Chapter 1

Here, at the Konstanz Royal Academy, there was an eighteen-year-old girl who had entered with grand dreams.

Her future hope was to join the Royal Knights, her immediate goal was to enter as the top student of her year. She liked swordsmanship, lyrical poetry, and romance novels. She disliked flying insects.

The girl’s name was Alexandra Lindau, and she had just arrived in the capital, Winterthur, from the port city of Moos in the southeast of the Konstanz Kingdom. It had been forty years since anyone from Moos had passed the entrance exam for the Royal Academy, so before leaving, she had even received praise from the Lord of Moos.

Her family, relatives, neighbors, and even people she hardly knew all said the same thing. 

‘Alexandra, it’s rare to find someone as talented as you. You’ll surely be first at the Konstanz Royal Academy too.’

Alexa—all her close friends called her that—was smart enough to know her own limits. At the Konstanz Academy, all the most gifted students from across the kingdom gathered. Being the top student there was by no means easy. But if one is born, shouldn’t one have ambition and desire?

She couldn’t say ‘definitely,’ but Alexa was fairly confident. She had already realized at the entrance exam that most other kids couldn’t keep up with her skills. The examiners, too, looked at Alexa with unusual eyes. Two of them even asked her name directly.

She was sure she had done well on both the written and practical exams. Perhaps, with this much… She couldn’t help but hold onto that hope in her heart.

The entrance ceremony was the next day, so Alexa and her parents unpacked their luggage at an inn a little distance from the Academy. Over dinner, her father, who rarely drank, had a glass of alcohol. After just three sips, his face turned bright red, and he kept stroking Alexa’s hair with a beaming smile.

“Really, even though you’re my daughter, you’re amazing. I’m so proud. Oh, how did such a lucky child become my daughter!”

And then, tears welled up in his eyes. He even whispered, ‘But our daughter’s hands and feet are still so small…’ In her father’s eyes, she was still just a child. The thought of her spending the next five years alone in the capital, far from home, seemed to break his heart.

Alexa understood why her father was like that, but she purposely made a disgusted face and gently pushed his arm away.

“Ah, seriously. Why are you like this? It’s not like I’m going off to die.”

“But… once you enter, when will I see you again…?”

“Oh, come on! I’ll come home every vacation, so what’s there to worry about?”

Eventually, her mother lightly slapped her father’s back. Watching her parents bicker, Alexa soon turned her head and got lost in her own thoughts.

Entering the Academy was, of course, something to look forward to. A new environment, new friends, new learning. She would encounter a world she could never have known if she’d stayed in Moos. She had already been filled with anticipation for all of it before coming to Winterthur. But there was one more thing she looked forward to just as much.

This was something she hadn’t told her parents, her younger brother, or her friends.

‘Maybe he’ll come too?’

Just thinking about it made her want to laugh, so Alexa had to bite her lips to keep from smiling.

To eighteen-year-old Alexa, the boy who fell into her life like a shooting star was like a prince. Not a literal prince. Rather, he was the kind of boy who matched perfectly with the male lead in the romance novels and the sensibility built up by the lyrical poetry she’d read.

She’d never imagined such a person could exist in the world. Especially a boy who wielded a sword. Most of the boys she knew who held swords smelled bad, were dirty, ugly, or acted cocky.

But that boy was different. From the moment he entered the exam hall, he captured everyone’s attention. She’d repeated to herself three times, ‘How can someone like that exist in this world?’

If sunlight could be spun into thread, it would be his hair. In the middle of a hot summer, if you looked up at the sky through the deep green leaves in the forest, that would be the color of his eyes.

His skin was so clean and white that it seemed he’d never been exposed to sunlight, and his fingers were long and beautiful. Even though he was probably her age, he was much taller than the other kids, with broad shoulders, a thick torso, and a straight posture.

Everyone whispered about his appearance when he stood before the examiners, and again when he started swinging his sword. Watching the elegant lines his sword drew, Alexa felt a shiver run down her spine.

