Lucia was furious.
She was already incensed merely by the fact that she had been sent to Aegis, rather than the highly coveted Kajin.
To make matters worse, someone had dared to be late for the very first matriculation ceremony at Aegis, an academy renowned for its prestige.
It would have been one thing if they had arrived during the Headmaster’s tedious speech, which even Lucia found dull.
But why, of all times, did they have to disrupt the atmosphere precisely when she was speaking?
Had this not been such a public occasion, she would have immediately expelled the latecomer or struck them down with a single spell.
Lucia forced herself to maintain composure, her gaze sweeping across the students in the auditorium.
As expected, most students were thrown into disarray by the sudden disruption, yet a small number managed to remain calm.
‘That child is the dignified lion of Leonhart.’
Among them was a black-haired girl, observing the situation with serene focus.
‘Noir von Leonhart.’
The one people referred to as the dignified lion of Leonhart.
True to her moniker, she appeared to be a remarkably cold young woman.
The Leonhart Duchess, seemingly aware of the gravity of the situation, directed her frigid gaze toward the tardy student.
A clear expression of disappointment clouded the Duchess’s blue eyes.
Perhaps she, too, was dismayed by the standards of an academy lauded as prestigious.
Finding a measure of relief in knowing that another imperial citizen shared her disappointment, Lucia resumed her address as the representative of the new students.
****
Noir was disappointed.
Ever since her admission to the academy, which she had so desperately desired, was confirmed, she had lived in fervent anticipation.
Yet, now that the matriculation ceremony was nearly over, no significant event had occurred.
When the auditorium doors suddenly burst open and a dust-covered girl entered, Noir had believed a dramatic incident was finally unfolding.
However, the red-haired girl was merely an ordinary latecomer; there had been no attack by magical beasts or ruffians.
‘Why?’
‘Isn’t it common sense for such things to happen at an academy?’
At the very least, if the latecomer had been delayed by some compelling reason and was secretly harboring a grand secret, Noir would have been satisfied with the ceremony.
Instead, her flushed face and hesitant demeanor made her seem like nothing more than an ordinary student, without any particular story or hidden mystery.
‘To think that nothing would happen…’
‘What am I supposed to tell Blanc now?’
Noir subtly glanced at Bokja, who was stifling a gasp beneath Blanc.
She had asked Blanc to help cram so many emergency supplies into Bokja, yet now not a single item was proving useful.
Blanc had seemed curious why they were even packing these things; how on earth was Noir going to explain this!?
It wasn’t new, but Noir admired Blanc, who always acted with such composure.
She loved Blanc’s elegant demeanor, which always appeared aloof yet held a warm heart beneath.
That was why Noir wanted to be like Blanc.
She longed to be someone who maintained an elegant front while still caring for others.
She wished to become a lady worthy of Blanc’s loyalty, a lady who suited Blanc more perfectly than anyone else.
Therefore, the current situation was incredibly awkward for Noir.
If Blanc were to ask why she had insisted on packing these items, Noir would have absolutely no answer.
–”What? You thought magical beasts or ruffians would attack during the matriculation ceremony…? My Lady, are you feeling unwell…?”
‘No! I absolutely cannot endure that look from Blanc!’
She could tolerate anything else, but not having her image shattered in front of Blanc!
If Blanc were to look at her with worried eyes and question her mental state, Noir would surely hide under her covers and cry all night.
Fortunately, however, Blanc already understood Noir’s true nature quite well.
Blanc knew that while Noir might act elegant, her true self was rather clumsy, and Blanc was privy to all the secret hobbies Noir maintained away from others’ eyes.
Of course, Blanc couldn’t possibly imagine that Noir had become so immersed in novels that she packed emergency supplies for magical beasts for the matriculation ceremony.
Even if Blanc were to know the truth, it was unlikely she would be disappointed in Noir.
****
Cheln felt unfairly treated.
She had arrived in Lysium the day before, secured lodging close to Aegis, and had certainly finished preparing for school earlier than anyone else.
Yet, she had ended up being late.
To be late on the very first day at Aegis, an academy regarded as one of the continent’s foremost institutions, was mortifying.
Cheln dreaded what the other students would think of her.
The Imperial Princess standing on the dais was already glaring at her as if she wished her dead, and Cheln could hear mocking whispers from all directions.
Cheln felt nothing but injustice about the situation.
It would have been one thing if her tardiness was due to her own mistake or carelessness.
But her hastily extended kindness had returned to her in this form.
‘I should have just stayed put.’
‘I should have just continued on my way instead of thinking of helping that white-haired girl!’
However, no matter how much Cheln protested her innocence, no one would ever know the truth.
The root of her misfortune was precisely the lightness spell (TL Note: ‘gyeongnyeonghwa’ refers to a spell that makes the body light and agile) she had cast on herself to save the girl.
