Reborn as the Head of the Stolen Mage Family

Chapter 18

“I’ve told you multiple times! I wasn’t following you!”

“Don’t lie! I knew you were after my interview prep materials!”

The two examinees argued fiercely.

The intriguing scene drew a crowd to the central plaza.

Derrick’s accusations against Paul were now pure lies.

But no one dared intervene to judge who was right.

Neither had evidence to support their claims.

Derrick had no proof Paul was following him, and Paul had no alibi to prove he wasn’t.

If things continued, the louder, higher-status voice would prevail.

That was exactly what Derrick was banking on: framing Paul to get him disqualified and expelled.

Once expelled, Paul’s protests outside would fall on deaf ears.

The world wouldn’t listen to a commoner accused of cheating at the academy.

But Derrick had overlooked something.

“If anyone’s suspicious, it’s you, trying to sneak into that secret room by the bathroom! You ran into me there!”

“…!!”

Like a cornered mouse biting a cat.

The central plaza fell silent in an instant.

Paul felt a brief relief, but seeing Derrick’s menacing expression, he quickly grew scared.

‘Can you handle what you just said? You’d better take it back.’

Derrick’s glaring eyes and threatening demeanor said as much.

He assumed his family’s administrator, noticing the commotion, had already retrieved the note.

But the suspicion that he was up to something in the closet had already taken root.

And Derrick was furious that a mere commoner had put him in such a predicament.

Paul’s lips trembled as he faced Derrick.

But having been so unjustly accused, he didn’t want to back down.

Then, a low, deep voice rang out.

“By secret room, you mean the third-floor closet.”

It was Powell.

As the commotion grew, the overseer of exam operations stepped in.

He looked at Derrick and asked, “The third-floor closet is well-known among graduates, so it’s not odd for an examinee to know of it. But if it’s true you tried to enter it right before the exam, I’m curious about your reason.”

“…I knew about the closet but never tried to enter it. He’s lying.”

Derrick flinched under Powell’s aura but continued his lie.

Since the note was likely retrieved, there was no evidence he tried to enter the closet.

Powell’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Derrick.

Then, a clear voice came from the crowd.

“Wouldn’t searching the closet thoroughly yield some clues?”

All eyes turned to the voice.

It was me.

The onlookers were shocked that a Tail had boldly stepped into this tense situation.

But my next words were even more astonishing.

“It might not be cheating—maybe it was used for a rendezvous!”

A brief silence.

Then, stifled laughter erupted from the crowd.

Derrick glared at me, dumbfounded.

But Powell nodded slowly.

“That makes sense. Whether it’s cheating or a rendezvous, we should search the closet thoroughly to clear any doubts. Jimo, check the third-floor closet.”

“Yes… yes, Professor.”

Powell sent an administrator to the closet, and the crowd’s murmurs grew louder.

Despite the suspicion that Derrick tried to enter the closet, Powell had just taken the word of two commoners over Derrick.

“Ha, this is ridiculous.”

Derrick glared at me, his face full of displeasure.

Of course, nothing suspicious would be found in the closet.

But for a mere Tail to accuse him with such nonsense—

Moments later, the administrator returned from the closet, panting.

And—

“I found a glass bottle with a note!”

“!!”

At the administrator’s shout, Derrick’s face turned pale.

In his hand was the familiar glass bottle with the note.

‘Why is that…!’

Derrick’s eyes trembled violently.

The family’s administrator should have retrieved the bottle during the commotion, so why was it in this administrator’s hand?

In truth, the Jenkins administrator had rushed to the closet to retrieve the note upon noticing Derrick’s scene.

But someone had been one step ahead, casting a spell on the closet door.

That someone was me, watching with a pitying look.

The Jenkins administrator sweated, unable to open the door despite reciting the password.

While he struggled, Powell’s administrator arrived, and the Jenkins one hid.

But he felt relieved.

If the closet wouldn’t open for anyone, the note wouldn’t be found.

Yet, mocking his relief, the closet door opened effortlessly, and Powell’s administrator retrieved the bottle.

I smirked as I dispelled the spell on the door.

‘The accomplice’s face must be as priceless as his.’

Derrick’s face wasn’t just pale—it was turning blue.

The note’s contents hadn’t been revealed yet, but the plaza’s atmosphere was one of sheer shock.

And above all—

“…”

Derrick’s trembling eyes, fixed on the bottle, said everything.

Powell took the bottle from the administrator and looked at Derrick.

‘Who wouldn’t know what this boy’s expression means?’

The shock of being caught.

It was draining the color from Derrick’s face.

Without a word, Powell opened the bottle and pulled out the note.

Derrick snapped to his senses and began managing his expression.

‘Get it together. I don’t know how this happened, but there’s no evidence that note was for me. I just have to deny ever seeing it.’

Derrick swallowed hard, his hands sweaty and lips trembling, but he hid it.

