Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

I was worried that I might get a serious scolding from either the teacher or the captain of the guards for what I did, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Like everything that hadn’t happened at all, the incident of that day gradually faded from my memory.

Once we started talking, we became relatively close, considering the experience we had gone through together.

Yeon was still as aloof as a cat. However, at least she didn’t hurl bad words at me out of nowhere like before.

In class, my seat was now next to Yeon. When I spoke, she stared intently at me and occasionally responded with short answers.

I thought that if things continued like this, her personality might really change. However, not everything always goes well.

The kids in the class were curious about our close friendship. My best friends, Jin Ho and Ina, were no exception.

And while I didn’t care about what the other kids thought, I did want to introduce Yeon to them.

Since they were good friends who had approached me first, I naturally thought they would treat Yeon well too.

But it was Yeon who rejected the new friends. She didn’t just refrain from using harsh words; she still acted arrogantly and haughtily toward the other kids.

This also included Jin Ho and Ina. Instead, she kept trying to prevent me from spending time with my friends.

I really hated being forced to behave or think a certain way by someone. Yet, for several days, Yeon treated me as if I were her possession.

I expressed my refusal several times, but Yeon just pushed harder. Finally, I declared the termination of our friendship, absolutely furious.

“I won’t talk to you ever again.”

Upon hearing my words, Yeon looked as if she were the victim, her expression full of shock. After that, she didn’t show up at school for three days.

Fed up, I didn’t want to care about what she was doing anymore. What dragged me back was Yeon’s maid, who had once pointed a blade at my neck.

“…Please help the young lady.”

The maid found me on my way home and suddenly bowed. Then she began to plead that her master was on the brink of dying. She had locked herself in her room and was refusing both food and water.

According to her, if they forced their way in, she would probably die, and she had come to me after much deliberation about what to do.

“Besides, you’re the only one she mentioned by name among the students.”

She even choked back tears, saying her master could really die if this continued, considering her poor health.

Although I had declared a cessation of friendship due to her personality, actually letting her die was entirely different.

The maid, seemingly unaware, made me feel like my decision to cut ties with Yeon might be the root of the issue. But I kept my mouth shut to avoid getting into trouble.

After some thoughtful deliberation, I followed the maid to the mansion. As I entered and climbed the ornate stairs, a tightly locked door immediately caught my eye.

Knock knock

“…I told you to leave me alone…”

“Hey. It’s me.”

When I knocked, Yeon’s weak voice came from behind the door.

“Are you coming in?”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, I’m going in anyway.”

“…”

There was still no response. I used the key the maid had given me and went straight into the room.

A surprisingly large and empty room suitable for a child’s solitary living came into view.

“…What do you want?”

Yeon was lying on a big bed placed in the middle of the room. Her voice was faint, like a mosquito buzzing.

It seemed she really hadn’t eaten anything for three days; she looked extremely gaunt.

No matter how much I tried to be tough, seeing her like that made my heart soften.

“Are you an idiot? What’s this nonsense about not eating over our friendship termination?”

“…”

“The maid is so worried about you. I heard you’re already not well. You should eat something right now.”

“I…can’t…move…”

Her frail arm peeked out from under the blanket, lifted slightly, then dropped again with a thud.

“Hey. Seriously, this is too much.”

“…”

“…Wait a second.”

I went to the maid to get some thin rice porridge and water.

I sat down in front of the bed, scooped up some porridge with a spoon, and reached it toward Yeon’s mouth.

“Open your mouth.”

“…”

“Eat when it’s handed to you. My arm’s getting tired, so hurry.”

Hearing my coaxing, Yeon hesitated for a moment but eventually opened her mouth just a bit.

“…Nom…munch…”

The way she eagerly accepted each spoonful reminded me of a baby bird.

The bowl containing the porridge was emptied in no time. It annoyed me a bit that she hadn’t been eating despite being able to.

Now that Yeon seemed to regain a bit of her vitality, it was finally time to address the main issue.

“…I’ll take back the termination of our friendship. I was too harsh with my words. And I’m sorry for asking you to play with the others. I didn’t think you might not like it.”

“Ah…”

“But don’t boss me around; I really hate it when people tell me what to do. I’m going to keep hanging out with my friends. Maybe more than I do with you.”

“…”

Yeon’s face brightened up as she listened to me, then darkened again. She cautiously asked me.

“…Is it wrong for me to want that?”

“Yup. It’s annoying.”

“…Do you hate it when I only talk to you?”

“Yeah. Really hate it.”

At my firm refusal, Yeon’s body flinched slightly. She almost seemed to be shivering lightly.

After a brief silence, her mouth opened again.

“…I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do that again.”

That day was the first time I heard an apology from Yeon.

*

After our second reconciliation, Yeon faithfully kept her promise.

Even when I hung out with Jin Ho and Ina, she didn’t show any sign of discomfort and even attempted to greet them herself.

Watching Yeon awkwardly stutter while trying to make small talk was so unlike the image I had of her that I had a hard time suppressing my laughter.

Additionally, Yeon began asking me questions more frequently.

My favorite clothes.
My favorite food.
My favorite hobbies.
My favorite traits.

She pestered me with all kinds of trivial questions. She even asked about how I liked to wear my hair.

“Why are you asking silly questions like that?”

“…Still.”

“Ugh! That’s a bit too much to ask…”

“…But you said you’d tell me everything.”

“Huh?”

“You said you’d share all sorts of things with me.”

“That’s not the same…”

“…Right now, you’re the only one I can ask.”

“…”

Even when I complained, Yeon remained steadfast. I found myself at a loss for words.

What I meant by that statement was that I would help her change her blunt personality.

