Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 233: Scorch Mark of Fire (3)

Through the eye holes of the mask, cold blue eyes looked down at him.

A burning pain lingered on one cheek.

Albert wondered if he was dreaming.

He had been hit.

And not by his father or someone of equal status—but by a man whose face and identity he didn’t even know.

Worse, this man, who should never have dared to meet his gaze, was now looking down on him as if he were nothing.

“You bastard!”

As Albert tried to stand, Ludger’s hand moved.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out as Albert’s head snapped to the side again.

Pain flared now in the other cheek.

Watching nervously, Violetta felt her heart drop.

“O-Owner!”

She had to stop him.

No matter who Ludger was, striking someone from House Pablo was dangerous.

“That’s enough. If you go any further, this could cause real trouble—!”

“Violetta, you’re saying strange things. Hasn’t the real trouble already started? And a serious one at that.”

“B-But if we end it here, we might be able to smooth it over. Just a bit of rough handling—maybe it could be overlooked...”

“Rough handling? No. The issue here isn’t that I struck this scum.”

If that wasn’t the issue—then what was?

Before she could fully comprehend his words, Ludger turned and met her gaze.

“This man tried to humiliate you, the manager of this house, in front of everyone. What could possibly be more serious than that?”

“I—!”

Violetta was at a loss for words.

It was a completely unexpected answer.

Hearing Ludger speak so clearly on her behalf, she was overwhelmed.

She felt grateful that he cared so deeply for her.

Even so—

“...I’m fine. Someone like me deserves to be insulted. I was born and raised in the gutter. Filthy from the start.”

She didn’t want the Owner to take damage on her account.

Ludger replied in a calm voice.

“Violetta. No one is born pure or dirty.”

“Maybe. But that’s how I see myself.”

“Even if that’s true, you’re someone striving to live a better life. And the act of mocking and trampling on someone like that—”

Ludger gripped Albert’s hair and jerked his head upward.

“—I cannot stand for it.”

Smack!

Albert’s head whipped violently to the side.

“Urrrgh...”

He let out a dumb groan, unable to accept reality.

His cheek was already swollen from the force of the blow.

“That’s why what I’m doing to him is perfectly justified.”

“E-Even so... the consequences...”

“Consequences? Did you say consequences?”

When Ludger turned his eyes toward her, Violetta felt breathless.

“Violetta. I told you, didn’t I? That Royal Street would be our castle. That no one would dare say anything to us.”

An overwhelming pressure radiated from Ludger—something beyond mere words.

“Or... do you not believe me? Do you think I speak idly?”

“No! Of course not.”

Violetta answered quickly.

She knew all too well that Ludger never spoke thoughtlessly.

He was the man who turned discarded streets into the most fashionable district in the city.

“If you understand, then don’t forget it.”

After settling her anxiety, Ludger turned to face Albert again.

“Albert. Albert Pablo.”

“Uuugh...”

“Answer me.”

Ludger yanked his head back sharply.

Only then did Albert snap out of his daze and look up.

His earlier glare was gone—his eyes now filled with terror.

“You’re already trembling? We haven’t even finished talking yet.”

“Y-You think you’ll get away with this?!”

“Whether I get away or not isn’t your concern right now.”

Ludger shook Albert’s head back and forth.

“What matters is this—you caused a disturbance in our shop and disrupted our business, causing us substantial financial loss. How do you plan to take responsibility for that?”

“O-Over something like that...”

“Something like that? Seems we haven’t had enough conversation.”

When Ludger raised his hand, Albert flinched and shut his eyes.

“A-Alright! I get it! Just tell me what you want!”

Albert thought: This ‘Owner’ guy... he’s insane.

There was no other explanation for someone daring to lay hands on a member of House Pablo like this.

He had spent his life hurting and dominating others—never imagining he’d be on the receiving end.

Now, actually facing violence himself, he was terrified.

It hurts. I don’t want to get hit again.

That was all his mind could focus on.

“What do you want?”

“Good. Now we’re speaking the same language.”

Ludger lowered his raised hand and lightly patted Albert’s shoulder.

Relieved he wasn’t being hit again, Albert waited for the next demand.

Money, right?

Paying off damages would be easy.

His family had plenty of wealth. No matter the amount, they could afford it.

And once that was done—

Once I get out of here, I’ll kill all of you. Every last one. I’ll burn off that smug mask of yours and roast you alive.

