Heading Toward the Academy
The luxurious desk in the student council room was crafted from a special maple tree that grows only in the Kalik Forest of the northern Reinhardt territory. It was almost comical that a tree which had endured centuries of the relentless, biting gale howling through the canyon had been reduced to nothing more than furniture.
“Guess that makes me just as ridiculous.”
With a self-mocking mutter, I dragged my sharp nails across the desk’s surface. The resulting creeeak… creeeak… sounded like the wood itself was screaming, shattering the heavy silence that had filled the room.
I had spent nearly a year in this student council room, yet I still couldn’t get used to this desk. It reminded me too much of home. Its surface was covered in the countless scratch marks I had carved into it over time.
Whenever Leopold, the student council president, saw me doing it, he would ask why. I never answered him once. I had no intention of revealing such a self-loathing weakness to anyone else.
And now, of all times, as Leopold’s face floated through my mind, my eyes met the portrait of that very bastard hanging on the wall.
“Hmph. What a nauseating prick.”
Even inside the photograph, he was smiling with that disgustingly bright expression. I wanted to rip every single tooth out of that face.
Hanging portraits of past student council presidents was an ancient tradition of the Academy. And that particular spot on the wall was exactly where I had once aimed to be.
The child prodigy born with both the blessing of the Sword Saint and an overwhelming talent for magic. A genius who appeared only once every century. That was the title that had followed my name since childhood.
Because I knew my own talent better than anyone, I never stopped honing it. Unlike Cordelia, who had been born utterly talentless, or Arwen, with his pathetic, weak personality.
In the end, after receiving endless praise from countless instructors and professors, I had entered the Empire’s greatest educational institution two years early. Yet I still couldn’t claim the position of student council president.
All because of Leopold von Lohengrin—the oh-so-perfect prince who had enrolled in the same year.
My grades, swordsmanship, and magic were all overwhelmingly superior. But in the end, by a margin of just a few votes, Leopold became president.
When the results were announced, the teacher standing beside me had said something that still rang clearly in my ears.
'Don't be too disappointed, Sophia. For a female candidate, you held your own quite well.'
And on top of that, the pitying look that said they had expected me to fail anyway.
“Goddamn it… held my own?”
To suppress the rage boiling up inside me, I clenched my teeth so hard that a sound like cracking ice echoed through the room.
Even though Leopold had appointed me as vice president after becoming council president, my wounded pride had never healed.
And just then, as if summoned by the mere thought of him, the student council room door burst open and Leopold appeared.
“As expected, you’re here first. Good morning, Sophia.”
Even though it was still vacation, Leopold was dressed in a perfectly pressed uniform. The epaulets on his shoulders, symbols of the student council president, glittered brilliantly.
Behind the man flashing that annoyingly friendly smile, the rest of the student council officers filed in one after another.
“Haaam~ Having to stay at the Academy during this precious vacation just to attend a boring meeting… what a waste.”
The man yawning vulgarly and showing off his uvula was Jericho Provence. He was the second son of the Provence family, owners of the Empire’s most renowned winery. Despite his thuggish, delinquent appearance, he had a surprisingly quick mind.
“Stop complaining. Preparing the freshman welcome party is an important duty of the Academy’s student council. Please refrain from such frivolous behavior.”
Tania, who had entered right behind Jericho, scolded him with a cold expression. Her full name was Tania von Ingrid. Just as the Reinhardt family ruled the North, the Ingrid ducal house stood at the head of the Empire’s eastern Medius Sea region.
As the only daughter of a family that had mastered naval warfare, Tania’s skin had a healthy, glossy bronze tone like those who lived by the sea.
Jericho refused to be intimidated by Tania’s overbearing aura and shot back with his signature sleazy grin.
“Haha, if anyone’s acting frivolous, it’s you—fawning all over the vice president you secretly admire.”
“My apologies. I misspoke. I should have said ‘vulgar.’”
Tania’s cold eyes turned into a gaze of pure contempt.
I couldn’t even begin to count how many times the two of them had fought this year already. I ignored the bickering pair as a petite girl entered the student council room.
“Those two are noisy from the very start of the morning. Good morning, Lady Sophia.”
The girl with a voice as cute as her face greeted me with a refreshingly bright smile. Her hair, which drew everyone’s attention, was a vivid pink. Her name was Melina Fleming.
