Chapter 29

Chapter 28

Villain? Young-Ae - 2

For a moment, I thought it was the weekend or already club time. It’s strange, I’m sure it’s class time. Why is a student here? Can the vice president skip class like this?

I looked at Margareta with eyes full of doubt and disbelief, and she tilted her head.

"Karl Young-sik. Are you going to keep your guest standing? You’ve become quite rough since the last time we met."

Her tone was scolding, but the laughter in her eyes couldn’t be hidden. Her exaggerated tilt of the head and her tone made her eyes curve like a crescent moon. I almost laughed at the sudden visit and the joke, but in any case, she is a guest.

"Of course not. Please, have a seat. I’ll bring some tea."

"No, it’s fine. I’ll be leaving soon."

"Is that so?"

That’s good news.

I nodded and sat opposite Margareta. Fortunately, she said she would leave soon, so it seems she only wants to talk about her business. I don’t know why Margareta came at this time, but I was planning to visit her anyway. It’s embarrassing, but it’s not a bad thing.

I looked at Margareta, who still had a smile on her face and said nothing. No, shouldn’t you first talk about your business since you came as a guest?

"I didn’t expect to see you at this time. Did something urgent come up?"

"Do we have to meet only when it’s urgent?"

"It doesn’t seem like we’ve become that close after a year."

"If we even talked about marriage, it’s not just a casual relationship."

I shuddered at her sudden attack, and Margareta laughed softly, saying it was a joke. The princess might have thrown the stone without thinking, but the poor civil servant could die from it. I wish the princess in front of me understood that.

I sighed softly, and a chuckling sound came from her. When I first met her, she wasn’t like this, but at some point, she started to tease and joke around. As a princess loved by the Iron Blood Duke, I couldn’t ignore or counter her jokes.

Margareta wouldn’t know how I felt when I rejected the marriage proposal suggested by the Iron Blood Duke. I was afraid she might suddenly change and strangle me, saying, "How dare you reject me!"

I even had nightmares about being hanged in front of the ducal palace by the angry Iron Blood Duke. It was terrifying, but fortunately, nothing happened so far.

"Actually, I came because I have a favor to ask of Karl Young-sik."

"I’m all ears."

"Are you aware that the club fair is coming up soon?"

I know. Even though I’m just a nominal advisor, I’m aware of the schedule as an advisor.

I couldn’t help but know, especially since Louise has been talking about making and showcasing various things at the fair for the past few days. I nodded, recalling Louise’s voice, and Margareta continued.

"The club fair isn’t just an internal event of the academy. It’s a social gathering where noble graduates can meet and interact with current noble students through the clubs."

I don’t understand that.

I couldn’t help but agree with Margareta’s words, even though I added a shrug. Why do they need to climb up to the club level when they will spend decades in the social world anyway? I understand their desire to strengthen factions and discover talent early, but...

"That’s why the student council works hard every year to prepare for the club fair. The budget is significant, but we can’t be sure if we’re doing it right."

"You must be working hard."

"Indeed, it would be a great help if Karl Young-sik could assist us."

"Really?"

I was taken aback by Margareta’s confident request. Help? Me?

"Me?"

"Yes. Last year, the most time-consuming part was verifying if the budget was allocated correctly. With Karl Young-sik, it would be done quickly."

"But I’m not associated with the student council."

"But you are the academy inspector, right?"

The more I listened to Margareta, the more I felt like I was in a surreal situation. She’s asking me to verify if the budget is being used correctly? Because I’m the academy inspector?

"I’ve never had a request to volunteer for an inspection."

It was an unimaginable request. This is really unique. Everyone tries to avoid inspections, but she’s coming to request one. Margareta maintained her smile even as I looked at her skeptically.

"Why be afraid if we haven’t done anything wrong? I want a professional to verify if the budget is being used correctly. Is it possible, Inspector?"

I felt sorry for Margareta’s hopeful gaze, but I didn’t become the head of the inspection department because of my abilities. My promotion was unique, and I’m quite different from a typical finance minister or inspection department head.

That’s why, right after becoming the head of the inspection department, I was busy dealing with the second prince’s faction externally and the existing mainstream faction of the finance department internally. Thinking about those days still makes me feel dizzy.

...But, Margareta should know this, right? The chaos in the finance department at that time was so famous that even a member of a ducal family would have heard about it. Knowing this, she still wants my help?

