"Your Highness, how have you been? You look exceptionally beautiful today."

Sweet words.

"Your Highness, to be able to control magic to this extent already... You truly are the Empire's treasure!"

Honey-coated tongue.

"Your Highness, I heard you've become the Academy's second seat. As expected, you've achieved such a high rank so quickly. Soon, you'll be able to claim the top spot."

However, they were the ones I despise more than anyone.

Their kind existed within the imperial palace.

They always wore a smiling face, spouting sweet words like candy, but behind their backs, they hid blades.

They were always ready to stab me if I ever fell.

That's why I couldn't afford to make mistakes.

I always had to plan ahead and prepare for everything.

And, wearing a smile as my mask, I too had to sharpen my blade.

That way, I could parry my opponents' attacks if I ever stumbled.

"…I should change into my school uniform."

'Huh?'

At first, it was just suspicion.

"…enjoy their youth."

'…'

'Rudy Astria.'

He had been on my radar even before I enrolled in the Academy.

The second son of the Astria dukedom, a family responsible for one of the Empire's pillars.

Yet, from what I had heard, he wasn't someone I needed to worry about.

He was rumored to be a discarded child of the Astria family.

After hearing what my spy in the Astria family reported, I knew the rumor to be true.

He was immature, arrogant, and authoritarian.

As expected from the Astria family, his magical talent was outstanding, but even that paled in comparison to his elder brother.

In short, he was a bundle of inferiority.

Someone consumed by inferiority was the best prey in social circles.

The most important thing in social circles was to filter out the praise and understand the intentions behind it.

Those filled with inferiority craved praise, making them easy prey in social circles.

But who was this person standing before me?

A smile crept onto my lips.

It had been a while.

It was truly a long time since I had seen my plan go awry like this.

This person was not a bundle of inferiority.

Instead, he seemed like a bland person with no interest in his surroundings.

He had pushed away everyone who approached him.

I could understand driving away the insects trying to pick up his falling crumbs, but he even pushed away me, the princess.

He neither flattered nor challenged me, just pushed me away.

When I met him directly, he was very formal, and when I tried to engage in conversation from the seat beside him, he ignored me.

And then there was his speech, a perfect opportunity to show himself off.

He had let it end so anticlimactically.

What was this person doing? Had he been wearing a mask within his family all this time?

The 'Rudy Astria' I had heard of and the 'Rudy Astria' I was seeing now were completely different people.

His arrogance and noble attitude fit to some extent, but it was far from the label of an inferiority complex or the abandoned child of the Astria family.

I even suspected that my spy within the Astria family was a traitor.

However, there was no way a spy would betray me so easily.

If they betrayed me, they wouldn't be able to guarantee their life or even their family's safety.

If I were to think of another reason why Rudy Austria changed...

"Did he remove his mask?"

Perhaps he had been wearing the mask of a naive second son from the prestigious duke's family, and had removed it upon arriving here.

Then, there were many things to consider.

Why did he act and why did he remove the mask?

"How interesting..."

I found a huge variable in the academy, where I thought there were only immature children.

Yet, I can't help but smile.

The current situation was just a game for me.

Though free for now, they were but a toy that would soon be in my grasp.

There was no way these immature children could compete with me, who had survived in the palace full of snakes.

I thought so and walked to my dormitory.

"Why do you look so displeased?"

Princess Rie glanced at me with interest, but ultimately only greeted me and left.

Although her intrigued gaze was undoubtedly charming, it felt as if she could see right through me, making me uncomfortable.

Despite the situation diverging from the game's story, it wasn't a significant issue.

In any case, this part of the story could be changed.

Altering the image of 'Rudy Astria,' who seems unlikable, is an essential action to avoid death.

One of the causes of Rudy Astria's demise in the game was that everyone at the academy turned against him.

I was also satisfied with the speech I gave on the stage.

One of the things I hated most as a student was listening to the tedious sermons from the principal and teachers.

Simple phrases like "take care of your health" and "study hard" were stretched out to the point of irritation.

A short, blunt speech like mine would have been preferable.

I imagine the other students felt the same.

If I were a student in the audience, I would have applauded such a brief speech.

"Anyway, that's not the problem."

No matter how much attention I paid to that part, there was nothing I could do about it now.

What I needed to focus on was my growth.

'Status Window'

「Name: Rudy Astria

Age: 17

Abilities:

Beginner Magic: LV 6

Fire Attribute Magic: LV 5

Wind Attribute Magic: LV 3

Swordsmanship: LV 2

Elemental Magic: LV 2」

The game's status window appeared before my eyes.

It was the first thing I tried after realizing I had transmigrated.

The status window worked correctly, allowing me to learn about myself.

Seeing Rudy Astria's name on the status window made me hold my breath, but the fact that his beginner magic was already at level 6 brought relief.

The protagonist begins the game with level 1 beginner magic.

However, this guy had already reached level 6 in magic even before entering the academy.

