I’m Not the Mastermind

“Haah…”

After Yujin had left, Ines let out a deep sigh, pressing her fingers against her forehead.

“Yujin-nim… no matter how you look at it, this was…”

She couldn't help but feel that Yujin had taken things too far. However, she couldn’t entirely blame him, either.

If she hadn’t made that mistake in the first place, none of this would have happened. She understood that Yujin had deliberately taken on the role of the villain to cover for her.

Of course, if he hadn’t toyed with Reina in such a strange way, things might not have escalated like this… But then again, perhaps her treating Yujin so deferentially was a problem in itself.

“…What should I do? Will this become an issue later?”

She had no idea.

Surely Yujin hadn’t acted without any consideration, but deceiving Reina in this way—was it really the right approach?

It wasn’t as though this would lead to Yujin’s true identity being exposed, but…

“…Haah.”

Ultimately, Ines chose to feign ignorance. She ignored Reina, who was still hiding just beyond the hallway’s corner, and stepped back inside the Headmaster’s office, shutting the door behind her.@@novelbin@@

For now, there was nothing she could do. She could only hope things worked out.

『So you’ve gone and done it again.』

Meanwhile, as Yujin walked down the hallway, he heard Tiamat’s voice.

Yujin simply shrugged.

“Well, there wasn’t much choice. If I hadn’t done anything, the Headmaster would’ve been the one forced into an uncomfortable position. I couldn’t let her get dragged into trouble just because of my antics.”

『But it’s fine to do that to Professor Reina?』

“To be honest, even I think I went too far this time.”

He did feel a bit guilty toward Reina. He hadn’t originally planned to scare her this much. It was just…

“Well, it’s still better than her feeling betrayed, isn’t it? According to the Headmaster, she’s been a loyal aide for a long time. If someone she deeply trusted suddenly started treating me, of all people, like a superior, what do you think that would do to her?”

『So why not just come clean now?』

“I doubt a few words would be enough to clear up the misunderstanding—unless I reveal that I’m a dragon.”

Perhaps it would have been easier to explain the truth to Reina, just as he had done with Ines.

Maybe he could use Dragon Speech to bind her to secrecy. But Yujin didn’t trust the idea of an all-powerful ability—he believed that no power was truly infallible.