Side Story 1 Prequel: It Seemed Like Such a Waste

 

 

 

Side Story 1

Prequel: It Seemed Like Such a Waste

 

“HOW could I not have taken the top rank…?”

Behind his glasses, Ilius’s eyes were wide as he muttered to himself.

Ilius was fifteen years old this year, making him the proper age to enter the Royal Elltoria Academy.

He clutched the results of the school’s placement exam in his hands.

As a boy who was held in high esteem for his exceptional academic skills, Ilius assumed the rank of top student would be his for the taking.

“The Gramwell girl ranked one point above me…”

He read the name of the student listed above him, the one who’d managed to secure the highest score on the exam and claim the title of top of their class.

Laetitia Gramwell.

She was engaged to Fritz, the crown prince, and was rumored to be a girl of many talents.

Entering the Royal Elltoria Academy was an important measure of status for all young nobles of the kingdom. If one managed to be accepted to the school and kept their grades up, it would later impact how they were treated as an adult member of high society.

…Very well. I’m sure I can take back the title as soon as school begins.

Ilius wasn’t a sore loser.

As of late, his time had been occupied by Sumia—covering up her birth name and circumstances, while also taking care of the girl who was now to live as a baron’s daughter. The pair would be enrolling in the academy together this year, and Ilius was busy tutoring her, being sure she wouldn’t fall behind in her classes.

But I can give it all a rest when school starts. Once I have more free time, I’ll claim the title of top student for myself.

Ilius was determined to put all his effort into his studies…

◇　◇　◇

HOWEVER…

“Damn that foolish prince!!”

He’d saved his most incriminating insults for a time he was alone in the library.

With a quill in one hand, Ilius was hard at work on an essay for his literature class. It wasn’t a particularly difficult topic, but the problem was that this was Fritz’s homework in the first place.

He says he’s too busy, so that means I have to do everything for him…?

This was far from the first time it had happened either.

He wanted to say no, but as the third son of a duke, there was no rejecting a demand from the crown prince.

Six months had passed since the school year began, and Fritz was only getting worse about forcing work on him.

Just what does Prince Fritz think homework is for? Does studying even mean anything to him?

As irritating as it was, Ilius had orders from his father to cozy up to the prince.

Ilius had succeeded in getting closer to Fritz under the guise of being his friend, but on the inside, the whole thing just made him feel humiliated.

His Highness never has to study, and I lose all the time I could spend working on other affairs…

He thought back to their second round of exams.

Ilius managed to score the top grade on the first test of the school year, but when it came time for the next round of exams, the title returned to Laetitia.

Once again, his loss was by a slim margin. It only made the prince’s habit of shirking his responsibilities all the more upsetting.

Plagued by frustration, Ilius rose from his seat and went in search of a specific book to use in the prince’s essay. He only needed it for one quotation, but he wanted to confirm he had it memorized correctly.

With a rough idea of where it was, Ilius began to scan the spines of each book until he spotted it on the shelf. However…

“Not you again…”

He was reaching out for the book when his fingers collided with those of Laetitia. Her long blonde hair swung lightly around her body. For whatever reason, the two of them always seemed to be after the exact same books.

“Move your hand. I found it first.”

“No, I was reaching for it before you were.”

Neither party was about to give in.

We had to find a compromise that first time we were both after the same book…

That was three months ago now.

Strangely, the more often they were forced to share books, the more annoyed they became with each other, and the facade of friendliness between them started to crumble.

Neither of them felt like they had to hold back anymore. They always let each other have it.

“I’m going first today. I won’t need it for long, and I’ll let you have it after that, so wait for me to finish.”

“…Why do you get the right to make that decision?”

“Because I’m extremely busy.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

Despite her complaints, Laetitia sat down in the seat across from Ilius, where he was working on the essay. She opened up another book, and Ilius took that as a sign that she agreed to wait for him.

Silence returned to the library. The only remaining sound came from the turning of their pages.

…She’s an interesting girl.

Ilius had shifted his gaze from the pages of his book to Laetitia herself.

She was reading a particular book on sorcery that was famous for its difficulty to comprehend. The look on her face was enthusiastic, though also perplexed at times. At one point, her brow became particularly furrowed.

Did she run into a tough passage?

Laetitia’s intense scowl suddenly changed to one of relief, which lit up her whole face.

It appeared she’d managed to interpret the text she was reading.

Ilius watched her smile grow. She looked so truly happy.

“…Why can’t you do it like that all the time?” he murmured to himself.

“What was that, Ilius?”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

Ilius returned his gaze to the book.

Laetitia Gramwell was being avoided by almost every other student at the academy. On top of being a duke’s only daughter, she was the kingdom’s future crown princess.

Laetitia was also a model student, with grades that earned her high rankings in class, and on top of it all, she never failed to conduct herself in a perfectly respectable manner.

But more than any of that, the reason no one ever tried to approach her was undoubtedly because of her overwhelmingly sinister natural smile. She had only a few friends in this school—everyone else was completely terrified of Laetitia, avoiding her at all costs.

Those people must be blind… Wait, what am I thinking?

Ilius pushed up his glasses, as if to brush off the thought that had just snuck its way into his mind.

Laetitia was his academic rival. Their only interactions were the very occasional conversation. Ilius didn’t want anything more or less from her, and yet, for some reason, he found his heart unsettled.

“Hey, Laetitia.”

“What?”

“……”

Ilius couldn’t find the words to respond.

He’d opened his mouth without thinking, just to quiet his noisy mind, but it wasn’t as if he actually had a question lined up for her. Looking for any suitable topic, he finally landed on something he could use.

“Why are you always after the same books as me?”

It was a strange phenomenon that just kept occurring.

Ilius never hated the library showdowns and blunt exchanges he shared with Laetitia. For that reason, he never thought about it more than necessary, but he was coming to realize that even for a coincidence, this was becoming extreme.

“Oh, you haven’t figured that out yet?”

“What, do you have an idea?”

“It’s because of Prince Fritz.”

“…His Highness?”

“He asked you to do his literature essay, and that’s why you were looking for that ancient literature reference book, right, Ilius?”

“Yes…”

It was an open secret that Fritz was always off-loading his homework onto others. There was no reason for Laetitia, his fiancée, not to know that either.

“I wanted to be of help to him as well. You know how he struggles with literature, right? I thought I should double-check the information in that book to help him make progress on his homework…”

“…Sounds like a real nuisance for him.”

“…I know that.”

Laetitia smiled bitterly.

The pained expression on her face was the result of her deep feelings for Fritz. For some reason, that irritated Ilius.

His Highness has no interest in studying in the first place.

Of course his fiancée was worried—Fritz’s grades at the academy were incredibly poor. That appeared to be why she was always visiting the library, looking for books that could be of help for Fritz’s assignments. Along the way, Ilius and Laetitia continuously found themselves after those exact same books.

“…Put in all the effort you want, but it’s not going to help. His Highness only wants someone who will do his homework for him, not someone to actually teach him anything.”

“…You’re probably right. But what if he changes his mind along the way? Besides, rereading information like this also helps me with my own studies, so it’s not a waste in the end.”

“…That’s a good way to look at it,” murmured Ilius, turning his face away from her.

Just because she’s his fiancée doesn’t mean she needs to worry about him that much.

By neglecting his assignments, Fritz was missing out on valuable knowledge he needed to have as a member of the royal family.

Even Ilius had some initial success with getting Fritz to study, but now, he’d all but abandoned his academic responsibilities completely. Ilius was left with only one method to cozy up to the prince—taking on all his school assignments.

The prince was a true fool, which made it all the easier for Ilius to manipulate him.

For Ilius, that was the only side of Fritz he needed to know… But Laetitia still saw the prince as someone she wanted to help.

It’s not like Laetitia has all the free time in the world either…

She’d worked hard in life, and it showed. The refined manner in which she conducted herself, the grades that put her at the top of their class—none of these were handed to her on a silver platter.

Even outside her academic education and the training she received as a noblewoman, Laetitia was undertaking all sorts of preparations to become the future queen.

She’s working her fingers to the bone, while His Highness is just…

Fritz didn’t deserve Laetitia as his fiancée.

Being with him was nothing more than a waste of her kindness and time.

There simply must be a man more worthy of being Laetitia’s future husband out there.

That thought, along with some slightly more tender emotions that came with it, began to take root in Ilius’s heart.

I’ll force Sumia and His Highness closer together, until she takes the position of Prince Fritz’s fiancée away from Laetitia.

A few days later, when his father laid out the next steps in their family’s plot, Ilius joined in with an idea or two of his own.