Helping out Alice with all her paperwork for the next few days, how do I put it… How the hell is anyone able to keep up with this?

  The first day wasn’t so bad. It was simple, repetitive, and almost relaxing. But by the next morning, the stack I’d painstakingly chipped away at had already grown back as if I hadn’t touched it at all.

  Inside Alice’s office, I was the only one there since Alice was at school and Sir Rollo was off somewhere training with his new prosthetic leg. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh as I looked at my left arm, which was resting in a sling.

  Since I can’t use my left arm, it was a good excuse to wear one. I wouldn’t have to hide it from everyone, which makes it really convenient since I have to be really conscious of my movements to stop my left arm from swinging every which way.

  I really wanted to go out and hunt some monsters to relieve my accumulated stress, which a nice hot bath can’t fix. However, Queen Amalee confiscated all of my weapons and gear just to make sure I wouldn’t go anywhere.

  Looking back at the pile of paperwork in front of me, I continued working until it was nearly noon, when Alice would be returning from school for a short break, and Clare would be stopping by to check on me after gathering more evidence for my case against my father.

  Overall, all of the letters from the third knight order and Queen Amalee, who gave me updates, were good, but my god, it is so slow.

  Even if Queen Amalee is personally involved, there is still a process that must be followed, one she herself has to abide by. It exists to prevent nobles from casually accusing other nobles as an easy way to ruin rival families, since every house usually has at least one or two skeletons in its closet. Without it, things would quickly become chaotic, with full-blown investigations everywhere and everyone throwing accusations at anyone and everyone, making it really easy to plant some damning evidence.

  With that thought in mind, Clare came inside at just the right moment with a tray that had my lunch.

  “Good afternoon, my lady. I have brought sandwiches.”

  After clearing a space on the desk, I let Clare set the tray down in front of me as she asked how I was feeling and whether I would be alright returning to school tomorrow.

  “I’m fine, Clare. I just need to play the tragic heroine again when I return to school tomorrow.”

  Saying that, Clare nodded and wished me luck on that, which I didn’t really need since, from Alice’s words, the opinions of me in the royal academy among the students were mostly as expected. There is no way anyone would dare do anything against me now, especially since I have the secret backing of my ex-fiancé, who is a prince, something that will only be further confirmed when I am seen riding back to the royal palace with him after school.

  Honestly, I can’t really blame Clare for getting all too cautious because after the stunt I had pulled, she had a right to worry that I might do something equally as outrageous.

  Saying goodbye to Clare and wishing her good luck. It wasn’t entirely safe, since I’ve been told that my father had been acting more paranoid and desperate lately. It’s because, by the end of autumn break, the trial could officially start, and a week from now, the Third Knight Order would come to pick up all the evidence Clare had gathered.

  I continued grinding away at these endless papers till Alice came back, and we continued working throughout the night, with Clare stopping by again to bring both of us dinner.

  After eating while we worked for another hour or two, I called it quits for today because I had school tomorrow.

  “Alright, good night, Alice.”

  “Good night, Rita. You did a good job today.”

  Looking at Alice, who was planning to grind away a bit longer, I headed back to my room.

  Back in my room, where Clare was waiting, I went to the bath she had prepared. Afterward, I let my hair dry while drinking tea and was reading a book on exploring unknown dungeons, knowledge I would need when I returned there again.

  Once my hair had dried, I got onto my bed and went to sleep.

  Waking the next day, Clare woke me up and brought breakfast like usual whenever I had to go to school.

  Boarding the carriage after we had waited for Alice to arrive, I saw that she had bags under her eyes.

  “You seem really tired, Alice. Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “None actually.”

  “Really?”

  “You don’t have to worry; this is all to have some free time during the break.”

  Well, that is surprising. Wasn’t expecting Alice to be the type to pull all-nighters; she is really working herself to the bone.

  That… kind of hardcore, not in the good way, I should say, because in my past life, Norn and I would stay up for fun, not for work, if we could help it.

  But since it’s only this once, I should let it slide and not push the issue unless it becomes a real problem.

  Upon arriving at the academy, instead of keeping our usual silence, Alice and I exchanged bright smiles and acted as though we were enjoying a fun conversation.

  All eyes were on us, specifically me in general, because the incident where those three pushed me down the stairs was still fresh in their minds. Noticing my arm, which was in a sling, they immediately began to whisper among themselves, and I heard what they were all saying.

  “Is that Rita? How horrible. So it really was true.”

  “Hey, you know you’re supposed to call her Lady Rita now. Doesn't Prince Edwen still care for her?”

  “Yeah, have you seen those three lately? Because I haven’t.”

  “Me too…"

  “Same here? Did they get expelled?”

  “Who knows?”

  So far, everything was falling into place.

  Listening to all that, I walk inside the building, pretending not to hear all that, and enter my classroom.

  Stepping in, as usual, the class went silent, but this time, instead of scorn and mockery coming my way, there were looks of sympathy and pity in their eyes.

  I sat by my desk and kept to myself, with the gazes from everyone in class still locked on me.

