Chapter 3 : The Villainess’s First Lesson

The mornings in the dormitory are the worst.

Especially for someone with low blood pressure like me.

“Miss, you need to get up.”

“Just five more minutes…”

“If you don’t get up now, you’ll be late.”

I couldn’t even put up a fight against Eve, who was waking me up, and was forced to get dressed…

“Pervert….”

“Hurry up and get up.”

After getting ready, I followed Eve out of the dormitory to the classroom for the Magic Theory and Practice lecture, where all eyes turned to us.

Lucy is over there.

She smiles at me as if saying hello, and I sit next to her.

Lucy looks at me with surprised eyes.

“Oh, hello! Aria Theres!”

“Hello, Lucy. You can call me Aria comfortably, you know?”

“Ye-yes! Aria… Miss!”

She was just about to say my name casually, but immediately added ‘Miss’ after seeing Eve’s cold glare.

Just then, I heard murmurs from around us, many unfamiliar voices.

Class A and C are combined for this lecture, while classes D through F are conducted separately.

It seems most Class A students have applied for different subjects.

The other kids’ voices were getting on my nerves when the professor entered.

A beautiful professor, her blue hair swaying as she walked in.

There are many beauties in the academy, which I like very much.

“I assume everyone’s here? I’m Professor Cecily Solace, and I’ll be teaching Magic Theory and Practice. Please take care of me.”

With the introduction over, the professor announced that she would begin the lecture right away.

She said the lecture would be based on the textbook we were told to purchase in advance, and everyone took out their books.

I saw Lucy’s troubled expression.

Regular books are expensive for commoners, so textbooks must be absurdly expensive for her.

A few students snickered at her, which annoyed me.

I took out a book from subspace and handed it to Lucy.

She looked at me with surprised eyes, then refused, saying she couldn’t accept it.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m lending it to you.”

“Th-thank you.”

Only then did she take the book, holding it tightly as if it were a precious treasure.

How cute.

She’s so easily moved by such a small thing.

What will she do later?

This is just the beginning of my role as a villainess.

This should make it clear to everyone. Lucy is the one I’ve set my sights on.

The professor’s two-hour lecture was enough to drain my energy completely.

“The lecture is over, Miss.”

“It’s called Theory and Practice, but it was all theory…”

“It’s probably because it’s the first day.”

As we were about to move to the next lecture hall, I spoke to Lucy, who had been stealing glances at me.

“Can I see your schedule?”

“Y-yes? My schedule? Here you go…”

Checking her schedule, it was, as expected, identical to mine.

I had applied based on my old memories to follow the scenario.

Fortunately, my memory didn’t fail me.

“Our schedules are the same. Let’s go to the next lecture hall together.”

“R-really!?”

Her eyes turn into those of a surprised rabbit.

And a smile spreads across her face, not knowing what’s to come.

This time, we will be learning Elemental Magic.

The class is taught by our homeroom professor.

That’s why it’s held in the Class A classroom, and now I see some familiar faces.

There are still about 20 minutes left until the lecture begins.

While I was enjoying the sunny weather, someone approached.

“It’s been a while, Aria.”

A girl with the typical blonde, rolled pigtails and sharp eyes.

The young lady of the Solace Dukedom, just like our family.

Eclair greets me.

Her eyes look like she’s looking at a rival.

“You were lucky to be the top student this time, but it will change in the midterm exams.”

“I look forward to it.”

When I smirk, she glares at me with a look of frustration.

She’s always been like this.

I didn’t care much and just let her be, but maybe it’s time for some education.

Then, Eclair glanced at Lucy sitting next to me and smirked.

“What’s your intention, keeping a commoner by your side?”

“I wonder.”

“Oh, could it be that the daughter of the Theres Dukedom, known for its magical prowess, is using her authority to make her a servant?”

Her eyes show she thinks she’s caught me red-handed.

And she extends her hand to Lucy.

“I can help you. Even though I look like this, I am the daughter of a family called the Golden Dukedom.”

