Millie stared at the devastated town, the smoke of the charred houses and bodies still rising into the air, making it hard to breathe. The screaming had long since stopped, before Millie had even managed to sneak out of the military camp, wearing a long cloak. “This…” she whispered, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She covered her mouth. “I didn’t think…”

“Why…?” Something grabbed her leg and Millie let out a cry. She looked down to see a burned corpse of a man holding onto her right calf. Another corpse, this one a child, grabbed her left leg. “Why did you kill…?”

“N-No!” Millie stammered, managing to break herself free. “I didn’t- They told me the town was evacuated! I-!”

“You knew.” The accusation was cold and harsh. “You murdered everyone willingly.”

More corpses grabbed her body and tried to drag her down to the ground.

“You witch!”

Millie’s eyes snapped open, as she sat up suddenly in her bed in a cold sweat. She was breathing heavily and placed a hand over her chest, in a vain hope to calm himself down. “…Dammit,” she muttered, gritting her teeth. More nightmares.

She looked out the window. It wasn’t even dawn yet. Checking the time, she found it to be a little before 4 am.

Millie sighed. She wasn’t getting any sleep now. She hopped out of bed and pulled on some clothes. Not her normal school uniform, but a boy’s uniform. In the cover of darkness and from far away, it’d be hard for people to recognize her. And besides, females weren’t allowed to handle the weapons stored at the training field.

Making sure that no one else was awake in the dorms, Millie snuck outside, following the path towards the field. It was a bit of a long walk, as they were farther from the girls’ dorms than the boys’, but she managed to get there before the sun could rise. At best, she estimated that she had another hour before she’d have to return to her room.

As she thought, the training field was empty. Checking the equipment room, she grabbed a training sword about as long as her arm which was heavy enough that she had to hold it in both of her hands.

She stood in the center of the training field in an awkward stance and began lifting the sword and swinging it downward. At any chance she had gotten, Millie had been teaching herself swordplay. Handling weaponry was forbidden by women of Lumine Academy. Rather they were told to focus on magic.

But Millie had decided to be proactive. If she wanted to survive this time, then she thought it best to forgo tradition. Not like the tradition of nobles ever made sense to her.

“Is someone there?” Millie froze when someone piped up near her. If she was caught, then it was possible she could be reprimanded or even expelled.

Turning her head carefully to the right, she was caught momentarily by surprise. Instead of a teacher or a male student, Celsa stood there in a lacy nightie, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. However, before Millie could react, Celsa’s eyes turned sharp.

She covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. “Oh, dear! Is that you Miss Touna?!”

“I- What are you doing out here, Lady Feroulet?!” Millie shot back, desperately trying to change the subject.

Luckily for her, Celsa took her bait. “I’m heading back to my room, after a night with a boy,” she explained with a nonchalant shrug. “But that’s beside the point. What are you doing here? Wielding a sword of all things…”

Millie felt her face turn red. “I was practicing,” she admitted. “I wanted to learn swordplay.”

Celsa stared. “Do you not realize that the academy forbids us from using weaponry.”

“I-!” Millie started to say, only for Celsa to raise a hand making her pause.

Celsa walked up to her and gingerly removed the sword from Millie’s grip. Millie let her do so and watched as Celsa entered the equipment room, before returning after a minute, carrying a shorter sword, a thin sword that Millie recognized as one used for fencing, and a buckler. “Here,” she said, handing Millie the short sword. “This one should be easier to hold.”

Millie took it and found it a lot lighter than the weapon she had been initially training with. This one she could hold in one hand without much difficulty. Still…

“Isn’t this far too weak?” she asked. “I’ve seen the crown prince wield a blade twice as long as this one, holding it with both his hands. Isn’t it better for me to do the same?”

Celsa shook her head. “You and the crown prince are not the same,” she instructed sternly, attaching the buckler to her left arm. “You each have different strengths and weaknesses. I do not know why you’re comparing yourself to someone like him, but it’s better to focus on your own strengths.” She frowned. “You were accepted to Lumine Academy for your excellence in magic, what’s the point in learning swordplay?”

“I was thinking that it would be good to be well-rounded,” Millie lied. “Most people in my village know the bare minimum of how to swing a sword.”

“Well, in that case, I still think this works better for you,” Celsa said firmly, stepping back away from Millie, still holding that fencing saber. “Would you like me to teach you?”

Millie blinked. “You? You know how to use a sword? I thought noble ladies weren’t allowed to.”

Celsa shrugged. “My older brother taught me,” she explained. “Don’t tell anyone, of course, since it was a secret between the two of us.”

“Your older brother?” Millie swung her sword a couple of times. “Does he also attend the academy?”

“No, he’s dead.” Millie froze, upon hearing Celsa’s answer. She stared at the older girl, finding Celsa smiling softly and playing with the tip of her blade. “He died about two years ago in an eastern border dispute.”

Millie felt a chill run down her spine, just as the sun began to rise behind Celsa, illuminating her outline. A soft blissful smile played on her face, as her fingers caressed her blade as if she had not registered what she had just said.

This woman is dangerous, Millie realized, feeling herself unconsciously tense up. Why have I never heard of her in my past life?

“Well, Miss Touna?” Celsa asked, pointing the tip of her blade at Millie. “You never gave me an answer, so I’ll reiterate. Would you like me to be your teacher?”

Well since she was offering… “Yes,” Millie said firmly.

