The Villain in the Novel Lives as the Second Best at the Academy

The entrance ceremony ended.

The auditorium that had been noisy for a long time was cleared, and students returned to their respective places.

Some gathered in small groups to build friendships, while others remained to ask professors questions, maintaining a respectful attitude.

Noble children exchanged formal greetings with those gathered around them, while students of commoner origins maintained a relatively quiet attitude.

Everyone was contemplating how to take their first steps in their newly beginning school life.

However, Arta had no interest in such things.

She moved her steps silently. Though conscious of people's gazes lingering on her, she ignored them.

It had always been that way. Those gazes contained a mixture of contempt and curiosity that came with her unusual appearance. It always clung to her.

If she started caring about others' gazes, there would be no end to it.

Aureum Hall.

That was where she was returning to.

When Arta enrolled in the Academy, she was assigned to this dormitory as notified by the chairman.

This wasn't an ordinary dormitory. It was a space permitted only to those who had been specially admitted or who ranked at the top in the entrance exam.

Unlike other dormitories where dozens of ordinary students were divided and assigned, this place accommodated a relatively limited number of people.

It wasn't a place one could enter simply by having excellent grades.

Special admission student.

Arta was aware that she had entered here under that title.

She had lived here from the beginning. She could have used the temporary accommodation provided by the Academy until the entrance ceremony, but she didn't want to get entangled with other students.

Above all, the dormitory was her home. Since she had nowhere to go, she needed to get used to it.

Her room was a large double. But until the entrance ceremony, there had been no trace of anyone in the other half of the room. A clean bed, an empty desk, unused closet and drawers.

At first, she thought that her roommate had simply not been assigned yet. She even expected that she might continue to use it alone.

However.

When she opened the dormitory door after the entrance ceremony ended, Arta realized she had been mistaken.

The half of the space that had not been used until now was filled with luggage.

For a moment, Arta instinctively stopped.

The composition of the luggage instantly caught attention. Neatly finished leather trunks, solid wooden boxes, a scabbard wrapped in velvet.

And clothes carefully covered with silk. It wasn't just personal belongings. The quality and finish that would catch the eye of any noble or upper class.

In particular, the shape of the scabbard stood out. Not just a decorative piece, but a weapon used in actual combat.

...And even the imperial family's crest attached to the scabbard.

"...It can't be."

Escher von Solferion.

The one who personally gave the pledge at the entrance ceremony while all students watched. Who declared that she would cultivate academics and swordsmanship as a member of the imperial family.

Upright and firm posture, unwavering speech. The imperial family member who had sufficiently impressed upon everyone that she was not merely a noble with an empty title.

How could that imperial family member be assigned to a dormitory?

Arta narrowed her eyes.

This was strange. An imperial family member would have no need to use a dormitory.

They would use a separately prepared lodging, or at least live in an environment much better than a dormitory. So it couldn't be here.

She had an ominous feeling. And it soon became reality.

Just as she sighed quietly and was about to step into the room.

Thud.

Almost simultaneously with the sound of the door closing, a short, heavy footstep was heard from behind.

An instantaneous intuition sounded a warning.

Someone was there.

And that someone was a person qualified to enter this room.

Arta didn't hesitate. Quietly, but firmly, she turned around.

And.

Indifferent eyes pierced through her.

In that moment, a sensation spread as if a cold hand was brushing down her back. When their eyes met, she had the illusion that something was gripping the nape of her neck.

It was green.

Sharp, yet with a depth difficult to fathom. Despite not being a common color, it was a familiar color to her.

Eyes that matched well with a strong impression. A cold light like the blade of a sword resided within them.

Escher von Solferion.

Dignified figure, sophisticated demeanor, and overwhelming presence. Everyone had been unable to hide their admiration and awe when looking at her.

But what Arta was feeling now was different. Not awe or admiration, but pure wariness.

When that gaze met hers and pierced through her, the cold sensation running down her spine didn't easily subside.

Arta calmly withdrew her gaze. An instinctive displeasure rose from within, but she didn't show it on her face.

She was used to this sensation. The feeling of a strange entity sizing her up in an unfamiliar space. It was a sense acquired after enduring for a long time since the slums.

Arta closed her lips for a moment, then eventually opened them.

"...Are you my roommate? Nice to meet you."

Her voice was calm. A tone suggesting that she wasn't particularly interested. As always.

Even after hearing that brief question, Escher didn't give any answer for a while. Her expression was as if she was pondering what she had just heard.

And soon, she looked Arta up and down once more.

Slowly, and openly.

That gaze had changed more distinctly than before.

She immediately read this change. What kind of gaze it was, she knew all too well.

"...Hmm."

Arta blinked.

At that, Escher snorted with a smirk. The sound was small, but loud enough to be heard clearly.

And that expression was unmistakably one of derision.

"Well. If you're a commoner, I suppose that's understandable."

Arta felt her facial muscles instantly tighten.

Commoner.

What was felt in the attitude with which that word was pronounced was not a simple confirmation of fact.

Contempt.

And of a form all too familiar.

In normal circumstances, she might have deliberately ignored it. But the opponent was who she was. Escher von Solferion. Imperial family.

Everything was clear now.

From the beginning, she had not viewed her as an "equal."

Escher was just checking once. Is this child possibly a noble? But she speaks like a commoner... so in the end, she must be a commoner.

And her attitude changed immediately.

An attitude of understanding, yet drawing a clear line. The implicit pressure that the imperial family and commoners are different, and one should be aware of it.

Arta took a short breath.

She had already anticipated this. But she didn't expect such an explicit reaction.

"That's right, so what? Everyone's equal at the Academy, they say."

She deliberately spoke lightly. With an attitude as if she wasn't conscious of the reaction.

But Escher didn't miss even this subtle change.

Her eyebrow twitched very slightly, but definitely.

And then she immediately added coldly.

Arta narrowed her eyes.

"Do you know who I am when you speak like that?"

Those words were not a simple question.

Even at the Academy, do you think I am someone you can address with such a casual attitude?

If she truly didn't know, it was reckless, and if she knew and still did it, it was disrespectful.

Arta slightly raised one corner of her mouth.

"I know."

"...Hmm."

"Escher von Solferion. The Third Imperial Princess. And the top student in the entrance exam."

After briefly listing these, she paused for a moment, then added.

"What does that have to do with our conversation now? Do I need to call you 'Your Highness' to satisfy you?"

"Ha."

This time, Arta could see Escher snorting.

In that brief moment, Arta captured the subtle emotional change in her counterpart.

Clear displeasure.

Perhaps an emotion she might be feeling for the first time in her life, that her position wasn't dominating the flow of conversation.

Arta remained composed even after seeing that reaction.

"Listening to you, it's basically that commoners and the imperial family are different, so you're special and I'm insignificant... something like that, right?"

She didn't yield to anyone.

"But I didn't think you'd be so fixated on it. Towards a commoner like me."

Whether it was the imperial family or the top student.

So she simply behaved as she always did.

But, that was precisely the attitude that Escher would find most incomprehensible.

"Quite an interesting attitude."

Eventually, Escher said that and turned away.

Whether it was mockery or genuine interest was unknown.

But what was clear was that with just this brief conversation, the relationship between the two had been completely twisted from the start.

Arta knew this but didn't care.

She had no intention of accommodating from the beginning.

She looked at Escher once more.

And inwardly confirmed.

'What a fucking nasty personality.'

From the start, the principle that cadets at the Academy shouldn't mind each other's social status was a thorn in the eye for nobles, especially Her Highness the arrogant princess.

Thus, there was no way the relationship with this roommate would be smooth.