Episode 140

After the secretive night passed,

A few days later—

Busy preparing from early morning, I stood before the mirror, checking myself one last time.

The snug academy uniform, made up of a dark brown jacket and a beige skirt, felt strangely unfamiliar.

“How do I look, Tara?”

“Oh my! Isn’t this the neighboring country’s Princess Belze, attending the academy today? I read it in the newspapers!”

At my question, Tara, who had been making the bed, replied cheekily.

Having gotten used to her antics by now, I just let out a soft laugh.

“Doesn’t it look awkward?”

“Not at all! It looks like you were born wearing that uniform! Honestly, wherever you’re from, you’re going to sweep the academy’s top spot for sure~!”

Tara, who had now come closer, gave my shoulders a playful massage and flashed me a big thumbs-up.

Thanks to her jokes, a bit of the tension melted away.

Truthfully, I was quite worried because going to the academy wasn’t something that happened in the original story.

‘What if I accidentally get tangled up with Diana and end up being her rival again?’

That wouldn’t even be the worst case.

If I said the wrong thing and got painted as the villainess bullying her, things could get really troublesome.

Not that it mattered much if I got isolated or bullied—I wasn’t attending the academy for academics or social climbing anyway.

But if Joshua ended up affected because of me, that would be the real problem.

This whole academy plan was entirely for his sake.

‘First things first — if anyone picks a fight, I’ll crush them.’

Before stepping out the door, I firmly set my mind once more.

I’d make sure no one could even think of touching Joshua…

After that, whether we stuck together until graduation or I coaxed him into dropping out with me — that was a problem for later.

‘Honestly, in this day and age, going to the academy isn’t even that necessary. Worst case, I could just open a second Belze Salon and hand it over to Josh…’

Even without that, Joshua, being a direct descendant of Kallios, had more than enough ways to live a comfortable life.

With that thought, I headed downstairs.

Right then, I bumped into the duke, who seemed to be leaving for work.

“Belze.”

“Good morning, Duke!”

“Yes, and a good morning to you as well.”

I greeted him brightly, and he smiled warmly in return.

Since the monster incident, he had been busy organizing an investigation around the Tebron estate.

It had been days since I’d seen him face to face.

“Was it today you started attending the academy?”

“Yes!”

“I’ve been so busy lately I completely forgot. We should have held a party last night to celebrate your enrollment. My apologies.”

“Haha.”

I laughed awkwardly at the duke’s words.

‘Celebrate my enrollment, huh.’

If people knew we were celebrating the fact that I only got in because of massive donations, they would probably laugh behind our backs.

Not that the duke seemed to think of it that way at all.

“How about it? Should I give you some pocket money?”

He suddenly asked, reaching into his coat.

I was startled and quickly shook my head.

“No, no! I have plenty of money!”

“I know. But it’s just a gesture. Take it.”

Despite my refusal, the duke pressed a crisp sheet of paper into my hand.

It was a blank check.

‘For starting school… he gives me a blank check…?’

“I’ll leave work early today, so let’s have the celebration party tonight.”

“Uh…”

I was left utterly speechless by the sudden gift of such a large sum.

Mouth hanging open, I stared at the check, then at the duke, back and forth, until he spoke sternly with his usual dignified face.

“I’ve said this before — never forget that Kallios stands behind you. If anyone says anything, solve it with your status or money.”

“Uhh…”

“And if it’s something you can’t handle alone, speak up. There’s no need to suffer over something that could be easily solved with a single word.”

It was a rather ruthless thing to say to a mere twelve-year-old.

Yet in those sun-bright golden eyes, I could see the deep concern and affection he held for me.

My heart swelled warmly.

But at the same time, a heavy sigh escaped from deep within.

‘If only it were that simple, Duke.’

You’ve said this countless times since I was little.

But why is it that your own son can never seem to follow your advice?

I swallowed the bitter words that hovered on my tongue.

Just then—

“Father, Belze.”

The very person I’d been worrying about appeared.

I hurriedly stuffed the blank check into my pocket and waved my hand at him.

“Josh, good morning!”

