Lillian had never made any effort to remember people's faces. Living by herself, she had needed to recognize only the barest minimum of acquaintances.
Lillian had an easy time resembling people when she wanted to. She had a bit of a special ability: she could, to an extent, measure length and angles just by looking at them, without the aid of a ruler or other such device. So, all she had to do was complete the widths and angles of a person's facial features and simply remember those numbers.
As such, when Lillian attended the opening ceremony, she used every single power her brain could muster to memorize the numbers of each and every person present.
Serendia Academy has various branches depending on which area the students would like to specialize in. Black Star is for those aspiring to become civil servent who make up the imperial court. Gold Star is for shrewd individuals who contribute to the country's economy. Silver Star is for intellectuals who conduct research and more. Bronze Stat is for valiant protectors of the country and its people, that is, those who want to join the army, Mage's Core, or the guild. There is the Purple Star, unique as it is only granted to individuals chosen by the emperor himself.
Theodore, who is a top researcher in the empire, is a bearer of five silver stars, and he would often give special lectures to the current students of the Silver Star faculty. Lillian, on the other hand, is a bearer of four purple stars... Before her, it was practically unheard of for a woman to bear a purple star; however, no one, not even the emperor, could ignore her contribution to the empire. When a noble tried to protest, the emperor publicly stated that the current peace and prosperity they enjoy are thanks to Lillian.
The entrance ceremony ended without any particular drama—a rare mercy, all things considered. But before Lillian could even breathe a sigh of relief, Uncle Theodore greeted her with a bright, almost suspiciously cheerful smile.
"Lily," he said, as though announcing something wonderful, "I have the perfect task for you!"
Moments later, she found herself clutching a note and heading toward the library. Apparently, she was now his errand girl.
"I wish Uncle could just go and get it himself," she grumbled, already resigned to her fate.
"No," came the curt reply from behind his desk.
That was it—no explanation, no apology—just no. It seemed her uncle had absolutely no intention of leaving the infirmary.
Lillian sighed. "I've seen worse shut-ins, but still…"
"I'm really glad to have you as my assistant, Lily," Theodore added with a smile that could only be described as self-satisfied. "You're convenient—I mean, reliable. Very trustworthy."
Lillian stared at him. Did he just say convenient? She decided not to comment. He was competent, handsome, and generally well-liked, so most people forgave his eccentricities. But as far as bosses went, he was utterly shameless.
With no hope of resistance, Lillian simply gathered her things and set out for the library, muttering under her breath.
"Master, listen to this for a moment. I'll try collecting the nearby voices usingsound magic."
"…Huh?"
As Lillian walked down the corridor in her white coat, she frowned. "Voices from the surroundings? What are you even talking about, Nero?"
But before she could cancel the spell, faint whispers began filtering into her ears—not faint enough, unfortunately.
"Miss Lillian. She's gorgeous, isn't she? And she skipped a grade, too. So smart."
"You must have to be pretty special to work at that age."
"I heard that she is a distant relative of the Alcott twins. Their family is strange but full of geniuses. Makes sense, if you like that kind of thing."
"Look at her legs—so slender! And those curves—"
"Where exactly are you looking?"
"I want to be stepped on by a woman who looks that good in glasses."
"I'd like to—"
Lillian stopped walking. It was a good spell, in theory. Unfortunately, it lacked filters. Expression blank, she trudged toward the library, dead-eyed and emotionally drained.
Even so, the moment she stepped inside, all heads turned. She could feel their gazes—curious, admiring, speculative.
One student whispered, "She's checking research documents. What a brilliant woman."
Another sighed dreamily. "It's almost tragic… someone so beautiful, wasting away in a lab coat. I'd love to see her without those glasses."
Lillian ignored them all, though her jaw tightened slightly. Regardless of what was going on in her head, her appearance alone seemed to inspire all sorts of creative delusions.
"She looks so melancholic," someone murmured nearby. "As if she carries secrets we could never comprehend."
In reality, she was standing on tiptoe, squinting at the top shelf, silently swearing at whoever decided to store the research papers that high. Her hand brushed the edge of a book, and she muttered under her breath, "I swear, if one more person romanticises this…"
From her shoulder, Nero snickered softly. Lillian's eyes, those of a person whose spirit had momentarily departed from her body, remained glassy and unamused.
"Lady Lillian..."
"...Zen..."