However, it seemed that Yeon took it differently.

Thinking it over, though, it didn’t seem bad for her to take an interest in others in order to become closer.

It was also true that there wasn’t anyone else for her to ask.

So, I surrendered to Yeon’s persistence and answered all her questions until I ended up revealing nearly everything about myself.

Yeon even made an effort to meticulously note down all the information. Seeing her like that, I started treating her sincerely and forgot about everything that had happened before.

Yeon, who used to always wear a cold and aloof expression, began to show her emotions more frequently as time passed.

We exchanged trivial stories in a more familiar atmosphere. Now, Yeon was the one to initiate long conversations.

She loved sharing stories about her life before coming to our village. Through her little mouth, I was exposed to tales from a world I hadn’t known.

Before coming here, she had lived in the capital city of Masada, right in the heart of it.

Tiers of towering multi-story buildings, the capital’s defensive walls stretching endlessly beyond the horizon, and the city lights that never dimmed even at dawn.

Every time she described those places, I could vividly imagine the scenery like I had actually visited the capital.

Her voice, as she recounted those tales, was filled with nostalgia and memories.

But it wasn’t always just dream-like stories.

Yeon’s tales were far more realistic than the exaggerated fabrications of traveling merchants. Whenever she spoke about the northern demon tribes or the monsters from uncharted territories, a shiver would run down my spine.

I also learned that she really was a noble lady from a family of wizards, yet oddly, she didn’t seem to like her family very much.

“Our family has a ton of siblings. I think there’s over twenty of us.”

“Twenty? That’s a lot.”

“There are so many that I can’t even remember who is who. The funny part? My dad is just one, but my mom has several.”

“Lucky you! I’m an only child, so I sometimes envy those with siblings.”

“Lucky? What’s lucky about that? We fight like crazy every day.”

Yeon glanced around, then whispered in a small voice.

“Be careful of my big brother the most. Over ten of my siblings have died in accidents, and he’s probably responsible for all of them. He always wears a friendly smile, but that makes it all the more suspicious.”

“No way. Isn’t your dad aware of this?”

“The head of the family doesn’t care much. He just says that the survivors are the strong ones. As long as the rumors outside don’t spread, he doesn’t care what happens inside.”

“Can I really know about this?”

“Of course not! I’m only telling you because it’s our little secret.”

“…”

Yeon always referred to her father as “the head of the family.” I could roughly guess the nature of their relationship without needing to ask.

I realized that not all wizards lived comfortably. On the other hand, I firmly resolved to never get involved with dangerous wizards.

However, I was quite curious about why a noble lady would come to our insignificant village and endure such hardships.

Especially since Yeon had only one maid, Jeongin, to serve her.

Sometimes, I wondered if Yeon had been lying.

Yet, I quickly concluded she wasn’t the type to lie, even if her personality was a bit rough.

The dignity that naturally emanated from her gestures and actions was something she couldn’t have faked, even if she tried.

But unless she first revealed it to me, I had no intention of questioning it. It might be a sensitive subject she didn’t want to talk about.

With those kinds of curiosities buried in my heart, we gradually grew closer.

Yeon now preferred walking to school and back with me over being served by her maid.

There were times when she came to my house, tasted the dinner my mom prepared, and then suddenly started visiting for a week until the maid had to come look for her.

We watched the village festival together and snuck out through a hole in the barrier to explore an empty forest ranger’s cabin without the adults knowing.

In winter, we had snowball fights with Jin Ho and Ina, and in summer, we went swimming in the valley behind the village.

Before we knew it, we had become part of each other’s daily lives. Time flew swiftly, and the seasons changed several times.

On one of those days, I finally learned why Yeon had come to our village.

Along with some shocking news that I didn’t want to hear.

*

I had a secret hobby of drawing. But one day, I forgot the drawings I had tucked between the pages of a book, leading to Yeon finding out about it.

Feeling embarrassed, I fumbled around, but Yeon’s eyes sparkled instead. She excitedly asked if I could draw her.

Unable to reject that request, I ended up drawing her portrait in an empty art room after school.

“Wow! You drew this really well. I’ll hang it on my wall and look at it every day.”

Yeon was jumping for joy upon seeing the completed portrait, her broad smile lighting up her face.

“If you keep complimenting me like that, you might actually think I’m good at drawing.”

I felt a bit embarrassed that she was so excited about a drawing that wasn’t even that great. However, Yeon shook her head vigorously in response to my comment.

“I’m not just flattering you. You really did a great job. I think you have the potential to be a great wizard. An excellent sense of art is a crucial sign of innate magical talent…”

Yeon seemed to realize her slip of the tongue and quickly shut up. Perhaps she had suddenly remembered that I had the constitution of a Complete Non-Responder. The way she looked at me was as if a minor earthquake had just hit.

But strangely, I felt no displeasure. I had no interest in my own constitution, and I knew she wasn’t saying it with bad intentions.

In fact, I was somewhat grateful that she was able to forget about it entirely.

“Ah…about that…”

“It’s okay. People forget things. Just don’t think too much about it.”

“…I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to….”

“It’s fine. If you apologize, I feel worse.”

Only after I urged her several times did Yeon manage to regain her composure.

But it seemed she still had something to say as she stared silently at the portrait I drew, fiddling with her fingers.

“…You know, there’s something I haven’t told you yet…”

“What is it? If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me…”

“…No, I think it’s time I finally tell you this… Otherwise, I couldn’t bring myself to say it…”

“…?”

“Um…”

Yeon’s face was clearly hesitant.

After quite a long silence, I finally heard the words coming from her mouth.

“…I might die in the next few years.”

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