* * *

“Ugh, this is so annoying!”

Nesha hurled a glass cup at the wall, screaming in frustration.

“This is unbelievable!”

The sound of shattering glass rang out as the cup broke. Her roommate quickly scrambled to grab a broom and began sweeping up the mess, watching her warily.

“A bastard child from a nouveau riche slave-blood family!”

Nesha ground her teeth and stomped her foot. Clearly, she couldn’t calm down.

She had fully expected to place second in the entrance exam. First place was out of the question since Ray Lavendal existed, but still…

But then—out of nowhere—a girl no one had even heard of, with a blank, clueless expression, had taken the top spot. Sure, she was an orphan, but being beaten out by Zahid, the son of a duke, would’ve been understandable!

Just the thought of Zahid made Nesha’s expression grow darker.

The boy who always walked around with that massive wolf was stunningly handsome, almost sculpted. His whole aura was breathtaking, and it wasn’t just Nesha who stole glances—many other girls did too.

And that Zahid was engaged to Rosie Noart? Even Ray Lavendal, famous as the “Water Prince,” was constantly trailing behind Rosie like a puppy.

If only Lady Idra hadn’t come… I thought I’d be the most admired girl here…

Even though she was the daughter of a count, the Saliod Count Family was part of the Empress Dowager’s inner circle. Naturally, Nesha ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ had assumed students would line up to befriend her the moment she arrived at the Academy.

And yet Rosie, an illegitimate child ranked first, was the one walking around with not one but two sons of ducal houses.

Nesha had wanted to crush Rosie from the start, but after receiving a warning early on, she’d been forced to hold herself back.

And now it’s been a whole month, and Rosie Noart’s doing just fine, showing off and thriving!

She’d wanted to mock her for being lowborn at every opportunity, but with Zahid and Ray constantly at her side—and Rosie flaunting her wealth on top of that—there wasn’t even a crack she could exploit.

“Arghhhh! I’m seriously going to lose it!”

Just as she grabbed a glass flower vase in her fury, a group of girls—who had been hovering around Nesha to curry favor with the Saliod Count Family—entered her room one by one.

“Ah, Nesha. I-Is this about Rosie Noart?”

They exchanged knowing glances at the chaotic state of the room.

Nesha raised her eyebrows and crossed her legs. Then she asked the girls,

“Isn’t there anything suspicious about Rosie Noart? Anything I can use to bring her down? Aria, aren’t you in the room next to hers?”

Aria, who lived on the same floor as Rosie, flinched and blinked nervously.

Then, tilting her head, she said,

“Not really… Oh, but every other night? Around that often, I hear her leaving at night. I always hear her door close around 9 o’clock.”

“What?”

Nesha’s eyes lit up.

“At 9 p.m.? But the library and gym are both closed by then.”

“I dunno… She disappears for about an hour. And she doesn’t have a roommate, so I really have no idea where she’s going.”

Hearing that, the other girls quickly jumped in, eager to improve Nesha’s mood.

“Wait, isn’t that shady? Maybe we could report her to a teaching assistant?”

“But leaving at night isn’t technically against the rules.”

“What about Assistant Theo? Should we tell him?”

They started discussing among themselves, clearly trying to win Nesha’s favor.

“If it’s Assistant Theo, he’d definitely issue at least one warning, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, he’s her cousin, but look how he treats her. He must hate her. No one would like some illegitimate kid who showed up out of nowhere.”

“Who knows? Maybe Assistant Theo wants her gone too.”

At last, a satisfied smile began forming on Nesha’s face.

Thinking of Theo Noart suddenly sparked a new idea in her mind.

“Hmm, yes…”

Her eyes lit up again.

“But just a warning isn’t enough.”

Two warnings meant expulsion from the Academy. In other words, one warning alone wouldn’t cut it.

Just like her own case.

But if a student caused a serious incident, they could be expelled immediately.

Immediate expulsion… wasn’t that possible in cases involving misconduct with a teaching assistant?

Just imagining Rosie’s clueless, smiling face made her grit her teeth again.

I won’t let her get away with this.

