Villainous Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 163: Backwater noble

Chapter 163: Backwater noble

Morning came again with the elegance of a dropped brick.

The sun barely crept over the canopy, birds chirped with unbearable cheer, and Class C looked like a group of prisoners awaiting sentencing.

That meant it was a perfect day for drowning.

"Today’s lesson," I announced, "is Improvised River Crossing—also known as Which of You Can’t Swim?"

Immediately, Felix raised his hand. "I—"

"Too late," I cut in. "You’re in charge of raft testing."

The groans were immediate. The confusion, even louder.

Wallace blinked. "Professor, we’re not near any river."

I turned on my heel and pointed to the distant sound of rushing water.

"Then get walking, Paddle-for-Brains. Nature’s obstacle course awaits."

The River:

Wide. Cold. Moving with all the gentleness of a drunk ox in a pottery shop.

Perfect for emotional damage and team-building.

Class C stared at it like it had personally insulted their ancestors.

"Build a raft," I said.

"With what?" Leo asked.

I smiled.

"With your minds."

Julien sighed. "So we’re dying today."

___

Team Assignments:

Team Chaos: Wallace, Mira, Garrick

Team Crying: Felix, Leo, Julien

They had two hours.

___

Wallace immediately began assembling a blueprint using sticks and dirt. Mira ignored him and started tying logs together with vines. Garrick... tried to punch a tree down. That mostly just resulted in a bruised hand and a sense of betrayal.

On the other side, Julien took leadership.

"Let’s go with something simple. Sturdy. Unambitious."

Leo nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Underwhelming is safe!"

Felix tried to explain how weight distribution worked and was promptly ignored.

One Hour Later:

Team Chaos had created what looked like a raft but was clearly also a war crime against engineering. There were spikes. There was a flag. At some point, Wallace tried to install a rudder made from his belt.

Team Crying’s raft looked like a desperate plea for help carved into driftwood. It wobbled on dry land.

I observed both monstrosities with a long, silent stare.

"Beautiful," I finally said. "In the same way a burning library is beautiful."

They beamed.

"Time to launch."

Team Chaos went first.

Their raft did float.

For exactly three seconds.

Then it listed sideways, and Mira screamed something about "sabotage" while Garrick grabbed a log like it was a life preserver and floated away with the majestic grace of a stone skipping once.

Wallace, meanwhile, declared the mission a success mid-submersion.

"IT’S FINE, JUST NEEDS ADJUSTMENT—"

glub

Team Crying’s turn.

To their credit, their raft stayed afloat.

Mostly because none of them dared move.

Julien sat perfectly still, face frozen.

Leo held his breath the entire time.

Felix whispered prayers in a language no one recognized.

They made it halfway before a vine snapped and dumped all three into the river.

I helped them fish themselves out of the water one by one, soaked and shivering.

"Cold enough to remind you of your incompetence?" I asked cheerfully.

Leo chattered. "C-c-can’t feel my t-teeth."

"Good," I nodded. "Now imagine doing this while being chased by something that wants to eat you."

Julien groaned. "Can’t we just teleport next time?"

"Oh sure. Let me just snap my fingers and break the setting’s magic system because you don’t want wet socks."

They flopped on the shore like drowned cats, and I let them rest.

Then clapped my hands once.

"Now do it again. And this time, try building something that doesn’t insult physics."

Their groans echoed through the trees.

Later that night...

They sat around the fire again, exhausted but not complaining.

Well, not out loud.

"One day," I said, chewing on smoked rabbit, "you’ll thank me for all this."

Felix looked at me, miserable. "Will it be the same day I learn to hate rivers?"

"No, that comes sooner."

Mira grumbled. "This isn’t teaching. This is psychological warfare."

"Correct," I said. "And if it makes you better survivors, then you’re welcome."

After three days of river training, makeshift survival drills, and discovering exactly how many bugs could fit inside Wallace’s pants, Class C had reached a unanimous agreement:

Lucian Drelmont was not a teacher.

He was a cryptid with a lesson plan.

Which made it all the more shocking when he casually declared, while sipping tea in front of their soggy campfire, "Pack up. We’re going to the Dorne estate."

Felix, still wrapped in a wet blanket and emotionally unresponsive, blinked. "...What?"

Lucian leaned in, grinning. "You heard me, Backwater."

The Journey Begins

Class C had gotten used to walking by now. Somewhat.

They still complained every five minutes, though.

