Chapter 6
Although I ran into the final villain the moment I set foot in the Academy, things went fairly smoothly afterward.
Which meant that the original heroine, Ayla Liner, had also safely attended the entrance ceremony.
If things continued like this, my second plan—
“Become acquainted with the original heroine.”
—should be easy enough to accomplish.
Maybe I’ll talk to her during the freshman welcome party after the ceremony.
People naturally become timid when surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place.
In a situation like that, if someone approached them first, it would be much easier for them to lower their guard.
Of course, the important thing was to approach her without giving off the slightest suspicious impression.
Unfortunately, Ayla disappeared somewhere the moment the entrance ceremony ended instead of attending the banquet.
That left me, who had been wandering around the ballroom looking for a natural opportunity to strike up a conversation with her, in quite a difficult position.
As I continued glancing around as though searching for someone, a conversation happened to reach my ears.
“So they’re actually making someone use that abandoned dormitory? I guess that’s why she slipped away without even showing her face at the welcome party.”
The speaker was a young nobleman standing in one corner of the banquet hall.
The freshmen around him quietly chimed in.
“Even if she’s only a baron’s daughter, she’s still a noble. Isn’t it embarrassing to stay in the Academy dormitory? House Liner used to own one of the Empire’s greatest merchant companies.”
“I’ve heard they’re only keeping her alive because of the inheritance the Baron and Baroness left behind.”
Even though they covered their mouths while whispering, they weren’t exactly being quiet.
An abandoned dormitory that no one had used for years.
A young baron’s daughter who had lost both her parents…
They’re talking about Ayla.
Listening more carefully, however, I realized Ayla wasn’t the only topic of conversation.
“I heard that defective girl who’s bedridden all the time managed to enroll too.”
“Imagine it—a prestigious knightly house’s heir who’s weak, sickly, and spends all her time chasing after her unrequited love.”
Although they never mentioned my name outright…
They were obviously talking about me.
To be fair…
I couldn’t exactly deny the criticism that the heir of a knightly family had neglected her duties while chasing after a man.
“If it were me, I’d rather bite my tongue than disgrace my family.”
That was where I decided I’d heard enough.
I stepped into their conversation.
“Bite my tongue?”
“I’m the only one who inherited the Founder’s Blessing.”
“So I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Even though I interrupted without introducing myself, every face in the group instantly turned pale.
Well…
They had been happily insulting me behind my back.
There was no way they wouldn’t recognize my face.
One of them, however, apparently drunk enough to slur his words, shamelessly greeted me.
“Lady Levy, heir of the great House Heron.”
His identity immediately came to mind.
Ivan Kald.
The only heir of House Kald, a viscount’s family that had served House Heron for generations.
Where House Heron was known as the Empire’s Sword, House Kald had earned the nickname the Empire’s Shield, specializing in defensive swordsmanship.
To think that the heir of one of our closest allied families had been mocking me behind my back.
My gaze briefly shifted toward the wineglass in Ivan’s hand.
Crack.
Unable to withstand the mana I quietly released…
The glass shattered.
“W-What the—?!”
It was only a broken wineglass…
Yet Ivan reacted as though someone had just tried to assassinate him.
Watching him frantically brush shattered glass from his clothes, I spoke calmly.
“The heir of the Empire’s Shield is frightened by something like this?”
“If it were me…”
“I’d rather bite my tongue than disgrace my family.”
His face immediately flushed red, then blue.
“Lady Levy!”
I looked at him coldly.
“What?”
“Would you like to test our strength instead?”
House Kald had served House Heron for generations.
Which also meant…
No family understood better than they did why the head of House Heron always stood above the rest.
Even though everyone called me defective because of my frail body…
House Heron still possessed overwhelming authority.
Whether it was rank among knights…
The supernatural abilities inherited by the family head…
Or the trust of the Empire’s people…
Our house wasn’t politically shrewd.
But neither was it weak enough to insult publicly without consequences.
“I…”
Just as expected…
That was as far as Ivan’s courage went.
After staring at him for another moment, I quietly walked away.
I can’t exactly complain about being criticized for chasing after Fried…
But just because I’m sickly, every idiot thinks they can call me defective.
The old me might have lamented the weak body I couldn’t change.
But the current me knew exactly how to strengthen my stamina little by little.
I couldn’t become healthy overnight.
Still…
With steady effort, my body would gradually recover.
Repeating patient work over a long period…
That had always been what I excelled at in my previous life.
Thanks to Ivan’s group, I learned that Ayla had quietly slipped away because she didn’t feel she belonged at the party.
Perhaps…
At this very moment…
She was blaming herself for ever thinking she deserved to come here.
