Better Fit for a Villainess Than an Imperial Princess
"Hmm... Well, now I know the caliber of the Academy's freshmen."
"...What are you trying to say this time?"
Watching the students spar, Cecilia let a thoroughly arrogant smirk curl across her lips, chuckling like a true mastermind pulling strings from the shadows. Since her turn had been assigned toward the end of the roster, she had the luxury of observing the matches beforehand. This grand pronouncement came after watching only five or six bouts.
"Nothing special at all. It feels less like actual sparring and more like child's play."
"It is the very first class of the term. Wouldn't that be expected?"
"Is it? I wouldn't know much about these things, but don't standard nobles usually arrive having already learned a bit of swordsmanship or magic?"
"I'm a commoner, Your Highness, so I wouldn't know."
"Ah, right. You act so comfortable around me that I clean forgot."
"...Heheh."
Of course, Cecilia wasn't entirely wrong. Even to my eyes, the matches unfolding before us were honestly nothing to write home about. It wasn't fair to assume those first few students represented the class average, but compared to my senior assassins back in the guild, the disparity was so vast it felt almost rude to draw a comparison. I could probably beat any of them bare-handed right now without even drawing a dagger—though I'd likely have to tap into a little mana, of course.
"Well, perhaps the scions of the Four Counts or the Three Dukes in our class will be different."
"Please don't look down on them too much. Isn't this Your Highness's very first time sparring as well? It hasn't even been a week since you started learning magic."
"True enough. But does it really matter? If it looks like I'm about to get hurt, they said those bracelets over there will automatically protect me. There's hardly any need to worry."
"That is true, but..."
Cecilia had already survived two separate assassination attempts. The thought crossed my mind that someone might have tampered with those artifacts to trigger a malfunction, or that an attack potent enough to shatter the barrier outright might slip through, sparking a flurry of worries in my head. Of course, the Academy provided them directly, and no conspirator could have predicted which bracelet Cecilia would pick off the rack. It was almost certainly overprotective paranoia on my part.
"Still, please be careful. I have no desire to see Your Highness injured."
"Are you trying to seduce me? Why say something so entirely out of character all of a sudden?"
"...I may be casual with Your Highness, but my devotion to your well-being has always been sincere."
I had expressed genuine concern, yet Cecilia's utterly absurd reaction ended up puncturing my anxiety instead. Besides, with Cecilia's current magical aptitude, she was already among the best in our class. Far from merely reciting textbook incantations, she possessed enough raw talent to spontaneously improvise her own chants and shape mana through them at will. If I were to teach her some of the spells I knew, she would probably master them in no time. Then again, I hadn't revealed a single thing about my own ability to wield magic or fight to her yet.
"Hmm... Still, the scions of count and ducal houses are on a different level after all."
"Indeed."
"Naturally, one must display at least that much to represent a count or duke at the Academy. They aren't fools; they wouldn't send someone subpar."
Despite her dismissive comments earlier, Cecilia evaluated the students hailing from the great count and ducal lineages quite favorably. The young master from the Count Ma-something house who wielded an enormous warhammer, and Elisabeth of House Oro who fought with twin rapiers, had both fought remarkably well—and with distinctive styles, to boot. Even by my standards, their bouts had been genuinely entertaining. To Cecilia, whose fascination with combat was blooming, they must have been captivating. While the previous students had merely traded clumsy blows with wooden longswords, those two had stuck to unconventional, eye-catching techniques.
"Next match... Cecilia de Aria, and Jessica de Rami."
"That's me."
"So it is."
After a brief wait, Cecilia's turn arrived. Her opponent was Jessica, daughter of House Rami—one of the Empire's Three Ducal Houses alongside House Oro. She was another young noblewoman included in the intelligence dossiers alongside Elisabeth, and she enjoyed considerable popularity across the Academy.
"I'll be right back. Keep your eyes on me."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As Cecilia rose and made her way down to the dueling ring, I remained in my seat, turning her opponent over in my mind.
Jessica de Rami.
The second daughter of Duke Rami, long renowned for her gentle, benevolent temperament. Whispers even suggested her standing within the family far eclipsed that of her elder brother and elder sister. Beyond that, she was famous for her looks alone.
"...Honestly, don't you think Lady Jessica is far more beautiful than Lady Elisabeth?"
"That's only because you're looking at her 'heart' instead of her face."
"...I can't even argue with that."
Her looks... Well, they certainly were remarkable. While she couldn't rival Cecilia, she possessed a 'heart' that was second only to the princess's across the entire Academy. Her bountiful heart was so impressive that even the whispered banter of the male students seated a short distance away revolved around it. Though she fell just a fraction short of Cecilia, her soft brown hair and sweet, approachable demeanor guaranteed her immense popularity.
