Pulling This on the Day of the Entrance Ceremony
"...Phew."
"I'm the one enrolling, so why are you the one making such a fuss?"
"W-Well, I have to attend the academy right alongside Your Highness, don't I? I'm supposed to stand by your side and face all sorts of high-and-mighty nobles I've never laid eyes on before. How could I not be nervous?"
"They're all beneath me anyway. You needn't pay them any mind."
Is it really that simple...?
Easy for her to say, but I was still just a commoner.
Even if my background as a member of an assassins' guild was a little—well, a lot—peculiar, it didn't change the fact that I was undeniably lowborn compared to the students attending this academy.
Fundamentally, the students entering the academy fell into one of two categories: children of prestigious families, or individuals blessed with monstrous talent.
Run-of-the-mill nobles could pay the academy's exorbitant tuition without batting an eye, and having enjoyed the finest private tutoring since childhood, passing the entrance examination was a walk in the park for them. It also helped that plenty of highborn scions possessed innate magical or martial aptitude far exceeding that of ordinary commoners.
Non-noble students, on the other hand, faced an entirely different reality.
Most had struggled just to scrape together the application fees, and despite lacking anything resembling a proper aristocratic education, their raw talent was so exceptional that they managed to pass the brutal entrance exams on pure merit alone. Because of this, both the imperial court and the academy itself subsidized the full tuition for enrolled commoners. Of course, courting brilliant prodigies was merely a way for the empire to secure valuable assets for future exploitation—in the end, it was nothing more than an investment.
"Never mind that, Your Highness. That academy uniform looks absolutely stunning on you. To be honest, I think you look even prettier now than you do in your usual dresses."
"Is that so? It's just a shirt and a skirt, isn't it? With a tie and stockings thrown into the mix."
"Even so, it suits you wonderfully."
Just as Cecilia said, she was merely wearing a standard white collared shirt that did little to conceal her notoriously voluptuous chest, paired with a navy pleated skirt cut stylishly above the knee, and pure white stockings hugging her firm, smooth thighs. In truth, it was nothing more than the standard academy uniform.
Yet because Cecilia almost exclusively wore flowing white one-pieces, seeing her dressed like this felt strikingly fresh. Given how gorgeous she was to begin with, she looked breathtaking in the uniform. If she had put on the uniform blazer over it, she would have looked both pretty and dignified.
Naturally, my attempt to convince her to wear the jacket had failed the moment she declared it too troublesome.
Today was Cecilia's very first day at the academy, which was why I had poured far more effort into her morning grooming than usual. Her Imperial Highness cared far less about vanity than one might expect, so this was mostly me indulging my own desires. Still, leaving such breathtaking looks unpolished felt like a crime against aesthetics. Having endured rigorous training to master the art of styling someone, it would have been a waste not to put those skills to use.
I had put my heart and soul into every detail this morning, and the masterpiece standing before me was the fruit of that labor.
"Your hair is much neater than usual, and your eyes are..."
"My eyes are what?"
"Haha... as lovely as always!"
"That sounded suspiciously loaded."
"Pardon? Not at all! Your Highness is radiant at all times! While it's a slight shame you rarely wear makeup, the honest truth is that your beauty hardly requires any enhancement, doesn't it?"
I deftly steered the conversation away before she could realize I had almost pointed out her perpetually drowsy, disdainful glare. But in all fairness, setting aside my past life as a man, Cecilia was simply drop-dead gorgeous by any objective standard. If one considered only her appearance, she possessed the kind of face that charmed anyone regardless of age or gender.
If there was any flaw, it would be those heavy, chronically fatigued eyes—yet even that imparted a decadent, sultry aura that somehow only made her more alluring. Makeup really was entirely superfluous. She looked like a character the game's artists and 3D modellers had poured their very souls into perfecting. Add in an impossibly stacked figure, and the total package was nothing short of miraculous. While one could certainly criticize her prickly personality, finding fault with her looks was an exercise in futility.
"You don't wear cosmetics either, so why are you demanding that I wear them?"
"Uh... because you're an Imperial Princess?"
"Going by that logic, shouldn't the person standing beside an Imperial Princess be properly made up as well?"
"...Is that how it works?"
"...Hah. I was foolish to expect a serious debate from you. Let us get moving. As the representative of the incoming class, I have to deliver a tiresome speech at today's ceremony."
"...Huh?"
Cecilia dropped the bombshell as she rose from her vanity chair. A speech? That was news to me. I had memorized her schedule, but no one had ever mentioned her doing anything like that. I could only tilt my head in bewilderment and stare at her.
"You didn't know?"
"...Well, Your Highness never told me."
"It was arranged the moment my enrollment was finalized... Ah, you've only been here for about two weeks, haven't you? I forgot."
"..."
For a split second, I felt a twinge of betrayal, but she truly had just forgotten out of sheer indifference. Given how she treated everything as an unbearable chore, spending every waking hour in the dormitory lounging on the bed or sofa, I had already learned to take such lapses in stride.
"There are far too many people here. I'd rather expel the lot of them and leave only a select few."
"...There really are a ton of them. The auditorium looks completely packed."
"It is not just the freshmen, after all. The second- and third-years are present, to say nothing of the faculty and the swarm of invited dignitaries. It is bound to be crowded."
I stood beside Cecilia in a private balcony box located on the third floor. Most regular students appeared to be seated on the ground floor of the grand auditorium, but special accommodations were naturally made for the Third Imperial Princess.