As she struggled to get the book, a young man pulled it out for her. He had fluffy brown hair, which he kept cut short, and right now, the boy was facing down and staring at Lillian with his red eyes. He was slender but tall, has a sweet-looking face, and is a center of attention for many female students simply by standing there. Especially third-year girls seem to be especially interested in him. However, he didn't seem to pay them any heed.
While looking only at the dispirited Lillian, the young man could only frown. "What a horrible expression. I'm going to guess your 'friend making' ended in failure, huh?"
"That... It's just the first day..."
Hearing that, Zen simply sighed, uninterested. He is sixteen, a year younger than Lillian, and had been appointed as her caretaker from a young age. That said, since they were both close since childhood, their relationship is closer to that of childhood friends or siblings. Zen was young, but he is always calm and candid.
"I don't understand why Master would suggest such a thing. The faster he gives, the better it'll be. Living on the surface world, that is."
Zen was also negative towards Lillian's enrollment in Serendia to experience a 'normal peaceful life,' even when they were in Turin. "It's obviously impossible," he had said with cold eyes and tried to persuade Gerald with logic.
"I mean, young miss, you are part of this side down to your very bones. It's almost as if you were part of the underworld even before you were born. Rather than attending this school, you should just go back to your work as the heir."
"Even if you say that now, Zen...it is unlikely that Papa would change his mind anytime soon. I'm sure he has something in his mind."
"Sure, well, not that it matters to me, I suppose. Oh, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
"Well, yesterday a bizarre incident happened..."
Zen was in the faculty room to take care of some paperwork when he could hear voices from around the corner of the hallway. The
entrance ceremony wasn't until tomorrow, but a few teachers and
students with club activities could be seen around the school. Thus, it
wasn't strange for them to run into someone, but the conversation
they were hearing was certainly unusual.
"Damn it! Let me go! Lemme go! I did nothing wrong!"
"Shut up already! Or I'll freeze your mouth shut next!"
"Settle down, Cyril Ashley."
"Yeah, Cyril. You're being even louder than he is."
From around the corner came three male students and one young
male teacher. A student with black hair was screaming and shouting to be let go, while the other three were restraining him, apparently trying to bring him somewhere.
Zen had memoriezed the names and faces of all the students and faculty members along with Lillian before coming to Serendia. That black-haired young man… That would be Lord Aaron O'Brien of House Steil.
Aaron was a fairly tall boy, and the other three were having a hard
time restraining him despite their number. The brown-haired boy is Elliott Howard of House Dasvy. I'm not sure abouth the silver-haired one, but since he wears the student council emblem, he must be from an elite house as well.
The three male students wore small emblems on their lapels. Zen had both a good memory and a sharp eye—the way he'd recalled their names so quickly and spotted their lapel pins was brilliant.
In the meantime, the clamorous group of four started heading their
way, so Zen quickly moved to the wall to make room. The brown-haired boy with the droopy eyes, Elliott Howard, looked toward him and casually raised a hand, saying, "Sorry for the noise."
But right then, the black-haired Aaron—the one being restrained by
the other three—looked at Zen with bloodshot eyes and shouted, "Hey! Hey, you two, say something already! I'm being tricked! I don't… I don't remember, I don't remember, I don't know, I can't recall… Ahhhhh…!"
"Quiet already! Shut your mouth!" barked the silver-haired young
man, veins popping out of his temples. He then quickly muttered
something. The muttering brought Zen's head back up. It was a magecraft chant. And a shortened one, too…!
The silver-haired boy weaved his spell in half the time of a normal
chant, then snapped his fingers. Aaron's flailing wrists froze together
like shackles. The silver-haired boy then produced a small shard of
ice in his palm and rammed it into Aaron's mouth, holding it there.
As the ice shard was shoved into his mouth, Aaron's eyes widened,
and he voicelessly screamed.
"Hmph. Hopefully this cools your head a bit," spat the silver-haired
boy distastefully.
The droopy-eyed Elliott looked at him in exasperation. "Cyril, did you
know all the girls call you the Icy Scion?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It's the name of a character in a novel popular in the capital. Apparently, he's wonderfully cool and collected. Why don't you try a little harder to meet their expectations, hmm?"
"I fail to understand. I am always calm."
"..."
Elliott simply shrugged at Cyril—the young silver-haired man.
Finally, the teacher addressed them both and said, "Let's get
moving."
"Yes, Mr. Thorn," answered Elliott without argument.
Cyril looked at Zen and offered a brief apology. Then the three of them dragged Aaron away.
"That...is strange," Lillian said after listening to Zen's story.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the drug that has been circulating in the capital?"
