The fact that I passed wasn’t particularly surprising.

After all, I had shown so much during the entrance exam!

I demonstrated overwhelming prowess in combat, and despite the incident in the middle, I achieved remarkable success in the dungeon conquest.

So, I was confident that even if I had failed the written exam, I would still be accepted through special admission.

But being asked to give the freshman representative speech?

Why are they assigning this to me?!

Isn’t the representative speech supposed to go to the student with the highest score among the freshmen?

Are my scores really that high?

There’s no way!

My practical exam scores might be high, but there’s no way my written exam scores are that good!

I practically threw away every subject except for dungeon studies, and yet they’re telling me I outscored the third prince, who’s basically labeled a genius?

That’s nonsense!

Okay, fine. I’ll concede a bit.

Let’s say that the answers Grandfather helped me with over the past two months were all correct.

But what about magic studies, where I had no such help?

I literally rolled the dice and randomly guessed my answers.

I practically threw that subject away!

So how on earth could I be selected to give the freshman representative speech? How?!

There must be some mistake.

It must be some sort of procedural error that mistakenly put me in this position. It has to be.

I continued reading the admission notice, desperately hoping to find some mistake.

But reality was harsh.

Soul Academy was all too eager to present several facts, as if to prove they hadn’t made a mistake.

‘Lady Lucy Allen, your specific exam results are as follows:’

‘Language: 87 points.’

I told you, didn’t I? A noble should never make mistakes in their use of language.

‘History: 98 points.’

It seems you made some minor error. I thought you had answered everything correctly.

‘Dungeon Studies: 100 points.’

Huh. So, all those bizarre answers you gave turned out to be correct? No wonder you were so confident.

‘Magic Studies: 68 points.’

...Is there some mistake here? You said you didn’t solve any problems in magic studies, so how did you score 68 points?

‘Combat: 91 points.’ ‘Dungeon Conquest: 100 points.’

That’s not surprising. You did perform exceptionally well in those areas.

‘With a total score of 544, Lady Lucy Allen not only achieved the highest score in this year’s Soul Academy entrance exam but also set the record for the highest score in the history of Soul Academy. Therefore, we have chosen Lady Allen as the representative to deliver the freshman speech. If you have received this letter…’

After reading the letter to the end, I folded it and tossed it back into the envelope before throwing it to the floor.

But the letter never hit the ground.

That useless knight with his annoyingly quick reflexes caught it mid-air.

“My lady, why did you throw this?! You should show it to the head of the family—”

“Shut up, you useless thing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I was already feeling dizzy, like I was about to lose my mind, and here he is making a fuss?

Are you suddenly developing some kind of perverse desire to be stomped on by your master? Huh?

When I frowned and glared at him, Carl quickly lowered his head.

What’s the matter with you?

‘What’s the matter?! Are you seriously asking that right now?!’

How could you, the very person who caused this mess, be asking what’s wrong?!

Grandfather, if you hadn’t been so unnecessarily brilliant, this wouldn’t have happened!

Why did you have to study so hard and get me such high scores?!

Were you trying to show off how smart you are?!

Isn’t it an honor to deliver a speech representing everyone?

‘Honor?! Grandfather, did you forget about the blessing I have?!’

Ah.

Grandfather, do you really think I’m throwing a tantrum just because I hate standing in front of people?!

Sure, I’m naturally introverted and don’t enjoy being the center of attention.

But if I had to, I could do it!

It’s an opportunity to repair my tarnished reputation. Why would I turn down something that could only benefit me?

If it weren’t for the Mesugaki Skill, I’d probably agree with you that it’s an honorable position and accept it!

But I do have the Mesugaki Skill!

‘Grandfather, think about it. Imagine me standing before all those nobles, calling them useless weaklings!’

It wasn’t hard to picture myself giving that speech with countless influential people watching me.

‘Hello, you useless fools who are dumber than me. I’m Lucy Allen. How pathetic must you be for me to be standing here? Then again, considering you all applied to this useless academy, it’s no surprise you’re all weaklings!’

It was horrifying.

Sure, the Mesugaki Skill might tone down the language when formal speech is required, but it wouldn’t stop words like “useless,” “weakling,” “idiot,” and “moron” from slipping out during the speech.

And then what would happen to my reputation?

The professors at Soul Academy would think I’m insane, the royal family and nobles would be convinced the rumors about me were true, and even the commoners would start avoiding me.

It would be worse than the worst scenario I had ever imagined for my academy life!

No way.

This future must be avoided at all costs.

I have to do whatever it takes to prevent this nightmare from happening.

As I dragged my hands down my face, I looked up at Carl, who was watching me with a worried expression.

‘Carl…’ “Hey, you useless thing. You graduated from Soul Academy, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

‘Can you refuse to give the freshman representative speech?’ “Is it possible to refuse this pointless speech?”