The Fleming County, her family, had made a name for themselves in the field of magic—especially in the creation of what we called potions. A few of the potions made from their family’s secret techniques were said to be supplied exclusively to the Emperor’s personal guard.
Born as the youngest of the current Count Fleming’s three children, Melina was said to possess even greater talent in potion-making than her two older brothers.
With Melina’s arrival, all five current officers of the student council that led the Academy were now gathered.
And now, it was time for me to begin acting.
It was all an act to keep that damn Leopold from noticing my fangs.
I cleared my throat and spoke in the most sweet, lilting voice I could manage.
“Good morning, President Leopold.”
At the same time, I relaxed the muscles around my eyes as much as possible and gave him the soft, affectionate smile of a noble lady enjoying a private moment with the man she adored.
Because our wonderful president loved that sort of thing.
Of course, inside I felt like throwing up.
Completely unaware that I had just been cursing him moments ago, Leopold responded with a gentle smile.
After greeting the president, I turned to the still-glaring Jericho and Tania.
“Jericho, Tania. That’s enough of your disgraceful behavior in front of the president.”
At the vice president’s mediation, the two who had been staring daggers at each other quickly turned their heads away.
“Hmph. Consider yourself lucky, Tania.”
“…My apologies, Lady Sophia. I’m ashamed to have caused such a scene so early in the morning.”
Melina watched the two of them return to their seats and giggled softly.
“Hehe, you always have your hands full, don’t you?”
The expression on Melina’s face as she took the seat beside me was the pure, innocent smile of a child looking at a new toy. But knowing how unpredictable and twisted her usual behavior was, I didn’t feel even the slightest bit of purity from her.
Once everyone was seated, regardless of how we had gotten there, Leopold announced the start of the meeting in a booming voice.
“Thank you for keeping things in order, Sophia. Then let us begin the meeting immediately.”
After that, a tedious and purely formal meeting continued.
The Academy had welcomed new students over a hundred times. That was more than enough time for customs and traditions to take root.
In the end, the only things a meeting of children could decide were trivial matters like seating arrangements or what dishes would be served at the evening banquet.
Everything else would proceed exactly according to the Academy’s long-standing entrance ceremony traditions.
In other words, we were nothing more than puppets dancing to a predetermined script.
Even in this hollow meeting that only decided the order of serving red and white wine at the welcome banquet, Leopold looked perfectly satisfied.
Typical of a man who cared more about the flashy exterior than the substance within.
“Alright, this should be about enough. Thank you all for your hard work.”
As the meeting concluded with Leopold’s closing remarks and everyone began preparing to leave, the president suddenly spoke to me.
“Ahem. Among this year’s freshmen, wasn’t there that problematic older brother you mentioned before? I’m sure his name was…”
“Arwen. Arwen Reinhardt.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. Hahaha.”
Leopold patted my shoulder as he continued.
“It must be difficult having such a scoundrel for a brother, Sophia. If you ever need help, just say the word. I’ll assist you with everything in my power.”
“…Thank you. As expected, only you would say something like that, President.”
“Of course. Looking after the troubles of those below is only natural for someone in a position of leadership.”
Just as Leopold said, Arwen was indeed a freshman in this year’s Academy intake.
I had vaguely heard that Mother and Masha had devised a plan to prevent his enrollment, but I never expected them to succeed. It was nothing more than a baseless feeling, yet I was certain Arwen would come to the Academy.
That was why I had decided to end Arwen with my own hands right here at the Academy and reclaim the position of Reinhardt family heir that had been stolen from me.
And to achieve that goal, I needed the power of the student council—and the help of this detestable Leopold.
The reason I had endured all this time under Leopold, who clearly wanted nothing more than to drag me into his bed, was entirely for this purpose.
Fortunately, Leopold and the other student council members had completely swallowed the absurd stories I had fabricated about Arwen. Tales of him laying hands on the mansion’s maids or making connections with shady underworld merchants.
Even before arriving at the Academy, Arwen’s reputation within the student council had already been reduced to that of a pathetic man who lusted after money and women while being jealous of his talented younger sister.
I won’t apologize. From the very beginning, you and I were born to fight each other with our lives on the line. You feel the same way, don’t you, Arwen?