"...Hmph."
Not that it mattered to me; Cecilia was far more beautiful, and her bust was bigger anyway. In fact, having yet to see anyone at the Academy who surpassed Cecilia in looks, the comparison wasn't even worth entertaining. Just as Cecilia held an innate affinity for magic, rumor had it that Jessica was exceptionally adept in it as well. How would Cecilia handle this duel? With that thought in mind, I sat quietly in the stands. Naturally, my fingers brushed lightly against the hilt of the dagger hidden beneath my skirt through the fabric, primed for any unforeseen development.
"Since neither of you selected a weapon, we shall bypass weapon regulations," the instructor announced. "However, when employing magic, excessively lethal spells are strictly forbidden. Should anyone violate this, the Student Council may impose independent disciplinary measures. Bear this in mind: targeting vital points is prohibited as well."
"Understood."
"Understood, Professor."
Was it because two magically gifted young ladies with notably generous 'hearts' were facing off? Or because it was a clash between a duke's daughter and an imperial princess? The entire student body watched with rapt attention. How would Cecilia perform? As curious as I was about Jessica, my bias naturally leaned toward Cecilia. She was my master, after all. Granted, her temper could be sour—downright nasty at times—but she had softened up considerably of late. Seeing how deeply invested she had become in magic and combat since enrolling, I genuinely wanted her first duel to go well.
"Begin!"
"Ice, unleash."
At the professor's signal, the match commenced. In the same breath, Cecilia thrust her hand forward, calling out her chant. A burst of frost shot straight toward Jessica. Once again, it was an incantation made up entirely on the fly rather than recited from any textbook. Yet thanks to her extraordinary natural control over mana, the magic surged forward with terrifying velocity.
"Earth, rise up!"
Caught off guard by the immediate opening strike, Jessica had no choice but to erect a barrier of earth directly before her. Typically, an ordinary freshman would have simply continued bombarding that same wall, but... Was it due to my princess's naturally wicked temperament shining through even in a duel?
"Ice, unleash."
"Flank...? E-Earth! Rise up!"
"Pfft..."
The instant she saw her frontal assault blocked, Cecilia sidestepped and loosed another spell from an angle. Even with the distance separating them, the ice projectile flew faster than Jessica could conjure her earthen defenses, forcing the ducal daughter to scramble and raise a second wall to protect her exposed side.
"Ice, swift, burst forth."
Displeased that two consecutive strikes had been repelled, Cecilia inserted another modifier into her chant, honing the spell's speed and focus. The frost hurtled toward Jessica with far greater velocity than before.
Craaack!
Jessica managed to block the attack with yet another dirt rampart, which was promptly encrusted in frost.
"Three."
Counting that third barrier, I knew the duel was already over. One entire flank of Jessica's position was completely sealed off. Though they were still separated by a decent distance, Cecilia stayed on the move, circling her prey while firing, whereas Jessica merely rooted herself to the spot, frantically raising walls to ward off incoming hits. While Jessica's casting speed for raising earthen walls was respectable enough, it lagged far behind Cecilia's cadence. In her panicked obsession with defending herself, she was steadily choking off her own escape routes.
"How long do you intend to cower behind those walls? I heard great praise for Duke Rami's second daughter, yet here you are, merely hiding. How dreadfully disappointing."
"Y-Your Highness gives me no choice when you attack like that!"
"This is a duel, isn't it? Are you going to do nothing but defend? How boring."
"Nnngh...!"
Jessica was now hemmed in by earthen barricades—walls she had raised with her own hands. Cecilia continuously orbited her, launching attacks from fresh angles, while Jessica remained rooted, desperately patching holes in her defense. As a result, Jessica had trapped herself in a cul-de-sac of her own making, finalized by Cecilia's tactical herding. Before she knew it, frost-covered earthen walls boxed her in from behind, with Cecilia standing triumphant at the open front.
Had she simply tried dodging the ice rather than trying to wall off every single projectile, it wouldn't have come to this. Still, it was the first sparring session of the term, so this kind of clumsy, helpless defeat was par for the course. Plenty of other freshmen had shown similar flaws, so it wasn't particularly shocking.
"I... I surrender...!"
"Pfft..."
Whether Jessica truly had a gift for magic was beyond my judgment. But when it came to fighting—and tormenting others—Cecilia was undeniably far more talented. Granted, had she faced someone experienced in combat like that young master Ma-whatever with his warhammer or Elisabeth, she might have found herself in a tight spot.
Even so, between the smirk she wore upon winning and the way she strutted back to our seats, gushing about how hilarious it was to watch her opponent rendered completely helpless before her magic...
In more ways than one, Cecilia was clearly far better suited to being a villainess than an imperial princess.
Setting all that aside, though, I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride watching her win her very first duel.