Chapter 8. From Winter to Spring (6)

Ugh, I wish she’d just yell instead—this smile of hers is way scarier.

“How have you been? Doing well, I hope?”

Suddenly, Seria was asking about me.

What is she thinking?

She came here wielding a blade, clearly intent on threatening—or possibly harming—me… but the words coming out of her mouth were oddly casual. Even friendly.

What do you even want from me?

“I… I’ve been—”

“Oh, of course you’ve been doing well,” she interrupted.

“You took everything from me, mocked me, and had the time of your life sitting in my place, didn’t you?”

Seria let out a scoffing laugh, clearly uninterested in anything I had to say. She just kept talking, focused only on the words she wanted to speak.

As expected, she was… strange.

It wasn’t as if she’d completely revealed her true nature, but it also didn’t feel like she was hiding anymore.

The way she stood there, smiling with a knife in her hand—it gave off an unsettling, hard-to-pin-down aura.

I glanced at her and slowly opened the lips I’d kept tightly sealed.

“You think I stole your place? Get your facts straight. It wasn’t taken—you fell all on your own.”

“…What did you just say?”

“You tricked people for years with your angelic mask and committed countless wrongs.

Now it’s time to reflect and accept your punishment.”

I had sworn not to provoke her.

And yet, the words spilling from my mouth couldn’t have irritated Seria more if I tried.

Wow… Seria really is something.

Just seeing her face makes me lose control and say exactly what’s on my mind.

Seria stood there with wide eyes, motionless.

For a second, I thought maybe I’d actually stunned her.

“…What did I do that was so wrong?”

After a long silence, her voice finally came—shockingly cold.

Her creamy blond hair fluttered softly in the air.

Her face was still beautiful.

But now that face was filled with madness, shadowed in darkness.

“All I did was act in order to get the things I wanted.

Is that really such a crime?”

“…Ha.”

A laugh slipped out of me—dry and disbelieving.

Sure, people strive to get what they want. That much is human.

But Seria had gone beyond that. She stole other people’s fiancés, hurt them for her own gain, and even hired assassins in an attempt to kill.

And now she was saying that’s not wrong?

“I didn’t do anything wrong! It’s the fools who got tricked—that’s their fault!”

Seria… you’ve really lost it, haven’t you?

You’re completely insane now.

Once called the angel and goddess of the academy, the heroine had finally fallen into complete ruin.

I looked at Seria, who was shamelessly shouting about her innocence, and responded with a cold voice.

“Seria, it’s over for you. No matter how much you scream that you did nothing wrong, you’re already a criminal.”

“You—!”

Seria rushed at me, closing the distance in an instant.

With a knife in one hand and wild eyes, the sight of her coming at me was terrifying.

I felt my back hit a large tree, my styled hair now in complete disarray.

“Ack—!”

“Did I ever tell you—”

Her hands wrapped around my neck, the pressure intense.

I gasped, struggling to breathe, glaring up at her as she strangled me.

Seria sneered as she met my eyes.

“I really hate you.”

The beautiful heroine, declaring she hated me, face twisted in fury…

Hah. I once thought you and I had nothing in common, but turns out we share something after al.

Face-to-face with Seria, who was pouring her hatred into me, I forced out my words through gritted teeth.

“I hate you too.”

“Do you now?

Then I guess that makes this easier.”

And with that, the glinting blade came speeding toward me.

***

Seria.

She was just an ordinary girl born in a small village.

If there was anything unusual about her, it was that she was strikingly beautiful—rare for such a humble town—and that she could use a bit of magic.

She lived in a small house on the outskirts of the village with her parents, and while their life wasn’t luxurious, her family was warm and close-knit.

Seria wasn’t that different from other kids.

She was a little greedy, a little cunning, but she hid it well behind the bright, innocent laughter typical of children.

The villagers never saw her true nature—only doted on her.

“How could someone smile so beautifully?”

“She’s going to grow up to be a real beauty, mark my words!”

The adults in the village were always kind to her, and the other children—especially those around her age—were eager to befriend her and give her small gifts.

To Seria, she was the protagonist.

In this tiny, quiet village, she was the beloved, beautiful center of everyone’s world.

She loved that feeling.

Believed it was only natural.

She spent her early childhood basking in that happiness, and by the time she turned twelve, Seria was already admired for her elegance and surprising maturity.

One day, on the way to see a play with Tom—the persistent neighbor boy who kept asking her out—Seria walked begrudgingly by his side. She didn’t like Tom one bit, but she really wanted to see the play, so she agreed.

It was her first time watching a play.

As a commoner, the price of a ticket was steep, and opportunities like this were rare.

Thankfully, Tom—who was hopelessly smitten with her—had somehow managed to get tickets, so she finally had the chance.

Seria sat on the cushioned seat, waiting for the play to begin.

The plot was as simple as it could be: the typical love story between a graceful princess and a prince from a neighboring kingdom.

To nobles who had seen plenty of plays, it was a yawn-worthy, cliché tale.

But to Seria, it was mesmerizing.

The heroine was always radiant and beautiful.

As if she were the center of the world, she dominated the stage, captivating everyone.

Seria was utterly enchanted by the performance.