That perfect boy wielded his sword perfectly. Even the usually stern-faced examiner smiled.

There was no way someone like him would fail the swordsmanship department exam. Of course. Even if not, they would end up in the same Academy anyway. 

‘What would his voice be like? Would it be soft, low, and charming?’

Alexa smiled again.

Her mother, not knowing what she was thinking, nudged her husband’s shoulder and said, 

“Alexa must be really excited. Look at her smile.”

“Alexa… Is leaving your father really that wonderful?”

Her father’s voice, starting to tremble again, didn’t reach Alexa.

‘Could I become friends with him?’

She wanted to. If possible, she wanted to cross swords with him. Maybe, if they became good partners, they could join the Knights together later. Alexa’s dreams grew ever larger. In her imagination, she was already an adult, wearing a knight’s uniform alongside that boy.

But Alexa didn’t know the boy’s name. All the candidates were called by their exam numbers, so there was no way to know his name.

Tomorrow, at the Academy, she would naturally find out. Alexa pressed her racing heart down with one hand.

* * *

On the day of the entrance ceremony, the Academy’s square was crowded with people. The Konstanz Royal Academy, with its dormitories, lecture halls, laboratories, and training grounds, was about the size of a small town. The square was located straight ahead from the main gate, in the middle of all the buildings. It was so packed that it was noisy beyond belief.

On one side were seats for the new students’ families and relatives, on the other side were the current students, and next to them, graduates who were active in various fields throughout the kingdom. Below the podium sat the professors who taught the students, along with honored guests.

And, where everyone could see, the new students sat in rows.

Students who excelled in swordsmanship, academics, and magic all wore proud smiles, excited for what was to come. In fact, just being admitted to the Konstanz Academy was proof of their abilities. The next five years of learning would not be easy, but after graduation, there would surely be a place for them.

Alexa quickly spotted her parents, waving excitedly from the guest seats. She waved back, then turned her gaze forward. Unable to look anywhere else, she fidgeted with her hands on her lap.

Because the boy was sitting next to her.

The seating arrangement for the entrance ceremony was based on exam scores. That meant the boy had entered as the top student in swordsmanship, and Alexa was second.

Her heart pounded. Alexa felt her cheeks, ears, and neck grow hot. 

‘Was this some kind of sign? A sign from the heavens to get close to this boy…?’

The ceremony hadn’t started yet. Clearing her throat, Alexa awkwardly turned toward the boy.

“Um, excuse me?”

‘Was my voice too soft?’

He didn’t turn. She tried again, a little louder.

“Excuse me, hello?”

Only then did the boy turn his head toward Alexa. The moment his brilliant green eyes looked at her, Alexa felt her heart thump loudly in her chest. Instead of responding to her greeting, the boy simply stared at her. Alexa had never felt nervous or stammered in front of anyone before, but somehow, her tongue seemed tied and the words wouldn’t come out easily.

“Uh, I’m Alexandra Lindau. I’m in the same, swordsmanship division as you……”

“…Is that so?”

The boy’s voice pierced Alexa’s heart. Unlike others his age, his voice was soft and low, as if his voice had already changed, and it was comfortable. Moreover, he sounded calm. He had the air of a truly ideal ‘male protagonist.’

Alexa wanted the conversation to continue. But after the boy asked, “Is that so?” he said nothing more. Perhaps he was the quiet type? Alexa tried to keep the conversation going.

“Um, nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

Instead of answering, the boy stared at Alexa’s face. His gaze seemed to try to see through everything about her. As he looked at her so intently, Alexa became embarrassed. Still, she didn’t look away. She simply sent a look that meant, ‘Will you hurry up and answer?’

The boy’s face showed almost no expression. Except for a slightly furrowed brow, he looked almost like a doll. Perhaps unable to resist Alexa’s expectant gaze, the boy finally spoke.

“Reinhardt von Odenwald.”