Maybe I really am a Villian

Asher nodded and said, "As expected, Noah is too soft and a fool."

Then he turned toward Adam. "Your decision is probably because of your pride as a noble."

Adam did not say anything back, knowing it was true.

Noah looked at Asher with confusion and slight irritation. "Why am I an idiot?"

Asher simply looked at him and replied, "If trusting someone again after they have already broken your trust once is not foolishness, then what is?"

Noah replied, "She must have had a reason for doing that, right?"

Asher looked at him calmly and said, "She did. But why does it matter? A reason does not change the outcome of your actions."

Noah opened his mouth to argue back, but in the end, he did not say anything.

None of them said anything for a moment.

Then Asher turned toward Aria.

Noah and Adam also looked at her, wanting to hear her response.

Aria looked at Asher for a moment before calmly saying, "Maybe kill the boy she kissed to take revenge on her... or just kill both of them."

As soon as these words left Aria’s mouth, none of them said anything.

Noah looked at her in horror and said, "Isn’t that too extreme and cruel?"

Aria simply looked at him and replied calmly, "Betraying someone is far more cruel."

Asher looked at the three of them and said, "You guys are too soft-hearted."

Then he turned toward Aria and said, "I thought you were smarter and more logical, but I guess I was wrong."

Adam and Noah fell silent after hearing Asher’s words.

They could not understand what he meant by saying they were being soft-hearted, even though Aria had just said she would kill them.

Aria calmly looked at him and asked, "What would you have done?"

Asher replied in a calm voice, "Death is too merciful. I would make sure she could never trust anyone again, nor could anyone ever trust her for the rest of her life. She would spend the remainder of her life that way."

A heavy silence filled the surroundings after Asher finished speaking.

Noah looked at him as if he were seeing him for the first time.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke in a hesitant voice, "That is far worse than death."

Asher simply replied, "Exactly."

Noah frowned and asked, "How can you even think of something like that so calmly?"

Asher looked at him indifferently and answered, "Because emotions are useless when dealing with betrayal."

Meanwhile, Adam remained silent, but his expression had turned complicated.

Unlike Noah, he understood what Asher meant.

In a world where reputation, trust, and connections determined everything, destroying those things was sometimes worse than killing someone outright.

Aria quietly observed Asher for a few moments before asking, "And if they regretted betraying you?"

Asher did not even pause before answering, "Regret changes nothing. A betrayal remains a betrayal."

His cold response once again made the atmosphere around them turn tense.

Noah let out a dry laugh and muttered, "You are seriously terrifying sometimes."

Asher glanced at him and said calmly, "No, you people are just too naive."

Adam looked at him and said, "You are a villain. You’re evil."

Asher looked back at Adam and replied, "Maybe I really am a Villian "

Aria then asked, "What does this conversation have to do with our previous question about your actions against Cedric and the others?"

Asher then replied, "I could have easily defeated Leon, but I chose to fight him only in close combat and swordsmanship, the areas he was most confident in, just to humiliate him in front of everyone. That way, before going against me again in the future, he would remember that moment and think twice. Destroying his arm was just a bonus and nothing more."

Then he continued, "As for Celestine, I only fought her at long range and defeated her with her own attack. And what could be more humiliating for her than being defeated by her own power? Kevin was the same. I destroyed his undead first to shatter his pride. And Cedric is someone who relies completely on his wealth, so what could be better than cutting off his financial support? People easily forget physical pain, but emotional and psychological wounds stay with them for a long time, constantly reminding them not to go against me for the rest of their lives."

Adam and Noah felt a chill run down their bodies.

They had thought his actions were driven purely by emotion, but they were wrong. Every move he made was carefully calculated with the future in mind, completely opposite to the image they had of him as someone who acted only on impulse and emotions.

Noah looked at him and said, "I don’t know whether I should be impressed or afraid after this."

Asher simply looked at him and replied, "Whatever. Now that you guys know the reason, let’s just go back. I’m really tired after today."

After saying this, Asher simply started walking toward the Academy.

The others silently followed behind him.

No one spoke for the rest of the journey back to the Academy. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After arriving, they all went to their own rooms to rest.

Meanwhile, the three members of the Discipline Committee left Cedric in the care of a healer. He had fainted on the way to the Academy, and even after being fully healed, he still had not regained consciousness.

One of them asked, "What do we do now?"

Another replied, "What else? We report everything that happened to Aron. He can decide how to handle this mess. It was partly caused by his brother anyway, and I’m sure he expected something like this to happen."

The other two nodded in agreement, and the three of them headed toward the Student Council building.

After reaching the Student Council area, they made their way to the Discipline Committee’s personal office.

They first knocked on the door.

Then Aron’s voice came from inside the room.

"Come in."