Luke Cruella, second-ranked in the Technical Department of Luminor Academy.

She was originally the guard of Princess Seraphine, one of only two royals currently attending the academy, but now, she served as her exclusive maid due to various circumstances.

Having entered the academy at the same time as her mistress, Princess Seraphine, Luke was also nearing the end of her first semester like the other students.

With only the final exam, the end-of-semester evaluation, remaining, Luke was quietly nurturing a sense of hostility towards one particular person.

 

‘Lilith, that damned woman…’

 

Why did she have to give up her role as a guard and take on the role of the princess’s exclusive maid?

Knowing better than anyone the person who caused this process, Luke quietly nurtured her anger towards Lilith.

Of course, even if she harbored this hostility, there was no way for her to take direct revenge.

As Seraphine’s exclusive maid, she was in no position to act recklessly on personal matters.

Above all, however, the consequences of touching Lilith would be the same for anyone, not just her. It would take great courage to lay hands on the “fiancée of a Blackwood.”

 

‘It’s because she has such backing that she dared to refuse even Princess Seraphine’s offer to be her exclusive maid.’

 

Although she hadn’t directly witnessed Lilith’s refusal because she had momentarily left her post for a “walk,” Luke was sure that Lilith had arrogantly and shamelessly refused, trusting in her fiancé.

From their first meeting, she hadn’t made a good impression on Luke.

She had seen Princess Seraphine, who she had served as a guard for five years, showing consideration for Lilith in various ways despite knowing her for less than a month.

Moreover, when she first met Lilith, she was clearly just a maid of the Blackwood family, but suddenly, at some point, she appeared at the academy with the honorary status of a viscount’s daughter. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

When Luke learned that this status was created by Seraphine’s behind-the-scenes work to get her into the Magic Department, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sense of defeat.

Clearly, she had served Seraphine for a much longer time, and her loyalty to her was surely more intense than anyone else’s.

That’s why she was even accepting this shameful exclusive maid duty without refusal, following Princess Seraphine’s words.

Luke found it hard to understand why her mistress was showing more interest in another woman rather than herself.

Above all, she couldn’t accept Lilith, who shamelessly refused her mistress’s offer even after Lilith received her status.

If she had been in Lilith’s position, she would have accepted without a word, even if the offered position had been that of an errand runner or cleaner rather than an exclusive maid.

Moreover, even this exclusive maid duty she was now undertaking was, strictly speaking, a role she had taken on because it had been left vacant by Lilith’s refusal, which only fueled her resentment.

If only, just if only.

If only Princess Seraphine had entered the academy with an exclusive maid from the start, this wouldn’t have happened… but due to some incident, the exclusive maid originally planned to serve became unable to perform her duties.

If she had received Seraphine’s order to be her exclusive maid in such a situation, she would have gladly accepted it.

That would have meant that Seraphine considered Luke the most trustworthy person to take care of her needs within the academy.

For Luke, whose loyalty to Seraphine was unparalleled, such an order would have been unparalleled.

However, the title of her position as an exclusive maid didn’t feel like such an honorable position, at least to her. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

It was a position that had been left vacant with the intention of placing Lilith in it from the start.

In other words, Luke felt like a substitute for that woman, and it was natural that she felt more dissatisfied with her duties compared to when she was performing her guard duties.

…Even more so because she had to perform maid duties in a ridiculous uniform that strangely resembled that woman’s.

Of course, it was her mistress, Seraphine, who had made her wear this outfit and perform exclusive maid duties, so Luke focused on her maid duties without showing any complaints, but…

 

“Luke.”

“Yes, Princess Seraphine.”

“You’ve worked hard as my exclusive maid for a semester despite the sudden change. You must not have been used to the exclusive maid duties, but you performed much better than I expected. Your hair-brushing skills have improved greatly, too.”

“…Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Would you consider continuing as my exclusive maid next semester as well? I think it might be surprisingly good if you continue to serve as my exclusive maid, Luke.”

“…I appreciate your words, but I think being Your Highness’s guard suits me better.”

“I thought you might answer like that, Luke.”

“……”

 

The princess accepted Luke’s statement without much emotion that she would quit being an exclusive maid and return to being a guard, as if she already knew what Luke would say.

Would she have shown the same reaction if that woman, Lilith, had taken on this exclusive maid duty instead of her and said she would quit after the next semester?

Probably not. Princess Seraphine had made a lot of preparations to make Lilith her exclusive maid.

She had even left the maid who should have come with her in the Imperial Palace, waiting for the time when Lilith, who had entered the Magic Department without backing, would become isolated within the department and make an excuse to hire her as an exclusive maid.

That’s how much effort her mistress had put into trying to recruit Lilith. However, it seemed she hadn’t anticipated Lilith’s refusal.

If Lilith had accepted the position once and then tried to refuse again, the princess would probably have tried to keep her by any means necessary.

Why had that woman caught her mistress’s eye?

Why had she suddenly become a substitute for that woman?

Even up to this point, Luke could somehow yield. Perhaps that woman had abilities unknown to her that overwhelmed her own.

But, even if that were the case…

If her mistress wanted to keep Lilith by her side this much, it should be natural to respond to that call.

