I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me

17 – 8. Volkanov Viscount Command (1)

It was over dozens of minutes later when Hayley opened her eyes again.

“Oh… I fainted in the classroom…”

Seated on the hospital room chair, she had a devastated expression as if the world had collapsed. She couldn’t even lift her head out of embarrassment.

Seeing Hayley, who had always been bold and confident, looking completely defeated, Nurse Melissa tried to force a smile.

“I can only imagine how surprised you were when you suddenly got tackled by Ian Sword. But thankfully, there’s nothing wrong with your body.”

Nurse Melissa Prince.

She, who was one year younger than Hayley and never thought she would end up in the hospital, couldn’t hide her surprise when she was brought in.

However, she herself was also a patient. Melissa decided to put her surprise aside and focus on what needed to be done first.

She handed a cookie to Hayley from the drawer.

“Even if you’re feeling down, at least have one of these. You’ve only had something sweet when you’re not feeling well.”

“Thank you.”

Hayley received the cookie and took a light bite.

Crunch!

The sweet taste instantly filled her mouth…but it didn’t help uplift Hayley’s spirits.

It was definitely a sweet cookie. But to her, the taste of the cookie felt bitter.

“Ah…”

In the end, Hayley couldn’t finish the cookie and set it down. Her appetite disappeared when she thought about the future.

“What will happen to me now?”

The author who made a living teaching etiquette. He fainted during a lesson in front of a mere student.

Of course, Ian Volkov was not just an ordinary student.

Nevertheless, wasn’t he also a student being educated at ARC?

The fact that she lost to a student was an undeniable reality.

Thinking about the repercussions of that fact made her head throb.

“Melissa, this might be the end for me.”

“What? Um…why would you say something like that?”

“No…I’m not qualified. I became a commandant and lost to a student, how can I continue this life?”

It might be a situation where her abilities were doubted…thinking about that made her eyebrows tighten.

Tears started to well up in her eyes, faintly reflected on the desk.

Feeling her eyes becoming red, Hayley quickly lowered her head.

Melissa, who had a warm heart, would surely understand even if she shed tears…but she still didn’t want to show her tears.

As Hayley’s usually bold self started to feel suffocated, Melissa hesitated, unsure of what to do.

“What…what should I do? Maybe it’s better to just offer empathy for now?”

She had read about it in a book before. It said that when you share what’s inside with someone, it can help ease your mind.

Although counseling wasn’t her specialty, it seemed possible to at least listen to her story.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry too much…we all have moments like this. I understand.”

Melissa forced a smile and affectionately stroked Hayley’s hand. Melissa’s hand covered Hayley’s cold hand.

Unfortunately, it did not truly calm Hayley. Instead, it became an explosive element, confining her to a storm of emotions.

“Melissa… Can you believe I’ve never been able to keep up with Sandro’s moves, even once?”

“Uh, his moves?”

“Yeah… I’ve never managed to match any of Ian’s moves.”

She hadn’t let her guard down. Although there was a significant gap between her and her opponent, Ian Volkanofov, it was by no means an overlookable level.

Naturally, she had analyzed him in her own way and put in her best effort in the fight.

“I’ve been observing Ian for a long time…”

Honestly, Hayley was confident that she knew Ian quite well. She was the one who had first discovered his incredible talent.

Because she knew him so well, she also knew where Ian fell short.

“I aimed for Ian’s weaknesses. But… it was me who got hit instead…”

When she thought about it, Ian’s weakness was none other than his lower body.

After discarding the sword, Ian had exclusively relied on his fists in combat and rarely used his legs. Even when he did use them, it was mainly for stepping or shifting his weight. Other uses of his legs were rare.

The reason for this, in Hayley’s opinion, was quite simple.

“It may seem like the importance of the legs is the lowest on the surface, but in reality, aren’t the lower body the most critical?”

The lower body creates the punches. Hayley had realized this, and she believed that if she could immobilize Ian’s legs, he would become helpless.

With a calm demeanor, Hayley said, and Melissa asked in a composed tone, “But… was there some issue?”

“…I was wrong in my thinking.”

“Yes, yes?”

To be precise, I thought he wouldn’t be able to defend against attacks aimed at his lower body. But that was not the case. He defended against the attacks in a way I’d never seen before.”

“But what’s even worse is that I still don’t know how to handle that situation.”

“That can’t be…”

Although Hayley spoke calmly, Melissa, who was listening, couldn’t hide her astonishment.

Melissa knew. She knew that the woman in front of her was not someone who could be easily defeated by anyone. It was surprising to see someone with such low enthusiasm.

The infirmary fell silent immediately. The entire space felt like it had submerged underwater.

“To be honest, I’m starting to think I should just give up.”

“Haley-nim.”

“It would be impossible to continue the class while fainting embarrassingly in front of the students.”

“I don’t know about anything else… but maybe you don’t have to worry about that.”

“What do you mean?”

When Haley asked, as if she didn’t understand English, Melissa revealed what she knew.

“Ian said so. The moment you collapsed to the ground, he used magic to obstruct the students’ view.”

“…”

“Of course, because of that, the atmosphere became chaotic… but apparently, the class ended right after, so they immediately dispersed… Anyway! What I’m trying to say is that, other than Ian, there was no student who witnessed Haley Commander fainting on the ground.”

So, don’t worry.

Tears fell down Haley’s cheeks as she listened to Melissa’s words.

“Of course… you may suspect that it was Ian’s doing. But certainty and suspicion are certainly different… so please don’t worry too much.”

Melissa continued pouring out her words to boost Haley’s spirits, but unfortunately, her words didn’t register in her ears.

“Ian… betrayed me….”

Her heart raced. Her pupils contracted, and her vision started to narrow.

