Chapter 12 :The Prince’s Visit
The next morning, Ailiya arrived at the classroom on time, settling into her seat before letting out a huge yawn.
Practicing magic late into the night at the training field, then forcing her eyes open to study dense magical theory back at her dorm, had left her exhausted. Her eyelids felt glued together, her mind stuffed with soggy cotton.
So sleepy… I can’t take it. Class hasn’t started—time for a quick nap…
With that thought, she prepared to slump onto the desk, letting the cool wood soothe her burning forehead.
For some reason, the academy felt unusually chaotic today. The clatter of students’ hard-soled shoes in the corridors was more hurried than usual, and the classroom buzzed with a tense, excited energy, like a pot of water about to boil.
Half-asleep, Ailiya caught snippets of her classmates’ hushed whispers.
“Did you hear… today… someone from the capital…”
“No way, really? Why would he come to our academy…”
“…I have to show him my best side…”
Sounds like… some super important guest is visiting?
Ailiya thought hazily.
But that’s got nothing to do with me. I’m just a maid. Even if the king himself showed up, it wouldn’t be my job to greet him.
Let the tall folks handle the big stuff. I’m catching some sleep.
She smacked her lips contentedly, buried her face in her arms, and prepared to drift off.
Behind her, Liliane was already seated, scribbling on a stack of family business documents with an elegant quill.
The rhythmic scratching of the pen on parchment reached Ailiya’s ears, oddly serving as soothing white noise.
“…The magic crystal trade route with the northern duke is settled, and the eastern port tariff issue is resolved. Finally, a bit of a breather.”
Liliane murmured to herself, signing her name at the bottom of a page.
Just as Ailiya was about to meet the Sandman, the clear chime of the magic class bell echoed across the campus.
The chattering noble girls instantly transformed into disciplined soldiers, returning to their seats and sitting ramrod straight.
The homeroom teacher stepped to the podium with her books, cleared her throat, and announced something that shook the entire academy:
“Students, today, His Highness the Prince of the Tartalia Kingdom will visit our academy for a day of observation. Please mind your manners and avoid any disrespect.”
The moment she finished, the girls below erupted into barely suppressed squeals.
Like fangirls spotting their idol, they flushed with excitement, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
The commotion jolted Ailiya awake.
Rubbing her bleary eyes, her face still marked with red from her arm, she blinked dumbly at her ecstatic classmates.
What’s going on? Oh, a prince visiting… whatever, back to sleep…
As she adjusted her position to flop back down, a cool voice, like a winter spring, sounded softly behind her.
“Miss Ailiya, though you’re on break and I have no authority over you, I must remind you: class has started.”
Ailiya’s half-bent waist snapped upright as if petrified.
Under Liliane’s invisible supervision, Ailiya sat through the morning classes, her eyelids battling to stay open.
St. Freya’s aristocratic curriculum was considerate, packing all required courses into the morning, leaving afternoons free for club activities, magic practice, or family matters.
But that meant little to Ailiya.
The only upside? Plenty of time to grind magic at the training field.
When she arrived, the field was even livelier than yesterday.
A throng of noble girls in ornate uniforms crowded the center, their chatter nearly lifting the roof.
Must be that prince guy.
Curious, Ailiya stood on tiptoe, peering through gaps in the crowd.
But when she saw the radiant boy at the center, she froze.
That handsome face with a gentle smile, that soft flaxen hair, those deep blue eyes…
Isn’t that the guy I mistook for a pervert and kneed unconscious last night?!
There he was, Prince Leon, graciously chatting with the surrounding noble girls.
Some were starry-eyed, some schemed to cozy up to royalty, others just watched the spectacle.
With a charming smile, Leon said:
“St. Freya truly lives up to its reputation. Last night, on a whim, I came to observe and met a student with extraordinary combat skills. She seemed to misunderstand something and, well, gave me a rather… enthusiastic ‘spar,’ leaving quite an impression.”
His witty remark drew giggles from the noble girls.
Ailiya, on the crowd’s edge, wanted to sink into the ground.
I’m done for… I beat up our kingdom’s prince…
Assaulting a royal— isn’t that a guillotine-worthy crime in any world?!
As she panicked, wondering if she’d be hanged or beheaded, Aurora appeared beside her, whispering:
“That’s Leon von Tartalia, our kingdom’s legitimate prince. Just as we have St. Freya for girls, there’s St. Ross for boys, and he’s their top student.”
Glancing at the prince, then at Ailiya’s petrified expression, Aurora’s eyes widened with realization.
“No way… the one who decked the prince was you?”
Ailiya nodded stiffly.
Aurora gasped:
“…Assaulting a royal is a serious crime. Ailiya, you need to find a chance to apologize, or this could get messy.”
It’s the only way… but how do I even start? “Sorry, Your Highness, I shouldn’t have knocked you out thinking you were a creep”?
Ailiya, near tears, fled the chaotic scene, her mind racing with survival odds.
After she left, Aurora’s playful gossip vanished.
Standing still, her smile faded, her emerald eyes losing their usual spark, replaced by unprecedented gravity and confusion.
Her gaze locked onto the charming prince through the laughing crowd.
This isn’t right.
Her fingers clenched, nails digging into her palms.
In the original Rose of St. Freya game, Prince Leon, a key romanceable character, wasn’t supposed to appear until a specific event after the entrance exam.
Her eyes shifted to Isabella, chatting with noble girls nearby, then to the distant teaching building, as if trying to pierce the walls to see the silver-haired figure likely handling documents.
His appearance is a massive plot flag triggered out of sequence.
First Ailiya, a background character without even a sprite, appearing years early as Liliane’s maid in a way that defies the script.
Now the prince, showing up ahead of schedule…
A chill crept up Aurora’s spine.
The “plot” of this world was derailing at a terrifying pace.
Is Ailiya, the biggest variable, causing a chain reaction?
Or… are there other, even more unknown variables at play?
For the first time, Aurora felt her confidence in her “strategy” waver.