Elite Instructor at a Third-Rate Academy

12 – Colonel, Use Your Head☆

Ochia, for the past three days, had been engulfed in a debilitating lethargy, unable to eat, sleep, or even wash. Amy was gone. It was shocking enough that it was suicide, but the word “murder” had also surfaced. Regardless of the cause of the incident, he felt a sense of responsibility from either side and found himself unable to do anything.

“I should have.”

─Should have listened more, engaged in a serious conversation.

If it was a murder case, only Velasquez came to mind. Amy was pregnant. Although they had a tumultuous romance, she wasn’t the type to sleep with just any man. No, if she wasn’t a virgin, Velasquez wouldn’t have embraced her. But now, even if he closed his eyes.

“Ochia, why did you abandon me?”

Amy called out to him.

“What did you do while I was struggling to the point of wanting to hang myself?”

When he opened his eyes, all these apparitions disappeared. Thud──someone had left something in front of his dwelling. It was Senite, who visited daily. True to her duty as a saint, she brought him food even in her own difficult times. Although they weren’t close, he was grateful for her as the only companion who cared. Ochia gathered the courage to stand in front of the door.

“Senite?”

Silent, a polite knock, only a positive signal from behind the door.

“Repentance ceremony… I want to do it… Is it okay now?”

“Let’s have a meal first.”

As Ochia opened the door, Senite looked at him with pity. She was as exhausted as he was. Overwhelmed with emotion and unable to say anything, he hugged himself tightly, wanting to cry as much as he hadn’t washed himself.

“Sob… I really… didn’t know… that Amy was… so difficult… and in pain!”

Words burst out like an old horse’s worn-out harness.

“I know it’s tough.”

She handed him the food without a word. It was given by Genoa Van Cliffe, she said. Ochia suddenly wondered what she had talked about. He had never asked Amy to cook for him or run errands. Although he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t have felt good to be scolded by a colleague. She might not be the type to take her own life over such a thing, but anyway.

“Does Genoa… know nothing?”

“It seems so. The funeral hasn’t been held, and mourning hasn’t begun.”

Senite silently rattled the iron fence, then knelt on the ground.

“I’ll pray, so please eat and recover.”

“Senite… wait… can you listen to my story for a moment?”

“Later, when you’re ready.”

As always, the silence of the saint was so tranquil that it calmed the heart.

“Yes, tell me whenever you want to talk.”

Ochia kneeled in front of the door, praising the gods of strangers he didn’t believe in. He had to say that Amy was pregnant. He also had to confess that it was Velasquez’s child. Therefore, he had to let it be known that there was someone to take responsibility for this.

─Ochia, can you handle it?

Throughout his life, he had been persecuted because of the mixed blood of the immigrant race. Having barely planted roots in Ireland, how should he deal with the backlash if he uttered such words? Velasquez was a Count’s third son. Genoa, being a Marquis’s daughter, had already escaped all suspicions.

─Will you be the only one left to condone Amy’s words, which may be true or false?

Surely, he thought he had been broken. However, if Amy had been murdered, he couldn’t just sit there and cry. Senit held Onchia in his arms and coaxed pieces of bread into her like a child. Wordlessly, he told her stories the Saintess didn’t want to hear.

“Onchia, I don’t believe it.”

Senit pursed his lips and continued.

“There are false rumors going around that Onchia said terrible things to Amy.”

No, he wanted to shout, but his throat was blocked and no words came out. With innocent eyes, like a baby deer, she looked up and all he saw were calm, serene eyes. There was no suspicion in them, rather they were almost sacred.

─No.

Speaking only with his eyes, Senit hugged her tightly, even smaller than himself.

“If you keep crying like this, I won’t believe the truth either.”

Urged to stop, Onchia vomited all the bread she had been eating and trembled. Her ears were buzzing. In the midst of not hearing anything, a soft sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

[#12 – Investigation]

He had forcibly brought her to the interrogation room, but Onchia’s condition was too bad. He doubted whether she had the strength to conduct an intense questioning right away. Kenis left her alone and waited for her to regain her energy.

“Shall I bring a blanket?”

As he asked, she shook her head. It meant it wasn’t because of the cold.

“It’s difficult, but as the homeroom teacher, I have to investigate.”

Rather than asking for understanding, he relieved her by asking as a favor.

“I believe that Amy was murdered. And even the investigator sent by the royal court emphasizes investigating this side more, so this is a situation I need to know. It’s okay if you don’t answer, Onchia, just listen carefully and make your own judgment. If you come face to face with a cruel truth, I will explain to you what to do afterwards.”

Before starting to speak, Kenis briefly looked at Onchia’s condition. Her pupils were dull. Her hair was unkempt, as if she hadn’t washed it. But what was more unusual was this intense smell. Each person has a different scent, but she smelled very erotic. It was a first for him too, so he was worried that blood might rush to his lower body.

“Velasquez’s claim is this.”

Kenis gently relayed to Onchia what had been discussed during the meeting with Pridd.

“It was practically you that I met last. And it is said that you made extremely harsh comments about Amy’s relationship.”