If Rosie were out of the picture, Ray would realize that Nesha was the most suitable noble companion in the class. And as Ray’s roommate, Zahid would naturally become close with her too.

Right now they might not realize it, but once they spend time with me, they’ll understand what true aristocratic company looks like. They’ll forget all about Rosie Noart.

With that thought, it felt like Rosie had stolen the place that was rightfully hers.

No matter what it takes… I’ll get rid of Rosie Noart.

* * *

Three Older Brothers

The next day, the first practical lesson in Magical Nanoscience.

“Today, we’ll be practicing refining mana stones. These stones are infused with magic, so handle them with extreme care. If you suffer any cuts or injuries, proceed directly to the infirmary…”

Theo hadn’t even finished speaking—

“Aaah!”

Nesha’s scream echoed through the classroom.

“Miss Nesha Saliod? What’s the matter?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Startled, Theo rushed over to her.

“I’m so sorry, Assistant…”

Blood was dripping steadily from Nesha’s hand.

“I must’ve slipped and stabbed myself…”

“The student practice stones are safe. If you head to the infirmary quickly—”

“But, Assistant, I have a minor chronic mana-related condition I’d rather not discuss publicly. Even with practice-grade mana stones, there could be complications.”

Nesha sighed dramatically.

“Would it be alright if I contacted the Saliod Count Family? I’d like to receive treatment privately.”

Academy rules prohibited contacting one’s family under normal circumstances.

The only exception? Medical emergencies.

“It won’t take long at all. I’ll get emergency care at the infirmary now and call my personal physician late tonight after class is over.”

Theo hesitated, but nothing in Nesha’s request violated regulations.

There had been similar cases—students with specific conditions receiving one-time treatments from their family physicians.

It wasn’t unprecedented.

“…Understood.”

Since it concerned a student’s health, Theo finally nodded.

During break time after class, Nesha smiled proudly while surrounded by her usual group of followers.

“Everyone knows the Saliod Count Family is close to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, right?”

She spoke loudly, clearly intending for others to overhear.

“I bet once she hears I was injured, Her Majesty will even send a priest. You all know how devout she is and how close she is to the Temple.”

One of her friends widened her eyes.

“Oh my gosh, she’ll send a priest? Nesha, your family’s incredible… Who do you think it’ll be? Surely not just a mid-tier priest?”

“Who knows.”

Nesha smiled smugly as she filed her nails.

“If Her Majesty wants to show her favor personally, I’d say a mid-tier priest is the minimum.”

Then, she raised her chin and announced to everyone:

“Listen up. If the priest ends up using a lot of divine power to heal my injury tonight, the dormitory’s magic devices might shut down temporarily. I’m only telling you because we’re classmates—so be prepared, okay?”

It was well known that divine power could interfere with magical energy. The students began murmuring, impressed once again by the Saliod family’s influence.

* * *

That night.

I hurried along the path toward the rose garden.

Every other night without fail, Zahid and I met in the rose garden—to transfer my divine power to him.

Even though we weren’t in the same class, meeting like this every night was actually pretty nice.

“Zahid!”

I approached him with a bright smile and immediately reached out to take his hand.

Then, I poured divine power into him.

“Ahem. Ahem!”

Zahid cleared his throat awkwardly, visibly flustered.

“Thanks. This must be a hassle, doing it every other day.”

“It’s not a hassle at all. Why would it be a hassle to secretly meet and hold hands with the boy I like?”

“Y-You… seriously!”

Zahid’s ears turned bright red as he widened his eyes—but he couldn’t come up with a retort.

“What’s so bad about holding hands? We’re still kids, it’s fine. I even touched hands with Ray earlier during magical nanoscience practice. We were both holding that giant mana ore.”

“What? For how long?”

“Oh? Is that bothering you? The ore was too big to lift alone, so we had no choice. Everyone paired up.”

I leaned in with a mischievous grin.

“Are you jealous?”

“No!”

Zahid turned his head sharply and shouted. He glanced toward the dorm building and suddenly tilted his head.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Hmm?”

“The lights just went out.”

Far in the distance, the dorm building had suddenly gone dark.

“Ah.”

I smiled brightly, as if to say, Don’t worry.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep