Chapter 3
Lydia opened her eyes.
“!”
Then she rose to her feet.
“….”
A dimly lit study.
It was a room in the mansion where the twin siblings had lived.
Cheap candlelight flickered atop the table, and shabby old books sparsely filled the shelves. It was nothing compared to the royal library of Gallia or the city library in Lee Dae-yoon’s memories.
But to the twins, it was a place filled with memories.
-Lydia, what shall we read today?
-The History of the Kingdom of Gallia.
-I can’t believe you’re five, just like me. I’ve thought this from time to time, but Lydia, you’re really….”
“….”
Lydia ran her hand across the table in the corner.
Its rough texture felt vivid.
‘…But this is a dream.’
She could tell at once that this was a vivid, lucid dream.
Because just moments ago, she’d been in the academy dormitory.
“….”
It was the day she arrived after a week of traveling by carriage.
That night, she had reached the private dormitory room assigned to her and unpacked with Mirian. There was no way she’d suddenly returned to the mansion in the royal capital.
Besides, this wasn’t the first time she’d had a dream like this.
‘…Since I’ll wake up anyway, why not check my memories for a while.’
Lydia took one of the old books sparsely arranged on the bookshelf. Inside, Lee Dae-yoon’s vivid memories had been recorded in Korean.
She slowly turned the pages.
「-Arti, a commoner born to an ordinary farming family in the countryside of the Kingdom of Gallia, turned eighteen. Then one day, he received a letter of recommendation for admission to Aruen Academy. It was—」
Rustle
Rustle
Lydia calmly read the section about the entrance ceremony in <Chronicles of the Sacred Sword Hero>.
“….”
Ever since she had been reborn as Princess Lydia,
whenever this place appeared in her dreams over the past eighteen years, she had reread the original story from beginning to end. She wanted to make sure she hadn’t overlooked any events.
‘…It’s convenient that, eighteen years after being reborn, I don’t have to worry about forgetting the original story. Though even that is only text, and there have been times I nearly missed clues in reality because of it.’
Thinking that,
she closed the book containing her memories.
Thump!
But it was so old that even closing it sent dust billowing into the air. She let out a dry cough.
“…Cough.”
‘There’s no need for even this part to be realistic.’
Lydia waved her hand a few times, then put the book back in its place.
“….”
Then she looked around again.
The books in this place—the ‘study of memories’—contained only Lee Dae-yoon’s memories.
That was different from the memories of ‘Princess Lydia,’ which existed only in her mind. …Actually, memories were supposed to exist only in one’s mind.
‘Why are only Lee Dae-yoon’s memories here, in this dream space that perfectly preserves even the memories I’ve forgotten?’
She had no idea.
“….”
It was as if someone were warning her not to forget this ‘important memory’ in her life as Princess Lydia.
“That’s strange.”
So Lydia sometimes wondered if she was a madwoman who had mistaken herself for ‘Lee Dae-yoon,’ her past life, ever since she was born.
‘But now that I’ve come this far, there’s no point worrying about that anymore.’
In the eighteen years since her rebirth,
she had lived as a princess, and her speech and values had changed.
But there was one thing.
Her resolve not to be pushed around by this godforsaken world still burned fiercely. It was something the ‘incompetent princess’ of the original story had never possessed.
And so,
Lydia still chose to believe in herself.
…That she was, in fact, a continuation of ‘Lee Dae-yoon.’
‘My life continues from my past life.’
The moment she thought that,
the candles in the study flickered and began to dim.
It was time to wake from the dream.
*
Aruen Academy’s campus, lush with greenery, was bustling. Despite being so vast that it took a long time to cross even on horseback, the grounds rang with the voices of countless young people.
Today was the entrance ceremony.
It was the day eighteen-year-old freshmen from the three nations of the southern continent—the Kingdom of Gallia, the Republic of Arcana, and the Holy Theocracy—began their new lives here.
They wore the same uniforms,
and were looking for people they knew.
“Oh, Jacob! Over here!”
“It’s been a while. I haven’t seen you since the jousting tournament.”
“Lady Leda, are you well today?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Yet even amid such a friendly atmosphere, a closer look revealed a peculiar tension among the incoming students.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going? That’s where the ‘Aristocratic Faction’ gathers. You’re with the ‘Reformist Faction.’”
“Ah, s-sorry. I got confused about where the Square Garden was…”
“Get your head on straight. This is an extension of Gallia’s aristocratic society.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Anyway, where is Her Highness the Golden Princess? I heard she was enrolling as a freshman this year.”
“I-I’m not sure.”
“Useless.”
“….”
The academy’s freshmen grouped together according to their respective ‘factions.’ These weren’t merely old friendships; they were groups divided by political aims.
The Kingdom, the Republic, and the Theocracy.
The ‘Aristocratic Faction’ and the ‘Reformist Faction.’
‘Parliamentary parties’ and ‘cardinals’….
From their very first day at the academy, the freshmen had formed factions based on their various backgrounds. The countless young people gathered at the entrance ceremony eyed one another warily.
“Tch, those Reformist Faction nouveau riche. So vulgar.”
“Children of heretics who were excommunicated….”
“Ha…! Those fanatics are glaring at a student from the Republic?”
Amid the long standoff with the Northern Empire,
it was a moment that made a mockery of the founding ideal of Aruen Academy, established to foster unity among the Southern Continent Alliance: the banner of neutrality.
A set of footsteps rang out.
Tap…!
“!”
“!”
“!”