Joshua, dressed in his matching academy uniform, gave me a bewildered look.

“…You’re really going to the academy? Not working today?”

“Yup!”

I nodded brightly, and for some reason, his expression grew even heavier.

“I need to get going now. See you later.”

After exchanging a brief farewell with the duke, Joshua and I climbed into the same carriage together.

Even after the carriage started moving, Joshua remained quiet for a long time.

Then suddenly, he looked at my hand with a suspicious gaze.

“Are you… bringing that with you?”

I followed his gaze downward.

Nestled comfortably in my arms was a teddy bear.

It was smaller now than my torso, but still big enough to attract attention.

“Of course. It’s my bodyguard.”

I answered nonchalantly.

Joshua’s blue eyes flickered with unease.

“You’re not going to… like, hit people with it, right, sis?”

“Why not?”

“What do you mean, why not?”

Joshua scowled seriously.

“This is the academy. If you cause trouble, you’ll get disciplinary points… and people will hate you.”

He tried to lecture me with a tone far too mature for his age.

Then, eyes wavering, he kept asking anxiously.

“You’re not going to do anything crazy, right? Promise?”

“Want to have lunch together later?”

I casually dodged the question and changed the subject.

He visibly panicked.

“L-Lunch?”

“Yeah, it’s my first day. I won’t have any friends yet.”

“…You’ll have a hard time alone?”

Joshua, who I had expected to just nod along, instead asked with a hesitant, uncomfortable look.

The way his fingers fidgeted on his lap showed exactly how uneasy he was inside.

I firmly steeled my wavering heart and answered.

“Yeah, it’s hard.”

“Hmm…”

“What, you don’t want to eat with me?”

“N-No!”

Joshua shook his head frantically, panicking.

“It’s not that… It’s just… You should be making new friends and getting used to the academy… If you only hang out with me, it’ll be awkward for you.”

“So what? I don’t need friends.”

“Sure, that’s fine for you, but I… I already have a group of friends I usually eat with.”

At the very end, he mumbled out the real reason.

It seemed Joshua didn’t want to show me to the guys who bullied him.

“Can’t you just stick with me for today? I’m already nervous and scared. I’m probably going to get looked down on for being a commoner, and if I don’t even have anyone to eat with, what if I get isolated right away?”

I put on a wounded expression and pleaded with him.

Unlike Edwin, Joshua was very sensitive about the fact that I had been a commoner orphan.

He always worried I would get hurt and tried to be careful with his words.

One time, out of the blue, he even apologized for treating me like a maid in the past.

Even though I personally didn’t care at all.

Sadly for Joshua, I had learned how to use that guilty conscience to my advantage whenever I needed to sway him.

‘Such a soft-hearted kid.’

Just seeing his eyes waver now made it clear how kind and delicate he really was.

“…Alright.”

After hesitating for a while, Joshua finally agreed, his voice solemn, as if he were preparing for something grave.

Right then, the carriage came to a stop.

I immediately jumped up and practically flung the carriage door open.

“You said you’d eat with me, right? Then I’ll come get you after your classes end!”

I wanted to nail it down before he could change his mind.

“Uhh…”

Joshua, who had nodded with a complicated look, suddenly mumbled something as if he realized something odd about my words.

“But… you don’t know my schedule or which classroom I’m in, do you?”

“I have to go see the headmaster first, so I’ll get going! See you later!”

Pretending not to hear him, I hurriedly leapt out of the carriage.

Poor, innocent Joshua.

He probably thought I was clueless about the academy’s layout.

But sadly for him, not only did I already know his full schedule, I also had detailed maps of the movement patterns of the kids who bullied him.

And all that information had been generously provided by my newest academy “friend.”

“Welcome, Representative—no, Lady Belze!”

The headmaster greeted me with utmost respect.

* * *

I wanted to match all my classes with Joshua’s, but according to academy regulations, that was impossible.

First, upon enrollment, students had to take an aptitude test to choose their major, and then another test to determine their class level.

However—

I accidentally did way too well on the tests.

