I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 442: Intensity (1)

"I don't understand why that person suddenly wants to meet me. It seems like they're trying to hold me responsible for their daughter's kidnapping."

Rudger knows about Walter Roschen.

He was a cold-blooded businessman without mercy and a living legend in the industry who elevated the once-ordinary merchant family Roschen to a major corporation.

He was particularly famous for controlling many lucrative businesses related to magical artifacts.

However, Rudger had information about Walter Roschen in a different sense.

Namely, as Sedina Roschen's biological father and the person she hates the most.

"Or is he trying to thank me because the troublesome child of his family has disappeared?"

Naturally, Rudger's words couldn't help but be sharp.

Rudger intensely disliked people who didn't fulfill their duties as parents to their children.

Vierano acknowledged that reaction with a bitter smile.

"Still, wouldn't it be better to meet and talk in person?"

"Mr. Vierano, it seems you've heard something separately."

"...It wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like me to speak freely about others' family matters. However, I think at least if you meet in person, your concerns will be unfounded."

"..."

Rudger pondered those words for a moment.

If someone like Vierano was recommending it this strongly, it surely meant there was something to it.

"...I'll meet once out of respect for you, sir."

"Yes. Then I'll contact them right away. They should arrive soon."

Vierano, who went outside briefly to make contact, returned sooner than expected.

He had simply sent a message and not long after, a carriage arrived in front of the hideout building.

"Let's get in."

Rudger, Alex, and Bellaruna boarded the carriage following Vierano's guidance.

Bellaruna still seemed puzzled about how she ended up accompanying them.

The carriage was larger than expected, it was spacious enough to have plenty of room even with four people, and the interior was filled with all sorts of protective devices.

'This is the kind of carriage royalty would ride in.'

Even if there were any attacks, being inside this carriage would be as secure as a vault.

It gave the impression that the Roschen family was very wealthy and showed considerable courtesy to their guests.

The carriage headed toward a large mansion on the outskirts of Leathervelk.

It wasn't the Roschen main house, but a branch office they had set up separately in Leathervelk.

If anything, it could be called a villa but for a villa, its grandeur and size were beyond words.

"...Just how much money do they have?"

Alex muttered while looking at the scenery of the wide yard.

Meanwhile, the carriage stopped, and the group headed inside the large mansion following the butler's guidance.

"Vierano Dentis."

Standing in front of the magnificent door, Vierano knocked politely while speaking.

"Come in."

When the voice was heard from inside, Vierano turned to look at the group, nodded, and opened the door.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Walter Roschen, head of the Roschen family."

Walter Roschen appeared to be in his early forties.

His hair was neatly slicked back and his face was without a single wrinkle.

However, his eyes were small and sharp, and perhaps due to the shadows on his slightly sunken cheeks, he had a very gloomy and cold impression.

From his first impression alone, one could immediately understand why people said he was without mercy or tears.

'This person is Sedina Roschen's father.'

The difference was so stark it was hard to believe they were blood-related, compared to the clumsy image and small, round Sedina.

The only common feature was their hair color.

Sedina must have been mainly taken after her mother's appearance.

"I am Rudger Chelici."

"I know from what I've heard."

"I heard you wanted to meet me, and since I'm busy now, I would appreciate it if you could get straight to the point."

It was quite a rude tone considering it was their first meeting.

Vierano turned to look at Rudger in surprise at those words but Rudger's gaze remained fixed on Walter Roschen, as if piercing through him.

Walter could have gotten upset at such behavior, but his expression showed no change as he nodded.

"I've heard my daughter has caused you much trouble in various ways. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude as her father."

Walter spoke in a calm and static voice.

Rudger's eyebrow twitched slightly at that response which showed not even a hint of emotion.

"I didn't know you were someone who cared so much about your daughter."

Rudger's words carried many implications and Vierano watched the scene anxiously, like someone sitting next to a time bomb.

If things really crossed the line, he was prepared to somehow intervene and mediate but Walter Roschen showed an unexpected reaction.

Rather than responding with sharpness, he let out a faint self-deprecating smile and acknowledged those words.

"You're right. I'm in no position to say such things."

"..."

"This shouldn't have happened in the first place. But having come this far, I couldn't just sit by doing nothing. That's why I invited you all."

Rudger looked at Walter with an expression that seemed to ask what scheme this was.

Rather than explaining, Walter conveyed his intent in a different way.

"Since it feels awkward just sitting, shall we take a walk?"

Walter led the group to the mansion's backyard.

At the back of the large mansion grounds was a huge greenhouse.

"This is..."

Bellaruna looked around the inside of the greenhouse with curiosity.

It wasn't made to show off to others.

As an elf, she could feel it more clearly that the living plants inside showed signs of being carefully tended to.

"This is the garden I manage."

Walter said this while picking up a sprayer and watering the garden.

His movements were natural, as if he had done this many times before.

"Does being the CEO of a major corporation allow for such leisurely hobbies?"

"How could that be? I do this by squeezing out time that doesn't exist."

-Swoosh.

The flower petals holding water gave off a fresh fragrance.

Watching this, Walter asked.

"Do you think it's an unfitting hobby?"

"At least it's markedly different from your publicly known image."

"That's natural. Because initially, I wasn't the one who tended this garden."

Walter looked at the white chair placed inside the garden with eyes full of nostalgia.

"My wife was the one who tended this place. And I've been continuing to tend it after her."

"...Your wife..."

"She was the last survivor of the Plante family."

Walter knew everything.

Who his wife was, and what value Sedina, who inherited that blood, held for the elves.

That's why it was incomprehensible.

"How could such a person abandon their own daughter like that?"

