I Became the Absolute Hidden Villainess Princess of the Academy

The Princess is Amazing (1)

The Imperial Academy had a special system.

It ranked cadets and provided extensive support to those with high rankings.

And this support was no joke.

Operating under the mindset of pouring resources into those with potential, they lavished funding generously.

Because of this, all cadets were obsessed with their rankings.

They improved their skills under this robust support,

All in order to achieve fame and success in the Empire after graduating from the Academy.

But…

If one had no interest in climbing the social ladder, there was no real need to care.

With that thought in mind, I calmly went about my own business even in the auditorium where ranking assessments were taking place.

—Squish, squish.

"Louis, Louis. Come to think of it, do you know how to use magic?"

My business, of course, was none other than setting up Louis and Irene.

I pretended to ask a question while pressing my body against Irene’s shoulder.

Since we were seated in the order of Louis—Irene—myself—and Lady Schefor, her body naturally leaned a bit toward Louis.

As their arms brushed against each other, Louis scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"I can handle mana, but I can’t use magic."

"Oh my, really?"

—Tap.

Meanwhile, Irene leaned even closer to Louis.

As if she had no choice since I was pushing her.

…Irene always caught on to my intentions so accurately.

It was so adorable that I couldn’t help but smile.

—Grinning.

"Well, Louis uses a spear…."

—Grab.

"……Huh?"

However, my smile didn’t last long.

Irene, who had grabbed my arm, suddenly pulled me toward her.

With strength befitting the tallest among us, quite strong for a girl.

My upper body helplessly collapsed in her direction.

—Thud.

"Oh my, Princess. You must be tired. Hehe."

"……?"

Before I knew it, I had fallen over and was lying down.

As I looked up in confusion…

I made direct eye contact with Louis, who was looking down at me.

My head was resting squarely on Louis’s thigh.

'……Huh? Irene, what is this?'

Blinking in bewilderment, I tried to make sense of the situation.

Thanks to Lady Schefor, who had volunteered as my height-boosting cushion, I was already sitting on her thigh.

Now that I had fallen back like this, it looked as if I was using all three of their laps as a makeshift bed.

Louis supporting my head, Irene holding my waist and thigh, and Lady Schefor propping up my lower body.

'Now I can’t push Irene toward Louis….'

"Lord Louis, if it’s uncomfortable, could you endure it for a bit? For the Princess’s sake."

"…Of course."

'……Irene, you planned this all along!?'

However, I quickly realized Irene’s true intention and was deeply impressed.

With me lying like this, none of the three of them could move easily.

Which meant Irene and Louis had no choice but to stay closely pressed together for a prolonged time.

Unlike my usual forced nudging, this created a still and heart-fluttering atmosphere.

…She set this up right here?

I immediately sent a telepathic message of praise to Irene.

[How did you come up with this!? Irene, you’re a genius!!?]

—Pat, pat.

[Hehe. I told you to trust me, didn’t I, Princess? Enjoy your time.]

[Yes! You too!!]

Irene gently patted my stomach.

Just like how she had patted my thigh in the last lecture.

As she reassured me to leave things to her, I smiled brightly and nodded.

Louis, watching this scene, murmured under his breath.

—Mutter, mutter.

"Girls really do all sorts of things…."

"Hmm? Louis, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

For some reason, Louis had a rather dissatisfied expression…

Well, knowing him, he was probably thinking, ‘She’s still not ripe enough.’

I simply grinned while watching the two sitting so close together.

What’s this, what’s this? Are they already something?

***

After that, the three continued chatting while keeping me on their laps.

Since our turn for mana assessment was nearly at the very end, we had plenty of time.

"Since the first ranking is based solely on mana capacity, Louis, you might rank surprisingly high."

"Well, if it’s just mana capacity, I’ll be up there. Not that I care about rankings."

"Right, if you cared about ranking, you’d have focused on physical combat from the start."

First was Louis.

Being the eldest son of a ducal family, he showed no interest in rankings at all.

And then,

"What about you, Lady Schefor? You applied to the magic department, so are you good at magic?"

"I can’t use magic at all! I don’t even have mana!"

"…Then why did you enroll in the Academy?"

"To have Esti sit on my lap… Hehe, hehehe… I’m so happy……."

"……."

Lady Schefor, the second daughter of a viscount, also had no interest in rankings.

She simply breathed heavily, as if overjoyed by our friendship.

Thus, my gaze finally turned to Irene.

"If that makes you happy, Lady Schefor. Then, Irene, what about you? Do you think you’ll rank well?"

'Well, her goal is probably just to stay in the middle of the pack.'

I asked out of courtesy, but I already knew her answer.

She would aim for an average ranking.

Graduate safely from the Academy, gain a reasonable social position, and live an ordinary life.

With her witch powers completely sealed, that was the best she could hope for.

As expected, Irene gave a similar response.

"I have very little mana… so I won’t focus on the initial rankings and will try to improve through the theory exams. It’d be nice if I could reach the mid-tier."

"Hmmm. That’s the complete opposite of Louis… Oh!! Wouldn’t it be great if you helped Louis with theory?"

'A library date, or last-minute cramming in a room before exams… Delicious. This is absolutely delicious!!'

