Eventually, the carriage left the cobblestone road and entered a vast area filled with gorgeous buildings. Judging from the elegant main gate, stately buildings, and beautiful gardens, Leticiel assumed that they had arrived at the academy.
Yet another waste of money… No, I should stop thinking about that, Leticiel told herself as the carriage came to a halt in front of the entrance to the main building.
A chandelier hung from the high ceilings in the entrance to Lucrezia Academy. Carpets lined the marble floors and several beautiful flags hung from the walls. Standing alone in the entrance, Leticiel murmured, “Well, I made it this far, but…”
Anyone who saw her expressionless face would think she was a cold, calm young lady, but Leticiel was actually at quite a loss. She didn’t have any of Drossell’s memories, so this was, in essence, her first time setting foot inside the academy. There was no way for her to know where she should attend her classes.
Glancing around, she caught sight of a group of adult men dressed differently from the students in one corner of the entry hall. Who could they be? she wondered. Curious, she observed them for a while and noticed that all the students who passed by would greet them. All the students here come from noble families, she realized, so those men must be very important to be greeted by them.
Thinking that they might be able to tell her where her classroom was, Leticiel immediately jogged over to the men.
“Hmm? You’re…”
“Good morning,” Leticiel greeted. “Would you be able to tell me where I should go?”
A brawny man with dark skin and short, blond hair at the center of the group turned to Leticiel as she approached, but frowned and gave her a dubious look upon hearing her question. “What? Your class is Primary Class 2, isn’t it? Just go there,” the man responded, exasperated.
Leticiel stared blankly at him, hoping he would say more. She wished she could admit that she didn’t know how to get there, but when it seemed like he wasn’t going to give her an answer, she looked around and found a map of the campus hanging on a wall.
From what she could gather, the school building was three stories tall and was built around a central courtyard. Leticiel blinked at the classrooms lining each of the floors, the likes of which she had never seen before.
“Don’t tell me you seriously don’t know where your classroom is. What a joke,” the man snapped in an irritated tone, having lost his patience after he saw the way Leticiel stared intently at the map.
“Yes, I genuinely do not know.” The man’s anger was exchanged for shock at Leticiel’s unashamed and nonchalant response.
“You’re in the same class as your sister, so why don’t you go with her?” the man suggested with an exasperated tone.
“Oh, that’s one way of doing things!” Leticiel clapped in realization, oblivious to what he was thinking.
“Ah! Drossell!” At that exact moment, Christa came running in the front entrance, looking flustered. Come to think of it, Leticiel’s carriage had passed hers on the road, so Christa had arrived later. “What in the world was going on with your carriage earlier? I’ve never seen a carriage go so fa–”
“Perfect timing, Christa. I’ve completely forgotten how to get to class, so would you go with me?” After giving the man who had given her advice a small bow, Leticiel started walking without waiting for confirmation from Christa.
Cut off mid-sentence, Christa’s gaze flitted around in a panic, but she also bowed to the man before chasing after her sister. She seemed to have lost the right timing to ask questions, walking slightly ahead of Leticiel after having caught up but glancing back at her now and again. Leticiel ignored her, pretending not to notice. She didn’t want Christa to ask about the carriage because she couldn’t let information slip when she still didn’t have a firm grasp on her own situation.
“Um, this is our classroom,” Christa said, stopping in front of a room with a placard that said Primary Class 2. Christa stared at Leticiel with eyes that were both frightened and confused. An awkward silence fell between them as they stood in front of the classroom. It was similar to the silence that had fallen between Leticiel and Ruvik at the manor. Christa finally broke it by asking, “Drossell, what is—”
“I simply forgot. Don’t worry about it.”
“O-Okay.”
Forcefully pushing the idea that she had simply forgotten the classroom’s location, Leticiel placed her hand on the door and opened it without a moment’s hesitation.
Countless pairs of eyes all turned to the door, their gazes changing when they saw that it was Leticiel standing there.
“Hey, the ice demon is here,” someone whispered quietly.
“That appearance, and her icy expression… She’s so creepy.”
Some students looked away immediately, as if to avoid being noticed. Others’ eyes turned condescending and insulting, while some of them even glared at her like she was their enemy. It seemed as if she was referred to as an “ice demon” here.
Leticiel entered the room, accepting the various gazes with a cool expression. She had abandoned the notion of sadness, and though she took note of how many people were staring at her, their gazes didn’t affect her in the slightest. She had become emotionally numb.
“Good morning, everyone.” Unlike Leticiel, who was wondering what she should do next now that she had made it to the classroom, Christa greeted their classmates with a cute smile.
Come to think of it, why was Christa in the same class as her even though Christa was younger? Were they twins? Or had one of them been born late in the year and the other born early? Not that it mattered much to Leticiel.
“Hey, Drossell Noa Filiaregis.” Leticiel had been gazing blankly at Christa when she heard a displeased voice come from behind the other girl. Shifting her gaze, she saw a young man with mint-colored hair and fiery red eyes. He looked headstrong, and there was a clear hint of contempt in his gaze.
“Thank you.” For teaching me my full name, Leticiel added mentally. The young man gaped at the sudden words of thanks.
“Y-Your Royal Highness Rocheford!” Christa said, surprised by his sudden appearance.
Since she had used the title “Your Royal Highness,” this impudent-looking Rocheford fellow must be a prince of this country. In her mind, Leticiel elevated him from someone who looked like trouble to someone who would be trouble.
Suddenly, Leticiel noticed that there were a number of young men standing behind Rocheford as well. Since they were glaring at her too, they were probably the prince’s followers. Which meant they were all men of a fairly high status. Getting involved with them would only cause trouble, so she would do her best to avoid them…
“…ey. Hey! Are you listening?!” Rocheford’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
Leticiel’s brow furrowed a bit as she responded. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“Wha…?! You’ve got a lot of nerve, acting that way toward your fiancé!”
Leticiel was deeply puzzled as to why Rocheford was still angry and trying to grab her even though she had properly apologized, but what he said kept looping through her mind. Fiancé. She definitely hadn’t misheard him.
“Your Highness, please stop!”
“Christa… Sorry. I lost my temper, but thanks to your beauty and kindness, my rage has been tempered.”
“Oh… Please don’t say that sort of thing, Prince Rocheford.”
“Christa…”
Right in front of her, Rocheford gazed at Drossell’s sister in admiration while Christa blushed, embarrassed. He clearly hated Drossel but had feelings for Christa, and Christa didn’t seem completely opposed.
My current fiancé is a man who openly cheats in front of me? Leticiel’s partner in her previous life had been a kind man who had only loved her. It seemed like in this life, she was struggling with both her familial and romantic relationships. Well, it doesn’t matter to me, so I’ll leave them to it.
Leticiel ignored Rocheford and Christa, who were still staring at each other, and looked for an empty seat, finding one in the last row. “Is this seat available?” she asked the brown-haired young lady sitting next to it.
“Y-Yes!” the girl squeaked, flinching and hunching in on herself. Leticiel thought her frightened reaction was a little strange, but she quickly lost interest.
She sat down and faced forward, but for some reason Rocheford and his followers were still glaring at her. Leticiel had graciously ignored him since it had seemed like he was in his own little world with Christa, so what on Earth could have possibly displeased him? It just didn’t make sense to Leticiel. But she soon stopped caring about that as well, averting her gaze from Rocheford and the others.