“Uh… I’m not sure.”

‘What?’ “What?”

“There’s no precedent. The freshman representative speech is an honor reserved for the most outstanding student among the new entrants. No one in the academy’s history has ever refused it.”

‘So…’ “So, it’s not a rule or anything?”

“That’s correct.”

‘Really? Then…’ “Really? Then I’ll be the first to refuse in this useless academy’s history.”

People might think I’m strange, but that’s better than being labeled as a lunatic by all those influential people.

Having made my decision, I snatched the letter from Carl’s hand and headed back to the mansion.

I needed to write a letter refusing the freshman representative position.

I didn’t know what response they would give, but I was determined to reject it.

Unless they wanted to see how vast my repertoire of insults was, they’d better accept my refusal.

“So you want to pass this responsibility to someone else?”

Arthur Soladin, the third prince, conveyed his displeasure without holding back after hearing the request to take on the freshman representative role through communication magic.

It was more than rude; it was laughable.

It was bad enough that he had been dethroned from the top spot, but now the person who took first place was offering to pass the role to him, as if he weren’t interested in such honors.

As if Arthur had been running his entire life for the glory of being the freshman representative, only to be humiliated by this so-called generous gesture.

Arthur knew, logically, that there was no ill intention, but emotionally, he felt differently.

His anger continued to rise.

He didn’t realize he was biting his lip until he tasted blood in his mouth.

Damn it.

It was true that he had always aimed for the freshman representative position.

But the scene he envisioned was one where he earned that position by achieving the highest score in the history of Soul Academy.

Not by being handed it like this.

Hmph. Whoever that freshman representative was, they had some nerve.

They had turned him into a fool who would clean up after someone who had just refused the most prestigious position in Soul Academy’s history.

“I’m sorry, but I must decline.”

<Understood.>

When Arthur firmly expressed his refusal, the person on the other end of the communication magic didn’t push further.

“Wait.”

Just as the communication magic was about to end, Arthur called out to the other party.

“One more thing.”

<Yes, Your Highness?>

“Can you tell me the name of the person who was originally supposed to be the freshman representative? It’s not like it’ll remain a secret for long.”

The top 20 entrance exam scores would be revealed at the entrance ceremony, so there was no reason to hide it.

The person on the other end hesitated for a moment before answering Arthur’s question.

<It’s Lady Lucy Allen of the Allen family.>

“Lucy? You mean the same Lady Lucy Allen from the Allen family?”

<You are correct, Your Highness.>

Lucy Allen.

Arthur had never met Lucy Allen in person, as he had never been active in social circles.

But he had heard plenty of rumors about her.

Rumors travel faster and further when they’re bad rather than good.

More often than not, her name was replaced by titles like “the disgrace of the Allen family” or “the wild lady.”

And this woman almost became the freshman representative of Soul Academy?

What kind of…

“Is this some sort of compensation for the incident during the entrance exam?”

<Prince Arthur, our academy is always fair when it comes to exam results.>

Arthur realized that his remark was highly inappropriate.

He had basically accused the academy of bribing someone with the representative position to cover up a mistake.

“I apologize. It seems I let my emotions get the best of me.”

<No need to worry, Your Highness. As long as you acknowledge the academy’s fairness, that’s all that matters.>

“Thank you. You may end the call now.”

<I wish you a peaceful day.>

Did you know?

That peaceful day you wished for just vanished with this conversation.

After the communication magic ended, Arthur leaned back in his chair, staring at the white ceiling.

“Lucy Allen.”

It seems rumors can’t be trusted after all.

Someone who scored the highest in Soul Academy’s rigorous exams shouldn’t be called the disgrace of their family.

Perhaps “pride” would be more fitting.

“Lucy.”

Well, whatever.

Whether she’s a pride or a disgrace doesn’t matter to me.

Who she is, what kind of personality she has, what she’s done.

None of that matters to Arthur Soladin.

Only two things matter.

Lucy Allen is the one who took the glory that should have been his.

And she insulted him by pretending to be considerate.

That’s all there is to it.

“I look forward to seeing your face.”

Whoever you are, I’ll make sure to return this insult.

I guarantee it.

Ever since I threw away the freshman representative position, I’ve felt at peace.

Of course, there was some noise during the process, but bringing up the incident during the entrance exam seemed to smooth things over.

Thank goodness.

In the worst-case scenario, I was even considering a no-show on the day of the entrance ceremony, but things worked out easily.

After that, I simply focused on my training while waiting for the day of Soul Academy’s entrance ceremony.

My days were filled with routine—running in the morning, sparring in the afternoon, practicing holy magic in the evening.

Life was so peaceful that I wondered if I could live like this forever, but that all ended today.

It was finally time to leave the estate and head to the academy.