with a start as he saw my mask, quickly straightened up.

“It’s been about two and a half hours. I’m pretty sure they went in just as my shift started.”

Two and a half hours? They should be done soon. Although I felt like I’d hit a dead end, I decided I could wait a little longer.

I sat down next to the guard, who looked ready to doze off again, and waited patiently for my turn.

I passed the time by writing letters to my sisters, revisiting the strange dream in my mind, and speculating about Yeon Minha’s gift.

“…”

But even after more than an hour, the person inside the training room showed no signs of coming out.

I could feel the irritation slowly creeping into my mind. It was a justified irritation, though.

What, did they rent the place out for themselves or something?

After waiting another thirty minutes, my patience finally ran out.

Unwilling to wait any longer, I ignored the “In Use” sign and barged into the training room.

If they were just wasting time and slacking off… I might actually slap them.

“Hah…!”

-Bang! Boom!

But the room was still filled with the sound of heavy breathing and explosions of magic.

And I recognized the person inside immediately.

Bright blonde hair, shining green eyes, and training clothes drenched and clinging to her body with sweat.

“…”

The moment I saw the familiar girl, I let out a deep sigh without even realizing it.

End of Chapter