For now, he could swallow his pride.

“Let’s talk terms.”

Ludger stepped aside so that Albert could see Violetta.

“Kneel before the manager you insulted and sincerely apologize. Do that, and I’ll let this go.”

“...What?”

“I won’t press any financial claims, either. Just one sentence, and all of this will be resolved.”

Albert’s eyes bulged.

Apologize? To her?

To Violetta? A noble like me?

His lips trembled with humiliation.

For a moment, even his fear of Ludger vanished—consumed by the wave of rage.

“Y-You—!”

Only fury remained.

“You fucking bastard! You think I’m a joke just because I let you talk?! What?! Apologize?! To her?!”

“Is that a no?”

“You’re telling me—a noble mage—to kneel before a whore?! Are you insane?!”

Screaming, Albert completely lost it.

“I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU RIGHT HERE! I DON’T CARE ANYMORE! ANYONE CONNECTED TO YOU—I’LL WIPE THEM ALL OUT WITH THE POWER OF MY HOUSE! AND YOU—!”

He glared at Violetta with crazed eyes.

“I don’t know what kind of big fish you reeled in this time, but this won’t end with just a little burn. I’ll personally make sure you’re disfigured!”

Violetta’s face went pale.

In Albert’s shrieking, she saw the nightmare of her past.

—I’ll carve a mark on you that’ll never fade. Be grateful. It’s proof you belonged to me. Hahahaha!

Albert’s laughter as he burned half her face... the sneer he wore as she screamed in agony... it was still vivid.

“I’ll ruin your face so you’ll never walk with your head high again! Let’s see how well your priest heals that!”

Spitting raw rage, Albert finally crossed a line he should never have crossed.

“I’ll give you a brand that’ll last for life!”

And in that instant—

The temperature in the room plummeted.

What...?

Violetta shivered.

For a second, she thought someone had cast a spell—but no, it wasn’t magic.

There was no gust, no real chill. And yet it was cold.

Because of one thing.

The killing intent radiating from Ludger.

“O-Owner?”

She could only see his back—but she felt it clearly.

He was furious like never before.

Only once before had she seen this side of him—when Deon had been injured by Silver Sun.

“A brand, you said?”

“Wh-What...?”

Albert, too, felt the shift. He realized too late just how grave the situation had become.

Even with the mask on, Ludger’s oppressive aura was undeniable.

Albert’s face turned pale.

“A brand. That’s a fine idea.”

“W-What?”

Before Albert could react, Ludger’s hand covered his face.

Magic flared.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted from Ludger’s palm and engulfed Albert’s face.

“AAAAAARGH!”

As Ludger pulled his hand away, Albert crumpled to the floor, screaming.

Ludger stood silently and watched.

The fire vanished quickly.

Trembling, Albert brought his hand to his face—then looked in the mirror inside the shop.

His scream rang out again.

“M-My face! My FACE!”

Where once it had been flawless, now a hideous burn marred his skin.

He stared into the mirror, unable to believe it was truly him.

“No! No! How... how could you do this to me?!”

"Why are you acting like that? Wasn’t it something you did because you liked it?"

“A priest! Call a priest! Hurry! Burns need to be treated immediately or...!”

Albert # Nоvеlight # clung to Ludger’s trouser leg, pleading.

Ludger watched him for a moment, then reached out his arm toward Albert once more.

A warm light suddenly flashed from his hand—and Albert’s scream stopped.

The pain that had been tormenting his face disappeared.

“Uh, uh?”

Albert touched his face with both hands.

And the moment he looked into the mirror again, he flinched in shock.

“M-My burn, it’s gone?!”

Albert turned to Ludger with a look of sheer terror.

“Wh-What are you? What the hell are you?!”

Albert was stunned to see that the burn had vanished completely from his face.

Burns were difficult to heal, even for high-ranking priests.

But Ludger had fixed it on the spot—in the blink of an eye.

A hallucination?

No. That unbearable pain from his face being scorched wasn’t some hallucination or a dream.

He already knew this man was a capable mage.

But this level of healing ability? That was something even mages couldn’t perform.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“What?”

“This is just the beginning.”

A wave of unease swept over Albert, and his complexion turned pale.

“J-Just the beginning? What do you mean?”

“How many people have you burned up until now?”

“......”

The moment he heard those words, Albert understood exactly what Ludger was about to do.

