The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 20.2
Lyran sneered.
‘I worried that the Ruby Academy might fall into the hands of darkness.’
Lyran thought Van would detest hearing such thoughts.
‘But with the Young Duke here, it was unnecessary worry.’
Of course, Van’s power was still vastly inadequate compared to the darkness entrenched in the academy.
However, Lyran had no thought that Van would succumb to the darkness.
It was her intuition that made her designate him as the ‘chosen one.’
‘Not only that. Young Van’s name will resonate throughout the entire capital from now on.’
People, intoxicated by peace, were unaware, but in the near future, turmoil would befall the capital.
Van would stand as a great hero in that turmoil.
‘We cannot fall behind Young Van.’
Lyran’s gaze sharpened.
“Are you ready to carry out the Young Duke’s instructions?”
“Yes, master.”
“Then, begin immediately.”
Lyran commanded coldly.
“Utilize all the capabilities and connections of the Dragon Stronghold to spread rumors about Professor Valic.”
* * *
Valic had been enjoying pleasant days recently.
‘That arrogant Van. Daring to prance around without even knowing the subject.’
Honestly, Van’s performance that day in the lecture hall was impressive.
He solved the enigma of basic magical studies, after all.
Professor Valic, can we really give him a score of zero?
Zero is a bit…
Some professors expressed displeasure, but what did it matter?
The Ruby Academy was already halfway under the control of the Rapalt Duchy.
Handling such a crowd was entirely possible.
‘Later, there might be complaints from the Ecclesia family, but we’ll just handle covering it.’’
Was he in a good mood because of that reason?
Today, the weather seemed unusually sunny.
While leisurely walking through the courtyard as part of a stroll, something caught his attention.
Strangely, people kept stealing glances at him.
‘Am I looking handsome today? Anyway, being too good-looking can be troublesome.’
At first, Valic brushed it off with a good mood, but gradually, it began to bother him.
It wasn’t friendly glances.
“There’s Professor Valic.”
“Is it true? Ugh, he’s making eye contact.”
“I never expected a day would come when I’d feel sorry for Lord Van.”
What kind of talk was this?
As he felt more and more awkward, urgent voices reached his ears.
“Professor Valic!”
“Oh, Director.”
It was Count Werner.
As the younger brother of the Rapalt Duke, he held the position of director at the Ruby Academy with a noble lineage far surpassing Valic’s.
Valic politely nodded, but Werner, unexpectedly, made a move he hadn’t anticipated.
Thwack!!
Valic’s face was slapped.
“Uncle, Director? No, Uncl…”
“Shut up!!! I’ve never had a nephew like you! What the hell have you been up to?!”
“Why, why are you doing this?”
“Hah!! Do you not know what rumors are circulating in the city right now?!”
And then.
Upon hearing the story from the Director’s mouth, Valic’s face turned pale.
All the misdeeds he had committed secretly were now exposed, spreading as rumors.
Especially the wrongs he had done to Van.
* * *
I whistled.
“As expected. Leaving Sarong Castle, and it’s straight to the point.”
It was not to be ignored just because it was the slums.
This free city was entwined with threads of light and darkness like a spider’s web.
There were countless people associated with the slums.
‘Of course, the fact that the rumors spread so dramatically is all Valic, that bastard.’
Valic was no less trash than Van.
The only difference was that Valic was smart and cunning.
He had committed all sorts of misdeeds since his time at the academy, but he skillfully avoided responsibility by carrying the favor of the Rapalt Duke.
‘Thanks to him, many people secretly suffered.’
‘Watcher’ Liran was the eyes of the rebellion.
Later, it was said that Valic had collected evidence of his wrongdoings to use as leverage against the Rapalt Duchy.
With evidence in hand, it would be difficult to deny the rumors.
“So, are you saying that all the wrongs Van committed during his school days were framed by that bastard Valic?”
“Well, not everything. Van is also trash. Still, it seems that Valic is more of a bastard.”
“Ha, could it be that Professor Valic was more of a trash than Van, the trashiest noble?”
… Unfortunately, a complete image change seemed impossible.
Well, it didn’t matter.
It was enough to achieve the goal.
“It seems that this time, Van failed the appointment test because of Valic’s ridiculous plot.”
“Huh, is that true?”
“Yeah, Van showed an amazing performance on the test, but they gave him a score of 0.”
“Yeah, even though he solved one of the hardest fundamental problems of magic, they gave him a score of 0. He should have received a perfect score.”
Such rumors have spread like wildfire.
Suggesting that my failure was manipulated.
‘If these rumors circulate, Ruby Academy, more precisely, the Board, will likely feel the pressure.’
Currently, Ruby Academy is divided into two factions.
The Board, under the control of Duke Lafitte.
The rest aligns with the traditional Headmaster faction.
The Board played a leading role in orchestrating my failure.
‘The Board doesn’t have complete control over the academy. If things continue like this, they might provide leverage to the Headmaster faction.’
There is a high possibility of them trying to reach an agreement with me.
“Master, what will you do now? Will you negotiate with those Board members?”
“No, not now.”
“Master?”
I explained the ‘truth of negotiations’ I learned in social life.
“Hans, to negotiate well, do you know when to do it? It’s when you stand firmly in the position of strength.”
I couldn’t claim to be a perfect power yet.
‘Soon, an angel will come to make me a perfect power.’
Indeed.
It happened when I was walking alone along a secluded riverside after parting ways with Hans.
A sinister voice reached my ears.
“Van, you bastard…”
Eyes gleaming ominously as if about to spark a conflict.
“Immediately testify that the rumors about me are false. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right here.”
It was none other than the ‘angel’ Valic.
