Chapter 3
Early in the morning, Sue returned to her room after breakfast. Usually, Ten and Nine would have helped her get ready, but not today. Sue picked up a hanger from the wardrobe, on which hung the Full Bloom uniform. The neat uniform, reminiscent of a nun’s habit, was perfectly ironed and spotless.
Several days had passed since Sue first opened her eyes in this world. She was slowly, but surely, adapting to life as ‘Sue Byron’.
She placed the uniform in her hand on the table and removed the casual dress she was wearing.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Just then, a small bottle on the dressing table caught her eye. Ten had left it there while she was having breakfast. It contained a green liquid—a potion for healing wounds. The color wasn’t exactly appetizing, but Sue quickly uncorked the bottle and downed the contents in one gulp. The lack of any taste made it all the more unsettling.
Sue stood in front of the mirror and turned her body this way and that, examining herself from all angles, checking the progress of her recovery.
Despite the potion’s less-than-pleasant taste, its effects were remarkable. The wounds that had been scattered across Sue’s body were healing at a rapid pace within a few days.
*But that doesn’t seem to be the problem right now…*
Even as the pain slowly subsided from her body, Sue couldn’t bring herself to smile. She stood before the mirror, gazing at her naked reflection, her lips curving into an empty smile.
Several days had passed since she had woken up in the infirmary. During those days, Sue had tried her best to maintain the act of a noble lady while trying to understand the environment around her.
Sue was still fifteen, her birthday not yet passed, and in her sixth year at Full Bloom, the academy for nurturing nobles. Transfer students were only admitted to Full Bloom in their seventh year. In other words, there was still about a year left before Halo arrived in the imperial capital.
However, having recovered quite a few memories over the past few days, Sue had come to realize that the fundamental problem regarding ‘Sue Byron’s downfall’ lay elsewhere.
*I’ve been ignoring it until now.*
She felt that she could no longer afford to do so, not now that she was certain she had been reincarnated as ‘Sue Byron’.
Looking past the scars on her body, Sue’s gaze fell on her right side. It was clearly visible on her skin, even in the reflection.
Two snakes, intertwined, starting from her right waist and reaching up to her collarbone and down to her thigh.
* * *
The official Full Bloom uniform consisted of a white dress, a cape that draped over the shoulders, and a beret. A small black ribbon was worn around the neck. When the weather turned cold, students were allowed to wear coats freely. This uniform was a design carefully crafted through days of discussions between the imperial family and the temple, aiming to exude a sense of holiness and solemnity. To deliberately make it look different was a violation of school rules.
Sue adjusted her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror once more. There, undoubtedly, was the face of ‘Sue Byron’ dressed in the Full Bloom uniform.
She had reddish eyes, a shade lighter than her hair, and the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned. The faint freckles around her nose were always concealed with light makeup. While she could wear any earrings she wanted, she usually opted for simple studs. She rarely wore other accessories besides earrings.
Her face was neither particularly beautiful nor ugly… just average, according to those around her. Not that she was dissatisfied with her appearance.
Her thick, curly, crimson hair that reached down to her hips was always tied back in a single braid. This was an order from her master, Enzhe. In other words, until she broke free from Enzhe, she had no choice but to keep her hair in a braid.
*Though I doubt if that’s even possible.*
Pushing aside the bleak image of the future that surfaced in her mind, Sue left the townhouse to board the carriage that would take her to the academy.
* * *
The townhouse wasn’t that far from the academy. In fact, it was much faster to walk than to ride a carriage. But ‘Sue’ always used a carriage. A noble lady should, or so she claimed. And she wasn’t entirely wrong.
Sue stared blankly out the window of the carriage heading towards the academy. Outside, many people were bustling about. The day was as clear and warm as ever.
The air, neither too dry nor too humid, always brought a sense of refreshment to the citizens of Löhn. Enjoying the morning and evening scenery of the imperial capital from inside the carriage had become one of her few pleasures.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the academy.
“Glory to the empire.”
As Sue stepped out of the carriage, two guards stationed nearby saluted her.
Full Bloom. A prestigious academy for nurturing nobles, officially recognized by the imperial family and established by the Fritz ducal family. As its reputation suggested, the buildings within its grounds were as grand as any castle.
Students from the first to sixth year received their education in an elliptical building, while those in the seventh year and above were taught in a Gothic castle located further inside the premises. This was because the curriculum changed slightly from the seventh year onwards, when commoner transfer students were admitted from outside, and students began making their debut in society and receiving titles.
Sue had just entered her sixth year. So, her destination wasn’t the Gothic castle but the elliptical building. With spring in full bloom, the air inside the academy was thick with the scent of flowers.
There were five classes in Full Bloom.
The Golden Lion Class, the Blue Shark Class, the Red Snake Class, the Black Eagle Class, and the Green Giant Class. Sue belonged to the Black Eagle Class.
Up until the sixth year, the class division was strictly based on the size and influence of the student’s family. In Atlantis, the disparity between families based on their size and titles was quite significant. Therefore, Sue, as the daughter of a viscount family, had always been in the Black Eagle Class, the fourth in the hierarchy.
