I’m a Villainess but So Popular

“I was wondering if you could see my mana. I’ve always wondered how much it is.”

“Ah……didn’t you measure it before you entered the school?”

“Yes, but I don’t know exactly because there was some problem with the measuring machine. And then I never really measured my mana again.”

I did not necessarily say that the measuring machine exploded in the middle. Because I felt like I was bragging uselessly.

“Uh… Really? Well, that machine won’t break that easy.”

“I don’t know what happened either. The machine just broke down when my mana got checked.”

At that moment a bewildered expression passed over Cassius’ face.

‘What is it?’

And his lips, which had opened as if to say something, soon closed.

“Oh, is there something strange?”

“Ah? Ah, no. Nothing.”

Then Cassius said, clearing his voice with a big cough.

“Well, you have more mana than others. You’re one of the top seven heirs.”

“Oh, really?”

“You’ve already seen it at the successor ceremony. Your flame was stronger than the other successors.”

“Well……but a little high, no, I mean. Is it abnormally high? Is it possible for a human to have that much mana, like to that extent it looks impossible?”

And Cassius looked at me with his golden eyes shining in the dark and answered in a slightly hoarse voice.

“……not to that extent.”

“Really?”

First of all, I was relieved.

After finishing the mana measurement, it seems that I was overly worried to think that I might be being taken as a test object somewhere because of an abnormally large number of mana.

“But, didn’t you see the monster’s mana?”

“I saw it. That’s why I told you to avoid it.”

“Those monsters, they must have had a lot of mana, huh?”

“Yes. More than I imagined, objectively, I thought it was hard for us to win against. You guys fought well.”

“What you saw back then, shouldn’t you report to the Academy? If that monster comes back in, a lot of people might get hurt then.”

“I’m thinking about it anyway. You said you’d call everyone who was there tomorrow anyway.”

Cassius raised himself and talked.

“I hope the investigation will be done soon. Honestly, I really don’t want this to happen again.”

“I think the investigation itself will be quick. The fact that there was an intruder is a huge disgrace to the Academy, and it is not anyone else but 7 families heirs who almost died fighting.”

At the end of the sentence, Cassius was ready to go out with a cape and pressed down his hood.

“I think I’ve got to get going now, Yerine, it’s already too late.”

“Don’t you need to disguise yourself when you return?”

“I only borrowed one dose. Rayl said it’s too precious and he can only give me that much.”

When Cassius smiled and joked, I burst out laughing without realizing it.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay. It’s too obvious, everyone would recognize immediately, it’s Cassius on a cape.”

“Well, I’ll try my best not to run into anyone else.”

“You should be, otherwise, one might see that the 2nd Prince broke into the Academy’s girls’ dormitory, and it would be a huge gossip.”

“It’s all right. I won’t deny it.”

Cassius said at the door with a mischievous smile. So he said his last farewell to me and tried to open the door and go out into the hallway.

“But from now on… This accident won’t happen anymore, right?”

At the moment Cassius hesitated and did not move with his hands still on the doorknob.

“Yerine.”

“Yes?”

His golden eyes, who looked back, had a worrisome glow, unlike when he was joking around.

“I said it before. That there was an intruder would be a great disgrace to the Academy.”

“Is that so?

“You know it, right? That the security’s system here is very tight.”

Of course, I know. So I know that outsiders have to go through a very complicated process to meet an Academy student.

As I nodded, Cassius sighed and spoke in a subdued voice.

“So far, there haven’t been many intruders in the Academy. It was very rare, and it’s not easy to break through that security.”

Only then could I see what Cassius was trying to say.

“No way, are you saying there was an insider who helps them-”

“Yes. Maybe the intruder was from inside the Academy.”

“That’s ridiculous. Shouldn’t we find the culprit quickly then?”

“I agree, but I don’t know how it’ll turn out. If it turns out that it’s right the intruder is from within the Academy and we know that the culprit might send something even bigger than those monsters.”

Turning around and looking straight ahead, I heard a shrill voice over his dark back head.