The first floor was reserved for the general student body from every year. The second floor accommodated instructors, professors, and distinguished guests. And the third floor seemed reserved for a select handful of high-ranking royalty and top-tier nobility. Even if the academy claimed to operate outside traditional social hierarchies, this was still the Avelino Empire at the end of the day. Showing deference to the imperial family and the scions of great ducal and comital houses was second nature.
"It seems quite a few commoners attend these days as well."
"Pardon?"
"Down there. Even a cursory glance reveals who the commoners are. Roughly a third of them, I would wager."
"...You can tell that just by looking? From all the way up here on the third floor?"
"Simply look for the ones who are either grinning ear to ear all by themselves, fidgeting anxiously over the people around them, or constantly shrinking back while reading the room. Those are the commoners."
"...Is that how you tell them apart?"
"Nobles are taught to keep their mouths shut on such occasions. Making a raucous display in a place like this is dreadfully uncouth and vulgar. Much like how you have been carrying on beside me all morning."
"...Ah."
Since her assessment was entirely accurate, I couldn't even offer a rebuttal. Just moments ago, I had squealed upon stepping into the private box and chattered endlessly while peering over the railing. Cecilia was completely right.
"So sit down and be quiet. What has gotten into you, making such a racket since dawn?"
"Today is Your Highness's very first day at the academy! As the maid who gets to follow you around, how could I not be thrilled?"
"Ridiculous. All you will be doing is following me around and doing tedious chores. Just behave yourself. I am already annoyed enough about having to give this speech."
"Understood!"
"Keep your answers quiet and brief."
"Yes."
Cecilia had a point—I was probably the only one getting worked up. Ever since this morning, she had maintained an air of unshakeable apathy. Stepping out of the dormitory, basking in the awe-struck gazes of passing students, entering the colossal auditorium, and taking our seats in this exclusive box—her demeanor had remained perfectly consistent. She simply looked utterly bored and exhausted by the entire affair.
While that lack of enthusiasm was a bit disappointing, it was so quintessentially Cecilia that I couldn't help but smile.
As we exchanged idle banter, the entrance ceremony of the Avelino Imperial Academy finally got underway. An elderly gentleman with a long, flowing white beard who was unmistakably the Academy Principal took the podium, delivering a droning, convoluted address. After him came a slightly younger professor who gave another lengthy speech. Just as the monotonous, dreary atmosphere was beginning to lull the audience to sleep, Cecilia's turn arrived.
"Follow me."
"Yes, Your Highness."
True to her word, I followed closely behind her. Naturally, I wouldn't be walking out onto the stage to stand beside the podium during her speech; my duty was only to escort her to the backstage wings.
"...What a nuisance."
"Just say a few quick words and come right back."
"That would be for the best. That was my intention from the start."
"Um... would you like some water? I brought a flask."
"No need. My throat isn't dry anyway."
On stage, a male student—likely a second- or third-year senior—was wrapping up his address. He didn't seem to be anyone of political consequence, so I paid him little mind.
We continued chatting quietly as the student's speech drew to a close, when suddenly...
A jolt ran through me.
It was that unmistakable sensation—a creeping prickle of malice that had become all too familiar.
"..."
"Wait here quietly. I shall return shortly."
"Please take your time and do well, Your Highness. Don't rush through it too fast, either. It wouldn't do to give people an excuse to whisper behind your back, would it?"
"...Tsk. Do you take me for a fool like yourself? I can handle it on my own, so just stay put."
I gave an obedient nod, but I had zero intention of sitting idly in this corridor. If I returned late, I could always make up an excuse about stepping away to pluck a flower. Cecilia might have a sharp tongue and a prickly temperament, but she wasn't so tyrannical that she would punish me for using the restroom.
The moment Cecilia stepped out onto the brightly lit stage, I melted into the shadows of the backstage wing.
"...Those lunatics are actually trying to pull something inside the academy?"
The past week had been suspiciously quiet. Aside from the surprise visit by Rin, my senior from the assassins' guild, not a single intruder had approached our quarters. After facing an assassination attempt on the road to the academy, going an entire week without a second strike was bizarre in and of itself. The lingering silence had been the most alarming part.
My hand brushed against the dagger strapped securely to my inner thigh beneath my skirt, checking the throwing needles concealed within my sleeves. Once I cleared the sightlines of the backstage staff, I stopped caring whether my long maid skirt fluttered in the draft and sprinted toward the auditorium roof at blinding speed.
Why the roof? Pure assassin's intuition.
I couldn't explain it logically, but that sixth sense had never steered me wrong. And as I closed the distance toward the upper rafters, that prickling sensation in my gut only intensified.
Ignoring it would have been absolute madness.
"...Pulling something like this on the day of the entrance ceremony is really crossing the line."
This was the day Cecilia, a habitual shut-in who preferred staying in bed, had finally dragged herself out to attend school. Of all the days to stage an attack, they had to pick today?
Unlike the previous batch, I decided not to kill this one immediately. I needed to wring some answers out of them. As for the actual interrogation... well, Rin could handle the fine details. I hadn't received proper training on extracting information just yet.
"...Though I'll definitely beat them half to death first so they can't even think about crawling away."
They had come here to murder an imperial princess, after all. Giving them a thorough beating was the least I could do.
And if they broke a few bones along the way? Not my problem.