Struggling as a Villain

The headmaster of the academy, Marcus Blackwood, was one of the strongest magicians in the world and someone who could rival the infamous Witch of Calamity.

He has that experience of several wars and teaching numerous children over the years that allows him to look at any situation from different perspectives. Someone who has retained the position of Obsidian as the number one academy in the world, Marcus does a very brilliant job as the headmaster.

And now, another situation has arisen which has to be dealt with carefully.

"Headmaster?!" Richard instantly straightened his back upon seeing him inside his room.

"Good reflexes," Marcus complimented while gazing at Richard's hand, which was under his pillow, and under that pillow rested a long seven-inch dagger.

Richard slowly removed his hand from the dagger before getting up from the bed and asking the man, "I assume you are not here, right?" Richard's question arises from the fact that his mental barrier was ringing inside his head and the people around him were all frozen.

The man was present in his subconscious mind.

The white-haired man took the seat across from Richard before telling him, "You have keen senses as well, something which I was expecting from Bella's child."

"You were her teacher, right? I heard it from her." Richard also settled down on the bed and conversed with the man in a slightly relaxed manner. His mental fortitude, unlike yesterday, was working fine, and even if the man tried to dwell on his memories, Richard had prepared for that, as well.

"Yes, and along with her, there were many whom I used to teach. Some of your instructors were also part of that batch."

Richard was aware, so he just nodded.

Marcus draped his leg over the other and rested his hands over his knee, before asking him, "Do you know what made Bellarine an exception in those days?"

"Her red hair and fiery personality?"

Marcus chuckled, "Yes, that as well. But along with that, Bellarine had a craze for learning. She just memorized whatever the teachers had to offer and swallowed every bit of knowledge which the academy provided her."

Richard nodded, "Ah, yes, she still carries some books related to wizardry whenever she travels."

Marcus nodded with a smile; feeling relieved that the son had a good relationship with his mother.

Taking a pause, Marcus told the boy, "However Richard, based on my fondness towards Bellarine, I won't be favouring you in this matter."

Richard sobered up and slowly nodded, "I don't expect you to be partial towards me in the first place."

Marcus nodded, before he finally asked, "Last night, did you see something entering your room?"

"Yes, I did. And I am aware that it was the same person who cast that spell on me."

"A mind-influencing magic that makes you see your biggest nightmare? I have heard about it." Marcus instantly responded, making Richard slightly surprised.

"Did you read my mind, Headmaster?" The teenager asked only for the older one to shake his head in denial and inform him,

"I have my eyes on the academy and whatever happens with my students. So I know what happened to you last night. But since I don't particularly look for every student every time, I couldn't tell who the intruder was."

"But I know," Richard followed. His conviction took Marcus by surprise.

However, rather than asking Richard about it right away, Marcus told him, "Meet me in my office after school. We will discuss this matter over there," His figure faded and those words remained hanging in the air.

Richard heaved a sigh before he found the people around him finally regained their movement.

"M-Master?" Lilia was startled to see him suddenly sitting on the bed, as she dropped the blankets she was holding and instantly advanced towards him.

Richard opened his arms and collected his dear maid in a soft embrace.

There haven't been many occurrences when he saw Lilia crying, yet none of those occurrences ever made him feel good. Making Lilia cry was a taboo for him.

"I am fine, I promise. So just stop crying and look at me."

Lilia wasn't an immature girl who would pester her lord with her worries. She collected herself and slowly detached from him.

Richard softly wiped her tears and asked the girl, "How is your condition? Do you feel sluggish?"

"No, everything is fine now. I rested enough and thanks to others help, I was able to recover well."

When she mentioned 'others' Richard's mind suddenly went towards the other servants as he hurriedly asked, "Last night....who was the one that tried to stop me?"

Lilia looked down, hearing that, and hesitation became evident from her reaction, urging Richard to add, "Just tell me, Lilia, or you know I would somehow find it out."

The brunette sighed before she informed him, "It was Violet...who, despite your resistance, kept on trying to get you back."

Richard frowned. He clearly remembered that while he was in that dream, someone was tugging his clothes and pulling him...and if that person was Violet,

"Where is she? I need to see her."

Lilia slowly rose from the bed while holding his hand and said, "Follow me." She didn't resist his wish since she knew it would only make her master guilty of what he ended up doing if he couldn't see Violet. That's why she led him to the room where Violet was getting treated.

Richard stood at the entrance and looked at the burnt body of Violet. Her pale skin was charred from several spots and she looked like in pain even while in sleep.

**GRAB**

Clutching the door handle with enough force to change its shape, Richard cursed himself for being so careless.

Lilia softly held his hand before informing him, "She didn't want to be seen like this, especially by you, master. So, if possible, pretend that you didn't see her wounds."

"And pretend that I never hurt her?" Richard asked, in a bit annoyed tone. But the annoyance wasn't directed toward Lilia.

Lilia remained standing silently there and allowed her lord to calm his raging mind.

Richard took a minute to compose himself before he exhaled an audible breath and told her, "Prepare my uniform, Lilia, I am going to the Academy."

"Understood."

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"Someone attacked you, and the security guards don't know anything?" It was surprising that Amelia didn't know about it. However, considering her social skills, it was given she wouldn't hear anything from the others about the incident last night.

Nodding to her question, he added, "Yep, they were apparently getting drunk when the intruder arrived. Well, I shouldn't have been reliant on them, given no students get their personal guards on this island."

Amelia wanted to say something but she stopped herself.

Rather, she chose to ask, "Can I come with you to meet the headmaster after school?"

Richard raised his brows before asking, "Why do you want to come?"

Amelia's expression didn't change as she replied, "I want to ensure that fair judgment is made. And also, I want to meet that person who dared to attack you."

The killing intent she released was making the students around them look at them, urging Richard to swiftly change the topic as he said,

"I forgot to tell you, Amelia," Once she glanced at him, Richard added, "You look very pretty in the uniform."

The white shirt under the blazer and the dark blue skirt with a white line tracing the edge gave her a very elegant vibe. And with her hair tied in a ponytail, the girl just adopted the perfect high school look—someone out of a weeb's fantasy.

Tucking her hair strand behind her reddened ear, Amelia said, "Well...I did some make-up to look good so I can confidently walk beside you."

Richard smiled at the girl as he told her, "You can walk beside me as long as you want, regardless of your looks."

The duo kept on chatting(flirting) all the way to the academy, and thanks to that, the atmosphere became lighter and more comfortable as well.

Some students were gathered around the entrance and were currently looking at the notice board to see how many points they got.

Although those who failed have yet to be assigned to a new course, their students' points remained. The general classes were the same for all courses, so based on the student's points, they would get themselves a section of the first year.

Amelia held the strap of her bag tightly before asking Richard, "Shall we go?"

Richard nodded, and along with Amelia, they went to check their results.

Amelia started from the bottom to see where she was and found her name to be on the twenty-eighth with two hundred and seventy points.

'Hmm? From my calculations shouldn't it have been a hundred points less?' Regardless, she was happy to be in the top thirty.

Now, to check Richard's result, she started to look from the top...and it didn't take much time to find his name as Richard was number one on the list.

Name: Scarlette Richard

Points: 3300.

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.