Chapter 104
Honest Confession
Dynaise Academy wasn’t just a school. It was a huge ancient ruin with many secret doors called teleport gates. Because of these gates, the layout was twisted and hard to fully explore.
‘Teleport gates… right, I remember.’
Idnia had made a deal with Parinelli, the undead general of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and learned about the hidden teleport gates students had discovered. She even found out how to unlock the one to the library, which wasn’t open to first-years.
But she hadn’t used it yet. There were already too many books she needed to study, and she didn’t want extra attention from professors by sneaking into forbidden places.
‘Now that Father sent me books, I have no reason to go to the library. Maybe I should try the dungeon instead. Normally it’s for second-years, but with all the Academy Coins I have, maybe I can get in.’
She brought the stack of books her father sent into her room. They were old but very fancy, with gold-silver bindings. Just selling them would’ve made a lot of money. But her father had kept them, probably because they reminded him of her mother.
‘But Mother’s alive… and she’s the Demon Empress now. What would Father do if he found out? He’s already weak.’
Idnia sighed and opened the letter from her aunt next.
Her father hadn’t written anything bad about the state of their country, but her aunt’s letter was full of complaints. Fewer gifts were coming to their household, they weren’t making money from fur or meat anymore because no one was hunting, and Father was eating less.
Still, when she added up everything in the letter, there didn’t seem to be any serious crisis like war or poverty. The Archbishop of Betelgeuse had kept his promise to support them.
‘I don’t know why I was chosen as a saint candidate, but if it helps my country, I’m glad. I should keep my position to protect the bishop’s honor… although the church messengers keep asking me for favors too.’
That night, she couldn’t sleep. She missed her home and its people—even though this was her second life.
‘Fine. Since I’m awake anyway, I’ll go check the teleport gate.’
She quietly left her dorm.
The teleport gate to the library had been just a paid shortcut in the original game Awakened Girl Concerto, used to skip training time. Idnia knew about it from the game, but only learned how to use it from Parinelli.
She avoided the patrolling magical armor guards and went to a statue near the classroom building. It showed an athlete throwing a disc.
“Gold light spell on the disc…”
The statue reacted.
“Red light on the base…”
The teleport gate opened—this was the entrance to the library.
“It works. What a nice little midnight walk.”
She was about to turn back and close it—when someone stood in front of her, holding an umbrella.
It was the headmaster: Ludwig Blackblade.
“Not going in?”
“Oh, Headmaster. Actually, this is great timing.”
“Great timing?”
“Yes. Is this still valid?”
She showed him the Academy Coin voucher her father gave her.
The headmaster frowned.
“There’s no expiry date… It’s real. So yes, it’s valid. Where did you get this?”
“It was in my father’s letter.”
“Draken Kache Betelgeuse… he was a fine student. He didn’t graduate though.”
“Why didn’t he? I’ve never asked—especially if it involved my mother.”
“Your father, Franz, and Flora—your mother—were the top students of their time. They pushed each other to become even better.”
Ludwig smiled and made a circle with his fingers.
“Franz spent tons of money trying to beat your father. The Academy got so many coins, I thought of hiring more staff.”
“But you’re bound to the Academy, aren’t you? Why hire more people?”
“I can’t control student numbers, but I can hire staff. New people keep life interesting.”
Idnia realized: the headmaster was like a prisoner. For someone so powerful, that was kind of sad.
“Then… maybe be nicer to your students?”
“I tried. Flora and Franz ruined that idea.”
“Huh?”
“And others too. We’ve had spies pretending to be students. Like one first-year who already activated a secret teleport gate.”
“…Haha.”
Idnia laughed. She knew he was talking about her.
“So my father had no issues? Why did he drop out?”
“There was a demon attack. The former Duke of Betelgeuse died, and your father had to take his place.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that.”
“Really? But you figured out the secret gate?”
“I didn’t ask my father about things involving my mother.”
“Fair enough.”
Surprisingly, Ludwig accepted that.
“So… can I buy a dungeon entry ticket?”
“First-years can’t enter the dungeon. That’s a rule I can’t break. It’s an ancient oath.”
“I see.”
Just like in the game, she’d have to wait until second year.
“Alright. I’ll go back to my dorm now.”
“Idnia Kache Betelgeuse.”
Ludwig softly said her name.
“Yes?”
“What do you desire?”
Idnia paused. She could have lied. But Ludwig looked serious.
**“Franz wanted power. Flora wanted political strength. They both hunted the school’s secrets to get stronger.
Your father followed the rules and just trained his one technique. That drove Franz crazy.
But you—why are you sneaking around at night? What do you desire, Idnia?”**
She looked at him and spoke honestly.
“I… I love this world.”
“You love this world?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Ludwig had seen many people claim to love their country or home. Most used those words for manipulation. But Idnia seemed different.
‘Unbelievable… Draken, how did you raise a daughter like this? Or maybe… she was just born that way.’
Idnia continued.
“I want to bring good change to this world and everyone living in it.”
She was not the original villainess from the game. She was someone else—a girl from Earth living in Idnia’s body. Some might say that was cheating. She had a second life, an unfair advantage. But even so, she only wanted to do good.
Ludwig sensed her sincerity and shook his head.
“That’s not something a girl your age usually says. You sound like someone who has lived a very long life… which makes me suspicious.”
“Pardon?”
“Go to bed, Idnia.”
The Next Morning
At breakfast, students were excited.
Last night’s dinner had been surprisingly good—thick stew, fresh bread, and sweet pastries.
“Maybe the bad food was just to scare us early on. Now that we’re working hard, we’ll get better meals!”
“Yeah! No way they’d keep feeding trash to future leaders of the Empire!”
It was a silly, hopeful idea that spread quickly.
Idnia knew the truth. But she didn’t correct them.
‘Ah, so this is how rumors are born. People believe what they want to believe—especially when they’ve faced real despair.’
Still, the students’ hopes were crushed quickly—when a fish head landed on their food trays.