In short, she’s saying that if Lucy comes to her, she’ll be showered with immense wealth.

Startled, Lucy glanced at me and then politely refused.

“I-I’m sorry, Eclair Solace. I’m fine.”

Displeased by Lucy’s refusal, Eclair huffed and returned to her seat.

I felt strangely proud of Lucy.

I patted her head as if to say “good job,” and her face turned as red as if it would burst at any moment.

“Ahem, Miss. You should prepare for the lecture.”

“There are still 10 minutes left?”

“Nine minutes.”

Eve, jealous beside me, is also cute.

When I pat Eve’s head, she says I shouldn’t with an embarrassed face, but her hand doesn’t refuse.

Anyway, she is so cute.

Professor Lilian Immary entered on time, and the lecture began.

“Now, the books you bought in advance won’t be used much in my class, so put them away. Oh, but do read them. Since I made them, the content is quite good.”

At that moment, a student raised their hand and asked a question.

“Then why did you tell us to buy them?”

“Why else? It’s for the money.”

The students were dumbfounded by the professor’s answer.

“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t get a single penny from it. It all goes to the academy. If you want to complain, complain to the academy.”

She’s too honest.

Then, she took out a staff from her bosom and used magic, creating a blazing fireball.

“This is a 1st-circle Fireball. The most basic fire elemental magic.”

And she looked intently at me.

“Our top first-year student, don’t use the family treasures recklessly. You’ll intimidate the other kids.”

The professor thinks the magic I used at the entrance ceremony was a family artifact.

She can’t even imagine that a student who just entered the first year could use high-level magic used by archmages.

“You must master basic 1st-circle to 3rd-circle magic in your first year to advance to the second year. Learn as if your life depends on it.”

The professor told us to raise our hands if we had any questions.

Then a student raised his hand and asked.

“Does that mean we have to master up to 6th-circle magic in the second year?”

The professor looked dumbfounded, and the student awkwardly sat down.

“Does that make sense? In the second year, you master up to 4th-circle, and in the third year, up to 5th-circle is the basic premise.”

Usually, the 5th circle is the limit for people with ordinary talent.

Only when you reach the 6th circle do you get the qualification to choose and enter one of the three magic towers in the empire.

High-level mages are called from the 7th to 8th circles, and when you reach the 9th circle, you are granted the qualification to challenge the tower master and are commonly called an archmage.

A mage who reaches the 10th circle is a rarity, appearing perhaps once every 1,000 years.

Currently, there is only one in the empire.

One of the three magic towers.

The master of the Golden Magic Tower is a 10th-circle mage.

Following the explanation, another student asks.

“Then is the 10th circle the end?”

“Above the 10th circle, there is something called Transcendental Magic in the literature, but there has been no observed case of it so far.”

The professor stated firmly that although it appears in literature, no mage has ever reached that realm.

Then another student, with a playful look, raised his hand and asked.

“Then what about dark magic? The book says you can grow faster with it than regular magic?”

With that question, the classroom atmosphere turned cold.

“Never mention dark magic again. Unless you want to be punished along with your entire family for treason.”

Dark magic is considered the greatest of sins.

The magic deals with life as a price, so its achievements are incredibly fast, but the end is harsh.

If a dark mage dies, their soul cannot reincarnate and is enslaved by demons in hell.

For an eternity.

“Never be interested in dark magic, even out of curiosity. The end is only ruin.”

To lighten the heavy mood, the professor said she would find the right element for each of us and told us to come forward one by one.

One by one, we went forward and held the professor’s hand, and various colors shone.

“You have a red color, so you have a fire element.”

Blue is the water element, brown is the earth element, and in my turn, a brilliant five-colored light emanated, and the professor wrapped both my hands.

“As expected, you are meant to be my disciple! Now! Why don’t you come and talk with the professor about the future!?”

Our professor was essentially saying ‘won’t you become a graduate student,’ and her hands were very soft.