Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The Frog in the Well (3)
Despite what I had done, I feared significant reprimand from either the teacher or the captain of the guard, but fortunately, that never came to pass.
As if nothing had happened, the incident that day gradually blurred in my memory.
Once we started talking, Seoyeon and I became quite close, considering what we had been through.
Seoyeon was still prickly like a cat but at least she didn’t spew out harsh words like before.
In the classroom, my seat had now become next to Seoyeon’s. When I spoke, she would listen intently, occasionally responding with short answers.
I thought to myself that maybe her personality could really change for the better. However, not everything always went smoothly.
The other kids in our class were curious about how we had become close. This was true even for my best friends, Jinho and Ina.
Though it didn’t concern the other children, I wanted to introduce Seoyeon to them.
They were good friends who had approached me first, so I thought naturally they would treat Seoyeon well too.
But it was Seoyeon who rejected the new friends. She didn’t spew venomous words, but she still acted arrogantly and haughtily towards other children.
This was no exception for Jinho and Ina. Moreover, she started insisting that I shouldn’t spend time with my friends.
I hated being forced into actions or thoughts by someone. But for days, Seoyeon tried to treat me as if I were her possession.
Despite expressing my refusal several times, Seoyeon became even more stubborn. Finally, furious, I declared that we were no longer friends.
“From now on, I won’t talk to you anymore.”
Hearing my words, Seoyeon looked as if she was the victim, shocked. Then, she didn’t show up at school for three days.
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f rom ki n g mt l . o r g
Fed up, I didn’t want to care about what she did anymore. However, what stopped me was Seoyeon’s maid, who had once pointed a knife at me.
“…Please help the lady.”
The maid found me on my way home from school and suddenly bowed deeply, then started to plead that her mistress was in danger. She had locked herself in her room, refusing both water and food.
If anyone tried to force their way in, she threatened to end her life, leaving them no choice but to do nothing. The maid had come to me out of desperation, saying I was the only student Seoyeon had mentioned by name.
T h is w a s c o p i e d fro m k i n g m t l . o rg
She even tearfully claimed that Seoyeon was sick and might really die from her actions.
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i ng m t l. o r g
Though I had declared our friendship over because I disliked her attitude, her actual death was a different matter entirely.
The maid seemed unaware, but I suspected that our falling out was the cause. However, unwilling to receive another sharp rebuke, I kept silent.
After much deliberation, I followed the maid to the mansion. Upon entering and climbing the opulent staircase, one door was obviously locked.
-Knock knock
“I told you to leave me alone…”
“Hey. It’s me.”
As I knocked, Seoyeon’s listless voice came through the door.
“Can I come in?”
“…”
“If you don’t answer, I’m coming in anyway.”
“…”
With no response, I used the key the maid had given me to unlock the door and entered the room.
The room was too vast and empty for a child to live in alone.
“…Why are you here?”
Seoyeon was lying on a large bed in the middle of the room, her voice barely audible.
She looked terribly frail, apparently having eaten nothing for days.
Even I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy at the sight.
“Are you an idiot? What’s so bad about our fight that you’re not eating?”
“…”
“The maid was so worried about you. You’re already sick. You should eat something now.”
“I… I don’t have the strength…”
A thin arm peeked out from the blanket, lifted slightly, then fell back down limply.
“Seriously, you’re unbelievable.”
“…”
“…Just wait a bit.”
I went to the maid to get some thin porridge and water.
Then, sitting in front of the bed, I spooned some porridge and brought it to Seoyeon’s mouth.
“Open up.”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr om k in g m t l . o r g
“…”
“Eat it when I give it to you. My arm is getting tired, so hurry up.”
After some hesitation, Seoyeon finally opened her mouth slightly.
“Mmm… munch munch…”
She ate everything I gave her like a baby bird.
The bowl of porridge was quickly emptied. I was a bit annoyed. If she could eat like this, why hadn’t she eaten before?
Seeing Seoyeon regain some vitality, I finally brought up the main topic.
“…I’m canceling our fight. I was too harsh with my words. And I’m sorry for forcing you to hang out with my other friends. I didn’t consider that you might dislike it.”
“Ah…”
“But don’t try to dictate what I do. I hate being ordered around the most. I’ll continue to hang out with my friends. I might even spend more time with them than with you.”
“…”
Seoyeon’s expression brightened and then darkened again as she listened. Then, she tentatively asked me,
T h i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m ki n g m t l .o r g
“…Do you really dislike it when I do that?”
“Yes. I do.”
“…Even just talking to me?”
“Yes. Really.”
After hearing my firm refusal, Seoyeon’s body flinched slightly. It seemed like she might even shake a little.
A moment of silence passed before she spoke again.
“…I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
That day was the first time Seoyeon apologized to me.
***
After our second reconciliation, Seoyeon faithfully kept her word.
She showed no discomfort when I hung out with Jinho and Ina, even taking the initiative to greet them herself.
Her stammering attempts to speak, so unlike her previous image, required me to exert considerable effort to contain my laughter.
Furthermore, Seoyeon began asking me all sorts of questions with increasing frequency.
My favorite clothes.
My favorite food.
My favorite hobbies.
My preferred personality traits.
She bombarded me with all kinds of trivial questions, even asking about my preferred hair length.
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m ki n g m t l .o r g
“Why are you even asking that?”
“…But still.”
T h i s w a s co p i e d f r om k i n g m tl .o r g
“Hey! I mean, that’s a bit much…”
“…You said you’d tell me.”
“What?”
“You said you’d explain all sorts of things to me.”
“That and this are…”
“…You’re the only one I can ask.”
“…”
Despite my frustration, Seoyeon remained steadfast. I was left speechless.
What I had meant was to help her adjust her unsociable attitude.
