episode_0021

Our scores were quite similar.

I scored 475 points, while Alice scored 492 points. Together, we exceeded the passing score by a large margin.

For me, this score was quite surprising. It was natural for me to have made more mistakes, but Alice, who entered the game with 487 points, received an even higher score. Although her score in the game was never low, the Alice in front of me had achieved an even higher score.

“Impressive, Your Highness.”

I said. There might have been a hint of emotion in my voice, but it wasn’t something to dwell on. I had occasionally shown subtle emotions in front of Alice before. Well, the reason I went to the academy in the first place was to meet the original protagonists and heroines, so it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more open in front of Alice.

And I would continue to see her face, so it would be difficult to keep hiding.

I still needed to be cautious in front of the emperor and his children, though.

“Hmm….”

However, Alice’s reaction was somewhat different from what I had expected. The tone of her “hmm” was much lower. Unlike her usual cheerful tone, it sounded more like she was openly doubting me.

With narrowed eyes, Alice looked at me and said, “Is this really your true ability?”

I was caught off guard.

“You said it was easier than the mock exam when you bet on the results that day. But instead of improving, your score dropped. Isn’t that unbelievable? Especially coming from someone as meticulous as you.”

Silence.

Hmm.

I was caught red-handed.

“Did you deliberately score lower than me?”

Silence.

Hmm.

She definitely wasn’t just the emperor’s daughter. It seemed like talent had been passed down to her.

Or maybe I just underestimated her.

“You.”

Alice spoke.

“Don’t do that in the future. You’ll be working under me, right? I need to know your abilities properly if I’m going to promote you. How can I judge your abilities if you keep hiding them?”

I stared at Alice intently as she spoke.

The image I had of Alice had changed a lot.

When I say “the Alice I knew,” I’m not talking about her childhood. Of course, she had changed a lot since then, but… the Alice I knew was the one from the game.

She had lived her life solely focused on swordsmanship and books to catch up with her father, and she hadn’t been actively involved in noble activities like balls or parties, except for a brief period in her early childhood.

In fact, to become an emperor, she needed to socialize with the nobility… but Alice was still young. Fourteen was an age prone to teenage rebellion. She probably thought, “While others are doing stupid things, I learned imperial studies.”

She was somewhat similar in that regard, but her attitude was different.

In the early stages of the game, despite her high character stats, Alice had very low self-esteem. She often showed scenes of jealousy towards those who were better at swordsmanship or studying than her, despite her outwardly arrogant princess-like demeanor.

Scenes where she openly acknowledged others’ abilities didn’t appear in the early stages.

But now, it wasn’t even the “early stages.” Both Alice and I had turned fifteen, but the attitude Alice occasionally showed me was not that of a petulant child, but a much calmer and more mature demeanor.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

When I silently stared at Alice, she seemed a bit uncomfortable and said, “Um, no, it’s nothing.”

I replied and slightly lowered my head.

“I apologize. I will make sure not to hide my abilities from you, Your Highness, in the future.”

“Uh? Oh, um, okay….”

As I humbly acknowledged and apologized, Alice replied somewhat flustered.

And that appearance, it was very much like Alice. Compared to any other version of Alice that I know.

*

To be honest, I’m a little excited.

No, the word ‘a little’ can be omitted.

No, wait. Instead of leaving that empty space, I think it’s okay to put ‘tremendously’ in its place.

Actually, ‘tremendously’ wasn’t the perfect word to express my feelings accurately. There is no word in the world that can accurately describe my feelings. To put it loosely, I wanted to jump around like a young child receiving a console game console as a birthday present and scream with joy.

For 10 years. I waited for a whopping 10 years.

Since I was five years old when I came to this world, it took me 10 years to meet the characters I loved in the game world that I remembered. In reality, it probably took much longer than that. I’ve turned back time several times.

Actually, thinking about how long I’ve been waiting is quite amazing.

Isn’t it? I only played the Azurena series for 7 years. It was shorter than the time I waited in this world.

Even after becoming the Emperor’s child, I often wondered how long my feelings would last. Sometimes, the dreams I had as a child didn’t seem important when I became an adult, or when I finally got the things I wanted as a child, it felt empty. But… thinking about it, it doesn’t seem that simple.

Sherlock Holmes fans waited 7 years for a new work, and there are often cases in game or movie series where people wait that long. It’s probably more accurate to think that the time passed as I did various things rather than waiting for that entire period. Even if you initially wait counting the days, eventually you forget what you were waiting for.

I, too, well, thinking about it, it seems like that might be the case.

