I Became the Absolute Hidden Villainess Princess of the Academy

Chapter 10: As the entrance ceremony of the academy progressed.

Unbeknownst to the carefree, giggling Esti, a tense atmosphere filled the hall.

-Clank.

‘Nothing’s happening… So why do I feel so uneasy?’

A knight, feeling the ominous air, adjusted his grip on his sword.

It wasn’t the sort of behavior expected from an elite member of the Imperial Knights, but no one criticized him for it.

All the skilled individuals had their senses on high alert, as if something were about to happen at any moment.

…And why were the Empire’s most elite forces so on edge?

The answer was simple.

They were genuinely exposed to danger.

It wasn’t mere anxiety but a warning born of instinct.

The armed forces within the hall weren’t just from the Imperial family—there were others as well.

-Silence.

[North side, all clear.]

[South side, no issues.]

[Entrance and corridors clear.]

[Hmm. The airspace seems fine too.]

At one side of the hall, armed figures communicated silently using hand signals.

They were veiled by illusion magic so that no one would notice them.

If the knights realized this, they’d be shocked.

If those people had intended to attack the Emperor, the knights wouldn’t have been able to respond in time.

That’s how precarious the situation was.

But fortunately—

Their objective wasn’t rebellion.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

They were the TS Brigade.

They had gathered to prevent the prophesied attack.

[Nothing suspicious so far.]

[Don’t let your guard down. According to the Saint’s prophecy, a rebellion is supposed to happen soon.]

[Got it.]

The elite members of the TS Brigade, summoned by the order of the “Saint” Stie, kept a close watch on the hall.

They were searching for the terrorists who were supposed to stain the entrance ceremony with blood, ready to subdue them the moment the attack began.

Among them, a particularly skilled member with a “TS” tattooed on the back of his hand stood out, his head turning sharply as he scanned the area.

‘Attacking the academy on entrance day? That’s the kind of idea I’d have had back when I was at the orphanage~. Let’s see which fool’s face shows up.’

He’d been chosen by the Saint after escaping a cruel fate of being abused in an orphanage and sold into slavery.

…In the original story, he would have turned to the dark side, ultimately becoming the villain who would orchestrate the entrance ceremony attack.

But now, that same person was part of the TS Brigade.

How could the attack play out as it did in the original?

In the end, they stood there doing nothing until the ceremony was over.

[There’s no one trying to attack, huh?]

[Looks like the Saint did something behind the scenes. Let’s pull back.]

[By the way, isn’t that 3rd princess over there kinda cute? Looks just like the Saint, right?]

[Ah, I suddenly miss the Saint….]

Their movements, fitting of a group under Esti’s command, were as sloppy as ever.

***

I’d expected an attack during the entrance ceremony, but it ended peacefully.

Because of that—

“Esti Noir de Avrien. My beloved daughter. How was it? My surprise speech….”

“Abamama, why did you come without warning!!”

‘Because of Abamama, they chickened out and didn’t attack!!!’

“Wh-what…!!!?”

Right after the speech ended, the Emperor—my Abamama—rushed up to the balcony, only to be met with my loud complaint.

The reason the attack didn’t happen was obvious.

The villains must have gotten word that the Emperor would be coming to the academy for a speech and decided to give up early.

Even the strongest villains wouldn’t dare cause a commotion while surrounded by the Imperial Knights.

And that meant all my efforts to prepare for the attack had been for nothing.

Of course I’d be upset.

‘I mean, I’m happy you came, but you could’ve at least told me!! If you’d warned me, I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of making those plans!!’

-Glare.

Because of that, the gaze I directed at Abamama was as icy as a blizzard.

He, too, must have felt guilty, as he averted his eyes…

“By the way, Esti. Who’s that girl? She doesn’t look like a servant.”

“Ah.”

Instead of looking away, Abamama’s gaze zeroed in on Irene, who was behind me.

…Well, I suppose he’d be curious. His youngest daughter was sitting squarely on some stranger’s lap, after all.

It was Louis who spoke up first to explain.

“Your Majesty, her name is Irene. Just now, Esti rescued her from being bullied and decided to make her a friend.”

-Tremble tremble.

“I-I greet the Sky of the Empire….”

Under Louis’s brief explanation, the soft chair known as Irene evolved into a massage chair.

She seemed eager to get up, but since I was still sitting on her, she hesitated and squirmed.

Enjoying the strangely refreshing sensation, I opened my mouth slowly to help her out.

“It’s okay, right, Abamama?”

“A commoner, huh… Esti, you should be more selective about your friends.”

“Daddy~♡ It’s fine, right?”

“…Of course, my beloved daughter!!”

It didn’t take much effort.

The moment I called him “Daddy,” he was conquered.

“Waaah~ As expected, there’s no one like Daddy! Daddy’s the best! Your speech today was so cool!”

“Heh, hehe… What a precious child….”

On top of that, I showered him with praise about how amazing his speech had been.

Satisfied, Abamama soon left.

“Heh, hehe… It was worth taking the time to drop by. Ah, Esti. Take this.”

-Jingle.

“Huh, a key?”

“It’s a gift prepared for you by Maria and Elena.”

“My sisters?”

