You Were an Amazing Person
“We’ve arrived, Your Highness… Your Highness?”
Still saying that? I told you not to anymore.
“Don’t call me that anymore. Everyone.”
“What are you talking about…”
“We’re in the Empire now. And I’m not a princess anymore—I’m a student. I don’t want to make a show of it.”
“But…”
I patted the shoulder of the maid who had accompanied me this far. Despite coming all this way for me, she hadn’t shown a single complaint. She could have left several times, yet she stayed to the end.
That was why I couldn’t bear hearing the title “Your Highness” anymore. If she clung to it till the very end, even more difficult things awaited us ahead.
“Call me by name comfortably.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Come on, follow my lead. Lady Lepia.”
The maid stubbornly refused, and so did I, telling her to call me by name.
It was a strange sight, but as always, the one who bent was the maid.
“…Then, I will call you that only while we remain in the Empire. Please forgive this rudeness.”
“Yes. That much rudeness is more than enough to forgive.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could even return home. Thinking of my sister, it seemed she had piled every excuse imaginable just to keep me in the Empire till the end.
Returning to the homeland would only mean attaching people to watch me, so the real intention was to stay in the foreign land.
“Well then, shall we go?”
When I stepped down from the carriage, the grand main building of the academy unfolded before my eyes in all its splendor.
It was enormous. A sigh escaped me. I had heard of the Imperial Academy’s grandeur before, but honestly, I figured it might be a bit exaggerated.
Yet it wasn’t. It felt more like the description had been toned down rather than inflated.
“…It’s incredible.”
On the way here, I stopped by briefly, and they told me this was merely part of the Imperial Academy. Your Highness… hmm. Lady Lepia.
“Is that right? How enormous must it be?”
“They say the area of this Imperial Academy is roughly the size of a small city.”
Hearing that, I let out a long sigh. The world, a city-sized expanse.
That was why everyone recommended studying at the Imperial Academy. If the grounds alone were that vast, the students who stayed here must be at an exceptionally high level.
Just as I was about to slowly take in the surroundings with the maid, people approached from ahead.
“We have been waiting. Her Highness the Princess. We are the Imperial Academy…”
“No. I’m not the princess—I’m a student at the Imperial Academy. First-year Lepia.”
“Her Highness the Princess?”
The academy staff looked momentarily taken aback. But soon they nodded with an “ah,” cleared their throats, and continued.
“We have been waiting. Student Lepia. We would like to explain academy life in greater detail from the educational side, so we hope you’ll accompany us.”
“As a student who has come to the Empire, of course. Let’s go.”
I must not display any condescending attitude because of the princess’s pride. If I did, and something went wrong with the Empire, I would be cast out for sure.
Objectively, the Empire held overwhelming superiority over the kingdom. Wise people knew when to bow and when to be selective about the place.
“I believe you received a brief explanation from the diplomatic side on the way here.”
“Yes. I heard a short explanation about the academy life ahead. I understood immediately.”
“Looking at you, Student Lepia, I don’t think you need to worry about the academic side. In fact, I’ve seen quite a few Imperial nobles who are barely scraping by and get expelled or not. Hahaha!”
Using their own nobles as examples, they subtly warned in a way that wouldn’t sting too much: ‘If you don’t care about academics, even a foreign royal isn’t an exception.’
They made it clear that basic standards must be maintained, but there would be no special treatment simply because you were a princess from the kingdom.
As expected from the Empire. They would protect your pride, but they wouldn’t care about your feelings either.
“…And I heard the news. On the way here, there was a somewhat concerning incident, they said.”
“It was just a brief small event. In the end, no one got hurt.”
“That’s good. I was worried what would happen if the two nations got entangled.”
Hearing that, I suddenly recalled that moment. And then the man as well.
“Hey. So, I have something to say.”
“I’m listening.”
“The man who saved you… who was he?”
“Eh?”
The academy staff’s reaction was quite strange. It was as if they were asking, ‘You didn’t know who that person was? Really?’
“That… didn’t you hear anything from the diplomatic side?”
“That’s. Because the carriage was damaged, we got inspected by the priests and only received an apology from the diplomatic side. We never even got a chance to ask.”
“Ah, I see.”
The man scratched his nose, shrugged once, and continued.
