“Are you sure you’ll be okay, Mel? If anything happens, let me know right away.”
It was the day we were to officially enter the Imperial Academy, and the archduke, unable to hide his distress, came to see us off.
“Ho-ho… I’ll be fine, Grandfather. I have Hugh with me, so there’s no need to worry.” Melza tried soothing him as she stifled a giggle.
“Mmm. Yes, indeed…,” the archduke murmured, though he still seemed somewhat on edge.
Ah-ha-ha… He sure is a sweet old man when it comes to his family.
“Rest assured I’ll look out for her, Your Grace,” I said. “Besides, today is just the entrance ceremony. You’ll be able to watch over us from the audience.”
“Mmm. Indeed. But—”
“Come on, Grandfather!” Melza said, finally snapping. “Unlike most students, we’ll be commuting every day from our family’s residence in the capital. There’s no need to fret like this!”
It was just as she said. The sons and daughters of most members of the aristocracy were expected to live in dormitories on the Imperial Academy’s grounds until their graduation. Melza and I, however, had been granted a special dispensation permitting us to commute from House Woodstock’s secondary residence.
“Ha-ha… Like I said, all we’re doing today is attending the entrance ceremony and meeting our class,” I assured him.
“I-indeed… I’m counting on you, Hugo. Do you understand?” He sounded like he might cry at any moment.
“Yes. Melza is safe with me!” I reassured him, raising a hand to my chest.
Thanks to the archduke pulling some strings, Melza and I had even been placed in the same class.
“We’ll be off, then,” the two of us said together.
“Yes, indeed! I’ll see you both at the ceremony!” The archduke waved frantically, as if he might never see us again.
“Grandfather isn’t taking this very well, is he?” Melza said with a sigh.
“Ha-ha… It just goes to show how much he cares about you.”
“I suppose so, but still…” She glanced at the archduke through the carriage window and sighed again. “I’m glad we’ll be able to spend our mornings together as we commute, though.”
“Yes, me too.” I smiled and squeezed her hand.
Over the course of my past six lifetimes, I had only ever been able to enter the academy as Louis’s double. This time, I was attending under my own name, in the company of the love of my life. Nothing could have made me happier.
“By the way,” Melza said, changing the subject. “Won’t your brother be at the academy, too…?”
“He will…”
We exchanged worried glances, our shoulders drooping in unison.
Since Louis was only six months younger than I was, he and I would be in the same year at school. The mere thought of him looking at Melza with those lecherous eyes of his had my blood boiling.
“…But if push comes to shove, I’ll make him disappear.”
“Oh-ho… No, Hugh. We’re going to exact revenge on all of them properly,” Melza chided me with a soft chuckle. “We must bide our time for now. Until then, let’s enjoy school life. What do you say, Hugh?”
“Of course. I’m looking forward to spending my days with you at the academy.”
“Yes… Me too…”
As the carriage traveled on, we stared deep into each other’s eyes, our hands clasped tightly together.
“Oh! There it is!”
It wasn’t long before the Imperial Academy came into view outside the carriage window.
Just as one would expect from an institute founded by the former king—Archduke Woodstock’s elder brother—it had a regal air about it.
Soon, the carriage came to a stop.
“Shall we disembark?”
“Let’s.”
I stepped out first, taking Melza’s hand to help her down the step.
“Here you go,” I said, holding out a parasol to shield her from the sun.
“Oh-ho… Thank you.”
With that, we started off toward the school building.
Ha-ha… The other students are all watching us, boys and girls alike.
“…Look at those girls staring at you… It leaves a rotten taste in my mouth,” Melza grumbled.
“It’s the young men I’m worried about. They’re all gazing at you so covetously.”
It was true that Melza was utterly dazzling, but there wasn’t a hint of discretion in the boys’ vulgar looks. Not only that, but students had to be at least fifteen years old to enter the academy in the first place, which meant that more than half of them probably already had fiancées of their own.
“…Don’t the nobles in this country have any decency, any common sense?” I wondered out loud.
“That’s a good question. It only goes to show how rare your kindhearted sincerity is, Hugh.”
“I could say the same about you. You’re so beautiful even the goddess herself must be envious, yet you have eyes only for me…”
I really meant it—I had never known such happiness before my seventh life.
“My, my… Ho-ho. How can I resist temptation with you looking at me like that…?”
Blushing, Melza peered up at me, her deep crimson eyes glistening in the morning light.
“Ha-ha… Sorry, but I think we’ll have to wait until we’re back at the mansion. Will you be able to hold out?”
“Ngh… How cruel…” She pouted ever so slightly and averted her gaze.
Ah, even her gestures are unbelievably cute.
Not long after that, a handsome young man with blond wavy hair and golden eyes approached us wearing a refreshing grin.
“Huh… So you’re Lord Woodstock’s granddaughter?”
I knew his face from a past life. This was Ernest von Southenklein—the second imperial prince, and from this day forth, our classmate.