Practical Magic Training
“Serena, just bite me once.”
“……”
“Just a gentle nibble. How about it? Come on, just once.”
“……”
The lecture was still underway, yet Cecilia kept whispering the most absurd things into my ear. Picking up right where she had left off yesterday, she badgered me relentlessly, insisting I sink my teeth into her and drink her blood. To put it bluntly, it was getting out of hand.
Her behavior, and the words coming out of her mouth, were downright dangerous. Granted, she was notorious for her prickly temperament and complete lack of social tact, but she was still a strikingly beautiful girl—and an imperial princess of the highest station. For someone of her standing to casually offer her neck and tell me to suck her blood was madness.
“How long do you intend to ignore me? I’m going out of my way to ask nicely. Do you really think it’s proper for a maid to give her master the cold shoulder like this?”
“You keep saying strange things, Your Highness.”
“What’s so strange about it? We’re both girls, aren’t we? What harm is there in trying it just once?”
“No, Your Highness.”
I shot her down with absolute firmness.
Sure, my current body looked frail, tiny, and devoid of the slightest trace of masculinity, but on the inside, I was a guy. I had lived for more than twenty years as a man, even finished my mandatory military service, and held my head high. It didn’t matter that my physical shell had turned into a young girl’s; in spirit, I was still unequivocally male.
Because of that, I couldn’t help interpreting Cecilia’s requests as some bizarre kind of seduction. Digging my fangs into her pristine, snowy flesh was bound to feel… exceedingly weird in all the wrong ways. If I crossed that line, sharing a bedroom with her and assisting with her evening baths would become unbearably awkward.
I had no choice but to dig my heels in and reject her advances.
“Tsk… You’re no fun at all.”
“Please maintain your imperial dignity.”
“It’s not like I said anything untoward. I was merely indulging a healthy bit of scientific curiosity. You’re being terribly unfair. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just humor me once? You’re making an unnecessary fuss over nothing.”
“…Haaah.”
Still, she was an imperial princess, so I couldn’t snap back at her with sharper words. All I could manage was a weary sigh. In truth, even sighing in front of royalty was a breach of etiquette, but since Cecilia never seemed particularly offended by my informal reactions anyway, I simply let my breath drop and nudged her to pay attention to the lecture.
“Practical magic training… Doesn’t that sound delightfully entertaining?”
“You aren’t finding it entertaining because you’re planning to blast actual people with spells, are you?”
“My goodness, Serena. Do I truly appear so barbaric to you? You wound me. I merely possess a keen interest in the arcane arts.”
Unlike standard theoretical lectures on magic, the practical curriculum lived up to its name—it was dedicated entirely to combat application. Students faced one another in duels and engaged in various live-action drills. Ever since Cecilia first heard about the course, she had been thoroughly fascinated. Given her naturally combative disposition and her longstanding passion for swordsmanship and magic, it was only natural she would look forward to it.
“Fufu…”
“…Your Highness, that laugh is terrifying.”
“What now? Am I forbidden from smiling as well? If anyone heard you, they’d think you were the imperial princess and I was your servant.”
…Except her smile really was unnerving. Anyone looking at her right now would mistake her for a sinister mastermind plotting from the shadows rather than an imperial princess. Of course, far from being the mastermind, she was the one constantly dodging assassination attempts, but the way she smirked…
“……”
I kept my mouth shut, but she looked every bit like an absolute villainess.
Seriously.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness Cecilia.”
“…?”
“Elizabeth of House Oro offers her humble greetings to the fairest blossom of the Empire.”
“Yes? What is it?”
While Cecilia and I were whispering in the back of the lecture hall, someone suddenly approached from behind to greet her. The speaker was a female student with dusty blonde hair, noticeably more muted in tone than Cecilia’s brilliant, pale tresses. She was a face I recognized from the intelligence dossiers the Guild had provided.
“I merely came to pay my respects, seeing as we share the same academy class. I refrained on the first day owing to the commotion caused by the young master of Martello, but I believed today would be more opportune.”
“Hmm… Oro?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“The Ducal House of Oro is indeed quite prominent. Ah, yes, I believe your house sent a gift for my birthday some time ago.”
“Our family desires nothing more than to remain on amicable terms with the Imperial Household.”
Elizabeth de Oro.