Her lightened body had been flung far from the scene, leaving no one to corroborate the fact that she had been involved in an accident.
She had awoken in an empty alleyway.
If she had at least fainted at the scene, association staff might have informed Aegis.
But with no evidence left that she had been hit by a carriage, there was no way to prove her claims of injustice.
As a Holy Knight of the Vargan Holy Kingdom and an exchange student, she had hoped to cultivate a positive image.
Instead, she had ruined everything on the very first day.
–”Cheln, don’t cause any trouble at the academy, and make many good friends.”
–”Deputy Commander, really, do you think I’m still a child?”
‘I’m sorry, Deputy Commander…!’
Cheln closed her eyes, picturing Artinus’s face.
If he were to hear that she was late on the first day and had already made a bad impression, what would his reaction be?
He would undoubtedly pat her back and try to console her, telling her it was alright.
Today was a day that made her long for the unusually dull routine of the Holy Kingdom.
****
After the tedious matriculation ceremony concluded, my Lady and I were making our way to our assigned class.
Although the flow had been interrupted by a certain latecomer, the ceremony had nonetheless concluded without any major issues.
“My Lady, you seem displeased. Is something the matter?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”
Ever since the latecomer entered, my Lady’s expression had remained sour, causing me concern.
‘Why is she like this?’
‘Was there anything about the matriculation ceremony that could have disappointed her?’
‘Let me think carefully.’
‘As her maid, I absolutely must understand why my Lady is upset.’
‘Firstly, my Lady had been looking forward to the matriculation ceremony.’
‘However, she was disappointed by it.’
‘This means either what she expected did not happen, or the outcome was not what she had hoped for.’
‘What, then, did my Lady expect?’
‘Let’s recall my Lady’s actions before the ceremony began.’
‘First, she increased her study hours, crammed strange objects into Bokja’s mouth, and secretly read more novels than usual.’
‘Hmm? Novels?’
‘[I Became the Academy Arsonist.]’
Suddenly, the title of a novel my Lady had been secretly reading recently came to mind.
‘Surely, such novels always begin with characters being forced to fight under the guise of an entrance exam. Could my Lady have been expecting such a situation?’
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
Now I finally understood why my Lady was disappointed with the matriculation ceremony.
And, incidentally, I also understood why she had crammed so many items into Bokja’s mouth.
‘She must have absorbed some incorrect common sense from reading those novels.’
‘Indeed, it made no logical sense.’
‘What mad school would demand students to subjugate magical beasts on the very first day of admission?’
‘While academies might assign tasks like bandit hunting or magical beast subjugation as part of practical training, they wouldn’t make students fight magical beasts right from the matriculation ceremony, would they?’
‘Magical beast combat techniques would undoubtedly be part of the academy’s curriculum. To make students fight before even beginning that curriculum…’
‘It was akin to ordering a child who couldn’t play a single instrument to compose music out of nowhere.’
‘Hmm, should I point this out to her?’
I had known for a long time that my Lady read peculiar novels.
Her secret, known only to me, was that the third to fifth shelves of the third bookshelf from the right in her room were entirely filled with novels titled “Academy,” while the first and second shelves of the fourth bookshelf were crammed with novels of other genres.
Since my Lady wished this fact to remain a secret, I had been pretending not to know, but witnessing her confuse reality with fiction was truly worrying.
Yet, I couldn’t possibly reveal that I knew her secret and ask her to reduce her novel consumption now.
If I did, my Lady would undoubtedly scream into her blankets, tearing the poor fabric to shreds.
‘Let me think carefully.’
‘A way to distance my Lady from harmful novels without hurting her feelings.’
‘No, is it truly the right course of action to separate my Lady from novels?’
In the past, I had obtained a childcare certification to assist house-moms who desired a brief respite from their parenting duties.
What I learned then was that if one immediately tries to separate a child from games or comics they enjoy, it only backfires.
Separating my Lady, whose daily life is constantly filled with studies and training, from recreational novels does not seem like a good approach.
Therefore, my concern should not be how to separate my Lady from novels, but rather how to enable her to enjoy them in a healthy manner.
‘What method could that possibly be…?’
–”Hey, you crazy bastard! If you’re so discontent, why don’t you just become a maid yourself!”
‘Oh.’
Suddenly, the face of a friend from the past, who had imparted a shocking realization upon me, came to mind.
‘Yes, if I’m dissatisfied with recreational novels, couldn’t I simply write one myself?’
‘I could write a novel that my Lady would be perfectly fine reading.’
‘To think such a simple solution existed!’
“Thank you, my friend!”
“I’ll pretend that sudden confession you blurted out when you saw me in a maid uniform never happened!”
