The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 142

Episode 142

The CEO, noticing that Edwin seemed lost in thought, interrupted him.

“After Your Majesty’s speech, we plan to draft a declaration of support from 30 young members of the Retro Wave Party. We will announce the declaration alongside the knights.”

“I’m questioning former palace maids and knights who worked there 20 years ago. Our witnesses might come from among them.”

Earl Hendricks spoke enthusiastically. Edwin nodded nonchalantly. 

Now that he was in the presence of Earl Hendricks, one of their major sponsors, the CEO began using more formal titles when addressing Edwin.

‘How pretentious.’

He wasn’t so foolish as to be unaware that he was being used as a pawn in their chess game.

‘Once I firmly secure the inheritance, I can either discard them immediately.’

Under the name of the Retro Wave Party, those who had gathered had different intentions, as it wasn’t originally formed with a clear set of beliefs in mind. 

Dom Industries pursued money, and Edwin, on the other hand, had no particular thoughts. He had just followed his emotions to get to this point. 

The only one among them who seemed genuinely committed to the retro wave Party’s main cause appeared to be the aging Earl Hendricks.

Earl Hendricks spoke with a choked voice.

“The former Crown Prince was a remarkable man. He may have strayed a bit, but I’m sure he would have become a great leader, resembling our late Emperor…”

Edwin nodded briefly. In truth, he had nothing specific to do. 

Dom Industries would gather its resources through the development of the new explosive, and the elderly lord would engage in political machinations.

‘I just need to exist quietly.’

The Earl muttered with a deeply contemplative expression.

“Conway has even lost his way… It doesn’t seem like Ethan will ever return from his travels. And as for their second son…”

The CEO actively responded to the words in an attempt to align with the preferences of their supporter.

“He’s said to be involved with a commoner.”

Edwin’s eyes, which had been absent-minded, flickered with a hint of curiosity. The discussion continued regarding Rose Bell and Jasper Conway.

“What has Ethan been doing all this time? It’s a problem that such a young man has gained power too soon. If only Conway had been here, things wouldn’t have been such a mess.”

“You make a valid point.”

“I’m suspicious of Conway’s second son, even the rumor about the secret engagement. It smells fishy. Jasper Conway, falling in love with a commoner? That’s preposterous. Maybe the Emperor has a hand in this…”

“If that’s the case, Conway might be leaning towards the reformists.”

“To survive in the era of the current Emperor, he abandoned his beliefs. At this rate, the reform of the noble laws may pass.”

“We must prevent that at all costs. Isn’t that why we’ve gathered here today, Earl?”

Listening to their conversation, Edwin thought about Rose.

‘If Jasper Conway is not truly in love with her… pretending to be in a fake relationship.’

After actually meeting Rose, it didn’t seem out of place, though. She appeared simple, yet had an intriguing charm. Even if Jasper was pretending to be in love, it didn’t feel that unusual.

‘Nevertheless, I wonder if she’s behaving herself in the underground chamber.’

With mercenaries stationed at the door, even if she tried to escape, it would be impossible from there. Edwin stifled a yawn and stretched his aching body.

“Ugh…”

In response to the slightly hoarse voice, the Earl frowned and looked at Edwin. Edwin just shrugged his shoulders.

‘He’s not going anywhere without me anyway.’

The time for drafting the declaration was approaching, but Edwin felt no sense of tension or urgency.

He wasn’t anxious about the possibility of things going awry. It didn’t bother him whether the Emperor used excessive force to suppress the situation or if there were internal betrayals. 

Various factors could derail the plan, but controlling such variables was impossible.

However, what Edwin didn’t anticipate was that the variable that would disrupt the plan would begin with the fingertips of a seemingly insignificant young woman.

* * *

Rose’s fingertips trembled as she had been dismantling and reassembling the scrap for hours. 

The underground chamber was growing colder and more damp as time went on.

Although the weather had been gradually getting colder, this place seemed unusually frigid. Moreover, it had rained briefly earlier. 

Rose’s lips, already affected by the cold, had turned bluish.

Despite her body growing numb, Rose didn’t stop. Disassembling the defusing device and removing its core components took longer than she had anticipated, but she had almost completed the on-the-spot bomb’s casing.

Rose had connected the makeshift bomb to the heavy underground chamber door. 