The eldest daughter and heir of the Ducal House of Oro—one of the Empire’s three grand ducal families—and a rather renowned figure in high society. While she couldn’t quite match Cecilia’s otherworldly beauty, she was undeniably striking. Yet her true fame stemmed from an entirely different trait.
“This is a modest token commemorating Your Highness’s matriculation into the Academy. It is a necklace crafted from gems mined within our family’s domains, fashioned exclusively for you.”
“Oh…?”
She presented an extravagant necklace. Centered around a vivid blue gemstone and suspended from an intricately woven chain, the piece radiated pure opulence. It practically screamed luxury.
And that extravagance was Lady Elizabeth’s defining hallmark.
“Very well, I accept with gratitude. Is there anything else you wished to say?”
“That will suffice for today. May Your Highness have a pleasant lecture.”
Extravagance.
According to the assassin reports, Elizabeth had harbored an obsession with luxury since childhood. Even now, beneath her standard academy uniform, she wore a dazzling array of expensive accessories, and her necktie wasn’t standard academy issue—it was a bespoke luxury piece. Though she politely excused herself after handing over the necklace and exchanging a few pleasantries, her sudden approach left me slightly uneasy.
Even if House Oro possessed an impeccable pedigree… you could never be too cautious. An academy freshman had already been contracted to assassinate Cecilia. Moreover, we already knew that certain noble factions were quietly preparing treason against the imperial family, which meant I had to remain hyper-vigilant.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“…Are you certain it’s wise to entertain Lady Elizabeth like that? Just the other day, with Mart…”
“Martello?”
“Yes. When the Martello heir approached, you were visibly displeased. Yet you didn’t seem to mind Lady Oro’s greeting in the slightest.”
Cecilia’s reaction toward Elizabeth had been slightly—just slightly—different from usual. Whenever other students had tried to engage her in conversation before, her replies had been icy and hostile. Seeing her act so cordial was thoroughly unexpected.
“Because I’m not in a foul mood right now.”
“Ah.”
“Besides, back then, I explicitly told him to get lost, yet he kept prattling on like an annoying gnat. That’s the only difference.”
“……”
I had worked myself up over potential political intrigue, but her reasoning turned out to be delightfully petty. A quintessential Cecilia answer through and through.
…Utterly absurd.
“Why? Are you jealous?”
“Why would I be?”
“…Haaah, never mind. Forget I said anything. In any case, it looks like class is about to begin. Let’s head over.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
An imperial princess, even one who was merely the third daughter, naturally drew immense attention from the nobility. Even if she was completely irrelevant in the line of imperial succession, she was still royalty. Since enrolling in the Academy, she had mostly been someone other noble students avoided out of fear… but forging friendly ties with her was still an attractive prospect for ambitious houses.
The problem was that Cecilia’s volatile social standing made my bodyguard duties immensely frustrating. It was nearly impossible to tell who I should guard against and who I could afford to ignore. Naturally, the simplest solution was to treat everyone as a potential threat, but that had its own complications.
“Quiet down. Today, we will conduct our very first practical magic sparring session,” the instructor announced, his voice carrying over the hall. “As outlined during our orientation, safety is our top priority. While the word ‘practical’ is in the title, remember that this is a controlled duel. Every single one of you must keep that firmly in mind before raising a weapon.”
Most of the students here were Cecilia’s peers, making blanket hostility rather awkward. In any case, while I pondered the situation, the lecture officially began. A middle-aged professor sporting a neatly trimmed beard stood at the center of the training grounds, gripping a wooden sword. Given the novelty of the subject, the students watched him with unmistakable anticipation.
Cecilia, of course, was right among them.
“Before commencing a match, every student must don one of the bracelets prepared here. These are protective magic artifacts designed to shield vital areas from lethal injury and automatically trigger a defensive barrier if the wearer sustains damage past a certain threshold. They exist strictly for your protection.”
“Oho…”
“Furthermore, anyone using weaponry during the duel must strictly employ the provided wooden armaments. Personal equipment will not be permitted under any circumstances.”
Cecilia listened to the professor’s instructions with visible delight. A faint, anticipatory smile played on her lips—the look of someone confident that her opponent was guaranteed not to die, which meant she wouldn’t have to hold back.
Watching her expression, a creeping sense of dread settled in my stomach.
Not for Cecilia, my client whom I was supposed to protect… but for whichever unfortunate student ended up being paired against her.