There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 120

‘It’s all your fault, Cassis de Millang! It’s because of you that I was dropped from Class A. It’s because of you that I’m being ridiculed by those worthless punks. It’s all you! Because of you!’

To explain Georges Bontemps as a poor friend who was cast aside after trying to find common ground with Cassis de Millang over the fact that Korean was the official language of Are-A Academy, only to awaken his inner Korean… is to call a complicated bastard just that. First of all, his personal disposition is foul, his hobby is beating up the weak, and his family embezzled de Millang’s money. And evidence was even found that he was in contact with a monster.

Thus, the Bontemps family completely lost its value as a noble house.

And yet, Georges is still attending Are-A Academy. It was an unbelievable fact for some, but it was nevertheless true.

Of course, his school life was not smooth. The price for messing with the de Millang’s young lord was not just severe, it was extremely harsh.

Georges Bontemps, who had expected to command Are-A while receiving everyone’s attention, had become just another academy student.

This was an impossible thing for Georges Bontemps.

‘Damn it… That damn young lord!’

It did not take long for feelings that had been a matter of factions, strategy, and picking the right side to turn into a burning hatred. The wise strategy would have been to wash his hands of it and give up while he was still alive, but what Georges chose was the exact opposite.

He didn’t care about factions anymore. As long as he could harm Cassis de Millang.

As long as he could see that composed face twist and despair.

Georges Bontemps would do anything.

That was the reason why Georges had doggedly participated in the school trip, enduring the humiliation.

‘This time, I’ll kill him for sure.’

He glared in the direction where Cassis would be with bloodshot eyes. Cassis would not even feel his presence, but that did not matter.

Die while you’re off guard like that.

There was a reason for this confidence.

‘The informants, those guys.’

There were three de Millang informants attached to Cassis’s side. They would never dream that Georges could also see that information.

As if they had a conscience, they only provided trivial and trashy information, but if you put it all together, you could get a pretty decent picture.

‘And… I have an ally in the academy.’

This was not so certain. But it was impossible to harm him with only the information from the three hangers-on beside the young lord. He couldn’t even make an attempt. And this school trip… for some reason, he had received unknown help before, and that would have been impossible unless it was from an academy student.

‘Who on earth is it?’

No matter how much he searched, he could not find out that much, and Georges had given up long ago. But he was certain that he and that person wanted something similar.

The ruin of Cassis de Millang, that alone must be the goal.

‘Go on and enjoy your little love affair, young lord… That will be your last!’

Whether Georges made such a resolution or not, Cassis was now at peace.

That was a given. There was no way that Cassis de Millang would be truly affected just because someone like Georges held a grudge.

By the time the second night of the school trip arrived, no one was wandering around outside their rooms; they were all behaving and quietly killing time inside.

The atmosphere had become the worst it could be because of the second day’s program, which was neither fun nor moving.

‘No, wait a minute. Are they all treading carefully because I’m pissed off?’

Uh, actually, I could tolerate it being neither fun nor moving. But I started to get annoyed from the moment we got into a fight with students from another academy while wandering around Gyeongju.

“Their discipline is very lax.”

“So the reputation of Are-A is just for show. Hmph.”

“We of Mirinae Academy will soon crush you and show you who the true strong ones are.”

I had heard that Mirinae Academy, which was established near Mount Baekdu, enforced discipline almost like a military academy. So I could understand why kids acted like that. But then, some bastard properly crossed the line.

Not from a renowned family, but a noble house? Even among noble houses, a somewhat lower-ranking, not-even-in-the-same-class bastard.

He dared to bring up a conspiracy theory that the events in the dungeon were fabricated.

‘Fucking piece of shit.’

I don’t get angry when I’m saddled with wicked and strange rumors. Cassis de Millang is a mastermind anyway, so there was nothing to fear from more rumors. I could crush kids like that sufficiently even while smiling sweetly. Disgrace and misunderstanding were already my daily life.