  None of them approached or anything, which was fortunate for me because it would be a hassle, and my position in the academy was no longer at the very bottom but at the very top because of my connection to Edwen.

  All I need to do today is reinforce that idea by showing everyone that we’re still close, despite our engagement being annulled.

  As I thought that to myself, my hopes of being left alone were dashed when someone came into the classroom and walked directly toward my desk.

  A girl with brightly orange-colored hair, wearing the student council badge pinned neatly to her uniform for all to see, stood in front of me.

  Looking at her, I try to remember who she was as I put on a smile because I don’t really pay attention to the happenings of the school that don’t really involve me, which include, but are not limited to, the student council, clubs, class rankings, events, etc. In addition to that, I haven’t exactly been keeping up with memorizing the names and faces of every noble. Still, though, why does she look strangely familiar to me, like we’d met somewhere before?

  She looked somewhat awkward standing in front of me, like she didn’t know how to approach me or where to start.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Then, exhaling a deep breath, she spoke with as much respect and reverence as she could muster, “Greetings, Lady Rita. I am Hilda Hillrose, president of the student council…”

  Hilda… that sounds familiar. Wait, isn’t she one of the noble girls I’d met in Acton? More importantly, why is she the student council president here?

  Suddenly and without warning, she bowed her head deeply, surprising me a bit.

  “I deeply apologize for what happened. It is the student council’s responsibility to maintain a safe and stable learning environment for the students. It was our failure to allow such a grievous incident to occur.”

  What? I couldn’t help but think when I heard that. What is she apologizing for?

  I mean, it’s not really her fault. From the basic knowledge I bothered to remember about the school, the current student president's term generally lasts two years, and honestly, it wasn’t really their fault for what happened.

  Ever since the sons and daughters of high-ranking families, mostly from the old nobility faction, began taking control, the influence of the student council, primarily composed of the new nobility faction, has been rapidly dwindling. It was just unfortunate timing for them, since the Royal Academy usually cycles between the two factions roughly twice every decade.

  Everyone in the classroom fell silent. But from reading their thoughts, I could tell they were internally mocking her for bowing to me, the student council president, lowering herself before an ordinary student.

  “There is no need to apologize, Lady Hilda.”

  Honestly, from my first impression of her, I had a pretty good opinion of her, so it felt wrong to think she would do something like this. If anything, I felt bad for her. I should probably help her.

  “You’ve done all you could. It's really commendable, and I am grateful, truly, so please raise your head.”

  “But Lady Rita, I—"

  “There is no need for that. It should be I who should be grateful,” cutting her off before she could continue, I then said. “If you desire help, I am more than willing to offer it.”

  She looked at me with shock in her eyes, as did my classmates, while I adjusted my expression into a slightly gentler smile.

  They all know what I meant since I worded it that way, where I wasn’t blaming or mocking her for being so incompetent, since I’d guess she had to play with the cards she was dealt.

  “Lady Rita…”

  Raising my right hand to stop her from speaking, I just smiled and shook my head, jesting that there was no need to apologize since there was nothing to forgive in the first place.

  That caused her to bow her head deeply once again, in gratitude, though I was more relieved that she had left. I guess I am going to have to meet with the student council after the break, which sounds like a pain, but I don’t mind.

  Seeing her off with a smile, I overheard many of my classmates whispering among themselves about what happened until our homeroom teacher came in.

  Doing our role call, he said my name, though it was in a much more respectful tone, like with some of the other classmates, who were from families that were moderately influential in the old nobility faction. To add to that, he also asked how I was, giving me way more attention than usual.

  I just told him that I unfortunately couldn’t use my left arm and apologized for causing him trouble, but he quickly, almost frantically, assured me that it wasn’t an issue.

  When he finished, our first-period teacher came in, followed by the rest of them, until lunchtime came. I couldn’t help but find it a pain that they kept repeating practically the same things as our homeroom teacher, each of them giving me far more attention than before.

  Frankly, it got annoying really fast because some of them were acting way too shamelessly about it. Like a couple of days ago, they were acting like I didn’t exist or subtly mocked me in front of the whole class, which wasn’t so subtle at all.

  Fortunately for me, it was lunchtime, meaning that I would have a break from all their nonsense. Today, Edwen was supposed to come to my classroom to publicly confirm that we still had a strong relationship as friends, not lovers. It was a compromise that he really wanted, given that he was in love with Aria, which I didn’t really mind, but being a pretend lover would have been slightly better just in case some idiot tried to propose to me.

  Just in time as I thought that, Edwen came strolling in with a charming smile that, besides me, swooned all of the girls in the room, including the female teacher who was about to leave.

  He walked straight toward me so he could speak to me first, passing by, if not ignoring, the girls who were just about to strike up a conversation with him.

  Forming a smile equally as charming as his, I wait for him to talk first.

  “Rita, I hope you are well.”

  “Ah, Edwen, I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought we were going to meet up by the garden.”

  Hearing their reaction, a couple of my classmates gasp, and some mutter, “No way, did she just address His Highness, Prince Edwen, so casually like that?”

