Why This Sense of Dissonance?
Ultimately, the person I had to visit first was decided. Aurelia Bellatrice von Estelhart. The crown prince's fiancée—and now mine as well. And the very first person the original Kainar had trampled underfoot.
Kainar believed Aurelia was the one constantly ruining his relationship with Serennia. To eliminate her, he fabricated crimes out of thin air and reduced her to slave status on charges of insulting the imperial family. Enraged, Duke Estelhart rebelled, only to be utterly annihilated.
That was the flow leading into the original story. But now that I'd possessed the crown prince's body, such a thing would never happen.
After leaving Seongiljeon, I paused by a window in the corridor. The imperial palace gardens stretched out below, coldly manicured. Marble fountains and platinum railings gleamed under the sunlight. On the surface, it was a scene of perfect peace.
But my mind was anything but serene. The emperor had been in a coma for five years. The empire was rotting from the inside. Relations with the Gaia Holy Kingdom were in ruins, the Acreasia Alliance Kingdom was steadily gaining ground, and if things followed the original plot, I'd be dethroned and killed.
In this mess, my first priority was visiting my fiancée? "Am I going insane?" I muttered lowly, but the answer didn't change. I was Kainar now. And if I didn't repair the human relationships he'd wrecked first, I couldn't even begin anything else. Aurelia was the starting point.
She was the first person I'd faced upon possession, and the most awkward woman in my current situation. Having to confront her felt like the plot was trying to bury me socially and physically. With a sigh, I headed straight for the Imperial Academy.
The Imperial Academy of the Solaríos Empire. The most prestigious, insular, and arrogant educational institution in the world. It wasn't just a school. It was a massive machine for selecting and cultivating the empire's future pillars.
Every imperial noble family had to send at least one member here. Regardless of rank, anyone carrying the empire's bloodline had to pass through the Imperial Academy. Even the imperial family was no exception.
The current imperial students were Second Prince Lucian Theodor von Solaríos and First Princess Astellia Mirene von Solaríos. Crown Prince Kainar hadn't enrolled. The reason was simple: Emperor Leoniel judged that a future emperor needed royal tutelage, not school life or friendships with peers.
So young Kainar never learned to mingle with his age group. He grew up without the concept of friends, surrounded only by servants forced to feign loyalty, knights bowing in fear, and one preordained fiancée.
Expecting him to turn out well-adjusted after that was laughable. 'Even accounting for that, he was too much of a piece of trash, that bastard.' I glanced at my reflection in the black carriage window and looked away. The academy's main gate came into view.
The Imperial Academy's buildings embodied the empire's arrogance. White stone adorned with gold-threaded sculptures, towers piercing the sky, a vast central plaza ringed by dormitories and lecture halls. The imperial and academy banners fluttering from the main gate were so majestic they stole the breath from onlookers.
As I stepped from the carriage, the guard knights and attendant professors froze in unison.
"Y-Your Highness…?"
A bewildered voice rang out, spreading like wildfire. Students crossing the plaza halted one by one; even distant professors turned their gazes.
The name crown prince alone was enough, but the problem was that it was Kainar Iskara von Solaríos. Mad dog, tyrant, Sword Master. Heir to the throne and pinnacle of the sword. A being who could rule the empire eternally unless he died. That reputation made everyone's shock inevitable.
He had set foot in the Imperial Academy himself. It would be weirder if they didn't freak out.
Low murmurs rippled through the students. Some paled, others bowed hastily, a few pretended I wasn't there. Not everyone, though. Some young ladies in the distance covered their mouths, swallowing hard.
"Oh my god…."
"Is that really him…?"
"Far more than the rumors…."
I didn't bother looking their way, but I could feel the mix of awe and dismay. Kainar's notoriety aside, his looks were captivating enough to ensnare at first sight.
'No wonder he got even more hate, rampaging around with a face like this.'
The academy chancellor, vice-chancellor, and renowned senior professors rushed out. The chancellor bowed deeply, face taut with tension.
"Crown Prince, Your Highness. We never expected such an unannounced visit…."
"It's been a while, Chancellor. I'm here briefly on personal business."
Even phrased nicely, his face stiffened further.
"Aurelia Bellatrice von Estelhart. Which lecture hall is she in?"
The chancellor hesitated before answering, prompted by a professor behind him.
"She's in the A-Class integrated politics lecture, Your Highness."
Right. Aurelia and Serennia were in the same A-Class, per the original setting.
"No need to guide me."
I strode into the lecture building. At the A-Class room, faint lesson voices drifted out. The moment I opened the door, they cut off abruptly.
Silence. Dozens of gazes stabbed at me, then scattered hastily. The air grew heavy. They all knew—or thought they knew—why I'd come.
