Returning to the Magic Academy
EMMA inherited her dresser from her grandmother. Its ostentatious design stood apart from the simple furnishings and decor of Seagrove Manor. Reflected within the graceful, streamlined mirror was not the face she always saw.
Her straight hair fell just past her shoulders. She cut it the day before she moved into the Magic Academy’s dormitory—yesterday if she really had traveled back to the day she embarked on her academic journey. At home, her maid helped her dress and get ready, but she would be on her own at school. Ergo, she’d decided to keep her hair short, prioritizing practicality over fashion. Emma was confused but had enough sense to acknowledge that she had been a pragmatic fifteen-year-old.
“What in the world is going on…?”
She struggled to wrap her head around this unexpected circumstance. She had been living her life as duty demanded up until yesterday… No, not yesterday. Four years from today, if she was to believe that she had gone back to the spring of her fifteenth year, the morning she would move into the Academy’s housing.
Knock, knock.
“My lady? Do you require my assistance, after all?”
Worried that the viscount’s daughter was still abed, her maid opened the door and peeked into the room. Reflexively, Emma turned her head to check the time on the wall clock. It wouldn’t be long until the carriage arrived to pick her up.
“I’m fine. I’ll prepare myself in a flash!”
Despite not having a handle on the situation, she did understand the need to rush. Setting aside the myriad questions in her mind, Emma opened her closet.
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“EMMA… The time has finally arrived, hm? Oh, dear, I’ll be so lonely without you, darling. Whatever will I do?”
Eyes moist, her mother stood outside in the driveway to see her off. In the Monarchy of Reauxvil, entering the Magic Academy meant standing on the cusp of independence. After attending the school for three years and living on its grounds, many graduates immediately took their first real steps into adulthood, whether they moved into the lodgings provided by their desired employers or married.
Which explained her mother’s sentimental reaction. It stemmed from her thinking that her daughter would follow this path like everyone else. Emma had been under the same impression until yesterday, so she couldn’t blame her. She resisted the masochistic urge to blurt out that, in four years, she would be moving back into Seagrove Manor after the debacle of her failed engagement. Instead, she replied calmly.
“Mother, it pains me, too, to be separated from you. Look after yourself, won’t you? I need you to be hale and hearty when I come back during long recesses.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Make sure you eat and rest properly, hm?”
Her mother wrapped Emma in a tight, warm hug. A great deal of her confusion magically disappeared thanks to her mother’s affection. She was fifteen again, back home. At this age, she could be forgiven for wanting to be spoiled by her loving mother during a tough time. Emma was within her rights to moan and groan about a disaster.
That’s right. The first time I experienced this day, I left home weeping like a banshee. Oh, how nostalgic.
When her mother reluctantly released her, Emma boarded the coach. From Seagrove Manor, it would take a little over an hour to reach the Magic Academy, where students from all over the country keen on studying magic would gather. But the Seagrove seat of residence was in the monarchy’s capital, so it was surprisingly close to the school.
Staring out the carriage’s window, Emma smiled back at her mother, who waved so frantically that she feared the woman’s hand would fall off. Once she returned her mother’s farewell gesture with one of her own, she spoke to the driver.
“The assembly’s start time has been postponed. Would you mind terribly if we took our time with the journey?”
“Understood, my lady. I’ll make sure this is a leisurely drive then.”
“Much obliged.”
Emma had a good reason for her sudden request. She wanted to test the prevailing theory of time magic that stated, “Even if one travels back in time, history has the power to correct itself, so it is impossible to change what has already occurred.” For the rare individuals who possessed an affinity for time magic, they had one primary role—to travel however many months into the future to verify which existing policy measures should be executed. They were forbidden from traveling into the past.
I remember learning about how, a long time ago, the government would send time travelers on missions decades into the future. Honestly, it sounds terrifying and overwhelming. I’m glad the king doesn’t consider dramatic time leaps like that worthwhile.
Incidentally, the Magic Academy had eight dormitories, separated by gender. The first time Emma attended, she’d been assigned to dormitory number five. Coincidentally, her room had been right next to Annette’s, and she had spent those three years in school looking after her flighty, unreliable friend.
If my memory serves me correctly, dorm rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. In my first go at life, I arrived at the Academy with plenty of time to spare. Let’s see what happens when I change the timing a bit.
In four years, she would lose both her fiancé and closest friend anyway, so she might as well enjoy this opportunity to her heart’s content. Which included the desire to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming “A lady’s maid as strong, kind, and amazing as Sunny.” That was why Emma needed to know whether or not it truly was impossible to meddle with the past.
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“LADY Emma Grace Seagrove, yes? Cutting it extremely close, aren’t we?”
She stood in the special reception area for dormitory students set up at the Magic Academy’s front entrance. An older girl manning the desk, most likely her upperclassman, spoke bluntly to Emma. She had planned on only changing her original arrival time by a small amount but reached the school just before check-in ended for on-campus students. Flustered, she bowed her head in embarrassment.
“I-I apologize for my tardiness.”
“Right then. You’re assigned to dormitory building number eight.” She gave off the air of a by-the-book honor student. Summarily ignoring Emma’s apology, she instructed Emma in a peevish tone, indicating her annoyance over the girl’s lateness.
“Th-Thank you…”
“Once you enter your room, please change into the provided school uniform. Additionally, bedding and such will be distributed before nightfall, so make sure you’re in your room then. As far as dinner… Excuse me, are you listening?”
Emma didn’t register a single one of the rapid-fire instructions being hurled her way. Dormitory eight. Different from the first time. Instead of answering the older girl’s question, she asked one of her own.
“Um, begging your pardon… But could you tell me which dormitory Annette Du Julian is in?”
“Fine,” she huffed, running her eyes down the list. A moment later, one of the lines on the white piece of paper glowed brightly.
“Annette Du Julian is in dormitory number five.”
“Thank you very much.”
Not only was she not in the room next to Annette’s, she had also been assigned a room in a different building. She didn’t have much evidence, but so far, the commonly accepted theory regarding travel into the past was proving to be wrong. The past could be changed. Which made her certain that everything she would learn from now on at the Magic Academy would most certainly come in handy.
Registration complete, Emma picked up her bags and prepared to walk toward her dormitory. Two male students trotted over to her from the broad tree-lined path that led to all the lodgings.
“Won’t you tell me your name?”
“Here, allow me to assist you with your luggage.”
Oh, it’s them. Normally, she would have greeted them politely. Except Emma knew they both had fiancées. Not only that, they also had a reputation for hitting on new female students every year.
“No, thank you,” she responded. “Might I ask why you gentlemen are here in the first place? Considering boys are not allowed to enter the girls’ dormitories.”
“Ah… Um, right you are, miss.”
They recoiled at Emma’s emotionless smile—which could be more aptly described as a baring of teeth. Surprise replaced the surly expression on the older girl’s face when she witnessed this interaction. A beat later, impressed by Emma’s no-nonsense attitude, she offered her one piece of advice.
“Dormitory eight is right by the first side path from the main avenue. Take that turn, and you’ll see the building.”
“Thank you again!”
Beaming at her upperclasswoman, Emma curtsied before strolling to her new home.