She might have taken it in a slightly different sense.
But on second thought, taking an interest in someone else to get closer seemed not a bad idea.
And it was true I was the only one she could ask.
So, I surrendered to Seoyeon’s persistence. Answering every question, I eventually handed over almost all information about myself.
She even took the effort to meticulously note the information in a notebook. Seeing her do that, I naturally began to sincerely care for Seoyeon.
Seoyeon, who had always been cold and haughty, gradually started to show her emotions as time passed.
We exchanged all sorts of trivial stories in a closer atmosphere. Seoyeon began to open up more, sharing her life before coming to our village. I heard stories of worlds I never knew through her small mouth.
Before coming here, she lived in the capital, Masada, right in its heart.
The multi-storied buildings climbing towards the sky, the endless defensive walls stretching beyond the horizon, the city lights that never dimmed even at dawn.
T h is w a s c o p i e d fr om kin gm tl . or g
Listening to her descriptions, vivid scenes of the capital unfolded before my eyes as if I had visited them myself.
Nostalgia and memories were palpable in Seoyeon’s voice as she told her stories.
But not all stories were dreamlike.
Seoyeon’s tales were more realistic than any exaggerated stories of a boastful peddler, chilling me whenever she spoke of demons of the north or monsters in the uncharted lands.
I also learned that Seoyeon truly was a young lady from a mage family, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem to like her family much.
“Our family has a lot of siblings. I remember there being almost twenty.”
T h i s w a s c op i ed f ro m k i n g m t l . o r g
“Twenty? That’s a lot.”
“Too many to remember who’s who. And guess what’s funnier? There’s one father but several mothers.”
“That must have been nice. I’m an only child, so I sometimes envy having many siblings.”
“What’s nice about it? It’s just endless fighting every day.”
Seoyeon glanced around and whispered in a low voice.
“Especially my eldest brother. He’s the craziest. Over ten of our siblings died from accidents, but it’s certain he killed them all.”
“That’s insane. Your father just watches?”
“The head of the household doesn’t really care. He always says the strongest survives. As long as it doesn’t spread outside, he doesn’t care what happens inside.”
“Is it okay to tell me this?”
“Of course not. It’s because it’s you. This is our secret.”
“…”
Seoyeon always referred to her father as ‘the head of the household’. I didn’t need to ask to guess the nature of their relationship.
I realized that not all mages lived comfortably. I firmly resolved never to get involved with dangerous mages.
However, I was curious why such a noble lady would come to our insignificant village and choose to suffer here.
Especially since the only servant attending to Seoyeon was the maid, Yejin unnie.
Sometimes, I wondered if Seoyeon was lying.
But I concluded that despite her unpleasant personality, she wasn’t someone who would lie about that.
The natural dignity in her gestures and movements couldn’t be faked.
But unless she chose to tell me herself, I didn’t plan to ask. Perhaps it was a sensitive issue she didn’t want to discuss.
With that curiosity buried in my heart, we gradually became closer.
Seoyeon began to prefer walking to and from school with me over being attended to by her maid.
She even came to my house occasionally, enjoying dinners prepared by my mother, and once stayed for a week until the maid came to fetch her.
We watched the village festival together, sneaked out through a crack in the barrier to explore the empty cabin of the forest keeper, had snowball fights 2:2 with Jinho and Ina in the winter, and went swimming in the stream behind the village in the summer.
We had become an integral part of each other’s daily life. Time flew by, and seasons changed several times.
One day, I finally learned why Seoyeon had come to our village.
Along with shocking news I wished I hadn’t heard.
***
I had a hobby of drawing in secret. Somehow, a drawing I had forgotten between the pages of a book was discovered by Seoyeon.
Embarrassed, I was flustered, but Seoyeon, on the other hand, sparkled with anticipation. She asked if I could draw her, hopeful in her voice.
I couldn’t refuse her request and ended up drawing her portrait in the art room after school when no one was around.
“You really drew it well. I’m going to hang it in my room and look at it every day.”
Seoyeon was ecstatic upon seeing the finished portrait. It was surprising to see such a bright smile on her face, given her usual expressions.
“Don’t praise it too much, or you’ll actually think I’m good.”
I felt more embarrassed than proud, considering the quality of my not-so-outstanding drawing. However, Seoyeon vehemently shook her head in disagreement.
“It’s not just praise. You really did draw it well. I think you have the qualities of a good mage. An exceptional artistic sense is a decisive evidence of innate magical aptitude…”
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Seoyeon abruptly stopped talking. It seemed she had belatedly remembered my condition as a complete non-responder. Her eyes wavered as if shaken by an earthquake.
But I didn’t feel any displeasure. I had little interest in my innate condition and knew she hadn’t mentioned it with any bad intentions.
In fact, I was somewhat grateful she had forgotten about it to the point of not caring.
“Ah… well…”
“It’s fine. People forget. I don’t really mind.”
“…Sorry. I didn’t mean it… really…”
“Don’t worry about it. If you keep apologizing, I’ll feel even more sorry.”
Seoyeon managed to calm down only after I reassured her several times.
Yet, she seemed to have more to say, looking at the portrait I drew for her and fidgeting with her fingers.
“…You know, there’s something I haven’t told you…”
Th i s w a s c o pi e d fr o m king m t l . org
“What is it? If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me…”
“…No. I’ve lacked the courage until now… but I think I need to tell you…”
“…?”
Hesitation was evident on Seoyeon’s face.
After a long silence, I finally heard the words from her mouth.
“…I might die within a few years.”
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It’s too much of this was copied from this website and whatnot when I’m reading this on your website. Wtf unmean this was copied. Bruh this is the website no one copied shit. Back to back spamming the message in the chapter is crazy.