Chapter 3

The Crown Prince Fritz and his party looked down at me with the eyes of a criminal.

I stood up from the fountain, paying attention to their demeanor, and placed my feet on the ground with the grace befitting a royal audience.

... Due to the shock of the engagement being broken off and the confusion from the memories of my previous life, I had displayed an unseemly appearance.

I should have resolutely avoided showing any more unseemly behavior.

First, I decided to use magic to dry myself off.

"--- Red in hand. Heat in the basket. Dispel the dew that clings."

As I chanted the spell, my entire body was enveloped in warm air, and the moisture evaporated.

... I felt a slight thrill at performing magic for the first time since regaining my memories from my previous life.

In my previous life, I had always been fascinated by the existence of magic and magicians.

The spell I just used was an advanced application of fire magic.

The surrounding students looked at me with admiration as I effortlessly cast the spell with a shortened incantation.

The magic was successful, but there was one thing that caught my attention.

The flow of my magic power seemed much better than usual.

Was it due to the influence of regaining my memories from my previous life?

... I would examine it in detail later.

I ran my fingers through my completely dry hair and straightened my posture, causing my uniform skirt to flutter out.

My body was dry, and my appearance was neat. It was time to start over.

I straightened my back and faced Fritz and his party.

"Your Highness, please tell me. Are you serious about breaking off our engagement?"

"Of course. I cannot give the position of queen to a wicked young lady like you."

Fritz spat out the words bitterly.

"On what grounds do you determine that I am evil?"

"Are you feigning ignorance? I won't let you forget what you did to Smia."

"Did you mean the incident where I warned Smia for getting too close to Your Highness?"

It was a baseless accusation.

Smia had repeatedly made advances on Fritz, who was already engaged to me.

While a casual conversation might have been acceptable, actions like linking arms in public or having a private dinner together were completely inappropriate in noble society.

"I, as a noble of this country, have only acted in a proper manner. Smia must have known that I was engaged to Your Highness, right?"

"S-She knew. But to be criticized for getting close to Your Highness... I didn't know that..."

Smia's face turned pale, and she began to tremble.

Her teary eyes and trembling form made her look like a small animal, weak yet irresistibly adorable.

"That's enough, Letitia! Smia was raised among commoners! It's only natural that she doesn't know the norms of noble society!"

"Regardless of her upbringing, Smia is now a noble. I have repeatedly pointed out to her that she should adhere to the etiquette of a noble. Her ignorance has long surpassed the point of being excusable."

"Did you not even consider showing concern for Smia, who was suddenly brought into noble society?"

"I merely respected Smia's choices. It was her decision to claim the title of baroness and enroll in this academy, was it not?"

In both my previous and current lives, I have been taught that choices come with responsibility.

Even if Smia's background was special, it did not excuse her lack of propriety.

Smia is a baroness, but not the legitimate daughter; she is the daughter of a concubine.

She lived with her mother among commoners in the capital until she was taken in by her father at the age of 13.

There was a reason why a baroness, especially the daughter of a concubine, could enroll in the country's most prestigious academy.

"Prince Fritz, Lady Letitia is jealous."

A man with black hair and glasses stepped forward from behind Fritz.

He was Ilius, the third son of the current prime minister.

"Lady Letitia was just showing off her mediocre fire magic..."

... I'm sorry if it was mediocre.

But fire magic is versatile and convenient, isn't it?

It can dry your body, warm you up, boil a pot, or sear meat, saving fuel...

... No, no.

It seemed that the memories of my previous life were pulling my thoughts in a more mundane direction.

I am a duchess's daughter now.

In front of me is Ilius, who is glaring at me through his glasses.

I decided to tuck away my thoughts about the practicality of fire magic for later.

Ilius continued to spout his theories.

"... On the other hand, Smia is one of the few users of light magic in our country. Her magic power is also high, and she is even called the reincarnation of the 'Holy Maiden of Light' in our country. Don't you think her decision to enroll in this academy, to dedicate her talents to the country, is a noble aspiration?"

"I don't think you should confuse the purity of her intentions with the consequences of her actions."

"The consequences are clear. You, with your ugly heart, have been exposed."

"Ugly? After bringing discord from her side, do you not think your words are quite presumptuous? I believe all the warnings I gave her were proper."

"That... is..."

Ilius fell silent.

He was a talented student with excellent academic performance.

He seemed to understand internally that his defense of Smia was not logical.

"Hey, Letitia, you're just jealous of the precious light magic user who has the prince's love, aren't you?"

A red-haired, muscular young man, Dustin, the son of the head of the knight order, interrupted.

"I've heard that a woman's jealousy is scary, and it seems to be true. Using your status as a duchess's daughter to bully Smia is the height of cowardice."

Dustin spread his arms protectively in front of Smia.

"Thank you, Lord Dustin..."

"This is the least I can do!"

Dustin's face turned red as he turned away from Smia, and Letitia sighed inwardly.

--- Dustin, you too...

It was time for a famous quote from some Caesar.

It seemed that not only the Crown Prince but also Dustin was infatuated with Smia.

Dustin was the third son of a duchess's family, with no sisters and three brothers.

He had spent his childhood practicing swordsmanship at his father's workplace, resulting in a muscular man with excellent sword skills but no experience interacting with women of his own age.

I recalled my days in Japan, where a sports-loving man from a boys' school had ended up with a manipulative and evil woman in college.

"Hey, Letitia. Don't you have anything to say? Have you finally given up?"

"I have no intention of speaking to someone who addresses me without respect and lacks manners."

Both Dustin and I were from duchess's families.

We were not close, and there was no reason for him to address me so informally.

"Y-You... You're just nitpicking!!"

"It's not just the informal address. I have never received an apology from Lord Dustin for pushing me into the fountain."

"That was because Lady Letitia... was confronting Smia!!"

"I didn't raise my fist; I just approached her. You pushed me without any provocation, didn't you?"

"I had to protect Smia!"

"Are your muscles just for show? You could have stopped me by grabbing my shoulder with your strong arms without pushing me."

"...... Are you telling me to apologize?! You should be the one to apologize! How can you stand there after pushing Smia down the stairs?!"

... What is that?

I was shouted at, but it was a completely baseless accusation.

"... It's a groundless accusation. Do you have any evidence?"

"Smia said you pushed her from behind..."

"Is that all? If you really wanted to, you could have staged a fall from the stairs..."

"Enough. Be silent."

Fritz's cold voice hit my eardrums.

The hatred and contempt in his eyes made my chest ache.

... Our engagement was formed for political reasons when we were twelve.

However, regardless of how it began, he was still my lifelong partner.

Even if I couldn't love him, I had hoped to support him as a person...

I had spent years trying to find his good qualities and grow to like him.

... The fact that I had to try.

Perhaps, fundamentally, we were not compatible.

But it was too late, and everything was too late.

The unfulfilled affection was betrayed, and now Fritz looked at me with the eyes of an enemy.