Chapter 1
1. First Love is Like a Spring Breeze
‘…What on earth is going on here?’
Emily Adesio blinked her bright green eyes nervously, unwittingly swallowing dry saliva amidst the silent tension surrounding her and the three people encircling her.
Have you ever witnessed people entangled in a love triangle? This could perhaps even be called a crime of passion. Encountering this scene for the first time in her life, Emily’s pupils trembled slightly in bewilderment.
To make matters worse, one of these three was a member of the royal family! Emily glanced up discreetly. Around her, the Second Prince, a young lady from a count’s family, and a commoner female student formed a triangular formation.
Emily Adesio, who had inadvertently become the centerpiece of this triangle while standing close to them by chance, quietly shifted her foot backward, attempting to slip away unnoticed when no one was looking at her.
However, at that moment, as Emily suddenly moved, the eyes of all three people swiftly turned towards her, causing her to freeze in place. When Emily smiled awkwardly at their gazes, perspiring slightly, the three turned their attention back to their original positions.
‘C-Couldn’t I just be excused from this?’
To understand how Miss Emily, who had merely been standing still, became embroiled in such a fierce love triangle, we need to rewind a bit.
It was this morning, the day of the Academy’s entrance ceremony.
* * *
“Whew-“
As Emily stepped off the magic circle carrying her luggage, the momentum caused her long, straight brown hair to sway at her waist.
After setting down her heavy bags on the ground and pushing her white hat back, her bright lime-green eyes sparkled like spring foliage under the sunlight.
Emily’s slightly drooping eyes crinkled as she smiled broadly.
“Phew, finally arrived.”
Around her, teenagers about Emily’s age were gathered in bustling crowds.
It seemed everyone had arrived in time for today’s Academy entrance ceremony.
Emily stretched her body, stiff from the long journey, and looked around. In the distance stood a majestic white building, which appeared surprisingly far away.
A wide path paved with flat stones stretched out in the center, with grassy fields spreading out on either side.
As students who had just disembarked from the transportation circles walked chattering noisily down the central path, Emily followed them, pulling her luggage along.
Far ahead, she could see a student in uniform standing and giving directions.
“What a beautiful building.”
The Academy, gleaming white under the blue sky dotted with pristine clouds, was as grand and beautiful as its long history suggested.
As she walked, Emily pulled out her Academy acceptance certificate from her pocket and unfolded it once more.
The certificate’s corners were worn from being handled so much. She recalled the moment when, with trembling hands, she had opened the envelope and screamed with joy upon seeing the word ‘Accepted’ in the middle of the paper.
It was a moment that had instantly transformed her colorless world.
“New students, please collect your dormitory room keys here.”
As they moved along, they soon arrived at what appeared to be the garden in front of the Academy building.
While everyone was hesitating, unsure where to go, the uniformed student who had been giving directions earlier raised both hands, gesturing for them to come this way.
As Emily quickly approached, she saw three or four desks lined up, with students standing behind them, checking new students’ names and handing out keys.
“What’s your name?”
“Emily Adesio.”
As Emily approached, a female student checked her name on the list and handed her a small key.
“If you go to the right, you’ll see a red brick building. That’s the Magic Department’s female dormitory.”
“Thank you.”
Emily received the key and bowed politely. Then, she headed towards the dormitory, breaking away from the crowd of people pressing in on either side of her.
The dormitory was a three-story red brick building with a remarkably clean exterior.
After checking her key number, Emily climbed to the second floor of the building.
As she ascended the old wooden stairs, she could see other new students who had arrived earlier unpacking their belongings with their room doors open.
“Where is Room 207?”
Amidst the clamor, Emily walked down the corridor, checking room numbers, and found 207 at the end of the hallway.
Knock knock
“Excuse me.”
Cautiously opening the door in case her roommate had arrived first, Emily found the room empty.
The neat room had two desks side by side facing the front, with a bed and wardrobe on each side.
Thud
Emily set down her luggage in front of the right-hand bed and opened the window in front of the desk.
A cool breeze entered, billowing the white curtains.
After checking the shower room inside, Emily flopped down on the bed with a sigh.
“Whew, that was tiring.”
The Adesio Viscounty had no territory. As a result, they weren’t wealthy, but thanks to Viscount Adesio’s abilities, they weren’t particularly poor either. However, the Academy’s tuition was quite expensive, and Emily knew how much her parents had strained to send her here. She also knew it would be impossible for them to cover the tuition for more than a year.
“Ah, right. I was supposed to change into my uniform and go down…”
Remembering the instructions, Emily got up from the bed again.
She took out her uniform from her luggage bag, changed into it, and then gently smoothed it down while looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Emily, with her ordinary appearance, would have likely married into a similar family and lived a life of childbearing had she not been accepted into the Academy.
This acceptance certificate was her only chance to change her life.
Above all, becoming a mage would allow her to choose a better marriage prospect, which was why Emily’s parents had sent her to the Academy without hesitation.
Thud.
As Emily was tying the ribbon over her uniform shirt collar, suddenly the desk glowed briefly, and a letter dropped onto it. It was a magic letter.
[New students, please gather in the auditorium on the 3rd floor of the main building within 30 minutes.]
After reading the letter, Emily placed it back on the desk and finished adjusting her appearance.
She tied her brown straight hair into a neat ponytail while looking in the mirror, then left the room.
It was finally the beginning of her Academy life.
* * *
The Academy’s main building was the white structure she had seen when she first arrived. Following the moving students into the building, she found the interior was also entirely white.
Walking down a corridor lined with arched windows, she entered the third-floor auditorium, which was bustling with students.
As Emily stood among them, looking around the auditorium, suddenly a female student standing nearby greeted her.
“Hello?”
