“Wait a moment, Olivia!”
As I left the training hall after swordsmanship practice, a madman radiating the unmistakable aura of a crown prince appeared.
I had met him before when I visited the empire.
And he is also the former fiancé of the original owner of this body.
“The Prime Minister said you’re adept with both sword and bow, even being called a swordsman and archer.”
“No, I’m a magician.”
“Hahaha, don’t joke. If you’re good at magic, then you’re a person, right?”
I hold a grudge against that guy.
I wanted to show him my great magic, but he backed out, claiming something came up.
At that time, the hero was nagging to leave the empire with his women, so I couldn’t even prove I was a magician.
Anyway, the crown prince has arrived.
Next to him are a few subordinates, and behind them are Ryla and his companions.
Ah, I can roughly guess why they came.
“Um. Ah, yes. Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
Why does this guy look like he just got hit?
What should I call the crown prince if not “Your Highness”?
“Why do you ask?”
“No, it’s strange that you’re acting different from usual. Wouldn’t you usually cling to me?”
“What? Was the original owner such a weirdo? It’s not surprising at all. Honestly, from the perspective of someone who has been broken off from an engagement, I have no reason to cling. Moreover, as a former man, it’s absolutely impossible for me to act like that. Am I crazy? Clinging and whining to a man? I at least have a justification since I’ve been broken off.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Hmm? Does it matter? I’m not your fiancée anymore, anyway. Now, let’s get to the main point.”
At my words, the atmosphere around us turned cold.
What do you want from me? What kind of reaction were you expecting?
Isn’t the crown prince’s name Aslan?
Hmm, I’m not interested, but if I don’t know his name, I might be socially buried.
The crown prince Aslan, who brought along some kids, carefully opened his mouth.
“I don’t know how you gained your strength, but those are knights of noble families. If you drive them all away, there won’t be enough people to join the knighthood in the future.”
‘So what?’
“And?”
“‘And’ means that it will create a vacancy in the knight order.”
“Well, that’s not my concern. They could find other ways to become knights. Ignoring me from the start was their worst mistake. Moreover, this guy isn’t really sitting right with me. If you’re a crown prince, just say it plainly instead of beating around the bush. I’ve been furious since he didn’t acknowledge me as a magician from the beginning.”
“Underestimating me as a fallen villain, you got your butt kicked. We agreed to a duel before the battle, where I would quit swordsmanship and you would lose. So I just won fairly, and they lost and fulfilled their conditions as losers.”
“Isn’t there mercy for the victor?”
‘Huh? Am I hearing things? Why should I show mercy?’
“If the victor shows mercy, the loser will become arrogant and raise their head again at any moment. Why should I let you go?”
“Lady Ashtar! You are being rude to His Highness!”
A black-haired woman, presumably from the East, suddenly scolded me.
‘Well, she’s probably one of the crown prince’s close aides.’
“This academy treats nobles and commoners the same, yet you only check status at times like this. How petty.”
‘It’s really funny. Let me be clear, this academy allows commoners to enroll. Of course, status doesn’t matter here in the academy. That’s just the way it is in words. Looking at the academy now, it’s clear that status is being implicitly divided.’
“Petty?”
‘Has her eardrums blocked at that age? I should have noticed when she ignored my words before. But now I’m Olivia. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I have an appearance that resembles a celestial being. So, I decided to make my image even more eccentric.’
I smiled brightly.
“Is your eardrum acting up now? I said you’re petty. If you’re upset, win the fight. After losing, do you really plan to come to the crown prince, whining that ‘the villain Olivia kicked us out’? Oh dear, Your Highness, please help us. Is that why you’ve personally come here?”
Behind the crown prince, Ryla and those loser companions are lined up proudly.
It’s clear what’s about to happen.
“Do you think you can talk to us like that?”
Ryla’s crew is getting irritated, but can I really say otherwise?
“Then why did everyone come with the crown prince at the front?”
Even saying such a thing behind the prince is truly disgusting.
“That’s because His Highness asked.”
“In the end, doesn’t that mean you came to speak?”
Why are nobles trying so hard to come up with excuses?
It seems that Ryla is a close friend of the prince.
So, he stepped forward directly.
“Why has your speech become so vulgar? If you’re a lady, shouldn’t you speak with some grace?”
“Grace? Since when did the crown prince know about me?”
‘Ah, of course, I’m not the same as the original owner. But if the original owner hadn’t fallen in love with the crown prince and had a bit more ability, wouldn’t I be at least at my current level?’
“Then you’re refusing to admit the students into the knight order?”
“Well, if those people have no conscience and plan to tarnish the family’s reputation, then they’ll crawl in.”
“Olivia!”
‘Ugh, it’s so noisy. It’s human nature to be like that.’
‘If they come in, knowing they’ll embarrass themselves and throw away the honor of a knightly family, I’ll just laugh at them hard.’
Anyway, Olivia is probably already known as a scandalous figure in aristocratic society.
Otherwise, I might forgive them if they lick my pants.
No, my shoes.
“I absolutely refuse to forgive you. Please don’t disturb me.”
“How can we get Raileur’s group into the swordsmanship department?”
‘Oh, is the prince making a deal here?’
