The Yandere villainess loves the useless engineer

Chapter 71: Group project

The next morning I sat near the back window of the classroom again while half listening to the lesson.

Actually—

Not even half listening.

I was thinking about Leon again.

Specifically whether he would look good wearing a wedding ring.

Probably.

Everything looked good on Leon.

Beside me Clara suddenly dropped into her seat with enough exhaustion that it briefly pulled me from my thoughts.

"...I failed."

I blinked once before looking toward her.

"At what."

"Finding teammates."

She looked genuinely tired now.

"I asked almost everyone yesterday."

Then she sighed deeply before rubbing her forehead.

"And the second I mentioned your name they all magically seemed to already be in a different groups."

I stared at her silently.

Clara pointed toward me accusingly.

"You’ve terrified the entire academy."

"Mhm."

"That wasn’t a compliment!"

I calmly rested my chin against one hand again while looking back toward the snowy courtyard outside the window.

I didn’t particularly care who joined the group anyway.

As long as the mission finished quickly enough for me to return to being able to think about Leo in peace.

Meanwhile the teacher continued speaking nervously at the front of the room while avoiding eye contact with me like usual.

The lesson dragged endlessly afterward.

Clara occasionally took notes.

I occasionally imagined Leon carrying me after our wedding.

Productive morning overall.

Eventually the bell signaling the end of class finally rang.

Almost instantly students began leaving the room while talking among themselves about the upcoming field missions.

Clara stood beside me while gathering her books.

"Well."

She sighed again.

"I guess we should go explain to the academy that nobody wants to join us."

I stood calmly afterward.

"Or threaten them."

"NO."

We had barely reached the classroom door before the teacher suddenly spoke up nervously behind us.

"L-Lady Nightbane... Clara... one moment please."

Both of us turned around.

The teacher looked visibly uncomfortable already.

Probably because she was voluntarily stopping me from leaving.

Brave.

"The deadline for forming teams ended this morning."

Clara blinked once.

"...Already?"

The teacher nodded quickly.

"So since neither pair could find enough members..."

She awkwardly adjusted several papers she was holding.

"We assigned your group additional students."

Clara immediately looked relieved.

"Oh thank gods."

Then she paused briefly.

"Wait."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who?"

The teacher looked down toward the papers again.

"Adrian Eirvale."

Silence.

My expression immediately flattened.

Clara visibly winced.

"...Oh."

The teacher continued nervously.

"And Marcus Fern."

I vaguely recognized the second name.

Another second year student.

Tall.

Quiet.

Probably unfortunate enough to be friends with Adrian.

Meanwhile my mood immediately worsened.

Adrian Eirvale.

The commoner with the A-rank mana capacity and unbearable ego.

The same Adrian who challenged me to a duel months ago believing he could somehow humble the "arrogant duchy’s daughter."

Then proceeded to get folded into the ground in less than thirty seconds.

One of the most disappointing fights of my life.

Ever since then he had continued acting bitter whenever we crossed paths.

Which already made this project annoying.

Clara awkwardly laughed beside me.

"...Well."

She looked toward me cautiously.

"At least the group is full now?"

I stared at her silently.

Then finally—

"If he annoys me too much, I’m throwing him into a river."

The teacher physically stiffened hearing that.

Clara immediately grabbed my arm.

"No murdering teammates."

"No promises."

The teacher looked deeply concerned now.

Probably fair.

Eventually Clara managed to drag me out of the classroom before I could continue terrifying faculty members.

The academy hallways remained crowded with students discussing preparations for the missions while snow drifted outside the tall windows lining the corridors.

Clara walked beside me quietly for several moments before finally asking:

"So."

I glanced toward her.

"What."

"What are you packing?"

I thought about it briefly.

Not much honestly.

Clothes.

Magic supplies.

A few personal things.

Then suddenly a very important realization hit me.

Fake Leon.

I absolutely had to bring him secretly.

There was no way I was sleeping without him for so long.

Especially after the proposal.

Clara noticed my sudden thoughtful expression immediately.

"...Why do you suddenly look suspicious."

"Nothing."

Her eyes narrowed instantly.

"That was the most guilty sounding nothing I’ve ever heard."

I ignored her completely while continuing down the hallway.

Because now I needed to figure out how to smuggle fake Leon out of the capital with me without anyone noticing.

Which honestly felt like a very reasonable priority.

———

The morning of departure arrived far too early.