I nodded curtly to the professor by the podium and spotted Aurelia in the second row by the window. Her face hardened the instant she saw me.
And behind her, further back, another woman caught my eye. Serennia Rosalyn Edelwein. The original novel's heroine.
Cream-gold hair that glowed softly in the sunlight, clear light-brown eyes—not flashy, but pure. A fresh, unforgettable face of delicate beauty. If Aurelia was a cold, refined northern rose, Serennia was a flower blooming under spring sun. A national treasure beauty who naturally drew every eye.
The problem? This body's original owner had obsessively chased her.
'My heart….'
A Sword Master's heart beats steadily always. Yet facing Serennia now, mine raced unnaturally. What sorcery was this? Or rather, what had Kainar seen in her to fall so hard? Romance fantasies were utterly incomprehensible.
Serennia stiffened briefly at my gaze, then quietly looked away. A familiar reaction laced with fear.
In the suffocating classroom, I looked at Aurelia and said,
"A word. Come out."
A faint murmur spread. Aurelia glared with undisguised displeasure but rose anyway. She couldn't ignore the crown prince's direct summons.
I turned wordlessly and exited. Moments later, she followed.
Alone in the corridor, she spoke first.
"I didn't expect you'd come to the academy. Weren't you here for Lady Edelwein?"
Her voice was icy, laced with sarcasm.
"You said you'd never see me again, yet here you are. Your Highness's whims are truly remarkable."
No retort for that. I stood straight, not leaning on the wall, and met her eyes. Up close, her eyes were redder than yesterday. She'd cried a lot last night. Knowing I was the cause twisted my gut anew.
"I apologize for yesterday."
Her brow twitched faintly.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"……"
"I came to say let's get along again."
Too direct? No need to beat around the bush. This was something past Kainar would never say—likely hitting harder for it.
Aurelia was silent a while. Then she twisted her lips slowly.
"I never dreamed Your Highness would apologize to me."
"You don't believe it."
"Of course not."
Firm.
"Your Highness always said what you wanted, hurt as you pleased. Now you say let's get along, and I'm supposed to smile and say yes?"
"Hm… no, not that."
"Then give me a reason to trust you."
Her voice stayed cold, but she didn't crumble like yesterday. She'd built walls instead of baring wounds—a noble lady's recovered poise.
Aurelia stared straight at me.
"Prove it."
"Prove?"
"Yes. Make me able to trust Your Highness."
I looked down at her a moment. Then my lips loosened unwittingly.
"You're the first to demand this much of an imperial, let alone the crown prince, Aurelia."
She flinched. Remarkably, her ear tips flushed red instantly.
"…Because Your Highness treated me so callously."
She murmured, averting her gaze.
"You must endure at least this much."
She schooled her expression, but couldn't hide her flushed face. Seeing her reaction, I let out a very small internal breath of relief. At least it wasn't completely over.
Back inside the A-Class room. After the crown prince and Aurelia left together, the lecture atmosphere was gone. Whispers leaked everywhere.
"No way he really came for Lady Estelhart?"
"I thought it was for Serennia, obviously…."
"The crown prince?"
"Did he suddenly snap out of it?"
"Or get tired of Lady Serennia?"
Some were cautious, others blatant. But the core was the same: the crown prince sought Aurelia, not Serennia. That surprised everyone.
Serennia let out a tiny breath amid the whispers. Honestly, she felt relieved. Far more than expected that he hadn't come for her. The weight on her chest lightened a bit.
But it was strange. Why? An inexplicable dissonance lingered.
"Serennia."
Her friend leaned in. Luizel Marian Verde. Fellow countess's daughter and Serennia's closest friend.
Luizel whispered with a peculiar smile.
"Didn't expect His Highness to ignore Lia."
Serennia gave a short laugh.
"Everyone thought he'd come your way."
"Probably."
"But today's weird."
Serennia didn't reply. It was weird. Truly. The crown prince had wanted her. At least before. His gazes were always burdensome, obsessive—she'd only wished he'd lose interest.
Yet today, when he turned to Aurelia instead, relief came with a faint unease. Like something familiar had suddenly veered off course.
Serennia slowly turned toward the window. She couldn't hear their conversation beyond the closed door. But one thing was clear: today's crown prince wasn't the same as yesterday's.
That fact inexplicably complicated a corner of her heart. And in that moment, she thought for the first time:
Kainar Iskara von Solaríos. Had something about him truly changed?
With that question lingering, class resumed. But no one in A-Class wore a peaceful face like before. The crown prince had come to the academy. And the first person he'd sought was Aurelia, not Serennia.
That alone was enough to turn the Imperial Academy upside down today.