But to say the events in the dungeon were fabricated?

That wasn’t just an insult to me!

It was an insult to all the people who survived there, and all the people who died there.

‘And even to Ryuseong!’

I smiled and pointed at them with my fingertip, and what stopped the impending bloodshed was not the Are-A professors or the professors from that other academy who were supervising the school trip… but Ryuseong.

My heart sank with a thud when Ryuseong, knowing nothing, stepped in front of the curse Professor Dohyeon had taught me. What if he got hit? Why did he intervene so dangerously? Was it because my tongue was stiff for no reason? A cold voice came out of my mouth on its own.

“Step aside. You can’t possibly be telling me to show mercy to those who dared to insult me, can you?”

“Calm down.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am being very rational.”

I had no intention of backing down so easily.

But Ryuseong said this.

“For your own sake,”

Is it because you’re worried a rumor will spread that I killed someone again? I didn’t care. ‘Cassis de Millang’ was an unpredictable bastard, and he was someone who could go on a killing spree right after doing a good deed that moved the entire world. I had no honor to speak of already, and wouldn’t it be a good thing if at least my infamy grew stronger? There is nothing you can do for my sake.

However, at Ryuseong’s next words, I had no choice but to withdraw my mana in the end.

“And for my sake as well.”

I had absolutely no intention of backing down meekly. But I gathered my mana. Why? Because Ryuseong said so. To stop for his sake. Because Ryuseong, who doesn’t say such things often, said so while looking into my eyes.

For those vermin-like bastards, he used such heavy words.

‘…It’s unfair.’

Unfair, unfair. Various thoughts came and went. Ryuseong, why should I stop for you? You were insulted, so why should I stop? Why are such heavy words directed at bastards like that? Why should I listen to you?

…But even while thinking this, the current me is the one who withdraws his mana.

‘That is what’s unbearably frustrating.’

Why must I lose to you?

As a result, Ryuseong and I were in a subtle cold war for the entire time we were returning to our lodgings after finishing the second day’s program. After that, the students, full of complaints, began to come in one by one.

But they too, for some reason, gradually quieted down one by one.

‘This is it, they’ve all quieted down because I’m in a low-pressure zone.’

A normal person would have to feel sorry at this point.

But do I care? I don’t like it when it’s noisy, so just read my mood. Keep your mouths shut.

Go on, if anyone just tries to pick a fight…

“Want to go outside for a bit?”

But my resolution failed to be realized yet again. Because the one who spoke was Ryuseong.

I smiled at Ryuseong and replied.

“No, I don’t want to?”

“Why?”

Even Ryuseong, asking that, didn’t seem to not know the reason.

That was what was most annoying.

“Do I really need to report the reason why I don’t want to…?”

“I just wanted to get some air with you for a bit.”

“…”

“It’s a place with a clear view of downtown Gyeongju.”

The cowardly bastard. If he had tried to persuade me, it would have been a long shot. It would have just annoyed me more. But Ryuseong said he wanted to get some air together, and he had even picked out his own fancy spot. A guy with zero sense of atmosphere, a guy who had been running around busy all day, makes a move, suggesting we go to a place he’s scouted out, from who knows when. Cutely.

I’m the biggest idiot for falling for such an obvious temptation, fuck.

The place Ryuseong took me was, literally, a hill with a clear view of downtown Gyeongju. It was the middle of the night now, and the night view of the city going about its daily life was quite…

‘Commonplace.’

There were tons of places with pretty night views. I’ve been to Gyeongju several times before my transmigration, so do I really need to be impressed by the night view all over again? But the night views of the city I had encountered at other times did not have Ryuseong by my side. Here and now, Ryuseong was by my side.

That alone gave this night view a certain meaning and changed my impression of it.

‘…It’s beautiful.’

If so, not just the night view, but many other things too… would their meaning change if Ryuseong was by my side?