A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

Chapter 40: 42- Elite Academy's visit

"Where do you want to go?" With a vacant stare while driving the car out of the airport, Aecilia turned her eyes towards Avendial, who was preoccupied with his phone, and posed a question.

"Is there an academy nearby called Elite Academy? Take me there," Avendial focused on his phone screen, where he was typing the names of all the individuals who were nothing but traitors to the Croceus family. After finally writing the 986 names, he glanced toward Aecilia.

"Elite Academy?" Aecilia felt confused but focused on the car as she accelerated through the empty asphalt. Given that the nearby area was deserted, she entered the highway directly, speeding toward sector 17, while still feeling confused about his mention of the Elite Academy.

Considering that he didn't know where the academy was located, Aecilia could at least assume that he had never seen or visited it.

And true to the fact, Avendial had never visited the Elite Academy, not even in his past life. But it didn't matter much, considering that the only location of the Empyreals he was aware of was the Elite Academy.

Even though Avendial had knowledge of the future, it was all about the names and identities of those Empyreals whom he met inside the tower.

He didn't know where they existed right now, nor was his memory sharp enough to remember the addresses of each of them.

The most he could remember were their faces, but naturally, he didn't know their exact locations or where they could currently be found. Nor, even after seeing their familiar faces, would he be able to recall their abilities.

Since the sheer number of Empyreals, after the arrival of the Tower, has crossed 2 billion.

So, in general, if individuals who were with him all the time in the Croceus estate or the royal family were excluded, he couldn't know or recall everyone with accuracy while remembering everything about their powers.

After all, the brain usually deletes temporarily unused memories, like faces one sees for the first time.

But of course, if he saw those individuals' faces, he would be able to remember his familiarity with them. Just like presently, he was aware of a woman currently located inside the Elite Academy, carrying an awakened ability that Avendial needed at all costs.

So right now he was heading to the Elite Academy to make that woman come to him.

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"Haa....Haah," a man wearing formal attire ran through the corridor belonging to one of the buildings inside the Elite Academy as he gasped for breath, still continuing to run until he reached the office of the director, directly entering it without even knocking. "Director!"

"What is the meaning of this?" An old man seated in a chair with his glasses near his nose while going through some documents looked towards his assistant who had barged in without knocking, showing improper etiquette, given that there were a few professors still inside the room.

"F-forgive me, Director, but there's an emergency!" the assistant informed about the situation as he slowly approached the old man. While passing by the professors, who nodded calmly and turned to focus on their work, the assistant arrived beside the director, lowered his head, and whispered something in his ear.

"Wh-what!?" Suddenly the director stood up, his voice loud enough to break the etiquette he had wanted to instill in his assistant just moments ago.

"Is there something the issue, Director?" One professor remarked on the changes in the director's face—shaking, with slight muscle contractions, droplets of sweat appearing on his forehead, and shaking hands. These were all revealing signs of a disturbing or threatening situation that had caused the usually calm and self-assured director to react in such a way.

"Professor Rihane, this is an urgent matter," The director stepped away from his seat and walked over to the coat rack, grabbing his coat as he began to leave, which caused the other professors to exchange glances and nod in agreement, grasping the importance of the situation as they followed him outside.

As they all moved through the corridor—comprising the director, his assistants, and three other professors—one individual stepped up and asked, "Director, can you tell us about that urgent matter?"

"Professors, someone from the aristocracy is arriving to visit our academy in a few minutes," the director informed while moving, knowing there wasn't any need to hide this fact as they were already trying to reach the main gate as soon as possible.

When the professors and the director exited the main building, just a few students were nearby who greeted them, as most were busy attending classes in their own departmental buildings at that time.

"Wh-what?! Someone from Thaloris?" Hearing the words from the director, the professors were slightly taken aback, but they composed themselves as Professor Rihane inquired, "Is it someone of Baron or Viscount status?"

Naturally, the titles didn't hold any value in the present world, but in the end, even a baron possessed a significant amount of wealth.

Considering the way their director reacted, it was obvious that someone was not just wealthy but of utmost respect was arriving here.

"No, no, it's someone from the Sertsul family—" the director revealed the information as all of them turned through the garden lane. Finally, the main gate came into view, but due to the large landmass in between, it was still a considerable distance away. Before the director could complete his words, Professor Rihane interrupted.

"I-Is it true that a Lustress is coming to this academy?" Rihane referred to the popular title of members of the main Sertsul family, which was widely known among the citizens, given that if one needed to see a beauty, they just needed to find someone from that noble family.

At least presently, about 93% of women in dramas, movies, and films were linked to the Sertsul family.

Sertsul further explains the significance of its name when spelled backwards, resulting in Lustres(s).

Since the Sertsul family is the only noble family that has had the most interaction with ordinary citizens and has invested in several fields and worked on women's empowerment, they are well-respected by the citizens.

Of course, whenever their names are mentioned, they are always associated with the area of pleasure houses and businesses related to prostitution.

But in truth, the Sertsul family provided employment to women based on their abilities while offering them training and different methods from which they could choose their future while clearly providing them guidance about how much they could earn and how they should use their talent to become independent.

It is also a fact that women lacking talent or considered talentless have either turned to sites like 'OnlyFandoms' or become courtesans to earn a living.

But of course, there were also talented women who could be considered ideal examples of women empowerment, for example, someone like Professor Rihane herself.

Born in a rural area, with an alcoholic father and growing up in an abusive household, she had run away from her home at the age of 18, only to find that the world was not a better place either.

But like a blessing, the Sertsul family introduced new training opportunities for millions of women, thanks to the financial support from the well-known businessman, Marquess Avendial Croceaus.

The criteria for that scholarship were simply to be a woman who wanted to become independent and survive in this world. There was no discrimination, nor were there age criteria, educational requirements, or test backgrounds.

This initiative opened doors for 18-year-old Rihane, who earned a scholarship to study at the Elite Academy after proving her sharp mind and interest in strategic understanding.

She now holds the prestigious title of professor, renowned for her expertise in Tactical Military Strategy and Geospatial Intelligence.

And today, she had arrived to meet the director to submit her resignation to pursue her next goal, as she had received an official hiring letter from the Arinphiam Empire to become a military strategist in the royal kingdom.