CHAPTER 4: The Greatest of Trials (Self-Introductions)

CHAPTER 4: The Greatest of Trials (Self-Introductions)

CHAPTER 4

The Greatest of Trials (Self-Introductions)

Monica had never made any effort to remember people’s faces. Living by herself in her mountain cabin, she had needed to recognize only the barest minimum of acquaintances.

Unfortunately, as a result, she wasn’t familiar with the face of the very person she was supposed to guard—the second prince. And if she was going to be a student here while protecting him, she’d have to memorize the names and faces of everyone around him, too. And so, since coming to Serendia Academy, she was finally putting in the effort to remember people again.

Monica had an easy time remembering people when she wanted to. She had a bit of a special ability: She could, to an extent, measure lengths and angles just by looking at them, without the aid of a ruler or other such device. So all she had to do was compute the widths and angles of a person’s facial features and simply remember those numbers.

“Monica Norton, this will be your homeroom teacher, Mr. Thornlee.”

On the first day of classes, the headmaster took her to the faculty room and introduced her to a male teacher. 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.

Monica committed the man’s face, or rather his numbers, to memory—the angle of his jaw and the width of his eyes.

This is the teacher who was with the student council members yesterday…

Mr. Thornlee didn’t seem to remember her, though, as he made no particular mention of the previous day’s events. “My name is Victor Thornlee,” he said. “I teach fundamental magecraft.”

“Mr. Thornlee 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. Monica 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. Thornlee, 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 Monica as if evaluating her. “By the way, I still haven’t heard you introduce yourself.”

“Um… Well…” Monica looked down and began to fidget with her fingers.

The teacher turned a sharp glare on her. “Back straight!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The reprimand caused her to give a start and stare back up at him. She was still too scared to look him straight in the eye, though. As her gaze drifted, Mr. Thornlee gave an ostentatious sigh. “Serendia Academy is one of the greatest schools in the land. We expect a certain degree of character and an impeccable level of culture in our students’ attitudes.”

Monica could tell he was implying she lacked both. In truth, she’d been a commoner before her appointment to the Seven Sages, so she really didn’t have the “culture” that came with a noble upbringing.

“Can you at least offer me a proper greeting?”

“I’m, I-I’m so…sor—”

“Lamentable,” said Mr. Thornlee, cutting her off midway through the awkward apology and walking away. “Class is beginning. Come with me.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

“Back straight!” he barked.

Monica, half in tears, fixed her posture and followed him.

Though she usually stuck with her favorite timeworn robe, today she wore the Serendia Academy uniform: a mostly white one-piece dress with a bolero over the top and a pair of white gloves. Even at Minerva’s, noble children would choose to wear their own pair of gloves, but here at Serendia Academy, they were part of the uniform. Monica kept clenching and unclenching her hands, not able to get used to their sensation. Inside the gloves, her palms were slick with sweat.

Eventually, they arrived at the classroom, where Mr. Thornlee had her stand in front of the podium.

“Everyone, your attention, please,” he announced. “A new student will be joining us today—Lady Monica Norton.”

Her classmates’ eyes were all focused on her. That alone was enough to make her dizzy. She felt like a criminal standing trial.

“Please introduce yourself,” prompted Mr. Thornlee.

Monica’s throat began to seize up. Just being exposed to people like this was almost unbearable, and now he wanted her to introduce herself!

I have to…say something… In times like these, Louis had taught her, all she needed to do was say my name is , then her name, then bow or curtsy. But for Monica, even that was a daunting trial.

She opened her mouth to try anyway but managed only to flap her lips without actually saying anything.

Mr. Thornlee gave a particularly audible sigh, not bothering to hide his exasperation. It was like a knife in her heart.

“All right,” he said, “take your seat. Yours is the farthest one back along the wall next to the hallway.”

Still unable to respond, Monica headed for her seat, legs shaking. Eventually the lesson began, and Monica’s brain absorbed absolutely none of it.

* * *

“Excuse me?”

Monica had been sitting stock-still in her chair—despite the start of break time—when she heard a voice from right next to her. Was someone speaking to her ? But what if they had the wrong person? Monica found herself unable to look up or respond.

This time, the person tapped her shoulder. “Look, I’m trying to talk to you here, new student .”

Monica gave a start, then awkwardly 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 Monica 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, Monica’s light-brown hair was parted into two loose, simple braids. Louis had taught her several hairstyles befitting a noble girl, but they were all too complicated, and she couldn’t remember any of them. The noble girls who had brought a servant to the dorms could have their servant style their hair, but of course Monica didn’t have anyone like that.

“I—I…I don’t really…know any, um, other…way…”

And just like that, everyone staring at Monica seemed to say with their gaze, That figures . With that statement, she had disclosed that she hadn’t brought a servant with her. Most of the students who hadn’t brought one had a reason.

“Where were you raised?” asked Lana.

Monica’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been born and raised in a town relatively close to the royal capital, but right now, she had to pretend to be related to House Kerbeck.

“…L-L-Liannack…,” she offered. It was the name of one of the towns in the count’s territory.

“Oh!” exclaimed Lana, her eyes widening. “The large town by the kingdom’s border! They get imports of rare cloth from our neighbor, right? Hey, what kind of styles are in fashion in Liannack right now? What kinds of dresses do they wear? And what kinds of scarves?”

The barrage of questions put Monica at a complete and total loss. She wasn’t actually from Liannack to begin with, and even if she had lived there, she wouldn’t have known a thing about the latest fashions.

“I, um, I don’t really…know much about…that stuff… I’m sorry…”

Lana pursed her lips at the mumbled apology 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 that, Lana began to nitpick almost every part of Monica’s outfit. “Oh, gloves with embroidery on the edges are the cutest,” she said. “I can’t believe you aren’t wearing a single accessory” and “Those boots are way out of fashion.”

Monica could only apologize and say, trembling, that she didn’t really know one way or the other.

She really didn’t understand anything Lana was saying. 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 Monica, Lana’s made a completely different impression.