Chapter 3
Piyakie couldn’t forget that shocking sight for a long time.
The walls were plastered with countless notes, and in the middle of it all sat Kiana, glasses perched on her face, looking gaunt. Honestly, that wasn’t effort—it was madness.
“Alright.”
Her lovely pink hair was a tangled mess, yet her bright green eyes gleamed with unnerving intensity. From her hair ties to her slippers, everything was covered in checkered patterns, making her appearance even more disturbing.
“Let’s squeeze every single brain cell together. Give it your all.”
<The details… I… I can’t remember very well…>
“Try harder. If you try, you can recall everything.”
Piyakie already knew Kiana was unusual, but now she realized she was a strange person who was even effortfully strange. Desperately, she began flapping her wings.
<W-wait! Wait! Th-there’s another way!>
In the end, Piyakie didn’t have to endure Kiana’s torment for days on end.
<There’s a better way, Kiana! I can just transfer my memories to you directly! Summoned creatures can convey what they’ve seen to their master!>
Piyakie shook her head, muttering to herself.
<If I got swept up in that madness, I’d be trapped in this room for two weeks, shouting endlessly until my throat gave out…>
After hopping onto Kiana’s head, Piyakie closed her eyes, and the story from the moment Kiana left for the academy began to flood in.
“Hey.”
I spoke softly.
“You said you’d convey what you saw. Why is it in text form? This is like…”
I sifted through the floating text in my mind, dissatisfied.
“It’s like reading a book with Melisa as the protagonist.”
Of course, it was in third-person, observer perspective with Melisa as the main character. That annoyed me to no end. Piyakie flinched and replied.
<I-it can’t be helped. I was Melisa’s familiar, so I could only see and hear from her side.>
“Hmph.”
<And actually, the summoning between you and me wasn’t perfect… so I can only convey it this way.>
I let out a deep sigh and rolled my eyes.
‘This is the best we can do…’
It really felt like reading a single novel—an over-the-top romance novel.
“I knew Melisa was popular with men, but wow… she really outdid herself.”
After I left, Melisa received the love and obsession of many men.
‘I thought she’d get engaged to Rodrigo right after I left, but she dragged it out and kept all these men in her little pool?’
I muttered in disgust.
“Her only concern was romance? Why is all of this just about relationships? This is a reverse-harem romance novel!”
Though “romance” might be generous—it was more like a festival of casual lovers.
If you consider it a novel, it was unusually creative: one of the expelled “fish” from her pond ends up ruining a family and killing everyone—not for love, but for political reasons.
‘But Melisa… in this life, she’s going to live the complete opposite.’
As a nun, she couldn’t even think about romance, let alone marriage. Either way, I wasn’t interested in Melisa’s love life, so I skimmed over those parts.
Occasionally, the story mentioned me at the academy. Every time a man comforted “poor Melisa,” my name came up: the wicked cousin who tormented her in childhood out of jealousy.
“Kiana leaving was truly a blessing. If that villain had stayed in the empire, Melisa, you’d have suffered even more…”
“Lady Melisa, the wounds and pains you endured from Lady Kiana in childhood… I will heal them all.”
“That villain caused you much suffering, Lady Melisa. It’s unfortunate you’re too far away to challenge her to a duel.”
Well, unpleasant as it was, it wasn’t the main point.
I focused on reading the key incidents in the Empire’s capital that appeared sparsely throughout the text—particularly the moments when the Prellai family was accused of treason and caught in tragedy.
‘Is this the future that will happen, or the past that already happened? What should I call it?’
I pondered for a moment, then decided to call the information Piyakie provided the original story. Since I could revisit it as text, it felt like reading a book. The fact that Melisa was the protagonist was irritating, but I extracted the “original story” information that could help me.
“Hmmm.”
After deep thought, I finally sprang up as the sunset approached.
<Kiana?>
“Given this situation, from the 184 plans I’ve devised…”
I peeled several notes off the wall and said resolutely:
“I’ll combine Plan 57 with 122, 111 with 121, and 181 with 182.”
<…What?>
“Anyway, since I’m the only one who knows the future, I have to act myself.”
<H-how?>
“I’m going back to the Prellai manor in the Empire right now.”
Just then, someone knocked loudly at my dorm room door.
“Lady Kiana, the orientation is about to begin! The headmaster insists you come immediately! Hurry and give your speech!”
The orientation was an event organized for prospective students and parents, where the headmaster would promote the academy. Tuition was money, after all.
I had always given a brief lecture on basic magic engineering to students at these events. It was perfect for presenting a child prodigy from a noble family, excelling at the academy.
“Alright, I’m coming!”
I smiled broadly and got up.
<Kiana? You said you’re going back to the Empire’s manor!>
“Yes. I’m going back, but I need to settle something with the headmaster first.”
<Wow.>
Piyakie muttered.
<I’m going to witness Kiana’s mischief firsthand. I’m looking forward to it. She’s really good at this stuff.>
The academy’s auditorium was bustling with people, a rare sight in the normally exclusive, closed-off academy.
The event was underway, and when the headmaster saw me, he smiled and introduced me:
“Now, let’s have Lady Kiana Prellai give a brief lecture for our prospective students.”
I walked confidently to the podium, stood beside the headmaster, and greeted politely.
“Hello, I’m Kiana Prellai. I’m currently in the doctoral program.”
Every year, I gave a similar lecture at the orientation. My presentations were excellent, convincing many students to enroll.
“Magic engineering is based on mathematics and science. Let’s start with some simple lessons in science.”
The headmaster smiled kindly and patted my shoulder.
“She is our pride, more precious than my own children. Dr. Kiana gives excellent lectures. You can expect much.”
As expected, his hand on my shoulder made my skin crawl.
He had handed me over to the imperial army—fine, that’s the Empire’s power—but he shouldn’t have joked about “patents” in front of me while I was being dragged away, nor should he have claimed I was more precious than his own child while keeping me as the academy’s puppet.
The headmaster was truly despicable, exploiting my vulnerabilities with affection and attention.
“Yes, you can look forward to my lecture.”
I smiled faintly, brushing off the headmaster’s hand, and began clearly.
“Science is very close to our daily lives. For example…”
I picked up a bottle of water prepared for me in case I got thirsty.
“This is gravity.”
And I poured the water directly over the headmaster’s head.
“Ah! Ugh! Ah, no, Kia—”
“We’re in a lecture, Headmaster. Please cooperate. Everyone, observe carefully. I’ll show you the next example.”
I slapped the headmaster’s face. The audience gasped in shock.
“What are you doing!? That hurts!”
“Excellent demonstration, Headmaster. My hand hurts too. This is the law of action and reaction.”
The audience looked at us as if to say, “Is this really part of the lecture?” The academy staff nodded in approval, impressed.
“Objects move, and they perform motion.”
I smiled and threw the headmaster’s wig out the window.
The audience, unaware the wig existed, stared in disbelief. The students in the front row seemed satisfied with the lesson.
“Wow, this class is really fun!”
“The lecture is interesting!”
The headmaster could only wipe his dripping face, dumbfounded.
“All phenomena have science behind them. At our academy, we research these laws to process magic and create useful magical tools. This is a recently patented powerful adhesive.”
I placed a paper labeled “TRASH” on his forehead.
“What… what is this!?”
The headmaster screamed in disbelief.
“It’s very strong; without a dedicated cleaner, it’s hard to remove. It’s not impressive, but you can make small items with minor effects.”
I smiled faintly, threw the magical tool on the floor, and addressed the audience.
“But even if it impresses you, don’t come here—hard work awaits. Thank you for attending my lecture.”
Then, I left the auditorium and took a carriage back to the Empire.
