I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

In the end, the homeroom teacher chose to escape.

What could they do? It’s the teacher’s fault for not carefully considering the recipient of the money.

It may not have been intentional, but thanks to that, the Chairwoman has it out for me now. Even if the teacher changes soon, it wouldn’t be strange at all.

I don’t know what will happen to the bribery, but as long as I don’t get the money I’ve received confiscated, I should be able to live well even if I visit jail for a bit. Thinking like that made me feel like I understood why so many economic offenders commit such crimes. If you just hide it well, you can enjoy it after coming out of prison.

Hoh.

Sohee seemed overly confident as she chuckled and plopped down in her seat.

“So, you really spent over a billion won on that? Just to get one teacher on your side?”

“Hmm? No? Of course not. It’s not just about getting that one teacher. Well, it’s better to ask Yang Hye-in about the details. I’m just a spoon-feeder in this.”

Saying I’m just a spoon-feeder was true. Yang Hye-in probably knows way more about how to handle bribery. I wonder how someone who was just a maid knows all that… But maybe Yang Hye-in faced those issues head-on. As long as she can avoid raising suspicions, there’s nothing she can’t do.

And if a maid brought in billions of won and started distributing it, it’s only natural that people would think that money really belongs to someone else behind her.

No matter how rich someone is, they wouldn’t use more than half of their assets for bribery. People only think it’s worth it to bribe if they believe they will gain more than the bribe itself. The reason Yujin Group can spend billions on bribes is that losing that much money doesn’t hurt them.

Even among wealthy people in Korea, there were those who collected sports cars as a hobby. If they were using that kind of money for bribery, how much could they spend?

And strictly speaking, this too fell under Choi Na-kyung’s ‘hobby’ area.

After all, Choi Na-kyung was most interested in Ye Sara’s image.

“…..I’ll take care of the money spent.”

At my words, I could hear the surrounding people hold their breath.

In fact, Ha Neul had been staring at me with her mouth agape since earlier.

“You really were rich, huh…?”

That’s right.

It’s just that I, who had entered this body, still hadn’t adjusted to that absurd amount of wealth.

…I don’t know when I’ll properly adjust.

*

“I poured over a billion won just to get you to take care of things; you can’t just backfire on me like that.”

That was enough to make someone’s heart race.

The former student who asserted herself as Ye Sara’s “maid” boldly threatened the homeroom teacher. She had bribed someone and the amount was no small change.

Of course, the teacher probably didn’t take all of that money. If I think about the conversation later between Ye Sara and that maid, that money was probably used to get many or all of the school’s teachers on board. It’s possible the principal or vice principal took some of it too.

In truth, burning a teacher isn’t that hard. Even though the teachers in this school don’t have a great salary, they love money. And you don’t always have to give a lot of bribery money at once. Generally, the more someone’s in a position to accept bribes, the more they receive smaller amounts from lots of people in exchange for favors. If bribery had a price, what teachers received is not that big of a deal.

If it came down to having to buy off the entire school with billions, there are indeed individuals in this school who would casually act on it. Even if every student’s family can’t cough up billions, if one student’s family is among the top 100 companies in the country, that’s enough to handle this kind of money.

“…..I’ll take care of the money spent.”

Still, Ye Sara said that to the maid.

That’s right. The maid’s claim was very simple.

“The money you received didn’t actually come from the Chairwoman; it came from me and my senior.”

Which maid in the world can pull billions of won from their own pocket?

Moreover, even after spending all that, there were still hundreds of millions left, and Ye Sara called that ‘penniless.’

Yeah, surely some rich person somewhere could think that way. A person earning trillions a year, or rather, a person making hundreds of billions could probably say something like that when they hear that they have a few hundred million.

But, even if kids at this school might be able to pay expensive tuition, it doesn’t mean every student can disregard that kind of money.

With a hundred or so students per grade across three grades, it’s clear that you can’t run a school solely on the children of capitalists. There are plenty of kids from families worth billions or tens of billions who send their children here to establish connections with those capitalists.

Actually, that’s an understatement; they make up the vast majority. For the school, those kids are probably the primary customers.

And in the eyes of those kids, the conversation between the two didn’t sound normal at all.

While listening to that irregular conversation, I naturally began to realize.

No matter how much of a favored daughter she is outside the Chairwoman’s view, if she puts her mind to it, spending billions is nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

It’s a reality that someone who pays a maid several hundred million in salary can casually treat that amount of money as mere ‘pocket change.’

