After re-enrolling, Merlinlia changed some of her elective courses.
Elf Culture.
If it were the previous Merlinlia, she wouldn’t have even spared a glance at such a course. Back then, Merlinlia thought that external customs and culture had nothing to do with her, and she believed it was better to choose more practical classes.
It was different now…
At least now, Merlinlia felt she had to study it a bit.
“At least I should learn to understand my own bloodline.”
Merlinlia whispered to herself, her blue gradient hair cascading over her shoulders as she lowered her head.
She couldn’t rely on Ophelia to teach her everything. To be an Elf Princess yet know nothing about elves—such a version of herself was far too embarrassing.
Even if it was just a one-credit elective, it was better than being an Elf Princess who knew absolutely nothing about the Elf Race, right?
Merlinlia didn’t want people to laugh at her.
A ripple of slight commotion suddenly rose in the corridor in front of the lecture hall. A figure approached, surrounded by several students wearing second-year badges on their uniforms.
The moment Merlinlia lifted her gaze, the books in her arms suddenly felt heavy. “Ah…”
It was the face Merlinlia could never forget.
Having been meticulously cared for by the Taran family, that face—which had appeared in Merlinlia’s dreams night after night—had become even more dazzling.
A pearl-like luster flowed across her cheeks, and her carefully groomed long hair spilled down, every strand speaking of the privileged life she now led.
It was as if she were silently announcing how wonderful her life had become after leaving Merlinlia.
It was Marcina.
As a second-year, she had actually chosen the same elective?
At this moment, she was surrounded by students, talking and laughing with them.
The girl in the center of the crowd responded to every person who spoke to her with a smile, her eyes curving into a familiar arc.
That smile once belonged only to Merlinlia—in rain-leaking corners, while sharing a roasted sweet potato, or on winter days when their frost-reddened fingertips huddled together for warmth.
It was so painful.
She wanted to cry so badly.
She was so beautiful.
To Merlinlia…
Marcina had once been her everything, the first person to walk into her heart after she came to this world.
She was the one who had stolen Merlinlia’s heart, leaving only a hole behind—a wound that could never heal.
That past happiness had now become a painful dream that kept her awake at night. Because Merlinlia knew there was no going back.
Even if she tried to treat that time as if it never happened, as if it were just a dream, how could a person let go so easily?
Because she had been truly happy back then. Even though they had nothing, they were just so happy; her heart felt warm every single day.
A sharp pain pierced through her chest without warning.
Merlinlia stood frozen in place, feeling the entire world lose its color. Marcina, who had once been her entire world, now felt like she was on the other side of a thick pane of glass—beautiful and distant.
But why did Marcina leave like that, and even get a fiancé? It couldn’t be someone from the Taran family, could it?
To actually get engaged to an enemy.
It was clearly the Taran family’s knights who had forcibly separated them back then, yet now Marcina had actually joined the Taran family.
There was an indescribable sense of grievance, as if the Taran family had taken both the good and the bad for themselves.
If she had been adopted by any other noble, perhaps Merlinlia would have felt a bit happier for her.
Merlinlia would often think back to that time spent waiting, when she had been doing everything she was supposed to do every day, moving toward her goal step by step.
Selling potions with friends, collecting materials, researching alchemy, writing letters to Marcina…
For countless nights after that, Merlinlia would lean over a kerosene lamp to write letters, the ink bleeding into carefully selected stationery.
She spoke of improvements to potion formulas and of the rare materials she had found that day.
In those letters, she said, “I miss you.”
But Marcina’s pace was too fast—fast enough to be unsettling.
News of Marcina’s great achievements arrived frequently, while Merlinlia was still researching alchemy. What if she improved the effectiveness of a potion?
Compared to the merits Marcina earned on the battlefield, it wasn’t even worth mentioning.
The letters she wrote were like stones sinking into the ocean, never receiving a response.
The days of anxiety continued like this, day after day, torturing Merlinlia with unbearable pain.
Even though she had vaguely realized the outcome along the way, she was still unwilling to give up hope.
While living with Ophelia, Merlinlia’s life had been very peaceful, and she felt as if she were finally able to move forward.
But even though she had decided to forget her, after coming to this academy and seeing Marcina’s face, the softest part of her heart was still touched.
Especially the girl who had once occupied the deepest part of her heart, the girl who had been hidden in a corner belonging only to her.
Now, she radiated light for everyone; Merlinlia was no longer the only one who knew of her goodness.
Marcina’s footsteps paused for a brief moment as she passed by Merlinlia.
She turned her head, her pinkish-blue crystal pupils like a northern lake, calmly reflecting her detachment.
There was no surprise, no guilt, not even a single ripple. She merely gave a faint glance, as if looking at a stranger, before withdrawing her gaze and walking into the classroom while laughing and talking with her companions.
Merlinlia stared blankly at the empty doorway until the wind in the corridor rustled Marcina’s school skirt.
She unconsciously began to breathe slowly again after having held her breath; the air still carried the scent of Marcina’s expensive citrus perfume.
It was no longer the smell of the cheap essences they used to hunt for together at the market.
As expected, even if she had become some Elf Princess, it didn’t matter to her.
She didn’t care anyway—didn’t she already have a fiancé?
After standing dazed for a few seconds, Merlinlia continued toward the classroom.
“Wow, it’s our princess.”
Merlinlia, clutching her textbooks in both hands, was suddenly surrounded by several upperclassmen.
What was this? Was this another case of seniors trying to intimidate a junior?
Merlinlia wasn’t someone to be trifled with, awoo. She looked at the upperclassmen in front of her.
“Look, you scared her by saying hello so suddenly.”
“But she really is so beautiful. I wanted to say hi to her yesterday.”
It didn’t seem like that kind of atmosphere?
A senior with short, wavy brown hair bowed to Merlinlia.
“Princess Merlinlia, hello.”
“Hello.”
“I didn’t expect the Elf Princess would take this course as well. What a coincidence.”
“Because learning is endless.”
She couldn’t exactly say she was here because she knew absolutely nothing.
“Since you appeared, the number of people choosing this course has suddenly increased. It’s definitely because of you, right?”
“Haha, it’s my honor that everyone is so interested in the Elf Race.”
The conversation unconsciously attracted even more students from the Alchemy Department.
“Ah, hello, Princess.”
“Hello, classmate Merlinlia.”
“Hee-hee, we finally have a princess too.”
“Princess?”
Wasn’t she the Elf Princess? What did that have to do with the Alchemy Department?
The same gentle, brown-haired senior from before explained.
“Merlinlia, it’s like this. The Magic Department has Marcina, and the Swordsmanship Department has Lucia, but our Alchemy Department has never had a pillar of support… Besides, even if nobles have average magic talent, they still go to the Swordsmanship Department. The Alchemy Department has always been marginalized.”
“But from today on, it’s different! We in the Alchemy Department have our own princess too!”