In the video game, Catrina was one of the villains because her heart had been broken by the crown prince. He had flirted with her during his time at the academy.

  Catrina was a very young professor who had been hired at just twenty-two due to her exceptional combat skills. He was eighteen. Since she was a professor, they had kept their romance a secret, but apparently, he had promised that once he graduated, he would make their engagement official—and used that false promise to sleep with her.

  When, in his third year at the academy, he got engaged to Faith, Catrina became harder and developed a deep hatred for both of them. Yes, not just for Faith, but for the prince as well—because she realized how he had taken advantage of her.

  There was an event in the otome game related to this. I never got to play it, but my friend told me about it. During one of the academy’s open house events for first-year students and their families, Catrina tried to humiliate Faith and the crown prince. It backfired because she got caught, and since she felt she had suffered too many injustices, she transformed into a sort of vengeful villain.

  Now, this is something that should happen this year—assuming I’m not altering events too much—and, more importantly, we’re talking about the toughest combat instructor I can imagine. If she turns into a villain, I am absolutely sure I don’t want to be her target.

  Anyway, the point is that if you had chosen Judith or Mary as the protagonist, you would be affected by these events. Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what Catrina did. My friend kept talking about the game to convince me to play it, but I wasn't interested.

  As she continues watching me, waiting for my response, I refocus.

  “Professor, please, I have no intention of stealing a fiancé from anyone. Least of all one belonging to the daughter of a duke,” I reply, while a part of me worries that I might be remembering things wrong—that maybe she actually only hates Faith and will punch me for daring to want to marry her former lover.

  “Oh, but that would be perfect,” she says with a smile so wide that any lingering doubts I had vanish—she doesn’t feel anything for the prince but hatred. If someone takes him away from the woman who stole him from her, all the better.

  “Professor, please. This isn’t a topic I enjoy discussing. I came to see you for another reason.”

  “Nonsense, Bianca. I already know that it’s up to the king and queen to decide whether your union is feasible. But if you want to marry him, I can only applaud.”

  “With all due respect, professor, I have no desire to tie my life to someone who has shown, through his actions, that he is not a good person.”

  Catrina studies me, raising an eyebrow. She’s quite transparent. She seems to be wondering what I mean. Since her romance with the prince was a secret, I don’t think she suspects that I could possibly know about it.

  “I didn’t know you were interested in politics,” she says, her curiosity piqued as she reevaluates me.

  “Not particularly. In fact, I’m engaged to the heir of a baron, and for me, that is more than enough. I don’t aspire to a higher noble title.”

  Catrina clicks her fingers against the back of her wooden chair.

  “A shame. With your potential, with your power, you could have had him completely under your control and been a great queen. Oh well… What did you want?”

  Finally.

  “The guard. Please, get rid of him. How am I supposed to do my special training later with that soldier following me everywhere? I even have to watch every word I say around Ronan.”

  “Oh, really?” The interest in her eyes returns. “Let’s go step by step because, as I understand it, when you enter your room, the guard steps inside to check that everything is in order and then waits outside with the door closed. You use the stones, someone comes to check on you, and you’re not there. At that moment, the guard is going to panic. And that’s not even mentioning what would happen if you locked yourself in with Ronan…”

  I can’t help it—I swallow hard. This woman is terrifying.

  “Because…” she continues, now like a cat cornering a mouse, “you were supposed to go hunting wild boars in the forest with Ronan someday, not discussing things with him that the guard shouldn’t hear. He has already been informed that you’re a student receiving special training. Your affinities, of course, have not been disclosed.”

  She stands up and crosses the short distance between us. If sitting on the chair backward had already been intimidating, looming over me at her full height while I remain seated is even worse.

  “Tell me, Bianca, what have you told your possible nemesis?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Professor, we agreed that he wasn’t my nemesis.”

  “Oh, but he is something to you. No wonder you don’t want to marry the prince. You know, we women should stop being na?ve and innocent and trusting the first man who offers us a hand.”

  Uh… She can speak for herself about the heir. I don’t have that kind of relationship with Ronan.

  And honestly, it’s better if Ronan never offers me a hand—he’s the kind of person who might pass me an amputated zombie limb instead.

  “Professor, I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but Ronan is just a friend who helps me train.”

  “And that’s why you take him to the forest?”

  “Alright, professor, you win. It’s possible that he saw me use fire channeling, but I swear he won’t say anything. And this doesn’t violate any confidentiality agreement because I wasn’t on a mission, and I didn’t tell him.”

  “I knew it!” she exclaims, sitting back in her chair.

  I breathe a little easier.

  “Alright, I’ll speak with the headmaster so that the guard only watches over you while you’re at the academy or in the city. He won’t interfere when you use the portal. And I suppose you need a new safe place to use the stones, don’t you?”

