Episode 59
Seeing Elonia writhing in despair, Alberich rushed to the academy cafe and bought her a pudding.
“I heard the pastry chef from the Imperial Palace recently started working at the academy cafe. It should be to your liking.”
“…Is that Dad’s doing too?”
“…”
His silence was an answer in itself.
Well, that wasn’t important right now.
Elonia took a bite of the pudding, then viciously mashed it with the back of her spoon.
Llewellyn, trying to cheer her up, changed the subject.
“By the way, Elonia, what classes are you taking in the Academic and Swordsmanship Departments?”
“…’Fundamentals of Political Science,’ ‘The Definition of Nobility,’ and ‘Swordsmanship Sparring.'”
“Aw, no overlapping classes. That’s a shame.”
“You can’t take classes meant for lowerclassmen.”
“That’s true, but…”
The elective classes Elonia had chosen from other departments were all for freshmen.
While upperclassmen could take lowerclassmen’s classes if they wished, lowerclassmen couldn’t take upperclassmen’s classes.
Elonia glared at them.
She enjoyed spending time with them, but she didn’t want to attend the same classes.
‘Who knows what kind of trouble they might cause.’
That was why she had told Lady Asta every detail of her schedule but had sworn the brothers to secrecy.
She had refused to tell them anything, even when they whined and begged at the Imperial Princess’s Palace.
But the brothers, determined to share at least one activity with her, wouldn’t give up.
“What about clubs?”
“I’m not joining any clubs.”
“Are you sure you’re not interested in the student council?”
“Nope.”
“Will you join the Pudding Making Club if I create one?”
“I prefer eating pudding.”
“You can just eat, then.”
“No.”
Elonia continued to refuse, diligently scraping the mashed pudding from her plate.
The Asta brothers, defeated, slumped in their seats.
Elonia, having finished her pudding, regained her composure.
Then, after a long pause, she finally brought up the topic that had been weighing on her mind.
“…By the way, about the Heilan royals who enrolled this year. There were two of them.”
Alberich and Llewellyn avoided her gaze.
She had been the only one who didn’t know.
Elonia was indignant.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me Princess Olivia was enrolling? Even Dad. I thought it was just Prince Simon.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter how many of them enroll. You won’t encounter them at the academy anyway. You’re in different departments.”
“But our classes might overlap. You said you took a class with that… Heilan boy before.”
She couldn’t bring herself to call Lucius a hostage.
Llewellyn, immediately understanding who she was referring to, scowled.
“That was just a coincidence. The hostages have limited course options.”
“Academic and Theology classes?”
“Yes, classes where they can’t handle weapons.”
Alberich added,
“And the mandatory courses for Ravanta students and Heilan hostages are slightly different. Llewellyn encountered him in an elective class.”
“But I’m taking two Academic Department electives. Won’t I run into them there?”
“I don’t know their schedules, but… His Majesty didn’t say anything, so he must have deemed it safe.”
“Besides, even if he said no, you wouldn’t listen anyway.”
That was true.
Artius had been present when she planned her schedule, but he hadn’t objected to any of her choices.
Now that she thought about it, he probably knew it was pointless to argue with her.
But she still felt uneasy. Llewellyn, sensing her mood, grumbled,
“Why do you even care about the hostages? They have nothing to do with you. It’s weird, El.”
Nothing to do with her. Weird.
His words stung, making her feel like she had been doused with cold water.
Ricardo, who understood her true identity, wasn’t here.
To everyone else, Elonia and Chelon were completely separate individuals.
“I didn’t want to say this, Your Highness, but as the sole heir to the Ravanta throne, it’s best to ignore them.”
Even Alberich offered cold comfort.
Lucius’s words suddenly came to mind.
“If you understand the situation, I suggest you stay away from our hostages. I trust you, being the intelligent princess you are, understand what I mean.”
He was right.
No matter her intentions, befriending or showing sympathy towards the Heilan hostages would only harm her in the long run.
Llewellyn and Alberich, seeing her dejection, were troubled.
Elonia was always confident and strong.
They sometimes forgot that she was only nine years old.
They worried that their words, telling her to ignore and avoid the hostages, had been too harsh.
But before they could apologize, Elonia spoke, her voice subdued,
“Alright, I will.”
“El…”
“I didn’t mean to be so blunt.”
“No, you’re right.”
There was another reason for her sadness, but she couldn’t tell them.
Elonia slapped her cheeks, trying to regain her composure.
“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Why would the princess of the nation that holds them hostage have any reason to interact with them?”
“Elonia…”
“Your Highness.”
“Let’s go. I’m tired.”
“I’ll escort you back to your dormitory.”
“No, you’re not coming to the girls’ dormitory. You said the academy was safe.”
“But…”
“I’m going back first. You guys should go too.”
Elonia refused their offer to escort her and returned to her dormitory.
‘That’s right, approaching them would only hurt them more.’
She didn’t want to hurt her siblings any further.
