Chapter 1

“That guy is really no good for my life.”

Sister Ayla’s letter began abruptly without any greeting. Eileen thought, ‘Ah, I probably don’t need to read this letter either.’ The letters that arrived regularly were always full of cursing ‘that guy’ and her sister’s lamentations. It was always the same, to the point of being tiresome now. Moreover, she couldn’t even keep her sister’s letters. If one were to speak of impropriety, these letters were extremely improper.

The ‘guy’ mentioned in the letters was none other than this country’s Crown Prince, Damian von Lancaster Epiphanes.

As Eileen tossed the letter into the fireplace, she hoped there would be some new content in the next letter. And a few months later, while she had wished for new content, this was shocking beyond mere novelty. Eileen immediately passed the letter to her father, and the household was thrown into utter chaos.

“Eileen. I’m getting engaged.

…To that guy.” 

* * * 

Ayla’s dream was to become an Imperial civil servant. It wasn’t because of any noble spirit of wanting to serve the Empire and the country. Rather, it was because the position of an Imperial civil servant was more stable than other jobs, the salary increased rapidly with years of service, and one could secure a hefty pension upon retirement. In fact, if you think about it, she didn’t really need to study so hard to become an Imperial civil servant. She was a noble, and not just any noble – she was Lady Ayla, the eldest daughter of the Dürman Duchy, known to be so powerful that even birds wouldn’t dare to fly over their territory. If she inherited just a few branches of the Duke’s business, Ayla could live comfortably for life and take her wealth to the grave.

But Ayla didn’t want to bear such heavy responsibilities. She disliked headaches and didn’t want to be scolded for potentially ruining the business. To her, being a salaried employee with regular working hours and a steady paycheck was the best. So Ayla left the duchy to her siblings and flew off to the Imperial Academy.

“Father, I have no talent for business. If only you were the Minister of Finance like Marquis Notwin, I would have followed in your footsteps.”

The Duke tore up the letter full of nonsense from his adorable eldest daughter. He then sent a reply to his daughter who had flown off to the Academy.

“If you want to receive even a penny of the inheritance, graduate on time.”

Her graduation from the Academy was set for when she turned eighteen. This letter implied that support would be cut off when she turned eighteen. Deeply moved by her father’s sentiment, Ayla set a goal. It was to graduate at the top of her class. And instead of inheriting the business, she planned to become an Imperial civil servant who only had to receive a salary.

However, her ambitious plans were repeatedly thwarted. Because of one person who was of no help whatsoever in her life.

Ayla stared at the bulletin board as if she could burn the paper with her gaze. Again. She was already in her fourth year. For four years, she had never once been at the top of her class. She was perpetually second. Due to the name prominently written above hers.

“…Damian von Lancaster Epiphanes.”

The low voice muttering that name had a somewhat ominous quality. Although she wasn’t muttering for anyone to hear, the owner of the name approached her and casually placed his hand on her shoulder. Ayla swatted away the hand on her shoulder and said,

“Remove it.”

It was utterly fierce, but Damian paid no heed and said,

“Oh my, Ayla. Second place again?”

Ayla was instantly infuriated. She wanted to shout that it was because of him, but there were too many eyes watching. She had her own image to maintain, after all.

“Yes. And you’re first again, Damian.”

Ayla showed a smile while gritting her teeth. It was a smile that contained all sorts of suppressed emotions. Fourth year, first semester midterms. Out of a total of thirteen exams so far, Ayla had never once beaten Damian, who had scored perfect marks in all subjects.

“I guess I was lucky.”

What nonsense about luck. Her smiling lips trembled. Ayla was once again put to the test of her patience. She wanted to get rid of this irritating guy from her sight as soon as possible. But she couldn’t. Because they were in the same department.

Ayla couldn’t understand why someone with such innate magical talent had chosen the Literature Department instead of the Magic Department. If he hadn’t been the Crown Prince, he would have been in the Magic Tower instead of the Academy. Even now, the Magic Tower was eagerly eyeing Damian. Yet he had chosen the Literature Department, which had nothing to do with magic. Ayla couldn’t understand it. So she had asked Damian. At that time, Damian had said, “Because it seemed interesting.” For something that was supposed to be interesting, he didn’t seem to show any interest in the classes. Yet he still scored perfect marks in all subjects. She found him utterly annoying.

If she were to be selected as an Imperial civil servant, Ayla planned to work in the Department of Culture and Arts. Among the numerous departments, it was the only one besides the Magic Department that allowed for regular working hours, and the Magic Department was only magic in name – it merely consisted of a few magicians from the Magic Tower being dispatched once a year. And most of them came and went as they pleased.

Since she couldn’t become a magician and thus couldn’t go to the Magic Department, she aimed for the Department of Culture and Arts. And within that, not the Artifact Excavation Team, but the National Art Management Team. She was a lady, after all, and had an eye for art. Even if she had no talent for creating art herself. That’s why she had chosen General Literature over Creative Writing as her specialization.

In any case, Ayla harbored such ambitious dreams. If it weren’t for the name always appearing above hers, the path to her dream would have been smooth sailing. Of course, even graduating second in the Academy would allow her to be specially recruited as a civil servant, but she had developed a sense of rivalry. A determination to beat Damian no matter what.