  “That’s actually one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. If Ronan comes to my room, it’s not appropriate.”

  “Yeah. I’ve heard the rumors.”

  Oh, my gosh. Have Sol and Damien’s lies reached the professors? I can feel my face burning.

  “They’re malicious rumors. As I’ve already assured you, he’s just a friend who helps me train.”

  “Well, I’ve made a copy of my key for my supply room. I don’t think you know this, but all professors have a small room where we keep materials for our classes. It’s private, and we’re responsible if anything gets lost—so don’t touch anything. And tell the necromancer that if he breaks or messes with anything, I will end him.” She emphasizes.

  “Yes, professor. Thank you, professor.”

  “Well, it’s small and packed with wooden swords, shields, body armor, and other training gear. But you’ll have enough space to set the stones on the floor. Most importantly, you can lock it from the inside. It’s near the gym. Third small door on the right down the hallway.”

  “Yes, I think I know where that is.”

  “Here, don’t lose it.”

  She pulls a key from her pocket and hands it to me. I take it and thank her.

  “I’ll try to talk to the headmaster now, since I don’t have class, so you can do your training this afternoon without issues. Obviously, my supply room can only be used outside of class hours—including the personalized lessons I give, like the one you attend on Wednesdays. So, during the week, from eight in the evening onwards. I’ll let the custodians know not to disturb you if they see you in that area at night.”

  She can do that? Well, that makes things much easier.

  “Thank you very much, professor.”

  “Alright, if that’s all, you can go.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  I stand up and leave her office. The guard is waiting for me outside in the hallway and follows me to class. At the end of the lesson, one of the colonel’s men approaches him. If I’m lucky, they’re giving him new instructions. But he still follows me to my room, steps inside to check that everything is in order, and then waits outside at my door.

  Well, let’s hope they’ve told him I use a portal to get to my lessons because if something happens and he sees I’m not here… well.

  I need to get rid of this inconvenience somehow.

  My roommate isn’t here. Just in case, I leave a handwritten note on her desk, telling her that I’ve been assigned a guard, so she shouldn’t be alarmed if she sees him at our door. Well, she’s probably already seen him when she came in, but at least now she’ll have an explanation.

  I grab the small bag with the stones, set them up, and head to Clearhaven Village. I greet a couple of villagers I pass by on my way from the square to the guard barracks, where my private light magic instructor—the army healer—is waiting for me.

  "Professor, I’d like to ask you something," I say after greeting him.

  "Go ahead, Bianca."

  We’re in the middle of the training yard, alone except for the occasional soldier from the garrison passing by.

  "I want to learn that light sphere that illuminates and follows you."

  The healer frowns.

  "It’s called a light orb," he corrects me. "And it only follows you when you reach a certain level with the spell. Besides, your healing spell is still at a minor level. Considering that healing is the fundamental spell of the light school, I never teach anything else until my students have at least leveled it up once."

  "But I need it to burn mana," I blurt out.

  "Excuse me?" Now he looks at me seriously. "Do you think that just because the academy is providing you with a valuable mana potion for training with the other instructors, mana is something to be wasted or squandered?"

  I lower my gaze and try to look remorseful. How do I even explain that I have meditation, that I have two licks, and that burning mana is going to be my way of leveling up spells? As for light magic, which isn’t my priority to level up, I’d rather cast light orbs than make cuts on my legs. Especially since healing has a 24-hour cooldown.

  Honestly, good thing I don’t need light magic to continue advancing in earth and fire. If I had to progress by casting my only spell just once per day, I’d be in trouble.

  "No, sorry, I misspoke. What I meant is that I’m here to improve my light magic, and in the few sessions we’ve had, I only get to cast healing once while you give me basic instructions on treating wounds without magic and tell me about the different light spells available. That’s why I’d like to learn the next spell, since it doesn’t have healing’s cooldown. Please consider that the reason I’m here is because they want me to learn quickly."

  "A good healer cares about healing others, not just learning magic fast. But fine, pay attention."

  It seems like my last argument convinced him.

  The professor begins casting the spell very slowly, explaining how he intentionally channels mana into his hands while focusing not on healing but on illuminating. He has to do it three times, correcting me far more times than that, before I finally succeed in forming a small sphere of light above my right palm.

  "Don’t lose focus, stabilize it," he instructs.

  It flickers and looks like it’s about to disappear, but I manage to keep it steady.

  Congratulations! You have just learned a new spell: Minor Light Orb.

  Minor Light Orb: Creates a sphere of light with a 5 cm radius. The sphere remains stationary. Duration: 5 minutes. Cost: 1 mana point.

  I cast it again until I run out of mana and assure the professor that I will practice both this spell and healing on my own. He then gives me a few more pointers, and we finish the lesson—just in time, since the session is over.