Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

A chill that felt as if it would freeze anything in its path flowed from the girl’s voice.

Overwhelmed by the force, the warlock became mute as the girl threw down a paper with something drawn on it with a thud.

It appeared as if it was a half-finished magical formula.

At the site, where only ashes, residue, and a ring remained, she had desperately gathered whatever traces she could and barely restored a fraction of it.

Originally, it should have been impossible, but her magical talent allowed her to capture even the faintest traces of particles.

“This… this is…”

“Do you know what this magical formula is?”

“…I know.”

Upon his response, Baek Seoyeon’s fist reflexively tightened.

Aside from cleaning up the trash, today’s visit also aimed to verify her lingering questions.

“This is… military magic… the Grand Duke’s Flame… cough!”

However, the moment the garbage spoke, Seoyeon’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“Military… magic?”

“Cough! Yes… it’s hard to understand correctly, but… it’s very similar to what I’ve seen so far… cough!”

Seoyeon could no longer bear to listen to his lies.

Immediately, she conjured a thick spear of light from thin air and plunged it into his hand as the brazen warlock screeched like a wriggling shrimp.

“Ugh…! Agh! Ugh!”

“You filthy criminal! How dare you try to deceive me with that nonsense! This is the magical formula that was at the scene of the victim you killed! How dare you try to pin your sins onto someone else!”

“No, it’s not a lie! I saw the traces left by my comrades… cough! I know! This… this isn’t the magic we use! Ugh!”

Seoyeon’s fierce demeanor began to waver with the sincerity she felt in his words.

“Haa… haa… cough, cough!!”

Baek Seoyeon pressed an ice spear against the bloodied neck of the warlock.

“Tell me everything you know about this magic.”

“Huff… cough!! Please believe me… the Grand Duke’s Flame is… military magic only granted to the national army… It’s magic that is locked, cough! Even if outsiders recognize the magical formula, they cannot use it…”

The leader of the organization that once ruled the back alleys of the night was pouring out excuses like a child who had made a mistake.

“And it takes a long time to draft, cough! It’s not suited for assassins like us… cough, cough!!”

“You aren’t telling lies, are you?”

“What use would I have lying here? Please believe me… cough… Besides, if it’s the beloved of Paecheon… there should be a way to cross-verify… cough!”

Seoyeon found no significant errors in his words. She hesitated for a moment before throwing her last question at him.

“…What’s the purpose?”

“Cough…! It’s a torture magic that inflicts maximum pain and death on the victim.”

“What?”

Her vision darkened at his words. Her trembling legs were barely held up by her superhuman will.

Seoyeon stood silently for a long time. The coughing criminal only dared to glance at her like a chastised dog.

The girl bowed her head and turned back toward the hallway.

Unexpected fortune appeared on the warlock’s face, a brightness of hope.

Thud!

But his expression, which had expected the joy of survival, soon contorted with a heavy pain felt in his chest.

In his barely lowered view, a massive magic spear was lodged precisely in his heart.

“Cough! Hack! W-Why…!?”

“…That doesn’t change the fact that you dared to kill him.”

“Cough…!”

The warlock, groaning in despair, breathed his last, while the girl staggered through the frozen hallway.

However, she collapsed before reaching the exit.

“Ah…”

The sigh of confusion overflowed and turned into cries of grief and sorrow that echoed down the hallway.

“Ah… ugh… aah… sniff…”

Holding the scorched ring in both hands, she thought of the boy who had died in agony.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine the feelings he must have felt.

He had left her side in an instant, without a chance to confess his wrongs.

After a long bout of sobbing, she managed to regain her composure, and Seoyeon’s thoughts began to accelerate.

The documents she had seen indicated that the boy had been killed by a band of roaming marauders and that the military arrived too late to the scene, shooting down the marauders.

However, this was entirely inconsistent with the truth she knew.

Why had they fabricated the documents?

The one who had slain the warlock and recorded his death was, by sheer coincidence, the 66th squad that was passing through the area at that time.

The 66th squad. Its commander was Heukryeon’s Sa Jaehyeok.

All she remembered about him was a string of negative information.

Once seemingly reformed but ultimately unable to shed his true nature—a dirty rat. A fallen student council president.

And if it interfered with their operations, he would even…

“Kill innocent people with a cruel character.”

As those thoughts resurfaced, Seoyeon’s eyes began to shake violently.

She also knew that Heukryeon and Jeokhwa certainly maintained a close relationship.

Was this all just a coincidence? Was it mere happenstance that someone closely connected with them arrived in the boy’s hometown, which had become a target for Jeokhwa?

Was it truly coincidental that traces of military magic were found on his corpse?

“…”

Seoyeon bit her lip tightly, staggering her way back down the frozen hallway.

After all, what she had to do was clear. The only undeniable fact was one.

He had died a desperate death filled with pain and loneliness, and it was all her fault.

The girl was no longer weak. The balance of power had completely reversed, and now she was more beautiful and stronger than anyone else.

Her innate talent had quickly connected with reason, and those who wished to follow her orbited around her like a cloud.

However, in the end, this was merely a hollow existence.

*

Seasons passed, and the mischievous spring returned to her once more.

Recently blossomed young wizards pushed their admission forms into the cradle whether they were ready or not. Upperclassmen hurriedly activated their networks to find those with ambition and exceptional talents to share their cause.

