The teachers seated us and began introducing themselves.

Starting with teachers responsible for knowledge needed to study at the academy, there were teachers for preliminary studies, dance, and knowledge related to the imperial palace.

There were about five months until entering the academy, and six months until the debutante ball for social debut.

It was a tight schedule to acquire all of that.

More precisely, it was a very tight schedule for Leila.

Since I had already learned all of this content… no, I even knew some subjects more thoroughly than those teachers, so I had no worries.

I just sighed at the labor of having to study something I already knew.

“Now, I will begin the class. There will be a test right after the lesson, and another test the next morning on the content learned the previous day. And on the last day of the week, we’ll have an exam to review all the content learned during that week.”

Ugh….

Just thinking about writing on test papers made my wrist feel sore already.

Leila, sitting next to me, let out a deep sigh with different concerns.

So the classes began.

The content was… as I expected, all things I had already learned.

Four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon.

Having to spend a total of eight hours in such a useless way.

I suppressed my yawns and pretended to take diligent notes during the teachers’ lessons.

Tutors travel around teaching young ladies from noble families.

If I showed signs of dozing off here, I would surely become known as the ill-mannered young lady who sleeps during lessons.

After the class ended and we took the test, I glanced to the side and saw Leila on the verge of tears, her head buried in her test paper.

In my previous life, Father had assigned three teachers per person to carefully manage us.

Leila had struggled even then, so this situation couldn’t be pleasant for her.

I finished writing all the correct answers on my test paper much faster than Leila and handed it to the teacher guarding the door.

The teacher looked at me with a somewhat disgruntled “Hmm…” but after grading my test, couldn’t hide his surprised expression.

“Perfect score….”

Hearing that, Leila looked at me with a surprised expression.

To think the day would come when Leila would look at me with admiring eyes.

I bowed politely to the teacher and left the study room.

“Lei… Wait, is that Rowenloa?”

As I left the study room, I saw Bershua waiting for Leila in clothes covered with dirt, and Rembro beside him, presumably having followed his brother, glancing at the small window on the study room door.

“You seem to be having a hard time lately, Brother Bershua.”

My brother frowned at my words.

“Stay strong, Brother.”

I smiled sweetly at them, then quickly headed toward my room.

“Ah, and Lady Leila seems like she’ll be late.”

Hearing that, my brothers looked at me with sharp eyes.

Yes, you two just stand there and wait for a long time~

Once back in my room, I felt like I could finally breathe.

Mylene handed me sweet desserts and tea, saying I had worked hard.

“You really worked hard, Miss. It must have been especially difficult on the first day.”

I shook my head at Mylene’s words.

In truth, throughout the lessons, I had been thinking about other things.

What I needed to do to graduate early from the academy, and what to do after graduation.

And… for some reason, thoughts related to the man in the cloak and the crown prince as well.

As my thoughts kept wandering, it wasn’t difficult at all to pretend to focus on the lesson while scribbling something.

Actually, I had seen the wronged Leila and the crying Leila countless times, but perhaps because it was the first time seeing Leila’s troubled face… there was some enjoyment in watching that.

“Tomorrow’s schedule will be similar to today. The content you’ll study will be different, but… Oh, if only the marquis had recruited teachers earlier, we wouldn’t have had to arrange such a tight schedule.”

Even Mylene thought my schedule was unreasonable.

* * *

Four months passed without time for mind games as Bershua was busy with knight order activities, Leila and I with classes, and Brother Rubert moving diligently on business matters.

During these four months, Father continued to dabble in various businesses, leaving us in the care of the knight commander and teachers, and rarely returning to the residence.

Bershua’s body was gradually improving, but the shadows under his eyes were growing darker.

Brother Rembro spent his time cooped up in his room whenever Bershua or Father wasn’t around during these four months.

Leila, overwhelmed by the wave of knowledge, would come into the study room before class started and cry, groaning as if she were dying.

