Chapter 5: The Academy
5-1 Return
Finally, the day came for me to enroll at Rosewood Academy.
I had been occupied with monster subjugation right up until my enrollment. I was worried that my promise might be broken, but it seems my father had interceded with the king on my behalf.
Oddly enough, while the king aims to strengthen royal power by having me, the crown prince’s fiancée, fight, I’m still a member of the ducal family. So currently, this is increasing the influence of the Rosenberg ducal house.
My father, always smiling and mild-mannered, isn’t particularly suited for power struggles, but our ducal house has always been one of the more powerful noble families. Now, with my military accomplishments added to that, our reputation is growing both internally and externally.
On the day of enrollment, I entered the academy, accompanied by my attendants.
I had made my attendants study hard to be able to enter the academy, and they had also accumulated achievements, so there was no problem with their qualifications. After all, it’s only natural for a noble lady to be accompanied by attendants.
Those who said things like “six is too many” or “orphans are a bit…” were silenced by the power of the ducal house and my physical strength.
Now, after sixteen years, I had been waiting for this moment. The time to bring down the hammer of revenge on the classmates and teachers who had abandoned me in my previous life.
Come on, approach me like in my previous life. You classmates who tried to form superficial friendships to benefit from the ducal house’s favor.
Once you try to get close to me, I’ll toy with you thoroughly and then discard you like garbage!
…Huh? No one’s approaching?
Not just the students, even the teachers aren’t trying to get close to me.
On the contrary, when I approach, everyone runs away as if frightened.
“As expected of Lady Selina,”
Richard said proudly.
“The difference in status as a person is so great that the academy folks are afraid to even approach!”
Is that really the case?
Somehow, it doesn’t feel like a difference in status, but rather that they’re simply scared…
As I was puzzling over the reactions of the academy people, one of the female students in my path noticed me and hurriedly tried to leave, tripping and blocking the way.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please forgive my rudeness for blocking your path!”
The girl crawled and cried, apologizing.
Moreover, her friends, presumably, also rushed out from the side and started apologizing together.
“We’re so sorry! This girl is just clumsy, not intentional at all! Please, spare her life at least!”
Come on, I wouldn’t kill someone just for blocking the path, would I? Am I being mistaken for an ogre or a demon?
“Oscar, help that girl up.”
For now, since it was in the way, I left it to Oscar to handle.
Oscar stepped forward smoothly and gently extended his hand to the fallen girl.
“Are you hurt, my lady? If my hand is acceptable, please use it to stand.”
The girl blushed at Oscar, who was wearing his public smile, and grabbed his hand.
Oscar helped her up, unnecessarily close as if embracing her waist, and naturally guided her to the side of the corridor.
The girl couldn’t take her moist eyes off Oscar.
As expected of a ladies’ man. His good looks aren’t for nothing. He’s attracting heated gazes from other female students as well.
Well, that doesn’t matter.
The problem is my reputation. What on earth is going on?
“Isabel.”
“Yes.”
“Gather information about my reputation within the academy. It’s fine even if it’s bad.”
“As you wish.”
Isabel quietly left me to gather information.
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“To conclude, Lady Selina’s reputation seems to be very good,”
Isabel reported as soon as she returned at noon.
Even at this hour, my treatment hadn’t changed, and no one approached me.
Even during classes, there was an empty zone around me. In my previous life, people had gathered around me annoyingly, greeting me one after another.
“My reputation is good, but no one approaches me?”
“They probably consider you unapproachable. However, several anecdotes about your monster subjugation have spread, and that might be the reason why they fear you.”
“Anecdotes? What kind of anecdotes?”
“Do you remember when you exterminated the goblins?”
“I remember.”
Whether they had drifted in from another country or just happened to breed, a large number of goblins had appeared in a certain region of the kingdom. Because there were so many, I carried out a joint extermination operation with the lord of that land.
“At that time, in the forest where the goblins were hiding, didn’t you burn everything indiscriminately?
Saying things like ‘Those who run are goblins! Those who don’t run are well-trained goblins!’ and in the end, you burned down the entire forest, didn’t you?”
…To make excuses, at first I was properly searching and defeating goblins. But halfway through, it became troublesome to confirm, so I just started burning everything that looked suspicious.
In the end, I burned mountains and forests, turning half of that territory into a scorched plain.
Moreover, even though I had exterminated every last one of them, the lord said something sarcastic to me.
“Even if they’re goblins, how can you kill women and children so easily?”
I got angry too and retorted.
“It’s easy because they move slowly. But what about you, my lord?”
The lord was fat and looked sluggish.
So when I made a flame appear in my palm, he turned pale and ran away.
That made me feel better at the time.
Hm? Don’t tell me the anecdote is…
“You don’t mean my words from that extermination have spread…?”
“Yes. Lady Selina is reputed to show no mercy even to women and children.”
I wonder how that could be considered a good reputation?
Even after several days had passed, no one came near me.
At this rate, even if I wanted to take revenge, I couldn’t get started.
However, I also noticed that a part of me was relieved by this situation.
Sixteen years was a long time to hold a grudge.
My inner age had reached the mid-thirties. The passion to rush ahead without thinking, like in the old days, was fading.
By distancing myself from other students, I was able to view the academy from a bird’s-eye perspective.
There, students who were still children were engaged in petty power struggles as if playing at being adults in a miniature garden. For these teenagers in their mid-teens, this probably seemed attractive.
If my past self had also tried to manipulate people by taking advantage of being a duke’s daughter, perhaps there were points I should reflect on.
Looking back, it was an empty life. I only had superficial relationships with those around me, and there was no one who truly cared for me.
–Was that really the case?–
Something seemed to flit across my mind, but it might have been just my imagination.
Anyway, this life I’m living now isn’t bad. I’m spending relatively fulfilling days with six attendants bound by strong ties.
…Although there’s a possibility that it might have been unfortunate for the attendants.
The past life is just the past life, and maybe I should value the present more.
“You all can do as you like,”
I told my attendants. They’re also in their passionate teens, these attendants I had intended to use as tools for revenge. They probably have various things they want to do. There’s no need for them to always be following me.
My attendants nodded silently at my words. And from the next day, they started going somewhere in shifts, leaving someone behind.
This is fine.
That’s what I thought. At that time.
After a while, when I went to the academy as usual, there were two neat lines of students at the gate as if to welcome someone.
And as soon as they confirmed my appearance, they all knelt down at once.
“Good morning, Lady Selina!”
What is this?
As I was perplexed, Oscar whispered in my ear.
“Lady Selina, we’ve managed to bring more than half of the first-year students under our umbrella for now. We’ll make the entire academy ours soon, so please give us a little more time.”
…I had forgotten. My attendants are also in their passionate teens.
This is the time when they love such power struggles.
TLNOTE : While waiting, I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- When the Monster Meat I Ate Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
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