Celsa giggled to herself. “Well don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Xxx

It was a week and a half later, a Saturday when the first-year class finally took their first field trip into a nearby dungeon. It was a small one and heavily regulated by the kingdom and academy. Basically a training dungeon consisting of a small cave system with not many monsters or creatures within.

In her past life, Millie had been by herself with no friends to help her through the dungeon. She had been basically forced to go alone through the dungeon first and had ended the field trip cowering in a side room until one of the teachers found her at the end of the day. The incident had been something she had never heard the end of in her past life. An embarrassment that she never really recovered from.

But this time…

“Are you okay?” Rosalie, who was dressed in thin leather armor, asked. She was standing to the right of Millie, who was wearing something similar, gifted to her by Rosalie.

“I’m fine. Just… tired.” Millie sighed. Celsa's lessons had been a lot more grueling than Millie had ever expected, but thanks to her, she felt a little more confident in her swordplay. She patted the sword strapped to her side. There weren’t any rules on what they could bring on the field trip, so Millie prepared accordingly.

Rosalie eyes the sword. “I’m a little surprised,” she noted. “I wasn’t aware that you knew how to wield a sword.”

“Oh, uh…” Millie racked her brain for an excuse. “I was given some lessons back in my village. Everyone there had to learn how to at least swing one just in case of a goblin attack.”

“Oh.” Rosalie seemed to buy it. “That makes sense.” She turned her attention back to the teacher, who was currently explaining the lesson.

Having already heard the explanation in her past life, Millie snuck a look at the girl standing to the right of Rosalie. Sarah, who initially had been hostile to Millie, had warmed up to her in the past week. At the very least, Millie felt as though the girl tolerated her existence. It was only a few days ago, that she found out that Sarah was a part of a minor nobility of the Salem duchy. It was probably why she stuck so closely to Rosalie. They were blood sisters.

The three of them, Sarah, Rosalie, and Millie formed a group for the assignment, the day prior. But, if Millie remembered correctly, there was someone missing from the lineup. Sarah had always followed Rosalie, from what Millie remembered, but in her past life, there had been another noble girl to follow Rosalie around religiously. However, Millie caught said girl in a team separate from theirs, not even glancing in Rosalie’s direction. Apparently, Millie had taken her place in this life.

Millie felt herself sag a little. Does that mean I’m nothing more than a lackey now? She wondered a little bitterly. Though I suppose it’s better than being a punching bag…

The instructor finished their lecture and clapped his hands. “Alright. If that’s the case will a team step forward to enter the dungeon first?”

Millie half-expected everyone to point at her, so she was slightly surprised to see Nadia Valatina step forward. “We’re ready, sir,” Lady Valatina said confidently.

Out of the corner of her eye, Millie saw Rosalie stiffen as the four men behind Lady Valatina stepped forward. Millie found her mouth curling into a displeased scowl. The same four men from her past life come back to torment her. The only one missing from the group was that upperclassman.

First was Felix Currant, Celsa's fiancé, though Millie hadn’t heard much about him from Celsa. But from what Millie remembered about him, Felix was somewhat a ladies' man. He was a handsome man with long dark purple hair, a little taller than Millie herself. Strapped to his waist was a pair of revolvers.

Next was possibly the smartest of the group Issac Dirac, of the noble family Dirac in the northern territories of the empire. Neatly combed blonde hair, square-framed glasses, and a straightlaced personality made him extremely popular with the girls of the academy. He wasn’t bound to an arranged marriage so that only made him more desirable to others. He had a large spear tucked under his right arm and a small book held in his left hand.

Thirdly, was Samuel Konev, of the southwestern territory of Konev. Compared to the other area of the empire, that area was locked in endless conflict with the country that bordered it, Aditi. Only recently have peace talks progressed, but even then the Konev noble family were known as bloodthirsty and violent soldiers. Despite Samuel’s short stature, he still was probably the fiercest fighter out of the five men that surrounded Lady Valatina. It was easy to underestimate him with scruffy white hair, a face that beguiled childlike innocence, and no weapons, save for a pair of gloves. But…

Millie’s eyes narrowed. Samuel had been the one to capture her in her past life. And he hadn’t been kind about it. Rather he had been absolutely ruthless.

And finally, there was the Crown Prince Azure Reinhart. The sole child of the emperor and the empress. A man of supposed honor.

“Tch.” It looked like Rosalie was holding back her words, biting her tongue.

“It’s okay,” Sarah muttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure the prince knows to respect the agreement.” She shot Millie a look, clearly expecting her to comfort Rosalie.

Was this what it meant to be a lackey? “She’s right, Rosa,” Millie said. “There’s no way someone like him would neglect his responsibility.” She felt a little guilty lying to her like this, but Millie doubted that telling the truth would help the situation in any way.

Rosalie took a deep breath. “Of course.” She rubbed her eyes. “I’ll grab the map from the instructor,” she offered, heading toward him.

But the moment Rosalie touched the map that was handed to her, Millie felt a sharp pain in her right eye and doubled over. What was…? She thought frantically, as a scene, wholly different to the one prior, played out in front of her.

A giant spider, one that Millie had never seen before, crawled towards her. Rosalie and Sarah were in front of her and, as she watched helplessly, the spider raised its legs and stabbed them through. Millie screamed, but her voice didn’t seem to work, as she stared at their lifeless bodies.

“Miss Touna?” Immediately, Millie returned and she realized she was staring at Rosalie’s feet. She looked up to see Rosalie giving her a concerned look. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’m…” Millie raised a hand to her right eye which throbbed slightly. “I’m fine.”

What the hell just happened?