Chapter 3: Age Fifteen. My Rival

At the sound of a bell, students jumped out of the classroom.

They were wearing long gray robes, and as they ran, the hem of their robes spread out, making them look like butterflies.

“The grades have been posted!”

Cynthia pulls me by the hand and leads me out into the hallway.

The hallway was already filled with students who had already arrived. 

They were all gathered in the same place, so the arms and elbows of the students closest to them were bumping into each other.

Everyone is so excited and upbeat.

(This time, I”ll definitely take the top position!)

It’s been two years since I entered the National Academy of Magical Arts at the age of thirteen.

In this academy, where most of the students are the sons and daughters of rich people such as nobles and wealthy merchants due to the high tuition fees, I always tried my best to get the top position.

After all, for me, this was my second time at the academy.

Although the teachers were different from the last time I studied at the Royal Academy, the content was almost the same. 

I’m very confident because I’ve memorized or experienced everything before.

But more than anything, there was only one person who drove my competitive spirit.

My eyes follow the long piece of paper posted on the top of the corridor wall.

My heartbeat was nervous as my eyes traveled upward, starting with the name of the lowest student in the grade, number seventy.

The moment I found my name in second place, I felt weak and sat down in the hallway.

(Again… Another failure! I can’t believe I’m in second place again.)

It was the same guy every year who reigned supreme.

Gideon Lancaster. The eldest son of the Duke’s family.

I’ve worked bloody hard.

I’ve studied so hard.

I don’t want to lose to that guy.

Every day after class, I went to the library to study. 

However, Gideon was always in the library too.

I spent most of my time teaching Cynthia, who had the lowest grades in the class, to help her get up to speed, but I still wanted to study longer than him, so I never went back to the dormitory before Gideon.

“I studied so hard! I still lost to Gideon!”

To the ‘older brother’ of that evil saint who set me up.

“Liesel, don’t be so upset. It’s only a three-point difference.”

Cynthia rubbed my back and comforted me. 

But, three points. The three points, which could not be surpassed, were a tremendous difference.

“Gideon’s a monster, taking first place every time.”

When I murmured involuntarily, several girls beside me glared at me with hard stares.

“Careful what you say. That’s disrespectful to the Duke of Lancaster. How can you, a remote aristocrat, not even one of the four great noble houses be a match for Lord Gideon?”

I managed to swallow the retort that I had easily beaten her.

Gideon, who has always been at the top of his class, comes from a distinguished family, and is well-behaved and extremely good-looking, is extremely popular with some of the girls. 

He was a model aristocrat and a boy with impeccable character.

As a result, and quite ridiculously, there was a Gideon fan club at the academy.

The girls were members of this fan club.

The members were known behind the scenes as “Gideon’s Guards”.

In addition to that, this fan club even charges a hefty admission fee.

Apparently, if you join the fan club, you can even buy “Gideon-sama’s used pens” or “Gideon-sama’s one sock,” who knows where they get them.

With one of them stolen, Gideon would be troubled…

The Guards were unintelligibly pompous when it came to Gideon. Anyway, they are nasty and troublesome people.

To them, I was like a pesky fly, trying to challenge Gideon.

Cynthia squeezed my arm and glared at the schoolgirls who folded their arms in front of them.

“Don’t discriminate. We’re all students of magic here.”

“No matter how much magic you have, that’s not the same thing as this. You can’t stand on the same footing as venerable nobles like us no matter how hard you try.”

We’re all taking the same tests, whether we’re on a level playing field or not.

Even if I tried to argue with them with correct theory, they wouldn’t be able to understand me. I don’t want to argue with them anymore because it’ll only make me tired.

On the other hand, Cynthia’s face was red with anger. The other students around us noticed our uneasy atmosphere, and the entire hallway gazed at us.

“You’re in the way. If you’re going to fight, take it to the schoolyard.”

It was Maximilian who came to see the report card, pushing aside the Guard.

“Don’t push me!”

 He smiled, ignoring the Guard who complained.

“Ahh. I’m number seven. –Well, whatever. Seven is a lucky number!”

“We still have a practical test! I’m going to beat Gideon in the practical test.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s the spirit! Let’s do our best.”

However, I have never beaten Gideon in the practical test.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter