Chapter 46

I roughly yanked the blanket off myself. Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, I had trouble falling asleep. Even though academy life started today, I looked like an absolute zombie.

Patting down my explosive bedhead, I washed my face and rinsed my mouth. That’s right. From now on, wearing my uniform and fixing my hair were things I had to do entirely by myself. The fact that I’d need to wake up even earlier made me let out a deep sigh.

If I, someone who strictly did everything on her own in my past life, was struggling this much, the aristocratic young ladies must be having an absolute nightmare of a time. It wouldn’t even be surprising if a bunch of people showed up late because they couldn’t do their own makeup.

On that note, I wonder about the prince. He looked like he could handle anything without a hitch.

“Ah, I called him ‘the prince’ again.”

I muttered to myself, with no one around to hear, and ended up writhing in agony as I remembered yesterday’s events. That was so embarrassing. My face still turns red just thinking about it. To make sure I never messed up his name again, I kept whispering Lord Dylan to myself for a while.

When I checked my new class assignment, it turned out I was in the same class as Aria and Az. Some kind of crazy miracle was happening.

Even as I walked down the hallway, I was showered with sizing-up, head-to-toe stares, but I ignored them and kept looking at the academy’s interior.

The corridors had red carpets. The walls were dotted with gold embroidery, giving it a true wealthy-school vibe. I wondered how much the flower pots placed here and there cost. The ceiling had intricate little carvings, with a chandelier hanging right in the middle.

Peking into the classroom, not only was there a chandelier inside, but every student got their own clean desk and a single-person armchair. It was lavish enough to make you think, Isn’t this a bit much?

When I entered the classroom, Aria and Az were indeed there. The moment they noticed me, they both waved me over.

“Morning!”

“Morning, Bell.”

“M-morning, Aria, Az.”

Being greeted so normally made me unexplainably happy. It felt like my old student days were coming back to life.

“What a crazy coincidence that the three of us are in the same class.”

When I casually said that, the two of them exchanged glances, and Aria narrowed her eyes meaningfully.

“Hmm, well, if you call it a coincidence, I suppose it is, but if you call it destiny, then it’s destiny.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What are you talking about?”

“Aria, don’t use such confusing ways of saying things. We were formally granted the privilege of getting along with Bell.”

“……Eh?”

Not understanding what was going on, I looked back and forth between the two of them, but Az didn’t say anything more, and Aria just shrugged as if she wanted me to drop it.

Did I just get left out… or something? As I knitted my brows, Aria smiled faintly. At the same time, the teacher—presumably our homeroom teacher—walked in.

Since Aria was heading to her seat, I turned on my heel to go back to mine as well. At that moment, Aria lightly but firmly tugged on my shoulder.

“Tonight, do you want to chat for a bit?”

At those words, I whipped my head around and nodded vigorously. Aria smiled with a look of satisfaction and headed back to her own seat.

Realizing I had better get to my seat quickly or I’d get in trouble, I quickened my pace.

Our homeroom teacher was impossibly gorgeous.

“I’m Cheren Lust. I’ll be your homeroom teacher starting today. Anyone who talks back to me is getting their skull cracked open, so be prepared.”

At that terrifying declaration, the classmates trembled in their seats. Understandably so, since no one had ever told them they’d get their skulls cracked open before, making it genuinely scary. Are school teachers supposed to have such foul mouths…?

Despite being a woman, Ms. Lust was tall and wore a pantsuit. Her lustrous black hair was pulled back into a single tail, and her fierce, sharp eyes were a striking crimson.

Then, the self-introductions typical of a new semester began. Waiting for your turn while your heart pounded is genuinely nerve-wracking.

“I’m Aria Plata. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

When Aria flashed a killer smile that rivaled Lord Dylan’s, I could see the boys getting all worked up. She is cute, after all. On the outside, anyway.

“I’m Ashwad Crillver. It’s a pleasure.”

Az gave a polite bow and delivered an extremely normal greeting. As someone registered as a knight aspirant, Az was permitted to carry a sword. Of course, if he drew it recklessly in front of people, he’d face appropriate punishment and lose his chance to join the knighthood.

In other words, conversely, if your application was approved at this academy, it also meant you were locked onto the straight path of chivalry. It seemed they even had a dedicated training ground.