“It’s Count Karl Adelheit. He’s also the successor of Friedrich County.”
Ah, so he was a noble. Of course, with looks like that—
“Single-handedly rescued hundreds of soldiers from the Imperial Army and received the Medal of Honor once for that achievement. Next, for the achievement of pre-dismantling the various evils from the Luzens side, he received another Medal of Honor.”
“…Eh?”
Eh? Wait. Wait?
“Th-that. If I’m not mistaken… the Imperial Medal of Honor…”
“It’s probably the Medal of Honor you’re thinking of. In the glorious history of the Empire, only dozens have received that medal. It’s literally evidence of honor and glory.”
Seeing him speak with such a reverent expression and tone, I realized what I knew was correct. Definitely.
The Imperial Medal of Honor. I had heard that even receiving it once would carve the name into the history of the Empire.
There was no consideration for status when receiving it. Only whether you had achieved great merits on the battlefield. Whether you had done something honorable to further illuminate the glory of the Empire.
Our kingdom had even created something similar to the Medal of Honor and was awarding it. The difference was that in our kingdom, the recipient was limited only to ‘knights’.
“Th-that’s amazing. I heard it’s really hard to receive the Medal of Honor. You must have been a good officer who knew how to put subordinates first.”
“Eh? No. Count Karl Adelheit is a former soldier.”
…What is this? What kind of talk is this? That person, that person said he was noble? Successor of the count family?!
But a soldier? Soldiers in the Imperial Army weren’t only civilians enlisting, right?!
“It’s someone who enlisted as a private. After being recognized for many achievements and discharged as a non-commissioned officer, the enlistment as a private remains unchanged. Student Lepia, have you never heard this before? I heard it was reported in the kingdom too.”
“That’s… I try not to hear news from outside as much as possible.”
“Ah, sorry.”
I thought if I was too curious about outside news, my sister might give me a fierce look.
Since I was neutral, I should pretend to have no interest in any news. I thought it would be enough to just be like a princess in a cage, not knowing anything.
…Well, thinking back now, it was pointless.
“Anyway, that’s the kind of person. Ah, and recently, he also received the Legion of Honor from the elf side.”
“Legion of Honor…. Is it Regiôn Doner you’re referring to?”
“Oh, you know that too? Yes. It’s that Regiôn Doner.”
What the heck. Why did the elves give that to him? The race known for their high pride gave their own highest historical legacy to a human?
Is this possible? The two-time Medal of Honor is already shocking enough, what about the elf award?
“Recently, the Bright Light Church has personally treated him as a benefactor or dear one. It was for the achievement of recovering the lost sacred object of the church decades ago.”
“I heard about the news of recovering the church’s sacred object. I heard that His Holiness the Pope was smiling brightly too. But, could it be that… even that was done by this Karl person….”
I stared blankly down. I had been hugged by that person. That person had saved me. Me, who was basically no different from being exiled, just because I was a princess. That person had accepted me.
Oh my god.
It was like a jolt. For a very short time, I reset the happy future I had dreamed of back to the present.
I had thought he was just an ordinary noble. A kind person who didn’t hesitate to give goodwill, without any hesitation in saving others. I had thought he was just a good person.
So I had held onto the fluttering feeling. If I saw him again later, I’d say thank you. Ask his name. I also had a little heart to get closer.
No way. No way.
It turned out he was an incredibly amazing person. Far beyond me. I would be rude to even speak to him.
Instead, if I saw him again later, I should apologize for the rudeness!
*
“Ah. Here he comes.”
Eloise, who had been sitting on the bench in a somewhat displeased posture, relaxed her body.
In the place she was staring at, there was Lepia, being guided by people and heading somewhere.
“You seem to have heard the news too. Eloise.”
On the opposite side, Selena sat with a stiff expression.
“Yes. Well, how did you hear? But, Senior Selena. Who is that woman next to you?”
“There’s something like that. Ah, I can say one thing. She’s your junior. She’ll be the same first year.”
“Hmm.”
Eloise looked at the red-haired human woman sitting next to Selena.
She doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.
There was something felt just by looking. In that aspect. Eloise’s evaluation was this.
If you faced her, it was like the night road. No, it was a person who made all paths extremely scary.