Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Chapter 49- Hunting(1)
How long has it been? Rudolph doesn’t know.

His wound was still actively bleeding, and if not for him learning survival skills from his father, he might have died long ago.

Rudolph was attacked by the demon when he went to find the barrier chanter.

A huge wound was inflicted on his torso, and the boy had no option but to run for his life. His Soul Shard was damaged in the process of warding off the demon that was on his tail, but more than his life, nothing more was important.

‘Where am I right now…’ He gazed at the surroundings and couldn’t discern whether he was inside the Academy forest anymore or not.

He was being chased by one of the two demons, with the naked intention of slaughtering him before Rudolph could reach the teachers and inform them about the Demonic presence.

Clutching the wound with the makeshift pad he made with leaves and fur, Rudolph found his vision swirling and his consciousness slipping off.

He knows if he faints now, he might never wake up again. Even if he doesn’t die because of blood loss, the wild beast in the vicinity would surely feast upon his body before he wakes up.

‘No…I can’t die now…I have to return to Rhea…and tell her my feelings ..my parents…they are waiting for me as well…’ Using those emotions as his crutches, Rudolph pushed himself off the ground and headed towards a random direction, praying that he find someone who can help him.

———**———

The next day, the two demons had kept their eyes on Austin since the morning.

They have noted that Austin trains with their target early in the morning, so they assumed it might be a part of their daily routine. However, today, they weren’t spotted training together.

Secondly, Valerie wasn’t found waiting for Austin at the fountain, something that was quite unusual.

[Target hasn’t left her room since last night.]

[Must be the weak mind of the human that got burdened.]

The two demons communicated as they realized the possible reason for Valerie not leaving her dormitory. If Austin had made contact with her after last night, then they might have suspected Austin being suspicious of Rudolph. However, Austin hasn’t tried to contact Valerie at all.

[Austin is approaching the classroom. Make sure not to get overly excited, and don’t let anyone else catch the whiff of our plan.]

Any other baggage along with Austin was undesirable; that’s why the demon impersonating Rudolph told Austin not to share anything about the secret hunting trip.

That’s why, the fake Rudolph strikes at that point where every man is feeble—their ego.

Just when the demon made him recall the fact that Valerie protected him back in the forest, Austin aggressively reacted; showing that, as a man, he couldn’t let himself get protected by his woman anymore.

[Target has entered the classroom. Normally chatting and greeting others.]

The demon responded as it continued to closely monitor Austin, who didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary.

[I have spotted the butler; going after him.]

The other demon caught sight of the grey-haired butler heading out of the boy’s dormitory while holding a folder in his hand.

The demon, who had a camouflaging skill, blended in the surroundings and followed Sebastian from a decent distance to not get caught.

[The butler is approaching the library.]

[Keep a close eye on him. Follow him into the urinal as well.]

[Understood.]

The fake Rudolph didn’t want to involve any risk in this mission. Kidnapping Austin could grant them so many benefits that their Lord might rank them up in the army.

And not only monetary benefits, through Austin the demon could offer its Lord a strong corrupted warrior as Valerie as well.

‘The girl is crazy enough to willingly jump into the Cursed Pond and serve the dark side.’ the Demon barely suppressed its grin, thinking of the near future.

“Good morning, class.” Soon the homeroom teacher arrived and informed them, “Valerie is not well today, so Sheldon, you are on disciplinary duty today.” The silverhead nodded before the class began.

There were a few who were surprised to hear that the disciplined Disciplinary in-charge was taking a break from school. However, when they recalled yesterday’s event they felt it was quite natural.

The class began, and the fake Rudolph silently just remained seated. No excess peeking nor asking anything.

His one ear was on the surroundings and one was focused on Austin.

[The butler has left the library cabin only once to get another two-hour reservation. It seems he has been working on something important.]

Hearing his brother’s voice, the demon impersonating Rudolph warned,

[Don’t do anything stupid by trying to look at his work. We are not told to get involved with the Capital’s matters.]

Before coming here, they received information about a few individuals, among which Sebastian also was the one.

It was known to the two of them, that Sebastian once used to work for the King, and even after he changed the subject of his servitude, the butler still was involved with national matters.

[I know, and I won’t go anywhere near that man.]

The fake Rudolph heaved a sigh before he heard the bell for the lunch ringing, and the students getting up from their seats.

“Hey, you wanna eat together?” The pink-haired girl, who was their secondary target, approached the demon.

Rudolph slowly shook his head as he said, “I have some work to do. I will see you later.” Saying so, he got up and walked away.

The demon couldn’t stay around with those people who know Rudolph closely or they might suspect its identity. As such, it was keeping itself away from as many people as it could.

Rhea watched Rudolph walking away with a concerned look on her face. She could sense that something was wrong with him, but since he was refusing to talk things out, she was left with no other option but,

“Austin.”

The blond Prince was surprised to be approached by Rhea all of a sudden, as he paused in his tracks and asked, “What happened?”

The pinkhead asked, “Can you do me a favor and talk to Rudolph? He seems quite troubled these days.”

Hearing her words, Austin frowned slightly as he said, “I am concerned as well for him…okay, I will do something.”

Rhea smiled before she thanked him.

‘I should probably visit the library after school and finish my assignment…’ With those thoughts, Rhea walked away and joined her friends.

———-**———

[The Butler has come out for the third time to get himself some water and asked for another two hours of reservation. It seems he was given some emergency work.]

As the last class neared the conclusion, Rudolph heard his brother’s voice in his head.

[It’s good then. The butler seems busy and Austin most probably won’t tell him about the hunting trip.]

The fake Rudolph replied, only to hear,

[Then can I return to the room and relax a bit? I am quite tir-]

[Don’t you dare move from there!] The fake Rudolph flared, his eyes widened in agitation,

[You need to keep an eye on him! If he suspects something or changes his mind to follow his master, we would be done for! So you better stick to that place!]

The fake Rudolph ordered, only to hear the other side grumble,

[Fine, I understand. But Kalwar, you need to feed me fresh human meat after this.]

[Yeah, whatever. Just do your job properly.]

As Rudolph finished speaking, the class bell rang and the teacher finally walked out of the class.

‘Finally, after today, I won’t need to sit in this useless class…’ Kalwar knows that nothing could be a better teacher than life, as such it felt all this academy and classes were nothing but a waste

He packed his book and was waiting when suddenly someone approached him, “Are we still going?”

Rudolph barely suppressed a grin, as he hummed, “I am going for sure, but what about you?”

Austin tightly held the strap of his bag and said, “I didn’t tell anyone so there won’t be anyone to interfere. Let’s go.”

Rudolph nodded before he picked up the bag and got up, only to hear, “Where are you two going?”

Kalwar inwardly clicked his tongue hearing the secondary target suddenly jumping in their conversation.

Austin raised his brows and replied, “Just planning to spar a little. What about you?”

Kalwar heaved a sigh hearing that Austin didn’t reveal their plans.

Rhea shrugged, “I got some paperwork to finish. Then see ya.” She waved at them and walked away.

Rudolph turned toward Austin before asking, “Should we also go?”

The blond Prince nodded before the duo approached the entrance of the class.

Kalwar grinned as he saw the Prince casually following him towards the back entrance of the school.

‘Finally, I will take my revenge!’

——–**——-

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment.