Val Royeaux is the capital city of Orlais. It lies on the northern coast of the far inland tip of the Thedas ocean. Although there is a long shore belonging to Orlais along the sea, it has no port. I was told that decades ago, Orlais aristocrats tried to operate ports but they had to close down due to the success of the two trading city states, namely Venetian City State and Florence city state. 

Val Royeaux is home to the University of Orlais, a major center of learning that attracts young nobles from all over south eastern Thedas with the best education money can buy. 

Anyone is allowed to attend if sponsored by a noble patron. 

Being recommended by Montbelliard, Myla and I are registered as personnel. Myla is hired as a teacher while I am hired as a general worker. Our ultimate aim is to act as undercovers to learn more about Orlais aristocrats. 

I’m almost certain that she would love to be an instructor.

An image of her firmly whacking the desk with a teacher’s baton in one hand while the students stare intently at her comes into my mind.

Anyway, she looked very determined to teach when she was told about this mission. 

Guided by Myla, I moved to gateway, and confirmed that there were many other students heading to the university.

The students descended from carriages pulled by horses, as expected of children of aristocrats.

I saw a crowd of people.

The heir and daughters of the more prestigious households called out to their followers who were vassals under their household’s influence or classmates involved that were waiting for them. They’re there to protect the heirs and help them out.

In the future, those followers will be people that support high-ranking nobles. Though it’s assumed that the university treats students equally…the reality is that nothing but influence matters.

“I see…so they’re henchmen that get cocky because there’s a boss in town?”

Myla panicked after I said that.

“Y, you idiot!”

She was worried about whether the followers heard what I said. Then, they were relived after the followers didn’t turn their attention towards us.

"Someone with good ears may have heard it, though. You should be more alert. Things would’ve gotten serious if they had heard you.”

I apologized in light of Myla’s warning.

“I’ll be careful in the future.”

Myla was getting irritated.

“You really need to be careful. Don't cause trouble for me on our first day.”

***

It was the day of the entrance ceremony.

This is quite the grand auditorium, isn’t it?

At any rate, the entrance ceremony began in a place that was like a large theater.

There were a surprising number of noble students present, some of which were yawning.

The combination of the scents from women’s perfumes created an overbearing smell.

I suppose there’s no hope unless one gets used to this smell.

Amongst the crowd, the crown prince of Principality of Fanoss, “Sullivan De Caprio.” with short navy blue hair, spoke greetings on behalf of the first year students.

He had a beautiful appearance. He was tall, lean, and had a nice body balance.

His navy blue eyes within his fair skin looked like they were sparkling.

The surrounding schoolgirls understandably sighed in affection.

"I finally arrived. I’ve already been waiting for the prince these six years.”

I turned my head around towards a voice I had heard, but I couldn’t find out who had said that. There were several girls around that were murmuring about the crown prince’s beauty, so I couldn’t pick out the one that did it.

It wasn’t a particularly loud voice, but it strangely got through to my ear…then my wandering gaze stopped when reaching at a certain girl.

The university official team allowed plainclothes, yet her showy outfit made her stand out even more, basically telling everyone who the ruler of the students was.

The girl herself was fairly young but she looked like a fine young woman.

The curls in her waist-long chestnut-colored hair were pretty.

Her face…… definitely gorgeous, and her strong-willed appearance compliments her high-class and haughty attitude.

Her style of clothes emphasizes the size of her breasts and her plump figure, though she wasn’t fat.

If I held her from behind and thrust into her while standing, I was sure it would feel great.

Indeed, she appeared to be a selfish and sheltered girl, who’s also probably a virgin.

"She is Gretel de Montfort, the daughter of Marquis Cyril de Montfort, the chairman of the Council of Heralds. It means she is the heiress of the most influential person in Orlais. Gretel is the fiancee of that crown prince, Sullivan De Caprio."

Although Myla's information was hard to remember, the girl's beautiful look was hard to forget. 

***

The students earnestly listened to us speak.

To be precise, it’s not me speaking, but Myla. I was just sitting next to her standing figure as her assistant.

"In an advantageous situation, soldiers should be deployed in a straight line toward the enemy as much as possible. In a disadvantageous situation, align diagonally and fend off the impact."

Myla used various tools in her fervent speech addressed to the enlivened students.

"An assault by cavalry may seem powerful at first glance but even infantry can stop them if they don’t err in how they deal with the attack. On the other hand, if we were the cavalry charging in, we won’t suffer any decisive hits as long as the enemy hasn’t established control and order."

She’s serious and explained based on theory so she’s perfect as a teacher.

Looks like I picked the right person for the job.

"Everyone, make sure that you completely memorize these formations and their compatibilities. They are all formations of old and the enemy will certainly be knowledgeable about the standard practices too. However, don’t underestimate them – 80% of battles can be won with by-the-book tactics. Conversely, if there is even a slight deviation in the formula, defeat is but a foregone conclusion!"

I sat beside the passionate Myla and nodded greatly.

"Then, later we will be heading outside to the parade grounds to physically try rearranging ourselves in these formations. If you guys can’t do them yourselves, it’ll be impossible to teach your soldiers."

Myla’s tone was harsher than usual.

I guessed she’s trying to maintain the dignity she had as a soldier.

What a cutie.

The students were getting a more enriching lecture than usual and were barely keeping up.

Because of that, they didn’t realize my existence.

With that, the morning lesson was finished and next was lunch followed by the training on the grounds.

"Fuuu…… I’m tired."

"Good job. You did well."

Myla wiped the sweat off her brow which accumulated despite it being midwinter, probably because she was talking continuously for close to three hours.

"I have to confirm the location to prepare for the afternoon lesson. Please excuse me as I leave for a brief moment."

"Oh come on, we should eat lunch together first, no?"

"No, I can’t show ineptitude from the start. I’ll be going."

Myla rushed off in a hurry.

As expected, she loved this kind of thing.

***

Well, several weeks have passed since the entrance ceremony.

There weren’t any noteworthy events or anything of that sort for a mob like me, and I was finally getting used to this unfamiliar life at the academy.

Now that I’ve begun to get used to life at the student dorms, I’m in the process of digging information.

I often had lunch with two students who were sons of knight families, the lowest noble. Daniel and Raymond.

Like how the boys shared their information around, the girls shared their information around as well. Becoming an enemy of the girls means having them spread bad rumors, making things tedious.

While we were having a conversation, we saw Sullivan, the crown prince of Fanoss, walking with followers and women accompanying him.

Beside him was one of his close friends and bodyguards who was the heir to House of Chalons, Jilk de Chalons. Jilk was the son of  Margrave Germaine de Chalons.

He had deep blonde hair. He had green, droopy eyes that contrasted with the prince’s sharp glare.

The girls who talked to him had hearts in their eyes, and there were boys of high-ranking count households near and far that pridefully followed and served him.

Looking at the envious scene of the prince and the others, one girl then came along. She had followers surrounding her. It soon became apparent that she was of a high social status.

She was Gretel. She had hair that seemed to sparkle and had an upswept hairstyle.

The girls surrounding both the prince and Jilk took a distance faster than I could say it. 

"Crown prince your Highness, I have something to talk about .."

Sullivan breathed a small sigh.

“Gretel, you’re coercing the surrounding people. This is the university.”

“Right, I know. However…the people around you are quite noisy, crown prince your Highness.”

There was no fool in the academy that would go against the daughter of the most influential person in Orlais.

The girls awkwardly averted their gaze from Gretel.

There was one girl remaining in the place where the crowd had dispersed.

I squinted upon seeing her.

If Gretel was said to be a beautiful young woman, then this girl felt like a slim average girl.

"Hmm? Aah, it’s Selena. Perfect, I was looking for you. Can you come over here?”

The prince smiled while looking at Selena.

Gretel’s eyebrows moved with a twitch.

When one of her followers whispered about Selena into her ear, she knit her eyebrows grandly.

Selena went over to him since her called for her, and a feeling of tension rose in the location.

"Your highness. Please distant yourself from this girl!" Gretel raised her voice. 

Standing behind Sullivan, as if trying to hide from Gretel, I saw Selena. She was acting just like a small frightened animal: she looked at Gretel with fear in her eyes, while almost hugging Sullivan’s back.

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, are you not standing a bit too close to this lowly girl."

The prince seemed very annoyed while arguing with Gretel.

"You fool!! How dare you still speak of Selena like that!" 

Sullivan started shouting, irritated by my attitude. The prince’s handsome features — very much unlike his character — were twisted beyond recognition.

Since lunch break was not over yet, many of the academy’s students were still in the garden.

Some were sitting on a bench eating, others chatting with their friends: the commotion caused by the prince, however, attracted the curiosity of many of them.

".." Gretel gawked and her face became pale.

"Gretel de Montfort. I hereby declare your engagement with me void!!”

“….whaat?”