"Why are we doing this again?" Leo asked, dragging his feet like an abandoned corpse.

"Felix’s family wrote him a grim little letter," Lucian replied. "So naturally, I invited all of us to crash at his place."

Julien raised an eyebrow. "And that makes sense how?"

"It doesn’t," Lucian said cheerfully. "But it’s funny."

Mira snorted. "That is his usual logic."

Felix walked silently, eyes downcast.

Lucian noticed.

Felix’s Thoughts

He hadn’t told the others the details of the letter.

Just that he needed to return. Urgently.

But the truth? It clawed at him like guilt soaked in mud.

The Dorne estate wasn’t a place of fond memories. It was cold. Small. Surrounded by noble vultures with better bloodlines and worse personalities. The kind that used words like knives and expectations like nooses.

He didn’t miss it.

And now Lucian was dragging everyone there.

Why?

Felix didn’t know.

Night Campfire, Day Two

Lucian sat beside Felix, handing him a cup of tea with an expression that, if you squinted hard enough, looked almost like concern.

"Still brooding?"

Felix stared at the fire. "...I didn’t want them to come."

"I know."

Felix glanced up, startled.

Lucian smirked. "You think I’m dense? I read you like a screaming sign. But running off alone with that letter? That would’ve been dumber than letting Wallace cook again."

Wallace, somewhere in the background: "It was ONE rabbit!"

Lucian ignored him.

"Whatever your family wants, we’ll deal with it. Together. Unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with us."

Felix blinked again.

Then muttered, "...Thanks, I guess."

Lucian patted his head condescendingly. "Don’t get sentimental. I’ll start throwing rocks."

End of Day Two

Class C fell asleep under the stars again.

Lucian sat up, watching them.

He knew something was off.

The letter wasn’t just a family summons.

And the Dorne estate?

He remembered something.

In Sword of Radiance, this part had multiple branches. And only one led to something minor. The rest?

Corruption. Secrets. Danger buried beneath the marshes.

He’d rolled the dice by bringing everyone.

Now he just had to pray the wrong branch didn’t unfold.

He chuckled.

"...Which means it absolutely will."

The moment we crossed the border into the Dorne estate, the mood shifted.

The air grew colder. Not from temperature—but from weight.

Tall reeds whispered in the wind. Muddy trails snaked through shadowed trees. The village ahead was quiet in the way that made you listen harder, just to check if you’d gone deaf.

"It’s so... marshy," Julien muttered.

"Charming," Mira deadpanned.

Wallace squelched forward and nearly lost a boot. "I think something just touched me."

"Your dignity. It’s trying to escape," I said.

He glared. "That’s been gone for months, Professor."

Dorne Village

Felix led us into the heart of the Dorne estate’s territory: a quiet village that looked like it had never seen sunlight. The homes were old, wood worn gray, and the people—few and far between—watched us with the same expression someone might give an unexpected funeral procession.

It wasn’t unwelcoming.

It was worse.

They knew something was wrong. And they were waiting to see if we’d notice too.

Felix didn’t speak much as we walked.

He didn’t have to.

His shoulders were enough.

At the Estate

The Dorne family manor loomed like a sickly toad. Wide, low, and pressed against the swamp like it had grown there. Moss coated the walls, and a broken gargoyle lay half-submerged in the pond out front.

A servant greeted us at the door—thin, pale, dressed in the Dorne family colors of dark green and ash-gray.

"Welcome home, Young Master Felix," the servant said.

Felix managed a nod.

"And these are...?"

"My classmates," he said. Then, after a pause: "...And my instructor."

The servant blinked at me. "Instructor...?"

"Lucian Drelmont," I said, offering a smile with all the warmth of a loaded crossbow. "Pleasure. Where’s the danger?"

Later That Evening

Dinner was awkward.

The kind of awkward that makes you feel like someone’s watching even when nobody’s moving.

The Dorne lord wasn’t present.

Neither was anyone else with authority.

Just the servants. And us.

"Something’s wrong here," Mira whispered.

"No kidding," Julien replied. "This is less ’noble family vacation’ and more ’ghost story waiting to happen.’"

I kept quiet.

Because they weren’t wrong.

And because I remembered this branch now.

Just a glimpse of it, buried in obscure forum threads back when I played Sword of Radiance.

The "Swamp’s Hollow" arc.

It had a 20% chance of triggering.

But if it did?

Then the estate wasn’t just a backwater noble’s home.

It was a trap.

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