If not, maybe it’s because of the existing characters near me that I was aware of being in this world. If there are the Emperor’s children, Alice, and Claire, it means that Leo Grace and other characters are alive somewhere in this world.

“Phew….”

I took a long breath to relax.

It feels like going to meet a celebrity. There were Alice and other characters around me, and I had met Claire in person, but when I met Claire, I had to think about escaping without even having time to be glad, and meeting Alice since childhood and spending time with her until now felt more like seeing a younger sister than a celebrity. Alice would be terrified to hear that.

And meeting each one separately and suddenly meeting several at once are different stories.

Jim packed Amy last night. There wasn’t much to pack anyway. The school uniform will be given at school, and the textbooks were the same. There was a mention that if there were personal items to bring to the dormitory, it could be brought, but for me, the only personal item was my weapon.

And the weapons were to be handed over at school. There were already several characters in the original work who used firearms. Even if it wasn’t firearms, since all the weapons brought were practical weapons for killing people, such measures were natural. What if some lunatic started shooting during class?

The background check on students entering the school was also for that reason.

So, I didn’t really need to add anything. That means there’s no way to divert my thoughts. I’m not sure if reading a book will help.

So, I’ve been wandering around the room since earlier. I couldn’t just jump on the bed no matter what. I had to maintain my character.

After wandering around the room for a while, I heard someone knocking on the door.

“Miss Sylvia, I’ve come to move your luggage. May I come in?”

Commoners would carry their luggage to school themselves, but there were many servants for the nobles and aristocrats. They could send their luggage ahead through these people to be brought to the dormitory in advance.

It was only allowed for the first two days of enrollment and after the closing ceremony. It was a necessary safety measure to protect the students, so there was no need to complain.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble.

“…Yes, please come in.”

It seems that ten years of acting practice had some effect.

*

The Hwangseong and Hwangnip Rondarium Academy were not far away. The area near the palace was the safest in the kingdom, so there was no shortage of places to build the academy. There were quite a few academies near this place other than the Hwangnip Academy. Most of them were academies that only accepted children from well-known families or wealthy families.

Although it wouldn’t take a long time to walk there, we didn’t commute. Even students with homes in the capital didn’t commute. The Hwangnip Academy was strictly a boarding school for all students.

There were public transportation options like a carriage, but it was not as crowded as modern buses and not as safe as the heart of Seoul, despite being the safest place in the kingdom. Therefore, to ensure the safety of students – in other words, to avoid responsibility if something happened to the students – many academies, not just the academy, adopted the policy of boarding for all students.

Moreover, it was much safer to travel by carriage than walking, so we were taking a carriage even for the short distance.

“Excited?”

“What?”

Out of the blue, Alice asked, and I turned my gaze towards her as I had been looking out the window.

I wonder why I keep getting surprised reactions like this lately. But since it’s Alice, it’s not a big deal.

Alice, who was sitting opposite me, had a very… cheerful expression on her face.

It seemed like Alice’s expression had become much richer. Had she gained peace of mind? If the reason was because of me, at least it didn’t seem like a bad idea to have been advising and comforting Alice all this time.

“Why did you think that?”

But still, there was a question. I still maintained a poker face. I could tell even without touching my face or looking in the mirror. I had been practicing maintaining a poker face steadily for ten years, so I could do this much.

So, it was quite important if Alice could sense my mood. If Alice could sense it, then there might be others who could sense it too.

I needed to check and fix it.

“You don’t usually show much interest in the scenery outside. Plus, you’re not even reading the book on your lap. You usually just read your book and ignore whatever is happening around you.”

“…”

“And, there’s not much new to see at the academy, right? I mean, you must be tired of the scenery by now.”

“Because of the Emperor’s summons, I had been running around here and there. At least I knew the place better than Alice. Actually, I had checked every nook and cranny of the institution multiple times, so I was confident that I could find my way no matter where I ended up. Even if it was a completely unfamiliar alley, I had memorized all the prominent landmarks, so they all looked familiar to me.

“So, I just assumed you weren’t able to focus on the book. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case.”

Of course, even when he said “I’m sorry,” he still had a mischievous smile on his face, so it was clear that there was no sincerity behind the words “if that wasn’t the case.”

“….”

I didn’t bother responding to that playful Alice. Even if I denied it, Alice would just respond with a “Oh, really?” and admitting to it… it was too early for that.

So, I simply turned my gaze back out the window.

And for the short time until we arrived at the academy, I had to endure Alice’s mischievous smile.