-Drop.

The stream of water from the sprayer stopped over the flower bed.

His expression couldn't be seen as his back was turned. There probably wouldn't be any change in his expression but even from just that back view, one could see many emotions stirring in Walter's mind.

"...I won't deny it. Whatever the reason, what I did must have surely hurt that child. I probably don't have the right to act like a father. Still, I had no choice but to do so."

"What is this great reason?"

"My wife has passed away from this world. What do you think was the reason?"

Walter's gaze turned to Rudger.

The moment Rudger saw his eyes, he realized one thing.

This man wasn't devoid of emotions, like himself, he just didn't show them on the outside.

Inside those seemingly cold eyes stirred emotions hotter than anyone else present.

"It was assassination. The work of those targeting the bloodline of the Plante family."

"Was it the Shadewarden's doing?"

Walter shook his head.

"If it had been them, my wife wouldn't have died. They would have tried to kidnap her somehow. I know why they targeted Sedina. Those who targeted my wife were other elves."

"Other elves..."

"The moderates."

It was Vierano who finished that statement.

"If you mean the moderates, aren't they the ones opposing the extremist Lifrey family? Are you saying such people tried to eliminate the Plante family?"

"Yes. That's correct."

"...I don't understand."

The extremist Lifrey family sought to regain the power of the World Tree at its peak, aiming to create a paradise for elves.

Their argument was that they could endure any sacrifice and war that followed to achieve this.

In contrast, the moderates were those who argued that too much had been lost to war, and peace must be maintained.

Looking at just their intentions, the moderates could be seen as righteous.

"Everyone would think that way. That if they're moderates, they would rather protect the survivors of the Plante family and help them rebuild their family."

Vierano couldn't hide his complicated feelings.

His expression mixed emotions of sympathy and contempt for his own kind.

"But think about it. Rebuilding the Plante family would require enormous time, effort, and resources. There would inevitably be fierce opposition within elven society to reviving a family that was once expelled for committing a great sin. That would surely lead to conflict."

"...Are you saying the moderates don't want that conflict itself?"

"If they remove just one seed that could cause conflict, things won't escalate."

In the end, the moderates were moderates in name only, using that name to commit other evil acts.

"They were also the first to notice my wife's identity."

Walter spoke while gazing heavily at the flower garden.

"They approached my wife in a friendly manner and said they would help restore the family's former glory, with their true intentions hidden behind a mask."

"...At least their words about helping rebuild the Plante family were true."

"Yes. Probably to counter the Lifrey family. Since the Plante family's legitimacy exceeded that of the Lifrey family, they likely wanted to use them as a political tool to suppress the opposing faction. As puppets that suited their taste. The problem was that my wife didn't want that."

"Are you saying she rejected the offer?"

"What my wife wanted wasn't something like rebuilding the family."

A bitter smile lingered on Walter Roschen's lips.

"She only dreamed of living happily with her family while tending this garden. She only wanted such modest things."

But when the moderate elves learned this fact, they immediately changed their attitude.

Since she wouldn't take their hand, they decided to kill her and erase her from the world.

At least rather than letting her fall into the Lifrey family's hands, they thought it better to cut off the Plante family's bloodline.

"Not long after, there was an ambush. Assassins broke through the family's security and rushed in."

Walter's complexion darkened as if recalling that day.

"We barely overcame the crisis. The reinforced security I had added just in case helped. But even so, we couldn't completely prevent the ambush. She was severely wounded."

"If she was the last survivor of the Plante family, wasn't she incredibly strong?"

Bellaruna carefully offered her opinion.

Noble elven families weren't just about inheriting bloodlines.

No, because they inherited that bloodline, they could naturally exert strong power.

"She wasn't in good condition due to long years in hiding. It was a state that was hard to recover from even with long-term care. Then the ambush worsened her condition."

Walter still remembers her final moments as she held his hand with a weak smile and her hand losing warmth and falling like autumn leaves.

-Please take care of Sedina.

He could never forget her, closing her eyes thinking of others until the very end.

"They won't give up because the blood flows in Sedina. They'll move their target to the next one. So..."

"...So you treated your daughter as if she didn't exist in the family? Like an abandoned child, without giving her any attention?"

"Wealthy merchants and nobles often have mistresses they can't reveal. I disguised Sedina as the daughter of one such mistress."

Walter laughed self-deprecatingly.

"No one doubted it. When I said I had met a woman elsewhere and had a child, they accepted it naturally. Such things happen commonly in these positions. I thought it was rather fortunate. If I treated her like an abandoned child, even the assassins wouldn't be too suspicious."

"So you left that child like that?"

Rudger had seen how Sedina would flash with anger and hatred whenever she spoke of her family.

Though Sedina didn't say it, Rudger felt more keenly than anyone that behind the anger and hatred lay sadness incomparable to anything else.

"That was the way to protect that child."

Rudger approached Walter and grabbed his collar.

"Don't try to excuse yourself with such garbage. Your actions make you no different from a father who abandoned his child, no matter how you look at it."

"Ru-Rudger sir! Please stop!"

Vierano was greatly startled by the seriously deteriorating atmosphere.

The one who stopped such Vierano was Walter Roschen, who was being grabbed by the collar by Rudger.

Walter looked straight at Rudger and asked.

"Then, what should I have done? In a situation where they were targeting my daughter's life, what could I have done?"

"You should have protected her until the end!"

Vierano who was trying to stop them, and Alex and Bellaruna who were watching the scene, all froze in surprise at Rudger's shout.

It was none other than Rudger Chelici who shouted with emotion, the same person who would make his voice ice cold when he was angry.

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