As for me… after about four months, I had run out of things to daydream about and reached the point of creating my own problems from the lessons, while Brother Rubert was… said to be directly supervising the dam construction on site, predicting the business’s continued success.

As the time for Leila and me to enter the academy approached, Father finally began to occasionally show his face in the study room, checking whether our grades would be respectable enough at the academy.

“Bershua. Let’s go to the entrance ceremony together.”

And on the day Leila and I were to enter the academy, Bershua was finally able to escape from the hell of the knight order.

Whether Bershua had learned something from his knight training or not, he seemed to be deliberately suppressing his body that was twitching with joy.

“Yes, Father.”

Only after hearing Bershua’s calm response did Father nod with satisfaction and shift his gaze to Leila and me.

The dresses Father had prepared fit our bodies perfectly.

Father looked at us and raised the corners of his mouth with satisfaction.

It felt unpleasant, as if I had become Father’s doll, but not wanting to be late for the entrance ceremony and make a bad impression on the academy teachers, I quietly chose to avert my gaze from Father’s face.

Most of the teachers working at the academy were not only nobles but also people who worked in collaboration with the imperial palace, so there was nothing to gain from making a bad impression.

“Now, let’s go.”

As we got into the carriage, it began to race toward the academy.

* * *

The front of the academy was, as always, bustling with people.

It was the best academy in the Gellions Empire and a gateway that one must pass through at least once to work in the imperial palace in the future.

‘Gelly the On’ was like a gateway for successful nobles that required passing an incredibly difficult exam to enter without a letter of recommendation.

As an academy that only accepted students between the ages of 17 and 20, some people studied for three years just to get in.

I, who would turn 17 next year, would attend this Gelly the On from next year… or more precisely, from next month.

And today marks exactly one month until the academy entrance.

The reason for visiting the academy today was to attend the entrance ceremony to hear necessary announcements and explanations about required items, and to determine the class level through a preliminary test.

The front of the academy, which I visited after a long time, was bustling with people, just as in my previous life.

From those excited about attending the entrance ceremony to those sighing deeply, perhaps worried about the exam, to those who had failed the academy exam and were just looking at the others with envious eyes—various people formed a large procession in front of the academy.

Eventually, the Masipacius carriage slowed down and then stopped in front of it.

Without anyone ordering it, people made way upon seeing the carriage.

So we were able to quickly enter the academy.

My heart tightened at the sight, exactly the same as I had seen in my previous life.

There were many bad memories, but it was also the only place where I could forget being a Masipacius and focus on my studies, so I felt somewhat nostalgic.

The difference from my previous life was that back then, I had been trailing behind them, whereas now I was walking as their equal.

As we took our seats, nobles began to greet us one by one.

Among them were the Pelena and Heris families from before.

The only family Father greeted first was the Posilia family.

“Rowenloa!”

Grace, seeing me, approached with excited steps.

I smiled at her and waved my hand.

“To think that I could enter the same academy at the same time as you! I did well to beg my mother to delay my entrance by a year!”

When I smiled at Grace’s words, the duchess frowned and spoke.

“Oh my, didn’t you ask to take a year off last year because you wanted to play for another year? Then when you heard that Lady Rowenloa would be entering this year, you jumped at… Anyway, Lady Rowenloa, please take good care of our Grace from next month.”

“Don’t worry too much, Duchess. Grace is so smart. And the young duke of Posilia is also attending the academy.”

So pleasant exchanges continued between me and the Posilia ducal family.

“Oh, but doesn’t Lady Rowenloa also have many brothers at the academy? Though in my eyes, you seem the most excellent, lady.”

“Oh my, Duchess…”

“I’m joking, just joking~”

Hearing the duchess’s words, I blushed shyly and glanced at the other Masipacius members standing behind me.

Come on, manage your expressions a bit better.

As I continued laughing and chatting with the duchess and Grace, suddenly a “dong—” sound echoed through the hall.

“Now, please take your seats. We will deliver announcements related to the entrance exam and the pre-entrance test.”

My heart began to race at those words.

It felt like the second act of my life was about to begin.