My gaze was filled with negative emotions, and Margareta tilted her head, placing the fan in her hand against her cheek.

"Was it too much to ask?"

"If my name is attached to the student council’s achievements, it might diminish their value."

"That’s a shame."

She sighed softly, seemingly ready to give up. This was unexpected. I thought she was determined to come at this time. Well, since she said she did it last year, it might not be absolutely necessary.

"Besides, I can’t promise how long it will take. I don’t know how much time I’ll need to devote to this."

"Mar will do well. You did it last year, didn’t you?"

"Still, it’s a headache when we do it ourselves. Some members of the student council even went out to spread rumors and wandered around for a while. With Karl Young-sik, I could focus on the work."

"..."

I closed my eyes at Margareta’s overt words.

'She’s using this as a bargaining chip.'

On the surface, she’s saying, "It’s hard to work, please help me," but the real intention is clear.

= You’re probably hesitant to visit Louise, but if I help you, I’ll stay put.

If I cooperate, I won’t go to Louise, who is somewhere in the academy, and will focus on the work in the student council room. Wow, such a blunt deal. I can’t help but be impressed.

'It’s that effective.'

Perhaps Margareta’s attack on Louise yesterday was a setup for this. By showing that she can threaten Louise and the club, she’s now asking me to listen to her to remove that threat.

It’s a transparent tactic, but if I refuse, the attack will transform into something more spectacular and target Louise. That would be problematic.

After organizing my thoughts, I smiled lightly and opened my eyes.

"Since Mar is having a hard time, I can’t just stand by. If it’s okay with you, I’ll help."

"Thank you, Karl Young-sik. I knew I could count on you."

"Ha ha ha."

I started a battle with a predetermined outcome from the beginning.

I said I would help, but I didn’t expect her to take me right away. Even if she’s a princess, she’s a student now, so shouldn’t she go back to class?

"The student council is in the student council room preparing for the fair. I came out to bring Karl Young-sik."

I see. Then there’s no choice. Sometimes, there are things more important than class.

I followed Margareta to the student council room, feeling like a slave being led away. Well, it’s better to finish quickly. There’s no reason to stay in the club room if it’s not club time.

Margareta, who had already arrived at the student council room, knocked a few times on the door and then burst in before getting a response. What’s the point of knocking if you’re going to do that?

I glanced inside the student council room and saw that six people were already gathered. The student council has seven members, including Margareta. I didn’t pay much attention to them, but I didn’t expect to meet all of them. This is quite awkward.

"Vice President. Who is the person outside?"

The male student sitting at the head of the table, probably the president, looked at me awkwardly. What’s wrong with you? If you’re the one who asked for help, you should have expected this. Margareta, who came to get me, naturally brought me along.

"That’s Inspector Karl Krasius, the advisor of the baking club. I brought him to seek advice on the budget for this fair."

As I entered the student council room, my eyes met the president’s. His eyes widened in shock, and the other five members had similar reactions.

Oh, no.

"Mar, wasn’t it agreed that the student council would listen to my advice?"

"No."

The "no" seemed to imply, "Why do I need agreement for something I decided?"

I looked at Margareta, who was staring at me as if wondering why I was asking such a question, and then turned my gaze to the president.

His pale face and stiff body. From the president’s perspective, this must be a sudden and unexpected situation. Not only is the vice president, who is a princess, hard to deal with, but she suddenly brought an inspector. It could be interpreted as, "I don’t like you, so I brought someone to take you down."

But that’s a misunderstanding. I’ve been avoiding the club room to prevent my presence from threatening the students. I’ve been living a reclusive life, meeting only the club members. If I had known this was Margareta’s unilateral decision, I wouldn’t have come so lightly...

I nodded slightly, feeling apologetic, and the president closed his eyes tightly.

What are you thinking? That’s not it.

I almost sighed but held it back. Sighing in this situation would make the president bow his head immediately.

Author’s Note

In the comments yesterday, I thanked a supporter whose nickname included the word "papa." That wasn’t a big deal, but the problem was that I also mentioned my father in the comments.

This coincidence led some readers to have a small misunderstanding.

To clear up the misunderstanding, the supporter is really just a kind reader passing by... Well, if I were in the readers’ position, I might think, "What if?" But it’s really not that.

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Thank you, Orange Juice, for your support!