Rosewood Academy was a school. Naturally, one had to study, and there were also exams. This was my second time around at the academy, but I didn’t remember minute details from sixteen years ago. I vaguely remembered that I had attended some classes, but that was all. Besides, I didn’t study much in my previous life; my house had to hire several private tutors. They all worked hard to educate me, and I barely managed a passing score.
In my current life, I wanted to act as a genteel lady, so I took a page out of Eleanor’s book and studied diligently. In my previous timeline, Eleanor hadn’t just been a saintess; she excelled in her studies and was consistently at the top of her class. In this life, I was at the top, and she was second. I’d had the mind of an eighteen-year-old girl since I was a kid and decided to study as early as that—it was only natural that I excelled. Just below Eleanor were Oscar and Isabel. The two boasted very good grades as well.
Alice and Lewis were in different classes, and thus their exams also differed from mine. However, they were at the top of the sorcery and clergy classes respectively. Richard and Emma weren’t good at their studies, but they scored very high on practical exams. After all, they were stronger than the knight class teachers. Even if they exhibited poor behavior, they were praised for their combat prowess.
In any case, we all stood out in our own way, and those who stood out tended to be targets of jealousy from others. In my case, several factions secretly formed an alliance against a common enemy—me. Their slogan was: “Overthrow Serena!”
While these factions meant to act in secret, Oscar and Isabel sniffed them all out right away. The two took advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses and had allies all throughout the academy who acted as spies. This network allowed them to gather information efficiently.
Richard became the first target of the Overthrow Serena Alliance. He was large and acted cocky. If Richard, clearly the brawn of my group, disappeared, this alliance assumed that they could easily take care of me.
“They’re fools,” Oscar sneered. “They don’t realize that the true threat is you, Lady Serena.”
Uh, I’m not really sure about treating your master as a dangerous threat, buddy, I thought.
The alliance’s plan was to get Richard alone, and ten people would strike to catch him off guard. They also planned to use real blades as their weapons. This was dangerous…for our assailants.
“I can’t hold back against real swords,” Richard said.
He gave a strained smile when he overheard the plan. We’d faced monsters hundreds of times, and frankly, even if the students used actual blades, they were hardly a threat. However, knowing that they were going to use real weapons, we couldn’t hold back either. Richard was a man who could take down a monster with his bare hands. If he went all out, his opponents would surely die. That wasn’t ideal.
“Quietly crush your enemies and don’t kill them,” I ordered.
✦ ✦ ✦
The ten knight-class students gathered by the Overthrow Serena Alliance assembled in a storehouse. There, they would receive their swords for the fight. The storehouse was in a corner of the academy grounds and was usually used as a storage space for armor and wooden training swords. The interior was dimly lit and had a unique, musty smell.
The ten students glanced around the storehouse, but the blades that they had been promised were nowhere to be seen. They looked about dubiously, puzzled by this, when the back entrance door closed with a deafening thud. The sound echoed ominously throughout the storehouse. Bewildered, the students whirled around and saw Richard standing in front of the door, blocking the only way out.
“Hey there,” Richard said. “Personally, I wouldn’t have minded if you used real blades, but Lady Serena was worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back and I’d end up killing you guys. You’d best appreciate her kindness and benevolence. Oh, but you can use wooden swords if you wish. I can take that sort of handicap.”
He cracked his knuckles and slowly walked forward. The students were in a state of confusion as they each grabbed a wooden sword. Unfortunately, the outcome of the match had already been decided.
Meanwhile, the ringleaders of the alliance were utterly decimated by Isabel and Oscar. Isabel took one of the male students captive and leaned close to his ear.
“Lady Serena is very benevolent,” she whispered. “If you join me while you can, I’m certain that she will offer you her forgiveness. Ah, before I forget, I picked these up from the storehouse earlier. Are these yours, by any chance?”
She showed him ten student ID cards bearing the names of those from the knight class who were supposed to ambush Richard. The cards were smeared with blood. The captive student was the heir of a marquess. He normally had a cocky attitude, but he turned pale as a ghost and nodded vigorously. Meanwhile, Oscar employed the exact same tactic with the female students. One by one, the squires successfully had the members of the alliance defect to Serena.
Thus, the Overthrow Serena Alliance was crushed within a few days of its formation, and any other forces opposing the duke’s daughter were swiftly and definitively eradicated.