As soon as someone outside turned the doorknob, the device she had pre-installed would activate, and the bomb would detonate a few seconds later.

‘As long as I haven’t made any mistakes.’

Rose reviewed her design multiple times, and it appeared flawless. She stood beside the door for a while, listening intently to the sounds from outside.

According to her continuous observations, two people were guarding right in front of the underground chamber. They would take shifts from time to time. If she could exploit that, her chances of escaping unharmed would increase.

Rose’s hands trembled as she waited for the right moment. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

‘…Terrifying.’

What frightened her the most was that when the bomb detonated, people near it would get hurt. It was her first time attacking someone in her life.

Then, a voice from beyond the door announced someone was about to come and relieve himself.

‘Now’s the time.’

Rose hurriedly dashed into a corner of the underground chamber. 

It was the farthest point within the calculated blast radius. She hid behind a shelf, stuffing her right ear with rubber she had obtained from disassembling an engine.

Rose squeezed her pale hand tightly.

‘I have to do it. I have to return to Jasper to the Capital…’

The moment she woke up this morning, envisioning a ball, seemed distant now. 

After taking a deep breath, Rose yelled out towards the door.

“Can you please let me use the restroom?! Please!”

There was no immediate response. Rose continued calling out louder and more urgently.

Getting impatient, the person outside opened the door and stepped inside.

“Hey, can you keep it down?”

A gruff voice echoed, and as soon as it did, Rose plugged her left ear with rubber and crouched behind a shelf.

Clang! The doorknob turned, and Rose held her breath, then Boom! The explosion resounded, and the walls and ceiling of the underground chamber shook.

Rose almost fell to the ground as the shockwave swept over her, but she managed to hold herself up. If she hadn’t plugged her ears, the explosion would have left her disoriented for a few seconds.

She removed the rubber from her ears and plugged her nose with a sleeve she had prepared in advance. With far more agility than normal, Rose stood up.

The acrid smoke filled the air, making her eyes water. The walls on either side of the underground chamber door had collapsed, and more than half of the staircase leading upstairs was in ruins.

If she had been less fortunate, the way upstairs could have been completely blocked. Rose staggered towards the surface. A person lying on the exploded door briefly came into view.

The fear of having caused a tremendous event suddenly overwhelmed her, but she didn’t stop; she kept moving her legs. It was the best she could do under the circumstances.

She climbed over the concrete rubble and crawled up the nearly destroyed staircase. Even with her nose plugged with her hand, the spicy sensation bothered her, and she coughed.

“Ha… ha.”

Once Rose reached the surface, she quickly scanned her surroundings. When she had first moved with the blindfold on, she had tried to remember the direction of the path from the entrance to the underground chamber.

She intended to run straight toward the entrance, but from far away on the other side, she heard the sounds of several people running. It seemed like those startled by the explosion were coming this way.

‘If I go to the entrance, I’ll be caught.’

Rose’s top priority was to escape from them without getting caught. When faced with danger, her nerves sharpened. Her body, which had been frozen in the cold, started to warm up.

Without much deliberation, Rose immediately changed her direction and rushed towards the window. She urgently unlocked the latch and jumped out.

‘I need to find a car.’

Even though she had heard the sound of engines earlier, it was now dark, making it hard to see. The footsteps and voices of those pursuing her were getting closer.

Rose ran in the direction that took her farther away from them. Her breathing was getting heavier, and her legs felt heavy. She had exerted herself to the point where her body couldn’t handle it anymore.

Under normal circumstances, she might have stopped there, but Rose summoned her last reserves of strength. As her vision blurred momentarily, she spotted a car parked near the barn.

She quickly approached the car’s ignition. Normally, it would require a key to unlock the ignition, but Rose knew how to manually unlock it in emergencies.

Rose had seen countless car parts while preparing for the invention contest. Handling cars had become familiar to her. 

With the tools she had brought from the underground chamber, she swiftly unlocked the ignition, grabbed it tightly, and turned it clockwise with force.

The relatively modern ignition turned without much effort. 

Rose waited for the engine to start. She climbed into the driver’s seat and, being of small stature, perched on the edge of the seat while pressing the accelerator pedal.

She pushed the pedal with determination, but the engine didn’t start right away. The car seemed to vibrate as if it was about to move but didn’t.

“Please, please…”

Rose whispered desperately.

“Get her!”

From outside the vehicle, she heard men shouting.