  “Sorry, I got a bit impatient. I just wanted to see how you were doing with my own eyes. Is Lady Alice treating you well?”

  “Why, yes, she has shown me nothing but kindness since taking me in.”

  “Good, that is really good to hear.” Then, changing the conversation, “Let’s go now; we don’t want Aria and everyone else to wait, do we?”

  “Right, give me a second. Let me put everything in my bag first.”

  Tilting his head a bit to signal confusion, he asked, “You know you can just leave it here in the classroom, right?”

  I relaxed my facial muscles, causing my smile to falter a bit, hearing his suggestion, and said, “Yeah, I know, but it's for personal reasons.”

  Taking a moment to realize what I meant, Edwen’s gaze shifted to my classmates. His eyes turned extremely icy, causing their faces to pale slightly.

  Putting all my things into my backpack, I was about to use my right arm to carry it when Edwen took it from me as I was getting up from my chair.

  “Alright, then let me carry your bag for you, Rita.”

  Saying that in a tone that gave no room for argument, I changed my smile once again to a slightly brighter one and said "Fine" to Edwen as we walked out of my classroom.

  We walked through the hallway, with people’s gazes constantly directed toward us, like we were the talk of the town, which we definitely were.

  Going to the library, specifically the main library of the Royal Academy, which was an entire building, bigger and much grander than the first- and second-year building, I still felt gazes from followers secretly following us as we walked toward there, which took a bit to get to since it was at the center of the academy.

  Given my current situation, our rooftop lunches were no longer an option since people would definitely follow us and find out about our secret spot, so we decided to eat lunch inside a study room in the main library instead.

  Inside the library, the space was spacious and open thanks to the high ceilings. Tall wooden shelves stood in neat rows, packed tightly with books of varying sizes and colors. Wide tables were evenly arranged across the floor, each paired with sturdy chairs for studying. Soft light filtered through the tall windows, illuminating the polished marble floors and giving the entire space a calm, disciplined atmosphere.

  Following Edwen’s lead, I walked with him through the library’s maze-like corridors between shelves that all looked identical to a first-time visitor.

  It was a shortcut that led us directly to a secondary stairway, away from the main path that led to the primary stairway that most people used.

  After another few minutes of walking, we eventually reached the private study room, which Serell had been fortunate enough to reserve thanks to his connections, since it was first-come, first-served.

  Knocking on the door since we didn’t have a key to the room, Edwen let everyone inside know it was us.

  Aria was the one who happily greeted us and let us in, and as Aria closed the door, I closed my eyes, let out a tired sigh, and put away my smile, back to my normal expressionless self.

  “Good job back there, Edwen; your acting is impeccable—”

  As I open my eyes and look inside the room to see everyone, I see someone I wasn’t expecting to see or hadn't seen in the last few months. It was my brother Eric. What is he doing here?

  Our eyes looked at one another, and Eric was the first to look away.

  Aria, seeing this, spoke between us, explaining why my brother was here.

  “Blake, Eric’s here to ask you something.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Wonder what it was. Granted, I already have a guess on what it was, so I turn to look at Eric. However… as I looked at him, I sensed an extremely dark aura in his mind that spiked every time he looked at me.

  I couldn’t get a good read on his thoughts because of the mixed emotions, where logically he knows that I am Blake pretending to be Rita, but he was unable to separate the two because we look so similar, since we are.

  Pretending to be awkward about it, I turned to Eric and asked what he wanted us to talk about and if we needed to go somewhere more private.

  “No… Blake… there's no need; you already know what I want to ask, do you?”

  Sitting down in the empty chair facing my brother, I replied, “Yeah, I know. But you also know I can’t set up a meeting between you and her. Plus, I’m kind of on thin ice with your sister right now, so it’s practically impossible for me to do that.”

  Hearing what I said, I tried to sense what Eric was thinking, but the same result happened. His mind was cluttered with constant, conflicting thoughts fighting against one another, making it very hard for me to sense anything concrete.

  My brother let out a long, disappointed sigh that had a hint of frustration before saying.

  “I—I… understand, but could you at least give this to her?”

  Pulling a wooden box from under the desk, I tilted my head slightly in confusion as my brother placed it on the table, wondering what it was.

  “My father wants to give this to her, please; I am begging you.”

  Sounding desperate, saying that this was the very last hope he had, I weighed my options because I didn’t know what the heck was in that box. Why would that bastard of a father of mine give something like this without some ulterior motive? This is too suspicious since, in all likelihood, this might be a magical tracking tool or device, or something along those lines, to confirm where I was, as Rita, and probably send out the remnants of my family's black knights to capture, but more likely kill, me.

  I took a moment to think about it and said. “I think I can do that, but no promises.”

  With a faint smile, Eric said, “Thank you,” before excusing himself and leaving the room.

  Aria silently watched our exchange end, looking at Eric with a worried expression as he walked out.

  I turn to look at her, we lock eyes, and she says, “Sorry, everyone, Eric does not seem fine at all. I’m going to check on him.”

  Saying that, nobody seemed to object to Aria’s decision as she quickly packed her things and left, following my brother.