‘Well, I’m not a devil, so if they listen to me, I might let it slide.’
“If you all lick the soles of my shoes, I’ll consider it.”
“Who would do such a shameful thing!”
The faces of Raileur’s group twisted in displeasure.
They were quite pathetic.
Just pathetic.
‘I mean, if they were so sour about losing that they would report to the prince, then…’
“I’m saying this again. If you’re upset, you should have won.”
I laughed at Raileur’s group and left.
My ex-fiancé leaves while mocking Raileur’s group.
The prince’s mind momentarily stopped working.
‘Forget Raileur’s group; if they come out that strongly while mentioning the honor of the knightly family, it might be better to give up.’
Ignoring her, even if she is that wicked woman, was a mistake from the start.
“I really doubt that woman is Lady Olivia Rapha Ashtar.”
At Secretary Yuria’s words, Aslan nodded.
It was indeed clear that this was not the Olivia he knew.
If it were the previous Olivia, she would have thrown away her pride and begged for love.
Now, the current Olivia might ask when that ever happened if he brought it up.
“She has completely changed as a person.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes. Most of the kids applying to the swordsmanship department must have been trained as soldiers or knights from noble families, but how did a girl who never showed such potential become so strong?”
“Maybe she’s a hero like in the kingdom.”
“Even so, that seems unlikely.”
‘Her personality has worsened. Could such a girl really be a hero?’
It’s the end of the world.
“If that’s the case, where did the change start from?”
“Um. Maybe she was mentally affected by the broken engagement?”
“Hmm.”
Raileur’s words had some merit.
They say that when humans receive a great shock, they change.
The problem is that it’s a mental change; it’s unlikely to be as drastic as Olivia’s transformation.
“Or maybe that’s just how she was all along.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can tell by looking at the mistress of the Ashtar family.”
The mistress of the Ashtar family once led an assassination guild while disguising her status.
She controlled the economy of the empire and married the Duke of Ashtar out of necessity.
She is her biological mother.
Even if Lily is a illegitimate child, that aside, as her daughter, could she really have lived solely in love for men with her head in the clouds?
“Still, I can’t believe it. Didn’t we see her grow up?”
“If she’s an Ashtar, it might be different. Since His Highness has already broken off the engagement with Lady Ashtar, the problem now is with Raileur, isn’t it?”
“Oh, that’s true.”
“We’re fine. Just because we don’t go to the swordsmanship department doesn’t mean we have no options.”
‘It’s not that there are no options. It’s just that if you’re not climbing the elite route through the academy, you have to start from the bottom of the military ranks.’
‘Just being close to the prince doesn’t mean they can grant special privileges.’
“Yeah. There will be other opportunities.”
‘The real problem is Olivia. Even if she has hidden it all along, that change is hard to accept.’
‘Could Lily possibly know something?’
Although she was bullied, Lily lived with Olivia after entering the Duke of Ashtar’s family.
So, wouldn’t she know something?
***
The magic engineering department was the first class Olivia was assigned to.
In other words, the homeroom teacher originally was the main professor in that classroom.
Currently, I have applied for courses in magic engineering, swordsmanship, archery, hand-to-hand combat, world history, liberal arts, and theology.
‘I had planned to just attend classes casually and get evaluated. It’s not impossible, but nobles generally tend to only do what’s necessary for them and prioritize social activities and family matters, while commoners need to earn money, so they only take the necessary credits.’
Looking at the timetable, I have plenty of time until the librarian’s time starts.
‘Me? I, Olivia Rapha Ashtar, will soon be dropping the Rapha and Ashtar names, so I don’t need to worry about family matters.’
Thus, I can raise my grades significantly.
‘That’s the point.’
“Great, perfect. If I can become a great magician in exchange for getting a new body, then heh heh.”
‘Pretending to be that girl. Pretending to be that villain. I’ll be as shameless and trashy as I need to be.’
‘After all, I’ve been boosting my mental strength while taking care of that hero brat.’
That’s right.
While I was imagining receiving the title of great magician with a grin, I felt a presence nearby.
“Uh. Is that Lady Ashtar??”
“Plene?”
‘I never expected to have such a surprising encounter here.’
A girl with a delicate and modest appearance who looks like she’d be teaching bridal classes has confidently come up to me.
“I never dreamed I’d see you in a class.”
“Oh, right.”
‘If it’s Plene, she’s someone I can trust to be by my side. After all, we’re supposed to work part-time together at the library.’
“Hey, do you know a lot about magic?”
‘Oh, finally someone recognizes me!’
‘That’s right. I’m not just a random character known for being a swordsman, archer, and substitute minister; I’m a magician!’
“Of course, I know a lot. Without magic, I’m a corpse.”
‘I know nothing but magic.’
She looked troubled, with a bitter smile as she seemed hesitant to speak.
“Uh, really?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Could you help me with this?”
She showed me a page from her reference book, which happened to be the introductory section on elemental magic and mana utilization.
“Understanding elemental magic and mana utilization.”
“Do you know it?”
‘Of course, I do. This part isn’t difficult. I learned it through practical experience when I was young. And I even created this reference book myself. There’s no way I wouldn’t know it.’