Chapter 001
“I’m late, I’m late!”
It was the usual scene that happened every morning.
By now, I was used to seeing a certain girl preparing to leave for the academy as if she were about to turn the whole house upside down.
I stared at my older sister, Emma Bardedor, who was leaving the house while biting into a slice of bread.
Look at that.
Even though she was always panicking because she was about to be late, she still insisted on running out while holding bread in her mouth.
It was the perfect image of a heroine from a typical romance manga!
I watched her with admiration when my sister suddenly turned around and spoke.
“What are you doing, Olivia? If I’m late, you’ll be late too.”
“Ah, right.”
I shoved the bread I was eating all at once into my mouth and followed after my sister.
Finally, I could attend the academy my sister went to.
In other words, today was my very first day attending the academy as I turned seventeen.
We left the house with bright smiles and greeted everyone.
“I’ll be back!”
“Have a good day!”
The moment we stepped outside the mansion, my sister turned around.
“From now on, we have to run with all our strength. Can you do it?”
“Of course. You should be careful not to run out of stamina, too, sister.”
As if asking what I meant, my sister smiled softly and started moving first.
Her figure quickly grew farther away.
I also had to move my shorter legs diligently to catch up.
After all, I couldn’t be late on my very first day of entering the academy.
“Haah, haah.”
“Safe!”
I was practically dragged along by my sister and barely managed to cross the academy gates.
“Hmm. If you had been one minute later, you would have been out. Be careful from now on.”
“Yes, Teacher Saint!”
At the entrance stood a teacher with a sharp impression.
Her hair was tied up perfectly, as if she would not allow even a single strand to fall out, and she pushed her glasses up with a strict expression.
My sister greeted the teacher with a disciplined posture.
Apparently, at this entrance, Teacher Saint was basically the law.
Being quick-witted, I held back my rising breath and greeted Teacher Saint as well.
“I look forward to your guidance from now on.”
“A new student?”
“Yes.”
“But are you saying that you plan to be almost late every day starting from your very first day?”
Teacher Saint pushed her glasses up again.
The sunlight reflected off her glasses with a flash.
“Of course not. Haha.”
I met a scary teacher right from the beginning.
I gave an awkward laugh and grabbed my sister’s arm before turning toward the academy.
The huge building caught my attention.
It was my second time seeing it since my sister’s entrance ceremony.
Each building had a different style, which made it fascinating.
“This is the Imperial Saint Louis Academy where you’ll be attending from now on.”
My sister spread both arms and introduced the academy proudly.
Actually, even without my sister telling me, I already knew a lot about Saint Louis Academy.
Saint Louis Academy was an academy for high school-level students, and every citizen of the Grayson Empire dreamed of entering this place.
The entrance exam was extremely difficult.
Even nobles could never enter without passing the entrance exam.
I was also one of the people who had worked myself to the bone to get into this academy.
At this place where my sister’s youth and her beautiful school days would unfold, would there be any meaning in being born into this world if I didn’t witness everything?
Ah, did I not mention it?
This world was the world of the romance manga <Academy Love♡ ~Who Is the Male Lead?~>.
And my sister was the heroine of this romance manga.
Couldn’t anyone guess just by seeing the classic scene of a girl running to school with bread in her mouth every morning?
She thought she was ordinary, but she had perfect beauty no matter how you looked at her.
Her grades were excellent, and her personality was also outstanding.
She was truly born to be a romance manga heroine.
And I was born as the younger sister of that romance manga heroine.
At first, I simply lived as a younger sister who followed her older sister everywhere, a true “sister admirer.”
Then, one day, a magic tutor who came to our mansion accidentally hit me with magic.
And I regained the memories of my previous life.
Of course, that tutor was fired.
In Korea, the most miserable age was the final year of high school.
I, Lee Jiyeon, could not overcome the stress of the college entrance exam and collapsed, never waking up again.
While running only toward the single goal of entering a good university, the thing that came to me as a form of rest was this romance manga, <Academy Love♡ ~Who Is the Male Lead?~>.
According to the author’s interview, the ending was not decided on which male lead the heroine would end up with.
Because of that, every reader passionately supported their own “favorite choice.”
I was cowardly enough that I didn’t want any of the choices to fail.
