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chapter 40
I’d been rejected, but begging any further would only crush my pride.
Normally, I’m someone who could throw away my dignity for convenience — but not now. Not as Canis.
Besides, this person in front of me was to become my future subordinate, wasn’t she?
I swallowed my pride and quietly accepted the penalty points.
After checking my score on the magic paper, she spoke again.
“I heard from my father that the regular meeting has been moved up a day.”
“Yeah.”
“My father seems to think His Grace, the Duke, has finally made up his mind… but what do you think, my lady?”
A sharp question.
I curled my lips upward.
“That man would never hand over his title to me so easily.”
Leaving his so-called love for Helena aside—
The thought of having the child he’d treated like vermin under him must be unbearable.
If I were still useless, maybe he wouldn’t care. But as I am now, I’m something unknown to him.
That’s what it means to be a ‘20-year-old awakener’ in this world.
To put it in modern Earth terms… yeah. Like someone with an IQ of 2000.
Sure, there’ve been geniuses with IQs of 200 throughout history, but adding another zero makes it sound absurd—like a joke or a rumor so ridiculous it might almost be true.
And that was exactly the kind of title stuck to me now.
“But His Grace has eyes too. He can’t keep dragging this out forever.”
“That’s true. But the Duke has a convenient excuse right now, doesn’t he?”
I fiddled with the ribbon tied around my neck.
“This thing.”
“…You mean your status as a student?”
Smart woman.
Larisa used to be the same—she’d take care of things before I even said them.
Maybe there really is such a thing as genetic talent.
I nodded.
“Pretty much. The academy limits outside movement during the semester, so saying, ‘we’ll handle the title inheritance after graduation for a smoother transition’—it’s such a predictable story.”
“True enough. Then why do you think the meeting was moved up a day?”
“Hmm. Probably to calm public sentiment? I mean, what difference does one day even make—”
I tapped my fingers on the desk, then stopped.
Wait.
Why just one day earlier? Not a week, not even a few days—just one.
That’s oddly specific. There’s no practical reason for that kind of adjustment.
“My lady?”
“…”
The regular meeting is in three weeks.
Three weeks from now will be about a month after the academy term begins.
That’s when the late-starting political science students return, and the rest of the departments will be in the middle of midterms…
“…Ah.”
“My lady?”
“Hmm… no, surely not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just wondered if maybe they’d set some kind of condition—like graduating at the top of my class.”
Of course, even if they did, it wouldn’t be a problem.
I’d obviously be number one.
“Well, whatever. Or maybe the Duke just wants to handle things quietly, without Helena knowing.”
I brushed my lips with a finger as I went on.
“The social season pauses in September, right? The original meeting was set for September 1st, and Helena’s supposed to return to the Duchy around then too.”
“That’s plausible. More than I expected, actually.”
“What were you thinking then?”
“…It might be rude to say.”
She hesitated—quite a contrast from her confident tone earlier.
That only made me more curious.
“It’s fine. Go on.”
I gestured with my chin.
Selina Remembral exhaled quietly, then spoke slowly.
“If I were in power… I’d remove a successor I didn’t like. Especially one who might threaten my position.”
Now this woman and I were on the same wavelength.
A type who’d use any means necessary to reach her goal.
Intrigued, I straightened in my chair.
A signal for her to continue.
“But getting blood on your own hands would be foolish—especially if that ‘unwanted successor’ had the loyalty of your vassals.”
“Hmm. Agreed.”
Nobles value appearances above all.
Even those in power can’t just kill their own child without reason.
A father who murdered his daughter out of greed for power—
Even as a rumor, it’s disgraceful.
Especially since the vassals, led by House Remembral, would resent the Duke if he killed me.
In the story within the story, the Duke had killed Canis only after securing his political position and timing.
He’d destroyed Canis’s standing completely and ordered tongueless servants to starve her to death in a solitary cell.
A pitch-dark room where not a single ray of light entered.
So small she couldn’t even stretch her legs—dying slowly, mad with thirst.
Canis Escliff.
The memory of that passage made my anger surge.
“My lady, your teacup just broke.”
“…Ah.”
Startled, I looked down. The shattered porcelain had nicked my palm—blood was trickling out.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It was the Duke’s tea set anyway.”
“Ah, right.”
Of course it was.
I drained the rest of my tea and stood.
“Anyway, I’ll get going.”
“Shall I see you off?”
“No need.”
Checking the clock, I saw about thirty minutes had passed.
With no more classes today, I might as well head back to the dorm.
“Phew.”
As I walked, I thought back on that feeling from before.
Was it because I was in Canis’s body? I kept getting lost in her emotions—too much, sometimes.
Yeah. It was strange.
The original novel I read was a typical fluffy possession story.
So why was I so obsessed with Canis Escliff from the story within that story, who barely even appeared?
Was it because the body I now occupied was that Canis Escliff?
They say the mind stores memories in the body, after all…
‘…Forget it.’
Thinking more wouldn’t help. A useless worry.
All I could do was live the way I wanted to.
I’d lived miserably in my previous life—so in this one, I might as well live gloriously.
“The winner is Student Escliff!”
This was getting boring.
I turned my head away from the fallen boy and left the arena.
At first, it had been exhilarating—like chugging an entire bottle of soda in one go.
But that thrill didn’t last long.
Toying with helpless opponents for hours was exhausting.
That’s why I’d ended every match today with a single blow.
“…”
People still looked amazed, though.
But really, there was no need to be.
Canis Escliff had been a non-magical dropout for twenty years.
If you count only academy time, that’s about three and a half years.
A student who’d ranked last for three and a half years suddenly showing results like this—
Yeah, I’d be shocked too.
Running a hand through my hair, I walked—
and bumped into someone.
When I looked up reflexively, I saw a familiar color.
Hair as blue as mine.
Eyes slightly below my gaze—violet, glowing faintly as they met mine.
Like a cat’s.
While I was still thinking that absentmindedly, Asphodel spoke.
“…Mind moving out of the way?”
Her tone was curt, but her gaze held no hostility at all.
I shrugged.
“Sure.”
Asphodel passed by, glanced briefly back at me, then kept walking.
Her back was straight, her posture perfect—every step and gesture made her look like a true noble.
Completely different from me, who merely wore the shell of one.
Just as I was about to lose interest and leave, Asphodel spoke again—
“You’ve got a match on Wednesday.”
