The Crown Prince Makes His Appearance
As I left the swordsmanship training grounds, a lunatic who was unmistakably the Crown Prince burst into view, radiating an aura that screamed I’m the protagonist of this world. I’d met him once before during a visit to the empire. He was also the original owner of this body’s former fiancé.
Back then he’d said something like, “The Saintess is skilled with both sword and bow, to the point of being called Sword Saint and Divine Archer, not just in magic.”
“No, I’m a mage.”
“Hahaha, don’t joke. If you’re that good at magic, are you even human?”
I still held a grudge against that bastard. I’d tried to show him a proper great spell once, but he’d backed out claiming something urgent had come up. At the time the hero was throwing a tantrum about leaving the empire with his girls, so I never got the chance to prove I was a mage. Anyway, the Crown Prince had shown up. Flanking him were a few lackeys who looked like subordinates, and trailing behind them were Railer and his party members.
Ah. I could already guess why they’d come.
“Mm. Ah, yes. Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“???”
Why did this guy look like he’d been slapped across the face? What else was I supposed to call the Crown Prince if not Crown Prince?
“Is something the matter?”
“No, it’s just… you seem different from usual. Normally you’d be clinging to me, wouldn’t you?”
What? Was the original owner really that pathetic? There was nothing strange about it. From the perspective of someone who’d been dumped, there was no reason to act that way. Besides, as a man in my previous life, that kind of performance was absolutely impossible. Was I crazy? Clinging to a guy and whining? At least the broken engagement gave me an excuse.
I shrugged.
“Is that a problem? We’re not engaged anymore anyway. Let’s get to the main topic.”
The atmosphere around us instantly froze. What did they expect me to do? The Crown Prince’s name was Aslan, wasn’t it? I wasn’t interested, but if I didn’t even know his name it would probably get me socially buried. Aslan, the Crown Prince who had brought these little kids along, opened his mouth carefully.
“I don’t know how you obtained your power, but they are still sons of knight families. If you expel all of them, there won’t be enough personnel entering the knight division later.”
So what?
“And?”
“And that would create a vacancy in the knight order.”
That wasn’t my problem either. They could become knights some other way. Ignoring me in the first place had been their worst mistake. Plus this guy was starting to get on my nerves too. If he was the Crown Prince he should speak plainly instead of beating around the bush. The fact that he’d never acknowledged me as a mage from the beginning was already infuriating.
“They looked down on their opponent as a worthless villainess, and they got beaten for it. Before the duel, we made a bet concerning swordsmanship class. I won fairly, and they lost, so they’re simply fulfilling the conditions as losers.”
“Is there no such thing as a victor’s mercy?”
Huh? Were my ears broken? Why should I show mercy?
“If the winner shows mercy, the loser grows arrogant and will raise their head again at any time. Why should I bother?”
“Lady Ashtar! That is rude to His Highness!”
A black-haired woman who appeared to be of Eastern descent suddenly scolded me. She was probably one of the Crown Prince’s close aides.
“This academy treats nobles and commoners the same, yet you only bring up status at times like these. How petty.”
It was genuinely ridiculous. To be clear, this academy did allow commoners to enroll. Naturally, status was supposed to be irrelevant inside the academy. Of course, that was only in name. Looking at the academy now, it was obvious they were still implicitly divided by status.
“Petty?”
Was his ear canal blocked at that age? I should have realized it back when he simply ignored what I said. Still, right now I was Olivia. A person whose appearance could be called heavenly even if she just stood still. So I decided to ruin that image even further and act like a complete lunatic.
I smiled sweetly.
“Are your ears broken as well? I said it was petty. If you’re upset, you should have won. Instead you lost and went crying to the Crown Prince. ‘Oh no, that wicked woman Olivia kicked us out. Please help us, Your Highness.’ Is that not why you’ve personally come all the way here?”
Behind the Crown Prince, Railer and his loser companions stood in a neat line. Anyone could see what was going on. The picture was clear even without looking.
“What do you take us for, saying such things?”
Railer’s group looked annoyed, but honestly, could they deny it?
“If not, why did you all come hiding behind His Highness?”
Saying that from behind the Crown Prince’s back was truly disgusting.
“That’s… because His Highness asked.”
“So in the end you came to speak on their behalf? Why are the excuses from noble sons so unsightly?”
From the looks of it, Railer seemed to be close friends with the Crown Prince. That was why he’d stepped forward himself.
“Why has your speech become so vulgar? A young lady should speak with more grace.”
“Grace? What gives you the right to pretend you know anything about me now?”
Of course I was different from the original owner. But if the original Olivia hadn’t fallen for the Crown Prince and had possessed even a little ability, wouldn’t she have turned out something like me?
“So you’re saying you absolutely refuse to let the swordsmanship students back in?”
“If those people have no conscience and want to tarnish their family’s reputation, they can crawl back in, I suppose?”
“Olivia!”
Ugh, so noisy. Humans were originally like that. If they threw away their knight family’s honor, felt ashamed, and came crawling back to beg, I would simply laugh at them heartily. After all, in noble society the name Olivia was already known as a complete mess. Or perhaps if they licked my shoe, I might forgive them.
“I have no intention of showing any mercy. Do not interfere.”
“What would it take for you to allow Railer’s group into the swordsmanship class?”
