Struggling as a Villain

The Student Council is a place ruled by the elites of the Academy.

This was the first time for Richard to be heading there. In the future, Ethan would get invited to join the Council, but he firmly rejects given his interest lies in hunting rather than being cooped up in an office after school.

There aren't many merits and benefits of being a council officer, but surely being the representative of the student body allows the council members to be in the limelight most of the time.

However, Richard never deemed it necessary to be a part of the Council, nor was he ever invited.

En route, Richard was thinking about the heir of the Aeromore family.

Brendon is an arrogant playboy who can even flirt with his teachers if he finds them pretty. In his memories, Brendon was quite infatuated by Emily and he has a feeling that Brendon's sudden grudge against him is something related to Emily.

Well, not like Brendon can ever be a reason for his concern.

Reaching the council office which was on the same floor as the teacher's staff rooms, Richard knocked.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Excuse me," Opening the door he found the council members, all looking at him with varying expressions.

The council office was long but not very broad. The school emblem hung on the wall across the entrance. Long tables on either side, on which the members sat.

And in the middle, there was only a single desk allotted to the head of the Council.

Richard's eyes found the familiar pretty face of his lover, being seated near the end of the table and currently, the girl could be seen barely suppressing her grin.

Richard stepped in and looked at the person sitting across from him.

The student council president, Ruby Melsworth.

The daughter of a renowned trader and a prodigy who has proven her worth from the very first day of the academy. She is the first student who became the Council President near the end of her first year and currently, she is in her third year.

The girl had long, straight black hair draped over her left shoulder and a pair of red pearly eyes that looked at Richard with a knowing look. MVLeMpYr-the-story-platform

'She is strong and on guard…' Richard can now sense someone's presence just from a glance alone. The better they suppress their ether, the stronger they are. And this girl was in the league of an imperial mage that serves the Emperor.

Without using Detection, Richard could tell that there was a barrier around her, and just like him, she was also assessing him with those shining orbs of hers.

"You are here to submit your name for the competition, I guess?" She asked her words suggesting she was already informed.

Richard nodded, "Indeed, Prez. I was told that I need to give this letter to you to get myself registered?"

Ruby chuckled; that laughter sounded adorable yet, at the same time, made her appear elegant.

With her eyes smiling she told him, "They exaggerate things with all these formal procedures." Taking a pause, she asked him, "Can you answer a few questions for me? Based on your response, we will decide if you can be a backup participant or not."

Richard was unprepared but backing off was never an option, so he just nodded.

Ruby clasped her hand in delight as she said, "Great. Now, as you know, if you participate, you would be the replacement of little Rose. And Rose is selected for her excellent knowledge about World History and Civilisation."

The five members of this contest excel in different subjects since the questions asked in the quiz vary in nature.

Richard didn't think twice before nodding, "Yes, I am aware."

Ruby smiled before she turned her eyes toward the glass-wearing person on her left.

The said person got up, and while fixing his glasses, he asked, "Can you tell me what was the basis on which the continents were distributed and what decided the distribution of resources at that time."

Richard took a single second of pause before responding, "Strength-based hierarchy it was, as such, the strongest of the seven heroes had the first say in the distribution of resources and what region they desire to rule. Based on their preference, they divided their jurisdiction.

For example, the Frost King chose the southern tip of Clion as his kingdom and as the second strongest he had the right to take all the silver-furred bears with him at that time. That explains why those beasts could not survive any other climate than extreme cold."

Richard's answer was fluent however, the Vice-president looked dissatisfied, "There is still something missing."

Richard added, "If we are going into details, then the fifth and the sixth challenged each other to decide the resources they wanted to possess. And those bets contained gambling, how long they can please-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." The glass-wearing youth sat down while covering the blooming blush on his face.

Ruby giggled seeing that reaction and also the fact that Richard remained nonchalant throughout.

Next, she looked at her treasurer. The short black-haired girl got up and asked,

"Tell me what you know about the Plague War?"

"The third descendant of the sixth hero released a long-frozen disease into the Emberclad territory. In response, the fourth descendant of the Flame Warden launched several fireballs containing a disease that grows and spreads through body heat. Both sides faced great challenges and the situation became so dire that the descendants of the Second and the Seventh had to intervene."

The girl nodded, "Can you tell me the name of the person who introduced the cure?"

Richard smiled, "It was a beast who bit one of the patients and their toxin burned the disease. That beast, Mist Doe, is now extinct, and so is the disease."

After that, four more questions were asked and all of them were related to the history of Clion.

Richard answered them one after another, while Amelia watched him with a proud smile on her face.

Richard was taught not only by the professional tutors but by his mother as well, who was known to be the wisest witch during her time in the academy. Naturally, Richard was bound to be an academic genius given he made it to the top position in students' ranking.

Almost half an hour passed by when the question-answer round concluded.

Now every eye was on the Council President, who was smiling as usual.

"A few things, I would like to point out," Richard intently listened, "I noticed that unless you are asked, you don't go deeper in your answers, Richard, and the judges won't ask you for the details. They will just give you the numbers based on how much knowledge you expose."

Richard nodded; somehow, he failed to notice this flaw in himself.

Taking a pause, she added, "And also, you need to work on your speech presentation. I noticed that you don't pause at the end of your sentences. This may not get noticed when you converse with others, but in the competition, that small thing can make a difference in the scores you can gain."

Richard nodded in understanding, "I understand. Thank you for letting me know my flaws."

Ruby showed slight surprise upon hearing the words of gratitude. Maybe, the rumors were true after all. The heir of the Scarlette house no longer has that cockiness left in him.

'But at that time…well, forget it.' Ruby inwardly shook her head and took her pen.

While she wrote, she announced, "Scarlette Richard is appointed for the last vacant seat of the substitute team."

The unexpected announcement made many of the members gasp and show surprise. However, none of them rose in protest.

Richard didn't expect to get selected right away, given the President was not completely satisfied with his performance. However, not even once she showed hesitation in making the decision.

Maybe she chose him based on his knowledge alone and expected him to improve in the time they had? Regardless, it was unexpected that just after a few hours of knowing about the competition he was already a part of it.

Glancing at Amelia, he saw the girl shaking in excitement and ready to jump on him to tackle him into a hug.

"On a side note, " Richard refocused on the President as he heard her adding, "I want to appoint you as my secretary. So after the competition join the council Richard."

Richard parted his lips, but before he could have said something, Ruby smilingly added, "And no, you don't get a choice in this."

For some reasons…that smile on her face appeared a little twisted and sadistic..

Richard wondered if she also had some grudge against him…but soon he shook his head. This was the first time he was meeting this girl. Surely, he wouldn't have offended her in some way…

Right?

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