The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 74.2
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The dean’s office was just as spacious as before the academy’s opening, but there was one thing different. Papers were piled high on the dean’s desk.
On the low table in the center sat two teacups. The rising steam slowly faded into the air. One belonged to Dean Kelly, and the other was for the splendidly dressed man sitting at the head seat.
The man, clad in finely embroidered golden silk, radiated confidence as striking as his eye-catching looks. His sleekly combed black hair and blue eyes carried a mix of casual indifference and quiet composure.
“The foundation, you say?”
“That’s right.”
Kailos crossed his legs leisurely as he answered. He seemed less arrogant than simply a little bored.
“I was just thinking it might be nice to give scholarships to reward hardworking students.”
The words sounded offhand, but Kailos was not the one who had thought of it first. He recalled a bright face, the corners of his lips lifting briefly before flattening again.
Dean Kelly studied the Crown Prince carefully. He knew how much effort Kailos had put into founding this academy and just how much control he exercised over it.
And now he was saying he wanted to establish a foundation.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering if you really are the Crown Prince I know.”
Kailos raised an eyebrow.
“And what sort of Crown Prince do you think you know?”
“You may not want to hear the answer.”
Dean Kelly murmured this as he sipped his tea. A faint line formed between Kailos’s brows.
“Doesn’t dodging the question make me even more curious?”
“Excessive curiosity will only trouble Your Highness.”
Kailos glanced briefly toward the ceiling before turning his gaze back to him.
“Then I have to hear it now.”
“You are unpredictable.”
Kelly did not hesitate. His eyes met the prince’s squarely, his voice steady and clear.
“You are like a mischievous child who is always wondering what trouble to cause next.”
Kailos let out a delayed laugh at the comparison.
“Thank you for thinking of me as so innocent. But I am not nearly that pure.”
Kailos responded coolly.
“Brats aren’t usually considered endearing.”
Kelly’s tone was calm, as though his words were meant as a kind of foreshadowing.
“No adult ever tries to understand such a child. And those who approach out of pity soon withdraw their hands and leave.”
The air around Kailos turned cold.
“Your Highness is like that sort of mischievous child.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”
Kailos gave a small, hollow laugh. Behind it flickered a brief, quiet disturbance. He leaned back and sank deep into the sofa.
“So, are you saying you will guide me then? As repayment for me giving you this academy?”
His gaze was chilling, as though daring Kelly to answer. He was entirely capable of replacing the dean over the response.
“Why would I?”
Kelly shrugged casually as he asked in return. Though his voice carried a hint of defiance, it somehow still sounded calm. That only deepened the furrow between Kailos’s brows.
“He’s not even my student. Why should I do such a thing?”
“Didn’t you just call me a brat?”
“Even so, why should that mean I have to look after that brat?”
Kelly’s answer was so forthright that Kailos opened and closed his mouth before finally saying nothing.
“I am not such a good adult. I do not have the broad heart to embrace every child in the world.”
“…I am aware.”
Kelly’s bluntness was widely known.
“So what exactly are you expecting from me?”
As though to say he had no intention of doing anything for Kailos at all, Kelly rose from his seat and brought something over.
“I prepared a list of scholarship candidates.”
“I only came here to tell you I was going to set up a foundation.”
“I thought you might bring it up, so I prepared it in advance.”
“If I hadn’t mentioned it, I suppose you would have brought it to me anyway.”
Kelly did not deny it. Feeling as though he was dancing in the dean’s palm, Kailos let out a short laugh.
“Does living so shamelessly make life easier?”
“Not as much as it does for Your Highness.”
Kelly did not back down in the slightest, even against the Crown Prince.
“Then there’s nothing more for me to do. Make the preparations yourself. If you need anything else, tell my aide.”
Kailos rose and slowly walked toward the window. His footsteps were quiet on the thick carpet.
Outside, the academy’s afternoon classes were in full swing. The shadows of students moving between the lecture halls along the stone path played across the window.
He gazed out and murmured as if to himself.
Where is it cast, my sunlight?
The sound of the bell signaling the end of class rang faintly from a distance. At that, he did not linger any longer and left the dean’s office.
Only after the door had closed did Dean Kelly quietly murmur to himself.
“The person who could soothe Your Highness is already at your side.”
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