༺ Mentor Isaac (1) ༻
‘In the end, I got admitted…’
The sound of birds chirping. Sparrows, which had vanished to avoid the winter cold, had returned.
Spring morning. It was the day of the entrance ceremony for new students at Märchen Academy.
The ceremony opened grandly, and the freshmen, neatly gathered in the academy square in their uniforms, were reflecting on their ambitions and resolutions.
Among them, the main characters had already been decided.
There were three presences, whose status was unreasonably high and practically reigned above the law. These girls, surrounded by their escorts, participated in the ceremony, detached from the other students.
Imperial Princess, Snow White Von Kairos Elfieto.
Saintess, Bianca Anturaze.
Priestess, Miya.
The sight of the three main characters, who didn’t seem interrelated at all, in the same uniform was a strange scene for the other students.
The news of their enrollments had spread widely in the Zelver Empire.
Because of this, the atmosphere was tense among this batch of students, but as the girls in their uniforms appeared, everyone was awestruck.
They were the very epitome of beauty. Fitting for their roles as global protagonists, the Imperial Princess, the Saintess, and the Priestess each displayed their incredible allure.
In the midst of this, tears welled up in Princess Snow White’s eyes. She felt despair.
─‘Well done, Snow White! Use this opportunity to become independent and a person befitting the Imperial Family! Kahahahah!”
‘Your Imperial Majesty…’
The hearty voice of Emperor Carlos often echoed in White’s head. In the face of his smiling face, she didn’t have the courage to persuade him to let her give up on enrolling.
And to rub even more salt into an already bad wound…
‘Last place…’
She was given the title of being last in the Magic Department’s entrance exam. It was a blow to her dignity.
She actually had quite a bit of confidence in her abilities, but per usual, exam results could only be assured after they were revealed.
The students admitted to this academy were all geniuses with exceptional talents.
They were White’s competitors, fitting the reputation of the continent’s best academy.
And when taking this into account, she had almost failed the entrance exam.
Or maybe failing wouldn’t have been so bad…
No. If she hadn’t passed she couldn’t even imagine how much she would have to walk on eggshells in the Imperial Household.
White’s feelings were complex.
“The next event will be the recitation of the declaration. Freshman Representative, Miya. Come forward.”
The Priestess, Miya, with her black pearl-colored braids flowing down, stood in front of the podium. Her face was relaxed and smiling, a stark contrast to White.
After all, between White and Miya was the extreme gap between first and last place.
White furrowed her brows. She held the title of ‘last place’; how was she supposed to become friends with this Priestess, whose character was considerably lacking, for the future of the empire and the world…?
‘It would be a relief if, at the very least, I’m not mocked or taken lightly.’
It would be a fortunate in and of itself if she were not looked down on.
…It was just overwhelming. What could she even do?
In the meantime…
After finishing the declaration recitation, Priestess Miya glanced at Princess Snow White and Saintess Bianca Anturaze.
‘The Imperial Princess of Zelver and the Saintess of the Helize Church…’
In Märchen Academy, the gap in social status tended to lessen considerably.
This was because there was a custom of treating each other equally as students who had entered the academy to learn.
However, it wasn’t clear whether it would have a real effect, as, in the end, the position of a person would never change.
In the first place, even in the academy, the Priestess herself was given special treatment. In essence, when someone had a high enough status, they couldn’t be treated equally even if people wanted them to be.
It was the same for the Princess and the Saintess. They were both women with immense influence worldwide.
Priestess Miya decided to keep an eye on them. Just as she was now, she intended to surpass them and raise the status of her country, the Land of the Fire Blossoms-Horan, and her title as the Priestess.
“…?”
Princess Snow White quickly turned her head away as soon as she made eye contact with Miya.
She seemed to be full of worries, as her trembling figure clearly highlighted. Miya recalled the day of the entrance exam.
When Miya had kicked a male student down the stairs, she had looked at her with a face filled with terror.
It was a moment that had stayed in her memory because it was the first time she had made eye contact with the Princess.
Miya decided to reconsider. Perhaps the Princess was not someone she needed to be wary of.
***
The result had already occurred and the weight on her shoulders was heavy.
Princess Snow White had to do whatever she could for the future of her country. She was an Imperial Princess, after all.
“Is Your Highness really okay?”
“My resolve has not changed, Merlin…! Now is the right time.”
First mission. Befriend Priestess Miya.
Today was her first day at Märchen Academy.
Soon after the class assignment evaluations, Snow White would go to Class D, and Priestess Miya to Class A.
As cliques and friend groups were mainly determined in the early days after enrollment, White had decided to use this period to her advantage.
On this momentous first day of enrollment, Princess White, while having a meal in the student cafeteria, looked at Priestess Miya and swallowed hard.