“Ah… yes, hello?”
“Are you a new student? I’m also enrolling this year.”
The girl was a remarkable beauty with curly bright blonde hair and skin as white as jade. In particular, her sapphire-like blue eyes made it difficult for Emily to look away.
“Oh, I see. I’m Emily Adesio. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I’m Kira.”
Emily smiled back and greeted her, but hesitated when the girl mentioned her name. It was because she hadn’t stated her family name separately.
Thinking ‘surely not,’ she looked at the girl who had introduced herself as Kira, and noticed nearby students glancing in their direction.
No, to be precise, they were looking at Miss Kira, not at herself.
“Ah… I see.”
Emily smiled ambiguously.
Come to think of it, didn’t they say they accepted one commoner scholarship student per year?
Honestly, Emily wasn’t particularly interested in concepts like equality between commoners and nobles.
This was partly because she had lived in a remote area, and partly because Emily herself had been born a noble.
Feeling no need to mingle with commoners amidst this abundance of nobles, Emily decided to quietly slip away.
However, at that moment, Miss Astina from the Mille Count family, who was passing nearby, spotted Emily and approached her.
“Oh my, Miss Emily. It’s been a while. But… are you mingling with commoners?”
“…Miss Astina, it has been a while.”
Startled by Astina’s sudden voice, Emily turned around with surprised eyes. Astina Mille, with her glamorous red hair, was the youngest daughter of the Mille Count family, known for their wealth.
Astina Mille had been receiving even more public attention recently due to rumors of her engagement to the Second Prince.
The two had encountered each other a few times at the Academy entrance exam venue, which was why she recognized Emily and spoke to her.
“My goodness, are things so difficult for you lately that you’re associating with commoners?”
Miss Astina elegantly laughed, holding her student handbook like a fan slightly against her mouth.
As Emily was about to deny Astina’s words, suddenly Kira, who had been standing quietly beside her, criticized Astina in a clear voice.
“What are you saying? It seems you’re disparaging me right in front of my face. Don’t you know that discriminatory remarks are prohibited within the Academy?”
At that moment, Emily was startled. The commoner girl she had just greeted had talked back to a Count’s daughter.
Emily turned to look at her side with wide eyes. Having never experienced such a situation before, Emily was mildly shocked.
And it was the same for Miss Astina and the young ladies standing around her.
“Oh my…”
“Did a commoner just… talk back?”
“…Did you hear that just now?”
“How frightening…”
Astina and her group, as shocked as Emily standing beside them, were at a loss for words for a moment before their silence turned to anger, matching the length of their stunned silence.
“…How dare a mere commoner.”
The silver-haired young lady standing next to Astina spoke with disbelief.
This caused the surrounding students to start murmuring and paying attention to them.
“Shall I repeat myself? Discriminatory remarks are prohibited within the Academy.”
Miss Kira bravely proclaimed equality, turning the stomachs of the young ladies who had lived as nobles all their lives, and her words upset the frowning young ladies.
And Emily, unintentionally caught between them, found this situation extremely uncomfortable.
No, Emily had no particular desire to mingle with commoners or discuss egalitarian ideals with them.
As Emily, now in an awkward position, was about to take a step to quietly distance herself from them, a voice suddenly interjected between them.
“What is everyone doing here?”
At his voice, the gathered students parted to the sides, revealing a male student with blonde hair tinged with orange and golden eyes.
As soon as he appeared, everyone bowed their heads and curtsied slightly in greeting.
Naturally receiving these greetings, two male students followed behind him. One was a black-haired student with handsome features and an expressionless face, while the other had short auburn hair and a slightly drowsy expression. Both were wearing the uniform of the Swordsmanship Department.
“We greet Your Highness.”
As Emily stared at the three young men who had suddenly approached, not knowing what was happening, she was startled by Miss Astina’s words beside her and quickly lowered her head.
‘So this is the Second Prince who was said to be enrolling this year.’
Standing stiffly, nervous at seeing royalty in person for the first time, Emily was surprised when the Prince suddenly approached Miss Kira standing to her right.
“You must be Miss Kira, who enrolled on a scholarship this year.”
“…It’s an honor to meet you.”
As Kira, who had been assessing the situation, glanced at how others were greeting him and started to follow suit, the Second Prince raised his hand to stop her.
“No, aren’t we all just Academy students? There’s no need for such formality.”
At the Prince’s words, accompanied by a bright smile, Emily, who had been keeping her head bowed, flinched involuntarily.
Didn’t it seem like he was criticizing Miss Astina? Emily glanced up to her left, concerned that Miss Astina might be in an awkward position.
Sure enough, Astina was staring at the Prince, who had ignored her greeting and walked past, with a shocked expression.
Astina wasn’t the only one surprised by this sudden turn of events.
Since it was an open secret that she was expected to become the Second Prince’s fiancée, all the students gathered there were surprised and staring at them.
However, despite the concentrated gazes, the Second Prince didn’t even glance at Astina and instead spoke to Kira.
Astina, looking at the Second Prince with a bewildered expression; Kira, who seemed to understand the current situation; and the Second Prince, smiling brightly with an unreadable expression—they all unintentionally surrounded Emily.
It was truly an exquisite timing.
‘…What on earth is going on here?’
Emily, suddenly finding herself in the middle of them, kept her head down and broke out in a cold sweat.
Caught off guard and unable to leave her spot, Emily was extremely flustered.
An image flashed before Emily’s eyes of a hurricane fiercely sweeping through and destroying everything around it. And in that whirlwind, she saw herself shattered into dust, scattering in the wind.
‘C-Couldn’t I just be excused from this?’
Emily’s silent scream, as she broke out in a cold sweat, naturally reached none of those present.
