CHAPTER 13
School Entrance Ceremony
I had finally turned fifteen!
And that meant one thing:
This year, I would be starting school.
In this world, students attended school for five years beginning at the age of fifteen.
Nobles and commoners studied together.
Of course, very few commoners were actually able to attend. Unless they possessed exceptional talent or enough money to afford tuition, enrollment was almost impossible.
The academy was fully residential.
Students were expected to take care of themselves and manage their own daily lives.
Well… at least in theory.
Most noble families sent personal servants along with their children. It was common for a noble student to bring a personal maid or butler of the same age and have them live in the dormitory as well.
As for me?
I didn’t need any of that.
I could cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of myself just fine.
So I requested a private room.
Being able to do everything yourself was wonderful.
Unfortunately, not everyone shared my enthusiasm.
Yard had been strongly opposed to my attending the academy.
In fact, he had declared something outrageous.
“I’m going to skip grades and enroll in the same year as you, Sister!”
The first time he said it, I was genuinely shocked.
However, I smiled and patiently reasoned with him.
“Princess Cocol is the same age as you, isn’t she?”
“That’s not the point!”
“It is. Princess Cocol can be a little absent-minded at times, and she needs you by her side. That’s why I want the two of you to enroll together next year.”
“I refuse!”
“Brothers and sisters can’t even be placed in the same classroom. It wouldn’t make much difference.”
“…Really?”
“Really. Besides, you’re the only knight Princess Cocol can truly rely on. Doesn’t that sound incredibly cool?”
Yard hesitated.
I could practically see the gears turning inside his head.
Finally, he gave in.
I knew he would.
After all, despite all his complaints, Yard genuinely cared about Princess Cocol and could never ignore her if she needed help.
Besides, I had promised to return home whenever there was a holiday.
Everything would be fine.
Probably.
My older brother had already been attending the academy for two years.
Lately, he had become so busy that I barely saw him anymore.
I missed him.
A small, uncomfortable thought kept creeping into my mind.
What if we slowly drifted apart?
What if he became completely absorbed in the heroine of the story?
The thought bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
I didn’t want that.
As for the prince…
Well, I hadn’t seen him recently either.
But somehow, that didn’t bother me nearly as much.
At last, the day of the entrance ceremony arrived.
To my surprise, I had been selected to give the speech on behalf of all incoming students.
Standing on the stage before hundreds of students, teachers, and nobles, I began delivering the carefully prepared greeting.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Then—
BANG!
The doors of the auditorium suddenly flew open.
“S-Sorry I’m late!”
A cheerful girl’s voice echoed throughout the room.
Everyone turned to look.
Including me.
She was beautiful.
Long golden hair flowed all the way down her back, shining under the sunlight streaming through the windows.
Her eyes were a brilliant sky blue.
The sort of blue commonly associated with royalty.
For a moment, the entire room fell silent.
The girl looked embarrassed by the attention but quickly hurried to the empty seat that had been prepared for late arrivals.
Once she sat down, I resumed my speech.
At least outwardly.
Inside, however, my thoughts were racing.
That’s not her.
At least, I didn’t think so.
The heroine shouldn’t appear yet.
If my memories of the original story were correct, the real heroine wouldn’t arrive until next year.
She would transfer into our grade around the same time that Yard enrolled.
Besides…
The heroine’s hair was supposed to be pink-gold.
At least, that was how heroines usually looked in the light novels I had read in my previous life.
Golden hair and blue eyes were practically the standard royal appearance in this world.
No, it couldn’t be her.
Probably.
Hopefully.
I continued speaking while maintaining my polite smile.
The audience seemed completely unaware of the chaos occurring inside my head.
The future still hadn’t been decided.
There was still one whole year before the story was supposed to begin.
One year before the heroine appeared.
One year before the game’s events started moving.
One year before all those troublesome capture targets began falling in love.
That meant I still had time.
Time to study.
Time to improve my medicines.
Time to strengthen my relationships with the people important to me.
Time to prevent as many disaster flags as possible.
If fate intended to throw me into the middle of some ridiculous romance story, then I would spend every moment I had preparing for it.
After all, I wasn’t planning to sit around and wait for destiny to do whatever it wanted.
I reached the final lines of my speech.
“To my fellow students, let us strive together, learn together, and make these next five years meaningful and unforgettable.”
Applause filled the auditorium.
I bowed gracefully.
Smiling as expected of the Prime Minister’s daughter.
Smiling as expected of a noble lady.
Smiling while secretly planning how to survive the future.
With that renewed determination, I officially began my academy life.
But…
As I stepped down from the stage, I couldn’t help glancing toward the late-arriving girl once more.
Golden hair.
Sky-blue eyes.
A bright and energetic smile.
And a strangely familiar feeling.
Wait.
…Huh?
Could it be?
No way.
Surely not.
That girl wasn’t actually the heroine… was she?
