“I shall start by offering my conclusion,” Isabel reported. “Lady Serena, you have quite the positive reputation.”
Isabel returned around noon bearing news. As a side note, my treatment had been the same all morning—no one dared to come close to me. Even during classes, there were open seats around me. In my past life, people had crowded around me to the point where it became annoying. Students had once lined up eagerly to offer their greetings with hopes that I’d remember their names.
“If I have such a positive reputation, why won’t anyone approach me?” I asked.
“I can only assume that it is rather difficult to approach you,” Isabel replied. “There have also been several anecdotes circulating within the populace about you defeating monsters. I believe that has struck fear in some.”
“Anecdotes? Like what?”
“Do you remember the time you defeated the goblins?”
“I do.”
I wasn’t sure if the goblins had come from elsewhere and then propagated in the region, but there was an area within the kingdom teeming with those monsters. There were so many of them that I borrowed the assistance of the territory’s lord, and we wiped out the goblins together.
“The goblins had hidden themselves in the forest, and Lady Serena, do you remember when you burned everything in sight?” Isabel asked. “You said, ‘Whoever flees is a goblin! Whoever doesn’t flee is a crafty goblin!’ Ultimately, you reduced the entire forest to ashes.”
In my defense, we did search for goblins diligently and cut down whatever we found. But midway through, I got too lazy, so I burned everything. The mountain and the forest were reduced to cinders, and I transformed half of the entire landscape into a charred, barren wasteland. I even went out of my way to slaughter every goblin, but the lord gave me a snarky remark.
“I’m shocked that you can kill women and children, even if they’re goblins,” he said.
I saw red. “It’s quite easy to do because they aren’t very nimble,” I snapped. “I wonder if the same could be said for you as well?”
The lord was quite plump and clearly wasn’t the athletic type. I summoned a flame atop the palm of my hand. The blood drained from his face, and he fled.
It felt good to see his reaction. Wait… Are these anecdotes…?
“Did my words from that mission make the rounds?” I asked cautiously.
“Precisely,” Isabel replied. “You’re well known for showing no mercy, even against women and children.”
What kind of world would let me have a positive reputation?!
✦ ✦ ✦
Several days passed, and still no one dared to approach my side. This meant that I couldn’t do anything and could no longer exact my revenge. Deep down, however, I realized that there was a part of me that felt relieved. Sixteen years was far too long to keep a grudge.
I was internally in my mid-thirties; I no longer had the passion to recklessly charge ahead with no thoughts about the future, as I’d once done in my youth. I isolated myself from my peers and was able to observe life at the academy. There were students—still children in my eyes—who did their best to mimic adults within this tiny ecosystem. They had their minor skirmishes and struggled for power. These kids were still in their teens and probably thought that these sorts of battles were enticing in a way.
In my previous life, I had taken advantage of my status as the duke’s daughter to force people to do what I wanted. Now, I was reflecting on what I’d done.
Thinking back, I led such an empty and meaningless life.
All of my relationships had been superficial. No one truly cared or thought about me.
Can you truly say that? said a tiny voice inside my head. For a split second, something flashed in my head. Did I just imagine that?
In any case, this life where I was receiving a second chance wasn’t all bad. I had my six squires who shared an inseverable bond, and I was decently content with my days.
There’s a chance that my squires might be miserable, though…
I felt like everything in my previous life ought to be left in the past. It was more important to live in the present and cherish each day.
“You all may do as you please,” I commanded.
I had initially planned to use my squires as tools for revenge, but they were in their teens now as well. No doubt they had stuff that they wished to do, and there was no need for them to always stay by me. My squires quietly nodded at my words.
From the following day onward, my squires took turns watching over me as the rest went off on their own.
And that’s just fine.
Never could I have predicted what was to come.
✦ ✦ ✦
As the days passed, I attended school as usual. Then, one day, I spotted two neat rows of students waiting for me at the gates. The moment they spotted me, they all kneeled.
“Good morning, Lady Serena!” they called out.
Excuse me? I thought. I was frozen with bewilderment when one of my squires approached me.
“Lady Serena, we’ve taken a majority of the first years under our control,” Oscar whispered. “We’ll soon take over the entire academy. I hope for your patience until then.”
Indeed, I had made a fatal error. My squires were also in their teens, and I had forgotten that they also loved power games just like any other child their age.