"Hey, there’s something I’m curious about."
"Hey? Watch your tone when you’re speaking to your esteemed older sister."
With a sigh, I shoved the web novel I had been reading at Family Registry Mate No. 1.
"It’s just, why does Cecilia, who kept quiet during her first year, suddenly start going wild like this in her second year? If she was going to go wild, there were already a ton of situations where she could have done it...
"Haa, you know nothing, my younger brother. I can hardly believe we were born from the same womb."
The notebook Family Registry Mate No. 1 tossed at me contained notes on the web novel’s setting.
"Cecilia’s mana paths become entangled with her emotions, causing her to run wild in her second year. And from then on, the relationship between the heroine and the male leads accelerates even further, and the events that arise when those things intertwine are—"
"...Oh, this author has a new work out. I should read this instead..."
"You traitor!!!"
Back then, I had no idea what this kind Cecilia would get up to. The obsession tag was not there for decoration.
**
A dazzling city. Or rather, a place slightly too small to call a city—this was the Academy, the novel’s primary setting.
I only took the entrance-exam route before, so I didn’t realize it, but this really is the size of a city.
That was probably why the Academy could serve as a shield of plausibility no matter what kinds of incidents broke out here.
"We welcome all new students admitted to the Academy..."
The voice echoing through the Academy belonged to its headmaster, Arcaine. We would skip the entrance ceremony, go to the class listed in our notices, receive information about the dormitories and other guidance, and then today’s schedule would be over.
"By the way, Lady Cecilia."
"Yes, Vik... Ahem... Your Grace."
I tilted my head and stared intently at Cecilia.
"Were you about to call my name...?"
"No."
Seeing Cecilia answer so firmly, I nodded.
Well, Cecilia has no reason to play along with my teasing.
Ours was merely a relationship for the sake of a contract and treating her endemic illness. A proper sense of distance was important, yes.
"In any case, what are your plans for today, Lady Cecilia?"
As a returning student rather than a freshman, Cecilia did not necessarily have to come back to the Academy today.
"I’m thinking of taking a look around the Academy’s commercial district. To see whether any new medicines or grimoires have come in..."
"Will you be going right away?"
"No. I’ll stop by the dormitory first."
"Then I’ll go with you."
"Pardon?"
Looking at Cecilia’s startled expression, I thought to myself.
Grimoires, poisonous herbs—risk factors that could contribute to her rampage. Remove them immediately.
Ran, who stayed by her side, could not possibly possess that kind of knowledge.
I, with my knowledge of the original work, need to stay beside Cecilia and cut out anything suspicious.
"Um... Your Grace, there should be a welcoming party for the new students today."
"I don’t attend things like that."
"Pardon?"
"Do I have to?"
I had not come to the Academy to socialize. I came to fulfill an imperial noble’s duty, check on Cecilia’s condition, and see the state of Elysia and the male leads around her.
"A welcoming party with Lady Cecilia sounds much better."
"Ah..."
"Um..."
Huh? Did she dislike the idea? Just as I wondered if I had crossed the line and was about to brush it off by saying I was joking again—
"I’ll wait for you."
"Pardon?"
"...I’ll wait until you come."
The sheer destructive power of Cecilia smiling sweetly at me.
Crown Prince, is this really right?
Once again, I found myself questioning the Crown Prince’s brain health.
**
Academy, First-Year Class B. The eyes of the freshmen seated in the classroom kept drifting, whether knowingly or not, toward the man sitting at the very back.
Viktor Walterheim, the Northern Grand Duke.
"Do you think you’re at a zoo or something?"
At Viktor’s sharp response to their stares, the students quickly looked away.
"Tch."
The blonde female student who had been observing the scene folded the fan concealing her mouth, rose from her seat, and walked toward Viktor.
"I hope you have been well, Grand Duke Walterheim."
"..."
"Um..."
"Who are you? Do I know you?"
"..."
A faint crack nearly appeared in her mask, but the female student forced a smile and spoke.
"Luisilla Pragh. The Empire’s First Princess greets you."
"Ah. Your Highness the Princess."
"..."
"I was indebted to you before."
"Indebted... how?"
"Do I really have to say it here?"
Viktor grinned and quietly whispered into Luisilla’s ear.
"Weren’t all the knights you planted beneath my brothers, trying to imitate the Crown Prince, beheaded?"
"..."
"That’s a secret, isn’t it?"
Luisilla barely calmed her trembling hand before nodding.
"There was a misunderstanding regarding what happened then—"
"Haa. I don’t know what you were thinking, approaching me, but the moment you treat me as you treated my late brothers..."
In contrast to the slight upward curve of Viktor’s lips, his coldly sunken eyes were somehow chilling.
"I’ll tear you apart."
Back in her seat, Luisilla recalled the words of her grandfather, Sir Bison, the commander of the Order of Knights.
[You are in the same class, so approach him and find out what sort of person he is. And if he seems useful, make him an enemy of Baron.]
No, Grandfather. That is not a hunting dog that can be controlled by tossing it meat. That is...
He was a wolf reigning alone and proud over the frozen snowfields.
**
There had been an unexpected encounter before the orientation, but I decided not to dwell on it.
In the end, the Emperor’s other children, Luisilla included, are destined to be pushed aside by Baron, who has perfectly awakened the qualities of an emperor.
Overcoming adversity through countless incidents—and the power of love.
This really is a romance fantasy...
By the time I had sorted through the many thoughts churning in my head, the orientation had ended, and it was time to leave.
"Your Grace’s belongings have already been taken to your assigned room."
"You said it was a private room?"