He seemed to have cheat-like abilities from the start.

I wondered how the protagonist had ever defeated such a character.

Of course, it was good fortune for me...

However, even with these overpowered abilities, I still couldn't secure the top seat.

The academy offered practical classes teaching magic, but there were also theoretical classes.

No matter how talented one was, it was meaningless without good grades in theory.

I rummaged through the luggage that the knight had left behind and pulled out some books.

'Basic Magic Theory.'

'Elemental Studies.'

'Imperial History.'

And several other books were present.

"Ah..."

Seeing the thick books, I already felt a headache coming on.

But only studying could save me.

After all, I already knew what would happen at the academy, so I just needed to study well.

I tore a page from a notebook and wrote with a pen.

-Studying is a matter of life and death.

It was my determination.

It wasn't a typical student's resolution because failing to study could genuinely lead to my death.

I simply wrote down the facts.

I mustn't allow myself to become lazy.

I opened the Basic Magic Theory book.

From the very day of the entrance ceremony, I began studying.

***

The next day, I headed to class with my book in hand.

The classes at Liberion Academy were similar to those in a university.

There were no morning meetings like in high school, and students would apply for and attend the classes they wanted.

However, in the first year, the academy would arrange the class schedule for students.

The schedule was based on the students' entrance exam performance. For example, in magic practice, if students with differing abilities were to learn together, it would be too difficult to progress.

So, students were divided into classes based on their abilities.

Exams were the same for everyone, so there was no consideration in terms of evaluation.

According to the schedule arranged by the academy, my first class was Basic Magic Theory.

Although this subject also had different class divisions, it wasn't based on skill but rather due to the large number of students.

On my way to class, I saw someone who caught my eye.

Unlike the colorful hair of other characters, this person had familiar black hair.

It was Evan, the protagonist of the game.

He overcame various trials and became the top student of the academy through sheer effort alone.

He was the character I used to empathize with, and it was nice to see him.

But I couldn't get too close to him.

He had to think of me as his enemy so he would strive to surpass me.

With that in mind, many characters would attend this first class together. Evan entered the classroom first, and I followed him in.

"Let's begin the class," said the professor standing in front.

"I am Professor George Mcguire, and I'm in charge of Basic Magic Theory. Since today is the first day, let's start with self-introductions."

Self-introduction time.

I really disliked it.

It was an event that originally occurred in the game to introduce the characters.

However, in reality, it was an extremely embarrassing situation.

There wouldn't be anyone who had prepared a proper self-introduction like in games or novels.

"Let's start with Rudy, who ranked first in the entrance exam, and go in order," said the professor.

I had seen this situation many times before. I had to watch this scene every day to see all the endings in the game.

There was no way to skip the starting event, after all.

And there was an important point in this event.

This was the moment when Evan first viewed me unfavorably.

I sighed inwardly.

To make Evan see me unfavorably, I had to repeat the exact words 'Rudy Astria' said in the game.

It was important to proceed with the story related to Evan as it originally happened, at least for now.

In the beginning, I needed to gain Evan's dislike.

Of course, I would have to fix this unfavorable relationship later on, but it was right to act according to the story now.

Evan's initial motivation was his dislike of 'Rudy Astria.'

Feeling this animosity towards 'Rudy Astria,' Evan would strive to surpass him.

The more effort Evan put in, the faster his growth would be, allowing me to smoothly progress through the early parts of the story.

However... it was so embarrassing.

I had to utter lines that I would only say in a game.

Moreover, I had to spit out the lines of a villain or someone distasteful.

It would be better to utter the protagonist's cool lines.

Though those lines would still be cringe-worthy, at least they would be cool.

Despite grinding my teeth, I had to do it to survive.

Yes. I had to bear this level of embarrassment.

To survive.

I stood up from my seat and assumed an arrogant posture.

"I am Rudy Astria of the Astria ducal family. You filthy, insignificant beings. Be grateful just for breathing the same air in this space."

A line that sounded like a teenager going through a phase.

It felt like I should summon a black dragon from my right hand.

Although I wanted to tear my hair out in self-loathing, I didn't drop the arrogant attitude.

Looking around, I saw people frowning and glaring at me.

I made enemies out of my classmates from the very first lesson.

I needed to change this image, but there was nothing I could do at the beginning.

Especially in front of Evan...

"Ah... yes. Next student."

The professor proceeded nervously after hearing my words.

After that, I could sit down again.

If I had stood for a few seconds longer, I might have died from embarrassment...

Though my actions were to survive, they might end up killing me.

"Ah, yes! I am Luna Railer of the Railer Baron family! I know I'm lacking, but please take care of me!"

As I was panicking alone after what I said, my senses returned upon hearing the name 'Luna Railer.'

'Luna Railer.'

She was also one of the main heroines in the game, like Princess Rie.

A main heroine, but the most difficult character to win over.

And the person I needed for the plan I had set up.