Remembering the miserable life she’d endured in the novel left a bitter feeling in my chest.
Ayla had lost both her parents in a carriage accident.
After that…
She was raised by her uncle.
The reason lay in an unusual clause within the Baron and Baroness Liner’s will.
If the Baron and Baroness die unexpectedly, whoever cares for our only daughter, Ayla Liner, until she graduates from the Academy shall receive one thousand gold coins.
Furthermore, Ayla Liner shall be unable to withdraw the inheritance deposited in the bank until she graduates from the Academy.
The Baron and Baroness had likely believed one of their kind-hearted siblings would gladly raise their daughter in exchange for one thousand gold.
Without realizing those people had only pretended to be kind while coveting the wealth built by House Liner’s merchant company.
Naturally…
The moment news of the carriage accident spread…
Their relatives wanted far more than one thousand gold.
They wanted Ayla’s entire inheritance.
Had her parents not stipulated that she could only inherit it after graduating from the Academy…
She probably would have been murdered by her villainous cousins long ago.
Now that she’s come of age…
Her uncle has simply kicked her out into the Academy dormitory with barely any money.
His goal had always been simple.
To manipulate his niece until she became an isolated girl who constantly blamed herself.
That way…
Even after she reached adulthood and gained access to the inheritance locked away in the bank…
She would still depend entirely on him.
He would pretend to take care of her…
Steal every last coin…
Then quietly dispose of her.
In the original story, he even staged another carriage accident to kill her.
If Fried hadn’t happened to find her by chance, she would have died right there.
That incident marked the first meeting between the original hero and heroine.
Having spent her entire life powerless—
always robbed of everything she had—
Ayla fell for Fried’s overwhelming strength when he saved her.
The instant she realized the overwhelming difference in power between herself and the man before her… Ayla’s heart began to race.
And my entire plan…
Was to bring the original hero and heroine together much sooner than in the novel.
Fried was a prince blessed with immense holy power and beloved by the people.
Ayla was a future Saintess gifted with extraordinary holy power and unparalleled magical talent.
Together…
They were the strongest pairing in the original story.
In the novel, the early chapters were so bleak that it took them a long time to meet, with countless obstacles standing between them.
But now that I’d transmigrated…
That wouldn’t happen.
Should I somehow get Fried to casually show off his strength in front of Ayla?
Getting him to reveal his power naturally would probably be the hardest part.
Still…
I already had a rough idea of how to arrange their meeting.
As I refined my plan, I headed toward the abandoned Academy dormitory where Ayla was likely staying.
The building technically still existed…
But no one had used it for years.
Although it had clearly been cleaned in a hurry after someone was finally assigned to live there…
It still carried the eerie atmosphere unique to abandoned buildings.
It reminded me of how Uncle Aaron had tried to throw me out of our estate.
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
If I’d come to my senses just a little later…
I probably would’ve ended up in a situation not much different from Ayla’s.
The area surrounding the dormitory was gloomy enough to serve as the set of a horror film.
Spend two months living here and anyone would become depressed.
That was when it happened.
Rustle.
What?
Sensing something approaching from behind, I instinctively gathered mana throughout my body and condensed it into my hand.
I felt the power of House Heron flowing through my veins sharpen to its limit to protect its master.
The moment I spun around toward the suspicious movement among the branches—
Whoosh!
A dense blast of mana shot forward, slicing through the leaves.
After my mana tore through the air several more times…
A bat with emerald-green eyes burst from the branches and flapped desperately into the sky.
That’s no ordinary bat.
A normal bat should have been knocked out by my first attack.
Realizing something was wrong, I flicked my fingers.
A small throwing knife materialized in my hand.
Thanks to the Founder’s Blessing—which had once made its bearer a living weapon—
such feats were possible.
Without hesitation…
I threw it at the fleeing bat.
Thud!
Direct hit.
I still couldn’t properly wield House Heron’s inherited longsword with this body.
But something like this was manageable.
Considering I’d only begun practicing weapon summoning after learning I’d be entering the Academy…
I’d done quite well.
My frail body left my heart pounding as though I’d just sprinted full speed…
But at least I wasn’t about to collapse.
Feeling quietly satisfied…
I suddenly sensed someone watching me from the dormitory.
“Who’s there?”
I called out just in case.
A timid voice answered.
“U-Um… I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t trying to spy on you.”
From behind the moss-covered dormitory emerged a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.
Long silver hair swayed gently in the breeze.
Brilliant blue eyes sparkled as though she had just witnessed a hero.
The heroine I’d been searching for all this time—
Ayla Liner—
stood there watching me…
For some reason…
With a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