"I would need to examine him to be sure...I'll talk to Uncle about it and let you know."
The Castina Empire has been under imperial rule for almost a thousand years. However, the emperor has been supported from the shadows by the five great noble families that controlled the underworld. Lillian is now the sole daughter of the Islar family, one of the five great noble houses that control the underworld. A girl born in a great household that controls the underworld...of course many of the people she interacts with are either criminals in the eyes of the law, or desperate nobles who contactes the underworld to commit crime on their behalf or cover them.
Being the successor one of the underworld families, keeping an eye on dangerous drugs is part of Lillian's duties. The Emperor has Salvator investigating the care but it shouldn't hurt to keep an eye on things from afar. If this was magic...it could be mental-interference magecraft.
Magecraft that interfers with someone's mind or mental state was permitted only in very special circumstances, such as when extracting confessions from criminals. Researching it was allowed, and Lillina had read a few books on the subject. However, while she could use such spells if she wished, she didn't particularly want to.
Spells like those are really hard to control. Sometimes people develop side-effects, like memory problmes or falling into a state of confusion and if goes really poorly, they might never regain consciousness.
No...I doubt any mage would be stupid enough to do something like that...thought Lillian, before leaving the library.
"Humans sure do have it rough, huh?"said Nero, his whiskers bobbing up and down.
"Yeah. I wish I could be a cat..." muttered Lillian with a dry laugh.
Nero narrowed his golden eyes and stared up at her. "Ever heard of survival of the fittest? It's even worse for cats than it is for dragons. I can assure you--if you were to become a cat, a crow would peck you to death within minutes."
Lillian had no answer to that. Delivering the required materials to Theodore, she talked to him about Aaron O'Brien and asked him to check up on him. "Alright, I'll talk to the headmaster," Theodore said before Lillian had to leave for her evening class.
While Serendia's curriculum was much different from Minerva's the things the students discussed sounded vaguely recognizable: "When's the next tea party?" or "What should I buy next?" Lillian had no interest in boasting and found these topics tedious, but at the same time, she knew how to handle them and at least felt a sense of familiarity. Seems like I'll get used to life here pretty quickly, Lillian thought in relief.
Walking ahead of her, was her classes supposid homeroom teacher, Victor Thorn. The teacher looked around forty, and he wore his gray-streaked black hair combed back. His cheeks were thin, he wore round spectacles, and his facial features made him appear high-strung. He's the one Zen saw with the student council members yesterday...
Mr. Thorn doesn't seem to recognize Lillian as he introduced himself. "My name is Victor Thorn. I teach fundamental magecraft."
"Mr. Thorn is a graduate of Minerva's. He has a high-mage certification as well as several accolades from the Mages Guild for the invention of new magical formulas..."
The headmaster went on, boasting about Mr. Thornlee's history and
achievements as if they were his own. Being an alumnus of Minerva's, the greatest mage-fostering institution in the kingdom, and having a high-mage's license made him an elite among elites. Lillian could understand why the headmaster would be so proud of having the man as a teacher. Knowledge of magecraft was considered a type of refinement for aristocrats, after all.
"Mr. Thornlee has also been adviser to the student council for five years now. It is difficult to understate how much of an honor it is to be the adviser to Serendia Academy's student council—"
"Headmaster, we must be going soon," interrupted Mr. Thorn, checking the pocket watch in his left hand.
The headmaster grinned and gave a smooth apology before going back to his seat. Mr. Thornlee fussily adjusted his glasses, then looked at Lillian as if evaluating her. "By the way, I still haven't heard you introduce yourself."
"Oh, pardon my late introduction," Lillian curtsied and said, "I'm Lillian, the Asisstant Medical Officer. Although I don't attend your classes, I hope you would provide me we guidance if needed, Sir."
Finding no fault in her greeting, Mr. Thorn's gaze drifted as he gave an ostentatious sigh. "Serendia Academy is one of the greatest schools in the land. We expect a certain degree of character and an impeecable level of culture not just in our student's attitudes but teachers and staff as well."
Lillian could tell he was implying she lacked both. Does he not like me personally or does he have some bone to pick with Uncle? Lillian wondered as she quietly followed behind.
As they arrived at the classroom, Lillian could see the silhouettes of the people within through the window of the tidy door. They seems to be excited about something, but due to the door's good craftsmanship, she couldn't overhear what they were saying. Mr. Thorn peered into the classroom with a knock on the door and soon it swung open to reveal a good-looking young man.
"Thank you for coming by personally, Mr. Thorn."