Dozens of second year students gathered near the front courtyard alongside carriages, supplies, teachers, and escorts preparing for the various field assignments.

The atmosphere felt noisy.

Excited.

Nervous.

Meanwhile I stood beside Clara completely uninterested in all of it.

Both our travel bags floated calmly behind me while Clara talked beside me about supplies, routes, weather conditions, and several other things I wasn’t listening to.

Because I was thinking about Leon again.

Specifically whether he was awake yet.

Probably.

He always woke up early whenever he started building something new. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

I smiled slightly to myself.

Then suddenly—

"Well well."

An arrogant voice interrupted the peace.

Immediately my mood worsened.

I slowly looked over to see Adrian Eirvale approaching alongside Marcus Fern. Adrian still carried that same irritating confidence despite having already lost to me before.

His eyes moved toward the floating luggage behind me before he smirked slightly.

"Since you’re already carrying bags..."

He casually tossed one of his own toward me slightly.

"You might as well carry ours too. Help the team."

Silence.

For one brief moment—

I genuinely imagined impaling him through the skull with an ice spear.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

Judging by the sudden pressure leaking from my mana slightly, Clara immediately realized what I was thinking.

"Lillith."

Her hand quickly grabbed my sleeve.

"What would Leon think?"

Critical damage.

I froze slightly.

Then slowly looked away while forcing the violent thoughts back down.

Right.

Leon probably wouldn’t approve of murder before breakfast.

Unfortunately.

I exhaled softly before glaring directly at Adrian hard enough that both him and Marcus visibly stiffened.

"Do not speak to us."

My voice came out cold instantly.

"Unless it’s something urgently necessary."

The surrounding air visibly chilled slightly.

Then I smiled faintly.

"And if you annoy me..."

Purple mana flickered briefly around my eyes.

"I’ll remove your ability to speak permanently."

Adrian immediately paled.

Good.

Marcus physically took half a step backward.

Even better.

Before the situation could escalate further, another voice suddenly interrupted from nearby.

"That will be enough."

All four of us turned toward the approaching man.

A teacher dressed in dark academy robes walked calmly across the snowy courtyard toward the group. Unlike most instructors, he didn’t look nervous around me.

Interesting.

He looked somewhere in his late thirties with short brown hair and sharp eyes that studied people carefully. A sword rested at his waist beside several mana tools attached to his belt.

Definitely stronger than normal academy staff.

The man stopped in front of us before speaking calmly.

"My name is Professor Hale."

His eyes briefly swept across the group.

"I’ll be supervising your field assignment."

Clara immediately straightened slightly beside me.

Meanwhile Adrian and Marcus also became more serious.

Professor Hale continued calmly afterward.

"Your group has been assigned to assist a distant village dealing with a sudden increase in monster activity."

That got slightly more of my attention.

The professor unfolded several papers while explaining further.

"The attacks started roughly three weeks ago. Mostly lower-grade monsters."

He looked toward the group again.

"Your objective is investigation, elimination, and assisting the local guards if necessary."

Straightforward enough.

Then his eyes lingered briefly on me.

"And preferably without destroying the village."

I blinked once.

"...No promises."

Clara immediately sighed.

Professor Hale somehow looked unsurprised by that answer.

A while later the various groups finally started boarding their assigned carriages.

Clara climbed inside first while I followed calmly afterward, still levitating both our luggage behind me.

Adrian hesitated briefly before carefully entering from the opposite side while very deliberately avoiding eye contact with me.

Marcus copied him immediately.

Smart.

Professor Hale eventually entered the front carriage seat beside the driver while the academy escorts finished final preparations outside.

Then finally—

The carriages began moving.

Snow crunched beneath the wheels while the academy slowly disappeared behind us.

And just like that—

The mission officially began.

————

By the time night arrived, the traveling convoy had stopped near the edge of a large forest clearing.

Several campfires burned throughout the area while students and academy staff unpacked supplies, fed horses, and prepared tents beneath the warm summer night sky.

Meanwhile—

Clara and I intentionally chose a campsite much farther away from Adrian and Marcus.

Mostly because I valued peace.

And because Adrian continued occasionally glancing toward me like he wanted to say something before immediately reconsidering for survival reasons.

Which was good.

The quieter section near the treeline felt far more comfortable anyway. Crickets chirped softly nearby while firelight flickered across the grass beneath the dark sky.

Clara crouched beside one of the travel bags while unpacking supplies.

"I still think this mission won’t be too bad."

I struggled aggressively with part of the tent frame beside her.

"It involves monsters."

"Yes but we’re supervised."

"That has never stopped problems before."

Fair point honestly.

Clara laughed softly while handing me one of the support poles.

"At least we’re finally outside the academy for a while."

"Mhm."

"Honestly I was getting tired of classes too."

I paused briefly while staring at the tent.

"...I still don’t know what half the lessons are about."

"That is because you don’t listen."

"I do listen."

"You threatened to kill a teacher last month because he interrupted your daydreaming."

"He interrupted thoughts about Leon."

"That somehow makes it worse."

I ignored her while finally managing to force one side of the tent upright.

Victory.

Meanwhile Clara continued unpacking nearby supplies.

"You know..."

She smiled slightly while folding blankets.

"I’m still surprised Leon actually proposed."

"He did."

"You sound proud."

"I am."

Clara giggled softly.

"You’ve been smiling nonstop for two days."

Reasonable.

Leon was going to marry me.

Obviously I was happy.

Then suddenly Clara looked toward one of the bags nearby.

"Which bag has the pot?"

I was currently in the middle of trying to remember how to tie a knot.

"That one probably."

I pointed randomly without looking.

"Check yourself."

Clara sighed dramatically.

"So helpful."

Several seconds passed quietly afterward while I continued struggling with the tent.

Then suddenly—

"...What is this?"

My body froze instantly.

Slowly—

Very slowly—

I turned around.

And immediately saw Clara holding fake Leon.

Time stopped.

My entire face went burning hot instantly.

"PUT THAT BACK."

Clara blinked in surprise while holding the fake Leon up slightly.

"What even is—"

Then she rotated it slightly.

The crudely drawn smiley face stared directly at her.

Silence.

Then Clara slowly looked back toward me again.

"...Lillith."

"PUT HIM BACK!"

"Him?"

I pointed aggressively.

"DON’T HOLD LEON LIKE THAT!"

Another silence followed.

Clara slowly looked back down toward the fake Leon again.

Then toward me.

Then back toward the fake Leon.

The realization hit her visibly in real time.

And then—

A massive grin spread across her face.

Absolutely not.

The second she opened her mouth, I immediately thrust my hand outward.

A glowing purple magic circle expanded beneath Clara instantly.

The surrounding air dropped several degrees while dark mana flickered around the clearing.

Clara froze immediately.

Meanwhile I stared directly at her with complete seriousness.

"You will put him back."

My voice came out horrifyingly calm.

"And you will forget this entire situation ever happened."

Clara still looked halfway between terrified and trying not to laugh.

"Lillith—"

"Or else."

The magic circle beneath her brightened further.

"I will personally demonstrate what it feels like to have your skin melt off along with the rest of your body."

Silence.

Then Clara covered her mouth desperately.

Because she was trying not to laugh.

At me.

"THIS ISN’T FUNNY."

That somehow made it worse.

Clara physically curled forward slightly while still holding fake Leon carefully.

"You made a fake husband—"

"I DID NOT."

"You literally screamed ’put Leon down’!"

"BECAUSE YOU WERE HOLDING HIM WRONG."

That sentence immediately doomed me.

Clara completely lost control.

She fell sideways into the grass laughing while I stood there in absolute humiliation beneath the night sky.

Meanwhile the magic circle still glowed threateningly beneath her.

Eventually Clara somehow managed to recover enough to breathe again.

Then she carefully held fake Leon out toward me with the biggest grin I had ever seen on her face.

"...He’s kind of cute actually."

I immediately snatched him back before hugging him protectively against my chest.

"He’s mine."

Clara wiped tears from her eyes while still laughing quietly.

"Oh my god Leon would die if he saw this."

"He absolutely will not."

"Lillith you made a fake version of your fiancé using stolen clothes."

"How could you tell I stole them!"

Clara flinched trying her hardest not to laugh.

"I was lonely..."

"That is somehow both adorable and deeply concerning."

I glared at her silently for several seconds.

Then quietly—

"You’re still not allowed to tell anyone."

Clara immediately raised both hands.

"I won’t."

Then after a pause—

"...Can I at least know why the face looks like that?"

I looked down toward fake Leon quietly.

The badly drawn smiley face stared peacefully upward.

"...I’m not good at drawing."

That answer nearly caused Clara to start laughing again.

I almost activated the magic circle a second time.