“Miss, it seems like we’ll need two more carriages.”

I looked at the three carriages already lined up in front of the duke’s residence with weary eyes.

“It seems like we’re taking everything in the house to the academy.”

As I sighed, my personal maid, Eliza, smiled brightly.

“Would you like to take the furniture in your room as well? Then I’ll prepare two more carriages.”

“No!”

I quickly waved my hand before Eliza could make a fuss.

“We don’t need the furniture.”

“But won’t the furniture in the academy dorms be made of sequoia wood grown only in the deepest forests of the Danube Mountains, and won’t the sheets be handcrafted with the finest velvet?”

With every word, worry dripped from Eliza’s increasingly large eyes.

“What if the cheap furniture collapses and you break your arm or get a burn from rubbing against it!”

“That won’t happen.”

But Eliza was already pulling another carriage, with her bare hands no less.

“It’ll be over soon, Miss.”

I finally gave up.

The duke and duchess, who had come out to watch, were nodding with very satisfied expressions.

“You’ve chosen your servant well.”

“We should raise her salary.”

No, it’s not like that.

In the end, another sigh escaped me.

“Reina, are you worried about life at the academy?”

The duchess patted my shoulder with a worried face.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to go to the academy.”

The duke joined in as well.

“You won’t miss much without that education. You don’t need to take on too much pressure when there’s not enough time to have fun.”

The duke once again proclaimed his education philosophy that he’d maintained for the past 10 years. Thanks to him, I had plenty of time to play while other young ladies were practicing flower arranging, playing instruments, and handwriting.

“Alright. Think about going to the academy again.”

The duchess held my hand.

“Do you want a graduation certificate? I can get that for you, no problem.”

Looking into the duchess’s very serious eyes, it seemed like she would come up with a way for me to graduate from the academy without attending if she had to.

“Haha. No, I’m fine.”

I discreetly pulled my hand away.

“I want to make new friends, and His said he would be at the academy for a few years.”

The duke’s face darkened instantly.

“Ahaha. It seems like it will be fun to take classes at the academy.”

In truth, it wasn’t friends, His, or classes that made me decide to go to the academy.

I had enough friends among the few young ladies I got along with, it might be advantageous to attend the academy as His’s fiancée, but the classes would be useless once I returned to commoner life.

But I insisted on going to the academy.

‘Keep the promise to be independent, big sister.’

Kirian’s words echoed in my ears again, and strength flowed into my fist.

I had brushed it off with a smile at the time, telling him not to worry, but I wasn’t as lighthearted as I seemed.

No, I wanted to grab Kirian and ask him.

Weren’t we quite close when we were younger? Didn’t he like me enough to follow me around?

But the line Kirian drew was clear.

And I too had reached the time to let go of old memories and sort out my feelings.

“If you must go, there’s nothing we can do.”

The duchess held back tears.

“But if you want to come back, you can always return.”

The duchess was permissive of her daughter’s withdrawal.

I nodded vaguely, and looked around the courtyard again.

“I don’t see Kirian.”

The duchess’s face instantly turned dreadful.

“That’s right. He missed his only sister’s engagement and hasn’t been home lately.”

The duchess began to roll up her sleeves.

“Just wait a moment, Reina. I’ll catch him soon.”

I quickly grabbed the Duchess’s arm.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to say hello. We’ll be back over the weekend anyway.”

It seemed to work out for the best. The two extra carriages were finally ready, and all I had to do now was get on.

I hurriedly bid farewell to the Duke and Duchess.

“I’ll be going now.”

The Duchess embraced me tightly, and the Duke patted my back.

“Come back soon. We’ll be waiting for you.”

I felt a bit awkward somehow.

“Yes, I will.”

But the lie that escaped was quite smooth.

It didn’t take long to reach the Academy.

As the five carriages passed through the Academy’s gates one after the other, I could feel the eyes of the nearby students all turning our way.

I sighed and looked out the carriage window at the students starting to gather.

Because the windows were open to enjoy the fresh air, I could hear every murmur of the students.

“Five carriages? Who could it be?”

“Isn’t that the emblem of the House of Istira?”

A sharpeyed young lady’s point led the other students to join in and start guessing.

“The Istira’s young lord is not of age to enroll in the Academy yet.”

“Could it be the Princess…?”

A suspicious young man’s question caused another young lady to frown.

“But, why would she bring five carriages? Wasn’t the Princess a commoner?”

Another young lady quickly whispered.