Chapter 02
The Royal Academy of the Neutral Nation of Swena treated everyone equally.
That meant anyone was allowed to take the entrance examination. Anyone who passed could enroll. And regardless of whether a student was royalty, nobility, or a commoner, everyone was treated the same once admitted.
It was an academy where admission depended solely on one’s abilityānot on family background or social status.
Even so, the majority of students naturally came from the upper class. After all, education itself was still a privilege afforded to only a select few.
In any case, even princes and princesses received no special treatment within the academy.
Princess Elizia was no exception.
Unless a student had a medical condition, everyone was required to live in the dormitories, sharing a room with one roommate.
Her roommate was a young woman who had enrolled a year earlier.
She was one of the academy’s few commoners, and the daughter of a wealthy merchant from the Empire.
Her name was Sophie Windker.
She was the second person from the Empire whom Elizia had met.
Unlike the worst Imperial she had encounteredāher assigned senior, RakanāSophie was someone Elizia found quite likable.
After about a week of living together, the two had grown close enough to chat comfortably.
“Elizia, good luck with your first class.”
“Thank you! I’m really looking forward to it!”
Elizia replied, her eyes sparkling as she brushed her hair.
Today was finally the day.
She had proudly entered the prestigious Royal Academy of Swenaāa school everyone dreamed of attendingāand now she would participate in her very first lesson.
The only downside…
…was that her first class happened to be one she would attend together with Rakan.
Still, she decided not to let that ruin her excitement.
“By the way, Elizia…”
“Your assigned senior is… Rakan?”
“…Yes.”
“It just happened that way.”
She knew only his first name.
She neither knew nor cared to ask for his family name.
He came from an enemy nation, and his first impression had been absolutely dreadful.
She had no desire to learn even the smallest thing about him.
In fact…
She almost felt it would have been better if the Imperial Crown Prince, Nobila Herve Karund, had been assigned as her senior instead.
Just thinking about Rakan made her frown.
Sophie noticed and spoke quietly.
“Your assigned senior is Rakan…”
“I honestly don’t know what the headmaster was thinking.”
“Anyway…”
“Everyone’s going to be incredibly jealous.”
“So be careful.”
“Jealous?”
Elizia looked at her in confusion.
Rather than answering, Sophie merely smiled as though to say,
You’ll understand soon enough.
“It’s… something.”
“Just be careful.”
“All right.”
“I’ll see you later, Senior.”
With that, Elizia picked up several books and left the dormitory.
Walking down the pale ivory marble corridor, Elizia found herself thinking about Rakan once again.
Her assigned senior.
The corners of her mouth immediately drooped.
Several days had already passed since their first meeting.
Yet she’d never met anyone so absurdly narcissistic in her life.
She simply couldn’t forget him.
“Don’t even think about trying to get close to me.”
Trying to get close?
If anyone needed to stop entertaining ridiculous ideas…
It was him.
Her goal was simple.
She intended to study diligently for the next three years and become the perfect future Queen of Ortigia.
Nowhere in those plans was there room for an insufferable Imperial noble.
So that’s why…
Elizia stared thoughtfully toward the front of the classroom.
The professor, her neatly tied hair swaying gently, lectured while writing with a magical pen.
Yet instead of watching her enthusiastic explanation…
Elizia’s eyes kept drifting toward Rakan’s back.
He sat in the second row.
His broad shoulders.
His perfectly straight posture.
And…
The sea of elegant dresses surrounding him on every side.
“Hmm…”
Resting her chin on one hand, Elizia looked back toward the professor.
Today’s lesson was Introduction to Ancient History.
It wasn’t exactly her favorite subject.
She preferred modern and contemporary history to stories from a distant ancient past.
The only reason she was taking this class…
…was because Rakan was.
As his assigned junior, she was expected to attend several general education courses together with her assigned senior.
That was why she had enrolled in this class.
And now…
She finally understood everything.
She understood why Rakan possessed such ridiculous confidence.
She understood why he had asked whether she had schemed to become close to him.
She understood what Sophie meant by everyone becoming jealous.
Before class had begun…
The moment Elizia stepped into the lecture hall filled with polished marble desks…
She immediately noticed it.
