IT was spring.
Cesia had been called out behind one of the Academy buildings, and several ladies surrounded her.
“You’re just a commoner, but you’re so shameless!”
“Don’t get so full of yourself just because the prince was your reference!”
Receiving insults from all sides, Cesia, this time with her natural black hair and purple eyes, sighed deeply.
“Haah… This time, I thought I’d be able to spend my time peacefully studying…”
“Remember, the nail that sticks out gets hammered. Talent can be a curse, Cesia!” Maria interjected. At some point, she had appeared next to Cesia, and the ladies were staring.
“Why are you here? Don’t you have work to be doing? Poor Chris,” Cesia said.
“I’m just taking a break! Besides, you get lonely when I’m not around, don’t you, Cesia?”
“No, I don’t have time to feel lonely. These girls won’t leave me alone.”
“You’re so popular… It almost makes me jealous.”
Cesia sighed again, fed up with the energetic yet ephemerally beautiful woman—who was actually a prince.
Because Prince Marcus was her guardian, she was expected to be at the top of her class when she was readmitted. So, after a long, intense period of study to fulfill that ridiculous request, she retook the entrance exams and restarted her life at the Academy as the top student in her year.
This was her second time as a student, so Cesia took advantage of the opportunity by choosing a different academic course from Selene. Because of that, she had to restart from the beginning. Additionally, her scholarship covered all sorts of fees, including the price of her tuition and her housing, so she had to maintain her high grades to keep it. She was always busy, but compared to before, she had something to call her own, and being able to focus on her studies was like heaven.
And, when Maria felt like it, she would show up.
“Isn’t it no longer necessary for you to come here?” Cesia asked dryly.
“How cruel! I have a fantastic reason: I came to see you!” Maria said indignantly, putting a hand on her hip.
Ick, Cesia stuck out her tongue when she saw Maria’s cutesy gesture. “You know who you are, right? The whole country would cry if they saw this!”
The fact that the handsome, intelligent second prince is like this has to be a national secret. Cesia worried for her life if she ever accidentally exposed it.
After the graduation party, Raymond’s fraud came to light, and even his affairs with various female students became widely known. Due to that, and because Selene attacked the prince’s partner, their engagement was called off. Both sides blamed the other, and the Chaser and Diane families were still fighting over who was liable for the damages. Selene gained a reputation for being violent and couldn’t keep up appearances in capital high society, so, together with her father, who was guilty of sending Cesia to the Academy in Selene’s place, they left the capital.
The surrounding ladies began to make a fuss as they grew impatient with Cesia and Maria’s continued squabbling.
“Just wait one second! Stop ignoring us!”
“That’s right! This is exactly why you’re shameless!”
Their clamoring was cute, like a flock of singing birds, compared to the emotional damage Cesia incurred from Maria’s looks and Marcus’s personality. She sighed again, recomposing herself as she turned to face the ladies with a cheerful smile.
“You’ve got some nerve, thinking you can pick a fight with me.”
“Awww! Cesia, you’re so cool!” Maria shouted happily.
It was spring, and Cesia’s life had just started.
No matter who she went up against, she would resist them with all her power. That was the one thing that would never change.