The prince was always on the heroine’s side.

No matter how the villainess schemed or plotted, the heroine was always protected—by fate, by love, and by everyone around her.

It was exactly the kind of reality Seria dreamed of.

By the time the play ended, Seria stood up and clapped enthusiastically.

To young Seria, it had been nothing short of a revelation.

How can someone be so perfect and dazzling?

I want to be like that—to stand proudly at the center of the stage.

“Let’s go, Seria.”

The voice that pulled her out of her trance as she continued to stare at the empty stage long after the play had ended was Tom’s.

That’s right—she wasn’t the princess on that stage.

She was just a commoner girl living in a tiny, unremarkable village.

With a tangled mix of feelings, Seria returned home.

From that day forward, Seria often wore a dazed expression.

To become a perfect heroine, just like the one she had seen in the play—

That was now her deepest wish.

Of course, she already was living like a heroine in this small village.

But the village was too small, too insignificant.

Seria needed a grander stage.

She needed to escape the status of a mere commoner.

“A noble…”

Leaving the village and heading to the imperial capital was easy enough.

But changing one’s status… that was nearly impossible.

For the first time, Seria truly resented being a commoner.

She carried the shock of that play with her for days, until one day, the village held a festival.

Unlike usual, it was a grand event—because the daughter of the village’s lord, Baroness Phellison, was visiting.

It was the first time Seria had ever seen a noble in person, and she never forgot it.

Truthfully, the baroness wasn’t particularly attractive.

In fact, she could even be considered plain-looking.

Despite the heavy makeup covering her face and the suffocatingly ornate dress she wore, the noble girl looked bizarre and even laughable.

Seria, upon seeing her, was honestly disappointed. That’s a noble? she thought.

But soon after, her thoughts changed.

Despite her rude behavior—her tantrums, petty complaints, and the trouble she caused—no one dared to scold her.

Why?

Because she was a noble.

And the villagers were just lowly commoners.

Seria was stunned by the sheer difference in status.

That… that was what she wanted.

To be someone untouchable.

To be forgiven for anything.

To be protected, admired, treated as someone special no matter what.

But how…?

After wrestling with that question for some time, Seria finally made her decision.

At fifteen, she left home.

Not a letter, not a farewell—she left her parents behind without hesitation and headed to the imperial capital.

With money she had secretly taken from home, Seria stayed in expensive inns and ate only fine food.

Naturally, the money didn’t last.

To make more, she used what she had—her beauty.

And her magic.

She performed small magic shows, charming crowds to earn enough to survive.

That was when someone approached her:

“You’ve got talent for magic. Why don’t you come live with us?”

It had been pure coincidence.

Seria had been performing her usual street magic shows to earn money, when a man wearing a silk hat pulled low over his eyes approached her.

Just from his demeanor, she could tell—he was a noble.

Seria saw an opportunity.

And she took it without hesitation.

She followed him.

The man turned out to be none other than Marquis Edwin—a far more influential figure than she could’ve imagined.

“From now on, I’ll be your patron. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

The marquis’s estate was enormous.

At first, Seria was cautious, carefully navigating the luxurious halls.

But before long, she grew used to the opulence—to the silk sheets, the fine meals, the endless luxuries.

She lived like a noble. And eventually… she wanted to be one.

That was when a single question began to gnaw at her.

Why had Marquis Edwin taken her in?

Why was he so generous to someone like her—just a commoner girl with a little magical talent?

Even with her abilities, nobles rarely offered such lavish treatment to someone like her.

So Seria came to two conclusions:

Either the marquis was a rare noble who enjoyed helping others…

Or he had darker motives.

It was the latter.

“Seria, you said you wanted to learn noble etiquette?”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Wanting to become a true noblewoman, Seria asked the marquis to provide her with lessons in manners and refinement.

He had always agreed to her requests without hesitation, and she was certain he would again.

But…

“Hmm… that’s a bit difficult.”

“…What? Why?”

“You’re a commoner, remember?”

The unexpected reply left Seria stunned.

Because I’m a commoner? That’s it? Why?

She clung to him, desperate, pleading.

The marquis looked down at her, wearing a sly smile.

His voice turned low and oily.

“Alright then, come closer.”

Seria did as the marquis asked.

He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into his embrace.

Startled by the sudden act, Seria twisted in protest, but as his sticky voice whispered in her ear—

“Stay still. You want what you came for, don’t you?”

—she stopped resisting.

So that’s what this was.

He was giving her what she wanted in exchange for satisfying his desires.

She looked up at the pitiful, lecherous face of the marquis with blank eyes—then slowly closed them.

Fine. Do what you want. As long as I get what I want in the end.

Seria allowed the marquis to touch her.

If she could just endure a moment of horror, she could get everything she wanted.

Through the marquis, she learned noble manners, posture, etiquette, fine dining protocol—even how to dance at social balls.

She learned everything.

Three years passed.

And then Seria entered Sirius Academy.

Not because she sought knowledge or an education.

She had one goal: the Crown Prince.

The moment she learned he was attending the academy, her decision was made.

If she could get her hands on him, she wouldn’t just rise to nobility—she could ascend to the imperial family.