Chapter 5-5:
Breaking Off the Engagement
MY SQUIRES CONTINUED TO WORK, DOING what they pleased to increase the power of my faction. Ever since I began their training, I had continuously told them that the real show would begin when I entered the academy. Now, I couldn’t stop them.
For instance, I spotted the students of the knight class addressing Richard with the utmost respect.
“Sir, yes, sir!” they shouted.
I pretended not to notice. My squires aren’t using the training regimen that I gave them on other, regular students, are they? I wondered. But what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t tell them “The training I gave you was meant for assassins, so you mustn’t teach it to normal people.”
In my previous life, the academy had been a place filled with elegance and grace during my time there, but now, it was gradually transforming into some sort of military.
I must be imagining things.
It came to a point where I would simply walk around the academy, and the other students would stand at attention and offer respectful salutes. They gazed at me with fervent intensity, and I couldn’t even begin to wonder just what they saw in me. With me reluctantly controlling the academy via tactics that were less than ideal, I suddenly thought about Eleanor, the actual saintess.
“Eleanor has been ridiculed as a fake saintess,” Isabel informed me. “She’s in quite the unfavorable position.”
Since I had taken the role of a pseudo-saintess, Eleanor was probably backed into a corner. She could wield light magic, yet she didn’t have any achievements to her name.
But Eleanor said that she didn’t want to become a saintess.
I recalled that in the previous timeline, Eleanor had been extremely busy and was dispatched to suppress monsters even while she attended the academy. Plus, she had a tough time even while she was in class because she became my primary target.
Is this current situation better for her?
“Get rid of anyone who tries to mess with her,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Isabel asked.
I was hailed as a saintess while Eleanor was the real deal—from an outsider’s perspective, we probably wouldn’t have shared an amicable relationship.
“I shall not permit such unsightly actions under my watch,” I ordered.
“Of course,” Isabel replied. “I shall take care of it.”
She kneeled and swiftly left to carry out my orders.
✦ ✦ ✦
A few days later, Eleanor visited my classroom. My classmates began to murmur nervously, as there were rumors that there was a rift between me and the saintess. Eleanor ignored them and walked right up to me.
“Lady Serena, thank you so very much,” Eleanor said, giving me polite words of gratitude.
I could tell through her emerald gaze and her tone that her words were genuine. She was thanking me from the bottom of her heart.
“Whatever are you on about?” I asked as I tilted my head to one side.
“You need not be concerned with it,” Eleanor replied. “I simply wanted to thank you, that’s all.”
Isabel must have skillfully dealt with the bullies, but I knew that Eleanor was astute. She had evaded my evil plans countless times in my past life—her instincts must have kicked in once again. She concluded that someone had lent her a hand.
“Eleanor, do you want to be a saintess?” I asked.
It wasn’t Eleanor who stiffened at my words but my squires.
“No,” she replied with a faint smile. “I am a timid coward and terrified of fighting against monsters.”
I brought my lips close to her ear. “I see. But you must find your resolve soon. When you graduate, you will take the role of saintess.”
Eleanor looked perplexed. “Lady Serena?”
“Enjoy your time at the academy.”
With a wave of my hand, I signaled that the conversation was over. I didn’t redo my life to become a saintess—my initial goal had been to fight Eleanor. But if she wasn’t looking for a fight, there was no need to force one. How comical it would be for a woman in her mid-thirties to clash with a teenage girl.
Eleanor left the classroom. I had taken complete control of the academy and stolen the position of saintess from her. She could no longer claim my fiancé for herself. I had accomplished all that I wanted, but I still felt an emptiness in my heart. I didn’t feel fulfilled. There was something in my previous life that I lacked in the current timeline, but I had no idea what that was.
✦ ✦ ✦
Months went by. Academy life progressed smoothly. I went up to the third year, and Oscar and Isabel took firm control of the freshmen. No one dared to oppose me. The only curious issue was that Crown Prince Edward seemed to be becoming close to Eleanor.
“You burn too brightly, Lady Serena,” Oscar surmised. “The two have lost their glow. I’m sure they can relate to each other in that respect. I suppose losers tend to stick together.”
His words were harsh. Eleanor was considerate towards me and set boundaries with His Highness, but it seemed Prince Edward was quite enamored with her.
I see, I thought. I guess history can’t change so easily.
But the situation was different. I hadn’t bullied Eleanor, and the students of the academy submitted to me. I couldn’t be so easily condemned now. The others would no longer betray me. Even if they did, I was confident that I could single-handedly silence them all.
“Your orders?” Oscar asked, his dark pupils flickering with malice. If I ordered him to kill them, I knew he wouldn’t hesitate against the saintess or the crown prince.
“Leave them be,” I commanded.
No longer did I have any attachment to the throne or to my engagement. But just because I refused the role of queen didn’t mean that the people around me would allow it.
What are those two planning? I wondered.
Oscar only nodded silently at my order.
✦ ✦ ✦
A few months later, I was summoned by my father. He said that he wanted to speak to me regarding confidential matters. The moment I entered his room, he shooed everyone else out so we could be left alone. My father smiled as he always did, but his expression seemed a bit forced.
Is the engagement off? I thought. I didn’t think that was possible when I took into account the balance of power between the royal family and the duke.
“Crown Prince Edward has called for the cancelation of your engagement,” my father told me. “He said, ‘I’m not worthy of Lady Serena. In exchange, he has agreed to abdicate the role of crown prince.”
I’d expected the engagement to be canceled, but I hadn’t thought that the crown prince would actually step down from his role. Simply put, whether it be in the past or present, Prince Edward was in love with Eleanor.
“What are His Majesty’s plans?” I asked, shocked by my own lack of surprise. In fact, I was tempted to laugh.
“His Majesty has stated that he would make his second son, Prince Felix, the crown prince instead,” my father said. “The king has asked if you’d like to marry Prince Felix.”
Prince Felix was a whole decade younger than Prince Edward—the second-eldest prince was around seven right now. It wasn’t odd for a man to marry a woman who was ten years younger than him, but I had never heard of a woman marrying a much younger man. Though I would be with the future king, this was a bit too forced.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I pushed a much older woman onto Prince Felix,” I said. “Please tell His Majesty that Prince Edward doesn’t need to abdicate his role as crown prince.”
“Are you sure?” my father asked as he peered at me inquisitively. The smile had faded from his face—a rare sight.
“If I try that hard to become queen, I shall only become the people’s laughingstock,” I said. “With this ordeal, the royal family will be in our debt. Why don’t you use this cancelation of my engagement as a bargaining chip to request another plot of land? That may be the perfect compromise to maintain appearances.”
“Hmm…” my father said. His gaze shifted to the ground as he pondered for a few moments. “You’re right. Very well. His Majesty seemed desperate to bring you into the royal family, but with the current influence that House Rosenberg wields, there’s no need for us to force ties with them.”
He ended the discussion with his usual hearty laughter. If the saintess with no accomplishments became queen instead of me, the royal family’s power would only grow weaker.
I planned to have Eleanor fulfill her proper role when she graduated. I didn’t expect our house to lose power or influence when that happened. In any case, I no longer cared much for the saintess or the crown prince.