The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 153
“…….”
Mikhail’s face grew heavy after parting with Van.
He knew as well.
The situation surrounding him was far from ordinary.
Something disastrous was about to happen.
‘But what can I possibly do?’
Mikhail thought bitterly.
His situation was akin to that of a condemned prisoner, uncertain when his neck would be severed.
Mikhail’s remaining fate depended on when those who held his life in their grasp decided to strike his neck.
A struggle for survival?
When the whole world wished for his death, what could he possibly do?
‘Why did the Guardian bestow such a prophecy upon me? I never desired the throne.’
It was at this moment that Mikhail clenched his fist tightly.
“I present His Highness, Prince Mikhail, the Third Prince.”
“!!”
Mikhail’s complexion turned pale.
It was Duke Huam!
The person he feared the most.
“…Pleased to see you, Uncle. Please, speak comfortably.”
“Yes, we did see each other at the academy festival not long ago, didn’t we? Though we didn’t get to talk. Have you been well?”
“Thanks to you. I appreciate your concern, Uncle.”
A friendly conversation.
Mikhail’s heart raced violently.
Not because their conversation was a lie.
In reality, the two were close.
While others treated Mikhail like a plague to be avoided, Duke Huam truly treated him like a ‘nephew.’
Yet, Mikhail feared Duke Huam the most.
Even more than the Emperor, who always despised and oppressed him.
It was because of the way Duke Huam looked at him.
Pity.
At first, he didn’t understand the meaning.
Now he does.
Duke Huam pitied him, destined to die without any fault of his own.
Beyond that.
Guilt.
‘Duke Huam is planning to kill me someday.’
Duke Huam was not an absolute villain.
In his childhood, when no one else would associate with him, he was the only one who held his hand and even gave him piggyback rides.
That’s why it was even scarier.
His sword would be heavier than that of any villain.
“I wonder if you’ve been well too, Uncle. At the academy, I…”
“It seems difficult to have a long conversation due to busy schedules. Take care.”
Duke Huam, who usually engaged Mikhail in various small talks to trouble him, was different today.
Mikhail’s heart sank.
There was still no hint of hostility in Duke Huam’s eyes.
They were just heavy. Endlessly so.
‘…So, he’s finally decided to strike against me.’
Given the circumstances, he had guessed as much.
Something surged up from within Mikhail’s chest.
“Uncle, don’t you know? I… I have never desired the throne.”
“Mikhail.”
“If you would just leave me be, I wouldn’t cause any harm to the empire and would live quietly…!”
The pity in Duke Huam’s eyes deepened.
With a bitter expression, yet he broached a topic colder than any words could convey.
“What good does sparing you do for the empire?”
“!!”
“Whether you keep quiet or not isn’t the issue. You haven’t done anything wrong in the first place. It’s just that your existence is harmful to the empire.”
Strength drained from him.
He didn’t know how he managed to return to the academy.
He watched the proceedings of the conference in a daze.
Luckily, being a chairperson, there wasn’t much for him to worry about.
However, Mikhail realized he was not in a position to be at ease.
A renowned philosophy professor from the Peridot Academy’s Department of Humanities had proposed this topic.
“The subject we aim to discuss this time is ‘The Treatment of Those Born with a Blood Destiny.'”
“!!”
Everyone gasped.
There are children born cursed by demons or under the malignant influence of stars.
Such children are highly likely to cause great calamities later in life.
The treatment of these individuals has been a long-debated topic in the philosophical community.
‘They’re targeting me with this topic.’
Mikhail swallowed a hollow laugh.
After all, broadly speaking, he too was born with a similar fate.
‘They’re trying to build public opinion first so that I must be eliminated.’
One by one, they crumble the ground beneath you, eventually ensnaring you in an inescapable noose.
Such is the way of the Ecclesia family.
Soon, the scholars engaged in heated debate.
Unsurprisingly, the argument for ‘merciful execution’ was the prevailing opinion.
That was the moment.
“As the chairperson, what do you think about this issue, Your Highness Mikhail?”
“!!”
“Do you believe that those born with a blood destiny have a right to live? After all, living only to bring about terrible harm. If there is any conscience left, wouldn’t it be right to voluntarily end one’s life?”
Mikhail’s complexion turned ashen.
The scholar was essentially telling Mikhail to take his own life.
Fortunately, Mikhail was very familiar with this kind of situation.
‘Rebutting is not a good idea. Whatever I say will only backfire.’
The wisest move was to completely submit.
To act as though he was entirely in the wrong without knowing what he did wrong, a wretched being who shouldn’t have been born,
Thus begging for his life on the mixed mercy of mockery.
He had done this many times before.
But then.
“!!”
Mikhail flinched.
Van was standing behind.
This was the Department of Humanities conference hall, unrelated to Van, who was a participant from the Department of Magic.
‘He came for me.’
Van didn’t do anything in particular.
He just stood there, slouching, in his usual disdainful manner, simply watching Mikhail.
As if to support him.
Van’s words came to Mikhail’s mind.
Do not forget. Your Highness has done nothing wrong.
Did Van know?
How much those words comforted him.
That’s why.