“Yes. It’s the key to your private residence that you can use instead of the dormitory. The servants are already stationed there, so you won’t be inconvenienced.”

“…Huh? W-wait. What do you mean by that?”

“Well then, I must be off. I have a lot of work to do.”

My Abamama hurriedly left the hall, handing me the gift my sisters had prepared for me.

I glanced down at the key in my hand and muttered in disbelief.

“How is a mansion considered a gift?”

‘I’d planned everything to move into the same dorm as Irene… I even memorized the script for it….’

The Imperial Academy required students to live in dormitories for the entire duration of their enrollment.

With enough money, you could get a single room. Otherwise, you’d have to settle for a double or a quadruple room.

So, I’d prepared a plan to convince Irene to room with me in a double.

We’d just become friends, after all.

But now… they were giving me my own mansion? What even is this?

Two of the plans I’d prepared for today had been thrown off track one after another, and I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even form proper words.

“A mansion instead of a dorm? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…I don’t know. Looks like my sisters arranged something.”

“Huh. That’s royalty for you. Rules don’t seem to apply.”

Louis clicked his tongue and shook his head at me as if I were hopeless.

I could feel the fierce nodding of someone behind me.

-Nod nod. Squeeze.

“Is that really true? Do nobles usually do things like this?”

Startled beyond belief, Irene’s hand rested on my shoulder as she asked.

Her behavior was a stark contrast from earlier, when she couldn’t even initiate a conversation with me.

It seemed the shock of seeing Abamama, the “Sky of the Empire,” had loosened the distance she’d felt toward us.

Louis’s eyes narrowed slightly.

-Mutter.

“What’s up with these two…? Do all girls act like this?”

“…What?”

“Ahem. It’s nothing.”

Maybe he was jealous of the natural skinship between Irene and me, but Louis muttered something to himself.

Regardless, the two of them casually continued their conversation.

“Anyway, I think you’re the only one who’s getting a whole building to herself, Esti. I was just planning to get a single room.”

“Ooh, as expected of the princess!”

Despite their different statuses, they chatted comfortably with each other.

Normally, this would be the part where I’d be going, “What’s this? What’s this? What’s going on between you two?”, while snorting like a wild beast.

But this time, I didn’t.

As I alternated my gaze between the key in my hand and the two of them…

A flash of inspiration struck me like lightning.

‘Wait a second, isn’t this a perfect opportunity…!!? A chance to bring these two together!!’

A private residence, all to myself.

I’d have to check it out to be sure, but it would definitely be too much space for just me.

Considering they mentioned having servants stationed there, there were probably a lot of rooms.

And that meant…

I could invite Irene and Louis to stay with me.

In other words, this wasn’t just a mansion for me to live alone.

It was a “We Got Married” set for Irene and Louis to cohabitate under one roof.

‘Cohabitation?! They’ll be living together!!?’

Because of the gender-segregated dorms, I’d given up on having my two favorite characters living together under one roof.

But now, that dream was suddenly back on the table.

The image of them living together flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t help but drool a little.

-Gulp.

‘This is going to be delicious. Absolutely delicious…!!!’

I got so excited that I started drafting a plan in my head.

A plan to persuade Louis and Irene to live together under one roof.

Before long, a mischievous grin crept onto my face.

“Kuhuhu… Alright then, Irene, Louis. Want to come check out our house together?”

“Princess?”

“Our house…?”

“Hehe, let’s just go see it first, okay?”

The key in my hand shimmered with a sly golden glow.

A little while later.

Sitting on the couch in the reception room of Esti’s “mansion,” Louis let out a sigh.

He glanced around at his surroundings, disbelief clear in his eyes.

‘No, seriously, they’ve gone and built a whole palace.’

The mansion looked like something straight out of a fairy tale, perfectly suited for a princess.

‘Did they really build all of this just because they didn’t want her staying in the dorms?’

The thought left Louis feeling utterly speechless.

But he soon shook his head to clear his thoughts.

The Avrien royal family’s doting nature wasn’t anything new.

Besides, he had something more pressing to think about.

‘Still… Do girls normally bathe together like that?’

After a quick tour of the mansion, Esti had grabbed Irene’s hand and declared, “Let’s wash up!” before heading to the bathroom together.

Louis’s mind was in disarray.

Even to him, the distance between Esti and Irene felt… peculiar.

The way she rushed to help Irene at first sight, showered her with compliments like “cute,” “lovely,” and “pretty,” and even begged to be friends with her…

On top of that, she’d shown no hesitation about getting touchy with her.

It was very unlike Esti’s usual behavior.

No matter how close two girls might be, this seemed a bit too much.

Because of that, Louis sat with his head in his hands, lost in thought.

Until Esti and Irene’s bath finally ended.

‘This is weird. Seriously, what’s up with those two…?’

-Tap tap tap.

The light tapping of footsteps, distinct to Esti, echoed as if to cut through Louis’s prolonged thoughts.

Soon, the door to the reception room slowly opened.

Fresh from her bath, Esti stepped inside.

“Ah, Louis…♡”

“Esti. That was fast…”

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Wh-what!!!!!?”

‘Esti… is wearing a skirt!!!!!?’

For the first time in 10 years, she was wearing a skirt.