“Too many to count, huh? But at least more than ten, right?”

“A-Ahh. No. Don’t.”

“Then you should feel it too.”

Albert tried to resist, but at some point—without realizing it—his hands and feet had been bound by chains of mana.

Ludger’s hand reached for Albert’s face once again.

Ssshhh—

“GYAAAAAH!”

With a scream, flames rose once more.

This time, to leave a mark.

* * *

“Ugh... My head...”

“What on earth happened...?”

Albert’s bodyguards, who had lost consciousness, finally came to.

Clutching their aching heads, they staggered to their feet—and only then remembered Albert and frantically looked around.

That’s when they spotted him sprawled out on the floor.

“Gasp! Young Master! Please, come to your senses!”

The guards checked on Albert’s condition—and were left speechless.

There were no visible wounds, but he had fainted with the whites of his eyes showing. It was obvious something had happened.

“You’re awake?”

The guards turned toward the voice that sent a chill down their spines.

Seated on a sofa prepared for guests was Ludger, still wearing his mask.

Standing beside him were Phantos and Violetta, who had watched the entire situation unfold.

The guards broke out in a cold sweat at the pressure radiating from Ludger.

A primal sense of danger.

They had no choice but to wait anxiously for his next words.

“Take that brat and get out.”

“......Our lord will hear of this.”

One of the guards warned while lifting Albert onto his back.

Leaving like this without a word wounded the pride of the Pablo family.

Watching them cling to that pitiful pride even to the end, Ludger chuckled softly behind his mask.

“If they were afraid of something like that, they wouldn’t have done this in the first place.”

“......”

“Get lost.”

The guards glared at Ludger, then left the shop.

Ludger silently watched them go.

“Are you alright?”

Phantos, who had been keeping an eye on the guards in case they suddenly snapped and charged, asked the question.

“What do you mean?”

“Judging from how they looked, I doubt they’ll just let this go.”

“They won’t. They’ll probably try to pressure us officially. If that fails, they’ll pull something behind the scenes.”

“And that’s fine with you?”

“Isn’t this exactly what we wanted?”

Phantos didn’t bother denying it.

“If it gives me a chance to fight, I welcome it anytime.”

“Exactly. Besides, it needed to be shown at least once.”

“Shown... what, exactly?”

“That their power and prestige mean nothing when they try to oppress us.”

More importantly, the Pablo family wouldn’t be able to openly express their outrage.

Albert didn’t have a single scratch on him.

Ludger had his excuses lined up neatly.

If the Pablo family made a move, it would be to send someone in secret to take care of it.

More likely, they’d just send a warning telling them not to interfere in Pablo family affairs in Rederbelk.

“It’s going to be a dirty, lawless brawl. Phantos. Can you handle it?”

At that, the beast ears on Phantos’s head perked up.

His face didn’t change, but it was obvious he was deeply interested.

In fact, Phantos was happy.

“Indeed, choosing to follow you was the right decision.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. And Violetta?”

“Yes, Owner.”

“Thanks to that brat, we lost a lot of time. But there’s still enough left, so open the shop and resume business.”

Ludger removed his mask.

The staff who had been keeping customers away outside returned.

The House of Verdi began to fill with customers again, regaining its lively atmosphere.

Ludger quietly headed to the manager’s office on the second floor.

“By the way, what brings you here, Owner?”

“It’s my first day off in a while. I came to get a new outfit tailored.”

At those words, Violetta widened her eyes for a moment, then let out a small chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just... If you’d asked, I could’ve made something and sent it to you, but seeing you come here in person is kind of surprising.”

“I figured I might as well check in on how things are going. So, can you make me something that suits me?”

“Of course. Actually, I’ve had a few ideas for your outfits prepared for quite some time.”

“...For some time now?”

Violetta said that and then opened one of the wardrobes.

Inside were rows of luxurious-looking men’s outfits.

“I made all of these myself. Each one tailored to what I thought would suit you.”

“...That’s... a lot of clothes.”

“I didn’t know if the opportunity would come, so I’ve been stockpiling them. Luckily, it finally did.”

Ludger suddenly noticed something unsettling in Violetta’s eyes.

This was dangerous.

“...It seems you’re busy right now. I’ll come back later.”

“Oh my, where are you going? How about trying this one on first?”

As Ludger tried to slip away naturally, he was caught.