NOVEL NEXT Chapter 0
Every time I stood in front of the school gate, a million thoughts would rush through my mind. Would I smell weird? Would my shirt be sticking out of my clothes? Would I unwittingly walk in while the kids were gossiping about me?
Most of these worries were unfounded, but then again, it’s hard to change who you are, even if you’ve died and come back to life. Even if I ended up as a girl and somehow found myself in a novel.
I mean, I didn’t actually think the author who jokingly said “If you leave a bad comment, consider it your previous life!” would actually send me back to my past life. But seriously, did the protagonist really have to suffer ostracism for making a mistake?
It’s not like I had been bullied in my previous life for misspeaking. I didn’t mind drawing attention to myself, like during self-introductions when I transferred schools. After a day of the entrance ceremony, I’d seamlessly mingle among students who had already divided into cliques, ready to start the first semester of the Academy.
During the first period of the semester, at a crucial moment when the homeroom teacher and students were about to meet for the first time, I would awkwardly barge in and introduce myself as if I had been absent during the entrance ceremony.
“No need to be nervous, Dorothy… you’re just a student… just a student…”
Ah, but I’m actually the eldest daughter of a somewhat famous family. My very presence seems so insignificant that even the homeroom teacher can’t remember my name.
Ah, I can feel my pride being chopped down in real-time. If the teacher can’t remember my name, how could the kids possibly remember it? Everyone else has such Western names, while I have this Eastern Continent-style name. Wouldn’t they just mock me for being uncool and weird?
Is there even anyone from the Eastern Continent at this Academy? It has a myriad of species, and there’s often a display of interspecies conflict in the story, so it’s possible I might be discriminated against just for being a noble’s child.
It’s not like I haven’t seen blatant discrimination against Beastkin in the original story. How could I escape the rampant species prejudice in this world?
If I remember correctly, all the kids enrolled here are from noble or royal backgrounds. The very title of the story is “The Commoner Who Became part of the Noble Academy,” so if I ever misstep in front of kids from such distinguished families, wouldn’t they just laugh and say, “Back to your cage, beastie!”?
No, no, wait! How should I even greet them? I trembled with fear during presentations back in my past life, always making my group leader do the talking for me.
Ah, my tail is swaying on its own again. My father taught me how to manage my expression and gaze in this world, but he never taught me how to control my tail.
-Creak.
The door opens. If someone were to see me now, I’d look just like a prisoner being dragged to the gallows. I could feel the gazes shifting toward me—eyes everywhere, scrutinizing me.
The homeroom teacher seemed to be saying something, but none of it registered in my mind. What is she saying?
“Umm… then, Hyo-ryeon… would you like to introduce yourself now?”
Ah. Here it comes.
“………I am the eldest daughter of the White Royal Family. My name is Hyo-ryeon.”
The classroom fell silent to the extent that even the sound of creaking chairs and the whispers of kids vanished. I intended to leave a pleasant first impression and enjoy my school life, but those plans went up in smoke.
I’m definitely going to get ostracized now. Tomorrow when I come to my seat, there will Likely be graffiti on my desk saying I’m unlucky, filthy, or smell bad.
Still, I’m in the middle of my introduction. I should at least wrap it up properly. Deep breath…
“……Haa. Nice to meet you.”
After that, everything else suddenly became a blur. The homeroom teacher said something through the silence, and then I was assigned my seat.
Right next to the only commoner student in the Academy, who happens to be the protagonist of the story I live in—that was my assigned spot.
Was the narrative ruined because of this irregularity, or was this no longer a story? A character who didn’t even exist in the original caught my attention.
Especially if that’s tied to the villainous forces in the second part. The White Empire—the military dictatorship that conquered over 85% of the Eastern Continent. As far as I remember from the original, the White Royal Family had no children, meaning this girl standing at the front of the classroom now shouldn’t even be here according to the original plot.
With white hair and yellow eyes, her expression screamed disinterest as if she was saying, “You all don’t matter to me.”
“………I am the eldest daughter of the White Royal Family. My name is Hyo-ryeon.”
Her voice dripped with disdain, clearly indicating that she didn’t understand why she was even here. While there are certainly people here who wouldn’t be out of place in a class structure, compared to her, they’d seem utterly pathetic.
Readers have debated why the heroines in this story often come off as spoiled, concluding that it’s because they grew up pampered. A strong piece of evidence for this is the line they often say when they get put in their place: “I’ve never even been hit by my father!”
“……Haa. Nice to meet you.”
If that’s the case, just how much of a brat is this girl? Just the way she sighs dramatically and begrudgingly says nice to meet you hints at a lot.
“Um, let’s see, looking for an open seat…”
The only cute homeroom teacher among the faculty glanced around and then focused on the seat beside mine.
Ah. Damn it.