This also included Baek Seoyeon.

As she flipped through the preliminary list obtained via the faculty office, she murmured.

“Yoo Jin-hyun… huh.”

A male student who received a recommendation from Heukryeon after 18 years. His origin was the southern outskirts. Aside from the absence of a photo commonly attached to applications, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about his personal information.

But next to the list, there was confidential materials about him that Seoyeon had separately obtained.

This was a precaution she had taken through Paecheon’s military connections after feeling a strange intuition, and ultimately, her instinct was confirmed.

His true identity was that of a former soldier from the 66th squad. Moreover, his enlistment occurred two years prior.

One peculiar thing was that, despite his short time in service, he had an impressive record of slaughtering countless demon lords, monsters, and rogues.

Additionally, the repeated remarks about his cruelty and ferocity by the higher-ups were worth noting.

But the most important point was different.

He enlisted a few months before the boy’s death, meaning he had a sufficient chance of being present at the scene.

Or… he might have acted directly.

Agh…

Seoyeon bit her teeth in frustration as she tried to calm her mind.

With no way to reach Sa Jaehyeok now, the best course of action was to make him spill the true nature of the incident no matter what.

But even though she always wore a smiling mask, she couldn’t muster the confidence to execute it.

She would give it a try, yet the mere thought of his involvement fueled her heart with a rising wrath.

*

Though she had to wander a few more steps than her biological brother had described, she managed to utilize all the information networks of her collaborator, Choi Ireh, to finally locate the storage site.

Truly, all the materials and intricate evidence he had mentioned were stored there.

From the collaboration details between Jeokhwa and the demon lords to evidence they had researched the forbidden interference-related mental magic.

What was even more shocking was the fact that they had even committed illegal human experiments for their research.

The recent outbreak of mutations in the capital’s B-143 district.

This had resulted from failed experiments conducted illegally at their owned corporation, Ho-gyeong Industries.

This incident had also been reported to the Cradle at the request of the security bureau covering the area. However, the requestors were not the Ho-gyeong Industries themselves but rather the precinct responsible for the public safety of that district.

It was unlikely they could have made the request themselves, given the possibility of the illegal experiments being exposed.

However, in the end, the escaped mutants were spotted by the security bureau, and the oblivious individuals there had sent a request to the Cradle to stabilize the area.

And the one who accepted the case on behalf of the Cradle was… the group centered around the Masked Male Student, who had a recommendation from Heukryeon.

As her thoughts reached that point, her suspicions deepened.

“This… this is…”

Her female companion, Choi Ireh, also could not hide her astonishment as she confirmed the materials.

“As much as I trust you, Seoyeon, I never truly thought it would be like this…”

“…Ireh. Where are the two of them right now?”

Understanding the meaning behind Seoyeon’s ‘two’, Ireh nodded.

“They left the Cradle two days ago for the mentoring group experience activity. The stated reason was to tour Ho-gyeong Industries, but given the circumstances, they probably went to Jeokhwa’s private property.”

“…That’s perfect.”

The Cradle was under a special law that could not be applied to emergency measures.

It was a heaven-sent opportunity. Seoyeon closed her eyes tightly to organize her thoughts.

If there were those who truly vexed her within the Cradle, it was undoubtedly those two.

First, Yoo Jin-hyun.

It goes without saying that he was a suspect in the case of the boy’s death.

Moreover, every time Seoyeon faced him, she felt an unsettling déjà vu, which only contributed to her distaste for him.

From his speech to even the slightest of gestures.

And then, Yeon Minha.

The person who had constantly sabotaged her establishment of her faction within the Cradle.

At the same time, she possessed an unusual savagery and arrogance.

Considering how hard she had tried to conceal that personality for years, it often felt like looking into a mirror that reflected her inner self.

Additionally, this was also the kind of personality that the deceased boy despised the most.

And moreover, she was the heir of a family that had directly caused his death, so Seoyeon didn’t need to explain her hatred.

Recently, the sudden improvement in Yeon Minha’s condition had only fanned the flames of Seoyeon’s suspicions.

Perhaps she had discovered a way to overcome the curse of the Spirit Master using the interference magic through cooperation with the demon lords.

And the foundation for that was the countless innocent lives lost due to collusion and illegal experiments.

Whether it was personal grudges or something else, there was no reason to leave them be.

“…Ireh. What soldiers can you mobilize right now?”

“…Huh? But…”

“You saw it with your own eyes. If we wait any longer, additional victims might arise. Who knows what further schemes the filthy demon lords might concoct?”

While Ireh seemed surprised momentarily, she quickly realized the implications of her words and nodded.

As heirs of distinguished families, they could command their families’ private soldiers.

According to the information they obtained, Jeokhwa’s stronghold only maintained a standard level of security.

There was no way they could fend off the sudden assault from two families.

“Mobilize all the soldiers you can. We’ll do the same on our end.”

“Understood.”

“Right now. We have to hurry. If the Intelligence Bureau catches wind of our movements, we could face unforeseen obstacles. We have concrete evidence in our hands, so there should be no issues with taking preemptive action before reporting.”

Baek Seoyeon hurried her steps.

Varied emotions intertwined in her face, which flickered dimly in the shadows.

Sadness and anger.

Regret and lament.

And all of that wrapped in a vicious self-loathing.

“Jeokhwa… it’s over.”

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