The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 198

Chapter 198 – A Battle Without Help (3)

The atmosphere within the student council had recently taken a turn for the worse.

Incidents related to the heretics were erupting one after another. When one issue was resolved, another would arise, and when that was dealt with, yet another would surface internally, leaving the council members exhausted.

The student council’s credibility was waning by the day. With no end in sight to the string of accidents, the students’ grievances naturally turned toward the council.

Complaints centered on how the student council, which received a significant amount of funding and support from the foundation, seemed to be doing nothing.

Honestly, it wasn’t an unfounded complaint. The results the council had shown so far were disappointingly inadequate, and the student council president, Chartia, couldn’t deny the students’ opinions.

“Sigh…”

Recently, strange rumors had started circulating within the academy. The rumors suggested that one of the academy’s professors might be involved with the heretics.

With the ranking match just around the corner, the piled-up work combined with these ominous rumors weighed heavily on Chartia, who pressed her throbbing forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“Are you all out of your minds?”

“…”

“We set up a disciplinary committee, but you all run off to drink instead. We’re already short-handed because of the budgeting for the ranking match, so it’s ridiculous that the head of the finance department was out drinking too. Do you even have a clue?”

Chartia was furious.

They were in the middle of a busy time, yet staff members were out partying. The ranking match hadn’t even started, but these guys threw a drinking party under the pretense of celebrating. Some of them were still hungover, dozing off, and some were even sprawled out asleep on their desks.

Chartia let out a sigh, feeling disillusioned with the officers showing the worst behavior in the history of the student council.

“This is precisely why the student council as a whole is getting criticized….”

The officers hung their heads at Chartia’s reproach, glancing at each other awkwardly, as if saying, ‘She’s angry today too.’

Chartia sighed deeply. She didn’t even have the strength left to scold them for this anymore.

These lazy members, unconcerned with such an important issue as the ranking match, didn’t seem like responsible adults at all.

Chartia, her voice filled with irritation, addressed the disciplinary committee members standing before her.

“Honestly, I’m seriously questioning whether you all are even adults.”

“We’re sorry.”

“It’s absurd that you’re all adults, yet you can’t even do your jobs properly. Isn’t that right?”

“We’re sorry.”

“I’m not asking for an apology. You must have thoughtlessly done so, right? Am I wrong?”

“…”

“Otherwise, why would you do that? The disciplinary committee’s reputation is already in the toilet, so why would you add fuel to the fire by going to a crowded bar? Sigh…. Just forget it.”

Inwardly, Chartia swallowed down her growing frustration.

Honestly.

Honestly, things were better when *he* was still here.

Chartia massaged her throbbing temples as the image of a man popped into her mind.

“I’ve apprehended the undergarment thief.”

“Hey… what do you think you’re doing, leaving the second son of a count bloodied? Even if he is a thief, you can’t just do that!”

“It’s fine. You’re a duchess. If they have a complaint, they’ll come running. That is, if they manage to keep their heads until then.”

“Are you insane?”

“Isn’t the guy who steals men’s underwear crazier? Anyway, I did as you asked, so you’ll get my penalty reduced, right?”

“…”

“Later.”

Indeed, if that guy were still here, many things would have been different.

He had managed the slackers on the council and dealt with minor crimes. There might have been harsh glares directed at him, but no one could deny his effectiveness when it came to getting things done.

“If anyone has a complaint, take it up with her. Otherwise, sit back and suck your thumb.”

He was crazy, though.

Had Ricardo still been here, Chartia feared she would have relied on him for too much, so she shook off the thought with a heavy heart.

‘Such a shame… I really wanted to keep giving him work.’

But, since there was no way to convince someone who had no intention of returning to the academy, Chartia silently swallowed her regret.

After all, she was one of the people who had hurt Ricardo.

“Uuugh… Don’t ever come back to the academy!”

“Just get lost already!”

“Get out!”

“I get that we made a mistake, but do we really deserve this treatment?”

“…”

“I just don’t understand these students, the academy, or even Her Highness.”

“…”

“We could’ve just quietly left, but… well, what else can we do? We were wrong, so we’ll have to accept it.”

Thinking back on the rash decision she made that ended up hurting Ricardo, Chartia bit her lip and brought up the pressing issue.

The problem of negligence could be addressed later, but right now, she needed to focus on quelling the rumors floating around the academy.

If things continued like this, the student council’s reputation would plummet, much like it did during Olivia’s expulsion, and Chartia was determined to prevent that.

She didn’t want to relive the nightmare of that time. The thought of all the criticism and mistrust being blamed on one person, of hearing all the students’ accusations, terrified her.

In a stern tone, Chartia addressed everyone.

“Have you heard the rumors circulating in the academy recently?”

“…”

“About a professor in the academy being a heretic, you must have heard that.”

One of the disciplinary committee members, who had been silent, chuckled and replied.

“Ah, isn’t that just because there’s been a lot of trouble lately? Our academy has pretty stringent hiring standards for professors, though.”

