One early morning, Yulia rubbed her sleepy eyes and stopped her grandfather as he was about to leave the house.

“Grandpa, if you’re going to the market… could you please buy me a textbook?”

Her kind grandfather, for the sake of his young granddaughter, spent what was a considerable sum for him, not on a single book, but on an entire set.

Seated at a desk on the verge of falling apart, Yulia devoted herself completely to self-directed study, focusing on those textbooks.

Perhaps because she already had a foundation, the young girl quickly began to excel.

At the rural school she attended once a week, her homeroom teacher was the first to recognize her talent.

“Yulia is gifted. In a word, she’s a prodigy. It would be such a waste to let her remain in this countryside. I’ll look into some funding—how about sending her to Mondinium to study?”

Though poor, her grandfather was the type who would sacrifice anything for his only granddaughter.

“My precious and beloved Yulia… it pains me to send you away alone.”

After scraping together every last coin he had, he sent her off to the capital. Unable to bear watching her leave, he turned away and wept.

Yulia couldn’t hold back her tears either.

By then, she truly loved her grandfather.

“Grandpa, I’ll succeed and come back to repay you! I promise! Waaah…!”

Dragging a bag nearly as big as herself, she ran back to him once more and held him tightly, sharing a long, tearful goodbye.

***

Arriving in Mondinium alone with nothing but a large leather bag, Yulia hopped off the train and looked around the wide platform.

“Hey there, little one. Are you here by yourself?”

She turned toward the voice.

A station attendant in a blue cap approached her with a kind smile.

He looked friendly—but in this world, there was no such thing as kindness without reason.

Clever even at a young age, Yulia eyed him warily, hiding her bag behind her.

Taken aback by the suspicious look—as if she were sizing him up as a scammer—the attendant froze.

In that instant, Yulia quickly backed away and dashed toward the opposite platform.

As she hurried along, repeatedly glancing behind her, she noticed a white flyer fluttering against a red brick pillar.

[Duvert Family Scholarship Program – Providing stable educational opportunities for the underprivileged!]

An illustration showed the benevolent Duke Duvert with arms open, embracing children running toward him.

Yulia stopped.

Almost as if drawn in, she stepped closer.

The funding her teacher had secured, along with her grandfather’s savings, was nowhere near enough to support a young girl living and studying in the capital.

In short—she needed money.

Yulia tore the flyer from the pillar and tucked it deep inside her leather bag.

***

At fourteen, with her school report card in one hand and the flyer in the other, Yulia knocked on the gates of the Duvert estate.

Before the bewildered butler, she boldly held out the flyer and spoke clearly:

“Hello, my name is Yulia Haybel. I’d like to apply for the Duvert Scholarship.”

For the Duke and Duchess of Duvert, there was no reason to turn away a suddenly appeared, exceptionally talented yet impoverished girl.

“It’s perfect for promoting the scholarship program—it makes for a great story!”

Just like that, Yulia entered the royal academy—an institution reserved for the wealthy and powerful—alongside the Duvert family’s only son, Jerome Duvert.

She ranked first in the entrance exams with perfect scores.

“Yulia, you’re amazing! If you keep this up, graduating as valedictorian will be no problem!”

At the academy that would turn her into a success story, Yulia never once lost her first-place rank.

Everything was going exactly as she had planned.

…Until he transferred in.

“My name is Cassian Isheide.”

That day, Yulia sat by the sunlit window, absorbed in her alchemy textbook.

‘Turning stones into gold? How does that even make sense…’

She flipped through the pages irritably, rereading a problem she couldn’t understand.

Then Lily, seated beside her, grabbed her arm.

“Yulia! It’s His Grace!”

“His Grace?”

Without lifting her eyes from the book, Yulia lazily tilted her head up.

“Cassian Isheide, the Grand Duke! He just returned from studying abroad!”

At that moment, Yulia doubted her ears.

Cassian Isheide…?

‘That Cassian Isheide from The Stars Embroidered on Tritan?’

The emperor’s only nephew?

The male lead who lost his parents young and became a Grand Duke?

‘Th-that man… is Cassian Isheide?’

Thud.

Her precious textbook fell to the floor, but she didn’t even notice.

From that day on, Yulia made a firm decision—to avoid Cassian at all costs.

‘I never finished the novel. I don’t know how the story unfolds.’

Rather than getting entangled with the protagonist and dragged into unknown events, she would simply live her own life.

After all, their worlds had nothing in common.

However—there was one thing she had overlooked.

“Huh? Yulia, I think Cassian ranked first this time?”

“What?”

That was—

Cassian was quite good at studying.

From the moment he transferred in, they became unavoidable rivals.

***

Leaving the academy gates with Jerome, Yulia beamed at him.

“Jerome! Congratulations on graduating. Your grades improved a lot!”

“Yu…lia… th-thanks… to you…”

Jerome spoke carefully, trying his best to articulate.

Yulia looked at him with both fondness and quiet sadness.

Jerome had a congenital speech disorder—a severe stutter that made proper pronunciation difficult.

Despite being one of the wealthiest families in the empire, the Duke of Duvert had searched tirelessly for a cure, but nothing worked.

“Oh, come on—I didn’t do anything! You worked harder than anyone else!”

At her praise, Jerome smiled brightly.

His radiant smile drew the attention of passing ladies, who stopped in their tracks.

“Oh my…”

“Who is he?”

Yulia felt oddly proud.

When silent, Jerome looked like an angel descended from the heavens.

Pale skin, shimmering platinum hair, and clear sky-blue eyes—

He resembled something straight out of a fairytale.

“Th-tha…nk… you…”

The moment he spoke, however, the women recoiled in surprise.

“Oh—?”

“Cough, cough!”

They quickly covered their faces with fans, whispering among themselves.

Snippets of their gossip reached Yulia—mocking his speech, saying his looks were wasted.

“…Jerome.”

Sensing their stares, Jerome lowered his head, lips pressed shut.

Yulia was used to the way people’s attitudes changed—but it still left a bitter taste.

Unable to hold back, she stepped in front of him.

“Excuse me.”

“Y-Yes?”

“We can hear you. Could you not gossip right in front of someone?”

“Oh my? What are you talking about? What gossip?”

One woman feigned innocence.

“Yu…lia… st-stop…”

Jerome gently held her back, forcing a small smile.

Knowing this would only hurt him further, Yulia reluctantly stayed silent.

But not before shooting them the fiercest glare she could muster.

Grabbing Jerome’s hand, she hurried him away.

‘Terrible people…’

***

“Jerome, I’ll head back to the dorm now.”

At the gates of the Duvert estate, Yulia turned to leave.

“Yu…lia… m-my… mo…ther…”

“Hm? Lady Catherine wants to see me?”

When Yulia asked with a puzzled expression, Jerome nodded.

Yulia followed Jerome, who was holding her hand and pulling her, through the Duvert family gate and into the mansion.

Guided by the butler, they entered a spacious reception room, where Catherine, sitting on a plush velvet chair, approached them with a bright smile.

“Jerome! Yulia!”

Her rich red dress swayed elegantly as she approached.