"I was only following Headmaster's instructions."
"Haha. You came at right time. We were just about the start self-introductions." The prefessor smiled wryly at Lillian, as though to say she'd arrived just in time, and offered her an elegant bow of his head.
Despite his fairly youthful appearance, the man had the teacher's pointer of Serendia Academy in his hand, so he must've been a person of considerable learning. Outwardly, he appeared to be handsome, if somewhat lighthearted, but Lillian didn't believe in judging people by appearances. He might have seemed easygoing, but he very well may have been rigorous in his studies and his true nature may have been quite firm.
"Greetngs, my name is Lillian. It's a pleasure to make your acquantance. Though it may be sudden, I am very glad to be under your care going forward." She curtsied gracefully and lowered her head.
The professor smiled pleasantly, not bothered by the fact that she hadn't mentioned her family's name once. It seemd to Lillian that this man had risen to the rank of a scholar at a young age and chosen a teaching profession in order to guide the youth on their paths. He didn't boast of himself even during his introduction unlike with Mr. Thorn and she could see the clear determination reflected in his eyes. You really couldn't ascertain that based on his easygoing appearance alone, she thought to herself. But when a group of female students walked by and squealed at him, he offered them a smile and a wave, so maybe he really was just that lighthearted.
In any case, the young, handsome professor seemed to be the object of the female students affections. Indeed, he was attractive, slender, stylish and possessed of a soft countenance and though he was young, he still had the presence of someone more mature...far more mature than Victor Thorn. To top it all off, he had the rank of a professor, so it'd be impossible for the girls not to long after him. That said, all Lillian saw him as was a good-looking teacher.
The man stepped aside and invited Lillina into the classroom, like a gentleman offering the way for a lady. In response, Lillian gave him a small bow of gratitude and leisurely walked inside. She dipped her head and offered an inoffensive self-introduction before taking her seat.
"Excuse me?"
Lillian had been reviewing her textbook, despite the start of break time, when she heard a voice from right next to her. Surprised, Lillian lifted her face.
Looking down at her was a girl with flaxen hair. She was fair-skinned, with large eyes and gave off a spirited air. Her hair was done up in intricate braids and equally intricate-looking earrings hung from her ears.
"I'm Lana Colette," said the girl, giving Lillian a close inspection from head to toe before putting her hand on her waist. "Hey, why do you wear your hair in basic braids like that? You look like a country bumpkin. Nobody else at this school styles their hair that way."
As Lana pointed out, Lillian's dark black hair was done in a single long braid. Tanya had wanted to style it but the guidelines about the school staff was very strict...as such Lillian opted for a simple and professional appearance.
"Oh, it's easier to manage my hair while I'm working."
And just like that, everyone staring at Lillian seemed to say with their gaze, That figures. With that statement, she had disclosed that she is the rumoured Assistant Medical Officer.
"Where were you raised?" asked Lana.
Lillian's breath caught in her throat. She'd been born in the capital and later thrown out in Turin but saying that would reveal her identity as such Lillian gave a vague not exactly a lie answer.
"...Wistaria," she offered. It was the name of one of the towns under Duke of Turin's management where Lillian spent considerable amount of time before entering Minerva's.
"Oh!" exclaimed Lana, her eyes widened. "The large town known for its food culture! They get imports of rare materials from neighboring countries, right? What kind of styles are in fashion in Wistaria right now? What kinds of dresses do they wear? And what kinds of scarves?"
The barrage of questions put Lillian in a bind but she tried to answer her as much as possible. After a while, Lana pursed her lips and frowned. "Hey, why don't you wear any makeup? You should at least use powder and lipstick, right? Look at my lipstick. It's the newest item from a makeup shop in the capital."
After than, Lana began to nitpick almost every part of Lillian's outfit. However, Lillian just treated it as a market survey, asking pointed questions. "Oh, gloves with embroidery on the edges are the cutest," she said. "I can't believe you aren't wearing a single accessory."
Lana's hairstyle was very intricate, with beautiful hairpins. Her necklace was lovely as well and the ribbon at her neck was adorned with splendid embroidery. Though she wore the same uniform as everyone else, Lana's made a completely different impression.
Seeing their interactions, the female students around them began to put their fans to their lips and whisper to one another.
"Didn't her father just becomee baron? And now she's bragging about it to a country girl."
"Nobody else will talk to her, so country girls are all who're left."
"She must really be desperate, since they bought their noble title and all."
