Is This Right? (1)

“Ariel. If anything happens, contact home. This father will take care of it right away.”

“That’s not really necessary…”

“If you had made your debut in high society and built connections from a young age, it would be fine, but right now you have no shield other than the family name. Keep this in mind and always be cautious.”

“Yes.”

“…Are you sure I can’t go with you?”

“Of course not.”

Even so, following me all the way to the Academy is a bit much, isn’t it? Even now, the carriage is unnecessarily luxurious, almost like it’s advertising, “The person riding in this is no ordinary individual, so be careful.” It’s extremely bothersome.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Alright. Take care.”

With those doting words until the end, I was finally able to get into the carriage. F-Finally, I’m free…

Today is finally the day I enter Milano Academy. Shortly after taking the exam, the news of my acceptance came, along with documents listing necessary items and precautions, so I’ve been busy preparing for admission for a while.

And Father, as if awakening to late doting, has been constantly pouring out words of concern while helping with my admission preparations.

No, at first I was just listening thinking it was natural, but as it went on, it started to become increasingly annoying… I wonder if he’s going through late puberty. Considering my mental age, I should be well past puberty and more like a mature aunt.

Uncle? Aunt?

Whatever. I don’t even know anymore. What does it matter, this way or that way.

You can’t bring servants to the Academy. So even if they come along, they have to be sent back the moment we arrive at the Academy, but Muriel said she was anxious and wanted to see me off until my admission. Come on, I’m not a child, is there really a need to do that?

Of course, Muriel is older than me, but I’m 18 now. I’m a perfect adult by this world’s standards. By my previous life’s standards, I might be just barely on the line considering birthdays and countries.

Anyway, the point is that I’m clearly an adult now. Plus, mentally I’m over 20 and then some, so I’m practically close to forty. Shouldn’t I have outgrown being treated like a child by now…

“If we leave the Young Miss alone, she gets anxious, so we can’t.”

Why? How come? I mean, even if you come along, servants can’t enter the Academy, right? Nothing changes even if you come! Couldn’t Muriel just think of this as a vacation and stay comfortably at the mansion, doing only the necessary tasks? Why is she so insistent on coming along? Am I that unreliable?

The reason for prohibiting servants at the Academy is, well, nothing special. First of all, the Academy basically has its own employed servants who work diligently regardless of whether the person is a commoner or a noble.

Moreover, while many of those entering are nobles, there are also clearly commoners. But if nobles use commoner servants or those from minor noble families in front of commoners just because they’re nobles? Naturally, issues of fairness would arise.

I think this is probably a setting that the author of the original novel just threw in roughly. In this era, where is there fairness between nobles and commoners?

Anyway, to conclude, even if Muriel comes along, she can’t enter the Academy and will have to return after just helping with the luggage. They said their people would take care of moving things, so there’s no inconvenience. Besides, if necessary, I can just move things myself. There’s no real reason for Muriel to come along… I wonder what she’s so anxious about.

“Young Miss. You’re not thinking of something strange again, are you?”

“Huh? What do you think I was thinking?”

“It’s the same face you made last time when you tried to do the laundry yourself.”

Ugh, that stings. But come on, it wasn’t like regular laundry, I had fallen while exercising alone and got covered in dirt and dust. When I tried to wash it myself because it felt gross, Muriel, who had been hiding somewhere, suddenly appeared and snatched it away.

I’m just not used to life as a duke’s daughter yet, it can’t be helped! Honestly, even though I’ve gotten somewhat used to it now, there are still many things that are more comfortable to do myself.

“Young Miss…”

When I remained silent, unable to respond to Muriel’s words, she started looking at me with a strange expression. Unable to meet her eyes, I slightly turned my head away.

After using the teleportation magic circle a few times and a bit of driving, the carriage soon stopped. It doesn’t feel like we’ve gone that far. At this rate, wouldn’t it be more convenient to just walk to save on oil… Oh right, this isn’t a car, it’s a carriage. The ride was so smooth I got confused for a moment.

“We’ve arrived, Young Miss.”

“Thank you.”

Following the guidance of the coachman who opened the door first and tidied up the seat, I carefully got off, and was greeted by a building so large I had to look up for quite a while.

“The Academy…”

The main building of the Imperial Milano Academy. While not as tall as modern skyscrapers, it’s still an incredibly large and tall building by this world’s standards. It’s the first time I’ve seen a building larger than our house since becoming a duke’s daughter.

“Young Miss. It seems this is as far as I go…”

As soon as I got off, servants from the Academy approached as if they had been waiting. Seeing them, Muriel muttered in a strange tone. No, even if you say that…

“Should I give them a handover about the Young Miss?”

Hey, why are you treating me like some dangerous goods?!

“Young Miss, please don’t do anything strange while I’m not around. I know you’ll have to change clothes and bathe by yourself, but make sure to leave cleaning, laundry, meals, and such to the servants! Don’t pick up and eat suspicious things, don’t pick fights with strangers…”

Am I a child?!

After much struggle, I was finally able to send Muriel back. Fortunately, no one heard our conversation, or I might have ruined my image right from the start. No, most of my conversations with Muriel are about her worrying about me, at this point I wonder if Muriel is not just a maid but a nanny.

Do I even need a nanny in the first place?! How old am I? Besides, from now on, I have to carry out the grand plan of becoming the Academy’s villainess. And yet, to be in a position of being cared for like a child… Even Mari would burst out laughing if she saw this.

Oh no, the maids are coming. I need to manage my expression.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Lady Ariel.”

“We’ll take care of your luggage.”

“Thank you.”

As I lightly greeted them, they bowed their heads as if honored and quickly took care of my luggage. With lightweight magic cast on the bags, they’re not that heavy, so it shouldn’t be too hard for them.

“Where should I go?”

“I’ll guide you.”

The only maid not carrying luggage bowed slightly and started walking ahead. I’ve seen descriptions of the Academy a few times, but… honestly, who could understand the building structure from just that?

The author didn’t describe it in that much detail, so it’s impossible to know the structure, and probably only the author themselves would know. No, maybe even the author doesn’t know. What author in the world creates settings by drawing detailed blueprints of images? That would be either a pervert or a master craftsman.

Anyway, not knowing the building structure of the Academy, the correct answer here is to quietly follow where the maid goes.

Huh? Wait a minute…

“Isn’t the auditorium that way?”

The location of the auditorium used for the entrance ceremony was in a place noticeable enough for even a first-timer like me to know. But why aren’t we going there? Surely there’s no special treatment for being a duke’s daughter… right? This is an Academy where even royalty voluntarily lives as students. If they did that, they might have their heads cut off by the Emperor shouting, “You fool!” Probably?

So when I asked the question, the maid instead asked back with an expression of incomprehension.

“Where are we going… Weren’t you informed that the top entrance students are to gather separately before entering?”

“What?”

Top entrance student? What’s that about all of a sudden?

Naturally, the Academy’s entrance exam also has top students. They come out from the entrance ceremony, get their faces known to people, receive scholarships, and might even catch the eyes of professors to become assistants.

This top student system has one person for each department, and among them, there’s one overall top student for the entire year. In the original story, Mari was the top student in the Magic Department and the overall top student for the year. Because she was a commoner who became the top student, she stood out more, and it was also why Ariel bullied her more persistently…

“You’re saying I’m the top student?”

“Did you… not receive the notification?”

There was nothing like that in the documents that came home? Father and brother looked at them too, so there’s no way there could be an error? Huh…?

Something has gone wrong.