NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24.1
The academies in web s were usually divided into places where status was useless and places where it was very important.
In the former, princes and commoners were treated the same in principle, and in the latter, students’ lives differed depending on their background.
The caste system was one of the important pillars of this empire’s system.
So the academy we attended was obviously of the latter grouping.
It was no exaggeration to say that this place was a microcosm of an aristocratic society.
If the academy that trained the next generation of aristocrats did not respect the class system, it could instil false perceptions in some students, which could be the starting point of the collapse of the empire’s order in the future.
However, the status system in the academy posed several potential problems.
For example, what if the status of a student was higher than that of a professor?
A student could then abuse their family authority and make selfish demands, such as asking a professor to raise their grades.
Or, even when the son of a high-ranking aristocrat excessively bullied a commoner student, the professor’s low status may not be enough to have them stop their persecution.
The solution for such tyranny was simple.
The professor should always have a higher status than the student.
And the highest rank in the empire was obviously royalty.
To this end, all the faculty and staff of the academy, including the director and professors, were treated as direct subordinates of the royal family or a person equivalent to them if they had been appointed as a director.
This pseudo-status helped them reign over the academy as a deterrent against students and their families.
This year, Soniel appeared to have taken on that role.
Therefore, no one higher than her now existed in this academy.
***
On Saturday, the day after the entrance ceremony, Amer, Nicolas, and I were gathered and waiting in the parlour for Soniel.
“Nicholas, congratulations on achieving the overall first place.”
“It’s an honour. Congratulations to the princess for getting first place in the written test.”
Amer, of the royal family, and Nicholas, of a royal family, exchanged congratulations.
And as if she had nothing else on her schedule after this gathering, Amer had worn a top and bottom that was easy to move around in.
Even so, her voluptuous breasts and hips, which could not be hidden under the loose wear, were making themselves known.
I had a hard time finding where to place my eyes when speaking to her.
Nicholas boasted an outstanding appearance befitting his noble lineage.
He was a handsome man with a cold expression.
I felt an atmosphere as if being cut by a knife around him from his fierce demeanour.
“Congratulations to Jihoo on winning first place too.”
“Thank you. Congratulations to you too! I didn’t know you were so good at studying.”
I could tell Nicholas’s eyebrows rose at my informal way of talking to her.
Sure enough, he glared at me and said—
“Did you say your name was Jung Ji-hoo? How dare you speak like that to the princess?!”
Unlike Kyle, I reserved my words because Nicholas’ criticism was reasonable based on Imperial convention.
“It’s fine for Jihoo to do so because I personally gave him the permission to speak informally.”
“Ah yes, I see.”
Nicholas immediately acquiesced to Amer’s rebuttal and withdrew his glare at me.
His reaction to my words was quite natural, so instead of feeling any negative feelings towards him, I rather liked him instead.
I liked his posture as he sat in front of the princess as he was overflowing with diligence.
“How is everyone in your class doing?”
“Alright. Everyone is looking forward to our new lives in the academy.”
“I’m glad.”
“Whenever you have free time, come visit the commoners’ dormitory. Everyone will welcome you.”
“Yes, I will!”
Our class lived in the Star Palace for three months, and so we had many opportunities to meet Amer, the master of the castle.
Amer would talk to the other kids in our magic class as well as me so we had gotten closer.
Nicholas’ eyebrows twitched at my suggestion, but he did not act out because he had heard an affirmation from the princess.
“Did you wait long?”
As soon as the door opened, a soft voice drifted into my ears.
Soniel came into the parlour, flashing her bright blonde hair.
She was wearing the white dress from yesterday, today too.
If Amer was a sexy beauty, Soniel exuded a refreshing atmosphere like that of a well-groomed girl.
Seeing the two beauties sitting beside each other was unbelievably pleasing to my eyes.
We had a tea party where we drank black tea and ate cookies.
Most of the topics of conversation were about our future academy life.
Soniel didn’t say anything in particular, except that the academy had high expectations for our performances.
She seemed to have no purpose in her calling me for this gathering.
Or was sitting at this tea party not the purpose of her having called me?
“Your Highness, thank you for inviting me this time.”
“It was fun today, sister.”
“Yeah, goodbye. Oh, Ji-hoo, will you stay back for a moment? I have something to tell you.”
“Alright.”
Amer and Nicholas left the room.
Their footsteps echoed through the hallway.
I looked at Soniel.
She looked me in the eye too.
Her meticulous expression melted away.
“Husband-nim, I missed you...”
Soniel moved into the seat beside me.
I placed my hand on her slim waist.
She put her arms around my neck and looked at me.
She seemed to be drawn into my eyes.
My face and Soniel’s face slowly drew closer.
She gently fluttered her eyes shut.
*Chu*
It was a short kiss, where just our lips touched each other for a moment.
She opened her eyes slightly in dissatisfaction and then tightened her arms around the back of my head.
I didn’t bother to resist.
*Peck. Chu. Pewp. Peck.*
My tongue brushed the inside of her mouth.
Her golden eyelashes trembled whenever our tongues intertwined.
Her grip on me grew stronger and stronger.
With only the sound of our kiss echoing around the room, the calm time flew without pause.
How long had it been 1 minute?
3 minutes?
Obviously, at the beginning, we were facing each other, but before I knew it, it had become like I had pounced on top of her.
“Sigh······.”
Soniel let out a long, excited sigh.
The sight of her round eyes filled with my image stimulated my possessive desire.
“Is this what you called me for?”
I gently stroked her soft hair.
Her long hair slipped between the crevices of my fingers.
Her normally pale cheeks were already stained red.
“Ugh... I actually have something to tell you. I really do... But it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so I can’t stand it...”
Strangely, Soniel looked lovely every time I saw her.
Ireina kept stimulating my urge to bully her by doing whatever I wanted to her, but Soniel stimulated my caring side without me even realizing it.
Of course, I don’t trust Soniel 100%.
She hadn’t given me her whole heart yet.
In terms of heroine language, she was at the stage before she was completely captured.
Nevertheless, I had a strange conviction.
Regarding Soniel, the belief that she would one day become my own woman was deeply embedded within my subconscious.
Was it because she was a woman whose fate had been ordained by the heavens?
And so it’s because I know that she will never betray me, that I felt that she was such a precious being.
Then what of Ireina...?
If there had been no obstacles in her route to getting away from me, wouldn’t she have run away a long time ago?
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