When Az sat down, his metal gear clanked softly, causing the girl in the neighboring seat to flinch in fright. Yet, among the students, there were also those casting passionate gazes his way, proving once again that Az really is cool.

The self-introductions continued for a while until my turn finally came. For better or for worse, I always draw attention. Ah, I want to go home.

Thanks to Mother’s drilled-in lessons, I no longer shook at the knees just from introducing myself, but things I hated were still things I hated.

“I’m Bertia Tybus. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The gazes from all around the classroom felt painful. If I messed up, goodness knows what Mother would say. Keeping my eyes cast down to avoid seeing my classmates’ reactions, I quietly slipped into my seat.

As I let out a sigh of relief, the sound of a chair being roughly and noisily dragged back echoed, drawing my attention. The boy in the neighboring seat was scratching his messy hair while sucking on a stick lollipop.

That sight left me utterly dumbfounded. The other kids seemed the same, struck speechless.

“Laplace Bouamede. Nice to meet you.”

With that, he flopped heavily into his seat and crunched down hard on the candy. He was an out-of-the-ordinary character. Messy blue hair, and sleepy, listless eyes. His uniform had buttons mismatched in places, and it looked baggy, as if the size was all wrong. He was about my height, making him quite petite for a guy, and draped over his unkempt uniform was a stained lab coat.

He adjusted his square glasses and popped a new piece of candy into his mouth.

I let out a quiet, solo sigh, wondering if I’d be able to manage in the seat next to his.

“Hey, hey.”

The classroom introductions were over, and our first class ended right at noon. Though honestly, it was pretty much all orientation.

Just as I was packing my textbooks into my bag, thinking it was time to head home, someone spoke to me. I looked around nervously.

“Oooh, right here!”

When someone waved their hand right in front of my face, I let out a startled jump. Wearing a grin like a successful prankster, the deep blue eyes behind the lenses sparkled—it was the boy from the neighboring seat.

Laplace, was it? A name that fit his scientist-like vibe.

“My name is Laplace. Call me Lala.”

Facing him head-on, I noticed for the first time that he had remarkably pretty features. He was cute enough that a girl’s nickname like Lala actually suited him.

His bedhead-ridden hair was held back half-heartedly with a red hairpin. It stood out vividly against his clean blue hair.

“And you?”

“Eh?”

“Won’t you tell me your name? Uh, you’re the student council president’s fiancée, right?”

In a drawn-out tone with his sleepy eyes drooping even further, he asked the question nonchalantly. Had he forgotten my self-introduction?

“Um, I’m Bertia Tybus.”

“Ah! That’s right, that’s right. Bell-chan.”

Laughing flippantly, Laplace crunched down hard on another candy. Hearing that sound out of nowhere was a bit scary.

“You see, I kind of want to be friends with Bell-chan.”

“Wh, ah, eh!?”

“Ahaha, you’re super surprised.”

There was nothing joking about the look in Laplace’s blue eyes.

“Um, actually, during the entrance ceremony, I saw Bell-chan getting hassled by some scary girls.”

Just by chance, you know? Laplace laughed.

“I’m scared of girls. I used to get bullied, so I’m not good with them. When Bell-chan was getting hassled by those girls, I got so scared I couldn’t help it. It felt like I was looking at my past self.”

I wondered to myself if Laplace had been through a lot. Well, of course. Everyone has a dark side to them.

“But you stood up to all of them with total confidence, and I thought that was so cool.”

Suddenly, my hand was grabbed. Surprised, I instinctively tried to pull my hand back, but Laplace’s grip was surprisingly strong.

“W-what!?”

“Be my friend! I want to know more about Bell-chan!”

“Fr-friend? If it’s just that, then sure…”

“Really? Yay!”

Laplace raised both hands and rejoiced, going waaay! Then, he beamed with a smirk.

“I’m just super curious about a human being named you.”

It felt like being a guinea pig put under observation. Apparently full of intellectual curiosity, he stared right at me with eyes that seemed to see through everything.

I wouldn’t dare say it out loud, but it’s scary because it feels like he might even figure out my past life.

I found myself agonizing alone over whether this was a friendship or more like becoming a test subject.