Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

The Red Flower Falls (17)

The place where Yeon Minha’s crow led me was the main building separated from the annex by a corridor.

A place where only direct descendants of Jeokhwa could enter without permission.

I hid my body among the garden trees and shrubs to observe the surroundings.

On both sides of the passage leading to the main building, soldiers were lined up guarding the area strictly.

They wore helmets with visors and were fully armed in protective suits. On top of that, there were alarm magic and physical intruder detection devices surrounding the area.

T h i s wa s c o p i e d f r o m ki ng m t l . o rg
Unless one had lost their mind, no one would dare to rush into the middle of that.

The crow sitting on a high tree branch looks at me with eyes that seem to say “Why aren’t you moving yet?”

Then it silently spreads its wings and flies off towards the steep cliff opposite where the soldiers are standing.

That area above is connected to the main building through the passage.

Surely it’s not telling me to climb up there. Does it think I’m a bird or something?

“…”

But the truth was, I couldn’t think of any other good options either. Time wasn’t exactly on my side either.
T h i s w as co pi e d f r o m k i n gmtl . or g

The backlash from overexerting my not fully recovered body was starting to hit me. My limbs felt extremely heavy and sluggish, as if weights were attached.

On top of that, poison was spreading throughout my body through the wounds inflicted by the demon’s claws.

The wounds were still bleeding and not healing, while my whole body felt feverish and burning hot. It felt like I could melt into a puddle on the ground at any moment.

With no other choice, I moved to stand at the bottom of the cliff where the crow had disappeared.

It was dizzyingly high, tall enough that even if several adult men stacked on top of each other they wouldn’t reach the top. The angle was almost vertical.

I sigh, but I have no choice but to move now. My goal is to first get Yeon Minha out of this den of evil.

It’s also better than unnecessarily clashing with the soldiers and escalating the situation.

“Huu…”

I climbed up the cliff, grasping exposed tree roots and protruding rocks.

After struggling for a while, I finally set foot in Jeokhwa’s main building. A wide open scenery spread out before my eyes, as if I had entered a completely different world cut off from the outside.

I was in the middle of a well-maintained garden. Mysterious blue glowing flowers bloomed on hills in all directions, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

I hid my body among the exotic garden trees with bark split like a turtle’s shell and pointed leaves.

Then I moved deeper in search of the crow and Yeon Minha.

At first I wondered if Yeon Minha had deliberately lured me in, but this was logically not at all plausible.

The demons infiltrating as servants happened after she left her family home for treatment, and judging by its form, the magic formula from earlier still seemed to need quite some time before completion.

In the midst of that, she’s not stupid enough to risk detection by voluntarily calling in an outsider.

Just then, I hear a woman’s voice loudly arguing about something nearby.

It’s a very familiar voice even from afar. I immediately narrowed the distance towards its source.

-Father…! Wait, just wait a moment…!

Soon, in the side path of the main building’s garden, the figure of Jeokhwa’s head trying to leave somewhere and Yeon Minha holding him back came into view.

Despite her desperate attitude, her eyes were empty and hollow. Tears were even slightly welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“I, I just heard something strange from Mother… She must have misspoken while drunk, but…”

This w a s c o pi e d f r o m ki n gm t l . o rg
She was desperately pleading something to her father. I felt quite bewildered.

What on earth happened in that short time?

Hidden in the gaps between exotic garden trees and the night, they didn’t seem to notice my presence here yet.

However, before I could decide my next move at this sudden encounter.
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g

The words that suddenly burst out of Yeon Minha’s mouth made my thoughts freeze instantly.

“She said that I’m a child born between you and Aunt…?”

***

A faint sense of taboo, as if he had committed a forbidden act, seeped into his mind. He felt like washing out his ears, as if he had heard words he shouldn’t have.

He also reflexively recalled the woman in the photo he saw yesterday. The woman said to be the current Jeokhwa head’s twin sister, with features eerily similar to Yeon Minha except for her eye color.

“For some reason my heart won’t calm down… I just wanted you to confirm it once, Father…”

Yeon Minha pleaded to her father again in a desperate and sorrowful voice.
T h i s w a s c opi e d fr o m kin g m tl . o r g

However, he maintained a dry, expressionless face throughout without showing any particular reaction. As if he couldn’t hear his daughter’s voice at all.

He just stood there silently for a long time before carelessly moving his lips as if completely uninterested.

“So that woman finally told you…”

“What…?”

The man’s response was closer to affirmation than denial. Yeon Minha’s pupils expanded vertically upon hearing this.

She staggered greatly and barely managed to support her body that was about to fall.

Regardless, the man continued speaking nonchalantly.

“Tsk. Fine. You should know the truth anyway. I didn’t think I could hide it forever. The timing is quite right too…”

“Fa-Father… What are you saying… No matter what… calling Mother ‘that woman’ is…”

“Why are you so surprised? You just said you heard it. Judging by your attitude, it seems there was nothing wrong with what that woman said?”

The mistress of Jeokhwa who looked nothing like her daughter. Her attitude towards her daughter that felt almost hostile rather than motherly.