A disciple she had abandoned. Not only had she been defeated by that disciple… but she also received overwhelming consideration…

It was too humiliating that she couldn’t lift her head, but at the same time, she was grateful.

Haley, who had been silent for a while, suddenly stood up from her seat.

“I-I’ll go check it out.”

“H-Haley? You’re leaving already?”

“I appreciate the treatment… I will definitely repay this debt later.”

Melissa watched her as she walked away in a fluster.

She was someone who always appeared tougher than anyone else, but now she seemed weaker than anyone else.

***

The Close Combat Understanding class came to a close, accompanied by Commander Haley Millers’ unprecedented performance of fainting.

Of course, only Eri and herself had witnessed the scene of fainting.

It seemed that Eri wasn’t quite happy about that…

“The scene where the Commander collapses after clashing with the enemy was quite impressive. It was like a warrior facing injustice… It would have been even better if other people had seen the Commander fainting… It’s a bit disappointing.”

She maintained a nonchalant expression, but her tone was full of resentment.

If it was Eri, who had strongly disliked Haley, it was only natural.

The gaze Eri showed while carrying the unconscious Haley to the infirmary was undoubtedly cruel.

Of course, I understand Eri’s sentiment… Unfortunately, it was the best choice.

“It was an unavoidable situation.”

If another professor had done such nonsense to him, it wouldn’t have ended without a fight. He probably would have put everything at stake and insulted them.

However, Ian couldn’t do that to Hailey Myles.

‘She is Ariel’s mentor.’

If someone like her were to faint in front of all the students, what would happen?

If Ian knew Hailey Myles, he might even doubt his own abilities and consider giving up on the lecture.

‘Of course, it doesn’t matter whether I learn close combat skills or not…’

The biggest problem is that she may even quit teaching Ariel swordsmanship.

‘I absolutely have to stop that.’

Ariel had to be strong. She was the only one who could handle the weapon that could kill the demons.

She was the person who could kill the demons and bring peace to the world.

In order to know the secret, Ian had to at least help Ariel defeat the demons.

After briefly pondering Ian’s words, Eri relaxed her expression.

“If you insist to that extent… I understand. It seems like I overreacted.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

I won’t pay any more attention. After hearing that, Ian was able to relax his tension.

Recently, he had been so tense that his head was starting to ache. Rest was urgently needed for his current condition.

“Speaking of which, classes are over and it’s now the weekend. Eri, you’re probably planning to go back home, right? Then it’s better to part ways around this time since you should start preparing urgently.”

“I appreciate your consideration, but… there’s no need to go that far.”

“There’s no need to do that…”

Was she planning to stay in the dormitory over the weekend?

Well, the majority of students do go back home for the weekend. But there were also quite a few students who didn’t.

Some stayed at the academy to study. And some students didn’t want to be in the strict atmosphere at home, so they stayed even on weekends.

‘I guess she’ll do as she pleases…’

It was when Ian absentmindedly picked up the macaron on the table.

“Because I plan to assist Captain during the weekend.”

“….”

He realized that life doesn’t always go as planned.

Ian stared blankly at Eri, and Eri stared blankly back at him.

Why did the princess impose such a trial upon herself?

“You don’t need to attend to me until the weekend,”

Ian hastily interjected.

“Ian Division Commander, is it not permissible because I have things I want to learn personally from you… and I want to be with you… From a distance, it might sound as sweet and tender as a confession, but up close, there was no greater tragedy.”

‘I plan to search your house once. If you refuse, I’ll kill you… Is it acceptable to take it this way…’

She couldn’t refuse that, and yet carrying it around was burdensome, so she pondered what to do.

At that moment, Ian’s device began to ring loudly.

“Just wait a moment,”

Ian quickly checked the message, and it contained unexpected news.

[We are contacting you urgently because the mistress’s health is in danger. Please return to the family as soon as possible.]

– Shulkin, the head butler of Viscount Volkanov.

“Is this already the beginning of the acting event…”

Ian’s expression changed drastically upon reading the message.

The acting event.

When Kiline, who had been clearing out demons, was injured, and it was determined that it was difficult to lead the family, they summoned Ian to temporarily assume the role of the family head.

“If it were like other noble families, the steward would handle the family head’s duties without calling the children who are attending the academy… But, sadly, the Volkanov family couldn’t do that.”

It was because of the will left by Alex Volkanov.

“Alex Volkanov said that the family’s affairs can only be decided by those who have the blood of Volkanov, so they would never entrust it to outsiders unless it’s an exceptional situation.”

The great ancestor’s words were like a command to the descendants.

Therefore, if the family head couldn’t perform the duties, his descendants would temporarily take over.

In this case, it was Ian.

Ariel was staying at the Arc’s dormitory and receiving training from Haley, so she couldn’t come home often.

It seemed fitting for Ian to take on the acting role since he was already commuting to school.

“Is he trying to establish himself as the head butler…”

Ian recalled his memories of Volkanov territory in deep thought.

Harsh environment. Constant scarcity of food and resources due to the position of Changebaek, which provided tax benefits. Without it, Viscount Volkanov was on the brink of ruin.

“And… they tried to blame it on Ian…”

Steward Shulkin didn’t do that, though.

Most of those managing Volkanov’s territory were already mishandling things, blaming Ian for the resulting problems.

“It’s probably not any different now…”

Ian’s gaze turned sharp.

If he agreed to the proposal… he would be taking on all the family’s issues.

Of course, that wasn’t a problem. Ian knew how to save the territory.

The only problem was that he needed someone to help him…

At that moment, Eri came into Ian’s mind.

From the first day they met, she had shown him an unbelievable level of research.

“Just a moment…”

Could this… be possible? The thought filled Ian’s mind.

It seemed like a way to eliminate the family’s problems had appeared.