Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Th i s w a s c o p ied f r o m k i ng m t l .o r g
Encounter (1)

Suddenly, I remembered the scenery of the capital as Seoyeon had described it to me.

Indeed, compared to that place, our village was nothing more than a stinking stable.

Then, the days I had lived rubbing shoulders with the lowly beings in that stable might indeed have been a nightmare.

I was born here from the start, but Seoyeon had merely fallen unluckily to the bottom.

Even if she had not had a good relationship with her family, it was still the place where she was born and raised.

Wouldn’t she naturally have thought about wanting to go back?

When she was suffering from the disease, she had no choice but to accept her relationship with me and life in the village.

It was said that Particle Hypersensitivity Syndrome would naturally heal upon awakening as a magician, but it had been called incurable because there had been no such precedent before.

But miraculously recovering, Seoyeon was presented with a choice.

And Seoyeon chose the direction opposite to where I was, the direction she was originally supposed to go.

Now, someone like me, an unresponsive individual, was utterly unnecessary by her side.

Moreover, like she said, I truly failed to protect her.

Instead of making a rational decision, I dragged her into peril with me.

Despite all my efforts, I couldn’t even hold back the demons’ ankles and ended up fainting shamefully.

If not for the soldiers who arrived just in time, we might really have become cold ash by now.

While the sudden betrayal was bitter, it was not unreasonable for her feelings to wane after showing such a pathetic sight.

…So when I think about it, maybe everything just returned to its original place.

Our past might have been nothing more than a dream of our foolish times, and the current situation might be the predestined future that simply arrived a bit early.

With that rationalization, I tried to comfort myself.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n g mt l. o r g
If I were to conclude the past events, Seoyeon leaving me was a natural course of things.

However, such efforts always scattered futilely.

Resentment always sprang out uncontrollably, piercing through my heart.

Now, it was my heart that hurt more than my body.

I harbored deep resentment.

I resented those who attacked our village, leaving innocent people in such a state.

I resented Seoyeon for reopening wounds that had yet to heal.

But most of all, I resented myself for still not waking up from this dream despite everything.

During my hospital stay, I ruminated over my agony in the stark, sterile room.

With no one left to share my burden, all the pain was solely mine to bear.

And as my body began to heal, I came to understand another meaning behind Seoyeon’s words.
T his wa s c o pi e d f r o m k in g mt l.or g

“…Considering how deep the wounds were… it was fortunate that the face’s nerves were not damaged and recovered…”

The nurse cautiously spoke as she unwrapped the bandages from my face.

With my legs still trembling, I managed to stand in front of a mirror.

The mirror mercilessly reflected my wretched appearance.

My gaze naturally fell on my face.

I could easily find a foreign ugliness that wasn’t there before.

A long scar stretched from the left temple to right beside the nose, following below the eye.

There lay the evidence of my weakness and pitifulness.

T hi s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . org
“Uh… Ugh…”

The moment I confronted the scar, I felt an intense urge to tear my skin apart.

“Uh… Huh…”

Sweat poured down, and my blood boiled.

My vision narrowed, and my heart pounded crazily.
Th i s w a s c o p ie d f r om k i n g mtl . o r g

Unable to endure any longer, I fled from the mirror.

After that day, I never looked at a mirror again.

***

“Think about it again. What can you possibly do by going back now? At best, you’d just be a good meal for monsters and outlaws.”

“But…”

“I’ve already promised, haven’t I? To provide a decent wage and accommodation. It’s a favor offered without expecting anything in return, so just accept it without any further words.”

Time continued to flow, even amidst the agony.

Eventually, I was able to move around without much problem.

Since I couldn’t continue to be a burden, I expressed my gratitude to the doctor and conveyed my desire to return to the village.

After all, it was the only place I could go to.

However, the doctor desperately tried to hold me back.

He insisted that I still needed more treatment and even offered to find me a job at the hospital, noticing my discomfort with receiving free medical care.

But the high wages and accommodation he offered were too generous for a minor like me.

So, I tactfully declined, but the doctor changed the terms and tried to persuade me again.

“Heh, well. It’s not proper to hold onto a patient like this. Let’s leave it at this for today. I’ll come back tomorrow, so please consider it until then.”

The doctor didn’t let go of his concern until the last moment he left.

Th i s w as c o p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . o r g
His face was full of concern.

