This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 53

“Move aside, Knox.”

“No! If I move, you’ll really expel him from the academy, won’t you?”

“Of course. Is there something wrong with that?”

Elaina’s cold, unfeeling response was very different from the woman Knox usually knew. The stern, emotionless Elaina standing before him now was frightening, but Knox planted his feet firmly, refusing to back down.

“You told me yesterday, remember? You said everyone makes mistakes once. Only fools repeat the same mistake twice.”

Knox glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with Bark. “Everyone should know if he’s a fool or not.”

“And what is it that you want to say? Do you want to forgive the boy who insulted your brother like that?”

“I slapped him too. We both did something wrong.”

“Knox. What you did and what he did are not the same. You acted out of impulse, but he insulted someone deliberately, and not just once. It was persistent and malicious.”

“I know. But still…”

Knox turned back toward Bark again. Seeing him still cowering nervously made Knox’s chest feel tight. Finally, he shouted in frustration, “What are you doing, you idiot! Apologize already!”

The prospect of actually being expelled from the academy snapped Bark out of his daze. He scrambled to his feet and shouted loudly, “I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again! I won’t bully the girls anymore, and I won’t say bad things again. Please, just forgive me this one time!”

Knox turned to Marchioness Verua and spoke as well, “I’m sorry too. No matter how angry I was, I shouldn’t have slapped him. I just couldn’t control myself. I won’t do it again. Please, forgive me this once, Marchioness.”

“Well… I…”

Caught off guard by Knox’s sudden apology, Marchioness Verua looked around nervously. She wasn’t a completely clueless woman. On her way to the academy, she had been set on putting that obnoxious boy, Knox, in his place for good.

But after seeing how her son had behaved and watching the fierce confrontation between Elaina and herself, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame over her narrow-mindedness.

“I… I owe you an apology, Knox Grant. I’m sorry for my son’s behavior, and for the way I treated you today.”

She had unfairly judged Knox based solely on his family name, without even knowing him. The infamous rumors surrounding the Grant family and its fall from grace had clouded her judgment.

Knox looked anxiously at Elaina. She had been staring silently at him for a while before finally letting out a deep sigh.

“If that’s what you think, then so be it.”

However, Elaina didn’t forget to give one final warning. “Bark Verua, and Knox Grant. Both of you have made promises in front of me today. You swore never to make the same mistake again. Can I trust you to keep that promise?”

“Yes, yes!”

“I promise I’ll never hit anyone again. I swear.”

“Very well.”

Elaina turned to the teacher, who had been watching the situation unfold in stunned silence.

“The Grant family wishes to resolve this matter peacefully.”

As soon as Elaina finished speaking, Marchioness Verua quickly added, “The Verua family also wishes for the same.”

The tense conversation, which had been teetering on the edge of a cliff, suddenly took a sharp turn towards reconciliation. The teacher, who had been at a loss, quickly regained her composure.

After all, the purpose of summoning the parents was to facilitate a resolution between the children. Typically, the presence of a child’s parents was enough to make them feel the weight of their actions.

The academy isn’t a court of law—it is a place for education. Thankfully, this situation hadn’t escalated into a matter between noble houses.

“Then both students will be assigned a week of volunteer work. They will spend this time reflecting on their actions and learning to avoid such conflicts in the future. This concludes today’s meeting.”

Though it hardly felt like a proper meeting, given that the teacher had done little more than mediate between the two guardians, the matter was swiftly resolved.

***

The children, having awkwardly apologized, soon began talking to each other again, their earlier tension melting away. Watching Bark and Knox run off together to fetch their forgotten homework from the classroom, Marchioness Verua once again bowed deeply to Elaina.

“Thank you so much for forgiving my son’s foolish actions, Your Grace.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing. I fear I was far too rude to you in front of the children.”

They say that sometimes children are more mature than adults. It was true in this case. When Elaina had first heard the vicious things Bark had said about Lyle, she had been so enraged it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.

Even Knox’s plea to keep the incident a secret from Lyle had felt like throwing fuel on the fire. Though Elaina had never been one to deliberately cause trouble, she certainly wouldn’t back down when others sought to provoke her.

If it hadn’t been for Knox, Elaina would have had Bark Verua expelled from the academy. Given the way Marion had spoken about him, there was no reason to continue allowing such a violent and arrogant boy to stay with the other children.

Only after Knox had begged her to reconsider had Elaina noticed the terrified look on Bark’s face.

He was just a child—a ten-year-old boy, the same age as Marion. The fact that she had been so close to punishing him without mercy made Elaina feel a little ashamed of herself.

‘What’s gotten into me?’

Why had she gotten so angry in the first place? Part of it was because of what had happened to Knox, but the real reason was the insult to Lyle. Even though Bark was just a child, Elaina hadn’t been able to forgive him.

‘Maybe I’ve gotten too wrapped up in Knox’s emotions,’ Elaina muttered to herself. Perhaps that was the case.

***

After that day, many things changed in Knox’s life at the academy.

First, the previously hostile relationship between Knox and Bark Verua transformed into an unexpected friendship.

Bark stopped bullying his classmates. It wasn’t just because of Elaina’s stern warning. Reflecting on his behavior and the shame he felt, Bark realized he needed to change.

As a result, the other students who had been wary of Knox also started warming up to him. Soon, the boy who had once had no male friends found himself enjoying life at the academy more than ever.

“Are you going to be late again today? The coachman mentioned that he waited for a long time yesterday,” Elaina asked, noticing that Knox was leaving an hour earlier than usual for school.

“Oh. I’m going to stop by Bark’s house today. His mother’s sending a carriage for me, so there’s no need for our coachman to pick me up.”

“The Verua family?”

“Yeah. We’re all going to study for the exams together. We figured it’d be helpful if we taught each other the subjects we’re good at.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’ll send some snacks along with you.”

“…No thanks. What am I, a little kid?”

Though he pretended to be embarrassed, Knox couldn’t hide a small grin as he quickly jumped into the carriage. Just before the carriage left, Knox poked his head out of the window and called out to Elaina.

“But if you’re going to send anything, cookies would be good. Marion’s coming too, and she loves cookies.”

“Alright. But don’t stick your head out of the window—it’s dangerous!”

Elaina smiled and shook her head in mock exasperation as the carriage rolled away.

Life with Lyle had become wonderfully stable. It was hard to believe that a month had already passed, so quickly had the time flown by.

“Young Master Knox seems to be enjoying his time at the academy these days,” the butler remarked, watching the carriage with a satisfied expression. His comment reminded Elaina of something she had nearly forgotten.

“Butler, when is the work in my room going to be finished? I can’t keep staying in His Grace’s room forever.”

“What? Oh, that… I’ll check on it again. My memory’s not what it used to be, you see. I’ve gotten quite forgetful in my old age. Ah! Speaking of which, weren’t you scheduled to interview new staff today? I should go make sure everything is ready.”

With that, the butler quickly turned and hurried off. His speed made Elaina chuckle as she shook her head in amusement.