A week had passed since Melza and I entered the Imperial Academy, and I was finally growing accustomed to my new daily life.
I may have spent a great deal of time there as Louis’s stand-in, but I still found every new day to be fresh and full of joy. There was one big reason for that, of course.
“Ho-ho. That business administration class sure was interesting, don’t you think?”
This time around, I got to take classes with the woman of my dreams. How could I not love every minute? What’s more, I got to see Melza displaying all sorts of new emotions and mannerisms I never saw back at the mansion… Each time, I felt like I was discovering a new side of her, and it only made my love blossom even stronger.
“Yes. But our next class…,” I murmured, hesitating.
Her expression clouded slightly. Unfortunately, we had to split up for our next lesson. I was taking swordsmanship, while Melza was studying magic.
“…Be careful, Melza. We don’t want anyone catching on to your true identity.”
“I know… But don’t worry. I’ll do my best not to stand out…”
Melza’s magic was top-notch, as one would expect from a half vampire, so I doubted anyone would be able to see through her illusion spells. All the same, her instructor was highly proficient. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
“…I wish I had an aptitude for magic. Then I could accompany and protect you…”
“Hugh… Your feelings alone are enough. More importantly, I want you to do your best in your own class.” She flashed me an encouraging grin.
“Ha-ha… Your grandfather himself mentored me. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh-ho. I see, I see.”
At last, it was time for us to go our separate ways.
“See you after class, then,” she said.
“Be careful, Melza…”
“I will.”
With regret in my heart, I saw her off before making my way to the training grounds for my swordsmanship class. I was certainly worried about Melza… But at the same time, I was also looking forward to this lesson.
During my second life, I had received a decent amount of praise from Professor Monica for my swordsmanship. This time around, I would have the chance to show her the skills I had picked up from the archduke. That said, Professor Monica couldn’t possibly know the events of my past life, so it would only be for my own satisfaction.
I was late leaving the classroom, so I had the dressing room all to myself as I changed into my training clothes before making my way out onto the grounds.
The other students were already there relaxing, swinging their wooden practice blades, and chatting idly. I spotted Prince Ernest and his two hangers-on among them.
As the son of the Imperial Guard’s commander, Silas might have been in his element here, but Gene would probably have been better off in magic class. He had always been more of the brainy type. Not that it was any of my business, of course.
In classes like this, it was important to divide students into groups based on their proficiency and social rank. After all, it wouldn’t be fair for the son of a baron or baronet to be pitted against someone of much higher status. And of course, if anyone were to be injured, it could lead to serious consequences.
“Everyone, gather up!” Professor Monica called out. As instructed, the students lined up in formation. “Today marks our first practical swordsmanship class. We’ll start with a bunch of one-on-one practice bouts to gauge everyone’s skill level.”
At this, the other students started buzzing with excitement. Now, that was unexpected. Was she really planning to pit us against one another right from the get-go?
“All right, then. You and you, face each other. Everyone else, line up behind them. But hold on… The first bout’s always the most exciting, so I’ll go ahead and pick the participants myself.”
“…?!”
The professor’s comments were enough to send the students into even more of a tizzy. Who did she plan to pick? This was our very first class. There was no way she could know what anyone’s proficiency level was…
“Step forward when I call your name. Ernest von Southenklein.”
“Here,” the prince answered, stepping forward with an invigorating grin.
As one might guess from his confident reply, he was the strongest fighter in Class 1-A, aside from myself, of course. I figured Silas would probably be chosen as his opponent…
“And facing him, Hugo Grenville.”
…Huh?!
“Hurry up, Hugo.”
“R-right…”
Hearing my name all of a sudden shocked me. Reluctantly, I stepped forward at the professor’s urging. There was no way the prince or anyone else could have been aware of my abilities…
“Heh… It seems you and I are fated to keep crossing paths.” The prince smiled at me.
“…It does,” I answered brusquely.
His two cronies stared at me disapprovingly, no doubt annoyed by my curt attitude.
“Ready yourselves!” shouted the professor.
At her signal, the prince and I both raised our wooden practice swords.
“Begin!”
“…?!”
The moment we were given permission to start, I closed the distance between myself and the prince and lashed out with my practice blade, cutting the movement short just before the tip could reach his neck.
There was no way any student at the academy could match me—not with the empire’s most gifted fighter as my personal mentor.
“Mmm… Hugo wins,” Professor Monica announced quietly.
At her words, I withdrew my weapon.
“Hah… Ha-ha… I was utterly outmaneuvered…” The prince’s mouth twitched. Evidently, he hadn’t expected the contest to be so one-sided.
“……”
His two cronies didn’t take his loss quite so well, however. Both of them were glaring daggers at me, like they’d just added me to the top of their hit list.
“Hugo,” someone called out suddenly.
“Yes?” I glanced around to find Professor Monica staring farther back into the grounds.