"Yes. Those of high standing, such as Your Grace, are naturally given private rooms..."
"Lady Cecilia too?"
"Ordinarily, yes."
"Why?"
"Well... I heard she has been moved to a double room."
"Hm?"
That was strange. Until her rampage, Cecilia was supposed to stay shut in a private room, absorbed in magic and alchemy.
Has something gone wrong?
"Is there a reason for it?"
"Well... Elysia, a second-year commoner special-admission student, has taken the private room."
"..."
"They say there are no private rooms left for second-years now."
"Haa."
Elysia, the heroine who was not originally supposed to use a private room, had taken Cecilia’s room.
"The Crown Prince truly doesn’t shy away from filthy tactics..."
Ordinarily, Baron, the Crown Prince, would see Elysia suffering through every hardship due to the limits of her status, step in to resolve it, and that would be the novel’s satisfying development.
Our protagonist is already going wild with these satisfying developments from the very start.
"How did Lady Cecilia react?"
"...Apparently, she showed no particular reaction and withdrew. It was a reassignment recommendation issued in the Crown Prince’s name.
She was told to her face that he did not even want to see his former fiancée..."
"Ah, seriously..."
To grind Cecilia’s mental state to dust the moment she arrived—he was an impressive man, in a sense.
"And on top of that."
"What now?"
"Um... according to rumor, the young lady’s roommate is a noblewoman from the Crown Prince’s faction..."
"We’re going to the dormitory right now."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Now was not the time to stand around blankly. I needed to get there quickly and look after Cecilia’s mental state.
Danger—
"Hello!"
"..."
The pink-haired girl blocking my path had a puppy-like face that stirred one’s protective instincts.
"It’s nice to meet you! I’m Elysia! Um... are you Grand Duke Walterheim?"
"...I am."
"Ah, I see! I happened to be passing by and saw an impressive black-haired first-year, so I came over. To think it was the Grand Duke!"
"..."
"Could meeting like this be fate?"
Flinch.
For a moment, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from Elysia’s words.
I know that line... It’s what she uses when she’s pursuing the male leads, so why...
Why was she using it on me, an irregular who was not even a male lead?
"Hehe. Um, if you don’t mind, Grand Duke, I’d like to—"
"Your Grace."
"Uh... Huh?"
A low voice, so cold it felt as if the air itself had frozen, sounded behind me. And the one it called was none other than me.
"I understand the orientation has ended."
"..."
"You were taking so long that I became worried and came looking for you."
Cecilia Roienthal, the silver-clad young lady who had come to stand beside me, turned a sharp gaze upon Elysia.
"...May I ask what you and Miss Elysia have been discussing?"
Again...
That sense of familiarity.
I knew this line of Cecilia’s too. It was what she said when she came upon Elysia, in her second year, speaking with Baron, whom she had arranged to go out with. But why now?
She’s saying that line not to Baron, but to me...
"Haha... Hello, Lady Cecilia."
"Yes. Have you been well, Miss Elysia?"
"Of course. Um... I know it was all a misunderstanding. That you would never do something like that—"
"I did not."
"Yes, I know. I believe you. It was an incident brought about by a very minor misunderstanding, after all."
"How dare you say such a thing..."
Grind.
"Ah...!"
Cecilia had been glaring at Elysia, but upon seeing me, she stepped directly between Elysia and me.
"No. Your Grace, I mean... I did not do such a thing. Really... Really! I... I...!"
That is...
A dark-blue haze was rising in her trembling violet eyes. A precursor to a mana rampage.
This was dangerous. I seized Cecilia by the shoulders and pushed her behind me, then looked into her eyes.
"I believe you."
"What?"
"I am on your side, Lady Cecilia. Do not forget that. I believe in those who have entered my protection."
"Your Grace."
"Now, calm down and take deep breaths. Rushe."
"Yes. This way, my lady."
The blue haze that had risen in Cecilia’s eyes earlier was gone. Thank goodness.
"Whew."
I would finish this quickly and come back. Leaving Cecilia in Rushe’s care, I stood before Elysia.
"Miss Elysia."
"Ah. Yes! Hehehe."
...She was smiling? After creating this entire mess, she was smiling? She had maliciously exposed someone else’s shame before her fiancé, and she was smiling?
"What manner of etiquette is it to approach a stranger out of nowhere, pretending familiarity with a smile on your face?"
"Pardon?"
"Is that the etiquette of an Academy commoner special-admission student?"
"Um... I merely wished to greet Your Grace..."
"And on top of that, the very person responsible for bringing another’s engagement to ruin, muddying the issue with talk of misunderstandings, has the nerve to spout such words in front of Lady Cecilia. Was stealing her private room by riding the Crown Prince’s power not enough for you?"
"...That was..."
The face reflected in Elysia’s eyes as they turned pale was, in every sense, that of the Northern Grand Duke consumed by fury.
To Elysia, who had spent her Academy days looking at the Crown Prince and male leads who smiled whenever they saw her enter their flower garden, I must have been a type of person she had never encountered before.
"I will give you one warning. From today onward, the moment you approach Lady Cecilia—my fiancée—without permission."
Grind.
I ground my teeth and glared at Elysia.
"I will regard you as my enemy and tear you apart."
Leaving Elysia sobbing as she sank to the floor behind me, I was about to take Cecilia and leave.
"Elysia!!!"
At that moment, a man whose voice alone made the entire space feel greasy came running toward us—or, to be exact, toward Elysia.
"W-What is the meaning of this!!! Grand Duke Walterheim!"
Yes, it was the entrance of Baron Pragh, the Crown Prince and male lead.
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