Mikhail decided to muster up courage he couldn’t normally imagine having.
“To say that those who will commit crimes in the future should rather take their own lives?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you take your own life right now?”
“!!”
“If we’re to consider the mere possibility of committing crimes in the future, wouldn’t you, who are rumored far and wide, even to Ruby, to be taking bribes from students, be in a not-so-favorable position?”
“W-What?!”
Not just the questioning professor, but everyone was shocked.
However, Mikhail did not stop there.
Because Van’s eyes were saying this to him.
Trust me.
“If we were to follow your logic, more than 20% of the children born in the empire would need to be sent to prison preemptively, given the rate at which people commit crimes, big and small, throughout their lives. I suppose a fair number of the professors’ own children present here would need to be imprisoned in advance. If the parents are rotten, it’s unlikely their children would grow up to be righteous.”
“E-Ehh?!”
“The Third Prince has lost his mind!”
“He’s showing his true, wicked nature!!”
The conference hall erupted into chaos.
Reports were immediately sent up to the higher echelons of the royal family, and a decision was made.
He was ordered to be detained as a holder of dangerous ideologies.
Clank.
A knight fastened handcuffs around Mikhail’s wrists.
Regret flooded in too late, but soon his heart settled again.
Because Van was still looking at him.
As if to say, don’t worry.
And then, without stopping there, Van raised his hand in an elegant pose towards Mikhail and gave a thumbs-up.
A sign of ‘well done.’
A thumbs-up.
Mikhail wore a bewildered expression.
‘…How can his thumbs-up be so dignified?’
Amidst the gravity of the situation, Mikhail couldn’t help but smile at the thumbs-up, filled with the Dark Flame Dragon’s swagger and seemingly the coolest thing in the world.
Mikhail secretly returned the gesture, and thus the two friends exchanged thumbs-ups.
Unbeknownst to anyone else at that moment.
It was a signal marking the start of a counterattack.
* * *
I sighed as I watched Mikhail being dragged away.
‘Luckily, it turned out well.’
Originally, the ‘Broken Demon Sword’ episode wasn’t supposed to unfold this way.
The answer lies in doing exactly what Mikhail tried to do: lower oneself as much as possible and seek sympathy and mercy from others.
But, with Duke Huam intervening, that approach wouldn’t work.
‘I need to make as big a scene as possible.’
In truth, such turmoil wouldn’t be advantageous for Mikhail.
It would give them a reason to strike at Mikhail.
However, if used in reverse, the story changes.
I immediately began ‘the work.’
I needed to find a pawn… no, an ally who would move according to my will.
The first pawn I recruited was Brother Ron.
“…You’re asking me to do that? Are you serious?”
“What’s the problem? With your skills, Brother, it shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
“Ha, isn’t it clear that’s not the issue? I could never…”
“Are you afraid of Father?”
“!!”
Ron’s face hardened.
“You…”
“I’ll ask you directly. Why do you think Father favors Mariam as his successor instead of you?”
People say Ron was sidelined because he aligned himself with the wrong faction. Mariam sided with Mikhail, while Ron sided with the Second Prince.
That wasn’t it.
“It’s because of your timid attitude.”
“!!”
“The Ecclesia virtue requires one to be able to bite back at even Father if necessary. If you keep playing it safe, Father’s heart will only grow further from you.”
Ron fell silent.
It’s ironic.
Mariam resents Father. Therefore, she shows her rebellious side to him without hesitation.
Ron is the opposite.
Ron respects Father. He follows Father’s commands without question, whatever they may be.
In another family, he might have been the epitome of a great duke’s son, but unfortunately, what the Ecclesia family head requires is a venomous heart.
“Aren’t you angry, Brother? After being exploited to the fullest, and now they plan to pass the headship to Sister.”
“…Whose side are you on?”
“Obviously, I’m on both of your sides. Aren’t both of you my siblings?”
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
“Why don’t you and your sister join hands in harmony and give Father a good shock?”
Ron looked at me as if I were insane.
But he didn’t reject the idea.
He said he’d think about it, but it seemed more than half convinced.
‘If Ron openly opposes Father, it might reduce the chance of him causing trouble in the future.’
I met with the second pawn candidate.
This time it was a tough opponent.
Demon Brain.
Yes, ‘that’ Demon Brain.
No joke, for real.
“What is it, Brother?”
“I just wanted to have coffee with you after a long time. I heard you visited me when I was sick recently. You must be busy with your studies, thank you.”
For context, Leona, like the other 16 protagonists, is a first-year student at the academy.
She was the top student of the entire Sapphire Academy.
“It’s nothing. What’s studying compared to ‘family’? Of course, I had to come. I’m glad you’re looking better. I was worried.”
Leona responded with an indifferent face.
A mundane reply.
Fitting for one of the worst villain-type protagonists, along with the Slaughterer, I felt it wouldn’t be easy.
But then.
“I’ll cooperate.”
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t you trying to ask me for a favor? I’ll help you.”
I was taken aback.
Leona was smiling.
Brightly, unlike her usual stoic expression.
Chillingly so.
“Brother Van has been kind to me since I was young. I want to help.”
It was a smile like that of a devil’s flower.