Oh, so the Crown Prince was offering a deal here? Well, I wasn’t a devil. If they listened to me, I could consider it.
“If they all lick the soles of my shoes, I’ll think about it.”
“Who would do something so humiliating!”
Railer’s group’s faces twisted beautifully again. It was like side dishes that went down easily. Really. So if losing so badly made them run to the Crown Prince to tattle, then—
“I’ll say it again. If you’re upset, you should have won.”
I laughed at Railer’s group one last time and left the area.
His former fiancée walked away after mocking Railer’s group. For a moment the Crown Prince’s brain refused to process what had just happened. Setting Railer’s group aside, if she was going to be that uncompromising while even bringing up the honor of knight families, it would be better to give up. Ignoring her even though she was that wicked woman had been a mistake from the start.
“I’m suspicious whether that woman is truly Lady Olivia Rafa Ashtar.”
At Secretary Yuria’s words, Aslan nodded. No matter how he looked at her, she was nothing like the Olivia he knew. The previous Olivia would have thrown away even her pride and clung to him, begging for love. The current Olivia made it seem as if that had never happened.
“She’s become a completely different person.”
“Indeed. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it. Most of the applicants to the swordsmanship class are children of soldiers, knights, or families who have received training. How did a girl who has never shown anything like that until now become so strong?”
“Could she be a hero like the ones from the kingdom?”
“Even so, that doesn’t seem likely.”
Her personality had only grown filthier. A woman like that, a hero? The world truly was ending.
“Then where and how did she change?”
“Hmm. Perhaps the shock from the broken engagement affected her head.”
“Hm.”
Railer’s words made sense. It was said that humans change after receiving a great shock. The problem was that it should be a mental change; there was no way she could have transformed so completely like Olivia had.
“Or perhaps that is her true nature.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can tell just by looking at the Duchess of Ashtar.”
The Duchess of Ashtar had once hidden her identity and led an assassin guild. She had controlled the empire’s underground economy and married Duke Ashtar out of necessity. Olivia was her biological daughter. Even if Lily was an illegitimate child, she was still that woman’s daughter. Could she really have lived with nothing but love for men and flowers in her head?
“Even so, that can’t be. We’ve watched her since she was young.”
“If she’s from the Ashtar family, it might be different. Since Your Highness has already broken the engagement with Lady Ashtar, the problem lies with Railer, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“We’re fine. It’s not as if there are no other paths even if we don’t join the swordsmanship class.”
There were other paths. However, if they didn’t take the elite route of the academy, they would have to start from the bottom ranks of the military. Even being close to the Crown Prince wouldn’t allow them any special treatment.
“Yes. There will be other opportunities.”
The real problem was Olivia. Even if she had been hiding her strength until now, that change was simply too difficult to accept. Maybe Lily knew something. Even though she had been bullied, Lily had lived with Olivia after entering the Ashtar ducal house. She might know something.
Magical Engineering was the first class Olivia had been assigned to. In other words, it was the classroom where the original homeroom professor taught their major. The classes I had applied for were Magical Engineering, Swordsmanship, Archery, Hand-to-Hand Combat, World History, Liberal Arts, Theology, and so on. My original plan had been to simply attend, get my attendance checked, and receive evaluations. It wasn’t actually impossible. However, nobles tended to only do what was necessary for them and focused on social gatherings and family affairs, while commoners only took the credits they needed to earn money.
Looking at the timetable, it was perfectly doable until my library assistant shift began. As for me? I, Olivia Rafa Ashtar, would soon be dropping the Rafa and Ashtar, so I didn’t need to worry about family matters. That meant I could raise my grades as much as I wanted. That was the idea.
“Perfect. If I can become a grand mage in exchange for getting this new body, heh heh heh.”
I’d pretend to be a girl. I’d shamelessly act like a villainess, like trash, whatever it took. After all, this body had already endured every kind of mental training while serving as the hero’s lackey.
While I was grinning at the thought of earning the title of Grand Mage, I sensed someone nearby.
“Uh… Lady Ashtar??”
“Oh, Plene?”
To think I would run into her here of all places. A woman with a delicate, plain face that looked like she belonged in bridal training had confidently approached me.
“I never dreamed we would be taking the same class.”
“Ah, same here.”
Plene was someone I could trust to keep beside me. We were already going to be working together as library assistants anyway.
“D-do you happen to be knowledgeable about magic?”
Oh, finally someone who recognized me! Yes. I wasn’t some hybrid called Sword Saint, Divine Archer, or Saintess—I was a mage!
“Of course I know it well. Without magic I’d be a corpse.”
I was Olivia, who knew nothing except magic. She looked genuinely innocent, as if she had questions because she didn’t understand something. Good. Ask me anything. I would answer whatever it was.
She gave an awkward, bitter smile, then carefully opened her mouth.
“R-really?”
“What is it?”
“Could you teach me this?”
She showed me a page from her reference book. It was the very beginning of magic theory—understanding elemental magic and mana utilization formulas.
“Understanding Elemental Magic and Mana Utilization Formulas.”
“Do you know it?”
Of course I knew it. This part wasn’t difficult. I had learned it through real combat as a child. Besides, I was the one who had written this reference book myself. There was no way I wouldn’t know it.