^^ Nyx

We arrive at the school which is essentially a palace made from white marble. It has glass domes and tall towers. Around it are mountains and several waterfalls draining into a lake.

We cross the bridge and several guards open the front doors for us. The coachman opens our carriage doors. My heart is racing a little bit as I exit the carriage with Nyx and Finn. After all, this is where the real plot of the game begins.

I enter the front lobby of the Academy which has two large windows on either sides of the front door letting light pour in. There are also several diamond chandeliers illuminating the inside which is nice since I hate it when the inside of castles are too gloomy. The floor is also made of white marble, and there is a large staircase on the opposite side of the room leading to another floor. The lobby is packed with other nobles, many of them I recognize. I really hope I don't have to interact with them because they're already pissing me off with all their gossiping amongst themselves since I arrived.

"Wow I can't believe the Callisto Princess could be in the same class as us!" I hear one of them loudly whisper.

"Hah, as if you'd get in the advanced class! Keep dreaming," replies their friend.

"Who are those people next to her?" someone else says on the other side of the room.

"You don't know? They're the Princess of Darkness' loyal dogs. She never goes anywhere without them," mutters someone else in reply.

"Better be careful. I hear she's ruthless. A true Callisto Princess," says another person.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. It's almost funny, I'm already the villainess in their minds. I'm sure the heroine is somewhere in this crowd of nobles hearing about me for the first time. A great, cliche introduction of the villainess character for an otome game like this. Of course, in a later scene when the heroine first encounters the villainess head on she'll be horrible and it will confirm everything she heard about the villainess from earlier.

Whatever, at least their gossiping is better than me having to interact with them.

However, all of their chatter about me quiets down when the next noble arrives. I turn around and dread fills me. I see the golden hair and blue eyes of none other than the crown prince. Behind him is the second prince, adjusting one of his cuff links.

"Oh my god it's Prince Jackson and Prince Theodore! I'm so lucky to have seen them!" exclaims someone in the back of the room.

"Both of them are really my type, but I can't help but favor Prince Jackson! He's so confident and kind-hearted!" loudly whispers another noble.

"Well I like Prince Theodore better! I like the serious and smart type!" replies the noble's friend.

Ugh, I feel like I'm going to gag. It's moments like these that remind me that this an otome, romance game. But aren't these NPC's reactions seriously biased?

"Eve!" says Jackson.

Oh hell no.

Now I have to interact with people, and not just people, my death flags. Just wonderful. I've been cramped in a stupid carriage for days and now I have to talk to this guy.

"Greetings your highnesses," I reply.

"Please there's no reason to be so formal Eve! You act like we're not on familiar terms," responds Jackson.

"It was great to see you at my Birthday ball last month Eve. You'll have to extend my greetings to your brother since he couldn't attend," says Theodore.

Right, that debacle. I ended up having to dance with Theodore as his first dance during his ball which caused a bit of a scandal because people think Jackson and I will get engaged in the near future. I couldn't refuse the offer of the prince for a first dance since the Callisto family is trying to remain neutral, not joining Theodore or Jackson's faction, and a flat out refusal would send a message that we've allied with the crown prince. Still, accepting it nevertheless caused speculation to rise about us having possibly joined the second prince's faction, and gossip that perhaps Jackson and I were having relationship issues.

All those stupid dances I've had to attend are filled with those political maneuvers. And because the Callisto family is so power, it's very hard to just fade in the background of those events. All eyes are on you all the time. Waiting for you to slip up or attack someone.

Theodore is bringing that up with his brother present and all these nobles to try to revive the gossip about the ball, and show that I'm more allied with him while casting doubt on the possibility that I could be getting engaged to the crown prince in the future.

"Haha, yes it was a great ball, brother. Don't worry about her brother not attending, he was in an important diplomatic meeting with the delegation sent to the Thetis Empire. Nothing personal. You know how the Callisto family is hard to pin down for events. They're often busy with their own affairs," the crown prince replies.

In other words, he's indirectly saying that the Callisto family is still neutral, and thus refuting Theodore's claims. See why I didn't want to deal with anyone right now? I have to play all these political games and chose my wording so carefully. I'm too tired to deal with this stuff right now.

As I suspected, a big part of the Academy is establishing political ties between the next generation of nobility. And that means more political games and maneuvers. Just wonderful.

I'm a bit jealous of the female lead. She didn't have to play all these political games and was often oblivious to all of it. I can't afford to be since the Callistos have so many enemies, allies, and attention on us, that the slightest mistake could have serious repercussions. Mistakes wouldn't just cause us to personally lose face, it could lead to bigger issues depending on the other nobilities' reactions to it, such as leading to a change in national policies or even assassination plots.

"Yes, the talks in Thetis should be resolving soon. My brother has informed me that it will open more trade between us and the Thetis Empire," I respond. Even though my brother can be an elitist prick at times, he's still defended me a lot through the years. And anyway, helping the family, helps my status as well, which is why bringing up my brother's success is a good idea.

A ripple of mummers runs through the nobles. Of course, they're interested in this as well since it could directly impact their businesses for good or ill. I'm sure many will write home about it as soon as they can.

Just then a woman that looks to be about in her early thirties descends down from the stairs. She has red hair tied into a bun, a blue pinstriped three piece suit, and a golden monocle.

"Hello everyone, thank you all for coming. I am the Dean of Students here at the Rosewood Academy. You can refer to me as Ms. Snow. Testing for entrance and level into the Academy shall begin now. Failure to pass will result in you having to immediately leave the academy and head home. For those who pass, you will be assigned a room and can go an unpack your things there. Please take out your invitations," she says.

I take out the invitation letter. It's a piece of parchment that was sent out to all nobility and those with mana inviting them to test at the Academy to enter into the school. At the bottom is a stamp with the seal of the school which is a thorny rose with a crown above it with the words Excellence, Tradition, and Strength around the rose and crown in the ancient language.

"Press the seal on your invitation letter and it will transport you to your testing area," instructs Ms. Snow.

A couple people start disappearing in the room, a slight whoosh in the air after they disappear. Amazing! Teleportation magic! I wonder how much mana it took to make all these teleportation gates.

"Ready?" I ask Nyx and Finn.

"Definitely!" replies Jackson.

"I don't think she was talking to you," says Nyx nonchalantly.

Jackson just smiles, confused, and presses the seal on his, disappearing. He's quickly followed by Theodore.

I press down on mine with Nyx and Finn at the same time, and suddenly we're in a new place.

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