Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 20: I’m Innocent

Reinhard sat down in the indicated chair and looked around very carefully. The room genuinely surprised him and even impressed him.

Dark polished wood walls that gleamed. A plush leather couch in one corner. An elegant bookshelf absolutely packed with leather-bound books at the other corner. A massive desk in the middle made of shiny red wood.

This looked significantly more like a luxury hotel suite than a place for punishing misbehaving students.

He whistled low as his fingers drummed on the armrest.

When the door clicked open, his fingers froze mid-tap as a woman stepped into the room. She wasn’t pretty or cute, but beautiful in a way that made the room feel smaller.

Her black hair hung in waves down her back. She wore a white shirt with one button open at the top, a tight black skirt that ended below her knees, and dark stockings. Her heels made sharp sounds on the floor.

When she looked at him with silver eyes, he couldn’t look away. Her smile seemed both friendly and dangerous at once. Without ever dropping her gaze, she walked to her desk, sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and put her hands together on the desktop.

"Well," she said. Her voice was smooth. "You must be Reinhard."

He smiled. "And if I knew the Head Professor of the Disciplinary Department was such a beauty, I would have reported those bullies on day one."

She laughed. "Oh? Your first words aren’t about pleading your case? But flirting with me?"

"Flirting can’t be as easy as me saying the truth, now can it?"

Her smile grew wider as she leaned back in her chair. "You’re a smooth one. It does make me worry for our naive female students."

"How could I possibly flirt with any of them?" Reinhard leaned forward. "My type is an older woman."

She raised one eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Completely."

"And what makes older women your type?"

"I like a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t shy about getting it." His gaze remained locked on hers with a faint smile. "One who doesn’t play games or feel the need to put up pretenses."

Her legs uncrossed slowly, then recrossed in the opposite direction. A very deliberate movement that drew his eyes briefly. "A dangerous perspective for a young man to have."

"What can I say, I’m a sucker for the best." Reinhard snapped his fingers. "I didn’t catch your name."

"I’m Victoria," She said. "Head of the Disciplinary Department. And you’re in my office because fifteen students claim you deliberately set elaborate traps to hurt them. To lure them into danger."

"The half that says I ran away from them. But those traps?" He shrugged innocently. "I have absolutely no idea where they came from."

Victoria pulled out a file folder and some papers. "They say you led them into the old building on purpose."

Reinhard gasped in disbelief. "They chased me there. I didn’t know where to go, I was only focus on keeping alive."

"You thought your life was in danger?"

"My face wouldn’t be looking this pretty if I were caught."

"Your face is your life?"

"But of course, isn’t yours?"

Victoria laughed at this before then saying. "And you just happened to run directly into a building conveniently full of traps." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"My luck was absolutely impeccable today." Reinhard smiled wider. "I mentally thanked whoever left those silly things behind. They really helped me out tremendously."

She looked up from the papers, and her silver eyes gleamed with clear amusement. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I expect you to look at the evidence objectively." Reinhard gestured toward the file. "Facts over accusations."

Victoria tapped her pen against the desk. "The evidence is very clear about one part. They were chasing you, and all of them were waiting in the library doing nothing. Multiple witnesses confirm that."

"See? Simple truth."

"But the traps..." She let it hang.

"What traps?" Reinhard smiled innocently. "I saw soap and water on the floors. Some rope across hallways. Nothing particularly unusual for an old building that’s been empty for years."

"The trip wires were very specifically placed at optimal tripping height."

"Maybe some students used that building for combat training exercises and forgot to take them down afterward. Students at Virellion tend to be very forgetful."

"And the industrial glue strategically placed on multiple door handles?"

"I admit that it genuinely puzzles me too. But oh well, I’m extremely thankful it was there when I desperately needed it."

Victoria’s smile never wavered. "You’re very good at this."

"At what?"

"Dancing carefully around the truth." She pulled out another paper from the file. "The investigation found something quite interesting in the dust."

"Oh?" He leaned forward slightly.

"There were additional footprints other than the ones you guys made. It was fresh enough that it must have happened earlier today, going around the building as if they were exploring it. Same shoe size and tread pattern as yours."

"Many students have my shoe size." Reinhard smiled at her.

"True, but they would have reported the traps."

"Are you sure? Many students here would have left it alone after all. Isn’t there a famous saying called, ’mind one business’?"