Then, as Powell unfolded the note and read aloud—

“To my beloved Derrick…”

“What?”

At the note’s opening line, Derrick blurted out informally.

The onlookers soon showed similar reactions.

“Beloved what?”

“What did he just say?”

“I didn’t mishear, right?”

Even the administrators murmured in shock, but Powell continued reading expressionlessly.

The note wasn’t about interview questions.

It was a heartfelt, shy love letter from a young girl confessing her love to Derrick.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

As Powell read each line, cheers of “Oooooh!” erupted, and Derrick’s face flushed red.

Unable to control his burning face, Derrick hung his head.

Everyone thought he was embarrassed about the love letter, but in truth, he was on the verge of fainting from shame and shock.

‘What’s going on? The bottle should have been retrieved, so why is it here, and why is the note like this! Who did this…!’

His thoughts quickly found an answer and stopped.

Derrick’s bloodshot eyes slowly turned to me.

As expected.

Amid the cheering children, I gave him a faint smile.

‘How did that guy…!’

Derrick wanted to grab my collar and demand answers.

But he swallowed his rage and averted his glare.

Getting out of this situation was the priority.

He had become the guy caught in a secret romance, falsely accusing a commoner who witnessed it.

It was better than being caught cheating and disqualified.

But it was still the difference between bad and worse.

After all, that damned Kirhausen Tail had caught him attempting to cheat.

Yet, for some reason, I didn’t seem intent on exposing his cheating now.

‘He’s probably planning to blackmail me for money.’

That was as far as Derrick’s mind could go.

Powell, finishing the last line, quietly stared at Derrick.

“…”

The crowd fell silent at Powell’s gaze.

Derrick, trembling with shame and anger, bit his lip.

He knew what Powell’s look meant.

‘…He’s telling me to apologize.’

Derrick forced his reluctant lips to move.

“Paul… I’m… truly sorry… for the misunderstanding…”

An apology spat out through gritted teeth.

Paul, still burning with injustice and anger, knew he had no choice.

What good would it do to prolong a fight with a Jenkins heir who had apologized, even if forced?

Paul forced his own reluctant lips to accept it.

“Yes… it’s fine.”

With the situation resolved, the children dispersed to their interview preparations.

Jeremy approached Derrick, still rooted to the spot.

Unaware of the full context, Jeremy’s eyes twinkled with mischief, thinking, ‘So he had a secret romance?’

“Derrick, what’s this about? When did you get a girlfriend—”

Before Jeremy could finish, Derrick stormed off.

He grabbed me, who was heading to an empty lecture hall, and hissed in a low, furious voice.

“What… do you want?”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Tell me what you want before I kill you. Money?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My nonchalant response fueled Derrick’s rage.

With eyes still watching, he kept his voice low and expression controlled, but his patience was wearing thin.

Meanwhile, I casually scratched the back of my head, fanning his anger.

“You should’ve been more careful. Good luck on the interview.”

My cryptic words carried a hint of amusement.

Snap.

It was enough to break his restraint.

“…”

As I walked away, Derrick’s fists trembled.

Sensing the tension, Jeremy approached.

“Derrick, what’s wrong? Did that Tail say something rude?”

“Jeremy… step aside…”

Derrick, eyes fixed on my back, drew his wand.

Before Jeremy could stop him, Derrick swung his wand at me.

Swish—

Feeling the mana aimed at my back, I curled my lips slightly.

Derrick’s mana couldn’t touch me.

So, I planned to absorb it, roll on the ground, and feign injury.

Falsely accusing a commoner was wrong, but it wasn’t enough to disqualify someone from a prestigious mage family like Jenkins.

‘Hurting an innocent person with a wand should do it.’

I prepared to leap forward.

But—

SHWAAAA—

Derrick’s mana, aimed at me, lost direction and dispersed.

In his anger, he hadn’t specified the mana’s target.

‘Oh no…!’

Realizing things had gone wrong, I turned quickly, but it was too late.

BOOM—

Derrick’s full-force mana hit a massive statue beside me, not me.

Though from an immature young mage, Derrick came from a family of veteran mages.

His power wasn’t that of an average peer.

Crack—Crack—

Cracks spread across the statue of Victor Shleiden, the academy’s first dean.

“…No way.”

A small voice of denial came from the crowd.

CRAAACK—

The statue’s waist split further, and I moved as I grasped the situation.

At the same time, the statue’s upper half broke and began to fall.

“Uh, uhh…”

Beneath it stood Jeremy and Derrick.

Frozen, unable to blink, they stared at the massive plaster statue crashing down.

“KYAAAA!!”

“That thing!!”

Screams erupted from the crowd.

Derrick and Jeremy shut their eyes tightly, shielding their heads.

Moments later—

SHAAAA—

Fine, sand-like particles poured over them.