The moment Aira stood up after tying her military boots and brushing non-existent dust from her uniform shoulders, Roje gave her a strange look.

“Aira. Are you really going out like that?”

“What else would I wear?”

“You can wear civilian clothes on holidays.”

Aira shrugged and opened her closet door to show Roje. Seeing only military uniforms in black, white, and khaki hanging desolately in Aira’s closet, Roje groaned and pressed her hand to her forehead.

“I knew it, but still.”

“It’s fine. I’m meeting another soldier anyway. It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh? You’re meeting someone?”

Roje’s eyes widened, having simply assumed Aira was going out for some fresh air. Aira nodded.

“Who? Oh! Don’t tell me!”

After all, there was only one person Aira would know outside the academy. Having no intention of hiding it, Aira replied, “That’s right. Jens—”

“Eeeeek!”

Roje screamed with her hands on both cheeks. Aira frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re going to meet HIM looking like THAT?”

“Like what? This is the proper attire for a cadet meeting her guardian…”

“Are you insane?!”

Roje shrieked and hurriedly opened her packed trunk, practically throwing out several dresses.

“Hmm. This one.”

After holding a dress against Aira’s body, Roje’s face fell.

Despite her gentle speech and delicate gestures, Roje was sturdy enough to handle all the naval academy courses and quite tall. So her dresses didn’t fit the small, slender Aira at all.

Aira smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. You tried this before, remember?”

“Ah! I was saving those because I wanted to go shopping with you someday! This won’t do!”

“A cadet doesn’t need fancy clothes…”

Normally, Roje was always gentle and kind, regardless of her military status. But now she glared at Aira like she might devour her.

“Wait. Don’t you dare leave until I come back. How could you meet anyone looking like that?”

“Your parents are wait—”

“SIRIS!”

Roje kicked the door open and stormed out.

Much later, after thoroughly searching the female cadets’ rooms, Roje returned triumphantly with a short dress in hand, trailing a crowd of cadets behind her.

“You were really planning to go out in uniform?!”

“Is that an Empire thing? Do Imperial soldiers have to be taxidermied in their uniforms?!”

“Come on, she’s a princess! A princess!”

Aira stared at the swarming cadets with a bewildered expression. “I was a princess…”

“My goodness! What were you doing while others were growing?!”

Roje held the dress against Aira’s body and let out something close to a scream. The dress was meant to be short, but on Aira, it hung at a modest length.

“The military academy students are the ones who—”

“Is the color okay? The color?!”

Someone shouted, completely ignoring Aira’s words. At that, Sharne, the dress’s owner and the cadet with the largest dress collection at the academy, whipped her head around.

“What! That dress requires a month’s reservation even in Oculer. It’s the most popular color! I bought it because they said short dresses would be trending soon, but why does it look so long on her? Anyway, it’s expensive and brand new!”

“I’m fine wearing my uniform.”

Sharne snorted at Aira’s words.

“What? If you’re embarrassed, then don’t go out at all.”

“Right! How can you wear that freezing uniform to meet HIM? The Commander won’t even recognize a uniform as clothing.”

“He’ll probably think you’re n*ked.”

The girls blurted out whatever came to mind in their excitement. Roje quickly started removing Aira’s uniform.

Having spent most of her life being attended to by servants, Aira felt no resistance to someone else undressing her, but she pushed Roje away when she realized these rough hands were unlike her maids’.

“It’s okay, really…”

But soon Siris joined in too. Meanwhile, the other cadets quickly huddled together and began their conference.

“Makeup! I’ll do her makeup! I’ll go get my things!”

“What about a bag?! We can’t let her carry that military-issue bag when she shares the same dormitory with us.”

“That would be an insult to my dress!”

Sharne quickly helped Aira into the dress while speaking. Aira stood awkwardly, not wanting to push the cadets away for fear of hurting them.

Why are they like this? On their precious golden holiday morning.

“Lia will do the makeup, and for the bag and accessories, just bring everything you have.”

Two cadets ran out immediately. Just then, more cadets entered with armfuls of items. Somehow the news had spread, and their numbers had grown.

Sharne quickly spread the items across Aira and Roje’s beds and began sorting through them.

“How about this?”

“Wow. That color makes me want to vomit. It doesn’t match.”

“This one?”

“From now on, get my approval before carrying a bag. Please don’t choose on your own.”

“Ugh. Then you pick.”

As another cadet approached, Aira uncomfortably backed away.

“Look, the dress doesn’t fit, and I feel bad borrowing your things, so let’s stop. Besides, my face is well-known, so I should try to be inconspicuous…”

The girls rolled their eyes.

