How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 162

I quietly led Fabian into the mansion, successfully avoiding detection. Once we were inside, I asked in a low voice, “So, you’re alone?”

“…Yes.”

Given that everyone had been teleported to random locations, it seemed unlikely we’d see each other again before the set date.

[A lucky break for you to have found a slave to follow your orders.]

‘Can I really call this luck?’

Fabian wasn’t my slave, nor did he have any obligation to follow my orders. But given how he had acted in front of Rowan Vade…

‘Well, it’s not so bad.’

Responding to Airsya’s remark, I turned to Fabian and said, “From here, we’re heading to the family head’s office.”

“What? The family head’s office?”

“Yeah, I think our objective is there.”

“…”

Fabian was silent for a moment before he nodded. “Alright, lead the way.”

Without further comment, he began scanning the surroundings, ready to follow my lead. I nodded in return.

“This way.”

I began moving toward the office, carefully navigating through the mansion. The family head’s office was located on the fifth floor, at the far right end of the hallway, requiring us to pass through several busy areas filled with servants.

The massive central corridor of the mansion was particularly risky, with no real places to hide, making it one of the most dangerous areas.

However—

[Two maids approaching from the right.]

Tatak.

“Stop!”

I had the spirit of jealousy, Airsya, by my side. Invisible to others, Airsya was incredibly useful in situations like this.

Since I had exhausted the three chances I had with her, we had negotiated a new deal, and I decided to use her help this time.

[Knights passing on the left and straight ahead.]

“Fabian, over there!”

Tatak!

Thanks to Airsya’s intel, we successfully navigated past potential threats and made it to the third floor. We paused to catch our breath before continuing our stealthy progress.

Tatatak!

We hid behind pillars, paused beside statues, and in moments of desperation…

“Ugh.”

…we even hung outside the windows, clinging for dear life when there was no other place to hide.

Finally, after much effort, we reached the door to the family head’s office on the fifth floor.

“Is this it?” Fabian asked, clearly exhausted.

I nodded. “Yeah, you did well getting here.”

“Huff, so once we’re in here…”

“Wait.”

I quickly stopped Fabian as he moved to open the door.

“What is it?”

“This is an unattended room. It’s bound to be secured with precautions.”

“…”

He stared at me intensely for a moment before nodding in agreement. “So, are you planning to use a dispelling spell?”

“No, Baran Vade is an exceptional mage. I wouldn’t be able to dispel all his protections.”

“Then what?”

“We’ll enter through there.”

I pointed to a large window just outside the office.

“There? That’s just a window… Wait, you can’t mean—”

“Yes, exactly.”

To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I decided to avoid the front door and enter through the window instead.

“If you fall, it’s certain death. You know that, right?”

“I’ve faced similar dangers before, haven’t I?”

“This is different. Hanging onto a windowsill is one thing, but moving along the outside of a building is much riskier.”

Fabian’s argument was reasonable, but I simply grinned and murmured, “Then stay here and wait.”

Creaaak!

Without hesitation, I opened the window.

[No one’s watching from the outside. The distance to the office window is about 10 meters. Think you can make it?]

Airsya was diligently fulfilling his role.

‘Thanks, Airsya.’

After expressing my gratitude, I glanced down and bit my lower lip.

Whoosh!

The gentle breeze was a bit intimidating, but I couldn’t back down now.

‘I have to pass the Novice Challenge, no matter what.’

This was my only chance to uncover the cause of the ticking time bomb that had been tied to me like a curse.

“Here goes nothing!”

With gritted teeth, I threw myself out of the window.

Thump!

I grabbed onto the ledge and steadied myself before looking at the window to the office, which was a bit of a distance away.

“Phew, let’s do this.”

As I muttered to myself and reached out…

Tatak!

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared beside me.

“Let’s go together.”

It was Fabian, clinging to the ledge with a pale face.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I nodded with a grin, and the two of us began to inch our way along the ledge, hanging off the fifth floor of the mansion.

After slowly and carefully making our way across…

Thud, creak!

“We made it!”

I reached the office window and quickly opened it, throwing myself inside.

Thud!

“Whew, I thought I was done for.”

As I let out a deep sigh of relief, Airsya spun around, amused.

[You’re lucky you didn’t fall. There were some close calls.]

‘Tell me about it. I almost slipped.’

Soon after—

Thud!

Fabian, drenched in sweat, followed me into the room.

“Huff, huff…”

He was too out of breath to speak, taking deep breaths instead.

“Hey, you okay?”

“No, I’m not.”

Fabian shook his head firmly and continued, “No matter what happens, I’m never doing something like this again. I’d rather fail!”

Seeing him with his face still pale and his hair soaked in sweat made me want to laugh, but I held it in and instead looked around the room.

“This is Baran Vade’s office.”

Baran Vade, Kamon Vade’s father, was an even more meticulous person than I had imagined.

No, more than just meticulous—his style bordered on obsessive cleanliness.