“As expected…! The rising sun of Main Street! A true giant of the beauty industry…!”

The headmaster and professors all gasped in admiration as they looked over my test results.

Watching them, I couldn’t help but regret it a little.

‘I should’ve answered more wrong on purpose…’

Honestly, it was no surprise that my grades were outstanding.

After all, inside this small body was the soul of an eighteen-year-old woman.

And I hadn’t spent the last seven years running the salon in vain, either.

“Not just in business management—you’ve shown exceptional skill across all subjects except for fine arts… How about attending a few classes in each field before you decide on your major?”

At that moment, one of the professors from the Biology Department suggested it.

She was a young woman with a vibe similar to Charlotte’s.

Her name was Professor Reina Presson, and she shrugged her shoulders as she added,

“Besides, you’ve already had enough real-world experience in business. It would be boring to sit through theoretical lectures at the academy, wouldn’t it?”

“What are you saying, Professor Reina! Boring?! Business management is the foundation that connects to every aspect of real life!”

One of the business professors immediately took offense and protested loudly.

But honestly, now that I’d taken the aptitude test, I started to have second thoughts too.

The Biology Department offered a course on rare creatures—which included studying monsters.

Since I lacked the physical prowess to join a subjugation squad like Edwin, learning about monsters through study was pretty much my only option.

At the same time, the Theology Department offered courses on the history of heretical cults, which piqued my interest as well.

“Hmm…”

I finally opened my mouth and said,

“Then, can I attend any classes I’m interested in before deciding?”

“That’s… highly irregular…”

“Oh, come now! How could we refuse!”

Some professors seemed displeased, but the headmaster quickly intervened to settle it.

‘As expected. Money really is the best.’

I grinned broadly and stood up.

“Alright then, I’ll start with the Theology Department!”

* * *

After attending a couple of theology classes, lunchtime came quickly.

I hurried over to the building where Joshua’s class was.

“Josh!”

When I arrived, panting, at the classroom door, I was relieved to see that Joshua was still at his seat.

Surrounding him, however, were a bunch of boys with hair colors like red, orange, yellow, and green — a full rainbow.

“Hey, she’s here!”

As if they’d been waiting for me, the boys started chattering noisily.

One of them, easily twice Joshua’s size, threw an arm over his shoulders and smirked.

“So this is the commoner freeloading at your place? The rich one?”

“…….”

Joshua didn’t say a word, lowering his head even further.

His ears were flushed bright red.

He must have been embarrassed to show me this side of himself.

I immediately crossed the classroom straight toward him.

“Ooh…”

The boys catcalled and whistled as I approached.

The red-haired one, who had been leaning over Joshua, straightened up and held out a hand toward me.

“Nice to meet you. You’re Belze from the Belze Salon, right? I’m Danvers Campbell. Nephew of Her Majesty the Empress and second cousin to the Second Prince—”

“What are you doing? Get up already. Let’s go, I’m starving.”

I spoke to Joshua as if Danvers didn’t even exist.

“…….”

Silence fell over the classroom as the red-haired boy stood frozen, clearly never having been ignored like this before.

Joshua, too, looked up at me with wide, round eyes, shocked.

“Well, well, look at this.”

Danvers Campbell let out a low, disbelieving laugh.

He stepped closer to me, speaking in a threatening tone.

“Hey. I said hello, didn’t I? You’re supposed to—”

At the same time, he raised a finger to flick my forehead—

Whoosh!

Crack—!

“Aaaaaaagh—!”

With the sound of bones snapping, Danvers let out a blood-curdling scream.

Of course, the moment he reached for me, I had grabbed his finger and twisted it sharply.

‘If you want to survive dealing with all sorts of lunatics, basic self-defense is just common sense.’

At that moment—

Even as he shrieked, my bored eyes caught sight of something glinting blue.

“This.”

“…….”

“It belongs to the duchess, doesn’t it?”

I pointed coldly at the ring on his bent finger, giving him a chilling smile.

“You haven’t heard the rumors, have you?”

About what happened to the nanny who once stole from Joshua.

TL/N: will post new chapters soon