Their voices were low but still loud enough for Lillian to hear. Obviously, Lana could hear them as well. The latter's dainty eyebrows began to twitch and eventually she brushed her flaxen hair back and sniffed. "Hmph. I've had quite enough of this. It's boring talking to you anyway."
"...I'm sorry."
Lillian was used to being called boring. She was painfully aware of how dull she was. The topics that excited others often fell flat with her and she knew very little about the latest trends.
Suddenly, Lana reached out and grabbed Lillian's braid. Lillian gave a terrified yelp, but Lana told her to "just stay still," her tone sharp. Then Lana undid Lillian's bairs and started re-braiding them. Since there was no mirror heere, Lillian couldn't see what was happening on her head.
Eventually, Lana nodded in satisfaction. "That should do," she said. "See how simple that was? Now, learn how to do it for yourself!"
With that, Lana strode boldly back to her seat. Nervously, Lillian touched her fingertips to her head and felt a ribbon handing there, smooth and soft to the touch.
Lillian returned to her dorm room, exhausted. Her maid, Tanya prepared the bath for her before stepping out to get dinner. Lillian used an unchanted spell to light the laps as it was getting dark. People praised her unchanted magecraft as a miracle, but for her, having a normal school life was far more difficult.
She removed the ribbon Lana had used to tie her hair and set it on her desk. Tok-tok...she heard a knocking at the window. When she looked over, she could faintly see the outline of a black cat against the night. She unlocked the inwdow and Nero driftly used his front paw to push it open.
"Welcome back, Nero."
"Yep, I'm back. And with a whole load of information to boot! Compliment me!"
"...Mm-hum. Thank you."
"Listen and be amazed! The second prince is a third-year student and the student council president."
These were facts she'd known for a while now, but Lillian didn't have the heart to say so in face of Nero's efforts, so she simply listened without speaking.
"That means if you become a student council member, you could naturally stay close to him! I'm a genius!"
Nero's suggestion was right on the mark. Given that the second prince and Lillina were a grade apart, it would be tough for her to make contact with him normally. If she was part of the student council, however, the opposite would be true. But...
Lillian fell face-first into her bed and wailed, "That's more trouble than its worth."
Stellar grades were a non-negotiable condition of becoming a student council member. You also need to have connections to current members.
"Personally, I would like to avoid meeting with the second prince as much as possible."
"Why not? You're guarding a prince. You know, a prince! They're really cool, right? They practically sparkle. Human females all love princes, don't they?"
"...Because I get a feeling that he is dangerous."
The second prince, Felix Arc Castina, was born as the son of the empress consort, making him the second in line to inherit the imperial throne. He has a beautiful appearance and a gentle and kind-hearted personality. But from Lillian's pespective, the second prince, known as the Ideal Prince, is nothing more than a third-rate actor.
What does Ideal Prince even mean? It was true that he was good-looking, but a gentle and kind-heared personality? What a lie. With just a few kind words and a gentle face, he swayed people to view him as infallible just. The constant smile he plastered on his face was just a mask.
Nero's golden eyes swiveled to look through the window before he proceeded to open it and lean hiw whole body out. Lillian hastily scooped him up. "Nero! It's dangerous! You'll fall."
"Hey, Lillian, look. That guy in the boy's dormitory yard looks suspicious."
She got up next to him and leaned out the window herself, then directed her gaze towards the boy's dormitoy. She had a good view from her bedroom window, but there was no moon tonight, so she couldn't discern anything very far away. Silently, she used a spell to improve her vision over long distant and in low light. It wouldn't let her see thorugh obstacles, though. That was why she'd had to lean out the window.
He's right...someone's in the yard of the boy's dormitory.
The person was wearing a hooded cloak, so she couldn't see their face, but she did get a glimpse of golden hair fluttering inside the hood. Just then, a gust of wind swept off the figure's hood. From where she was, Lillian could see only the back of the person's head. Immediately, she burned the head's dimensions into her memory. The person stopped moving and pulled the hood back up, but the wind blew again, giving her a moment's glimpse beneath the cloak. Underneath, they were wearing a fine frock coat. Lillian visually measured the length of their torso and legs before the figure crossed through the dormitory yard and disappeared around a corner of the building.
Nero narrowed his eyes, frowning. "Can't see him anymore. Any magecraft useful for this situation?"
"...He went behind the building, so I can't track him any farther...but..." Lillian put a finger to her chin and closed her eyes. Numbers flew through her mind at a dizzying pace. And those numbers told Lillian one fact. "I've...met that person before. That's the second prince."