The footsteps were so clear and lilting that they made people turn to look. The academy freshmen, who had been glaring at one another just moments earlier, turned their eyes in that direction.
And they couldn’t look away.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
Noble.
Her hair swayed golden beneath the warm spring sunshine. Even the way she walked, her blue eyes sparkling…
There was no word for the student but noble.
The freshmen instinctively knew.
‘That’s her. That person is…!’
The Golden Princess!
The wary gazes soon diverged and crossed, filled with all kinds of emotions. Some held desire, others curiosity, and still others jealousy….
That intersection of emotions shone more golden than ever. And just as the freshmen were about to approach the princess, each with their own aims,
the blue crystals set up across the campus lit up, and a clear voice rang out.
[The entrance ceremony will begin shortly. All incoming students of Aruen Academy, please maintain order and take your seats.]
“!”
“!”
“!”
The entrance ceremony began.
“….”
Lydia’s gaze remained unwavering.
*
Mave, a trainee knight of the Kingdom of Gallia’s Royal Knights, nodded. Deep down, she was proud of the noble bearing the ‘Golden Princess’ had displayed just moments ago.
‘As expected of a member of the Gallian royal family. She has an unwavering will, no matter how many eyes are on her.’
Then she turned her head
and looked around at the countless freshmen.
‘…But I don’t see anyone who looks strong enough to be my opponent in a sword fight. All the other former trainees of the Royal Knights are weaker than me.’
*
The silver hair of Aria, the saintess who served as the Holy Theocracy’s oracle’s representative, stirred gently in the spring breeze. Her silver eyes, too, wavered slightly with her thoughts.
‘That was an incredible presence. A powerful ripple, like what I might feel when receiving an oracle… I can’t sense it now, but I definitely felt it. She must be an extraordinary royal.’
Do all members of the Gallian royal family have such an incredible presence?
As the question crossed her mind,
she began searching for another person.
The boy chosen by the oracle.
‘…Could the “Hero of the Sacred Sword” from southern Gallia really be among all these freshmen? The thought that I might actually meet him makes me feel strangely nervous.’
*
She was from one of the prominent families of the Republic of Arcana…
But she was an illegitimate daughter.
Morgan, who was treated as a ‘burden’ within the Driagh family, a family of mages in the Republic, quietly bit her lip. Her red lips twisted, matching her red hair.
‘…What a pain. That haughty pose, those eyes that seem to look down on everyone. I hope I never have to see her again.’
Well…
It didn’t matter anyway.
All she had to do was get what she was owed from the ‘Alchemy Guild’ here. She had no intention of getting involved in the political games of nobles like that.
‘If I can prove myself here as both a mage and an alchemist, I can say goodbye to being treated like a burden…!’
*
Lydia smiled to herself. With her keen ability to sense presences, she was slowly surveying the heroines.
‘All the heroines are quite promising. And they’re all here without any unexpected changes. This is great.’
Mave.
Aria.
Morgan.
Every heroine had arrived just as in the original. And they all gave off a promising presence.
She decided to put aside her worries about whether the heroines’ talents or their attendance at the academy might change now that the game’s settings had become reality.
‘And most importantly, the protagonist, Arti…’
“….”
A sturdy boy with brown hair was looking around with his mouth hanging open. His whole body was practically announcing that he was a commoner.
Honestly…
not as game graphics,
but in person, he looked kind of stupid.
‘…But there’s no doubt he’s the most important “Hero of the Sacred Sword.”’
The Sacred Sword was one of the powers capable of dispelling the forces of the Dark Realm lurking in this world. So if he was stupid, she could just raise him right.
…Though he seemed even stupider than she’d expected.
*
Arti felt like his eyes were spinning. He was so overwhelmed by his surroundings that he didn’t hear the whispers around him.
-A commoner coming to the academy, when he’s not an elite soldier or a member of the Alchemy Guild….
-Could he be the lover of some high-ranking noble’s child?
Arti still couldn’t believe he had come to this incredible academy.
“Who on earth sent me that invitation…?”
As he wondered,
he couldn’t help but feel excited, too.
‘What will I learn at such an incredible academy?’
*
Zach Baltar was an elderly giant, over two meters tall.
He was an elite soldier from northern Gallia and a hero who had fought in the ‘Northern Invasion’ twenty years ago. He was also a training instructor at Aruen Academy.
Instructor Zach shouted at the new academy cadets who had shown up for their first class.
“You rotten, lazy bastards! You’re all screwed now! Because the status and wealth your parents passed down to you are worth absolutely nothing in this swordsmanship class!”
“…?!”
“…?!”
“…?!”
Zach pointed toward the forest in the Territory of Albus, where the Aruen Academy campus was located. Not a ray of sunlight reached it, and it gave off a gloomy air.
“Run your asses off through that forest, and you’ll find a single flag beside a huge boulder! Bring it to me! Move!”
“O-one flag?! What about those who can’t bring it back…!?”
“Idiot! Does a soldier question an order?!”
“S-Sorry!”
“You pathetic worm! Can’t you even stand up for what you believe in—!”
“….”
Zach spoke firmly.
“The remaining twenty-nine worms who don’t bring one back will undergo hellish training for three days! Run!”
“!”
“!”
“!”
Swept up in the moment, the freshmen began to run.
Even as they ran, they kept glancing at the female student at the very back. The Golden Princess was there, wearing the academy’s trainee cadet uniform.
‘I wonder if Her Highness will be all right…?’
Arti and Mave, who were also taking the class,
began running cautiously, worried about her.
Lydia remained calm, unaffected by all the commotion.
“…So it begins.”