I Start with a Bad Hand!

With an expression of surprise, Irene asked, “I heard you are a child of the Baron and Baroness Degoph. Haven’t you learned anything following the Baron around?”

I was deeply impressed by Irene’s manner of referring to someone else’s father as the Baron and her strange choice of words that reminded me of the Second Prince, as I made another excuse. “It is true that I am a child of the Baronial family. However… I have been unwell and didn’t have the opportunity to learn about management and accounting.”

“Unwell?” Irene looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, ‘You look perfectly fine.’ Damn, it felt like I had breathed life into Dietrich’s frail body.

“…I had an accident and hurt my leg, so I had to lie down for quite a long time.”

I cast my eyes down to the floor and then sneakily shifted my gaze to the crutch placed next to me. Admittedly, the injury was to my leg and not my head, so it wasn’t a particularly good excuse, but I intended to muddle through by speaking of my unfortunate past.

Fortunately, Irene seemed to catch my intention as she paused thoughtfully. “…Just because you haven’t learned doesn’t mean you can’t do it. If you don’t know, you can learn. Especially since you are the salutatorian, I think you have sufficient qualifications.”

Irene, with an atmosphere that seemed ready to turn away sharply if I refused, was surprisingly persistent. However, my resolve to not get entangled in any troublesome matters was equally strong. “It’s true I’m the salutatorian, but I’m not sure I have the qualities for the student council. I don’t think student council work is just about excelling academically. It might not be difficult for you, Countess Irene, but for me…”

I trailed off, making my expression as pitiable as possible. I wanted to convey, as humbly as possible, that joining a student council that felt like a mini-empire starting at least from the rank of count with heirs to the throne and ducal families was too daunting. It seemed Irene understood my reluctance and eventually conceded with a statement that she did not want to force me.

Even without the issues of prominence and social status, I would have refused Irene’s invitation anyway.

Since Roxanne enrolled, an unprecedented embezzlement scandal broke out at the academy. While Roxanne and Prince Elius grew closer as they investigated the case, spending several sleepless nights reviewing and correcting the accounts, a description of Irene looking pale and drained ensured I would never join the accounting department.

I watched Irene’s back as she walked away. Stay strong…

***

Although I used excuses to dodge Irene’s persuasion, it was clear that a barrier of status still very much existed at the academy. The academy’s first principle states, “The academy is founded on the principle of equal educational opportunities. Thus, outside statuses and logic should not be discussed within its walls.” However, considering the empire still clung tightly to its caste system, this rule was essentially meaningless.

This was no exception for Dietrich, a noblewoman from a minor baronial family from the countryside. The nobility’s gaze upon a young woman of frail health was not kind—though her physical disability was not a valid reason for harassment. However, most capital noble families would swiftly seek divine intervention from temples to heal any serious illness or injury among their members.

Thus, Dietrich’s physical disability inadvertently showcased the economic limitations of the Degoph baronial family. While no one outright instigated trouble, excluding a few misbehaved students, they were not welcoming either.

Additionally, nobles grouped with other nobles, and the few commoners stuck together, forming their own circles. Dietrich, with her neither glamorous nor commoner status, found it difficult to fit in with any group.

Just a few days into the new semester, it seemed everyone already had their cliques for classes and meals. This inevitably extended into a subtle form of exclusion for those who, like me, remained alone.

In this atmosphere, it wasn’t hard to see why the original Dietrich struggled to adjust and remained an outsider at the academy.

However, unlike Dietrich, I was too old and weary at heart to be troubled by the pettiness of such youngsters. The isolation that might have affected others was trivial to a modern person accustomed to the harsh realities of Korean society.

Regardless of whether I had friends to accompany me, the likelihood of me attending any class with someone was slim. I specifically chose courses that anyone would avoid for various reasons.

Before the semester, when the Degoph family received the blank form asking for the courses I planned to enroll in along with the academy’s admission documents, I had no intention of creating more trouble for myself.

To me, rather than choosing subjects I wanted to hear, it was more important to avoid the subjects that Roxanne might attend.

It wasn’t difficult. Since Roxanne always ended up in the same classes as her fiancé, Prince Elius, all I had to do was set aside any classes that the prince was likely to attend. Even after excluding subjects that might attract the interest of the prince or that Roxanne might choose, there were still quite a few subjects remaining.

[Understanding and Discussing Classics]

“Hmm. Discussion… pass.”

[Collaborative Thinking and Its Practical Interpretation]

“Collaboration and… practical? Smells like team projects. Pass.”

[Basic Theological Language]

“Oh, language subjects generally mean practicing conversation with a partner every time. Pass.”

It was truly disappointing that there were no subjects I wanted to attend at such a historically prestigious academy. In the end, I had to write down on the enrollment form subjects that seemed unlikely to be chosen by anyone else, hoping desperately they wouldn’t be cancelled.

Fortunately, thanks to the academy’s policy of maximizing students’ rights to choose their courses, the class titled “Understanding the Thomple Region through the Historical Disputes of Modern Cabaluna Continent” was not cancelled. However, this tedious name even tired out the staff assigning classrooms, and the class ended up in a remote lecture room of the old building. Well, frequenting the old building’s library was a plus for me.

I wasn’t the only one tired of the course name, as the area around the classroom was deserted even though the class was about to start soon. Then, in the middle of the lecture room, I spotted a radiant blonde head of hair, as if capturing the only light in the dark old building.

The moment I saw the back of that blonde head, my hand gripping the doorknob began to sweat with tension. While there was more than one blonde male student at the academy, none had shoulders that boasted a stature like a quarterback, especially in a world without football.

That had to be… Prince Elius as I would recognize him even on a KTX train ride.

In fact, unlike Roxanne, Prince Elius, and Cedric, the second prince wasn’t exactly someone I needed to avoid.

“Even in the novel, he’s a minor character, and attending one class with him isn’t likely to affect the original storyline in any way.”

Given that he was often described as going on expeditions even during the semester, it was possible I might not even see him often in the same class. Moreover, now the second prince was in mine.

Now that I knew I was not actually a lady of the Elexion family, I might not attract much attention even if I encountered him, unlike during the entrance ball.

But still…

“Dietrich seemed to know she was a lady.”

A nagging feeling swept through me. Usually, when I felt this way, it was best to keep my distance. There was no need to draw the attention of the second prince. Remembering the embarrassment I had endured during that brief moment we were entangled, I did not wish to linger around him.

With that thought, I quietly released the doorknob I had been gripping and made sure to walk silently, tiptoeing.

“I might be caught in his sightline if I sit diagonally across.”

I tried to position myself in the prince’s blind spot, like a cicada sticking to a tree. Just as I quietly pulled a chair to sit, he suddenly turned around and looked right at me.

“Crazy. It’s not like he’s an animal to sense that…”

Despite making no noise, the second prince seemed to have instinctively noticed someone approaching from behind. I froze in panic. Caught in indecision, I stuttered as the prince looked amused, as if he had discovered something interesting. His eyes, glowing red, were not smiling at all.

“I was wondering who was sneaking around, but it’s the lady herself.”

Watching the prince, who seemed to lack culture, common sense, and even memory, I sighed in relief that this country’s future emperor would not be the second prince.

He still called me a lady, even after the chaos at the ballroom.

It might not have been a problem of memory, but rather one of character.

If anyone found out I was being called a lady, Dietrich, a minor noble, could be accused of impersonating nobility, leading to serious trouble. The second prince’s provocative behavior and speech were like those of a thug, and seeing him dressed so neatly in his uniform only infuriated me more.