Every seat surrounding Rakanā
Front.
Back.
Left.
Right.
āhad been occupied by elegantly dressed young women.
For a brief moment…
She found herself acknowledging Rakan’s ridiculous self-confidence.
His warning not to “try anything” suddenly made a little more sense.
Rakan was like another flower…
Surrounded by countless beautiful flowers.
Perhaps it was because she’d been too excited to sleep the night before.
Or perhaps it was because the professor’s gentle voice was simply too soothing.
Whatever the reason…
Elizia found herself desperately fighting to keep her eyes open.
The harder she struggled…
The more she ended up glaring at the professor with half-lidded, sleepy eyes.
“Elizia.”
Sensing the intense stare, the professor turned around and called her name.
“Yes!”
Startled, Elizia answered loudly.
Bang!
She shot to her feet so suddenly that both hands slammed against her desk.
The professor chuckled softly.
“You don’t have to stand.”
“If you’re sleepy, you may go wash your face.”
“N-No!”
“I’m fine!”
“I’m terribly sorry!”
Flushing bright red, Elizia hurriedly sat back down, shaking her head repeatedly.
Her heart pounded in embarrassment.
I actually dozed off… during my very first class…
She had been so excited she barely slept the previous night.
And now this happened.
Rakan slowly turned around.
A crooked smile played on his lips as he looked at her.
His eyes seemed to sayā
“I thought you said not to pay attention to you?”
Elizia wanted nothing more than to bang her head against the desk.
How humiliating…
Of all people, that Imperial jerk had to witness this!
Her very first class had ended in the worst possible way.
Soon, the lecture ended.
Her next class was swordsmanship training.
Coincidentally…
Rakan would be attending that class as well.
It wasn’t intentional.
She had simply registered because she wished to continue practicing swordsmanship, just as she had back at the royal palace.
Gathering her writing materials, Elizia looked around.
Rakan had already left the classroom.
Despite being her assigned senior…
He didn’t seem interested in paying any attention to her.
Fortunately…
She felt exactly the same.
Stepping into the warm noon sunlight, she walked leisurely along the path.
The breeze fluttered the hem of her dress.
Humming softly to herself, she headed toward the academy’s massive domed training hall.
When she reached a path lined with tall green grass…
Someone stepped into her way.
It was a stunning young woman with vivid red hair.
“So you’re Elizia?”
Without even introducing herself, the woman addressed her directly.
She was about the same height as Elizia, yet somehow gave the impression of looking down on others.
Rather than a girl, she looked like a mature young woman.
Even though she wore a modest high-collared dress, an unmistakably seductive aura surrounded her.
Elizia searched her memory.
Wasn’t she sitting beside Rakan earlier…?
Judging by the color of the badge attached to her dress…
She was also an upperclassman.
Elizia offered a polite nod.
Her face remained expressionless, but her manners were impeccable.
“Yes.”
“I’m Elizia Woder Ortigia.”
“So you already know who I am.”
“Of course I do.”
“It’s common knowledge that you became Rakan’s assigned junior.”
The woman smiled.
But there wasn’t a trace of friendliness in it.
She continued,
“I’m Beth.”
“Princess of the Kingdom of Shati.”
It sounded less like an introduction…
And more like a declaration of war.
The Kingdom of Shati…
An old ally of the Empire.
Though Shati had no direct conflict with Ortigia…
It was still effectively an enemy nation.
That explained her attitude.
Ignoring the hostility, Elizia smiled politely.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Beth.”
“I’m Princess Elizia of the Kingdom of Ortigia.”
“Though I’m sure you already knew that.”
There was calm confidence in Elizia’s greeting.
“Hmm.”
Beth slowly looked Elizia up and down.
Her neatly trimmed nails.
The conservative dress fastened with countless buttons.
Even her simply tied hair.
“I expected more from a princess of such a wealthy kingdom…”
“But…”
“You’re much more plain than I imagined.”
The comment was anything but pleasant.
What is this…?
Picking a fight out of nowhere?
Senior or not… maybe I should just fight her.
For a brief moment…
Elizia seriously considered it.
Princess Beth wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was openly looking down on her.