So I only wished for a “everyone lives happily together ending.”
Could it be that choosing such a sneaky ending brought a curse upon me?
Because I ended up being born into the world of <Academy Love♡ ~Who Is the Male Lead?~>.
And I was just a supporting character.
The heroine’s younger sister.
“Don’t be nervous, Olivia. With your personality, you’ll make friends quickly, and you’ll be able to keep up with your classes soon.”
Unlike my sister Emma, who was born a genius, I had to put in a bloody amount of effort to enter this academy.
That was not just an expression.
I really studied until my nose bled.
I did it because I wanted to see my sister reach her ending in this world no matter what.
I had supported the “everyone lives happily together ending” and then died.
So perhaps being reborn was a message from God telling me to choose and buy the right “stock.”
Therefore, since I had become my sister’s younger sister, I could not leave this world without seeing the “everyone lives happily together ending.”
I would definitely find the perfect husband for my sister and make sure they ended up together.
And if I also happened to meet a good brother-in-law and my own life became a little better, that would be even better.
To achieve that, entering the academy was essential.
After passing the difficult first obstacle, I was full of confidence.
Why would I be nervous when the results of my hard work were finally about to bloom?
“Don’t worry, sister. I’m so ordinary that I won’t stand out, and my life won’t become difficult.”
I wasn’t the heroine.
There was no way I would suddenly be dragged behind the school building, or have dirty mop water poured over my head, right?
However, Emma seemed to interpret my completely objective statement differently.
She showed tears in her eyes and hugged me.
“Olivia, there is no one in this world as lovely and special as you. Don’t think of yourself as ordinary.”
“Yes, yes.”
I also hugged my sister and patted her shoulder.
“To think that this small and cute child has already grown up and come to the academy…”
I stopped my sister, who had fallen into memories alone, and pointed toward what seemed to be the auditorium.
“Sister, stop. I’m going to be late for my entrance ceremony.”
“Ah, right!”
The two of us started running at full speed again.
Only after arriving at the auditorium did my sister return to her own class.
“Our Olivia, do well. Fighting!”
“Fighting…”
Still out of breath, I barely raised one hand to respond and entered the auditorium while practically crawling.
As expected, the entrance ceremony had already started long ago.
A speech from someone who seemed to be the principal was already echoing throughout the auditorium.
I tried to sit down in the back row so I would not attract attention.
“Are you late too?”
After I sat in an empty seat, the girl sitting next to me spoke first.
She had large curled hair neatly brushed up on both sides.
I knew it was rude to think this way, but the girl’s harmless face did not look like a villainess, so I felt relieved.
“You too?”
“We’re late comrades.”
We looked at each other and smiled.
“What class are you in?”
“I’m in A-class.”
“Really? I’m in A-class too.”
“You too?”
At the words that we were in the same class, we held each other’s hands as if we had promised to do so.
“I’m Sia Caine.”
“I’m Olivia Bardedor.”
“Bardedor?”
“Do you know about my family?”
My family was only a baron-level noble family.
We were not especially high in status, nor were we famous in high society.
Among nobles, only a few people knew about us.
So I was surprised that she immediately reacted after hearing my surname.
“Then are you Emma Bardedor’s younger sister?”
“Oh, you know my sister?”
“How could I not? She’s a student who has never lost the top rank since entering the academy. Saint Louis Academy holds mock exams for all grades every year, and she always ranks first overall.”
I was amazed.
How did she know so much about the school even before entering?
Of course, I already knew everything Sia mentioned.
But hearing someone else praise my sister still made me feel embarrassed.
I rubbed under my nose with my finger, showing my embarrassment.
“Well, my sister is pretty good at studying.”
“But you…”
She probably meant why I was different from my sister.
Saint Louis Academy divided classes according to grades.
S, A, B, C, and so on.
I had not become part of the S-class like my sister.
So naturally, she was curious about my grades.
It was a question I was very familiar with.
“I’m good at something else.”
“What?”
“Making friends.”
I shook the hand of Sia that I was holding.
“Let’s become close friends from now on.”
“Sure. Please take care of me.”
After that, we became so busy talking to each other that we did not even hear the long speech from the student council president that followed the principal’s address.
Then suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind us.
“Hey, new students. Please be quiet.”