“That uniform draws way more attention. Put you in the middle of the square and it’s like: ‘Look! A cadet right here! Look closely! Doesn’t she resemble that face you’ve seen in the newspapers?’ That’s what it’s saying.”

“Exactly. It’s practically screaming for recognition.”

Aira’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“Oh dear. How should I disguise myself then?”

“Give up. Do you want to rot in this prison of a military academy forever? Besides, with your hair cut like that, people won’t recognize you. The photos in the newspapers were distributed by the Empire. The ones with you wearing that white veil.”

Watching Siris contradict her previous statement, Aira awkwardly touched her short hair that brushed against her ears.

She seemed to have forgotten Aira was a princess.

Regardless, Hannah, whose hobby was collecting accessories, began trying different decorative pins on Aira.

“How about this?”

“That’s not the important part! Do something about the extra fabric at the waist!”

“What about a belt?”

“It would still be too loose.”

“Ah! Just cut it!”

As Roje, the belt’s owner, searched for scissors in her luggage, Aira stared into space. She could no longer resist their bull-like persistence.

Besides, Roje’s belt was a limited edition she had purchased recently. If they cut it to fit Aira’s waist, it wouldn’t fit Roje anymore.

Above all, she couldn’t bear the color of that belt that didn’t match the dress they had put on her!

Did these girls only study and exercise? The former princess and queen, who had once stood at the pinnacle of luxury and pleasure, sighed deeply and gestured elegantly.

“There, the corset.”

“Huh?”

The busy girls blinked as they turned to look at Aira. Miya picked up a leather corset.

“This?”

“No, the chiffon one on the left.”

“Ehhh? Oh my. Was this supposed to go around someone’s waist?”

“I thought it was for the neck?”

“And for the bag, the small one on the right.”

“Huh?”

“For jewelry, just lend me those purple earrings and the wisteria hair ornament.”

“Isn’t that too simple?”

“The dress is light, so it’s fine.”

The cadets’ eyes widened as Aira changed her attitude and quickly selected what she needed. Aira crossed her arms and lifted her foot.

“But are these shoes okay?”

The cadets’ eyes immediately sharpened at the sight of her clunky black military boots.

“If you go out wearing those, I’ll cut off your feet.”

“With an axe. Chop.”

“Right, right. Since we’re doing this, let’s lend her a pair of shoes too.”

The cadets rushed out creating a commotion. Watching Aira explain her preferences to Lia, who was offering makeup, Roje said vacantly:

“You really were a princess.”

Aira chuckled.

“I told you, a princess.”

* * *

Wheeeeee—

The train entered the platform with a loud whistle. Aira frowned at the steam that engulfed her vision.

The Empire’s transportation, powered by the magic of the royal family, didn’t emit such fumes. Nor was it this noisy.

But which was better—the Empire that stopped without royal magic, or the Republic that polluted the sky?

Regardless of the train, her heart was fluttering. Perhaps because she was free from the stiff uniform.

The girls’ styling was clumsy and awkward compared to what she received at the palace. Aira smiled gently at her reflection in the window.

She had never expected this, and thought she had abandoned such things when escaping from Luten’s palace, but the desperately styled appearance wasn’t bad.

More than that, the girls chirping like small birds and bringing their age-appropriate cute items were adorable.

That must be what real, ordinary, lovable girls are like.

Aira twirled, holding her skirt. The layered chiffon dress, like flower petals under the decorative corset that tightly cinched her waist, lifted slightly before gently settling down.

She also recalled the satisfied faces of the girls when they saw her completed look. The children who had postponed their own schedules to enthusiastically dress her up had sent her off with one voice:

‘Get his autograph!’

Only then did Aira realize why life at the military academy wasn’t as bad as expected. Wasn’t she an Imperial, practically an enemy to the Republic?

But the name of being Jens Will’s ward had suppressed hostility and fostered goodwill among them. Though she hadn’t asked for his guardianship with that intention, it had helped her live comfortably.

After waiting for the chaotic boarding and disembarking passengers for quite some time, Aira stepped onto the train’s stairs.

Since none of her peers had shoes that fit her, someone had offered new white shoes meant as a gift for their younger sister.

Aira had declined, but when threatened with being sent off in just socks if she insisted on those military boots, she eventually borrowed the shoes too.

Aira felt troubled by all the unexpected help. I’m not someone who can repay them.

“Ah.”

But the shoes were new and slightly too big for her, causing her to stumble on the train steps. At that moment, someone grabbed her wrist with a strong hand and pulled her up.

“Thank you… Oh?”

Aira’s eyes widened when she saw who had helped her. The gentleman who had assisted her looked troubled.

“Commander? Why are you here?”

It was Jens Will.