There was still one week left until the entrance ceremony. I steeled my resolve as I thought of Arwen, who was probably sitting in that boring mansion right now, eagerly awaiting his journey to the Academy.
The excitement of riding in such a luxurious carriage for the first time, like a child with a new toy, had lasted only a moment. Being trapped inside the carriage with nothing to do was quite the ordeal.
At least it didn’t rattle as much as I had feared. The carriage was gliding smoothly along a well-maintained brick road.
All roads lead to Rome, they say. The seemingly endless highway appeared to symbolize the grandeur of the Holy Legion Empire that the Reinhardt family served.
“Well, the Empire is impressive and all, but how much time has passed? Five hours? Six?”
As if hearing my grumbling, Boris’s voice came from the front of the carriage where he was diligently driving.
Boris was the Academy staff member who had come to escort me.
“It has been five hours and thirty minutes since we departed the mansion.”
“I-I see…”
“Yes. We still have about a full day until we arrive, so why not try to relax a little?”
“Understood. I didn’t mean to complain to you, Mister Boris.”
“Haha, it’s quite alright. You must feel terribly bored being stuck inside the carriage when you’re about to begin the Academy life you’ve dreamed of.”
“Yeah… well, something like that. Haha…”
After offering those kind words, Boris returned his focus to driving.
Thanks to Boris and the Academy soldiers riding alongside on horseback, I could head to the Academy with peace of mind.
Haha, ‘the Academy life you’ve dreamed of…’
It wasn’t that I had zero expectations for Academy life, but honestly, my worries far outweighed any anticipation.
Sophia Reinhardt—Arwen’s half-sister and a genius in both swordsmanship and magic who had entered the Academy early. She was probably sharpening her blade at the Academy right now, preparing to slit Arwen’s throat.
Even the escort knight, my mother, and now my own little sister all want me dead. What a truly harmonious family.
It was a fate so tragic that the word “pitiful” barely did it justice. The problem was that Arwen’s fate was now essentially my own—Byeon Tae-sung’s fate.
Well, at least I’ve taken care of the tutor issue.
Masha, the female knight and private tutor who had been trying to kill Arwen, had become my devoted sex slave, swearing absolute loyalty to me.
Now she would faithfully act as a spy within the mansion. I had ordered her to report on Isabel and Valeri’s movements once every two weeks.
I had also commanded her to masturbate at least once a day while thinking of her beloved master. Naturally, she was forbidden from using a dildo—she could only use her fingers, never reaching too deep, just enough to torment herself.
It was a cruel order, if I said so myself, but our incredibly masochistic Masha seemed perfectly satisfied with her master’s command.
And as a last resort, I told her to escape the mansion together with Raibel if things went wrong. So I won’t worry too much about that side of things.
With Masha’s skill, I could entrust Raibel to her without concern.
For now, the more urgent issue was figuring out how I should live once I arrived at the Academy.
Status window!
“Haa… these stats really make me sigh.”
The only thing that stood out was my stamina. Strength and charm were at least in the double digits, but agility, intelligence, and magic power—the stats crucial for combat—were absolutely abysmal.
To be blunt, I wasn’t even sure if I could defeat a single orc on my own.
The Academy, which emphasized both literary and martial excellence, had all sorts of events waiting: sparring matches, monster subjugation, dungeon raids, and more.
No matter how much the game had been patched into an adult title, the original genre of Elysia Story was fantasy RPG. Relying solely on my dick for survival felt far too risky.
Therefore, I needed to secure at least a basic level of combat ability as insurance.
“Alright. Let’s start planning properly for what I’ll do once I arrive at the Academy.”
What I meant by “planning” was my study plan—in other words, the class schedule I would take at the Academy.
The Academy was a proper educational institution. The Empire’s finest instructors were waiting to teach the promising children of nobility.
Which means an opportunity for me to become stronger is coming soon.
Even when I had played Elysia Story as a game before possessing this body, life at the Academy was the part that basically determined Arwen’s early-to-mid game growth direction.
Swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, magic—the choices were all in my hands.
“The safest bet is probably swordsmanship, since it can make use of the Sword Saint’s traits… but magic, which lets me fight from a distance, might not be bad either.”
While I was deep in thought, pondering my course registration like a university student, the carriage continued racing relentlessly toward the Academy.