The furniture, books, and every item in the office were arranged in perfect symmetry, with nothing appearing out of place or untouched.

“…”

As Fabian and I silently surveyed the room, he muttered, “Your father seems like a pretty strict guy.”

“Who knows.”

I gave a vague response, but internally, I was thinking, *‘I can’t say for sure since I haven’t experienced it firsthand, but based on the original story, Baran Vade is indeed as strict and fastidious as Fabian says.’*

And it’s this very personality that eventually sets the stage for the downfall of the Vade family.

But that’s not my concern.

What mattered now wasn’t Baran Vade’s personality or the eventual decline of the family—it was the mission for the *Novice Challenge*.

“We need to find the Vade family’s crest, the golden banner with the black tears of the griffin.”

“Hm.”

Fabian nodded and began carefully searching the room, his eyes scanning for anything that resembled the crest.

The office was filled with various banners, flags, and emblems, many of them bearing griffin symbols.

It wasn’t just the black-teared griffin we were looking for—there were griffin statues, paintings on flags, and crests everywhere.

“I don’t see any black tears.”

“It’s a special item. They wouldn’t just leave it lying around.”

As I opened a drawer in the desk and began rifling through its contents, Fabian opened what appeared to be a wardrobe.

Creak!

After thoroughly combing through the office, Fabian called out to me.

“Kamon, isn’t that the black tears?”

He pointed inside a large cabinet where a golden banner was stored. I took a closer look.

A crimson griffin was emblazoned in the center, with black droplets falling from its eyes—a golden banner symbolizing the Vade family.

“That looks like the one.”

“Good, then let’s take it.”

As Fabian murmured and reached out without hesitation, a sudden sensation hit me.

Zzzt!

My skin prickled as the ambient mana in the room began to surge wildly.

Is the mana going berserk?

Realizing something was wrong, I quickly shouted, “Fabian, wait—!”

But before I could finish, Fabian’s hand had already touched the golden banner.

“Huh?”

As he turned his head towards me, the entire cabinet and the banner began to glow with a deep, dark green light, forming a small magic circle.

And then—

Fwoosh!

An immense pulling force took hold of both of us, dragging us into the magic circle as we lost consciousness.

***

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

What’s that? The sound of water dripping?

[…en up.]

A voice echoed in my ears, faint but persistent.

Drip. Drip.

With the sound of something dropping to the floor again, I heard—

[Wake up, Kamon Vade!]

Snap!

Airsya’s voice pierced through my head, jolting me awake.

“What… What’s going on?”

[Ha, you’re finally awake.]

Shaking his head, Airsya muttered in irritation. I quickly asked, ‘What happened? How long was I out?’

[You lost consciousness the moment you were sucked into the magic circle. Thanks to you, I got dragged into this mess too.]

‘Where are we?’

At that moment—

Clink, clatter!

“…?!”

A sudden sense of confinement made me look down, and I realized my limbs were bound—by thick, heavy chains.

To make matters worse, my clothes had been stripped off, leaving me in just my underwear, bound in what seemed like a dark underground dungeon.

‘What the hell is this?’

[I don’t know. Some crazy girl tied you up like this as soon as we were brought here.]

‘Crazy girl?’

[Yeah, and she’s been beating the crap out of that guy ever since, ignoring you. But he still hasn’t woken up…]

Following Airsya’s direction, I turned to see Fabian also stripped down, his body covered in bruises and wounds. He hung there, unconscious, with his head slumped forward.

Drip!

A small drop of blood trickled down from his chin.

‘That sound I heard… It was the sound of his blood dripping.’

Realizing the source of the sound that had been echoing in my ears, I saw something even more shocking.

Gasp!

[Oh yeah, that girl’s been here the whole time. Looks like she was captured before you guys.]

With her pale skin and platinum blonde hair, Princess Francia was bound just like us, only in her underwear, chained up in this dark, grimy place.

She, too, seemed to be unconscious, her eyes closed.

‘Damn it, even Princess Francia is here?’

I was stunned by this unexpected sight, but I couldn’t just sit there doing nothing.

I tried to channel my mana, but for some reason, it wouldn’t respond. It felt like there was some kind of mana-suppressing device attached to the chains.

In a hurry, I shouted at Airsya, ‘Airsya, tell me clearly—what does this crazy girl look like, and how long have we been here?’

I pressed her urgently, and Airsya, clearly annoyed, replied.

[You’ve been out for about three hours since you got sucked into the magic circle.]

‘And the person who did this to us? What does she look like? Does she have the same hair color as me…?’

[Hmm, not quite… Ah, but I don’t need to explain. She’s coming over right now.]

Following Airsya’s words, I turned my gaze.

Click, clack.

A beautiful girl with dark brown hair approached us, her small heels clicking against the stone floor.

When our eyes met, she smiled widely.

“Awake now, big brother?”

Shit.

I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

Because the girl standing before me was none other than—

‘Yuria Vade. Kamon Vade’s only younger sister.’

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