Victoria laughed before saying. "Most people don’t follow it."

"Then I guess that student did."

She stood up before walking around the desk slowly. She leaned against the front of the desk right in front of him. Close enough that he could smell her perfume, which was something floral mixed with spice.

"Let me ask you something," she said softly.

"Anything."

"How did you know about the abandoned building?"

"I didn’t."

"So, you just ran from the library?"

"I just ran."

"In the perfect direction."

"I am surprised myself but thankful."

She leaned forward.

Her fingers touched his chin, tilting his face up to meet her gaze.

He let her while also noting that a Head of Discipline had just made physical contact with someone she was supposedly investigating. That was either a test or she could somehow gather information by touching him.

Maybe both... A dangerous one indeed.

"You’re either very lucky." She said, and then her voice dropped lower. "Or very smart."

"Can’t I be both?"

Her thumb traced his jaw once before she pulled away. "Perhaps."

Reinhard’s smile didn’t change. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Not even close." Victoria moved back to her chair. "Three students are claiming you blackmailed three of them before. What do you think about that?"

"Did they say how?"

"No."

"Interesting that they wouldn’t." Reinhard shakes his head with a sigh. "If I had truly blackmailed noble students, wouldn’t they want the details on record? Wouldn’t the specifics help their case?"

"Unless the specifics were more damaging to them than to you."

He smiled. "Then if they won’t say it and I won’t say it, what exactly is there to investigate?"

"Your pattern of behavior." She didn’t look away. "One incident could be a coincidence... But in such a short time? Now that’s odd."

"Or it suggests I’m very unlucky."

"That’s true, but then why would they try to gather twelve other people to attack you?"

"Haven’t you heard? I am pretty hated here."

"Not enough to have second years and third-year foolish attack you."

"Well, it seems you’re incorrect on this." Reinhard’s smile grew. "But it’s fine, we all make mistakes once in a while."

Victoria reached out again. This time, her fingers brushed his hand where it rested on the armrest. "Are you always this confident?"

"Only when I’m right." Reinhard then moved his fingers to trace down her arm and stop over her wrist.

Victoria raised a brow. "And you’re always right?"

"So far."

"That could get you in trouble."

"It’s fine, I have the lovely Disciplinary Department to help me out."

Victoria chuckles before she stands up and walks back to her desk. "Here’s what’s going to happen."

"I’m listening."

"Those fifteen students will be dealt with."

"Good."

"You, however, present an interesting problem."

"Do I?"

"You’re not officially a student since you aren’t a part of any department. You exist in a gray area."

"I’m aware."

"Which means I can’t really punish you even if I wanted to."

Reinhard smiled. "Convenient."

"But it also means you have no official protection. If something happens to you, the academy isn’t responsible."

The implication was blunt. If the fifteen students had sent him to the medical building. The punishment wouldn’t be expulsion compared to if they did this to another student.

"I understand. And I don’t care."

"Why not?"

"Because being in the gray area has great benefits."

Victoria tilted her head. "Such as?"

Reinhard leaned forward. "Such as the fact that I can flirt with you without any problems. Since I’m technically not a student, there are no rules against it."

She laughed while looking at him in amusement. "You’re impossible."

"I prefer to make use of my difficult situation."

"I’m sure you are."

Reinhard knew she saw through his lies, but wasn’t pushing or forcing him.

"You can go," Victoria said finally. "Try not to get into too much trouble moving forward."

Reinhard stood slowly. "Shouldn’t you say, I should stay out of trouble?"

Her silver eyes gleamed with amusement. "I can already tell you’re exactly the type who naturally attracts problems wherever you go. No point in pretending otherwise."

"Then that just means I’ll be seeing you a lot more often."

"We’ll see."

He walked to the door before stopping with his hand on the handle and then looking over his shoulder. "One question."

"Yes?"

"I doubt a department like yours really needs evidence to get someone convicted. Especially for a person who isn’t a student and is hated by most of the school." Reinhard raised a brow. "So why are you taking it so easy and letting me go?"

The unsaid words were that you can easily get people to lie about the truth.

Victoria’s smile turned knowing. "Because those fifteen boys deserved exactly what they got. And because I’m very curious to see what you’ll do next and if I can uncover the secrets you have."

"That’s two reasons."

"Consider it a generous bonus."

Reinhard opened the door. "Until next time, Professor Victoria."

"Until next time, Reinhard."