The circumstances so far added more credibility to his words.

It’s just that the background was too abnormal to even imagine.

“I am indeed your father, but that woman is not your mother.”

“Father…”

The man’s mouth that opened with a still dry and indifferent attitude plunges Yeon Minha straight into hell.

“You are… the child my beloved sister gave birth to herself.”

“Ah, ah…”

Unable to endure any longer, Yeon Minha collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees.

Her hands trembled as she clutched at the dirt.

“But… Aunt passed away in an accident…”

“It was an accident alright. She died giving birth to you from difficult labor.”

As if clinging to the last thread of hope, she asked again in a stammering voice, but the man’s answer only plunged her deeper into the pit.

“Why, why did you and Aunt…”

“…We loved each other more than anyone else. We were each other’s everything in this world.”

For the first time, a hint of moisture crept into the man’s dry words.

“We were always together. In childhood, during our time at the Cradle, even when dealing with the dregs of Paechun together. With her by my side, there was nothing to fear. Even if it was a trial given by God.”

There was pure affection bordering on madness.

“That’s what… I thought back then.”

But his words suddenly lost momentum and crumbled.

Th i s wa s c opie d f r o m k i n g mt l. o rg
“We were too young. Too naive. I thought we could overcome anything with our love for each other. How could I have known? That the fruit of our love would take everything away. Why did I realize so late…”

It was one of the most basic knowledge learned in biology class at the Cradle.

Inbreeding between those with magical aptitude carried even more extreme risks.

The possibility of offspring with powerful talents was definitively higher, but proportionally, the survival chances of the mother or fetus became extremely low.

At those words filled with piercing resentment, Yeon Minha trembled like someone thrown into a snowy field in the dead of winter.

The man who had been standing blankly for a while raised his head again.

“It was such a painful and lonely time. But that too shall end now. The time is near. Soon that child will be with me again.”

“Time… what do you mean…”

As Yeon Minha asked in bewilderment. Suddenly her father made a vicious expression and whipped his head around.

His gaze lingered on the center of the garden full of luminous plants and shrubs.

“But… it seems a little rat has snuck in.”

-Kwang!
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r om k i ng m t l . o r g

T hi s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n gm tl.o r g
In an instant, wind concentrated at a single point so fiercely it was hard to keep my eyes open. The whirlwind that exploded like a bomb uprooted and shattered the beautifully blooming luminous plants and shrubs.

And as the dust settled, the staggering figure of someone was revealed in that spot.

“Cough… cough…!”

The smooth white mask faintly reflects the light of the luminous plants.

Perhaps due to the shock accumulating once more from the recent strike, the crack drawn on the right eye of the mask had grown even larger, looking precarious.

***

Yeon Minha turned her head and immediately recognized me. She flinched in surprise and made a fearful expression as if she herself was the criminal.

With no other choice, I walked over and stood in front of Yeon Minha who had collapsed to the ground.

“How dare you brazenly set your filthy feet in the main building where only direct descendants may enter. You even eavesdropped on an intimate conversation.”

Then Jeokhwa’s head berated me in an ominous voice.
Th i s w as co p ie d f r o m kin g m t l .o r g

“This year’s recommended student from Black Lotus is truly an ill-mannered and uncouth child. Did you perhaps receive some influence from that ruffian young master? Hmm?”

I ignored his words and turned to Yeon Minha.

Yeon Minha lowered her head deeply when our eyes met, unable to properly continue speaking.

“The… the conversation just now… that is…”

“Cough…! It’s alright. You don’t need to explain.”

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised, but in the end it’s a story that has nothing to do with me. My only concern right now is getting Yeon Minha out of this place.

It would have been nice if things had flowed according to the original plan of waiting until the conversation ended. Did they spread spirits around or something?

“More importantly, can you stand up? We need to get out of here quickly.”

“You, your fever… and those wounds…”

I grabbed Yeon Minha’s hand and pulled to help her up. The ice-cold sensation transmitted clearly.

In contrast, Yeon Minha staggered as she stood up and looked at me with a surprised expression.

Due to the poison on the demon’s claws, the wounds all over my body had not healed and dark red blood was still oozing out.

“How presumptuous. Do you think I will allow that?”

Yeon Jeongmun, the head of Jeokhwa, no longer hid his hostile attitude.

“I cannot let a petty thief who brazenly entered Jeokhwa’s main building and eavesdropped on confidential matters go free.”

His displeasure was clearly conveyed through his tone.

T h is was c o p i e d f r om k i n g m t l . o r g
“You shall receive a punishment befitting your wrongdoing. And that price can only be paid with death.”

“Father…! What are you saying…!”

I stepped forward again, blocking the shocked Yeon Minha. I don’t want to criticize her father in front of her, but…

The wrongs he committed were too great and horrific to be covered by my hand.

“The one who should be punished is you, Head of Jeokhwa.”

“What nonsense is that…”

“The plague magic formula.”

He stood stock-still like a wax figure, clearly not expecting those words to come out of my mouth.

Soon his face contorted like a vicious demon, as if his most unwanted secret had been exposed.

End of Chapter