Luke couldn’t forgive Lilith, who, despite being indebted to Princess Seraphine, didn’t show the same loyalty as herself.

As Luke was thinking these thoughts while brushing Seraphine’s hair, the princess quietly offered her a piece of advice.

 

“Luke.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Did you know that the full moon rose last night?”

“Yes, I know. …Did you perhaps see something in your future vision?”

“In last night’s future vision, I saw your face after a long time, Luke.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you, Luke. For the first time since that incident in your hometown five years ago.”

“……”

 

Her face had appeared in the princess’s future vision.

Luke, who had worked as her guard for five years, instinctively understood that someone’s face appearing in the future vision she saw once a month was not a good sign.

At the princess’s words that her face had appeared, Luke waited for her mistress’s next words with a slightly tense expression. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

 

“It’s okay, the future I saw last night wasn’t a particularly dangerous one.”

“…Is that so.”

“However, I learned one fact that I didn’t know before, which is interesting.”

“……”

“Please answer honestly, Luke. Are you planning to duel with Lilith for the final evaluation?”

“…Yes, Princess Seraphine.”

 

The final evaluation battle was the last event of the first semester of the academy year.

There, Luke was planning to designate Lilith as her opponent for the duel.

Of course, for Luke, who belonged to the Technical Department and not one of the five combat departments, the end-of-semester evaluation battle wasn’t originally applicable to her.

The Technical Department, Pharmacy Department, and Theology Department typically completed final comprehensive exams or comprehensive projects, unlike the other five combat departments.

However, while this wasn’t applicable in general, it didn’t mean that students from the Technical Department or the Pharmacy Department didn’t have the right to participate in the evaluation battle at all.

The Top 5 students in each department, that is, the high performers, could apply for evaluation battles with students from other departments even if they weren’t from combat departments, and they could even directly designate their opponents.

Of course, this designation of opponents only applied to the top 1 to 5 students in other departments, which is why it was generally known that the Technical Department and Pharmacy Department didn’t have final evaluation battles.

After all, it was virtually impossible for even top students from non-combat departments to compete with top students from combat departments.

However, Luke, Seraphine’s guard, was planning to challenge Lilith to an evaluation battle regardless of combat or non-combat departments, driven by her overflowing hatred.

Also, given that she had been selected as Seraphine’s guard, she had confidence in her ability to win.

…Contrarily, Seraphine, Luke’s mistress, wasn’t at all confident in her victory.

 

“Are you going to oppose it, Princess Seraphine?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well… don’t you care for that woman, Your Highness?” [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

“Yes, I do care for her. She’s someone I want to keep by my side someday.”

“So, wouldn’t you not want to see her get hurt and try to stop my duel with her…?”

 

Was even this last plan to punish Lilith once from her position going to be stopped by her mistress?

As such anxious thoughts invaded Luke’s mind, Seraphine’s response was something Luke hadn’t expected at all.

 

“Hmm, I think you’re misunderstanding something, Luke.”

“Pardon?”

“Of course, I don’t particularly recommend the final evaluation battle between you and Lilith, but that’s not because I’m worried about Lilith getting hurt.”

“What? Then why…”

“The reason I’m against it is because I’m worried about you, Luke.”

“…Me?”

 

Luke, who had been planning to designate Lilith as her opponent for the final evaluation battle, hadn’t thought at all that she might lose.

Her pride was instantly hurt by Seraphine’s words.

Whether aware of Luke’s feelings or not, Seraphine continued her explanation, comparing the two people she had observed until now.

 

“I have a personality that keeps people I care about close to me.”

“Yes, I know.”

“That’s why I’m advising you, Luke. You are the person I care about the most, so I don’t want to see you get hurt by participating in the final evaluation battle.”

“…Are you saying that you think that woman will win in the evaluation battle?”

“What I saw in my future vision was just the scene of you and Lilith facing each other in the arena. The battle scene ended before I could see it, but… I think she might be a difficult opponent for you.”

“…Do you think so…”

 

Luke’s mood soured at the statement that seemed to trust that woman instead of her again.

Seraphine, sensing her mood, conceded her statement a step.

 

“If you really want to settle things with Lilith despite my advice, I won’t stop you. I wanted to see Lilith’s true abilities for myself, too, so if you’re her opponent, it would probably be a good standard for evaluation.”

“……”

“What will you do, Luke? Will you participate in the evaluation battle? Or will you substitute it with a comprehensive project like other Technical Department students?”

 

Luke wanted to prove something.

She wanted to prove to her mistress, Princess Seraphine, that she was a much stronger person than that woman.

Luke wanted to punish someone. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

She wanted to punish that woman, Lilith, who shamelessly refused her mistress’s request despite receiving the latter’s favor.

 

“I will participate in the final evaluation duel.”

“…Alright, then, do as you wish.”

“Your words, Princess Seraphine, are always right, but I will definitely prove that your words are wrong for this evaluation battle.”

“…Since you say it so strongly, I’ll look forward to it too, Luke.”

 

Luke Cruella, second-ranked in the Technical Department.

Lilith Blackwood Rosewood, fourth-ranked in the Magic Department.

It was the moment the final evaluation duel between these two students was decided…

…although Lilith herself was completely unaware that such a duel had been arranged.