“…I know. That’s why I’m talking about this.”

Chartia clenched her fists, swallowing her frustration.

It was strange, she thought, that such rumors would arise here, in a place where everyone was aware of the academy’s strict hiring process. Some might claim that she was being overly cautious, but as someone responsible for the students’ safety, Chatia couldn’t afford to take this matter lightly. She had to respond seriously, and so should everyone else in the room.

“Don’t take this lightly. Think about it seriously. If something happens, like what occurred at the ball, who’s going to stop it this time?”

Chartia glared at the officers seated around the table.

“You want to rely on a dropout again, like last time?”

Chartia’s pointed remark made the student council officers react as if they had stepped on a tack, raising their voices in protest.

Especially Rohan, the third-year who oversaw the Swordsmanship Faculty and guided the disciplinary committee, who shouted at Chartia with a clenched fist.

“That’s only because we had stuff going on! We already explained everything back then, so why are you bringing it up again?!”

“So, the people who supposedly had ‘stuff going on’ didn’t even bother evacuating the students and ran away? Do you have any idea how appalled I was when I saw you all bragging about surviving without felling a single heretic soldier? I nearly burst out trying to keep that from becoming gossip…”

‘I was so tempted to just spill everything…’

“Promise you’ll keep this a secret?”

” …”

“Think about the image. The student council’s reputation is already scraping the bottom as it is.”

Chartia remembered Ricardo’s words from the ball and bit her tongue. Since the guy who always passed off his accomplishments under someone else’s name had asked for this favor, she couldn’t just blurt it out. She couldn’t betray him, not after receiving his help.

Moreover, as Ricardo pointed out, if it became widely known that the student council couldn’t put up any fight, a flood of negative articles would follow, so bragging about whose achievements they actually were wasn’t an option. The whole situation just felt contradictory.

Gathering her thoughts, Chartia spoke again.

“Get your act together. The ranking match starts in three hours.”

The student council officers, under Chartia’s stern gaze, slowly began to nod.

All except one person.

“Uh…”

And that was Ruin, the officer from the Magic Faculty.

Chartia looked at Ruin with a puzzled expression. The guy who always had his feet up on the desk was sitting upright for once, raising his hand. It was quite the unusual sight.

Chartia addressed Ruin.

“Why, have you got something to say?”

As everyone’s attention turned to Ruin, he awkwardly lowered his raised hand and shook his head.

“No, nothing.”

“What is it?”

“I was just wondering what we were going to do after the ranking match.”

“Are you kidding?”

Ruin clenched his fists, thinking,

‘No way. I can’t tell them, even if it kills me.’

‘It’s so embarrassing. How could I possibly tell them that I just got schooled while trying to learn dark magic?’

Swallowing his confession, Ruin lowered his head while Chartia gave the final warning wrapped with encouragement to the officers.

“As you all know, the ranking match is an important event involving both first- and fourth-year students.”

Chartia, in a tone that permitted no objection, continued.

“Don’t slack off and lose. Got it?”

The last student council meeting before the start of the ranking match ended just like that.

*

Left alone in the conference room, Chartia sat in her chair, biting her nails in a sudden wave of nervousness.

“What is this feeling?”

She felt uneasy. The sense that something bad was about to happen wouldn’t leave her mind, making it hard to focus on her work.

That nagging sense of dread kept her from settling down, and she sat, deep in thought, chewing on her fingernails.

After ten minutes.

After twenty minutes.

Finally, Chartia noticed a small envelope on the desk.

It was a brown envelope, neatly sealed with wax. Chartia remembered it as the letter Ricardo had left when he came to collect his payment.

“Why didn’t you pay me?”

“Sorry, I got really busy.”

“Do you even know that you and I rely on this money to survive?”

“Uh…?”

“Just kidding.”

“Are you insane?”

“No. By the way, this is a letter I’ve written to express my feelings. I’ve poured all my frustration about not getting paid into it, so please make sure to read it.”

“No thanks. Take it with you.”

“Not a chance.”

She hadn’t had a chance to read it because of how busy things had been, but now seemed like a good time, so Chartia gave a small smile and reached for the letter.

“You know I won’t even get it, so why’d you write a letter?”

It’s not even funny.

It’s probably just some insults.

With a light heart, Chartia began to open Ricardo’s letter. As the contents slowly revealed themselves, Chartia gingerly pulled out the letter.

“His handwriting is atrocious…”

It took two hours just to decipher his scribbles.

[Don’t you think Professor Shulia seems a bit off? I ran into her today; she was grinning while looking through some weird book. Not my cup of tea, though….]

The moment she finished reading that, Chartia grabbed her coat and bolted toward the arena.

[Just be careful out there.]

[I’m a bit busy today.]

*

The arena echoed with the cheers of the crowd.

Ruin, his head bowed in nerves, clenched his fists as he watched his first opponent.

-This time, Ruin from the Magic Faculty will be facing none other than…!

“Shit.”

-Michail!

Nothing was going right.

End of Chapter.