Though he claimed it was a favor without any expectations, by this point, even I had to think otherwise.

I suddenly remembered the doctor’s profound interest in my constitution.

Maybe he wanted to satisfy his curiosity from back then in exchange for his favor.

Even if he had another purpose, considering the grace I had received, I was more than willing to offer my body.

But at that moment, all I could think about was seeing the village again.

Now that I could walk, there was no reason to delay.

So, I immediately took action.

I told the administration I would take a walk around the city for rehabilitation and left the hospital, thinking that if I had told them my true intentions, they might have completely blocked my departure.

Considering the doctor’s attitude towards me, that was a real possibility.

Only after leaving the hospital could I fully face the city’s landscape.

Even though it was just a small satellite city, a city was still a city.

The streets were wide and clean, and the buildings boasted sophisticated aesthetics.

People bustled along the streets. Even the walls in the distance were two to three times higher than those of the village.

…If even a satellite city is like this, there’s no need to speak of the capital.

No wonder anyone would naturally want to return.

Engulfed in these gloomy thoughts, I found myself in front of the security gate before I knew it.

When it was my turn in line, the guard at the gate asked my business with a casual inquiry.

Given I was still in a cast and heading out, the inspection was relatively lax.

I mentioned the name of a neighboring village as my destination and managed to pass through the gate without any issues.

The distance from here to the village was considerable, but without money or transportation, I had no choice but to set out on foot.

Limited by time, I hurried my pace.

Leaving the well-maintained city streets behind,

I passed through unpaved roads,
T h i s w as c o p i e d f ro m k ingm t l .o r g

Crossed quiet forests at the crossroads,

And continued walking through the gentle hills.

As I walked and walked, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the moon and stars softly illuminated the world.

It would’ve been curfew time due to monster attacks under normal circumstances, but I had no leisure to worry about that now.

How many hours had I walked?

When my legs began to tremble and my breath caught in my throat,

I finally arrived at our village, which I had longed to see.

“…Ah… Uh… Aah…”

But what welcomed me was not the guards or friends, but the dilapidated walls left untouched since that time.

The once sturdy walls that had protected the village now stood as an ugly monstrosity.

Capturing that ruin in my eyes, it almost felt like the acrid smoke and the rank smell of blood returned to my senses.

I entered the village through the gaping hole where the gate once stood.

A few remaining solar streetlights sporadically illuminated the ground.

I trudged along the familiar path.

Soon the severely damaged landscape of the village came into my view.

The grocery store with all its windows shattered, revealing the interior.

The film theater with projectors and small props scattered across the floor.

T h is w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . o r g
The school, once full of life and freshness, now weighed down by silence.

With every scene I encountered, my heart grew heavier.

I stumbled over the ruins several times but did not stop walking.

Just around the corner, I would see our house that I had missed so much.

“…Ah… Uh… Aah…”
T h i s w a s c o pie d f rom k i ng m t l . o r g

However, the moment I turned the corner, I had to stop in my tracks.

What remained were the remnants of something that had collapsed.

Only some parts of the frame indicated that it used to be our house.

Looking around, I noticed a strange structure in the small garden in front of the house that hadn’t been there before.

I dragged my trembling legs closer.

Planted in the garden was a small tombstone with engraved letters.

And unsurprisingly, three names were inscribed on it.

Mom, Jinho, and Ina’s names.

“Uh… Uh… Huh…”

I had tried to harden my heart, but those resolutions had long since crumbled away.

All I could do was sit down and cry endlessly.

Everything I had loved was truly gone from this world.

I sat there for hours.

The crying stopped only when my tear ducts felt like they would dry up.

But the sorrow I had let out was nothing compared to the grief that still piled up.

My mind was numb, incapable of any rational thought.

I only pondered one fact.

T his wa s c o p ied fro m ki n gmt l . o rg
If all that I love has left me, then perhaps there’s no need for me to remain either…

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to reach a conclusion.

I scanned the ground around me and soon spotted a piece of glass that seemed suitable for my purpose.

Without hesitation, I picked up the shard.

After ensuring its sharp edge was properly aimed at my neck, I lifted my arm.

“Kid. Doing that isn’t very polite to someone who’s waited for you, is it?”

But at that moment.

A rough, hoarse voice suddenly pulled me back.