Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

T h is w a s c o p i e d f r o m kin g m tl . org
Enrollment (4)

-What? The principal personally came to pick you up?

“Yeah. She said she was curious about who I am.”

-Has this old hag already gone senile… What kind of nonsense is she trying to pull…

Sa Jaehyuk’s voice over the phone line suddenly took on a displeased tone.

-So?

“Huh?”

-What do you mean, ‘huh’? There’s no way the principal would want to see you without any ulterior motives. Did she make you do anything strange?

“Well…”

I almost thoughtlessly blurted out the contents of the conversation, but I swallowed my words again upon a sudden thought that crossed my mind.

Judging from Sa Jaehyuk’s usual attitude and current reaction, it seemed obvious that he wouldn’t be pleased if I told him the conversation as it was.

However, I had made up my mind long ago. Hadn’t Sa Jaehyuk already said it himself? That from now on, I had to think for myself and make my own judgments on everything.

If I consulted with them on every matter like before, I would never be able to carry out Sa Jaehyuk’s orders.

“…Nothing much happened. She was just making small talk. I guess she needed a conversation partner.”

In the end, I chose to give a vague answer. Although it pricked my conscience a little, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. Hae Wolhwa had really rambled on for tens of minutes about trivial personal matters.

Moreover, considering that she even told me to come visit the greenhouse occasionally, perhaps it was true that she needed a conversation partner.

-What? That makes no sense. You, honestly… Hey! Move! Get out of the way…!

-Why only you… tsk… for so long…!!

-Tsk… Let me talk too…! I also…!

-Hyunah! Are you doing well? Our Hyunnie… tsk… must be feeling lonely all by himself… I should have followed him after all…

Sa Jaehyuk was about to interrogate me in a tone that sounded entirely unconvinced. Suddenly, there was a commotion on the other end of the phone line, and shouts with a lot of noise interference could be heard. It was difficult to even understand the voices of multiple people shouting over each other.

-Hyunah. Did Hae-saem do anything strange to you? Her personality is so eccentric, so…

In the end, it was the sisters who took over from Sa Jaehyuk. Ryu Sehwa’s voice, filled with worry, echoed over the phone line.

“Really, nothing happened. She just seemed like a good person. She even arranged the hotel I’m staying at now…”

-What? She arranged a hotel for you? What about the place we originally booked?

-Hotel? What are you talking about?

Ryu Sehwa’s voice rarely sharpened. In the background, Yoon Chaewon’s questioning voice could also be heard.

“She said this place would be better than that one. It was a bit awkward to refuse. And it really seems like a nice place, so you don’t need to worry. This is the first time in my life I’m staying at such a luxurious…”

-…Hyunah. Make sure to lock the room door when you sleep. Okay? No, rather, a padlock…

Suddenly, Yejin joined in and advised in a serious tone. I had no idea why the sisters were suddenly acting this way. Was it because I didn’t go to the pre-arranged accommodation…

“…Yes?”

-Hyunah. A person’s appearance isn’t everything. You understand? It’s like spoiled food. It may look fine on the outside, but it’s already rotten since last night. To be so innocent… Is she targeting your maternal instincts…

-We let our guard down… Even at that age, she’s still so energetic…

-Hyunah. You have to be careful. Do you know what her nickname was during our time? Seriously…

-Hey! I told you to stop! In others’ eyes, you guys look even weirder! Just stop…!

-You, be quiet… tsk…!

-I told you… tsk… to get out…! You’re no help at all…!

Sa Jaehyuk’s and the sisters’ voices mixed together, turning the other end of the phone line into a chaotic scene once again. The sisters, having chased away Sa Jaehyuk, continued to exchange words that made no sense to me.

And I was only able to break free after listening to the sisters’ lecture-cum-worry for a long time.

-Oh my, it’s already this late. Sorry, Hyunah. Did we keep you for too long?

“I’m fine…”

-You should go to bed soon. Good night, Hyunah. Even if you can’t call, you can still write letters, so make sure to write diligently!

-Good night~

“I will. Good night to you too, sisters.”

-Hyunnie, sleep well too! Don’t forget that your sisters are always cheering for you!
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-Click

“…”

As the noisy exchange of words was cut off, I suddenly felt like I had been thrown alone into the depths of a quiet sea.

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Sa Jaehyuk and the sisters said they would rest for a bit and then head to the East.

Not only was the physical distance from me in the Western capital increasing, but most of the East was a remote area without even telephone lines installed, so it would be impossible to have direct conversations like this for a while.

Recalling that fact, it finally sank in that I was truly alone now.

Before I knew it, it had been nearly two years since I met and started living with them.

The pain of losing my loved ones still tormented me, but thanks to the consideration of Sa Jaehyuk and the sisters, I was now able to overcome the grief to some extent and stand on my own feet.

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I was deeply grateful to them even now and only wanted to repay them somehow.

However, there were still so many things I didn’t properly know about.

First, there was Sa Jaehyuk’s identity.

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When I naturally learned about his surname while just starting to learn common sense from the sisters, I was quite surprised.

No one would have thought that the delinquent-looking and fierce Sa Jaehyuk was a member of a great noble family, and even the successor of the Heukryeon Sashi, one of the Five Founding Families.

Upon learning that fact, I could finally make sense of the strange things that had been happening around Sa Jaehyuk.

For example, how the commander of a higher-ranked unit would cower before him.

Or how he could easily make me an ID card stamped with the highest-level purple seal.

Or how he could boast about being able to cover up any bizarre incidents I might cause at Cradle…

But I still couldn’t understand why such an extraordinary person would go around the frontier and take on dangerous tasks.

Above all, what I was most curious about was why Sa Jaehyuk, who had no connection to me, had taken me in.

