"Father, there's no such thing as black magic that transfers the curse of a Goddess to someone else. Don't trust it if you ever hear that. You have to watch out for the Cassil family, especially Richard."

"Do you think I'd get deceived by such a thing?"

He smiled as if to reassure me.

There was a reason why Tenstheon fell into Richard's trap in the original novel.

One day, Blake's condition became very serious, and to make matters worse, the Door of Darkness also opened.

Tenstheon tried to seal the door to fulfill his duty as the Emperor, but if he used the power of light, he could not guarantee that Blake's life would remain intact.

Tension was driven into an extreme situation so he used black magic even though he knew it was a dangerous gamble, and then, ended up losing his life.

"I will surely resolve the curse of the Crown Prince, so please trust me."

"You're nagging again."

"I'm not. It's necessary advice."

"Don't worry. I have two children to take care of. I won't act rashly."

He ruffled my hair lightly.

A child to be protected.... One was Blake. The other one was me.

According to the original story, the Emperor would lose his life this year. But that wouldn't happen now.

I'd protect him.

***

The Knights Academy's admission was faster than other places. It was because the students needed to endure the cold winter training to strengthen their determination.

I wanted Diana to achieve her dream of becoming a knight, but I was worried because she said she had to train in the cold winter, and not in the blooming spring.

But Diana, the person involved, was very excited like a puppy.

"Your Highness, you know I only trust you, right? If not for you, I wouldn't be able to go to the academy because I'd be too worried about her. Please keep her safe!"

"Yes, sister-in-law, don't worry. It's good to work hard, but be careful not to get hurt."

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to graduate soon and become a knight!"

It was nice to see both of them getting along well.

"Let's discuss who likes her more in six years."

"Didn't we come to a conclusion already?"

"Oh, it was my victory."

"What do you mean? I won!"

"Come on, let's go. We'll be late for the entrance ceremony if we wait any longer."

"Yes! Your Highness, see you during the summer vacation!"

"I'll wait."

"Your Highness, I'll be right back."

"Yes. Have a safe trip, Ancia."

Only students and family members were allowed to attend the entrance ceremony for the Knights Academy.

I rode a carriage with Diana and headed to the Knight Academy.

Diana was dressed in a black pants uniform of the Knight Academy and tied her hair up. She looked very cool.

"...Diana, the Countess can't come because she's busy."

I brought it up carefully.

I had sent several letters to Countess Bellacian. Count Bellacian was exiled, so naturally, he wouldn't be able to attend the entrance ceremony. However, his wife should still have come to congratulate her daughter on starting a new chapter of her life.

But she refused to come.

"I know. I heard that she was going to the church today to file for divorce."

Diana said in a casual tone.

"Divorce?"

It was a loveless marriage in the first place. In the original novel, the Bellacian couple were only together because they fulfilled each other's vanity, but they didn't get divorced.

"Mother said that father has completely gone crazy, and that I was the source of everything. She's sick and tired of both of us."

"You did nothing wrong. Never mind them."

"I don't care. I have a nice sister."

Diana came next to me and folded her arms. I patted her shoulder, too.

"Sister. Take this."

She took out a small jewelry box.

"What is this?"

"It's the Bellacian ring and key to the mansion. I guess my mother kept it when father left. She sent it back to me saying she was going to get a divorce now. So you take it. This is yours now."

"Diana, I can't take this."

I tried to refuse. But Diana put the jewelry box back on my hand.

"The Bellacian family was originally on the verge of ruin. But they didn't go bankrupt thanks to your biological mother, and most of the assets are hers. So it belongs to you in the first place."

As Diana said, the property of the Bellacians was the legacy that Ancia's mother had left to the real Ancia.

"....Thank you."

"I'm finally giving it back to the rightful owner. What do you mean thank you?"

She gave me everything and smiled gladly.

Then, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

"Oh! I guess we've arrived!"

Diana opened the curtains of the carriage. Then, we saw a panoramic view of the grand Knight Academy in front of us.

The academy was crowded with people who were participating in the entrance ceremony. There were many aristocrats among them, but everyone's eyes were on us.

When Tenstheon heard that I was going to the entrance ceremony, he sent the Emperor's carriage and the finest knights to escort us.

Diana reached out to me with her head slightly bowed, like a real knight.

"Your Highness, shall we go?"

I put my hand on Diana's. As I got off the carriage under Diana's escort, a magnificent trumpet sounded.

Oh my. Father, why did you prepare all of this?

As we walked on the red carpet in front of the carriage, the academy students and nobles came over to greet the Crown Princess. And the dean of the academy greeted me as a representative.

"The Crown Princess, the blessing of the Empire, I greet you."

I had just planned to celebrate quietly as a freshman's sister, but the scale somehow became too big for me.

I went to watch the entrance ceremony next to the dean on the platform.

It was a bit burdensome at first. However, since Diana was in the front row because they were seated according to their rank, it was a good place to see her.

I watched the entrance ceremony with heartfelt thanks to Father.

Knights Academy's entrance ceremony was very boring, but Diana didn't show any sign of being bored. Instead, she sat up straight and looked very mature today.

The entrance ceremony ended with the chief admissions officer going to the podium as a representative and saying the academy oath.

New students were given a short time to say their farewells to their families because they had to enter the dormitory immediately.

"Sister, I'll be on the podium when I graduate."

Diana glared at the red-haired boy who was on the podium. Her eyes were burning with a competitive aura.

"Don't overdo it. Being strong is more important than the rank."

"It's important to rank high too.

"You're starting the winter training tomorrow. Can't you even use a fire manastone?"

"It's okay. I'm not the only one who can't use it."

Diana said calmly. She seemed to have grown up significantly in a few months.

At that time, a voice sounded to announce the entrance from afar.

"Sister, I'm going."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Phew, I can't leave my pretty sister behind. Tell me if there's anyone who bothers you. I'll go teach them a lesson later."

"Don't worry about me, and make sure to write a lot of letters."

"Yes! I'll write a lot of letters to you!"

Diana ran to the dormitory, waving her hands.

***

I showed Blake a video of the entrance ceremony today.

"Diana looks cool."

"Right?"

Diana studied hard and entered the Academy of Knights, so I was very proud of her.

"Was the lady always this mature?"

Melissa and Hans, who were watching the video together next to her, were also amazed to see Diana.

"Yes, I didn't know either."

"I suddenly remembered the old days. It was snowy when I entered the school. I thought I was going to die from holding my sneeze in."

"You were the top student, weren't you?"

"Then you must have stood on the podium too?"

"Yes, I was so busy holding my sneeze to the end. I was a child then."

Suddenly, Blake blurted out.

"Did you take a video of Ancia?"

"It's not like it was my entrance ceremony. Why would they take a video of me?"

"No. I took it."

Hans replied and brought a large box. The box was filled with video stones.

"I captured Her Highness in the video."

There were as many as 20 videos.

Judging from the title alone, it seemed like a normal entrance ceremony video, but when I played the video again, I saw it was full of videos of me at the entrance ceremony.

"Why did you take this?"

"His Majesty ordered it."

I couldn't believe he was wasting such expensive mana stones like this.

"Why did he order this?"

Melissa smiled.

"It must be a gift."

"Gift?"

"Yes. His Majesty's gift to the Crown Prince."

No way. I didn't think there's anyone in the world who'd like this gift, but I heard Blake's voice.

"Wow! Ancia laughed!"

Blake's eyes were glistening as he watched me in the video. I guess my little groom really did like the boring video.