Having anticipated her response, I naturally set the stage for a study date.

I looked up at the two of them with bright, expectant eyes, wondering how they would react to this delightful scenario.

"I told you, I don’t care about rankings. You magic lovers can have fun on your own."

'You fool…!! At least take after Irene a little, you dumpling-headed buffoon!!'

Louis flipped over a perfectly set table.

Unlike Irene, who created opportunities out of thin air, he refused even when spoon-fed.

I puffed up my cheeks in frustration and attacked Louis.

The attack consisted of repeatedly bopping his thigh with my head.

"Brrrr!!!"

—Bop, bop.

"……."

Even so, Louis didn’t flinch.

Even the ever-patient Irene sighed in exasperation.

"Sigh… Lord Louis, please don’t say that. Not to brag, but I’m quite confident in theory."

"That’s not what I—"

"Both the Princess and Lord Louis. And Lady Schefor too. I can tutor all of you, so let’s study together. Alright?"

Yet, the indomitable Irene refused to let my study date setup go to waste.

Worried that being alone might be uncomfortable for Louis, she included me and Lady Schefor as well—truly the resourcefulness of a romance novel heroine.

Louis finally nodded.

"…Well, I guess if it were just the girls, it’d be awkward. Fine."

"Good thinking, Louis!!"

'Irene, nice!!'

It was a shame that the one-on-one study date was ruined, but…

If we split it up with Lady Schefor and I taking one and Irene handling Louis, it would work out just fine.

"Lady Schefor, is that alright with you?"

—Nudge, nudge.

"Gasp… O-Of course!!!"

A slight wiggle of my hips was all it took for an immediate enthusiastic agreement.

A smile spread across my lips.

'Hmph. The second day and we’re already booking study dates. At this rate, they’ll be dating before midterms.'

"By the way, Esti, what about you?"

"Huh?"

My smile didn’t last long.

Louis, looking increasingly like he was struggling to hold back his usual ‘She’s not ripe enough’ expression, spoke up.

"Unlike me, you actually came to learn magic. What rank do you think you’ll get?"

"Princess Esti was the last disciple of Court Mage Stella, after all. You could easily place first!!"

"Your mastery of telepathy magic is also incredible. You might be able to maintain top rankings in the future."

"Hmm…"

The three of them looked down at me as my expression grew serious.

…First place? It was possible.

According to my master, my talent for illusion magic was exceptional.

And thanks to all the nutritious food I ate, my mana capacity was quite high.

Academy valedictorian? That would be a breeze.

But, after a brief smirk, I shook my head.

"I’m not that good~ I’ll probably place around 30th?"

'I’m not a child. There’s no need to obsess over a meaningless first place.'

Support for the top-ranked student?

The headmaster was already eager to sponsor me. I hardly needed extra support.

A guaranteed path to success?

I was already a princess in the front and the real power behind the TS Brigade in the back.

So, I decided to hide my true strength.

There was no benefit in standing out too much, just enough to not disgrace my master’s name.

Just as I concluded my thoughts, my name was called.

"Next… Esti Noir de Avrien, Third Princess."

"Ah, it’s my turn. I’ll be back~."

—Hop, hop.

I lightly got up and walked toward the platform.

All eyes were on me.

—Murmur, murmur.

—How high do you think the Princess will rank?

—Did you see that illusion yesterday? It was huge. She’ll definitely place in the top 10.

—Look at her tiny steps. So cute~.

—Doesn’t she walk exactly like a cat?

—Will she wear the headband again?

'…Maybe I should aim for 20th?'

The passing mention of the word cat.

They were definitely referring to my embarrassing moment earlier, so I decided to put in a little more effort.

Maybe if I looked cool, they’d forget.

As I walked, I soon stood before the stone tablet.

"Princess, please place your hand on the tablet and inject your mana."

"Okay~."

The tablet measured the amount of mana infused.

Since the magic department’s first ranking was determined purely by how much mana one could pump in.

While high mana didn’t necessarily mean high skill, it was an easy way to rank cadets.

I placed my hand on the stone and channeled about 30% of my mana.

As it flowed into the tablet—

'Ack, I suddenly have to sneeze….'

"…Achoo."

—Fizzle.

"……Princess?"

…I failed.

Barely a crumb of mana had been injected.

With everyone looking dumbfounded, I quickly made an excuse.

I couldn’t let my master’s reputation take a hit.

This was just too pathetic.

'What is this weak amount!! Even Lady Schefor could put in more than this!!!'

"S-Sorry! I sneezed suddenly and messed up. Hehe. Can I try again?"

"By regulation, you only get one attempt…"

"Professor~ Come on, please~?"

—Rub, rub.

Desperate to salvage my image, I turned up the charm, rubbing my hands together pleadingly.

The professor smiled fondly.

"Well, if you do it right away, I suppose it’s fine."

"Thank you!!"

A smile meant approval.

Before he could change his mind, I quickly placed my hand back on the tablet.

—Grip.

'No mistakes this time….'

"…Achoo!!"

—Flash!! Crack!!

"O-Ooh!! The mana exceeds what the tablet can measure! As expected of the Princess!!!!"

"Ah."

…I messed up.