“-The oath will be read by Miss Jeanne Nova, who claimed Top rank last semester, and Mr. Ruhir de Winter, who claimed second rank.”

The new semester at the Academy began with the previous year’s Top rank and second rank, now entering their eighth year, reading the oath. When she had enrolled at twelve and watched the oath being recited, she had wanted to be the one standing in that place eight years later.

The feeling of actually having done it was nothing short of thrilling. She had always claimed Top rank despite being a commoner, and so she had received every kind of jealousy and resentment imaginable.

But things like that had always come back to her as fuel. Even now, standing here reciting the oath, she could feel quite a few gazes of resentment and outright hatred directed at her.

Committing violence within Crossline Academy carried severe punishment. That was likely why they could do nothing but stare. Jeanne nearly burst out laughing.

When the oath ended, the two of them bowed to the assembled students.

She could see the new students whispering among themselves, watching Ruhir with eyes full of curiosity. Then he slowed his pace slightly and leaned toward her.

“Miss Nova.”

“Hm?”

“Would you be able to talk with me in the garden after the entrance ceremony?”

“Sure.”

Oh. A confession, perhaps? Was he going to grant Lilian’s wish?

She felt a flicker of interest but kept it from showing. It might not necessarily be a confession.

The moment she returned to her seat, she felt a variety of gazes settle on her. Jealousy, resentment, hatred, admiration. She was quite sensitive to the emotions of others, and she found them all rather entertaining.

She figured she probably wouldn’t have much reason to see any of these people after graduation, so it didn’t bother her.

When the entrance ceremony ended, everyone rose from their seats. There were no lectures today, so people headed to the dormitories or went out with friends.

“Oh, hello! Senior!”

“Hm? Hello.”

“I, I’m a first-year who enrolled this year. My name is Ann, and I’ve always admired you, Senior!”

“Really? How did you know about me?”

“You’re a commoner who’s claimed Top rank every single time, so you’ve been in the papers a lot. I, I want to become that good at studying too.”

“Really? Thank you for thinking so highly of me. If Ann works hard, you’ll be able to reach Top rank too.”

“I, I, I’m a fan of yours too, Senior!”

The little ones, only twelve years old, looked like chicks, and they were adorable. How wonderful it would be if her younger cousins were this cute. She had expected to exchange only a brief greeting, but she ended up giving autographs as well.

By the time she finally managed to get out from among the little chicks, her head was spinning. She made her way to the Academy building’s garden, the agreed meeting place.

The Academy garden was famous for being truly large and beautiful. Different flowers bloomed with each season, and their fragrance was genuinely wonderful. There were so many couples who had confessed their feelings there and found love.

The garden would be crowded no matter where you went, so if something were to happen there.

“Miss Nova.”

All eyes would inevitably turn their way. He was already someone people looked up to, so glances naturally drifted toward him, but the fact that he was holding a bouquet made it even more so. He was handsome, and this was an item that only added to that handsomeness.

Was this one of those things? A way to make it harder to say no? If she hadn’t known about the plan, she might have turned on her heel and walked away.

“Mr. Winter. Did you wait long?”

“No. Not particularly. Um, these are flowers I prepared. Would you accept them?”

“Thank you.”

She had received bouquets like this from her mother and her professors before. But never from a male peer.

The moment she took the bouquet in her arms, whispers broke out all around them. Since there were no lectures today, everyone had clearly come here.

Any student enrolled at the Academy would know what that meant. He was in his final eighth year, so he would know it even better.

“Is something the matter? Did the professors ask us to do something together again?”

“It’s not that. There’s something I want to say.”

A confession. It’s a confession. Perhaps because he was royalty, he seemed skilled at performing emotions. He had flushed slightly at the ears and cheeks. How much had he practiced? Jeanne watched him while pretending not to know anything, and Ruhir finally managed to open his mouth.

“Miss Jeanne Nova. I like you. If you’re willing, would you go out with me?”

With those words, the garden fell silent in an instant. It seemed everyone had been listening in secret, because they all looked stunned and frozen in place. This was going to spread properly.

A prince blushing and trembling as though embarrassed. She doubted anyone else had caught that, and she found it rather charming.

Jeanne widened her eyes and looked at him, feigning surprise. Seeing the expression on his face that said he was absolutely certain he wouldn’t be turned down made her want to turn him down. It would probably be entertaining to watch that face crumple, but she decided to hold back.

