Elodie tightened her grip on the letter, nearly tearing it in half.
As expected, the prince had wasted no ti trying to pull his usual tricks.
She barely managed to keep herself from ripping the paper, but at least Sera didn’t seem remotely interested in him—if anything, she found him repulsive.
That was the only thought Elodie had after finishing Sera’s first letter.
To Elodie,
Did you know? The Young Lord attended the Imperial Academy when he was younger.
I was walking down the hall when I happened to spot a trophy with his na engraved on it. It completely caught off guard.
Apparently, from the mont he enrolled, he never lost the top spot in his year. But three years ago, he beat the prince half to death and stord out of the Academy.
Elodie, you need to know about this.
Of course, I have so conscience—I won’t say that the Young Lord would beat soone like that for no reason.
Cesare Silvaria, that damned mouth that crawled out of hell, must have run his mouth again...
But still, he’s not just the kind and gentle person you think he is.
He’s not as mild-tempered as you imagine.
Are you reading this, Elodie?
If, by the ti I return, you’ve beco closer with the Young Lord than you are with , I will cry.
I an it.
At so point, Sera had started referring to the prince as "the damned mouth that crawled out of hell."
What did he do?
Not that it was surprising—he was absolutely the type to deserve it.
He must have tried to charm Sera, only to fail so miserably that he started resenting her for rejecting him.
No surprises there.
What was surprising was Edmund.
Beating the prince half to death and leaving the Academy of his own accord...
So that was part of his past.
‘Sounds like he went through quite the rebellious phase.’
Maybe that’s why he was so put-together now.
Elodie picked up her pen and quickly wrote back to Sera.
She assured her that, while she didn’t have a bad relationship with Edmund, there was absolutely no way she would ever be closer to him than she was to Sera.
Not even if she died and ca back to life.
To Elodie,
I beat Cesare!
...Well, in swordsmanship, at least.
To be honest, his swordsmanship is absolute trash. Even soone like , who’s only picked up a sword recently, managed to beat him.
But a win is a win.
From what I’ve heard, when he first enrolled at the Academy, he was completely demolished by the Young Lord. And after that, he never picked up a sword again.
Maybe he was never interested in swordsmanship in the first place.
But if you ask , he just seems like the type to give up the mont he realizes he can’t be the best.
Honestly? It’s pathetic.
He never even tried to improve.
Sure, his opponent was the Young Lord—but who knows? Maybe he wasn’t that bad. He never even gave himself a chance to get better before throwing his sword away.
How does Cesare even manage to stay at the top of the class?
He never misses a single social gathering, and I’ve never actually seen him study.
Now that I think about it, if the Young Lord had stayed at the Academy, Cesare probably wouldn’t have been the top student in the first place.
Just a thought.
By the way, Professor Kant, who specializes in magic nullification, has taken an interest in . Lately, he’s been ntoring personally.
He even invited to join his research lab after I graduate.
But I turned him down—I have to inherit my family, after all.
He seed disappointed.
Honestly, so was I. Opportunities like this don’t co often. He’s the most renowned scholar in his field.
But no matter what happens, I will take over House Bluewood.
Even if I have regrets, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Elodie rushed to write a response.
I’ve heard about those research labs.
They’re not what they seem.
They call them 'research facilities,' but in reality, they’re nothing more than glorified slave farms.
Don’t ever go near one again.
Of course, maybe the professor had genuinely recognized Sera’s talent.
But there was also a very high chance that he simply wanted another pawn to exploit.
It was sothing she had heard rumors about in her past life—a horror story whispered among those who had managed to escape.
The ntion of the prince’s swordsmanship reminded Elodie of sothing else.
She leaned back, recalling mories from her previous life.
"What’s this?"
"Ah, this? I paid quite a hefty price for it."
"A hefty price?"
"Well, not for . It was nothing but a gain on my end."
After the death of Duke Valkyrisen—Edmund—shortly afterward, a box had been delivered to the prince.
"The world is so simple. It’s almost as if everything moves for , don’t you think?"
"You seem to be in a good mood, Your Highness."
"Ha. Of course I am."
The prince smiled so brightly that his teeth glead.
It was a look of pure exhilaration, as if the weight of a lifeti’s struggles had been washed away.
"Finally, everything is in my hands. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this mont."
He downed his wine in a single gulp, as if to celebrate, then opened the box before him.
Inside lay a sword—one he gazed upon with sheer reverence.
Cesare strapped it to his waist, humming a tune as he did.
What kind of sword had he acquired?
What kind of price had he paid to obtain it, for him to be this overjoyed?
Elodie didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Until then, she had never once seen him wield a sword in the palace.
And yet, shortly after, he made a na for himself with overwhelming swordsmanship.
After that...
The ceasefire had brought a temporary peace. Valkyrisen was destroyed, and the prince beca even busier—though not for any noble reason.
He had simply started flaunting his affairs more openly.
So he could properly cheat on his wife without the need for secrecy.
That bastard.
Elodie gritted her ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) teeth as she reread Sera’s letter.
So, originally, he couldn’t even beat Sera, soone who had only just begun training in swordsmanship?
All because of one loss against Edmund?
The prince had once said he paid a great price for that sword.
A sword that had made soone completely incompetent at swordsmanship into a renowned swordsman.
Elodie had never heard of such an object before.
What was it, so kind of cursed sword?
Sothing like that shouldn’t exist.
But back then, her mind had been consud with worries about Sera.
She hadn't thought too deeply about it.
The prince... he never actually earns anything through his own effort, does he?
And yet, he was convinced of his own superiority.
Did he truly believe that simply obtaining a rare artifact ant that the skill it granted was his?
No.
The mont he held that sword, he must have considered every ability it granted as his own.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Elodie was certain of it.
To Elodie,
I can’t believe I’m already in my final year.
Though, since I transferred in late, it probably feels shorter to than to everyone else.
I told you before, right? This year’s exams are the most important of all.
If the scholarship students—those who were admitted through special selection—score high enough this year, they’ll never have to worry about money for the rest of their lives.
So, to get to the point...
I ranked first in the year!
You have no idea how nervous I was while waiting for the results.
I felt like I did well this ti.
All the essay topics in the exam were from subjects I’m most confident in, so I had a feeling it would turn out this way.
But either way, I kept my promise.
You should have seen the look on the prince’s face when his permanent first-place streak was broken.
Oh, Elodie, it was glorious.
The Duke has been personally supporting all this ti, so I’m relieved I managed to get such a solid result.
I can’t wait to co back and see you.
You’ll probably kiss my cheek and tell I did a good job, right?
I’ll ace the rest of my exams and return soon.
And everything I’ve learned here will definitely help when I take over my family.
Elodie carefully wrote her reply.
Congratulations on being first place.
But honestly, I always knew you’d do it soday, so I wasn’t that surprised.
More than anything, I was just proud of you.
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