She had finally found happiness. She didn’t want to be hurt again.
Elonia was still plagued by Chelon’s cowardice.
***
The next day,
Elonia woke up to the academy-wide wake-up call.
She had plenty of time after washing up, getting dressed, and styling her hair. She glanced at the communication crystal.
‘I have a ton of missed calls.’
She had forgotten to contact home before falling asleep.
‘I’ll call them after class.’
Elonia headed to the dining hall.
She was starving, having skipped dinner the night before.
Ignoring the stares directed at her, she quickly devoured her breakfast – warm mushroom soup, freshly baked bread, salmon steak, and mixed berry juice.
After breakfast, she gathered her writing materials and headed to her first class.
Her first class was “Understanding Magic,” a mandatory course for Magic Department freshmen, taught by Professor Caroline.
Creak.
The moment she opened the classroom door, all eyes were on her.
‘Wow, this is intense.’
Being stared at in a confined space like a classroom was far more nerve-wracking than being stared at in a wide-open area.
Elonia, maintaining a neutral expression, climbed the stairs and found a seat in a relatively empty corner.
Just as she was starting to feel awkward, pretending to be indifferent,
“Is this seat taken?”
“…?”
Someone approached her.
She looked up to see a cute girl with curly brown hair styled in pigtails.
Elonia hesitated, unsure if she should reply formally or casually, then nodded. The girl beamed and sat down beside her.
“Thanks!”
Elonia was speechless again.
The girl, unfazed, settled into her seat and held out her hand.
“I’m Dianne Rossi. Nice to meet you!”
Elonia had never had a female friend, in either this life or her past life.
As a blood-soaked war demon who had spent most of her life on the battlefield, she had never had the opportunity to interact with noble girls, let alone ordinary girls.
Thus, Dianne, a cute and clearly noble girl, was someone Elonia found incredibly difficult to deal with.
Elonia blinked, unsure how to respond, but Dianne, unfazed by her hesitation, took her hand, shook it, and even swung it back and forth.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Huh? Shaking hands.”
“T-that’s not what I meant!”
Elonia, flustered, raised her voice, attracting attention once again.
She quickly clamped her mouth shut, realizing her mistake.
‘Do friends shake hands when they meet?’
She had never had a proper friend, so she had no idea.
She had a few male acquaintances she could consider friends, but they weren’t exactly helpful in this situation.
Especially Artius, whom she had pointed a sword at, not exactly someone she would casually shake hands with.
Llewellyn and Alberich were childhood playmates, but they were cousins, so they didn’t count.
Elonia, her mind blank, decided that Dianne probably knew better and stammered out her name.
“…I’m Elonia.”
“Yes, Elonia! Nice to meet you.”
“…You don’t have to use honorifics.”
“Really?”
“…We’re at the academy, so you can speak casually.”
Elonia mumbled, her cheeks flushing pink.
She had always felt a twinge of envy when Sarah talked about Philemon.
She had wanted a female friend, someone she could share a close bond with, like them.
Dianne, surprised by Elonia’s shyness, blinked her large blue eyes, then smiled brightly.
“Okay, Elonia! Nice to meet you!”
“…You too.”
“You’re so cute, by the way.”
“…!”
Elonia, flustered by her new friend’s blunt compliment, didn’t know how to respond.
Dianne, amused by her blushing cheeks, giggled.
“Don’t laugh!”
“Sorry, sorry. You’re just so cute, ahahaha!”
“I said don’t laugh!”
Elonia, her face burning even brighter, forgot about the other students and shouted.
Just then,
“Silence, everyone.”
Professor Caroline had entered the classroom and was standing at the lectern, her cloud-white hair framing her face.
The classroom, which had only been noisy because of Dianne and Elonia, fell silent.
“I’ll be taking attendance.”
Caroline began calling out the students’ names in a low voice.
Most of them responded nervously, intimidated by her cold tone.
“Dianne Rossi.”
“Here.”
And then it was Elonia’s turn.
“Elonia Ainar Ravanta.”
“…?”
Everyone was surprised.
Her voice, when calling Elonia’s name, was filled with an uncharacteristic excitement.
Elonia, flustered, didn’t respond, and Caroline repeated her name.
“Elonia Ainar Ravanta?”
“…Here.”
“Oh, there you are.”
Caroline pretended to have just noticed her.
But Elonia knew better.
Caroline had spotted her the moment she entered the classroom.
She was the smallest student in the room, with the most distinctive hair color. It was impossible to miss her, but the old woman was acting coy.
After finishing attendance, Caroline briefly explained the course syllabus.
“That concludes the overview of the course. Any questions?”
“…”
No one dared to raise their hand.
Caroline scanned the silent classroom, then sighed.
“Let me just say this. I’ve reviewed all your entrance exam scores. I’m disappointed.”
Her words instantly transformed the classroom into a funeral parlor.
The students looked like they had just been scolded for their grades.
Elonia was speechless.
‘What is this crazy old woman talking about?’