It was uncertain whether it was true or false. Onchia kept shedding silent tears while trembling.

What should he do? Does the meeting have any meaning? Should he push her harder when she is already so tormented? The answers to all of them were yes. If he ignores the difficult moment right now, he will avoid every hardship in the future.

“I consider Amy and you to be victims.”

Kenis said that since Amy is already dead, Onchia, who is still alive, should protect herself from this doubtful public opinion. Onchia seemed to understand, but it didn’t seem like she was going to speak. With pursed lips, she only wore an anguished expression. It was such a painful face for a young woman that he couldn’t help but speak.

“If you don’t speak, they will perform an autopsy on Amy’s corpse under the supervision of the investigator.”

The word autopsy was more shocking than the word postmortem examination.

“Examining the condition of the body by dissecting it is the principle in murder cases. It’s been three days so we can’t delay any longer. I don’t want to see anyone’s remains being desecrated. But since the report has reached the royal court, we have to reveal it clearly. Moreover, you are involved as well. We can’t prove whether you fought with Amy or spread malicious gossip. That’s right. Bellaquez’s friends testified that he didn’t see Amy on the day.”

Kenis repeated the words friends and testimony.

“They a

“Genoa was acquitted without any charges, so the interrogation came to an end. It seems he received disciplinary points for several instances of sending alcohol, but that’s about it. He wasn’t particularly close to Amy, and she, knowing you were closer, mentioned that you might know something. Everyone thinks the same way. No one dares to touch the daughter of the Hujak family. If the homeroom teacher hadn’t raised objections, Amy would have been sent back to her hometown as a suicide, not a murder.”

With eyes that seemed to say, “I’ll use every trick on you,” Ochia trembled all over. Kenneth was not one to extend unnecessary favors to women, but at this moment, her condition was unusually unstable.

Approaching her, he knelt down, taking both her hands. He almost recoiled at the intensified fragrance. It wasn’t just sensual; it was more stimulating instinct than sensuality.

“If you remain silent, the honor of all common-born female students will be lost.”

Finally, as he called her name again, a faint response came.

“If I speak… what will happen?”

It sounded like a voice summoned not from the present but from a distant past.

“Then… what will happen to me?”

As Kenneth tried to speak, Ochia kept muttering as if under a trance.

“Who… will believe… and protect me?”

Looking up at Kenneth, Ochia, shedding dry tears, asked again.

“Will the teacher… protect me?”

Nodding, a face resembling poison and bitterness was formed.

“How… can the teacher… do that?”

—He can.

Although he looked at her with certainty, it wasn’t the gaze of belief. At this moment, Kenneth admitted that he needed Warren’s help for the first time. Telling her to wait for a moment, he wrapped a blanket around Ochia’s body.

“Don’t come out from here. I’ll show you what power looks like.”

Saying so, he went to Warren’s place. Loyalty—raising a sharp salute, he, who was once Warren’s successor, told him to follow to the interview room. Seeing him spit out everything he had just eaten and come out, Kenneth realized he wasn’t doing so well in military life.

“Ochia, look here.”

Opening the door and entering, Warren whispered to his student.

“As pretty as Visalle, right?”

“Enough with the nonsense, just greet.”

Approaching Ochia, Warren Remelelts declared himself as a deputy of the royal family.

“Investigator… of the truth… royal… so?”

To the bewildered question, Kenneth told Warren to stand against the wall. Without a word, he stood against the wall, assumed the attention position, and saluted.

“I asked if you can protect her.”

When Ochia stupidly raised her head, Kenneth ordered Warren.

“Warren Remelelts, Lieutenant of the Military Administration.”

“Yes!”

“From now on, write your name with your butt.”

“What?”

“Execute.”

“Execute!”

With a puzzled expression, Warren wrote his name with his buttocks. Despite his rapid promotion from captain to colonel, it was an act unbecoming of his age and rank. If it weren’t for the command of the idolized Kennes Rada, he would never have done such a thing.

“Complete.”

After completing his task, Kennes looked at Ochia and said, “If there’s anything you want to say to the representative of the royal family, say it now.”

However, Ochia considered this a kind of play, a sophisticated role-playing, and couldn’t believe anything.

“It can’t be helped.”

“Yes!”

“Bang your head.”

“What?”

“Execute it in the spot where I put my foot.”

“But… I’ve already been promoted to colonel?”

“I’ll count to five.”

Hesitating, Warren slammed his head on the floor. Seeing Kennes as if she still couldn’t believe him, Ochia stood up and grabbed the chair. Can anyone do such a thing, even in acting? A new logic was born in her mind.

─Is the teacher performing secret missions for the royal family?

Soon, when Warren asked how long he had to do this, Kennes kicked his buttocks with her foot, toppling him.

“I can report to the higher-ups for real!”

“Do it.”

“Oh, what kind of thing is this in front of the kids!”

“Ochia, do you believe that I have the power to protect your testimony at this point?”

At Kennes’ words, Ochia approached step by step, buried her head in his chest, and cried. After a long time, she cried until the smell of hair oil turned from pungent to the scent of salt, then she finally revealed the story she heard from Amy.