The Villain Who Invests in a Witch to Survive Chapter 67 : Chapter 67

Chapter 67 : The Wager

Andre and Wood’s eyes lit up almost simultaneously. The princess was clearly not questioning them—she was practically showing them what to do.

Ryan’s fingers, resting on his knees, slowly curled.

He clearly saw the undercurrent surging beneath the frozen lake within Cecilia’s eyes.

The silence in the room grew delicate. The three advisors showed thoughtful expressions, evidently catching the subtle inclination within the Second Princess’s words.

Cecilia walked to the end of the long table, her posture composed.

“At present, the positions of both sides are clear, yet the evidence from either party is insufficient to reach a decisive conclusion. Continuing this stalemate would only waste everyone’s ti.” She raised her gaze, her calm eyes sweeping over Ryan before drifting past the expectant faces of Andre and Wood. “Since Ryan Velt firmly claims his innocence, while Committee mbers Garcia and Green are equally certain of his guilt… perhaps we should resolve this in a more straightforward way.”

“Forty-eight hours. I will give both sides forty-eight hours. Ryan Velt—if you can, within that ti limit, find conclusive evidence that truly proves your innocence and overturns all accusations, then you are innocent, and the academy will no longer pursue this matter.”

The woman with glasses asked at once, “And if he cannot?”

Cecilia looked toward Ryan.

“If he cannot, he will bear the primary responsibility for the accident. The punishnt will include: expulsion from the academy, the Velt family bearing full compensation for the injuries, and the shares held by the Northern Star Trading Company in the academy’s supply chain being publicly auctioned as repaynt.”

Andre could hardly suppress the smile spreading across his face. Wood’s lips stretched wide.

Forty-eight hours!

That was more than enough ti for them to hide every trace of what they had done and fabricate ironclad evidence to pin Ryan down completely.

The people who fra you always understand how wronged you are better than anyone.

The princess had practically pushed Ryan into a dead end with her own hands—and even shut the escape door behind him for them.

Ryan t Cecilia’s gaze.

She stood within that cool light like an impartial judge, yet every word she spoke tilted the scales toward the other side.

From any perspective, accepting this wager brought Ryan no benefit whatsoever.

He could have continued to remain silent, insisting that the opposing evidence was insufficient and procedurally flawed, letting the stalemate continue.

A stalemate ant ti. Ti ant variables. It ant that he might still find another way out—or at least avoid being imdiately convicted, expelled, and dragging his family into ruin forty-eight hours later.

Almost everyone in the room expected him to resist, argue, or at the very least oppose the proposal with silence.

However—

“I agree.”

Ryan’s voice sounded out, calm and clear, without even a trace of hesitation or struggle. With those two words, he cut off every possible detour.

For a mont after the words fell, the room froze.

The woman with glasses stopped flipping through her docunts. The bald man’s hand holding the pen hung in midair. Even the young female committee mber forgot to maintain her usual composed posture.

Andre and Wood were the most shocked of all.

They had expected to spend far more effort persuading him, and they had even prepared further pressure and argunts. Yet the prey had leapt into the trap by itself—so decisively that it almost seed suspicious.

But only for an instant.

Andre’s eyes suddenly blazed with excitent. As if afraid Ryan might change his mind the next second, he rushed forward a step before the echo of Ryan’s words had even faded, his voice loud to the point of exaggeration.

“Her Highness’s proposal could not be more fair! It perfectly demonstrates the justice of the royal family and the academy!”

His chest heaved. In his excitent his words beca sowhat incoherent, yet his aning was unmistakably clear.

“But we request an additional stake. If Ryan Velt fails to prove his innocence—”

He bit down heavily on the word “innocence,” dripping with sarcasm.

“—in addition to the punishnts listed by Her Highness, the Garcia family and the Greenwood family are each willing to compensate him with ten thousand gold coins! As a small token… for his courage in taking responsibility for this matter.”

Wood imdiately added, staring at Ryan.

“That is right! And he must publicly apologize to all the injured students and personally admit his cris!”

Cecilia looked at Ryan, one eyebrow lifting slightly, as if asking about a trivial matter unrelated to herself.

“Do you accept such conditions?”

Ryan nodded. His expression did not change.

“Very well.” Cecilia turned to the three advisors. “Then please act as witnesses and record all the terms of this wager in detail. I will sign the guarantee contract in the capacity of a mber of the royal family to ensure its enforcent.”

The woman with glasses moved quickly. The bald man ground ink. The young female committee mber handed over a pen.

Cecilia signed her na with smooth strokes. The royal ink spread into a distinctive crest.

She handed the pen to Ryan.

Ryan signed his na, his handwriting steady.

Andre and Wood also scribbled their signatures in bold strokes, their manner arrogant.

Three copies of the contract were made.

Cecilia took one and carefully stored it away. The woman with glasses archived another. The final copy remained on the table, the ink still wet.

“Forty-eight hours.”

Cecilia glanced at the wall clock. The pendulum swung with steady rhythm.

“The countdown begins now.”

She turned and walked toward the door, the hem of her dress brushing the floor in silence. Just before stepping across the threshold, she paused slightly and turned half her face to the side. Her gaze seed to pass over Ryan as if by accident.

That look was faint, like a thin sheet of ice covering a deep pool. Whatever lay beneath it, no one could see.

The door closed softly.

The tension in the room loosened abruptly, only to be replaced by another emotion.

The three advisors lowered their heads to organize the docunts, avoiding eye contact. Andre and Wood, however, relaxed completely. They exchanged glances and laughed, their smiles filled with triumphant satisfaction and delight.

Ryan stood up. The legs of the wooden chair scraped harshly against the stone floor.

Andre stepped closer, lowering his voice, his tone thick with sticky mockery.

“Enjoy your last two days, Velt. This ti, there will not be any accidents to save you. It seems Her Highness also finds you rather unpleasant.”

Ryan looked at him.

The cold hostility that had filled those blue-gray eyes earlier had disappeared at so point. In its place was gentleness and calm.

He even slightly curved his lips, forming a faint smile.

The smile was shallow, yet unexpectedly warm—like thin winter sunlight gliding across ice.

Andre froze for a mont. The expression was far too unfamiliar and far too inappropriate for the mont, leaving the next taunt he had prepared stuck in his throat.

In that instant—

Pain exploded.

It felt as though a small cot had slamd straight into his face.

Andre did not even see when Ryan moved. His vision spun violently, flipping upside down as a dull crack of his jawbone shattering rang in his ears, accompanied by the brittle snap of teeth breaking free from their sockets.

His entire body was lifted off the ground by a brutal force, twisting as he was hurled backward.

He crashed into the wooden chair behind him—the one that had belonged to him and Wood.

CRACK!

The chair shattered into pieces.

His montum did not stop. His back slamd heavily against the gray-green wall, shaking loose a cloud of dust.

Finally, he collapsed and slid down, curling in the corner among broken splinters of wood.

Half of his face caved inward at an unnatural angle. Blood mixed with several stark white teeth spilled from the corner of his crooked mouth as he emitted hoarse, broken gasps.