“Is this some kind of bet with your friends?”

“Of course not.”

Startled by Jeanne’s question, he widened his eyes and shook his head from side to side. Right. It wasn’t a bet. It was his younger sister’s request. She could feel very clearly that every single person’s gaze was fixed on the two of them.

Jeanne looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

“All right.”

“Hm?”

“I want to go out with you.”

“Re, really?”

Yes. I have absolutely no intention of saying no. I’m going to burn through this last semester at twenty in the most thrilling way possible.

Ruhir de Winter was royalty, so once he graduated, there would be absolutely no occasion to meet him again.

Even if she became a palace civil servant, there would be no reason to encounter royalty in the course of her work. On top of that, there were so many daughters of noble houses vying for Ruhir that the moment he graduated, marriage proposals would come flying his way.

That was exactly why now was the perfect opportunity. He was handsome, intelligent, well-mannered, kind to everyone, and on top of all that, his body was something else.

During sparring, most of the men trained with their upper bodies bare. He had been the same. She had seen him last year and thought, he really has trained hard. She had thought that then, and she had wanted to touch those abs of his.

When Jeanne accepted the confession, she could see the people around them letting out silent screams.

She had already been on the receiving end of all kinds of stares, but now it would only get worse.

“Mr. Winter. Can I call you Ruhir from now on?”

“Hm? Yes. That’s fine. Th, then I’ll call you Jeanne too.”

“I look forward to it.”

Word would definitely spread within the hour. In truth, Jeanne had received quite a few confessions over her eight years here as well. There had even been a revolting confession from someone who said that even though she was a commoner, he would take her as his wife right after graduation. There had also been people who had confessed with genuine sincerity.

But none of them had measured up in her eyes, so she had turned them all down.

That aside, she wanted to sleep with Ruhir. She wondered when she would be able to get him out of his clothes. She hid that scheming thought behind a smile.

Since she was already starting a relationship with the second prince as a commoner, she might as well try everything she could.

“There are too many people right now, so let’s talk about the rest later.”

“Y, yes.”

“I look forward to what’s ahead.”

Jeanne smiled and extended one hand. Ruhir took it right away, and they shook hands lightly before letting go.

***

“You, you!”

The dormitory door flew open hard and someone shouted at her. Jeanne had been reading a book, and when she set it down and looked over, it was Alice, her aunt’s daughter. Fortunately, her roommates each had plans and hadn’t come back yet.

“Alice. Hello.”

“Youuuuuu!”

She strode over quickly and grabbed Jeanne by both shoulders. It had been less than two hours since the confession, and it seemed Alice had already heard.

“How could you let me hear news like this from someone else!”

“Ahaha. I knew you’d come find me like this. And weren’t you out shopping in the market district?”

“That’s true, but…… still, you should have told me, your own relative!”

She whined and wrapped her arms around Jeanne’s neck, squeezing tight. It was getting hard to breathe, so Jeanne gave her arm a light tap, and Alice finally let go. Then she looked at Jeanne with eyes mixed with curiosity.

“Was there something going on between you and His Highness before? Is that why you started dating?”

“Well, we saw each other often as Top rank and second rank, so I thought he wasn’t bad.”

“The people who actually witnessed the confession are going absolutely wild. By tomorrow, every student at the Academy will know.”

“Is that so? Ah. I’ve never dated before so I don’t know, but are there things I should watch out for? You’ve been in a relationship, Alice.”

“Hmm, even if I don’t say anything, I think Jeanne would do fine on her own. But if you need the wisdom of someone with experience.”

Alice let out a bright laugh and they sat down together on the sofa in the dormitory common room.

After her mother left her side, Jeanne had been placed in her aunt’s care. It wasn’t as though she was mistreated the way it happened in novels, but the relationship was a peculiar one. She had sensed in her aunt’s gaze a tendency to project her mother onto her.

At any rate, she and her aunt’s children were close in age, so they got along well enough. She had helped them with their studies many times, and since they all maintained good grades because of it, they looked up to her.

She had been about to hear Alice’s experience as a senior in romance when a knock came at the door. She turned toward it and saw the female students from the same floor carefully opening the door and looking for Jeanne.

They wore the same expression as Alice, one of dying curiosity, so she smiled and told them to come in.

“How far has word spread about what happened in the garden today?”

“We were genuinely curious and came to find out. It didn’t feel right to ask Alice.”