The classes were mixed from the seventh year onwards. Officially, it was said to be for the benefit of the transfer students and to provide a more in-depth curriculum. However, Sue couldn’t help but question whether mixing the classes after six years of segregation was truly for those reasons alone.
Entering the building, Sue headed not for her own Black Eagle class but for the classroom with a lion emblem on the door. The Golden Lion Class mostly consisted of children from duke and marquis families.
Naturally, Enzhe, the daughter of the grand duke, was also a student of the Golden Lion Class. Since Sue paid her respects to Enzhe every morning, she opened the gold-plated door and entered.
It was still early, so there weren’t many students in the classroom yet. Among them, sitting with a ramrod straight posture in the middle of the classroom, was Enzhe Lopetrefer, the most beautiful woman Sue had ever seen. With a heart full of mixed feelings, Sue approached her.
“Good morning, Lady Enzhe.”
“Hello, Sue.”
As if she had been expecting her, Enzhe greeted Sue with a dry smile.
Sue, racking her brains for a topic of conversation, suddenly found her gaze drawn to the necklace around Enzhe’s neck. It was a necklace with a purple garnet pendant.
“Oh my. This necklace is new, isn’t it? Is it new?”
“Yes, it is.”
Enzhe chuckled softly and closed her eyes. Judging by her reaction, she seemed to be expecting Sue to latch onto the necklace as a conversation starter. Having been handed such a perfect topic, Sue began to fuss as expected.
“Oh my, what a unique design, it’s absolutely beautiful! Which artisan did you commission it from? Do tell me, if you don’t mind!”
“Hehe, I didn’t buy this necklace.”
“…Then it was a gift? …Don’t tell me, it was from Master Fritz?!”
Sue widened her eyes and uttered the name of the person in question. Enzhe’s face lit up with satisfaction. It seemed like she had guessed correctly.
“Oh my! No wonder it’s such a beautiful necklace, it was him after all! As expected of you, Lady Enzhe!”
As if overwhelmed by the sight of a breathtaking view, Sue clasped her hands together and hopped excitedly. At the same time, a deep sense of self-loathing washed over her.
*So this is how I’m supposed to act.*
The feeling of desperately fawning over someone who had traumatized countless readers was truly bizarre. It had been her routine for the past few days, but she still couldn’t get used to it.
In short, this was their relationship: an infinitely arrogant master and an infinitely flattering dog.
The Byron viscount family had formed an alliance with the Lopetrefer grand duke family about twenty years ago. However, no matter how much they tried to dress it up as an ‘alliance’, within the aristocratic society, they were already known as ‘the haughty master and the dirty dog wagging its tail’. And there wasn’t a single lie in that assessment.
Master and dog.
That was their relationship, nothing more, nothing less.
It was an alliance formed through begging and pleading, all for the sake of receiving even a tiny crumb from the Lopetrefer family. The power dynamic between them was something that would never disappear.
“Lady Enzhe, are you going to the Crystal Garden today?”
“Yes, get ready.”
“Yes! And about what happened yesterday…”
Sue lingered in the Golden Lion Class for a while, engaging in pointless chatter with Enzhe. It was part of her daily routine to start the day, but coming up with endless topics to talk to Enzhe about was a chore.
How did ‘Sue’ manage to do this day after day without getting tired of it?
Enzhe would listen to Sue’s stories half-heartedly, but she would get angry if Sue ever missed their morning greeting.
As time passed, students began to trickle into the Golden Lion Class. Just as Sue decided it was time to excuse herself, she unfortunately bumped into ‘them’ at the door.
“Good morning, Master Fritz, Master Acrea!”
Shina Fritz Digoril and Woo Acrea Ire. The male lead and the second male lead from the novel.
Fritz had slightly unkempt black hair and greenish eyes. Not to mention his sharp features, but his slightly droopy eyes were his most charming feature.
Acrea, in contrast to Fritz, had neatly combed, bright platinum blonde hair, large, lidless eyes that strangely resembled those of a cat, and the corners of his lips were perpetually curved into a faint smile.
In any case, they both possessed looks befitting the title of ‘male leads’ in a novel.
Fritz, Acrea, Enzhe. If there was a God of Beauty, even he wouldn’t be able to find fault with their appearances, even if he had showered all his blessings upon them.
“The weather is lovely today! It makes me want to take a stroll by Lake Libra.”
Sue desperately searched through ‘Sue’s’ memories, trying to recall how she usually treated them.
She would occasionally run into Fritz and Acrea in the Golden Lion Class. After all, Sue was Enzhe’s lackey, and Fritz and Acrea were Enzhe’s childhood friends. Having attended the same academy for six years, they had spent a considerable amount of time together, whether they liked it or not. However, having known each other for a long time didn’t seem to matter much to Fritz and Acrea.
As if to prove that point, they simply looked down at Sue, who had just greeted them cheerfully, with indifferent expressions.