“So to be honest, I don’t know who to trust, and there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again.”

“…….”

“So…”

Once again, the golden eyes, which seemed a little tearful, captured me.

“Be careful, Yerine. I will, too.”

On this night, when the wind was full of only the sound of the leaves, such a heavy stillness sank into the darkroom.

***

‘Is it really okay to be going like this… .’

The investigation did not take much time.

Cassius and the other successors each gave a detailed explanation of the situation at the time to the professor, and the professors took our statement with serious faces.

I heard that the 7 Imperial families also complained directly to the Academy. It must have been quite embarrassing for the Academy, which values honour very much.

But even after the investigation, I felt uncomfortable.

Thinking that there was an insider within the Academy as Cassius said and that the insider might be one of the professors, I wondered what the investigation meant.

‘No, going to school at the risk of my life, this is a little too much.’

At the moment when I wondered if I was lucky to be possessed by a strong character, I heard Eugene’s popping voice.

“Hey, Spade, get a hold of yourself. How could you skip writing down the Thursday journal?”

The voice flashed through my mind.

“Oh, you’re right. Sorry.”

“When you write down the journal, please focus on it.”

“Oh, yes.”

I answered roughly and cast a correction spell to erase my previous notes.

“Just hang in there a little longer, as long as you’re done with it.”

“What?”

“You just need to write this down and this will be over, so hang in there a little longer.”

“Did you eat something wrong?”

That Eugene Ace, who’s so impatient to see me, gives me words of encouragement? That couldn’t have happened.

‘Is this man an intruder? Is he taking Eugene away and pretending to be like him?’

Now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous, but I was so embarrassed that I thought that way.

“No, I had dinner with you guys. ‘Cause the damn Rayl guy forced me and pulled me with him.”

“Are you sick, then? Why would you say something encouraging to me?”

“…….”

At that time I asked the question with a real, pure intention. Eugene, however, seems to have been quite shocked.

For a while, his face staring at me was very similar to my expression when the reality hit me hard.

Then he sighed unquestionably, sweeping his silvery hair with one hand.

“Hey, what have you thought of me so far?”

“First of all, I didn’t think you had the personality to say such a sweet thing to me.”

“You speak so beautifully.”

No, honestly, I don’t think the person who told me not to run wild without even knowing my place at the first meeting would say that.

While I thought so inwardly, Eugene was holding his forehead with one hand and closing his eyes. Soon there was a low, slightly drained voice.

“……yes, it’s my fault.”

At that moment I thought I had misheard it.

But Eugene did not stop there, but spoke clearly, with his blue eyes pointing at me.

“I’ve been sorry for everything until now, Spade.”

Apparently, he was apologizing to me.

But why? No, why to me?

I was so surprised that I couldn’t find the right words, and asked Eugene, almost as if I were screaming.

“Wh, what?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you look strange. Let’s go to the infirmary. I think you’ve got a fever-”

I jumped out of the chair and said, grabbing Eugene’s arm.

“Oh, come on! I’m much soberer than you, so just listen!”

Eugene eventually couldn’t stand it and shouted.

“That, that’s weird. It’s the usual Eugene but…..”

“Oh, really…… First of all, just sit down. Please.”

Eugene grabbed me by the arm and pulled me down slightly and talked. Eventually, I had to sit back in the chair.

“I’m not sick, I’m serious, so listen.”

His lowered voice was serious and calm.

“I’m sorry, really.”

It was heavy, unshakable words like a rock. Like him, who is always looking at his goal and sticking to his own path without wavering.

“……why are you sorry?”

“I’m just sorry for many things, and I’ve been picking a fight with you….”

“Huh…”

Eugene’s apologetic attitude was more relaxed and softened than usual. And his unshakable eyes let me know that he was sincerely apologizing.

The man sitting next to me now must have been Eugene Ace, not anyone else.

“I get it for now, but……why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

At my words, Eugene bit his lips and hesitated to answer for a while. Then he opened his mouth, his eyes glued to me again.

“I’ve been wanting to apologize since that day. Since the day the monster appeared.”

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