Soon, the students began to murmur. Conversations like, ‘The Princess and the Priestess are in the same place…’ or ‘I never thought I’d see such a scene in my life’, were exchanged among them.
The mere fact that the Princess and the Priestess were together in the same area was historically rare.
Merlin approached White, cautiously observing the students, and covered her mouth with her hand before speaking.
“Princess, let me carry your tra-”
“No, I’ll carry it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t always be spoon-fed.”
Merlin suddenly felt sentimental.
“…You’ve grown, Princess White.”
“I-I wasn’t so hopeless that merely carrying a tray by myself can be considered growth, you know?!”
Emperor Carlos’ command was to become independent. White wasn’t exactly averse to this.
Having enrolled at Märchen Academy, she decided that she might as well use this period as an opportunity for growth.
Still, hearing that she had grown just by carrying a tray made White feel embarrassed. How had people been evaluating her all this time?
“Well, then.”
“I know… We… have to… eat together…!”
Holding the tray with both hands, White gave a determined look in the direction of Priestess Miya.
Regardless of White’s resolve, Miya continued to indifferently eat her food, utterly unimpressed, with her escort wizard behind her.
“…”
Now that she was actually trying to eat with her, a sensation of feathers tickling her chest could be felt.
It was scary. But thinking about making friends in this new environment made White’s cheeks flush from her fluttering heart, as she chewed on her lips in anticipation.
No matter how shitty a person’s character may be, surely there must be a reason why this Priestess was revered by the people of the Land of the Fire Blossoms-Horan.
‘It’s possible. Maybe she’s actually a good person.’
White believed in the innate goodness of people. And that proved just how far she was from the brutal power struggles that usually occurred when it came to people of her stature.
White got lost in her imagination.
She imagined getting acquainted with Priestess Miya over a meal…
And interacting during classes and exams…
Then somehow, they would gradually find common ground and similarities, thus opening up to each other.
Eventually, she would realize that Priestess Miya also had a good side to her, which would allow White to treat her well without any hesitation or doubt.
‘The bloom of pure youth…!’
Immersed in such thoughts, White felt her mood improve rapidly. Becoming friends with the Priestess didn’t seem too bad.
Yeah, it’ll be alright.
Peace for the empire and the world? Let’s put that aside for now.
She just needed to be Snow White Von Kairos Elfieto and get along with her classmate, Miya.
Only then could White let go of her worries. Her fearful, tense expression softened and a relaxed smile appeared on her lips.
‘Oh…!’
White’s escort knight, Merlin Astrea, was amazed. She started to feel a sense of ease from White.
Well, then. This was White’s first step.
With light steps, she approached Miya, who was still eating, and…
“Euheuk!”
Splat!
“….”
“…”
She tumbled forward, spilling the contents of the tray all over Miya.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
Miya’s hand, holding a fork, froze. Hot mushroom soup dripped down her black-jade hair, as white steam rose.
The food stuck to Miya’s uniform, smearing it with its own seasoning and oil.
The students, the escort wizards of the Land of the Fire Blossoms, and Merlin all watched the scene with wide eyes of disbelief.
White, groaning in pain from the fall, realized what she had done and her face turned deathly pale.
In the silent student cafeteria, White, sitting on the floor, got up hastily, her trembling arms flailing.
“I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I I’m s-so s-s-s-s-sor… No, I mean, sorry…! I-I didn’t mean to do it on purpo-”
“Mmm…”
Lick. Miya scooped the soup that had spilled on her head with her finger and licked it.
Her gentle eyes, painted with red eyeliner, turned towards White.
Then, Miya suddenly smirked.
“…How fun.”
At that single remark. White’s heart sank.
The escort wizard immediately stood up to wipe Miya with a handkerchief, but she stopped him with her hand. Because she only wore a smile that seemed to imply it was fine, it actually unnerved the onlookers even more.
Dripping with soup, Miya stood up.
“It was a memorable greeting. I like it, Snow White.”
That look in her eyes.
She was just looking for an opportunity to kill her. There was no doubt about it.
With a pale face full of fear, akin to a reindeer caught among a pack of beasts, White’s entire body trembled as if she were a patient with malaria.
Miya left with her escort wizard.
And White stood there, dazed, as if her soul had left her body.
“Her Highness just got the drop on the Priestess…!”
“Was she trying to show the difference in national power?”
“Princess White…. She is much more terrifying than she looks.”
“It was a strategic tray spill…!”
The students were thrilled.
White turned to Merlin, who was standing behind her.
Her expression seemed to plead for help. However, Merlin, grasping her chin, couldn’t utter a single word.
Tears welled up in the corner of White’s eyes.
…She’s royally screwed.
