Villain Extra: Rogue Reader

Belva twitched her brows in disbelief. To think she had become the scapegoat on Ray’s behalf.

’Maybe I should have plopped onto the bed too.’ She wondered silently.

Imagine trying to fight against an Eighth Circle Mage?

Belva didn’t need to because she had just done it and lost very miserably.

If Leonard was truly intending to harm her, then she wouldn’t even have a chance to make a move.

”That wasn’t really a good joke, Principal Leonard.” Belva bowed her head and said respectfully.

”I apologize for the fright.” Leon acknowledged his mistake.

But soon, his expression turned even more sorrowful.

”I also apologized for your situation. As the Principal, I still failed to protect a student of mine.”

Since the world was constantly in danger, with mysterious portals appearing unannounced, Leonard had to travel around frequently.

He made sure to protect the academy well from external factors, but he omitted the internal factors.

He thought the professors he carefully selected would protect them well, but there could be an oversight. They were only humans, and humans make mistakes.

Moreover, Leonard could tell Margaret blamed herself harder than anyone else.

”It’s all in the past now,” Belva said coolly. She really had no intention to speak of the past.

Her desire was only revenge, and she highly doubted Leonard could help her in this aspect.

He was powerful, but he had too much restraint, unlike Ray, who showed no restraint or regard for the rules.

Leonard was silent at Belva’s dry response. The situation was rather sticky, given that those who plotted against her were now under the military section.

Although he could easily wield his influence to incriminate them, the evidence was lacking, and they had become meritorious soldiers on behalf of the academy.

It sounded ridiculous and unfair, right?

Yeah, that was the case, and Leonard would be criticized by many.

As much respect as he held, there would also be a lot who prayed for his downfall.

”I suppose your hopes are on this student.” Leon turned to the sleeping beauty, Ray. ”His mana core is quite unique.”

He could sense and detect it as a mana core, but his intuition was saying it wasn’t.

Just when he was about to extend his hand to check deeper, Belva interrupted him.

”Apologies, Principal Leonard. But I cannot let you attempt any further action.” She stood in front of him and extended her hand.

She knew very well that she wasn’t a match with Leonard, but that doesn’t mean she would compromise with him either.

”Whoops, seems like my curiosity is acting up.” Leon retracted his hand and chuckled.

”I should probably take my leave now.” He then placed an item on the table and smiled.

Soon, his silhouette completely vanished, but his lingering words remained.

”That item is crafted by me and has a life-saving chance activation. Whether you use it for yourself or someone else, it’s your decision. All you need to do is imprint a mana on it. Consider it a gift for the welcome ceremony.”

’A life-saving chance?’ Belva took a few seconds to recollect her thought process.

She slowly approached the table and glanced at the item that appeared no different than a ruby gem.

’Was the Principal requested by Professor Margaret?’ Belva was no fool. She refused to believe a busy man like Leonard would take his time to visit her or even Ray.

Sure, Ray’s behavior might be out of the norm, but it wasn’t exactly the most unique one.

There had been more crazies and lunatics who appeared in the academy before Ray’s appearance.

Yet none of them received much attention.

”This should also be an indirect message to not skip the ceremony.” Belva held the ruby gem and then looked at Ray.

Without hesitation, Belva extracted a portion of Ray’s mana.

”UNGH!” Ray grumbled slightly and turned around to continue his sleep. The mana exhaustion was real, and he felt like someone who was up for more than 48 hours.

He was dead tired and didn’t wish to be disturbed.

Amidst his sleepiness, Belva used Ray’s mana and imprinted on the ruby gem.

Soon, the ruby gem glowed and dissipated into many tiny particles.

The tiny particles soon scattered upon Ray without alerting him at all.

While this process was happening, elsewhere, Leonard sat in his office and mused.

”I’ve told you that the student wasn’t controlling your cherished protege.”

”Hmph, this doesn’t prove anything.” Opposite of Leonard was Margaret, who witnessed the entire scene with a disgruntled expression. That ruby gem was meant for her protege, Belva.

However, she just had to waste it on that despicable Raymond.

”Margaret, I did you this favor because you’re one of my most competent professors and instructors for the kids. I’m speaking from a neutral point. Your protege isn’t forced to serve the student Raymond. Her protective nature and response were genuine.” He explained.

He had seen many so-called loyal people. They would claim to have honor and serve their master well.

But when the crisis arrived, how many of these loyal people would actually remain loyal?

Leonard had seen many backstabs and failures to honor the code.

And these patterns often emerged in those who kept spouting loyalty here and there with their mouth.

The real loyalty was shown through actions and not through their mouths.

Hence, when he clashed with Belva without his identity revealed, the latter was serious in protecting Raymond. She might have tried to escape the door earlier, but her intention was to call for reinforcement.

He wasn’t senile enough to not understand the intention or to mistake it as a cowardly retreat.

”I don’t care.” Margaret hissed. ”I’m biased, and I admit it. If it wasn’t out of respect for you, I would have long destroyed those students involved. What they did wasn’t just harming my protege, but also my reputation.”

She laid it out in hopes that Leonard would no longer interfere in this matter.

’Seems like she’s determined this time.’ Leon exhaled softly. Those who operated the auctions in the past had long been eliminated by him.

But a few rats did manage to escape while he was distracted by another portal outbreak.