…And they had been ostracizing such a presence.

Ye Sara began to move.

Rumors still circulated. Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung supposedly trampled anyone who got close to Ye Sara while using all sorts of means.

But right in front of my eyes, there were people associating with Ye Sara just fine.

How is that even possible?

Maybe it’s because Ye Sara is directly protecting them? With that kind of capital, it proves she can easily safeguard her own aides, right?

Suddenly, Ye Sara looked around as if she had thought of something.

Her narrowed eyes appeared sharp. It seemed like her gaze could cut through the air.

Her shining red eyes scanned the quiet classroom.

That look seemed to convey something like:

“Now, make your choice.”

Is it the distant Choi Na-kyung, or is it the nearby Ye Sara?

Someone gulped loudly.

*

I noticed things were oddly quiet, and when I looked around, everyone was avoiding my gaze.

…I guess that last game effect was a bit much.

Well, I would be surprised too if I heard that kind of conversation up close. I talked about billions like it was nothing.

But what can you do if there’s actually that much money?

Even I find it unreal enough to chuckle.

“…But you know.”

Ha Neul, who had been listening quietly to our conversation, finally couldn’t hold back and chimed in.

“You said you’re Sara’s maid, right?”

“Oh, right.”

Sohee snapped her fingers as if she had just remembered, in response to Ha Neul’s question.

“I’m sorry, miss. If you decide to punish me, I’ll accept it humbly.”

“……”

At her blatant, shameless words, I narrowed my eyes and stared at Sohee. Naturally, Sohee wore an expression that betrayed no fear.

I had no intention of punishing her. Considering what just happened, it would be more appropriate to compliment her. After all, she managed to pull one over on the entire class in a way I hadn’t even thought of.

It’s also quite inconvenient to use honorifics. Well, I guess it’s expected since she’s a maid, but still.

“Forget it. Punishment? What punishment? Just watch yourself in the future.”

I sighed deeply, replying.

Sohee smiled brightly at me.

…I don’t understand why she annoys me so much even though she’s clearly on my side.

*

“Sarah.”

As I was dozing off in my seat, someone called me.

I shook off the drowsiness and found that the teacher at the podium had disappeared. Oh, looks like the class ended while I was dozing off.

…I wasted that period just napping. Though it’s still chilly outside, the inside of this school, equipped with an expensive heating and cooling system, was quite warm. The windows blocked the wind well, so sitting by the window, I was basking in the warm sunlight, making it impossible for me to resist dozing off.

“Hmm?”

Rubbing my eyes, I looked up at the source of the voice, and Ha Neul was staring down at me. Her expression was quite serious.

Ha Neul suddenly pointed at my textbook with her finger and asked, “Can you solve this?”

“Uh…”

Still drowsy, I glanced down at where Ha Neul was pointing, and it seemed to be a formula I might have seen back in middle or high school.

And since I was terrible at math, I naturally didn’t know how to solve it. All I vaguely recalled from math textbooks was the part about sets.

Even with sets, if the questions get a bit complex, I would most likely struggle to solve them.

…Coming to think of it, that makes me seem quite dumb.

“…No.”

Still, I knew I should feel embarrassed. But honestly, since I have a lot of money, doesn’t that mean I don’t need to bother with studying?

“Haah.”

Ha Neul let out a sigh for everyone to hear.

“This isn’t even something you learned today; you learned this last week.”

Ah, that’s right.

Lately, Ha Neul had been prodding me in the side whenever I didn’t open my textbook, so I instinctively kept it open. Naturally, I didn’t remember when, where, or how I learned it. I had just been staring out the window, daydreaming instead.

Yeah, it did seem too much like the textbook’s early chapters. I thought it wasn’t, but when you bring in the sets, that wasn’t completely true either.

However, there was no serious expression on my face.

Of course, why would there be? As I just mentioned, I have a lot of money. Not just a lot, but a level that I might not know if I could spend it all even in a lifetime.

Moreover, the only person who can inherit that money is me. It’s all managed by a trust company. The stocks are bringing in passive income just by being there.

…There’s no way I’d be motivated to study.

“….”

And after seeing my expression, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking, Ha Neul said, “Then, it can’t be helped.”

As if making a declaration.

“No one’s going to force you to do it.”

“…Uh.”

I just stared blankly at Ha Neul, who spoke as if she was unleashing a seal like a black dragon.

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