Ayla disliked Damian. She disliked his smooth face, and she disliked his superior grades. No, in fact, she disliked this persistent ill-fated connection. Every time she saw him, it reminded her of her immature childhood. It was her dark history.

[Damian. Let’s get married!]

[…No.]

[Waaahh!]

The sound of her own crying was still vivid in her mind. So was Damian’s voice as he flatly rejected her.

It might seem childish, but the resentment from her childhood still dominated her. Since entering the Academy, a different kind of resentment had been snowballing.

If she couldn’t get rid of this guy, she would have to disappear herself. The more she talked with Damian, the more it burned her up inside, so not associating with him at all was the best method for her mental health.

Wiping away the forced smile that anyone could see through, Ayla turned her body and walked away, exuding a chilly aura.

Regardless of Ayla’s behavior, Damian quickly caught up with her and walked leisurely by her side.

“Ayla, what are you doing today? Now that the midterms are over, isn’t it okay to have some fun?”

Even if she were to have fun, Ayla didn’t want to have fun with Damian.

“Ayla. Are you ignoring me again?”

Yes, she was ignoring him again. Nevertheless, Damian didn’t seem to mind at all and continued walking alongside her. Ayla suddenly stopped walking in an attempt to shake off Damian. At that moment, she could hear the whispers around them. How could they not be dating when they’re always together like this? They’re not dating. This annoying guy is just following her one-sidedly. Even though she’s ignoring him like this, he’s still smiling. What was that called again? Maso-something? Anyway, he must enjoy being ignored or bullied.

“Ayla. Ayla.”

Damian called her name as if singing. Ayla chose to cover his mouth rather than her ears. This was the most effective method at times like this.

“Mmph!”

Ayla looked at Damian with a triumphant face. Damian knew very well what had been put into his mouth. It was what he hated the most. Candy. And not just any candy, but a large swirly lollipop.

“Cute, isn’t it, Damian?”

“…”

Damian grabbed the stick and crunched the candy in his mouth. The sweetness that spread in his mouth was enough to make him grimace involuntarily. However, Damian maintained his poker face. If he could swallow poison, this was nothing. As Damian crunched on the candy, he could hear the whispers around them.

Cute. They get along so well, don’t they? They’re not dating, just childhood friends, apparently. Well, I’d get along well too if I had a childhood friend like that.

But there was something among those whispers that he didn’t like.

Having finished crunching the candy in his mouth, Damian turned his head to look around. Then he gave a bright smile. His silver hair shimmered as if scattering in the sunlight. Damian’s smile also radiated. The female students around felt dizzy. Damian’s beauty even captivated the male students.

“I’m sorry, but could you all please make way?”

Everyone nodded blankly. Then, as if in a flash, they all disappeared. The corridor was left quiet with just the two of them. Ayla watched the whole scene with a rotten expression. It was nothing short of a ridiculous play.

“Now we can talk, just the two of us. Right, Ayla?”

His tone was quite affectionate. However, Ayla had nothing to say to Damian.

“I have nothing to say.”

“Shall we go somewhere fun?”

“I have no intention of going anywhere fun with you.”

“How about the library?”

For a moment, Ayla was at a loss for words. This was quite an appealing suggestion. She had been planning to go and review the three questions she had gotten wrong in Classical Literature History in this midterm exam. But she didn’t want to go with Damian. She didn’t want to, but… It really hurt her pride. The image of his neatly organized notes from the midterm exam flickered before her eyes. Even though she hadn’t asked to borrow them, perhaps noticing her occasional glances, he had readily lent them to her. This irritated her even more. Being so nice…

“Then I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s meet in front of the library, Ayla.”

Damian waved goodbye to her with a bright face. Ayla, who had been staring blankly at his face that was like the spring sunshine, suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.

“…Damn it.”

She had fallen for it again. It was always like this.

“But still… it’s helpful…”

And rationalizing it like this, too.

* * * 

The Imperial Academy’s library, commonly known as Caelum, carried the meaning of “sky” or “dwelling of the gods” in ancient language.

[Knowledge is the exclusive property of the gods, and humans created books out of desire for knowledge to become gods themselves.]

Following this single line of description from ancient mythology, Autanus II, the founder of the Academy, named the library Caelum. Living up to its name, Caelum housed tens of millions of volumes. The four-story building was filled with books on each floor.

Ayla surveyed the front of Caelum. Damian was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Ayla waited for Damian, absently gazing at the scenery. Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since the exams ended, even the mighty Imperial Academy library had few visitors. As she gently closed her eyes, enjoying the warm breeze heralding spring, it happened.

Bump.

“Ah! I’m sorry.”

She collided with someone. The person who quickly handed her the fallen book had already walked far away before she opened her eyes to recognize who it was. It was a well-built male student.

Where the student had passed, a faint, unidentifiable scent lingered. It was a unique smell. Something she felt she had smelled before, but also not. Ayla searched her memory. It seemed like the scent of herbs…

“Ayla, sorry. Did you wait long?”

Ayla snapped out of her reverie at the familiar voice. The faint lingering scent was diluted by a fresh fragrance. It was a sharp lemon scent.

“Here, a gift.”

Ayla unconsciously accepted what Damian handed her. Sloshing inside the transparent cup with a cooling spell was refreshing lemonade. It was also her favorite drink. Clink. The ice cubes rattled. Her heart seemed to flutter along with the shaking ice.

“Shall we go in then?”