It was probably related to the nature of that so-called power and how I, despite being diagnosed as unresponsive, became able to use magic. But Sa Jaehyuk annoyingly kept his mouth shut until the very end.

He even strongly warned me that it must never be revealed to others, so it wasn’t even appropriate to go out of my way to find out.

However, although he had said he coveted my power and seemed to actually know its true nature, Sa Jaehyuk had never once asked me to use my power for his own benefit.

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Following them to the battlefield was entirely my own stubbornness; Sa Jaehyuk and the sisters had tried to dissuade me until the end.

In addition, there was the grudge that the head of the Baek family held against Sa Jaehyuk.

And the past incident with the principal.

There were still so many things I was curious about.

But I had no intention of prying into those matters.

Everyone has a past they don’t want to talk about. The same goes for me. For example, the ring that fell off my finger that day or the trauma related to my scars.

However, Sa Jaehyuk and the sisters never asked about those things at all. So I, too, should rightfully do the same.

In the end, what I had to do now was faithfully attend to my academy life according to their demands and do my best to ensure that Sa Jaehyuk and the sisters would not be harmed in connection with that.

If I could just stay like that for three years, graduate, and return, then even Sa Jaehyuk would have no choice but to tell me the truth.

“…”

As my thoughts reached that point, my gaze naturally went to the envelope the principal had handed me earlier.

Although the sisters had told me to go to bed early, I woke up due to loneliness instead.

I opened the envelope and checked its contents.

The papers were student records with detailed personal information about a certain student.

I wondered if it was appropriate for a fellow student to view someone else’s records, but let’s just think of it as work…

With that thought, I began reading the documents. The first thing that caught my eye was a photo of a female student taken from the front.

When I first heard about her personality, I was worried that she might be someone I knew, but fortunately, she was definitely a completely different person.

A slender face with delicate features, large and clear eyes, and pale lips.

An artistically raised, sharp nose and flawless, clear skin.

With her alluring and aloof appearance, it was no wonder she could attract people with just her looks.

But on the other hand, I could also strongly sense the arrogance and conceit within her.

I continued to read the various information about the female student written below the photo.

-Name: Yeon Minha
-Current Year: 2nd Year
-Age: 18
-Main Major: Emission-type Spirit Studies
-Family of Origin: Jeokhwa Yeon
-1st Year Final Overall Ranking: 2nd…

A spirit user. Come to think of it, I heard that the Yeon family was renowned as a long-standing family of spirit users.

Among the first five magicians who awakened during the Dawn Era, one of them established spirit magic for the first time, and his descendants, the Yeon family, used that pioneer status to draw other spirit users to their side or exert influence over them.

But whether she was a spirit user or not wasn’t particularly important right now. Rather, what caught my attention was the content written under the “Other Remarks” section below.

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-Has a record of receiving the most duel requests during the 1st year (undefeated)
-Suspected to be one of the masterminds behind the large-scale disturbance that occurred on March 4th of the same year, but disciplinary review was dismissed due to lack of physical evidence
-On July 12th of the same year, got into a spontaneous argument with a classmate and inflicted serious injuries requiring 10 weeks of treatment. Claimed that the classmate made the first move. Evidence contradicting that was found, but the disciplinary review was dismissed.
-On August 23rd of the same year, subjected a close friend who spoke to her to severe verbal abuse, causing psychological trauma…
-On September 12th and 17th of the same year, respectively…

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“…”

Despite the extremely small font, her past offenses were extensive enough to fill an entire page. It was also notable that each case was either completely dismissed or received only very light punishment.

-The student in question is presumed to have inherited the unique viciousness of the Yeon lineage, commonly known as the “Spirit User’s Curse,” to an exceptionally strong degree. Furthermore, this seems to be an extreme manifestation of the chronic side effects of being a spirit user, but due to the lack of historical records, it is impossible to draw a conclusion at this point.

The last paragraph unexpectedly gave me something to ponder. Side effects unique to spirit users. Was there such a thing?

Spirit users were a very rare group even among magicians. Moreover, since I had always been in remote areas, I had only seen a spirit user once or twice, so I didn’t have proper information.

It seemed necessary to properly look into this matter. If I could find out what the chronic side effects of spirit users were and what this “Spirit User’s Curse” was, perhaps it could be helpful for my task…

“Phew…”

Although I hadn’t even started yet, I already felt like I was hitting a wall. The principal had told me to lend strength, but no matter how I looked at it, she herself would likely reject me.

Moreover, even though I hadn’t met her yet, I also didn’t have a very good impression of her.

Her conceit and arrogance reminded me of something from the past that was all too similar.

Was it really possible for me to establish a friendship with such a person?

“…”

Suddenly, a conversation I had with Yejin in the past came to mind.

-We are prisoners.

-Prisoners…?

-Yes. Ghosts unable to escape from the past, and the prisoners chained to them…
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Her self-deprecating tone and bitter expression were still vivid in my memory.

I didn’t pry, but just from those words, I could easily guess their relationship.

It was all too obvious who the ghost was and who the prisoners were.

But I envied them instead.

Because I, too, once had such a person.

There were also days that were happy and felt like a dream, as if they would last forever.

However, now all of that had become a brutally trampled past.

My heart had already been torn to shreds long ago.

Once a thought had surfaced, it continued to lead to another.

Sa Jaehyuk said, the sisters said, Hae Wolhwa said.
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‘Hey. What’s so difficult about making friends and studying hard? Huh?’

‘If you happen to find someone you like, you must consult with your sisters first…’

‘Our academy is quite strict when it comes to relationships between the opposite sex. Unless you’re engaged, dating within the school is absolutely prohibited. Understand? Absolutely prohibited.’

“…”

I could boldly say that whichever it was, it was a completely useless worry.

Such days would never come to me again.

End of Chapter