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“Lady Flora, please hurry.”
“Yes, Lady Ekaterina. But we don’t have to rush *that* much.”

Keeping pace with Ekaterina—who was walking as quickly as was appropriate for a noble lady—Flora laughed lightly as they made their way down the corridor toward the entrance hall.

“It’s our first exam results, after all. I can’t help being curious.”
“I hope my score is good enough to make the public list.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Lady Flora!”

Today was the day the results of their first academy exams would be announced—a major event in any otome game.
If things went according to plan, Flora-chan should be in first place, with the prince in second. That would put her well within the prince’s radar—he’d start paying her extra attention, maybe teasing her a bit, and later invite her to the ballroom dance as his partner.
…Although, honestly, all the recent drama back at the ducal estate had been so overwhelming that the whole otome game event was slipping right out of my mind. Still—for everyone’s sake at the ducal house, I *must* avoid those doom flags at all costs!

“Since most of my answers were the same as yours, Lady Ekaterina, our results should be close.”
“I’d be delighted if that were so.”

At the magic academy, the top ten students’ names and ranks are posted in the entrance hall after classes on the announcement day. Just as Flora-chan said, when the two of us compared our answers, they were nearly identical—only a few small differences. So maybe my results weren’t bad at all. Onii-sama might even be pleased with me!
That thought alone made Ekaterina keep walking briskly.

When they reached the entrance hall, the results had already been posted. A crowd of students had gathered around, buzzing with excitement.
If I were to yell “Make way!” and shove them aside right now, that would be peak villainess behavior—Ekaterina thought as she and Flora joined the back of the group.

But then the students, noticing them, nudged each other and stepped aside to make space.

“My, how kind of you. Thank you ever so much.”

She said graciously, stepping forward with Flora. Her heart pounded as she searched the list of first-year names—surely Flora must be in first place.

…Huh?

“Lady Ekaterina! Congratulations!”

Flora exclaimed gleefully and threw her arms around Ekaterina.

Wait. Hold on a second. Something strange is going on here.
My eyes darted to the list again, scanning it from the bottom up. The names from tenth place up were unfamiliar.
Then I reached the top three—and finally saw names I recognized.

3rd place: Mikhail Jurgrahn.
2nd place: Flora Czerny.
1st place: Ekaterina Jurnova.

…

In her mind, Ekaterina instantly conjured up an imaginary comedy partner and, with a sharp *zubishi!* sound effect, delivered a classic backhanded smack to their chest.

*What in the FACK?!*

Maybe a backhand isn’t the right way to do a tsukkomi.
But that’s not the point!
How could I possibly be in first place?! I was busy helping to receive the entire imperial family the day before the exam!
And after all that, the moment I got back to the dorm, I was so exhausted I just passed out without studying at all!
Not just the day before—the whole weekend was lost to preparations, and even on weekdays, I kept getting distracted by other things.
And yet my answers were still close to Flora’s. I’d thought that alone was impressive enough, but this—

Wait! Could it be…!

“Lady Flora, we must go to the staff room and file a protest.”
“Eh? A protest? What for?”
“It makes no sense that I ranked higher than you. I suspect an inappropriate manipulation has occurred due to social standing. Such a thing must not be allowed. We must correct it at once!”

Clenching her fists, Ekaterina spoke with righteous indignation, while Flora only laughed brightly—like a flower in full bloom.

“Please calm down, Lady Ekaterina. There’s no way the results were tampered with.”
“No! That’s the only explanation!”
“In that case, I shouldn’t be in second place either. After all, third place is—”

Ah.
Third place is the prince. Someone of higher rank than me.
R-right. My apologies, professors—I falsely accused you of foul play.
Hm?

Wait, I’m *actually* in first place?!

…………。

I SCREWED IT UP AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Ekaterina almost collapsed into a crouch, clutching her head, but forced herself to stay composed.

B-b-but! I mean—normal nobles start their education at age five, right?! So I was panicking that I’d be dead last by a mile! I studied like my life depended on it!
…but since this was just a regular term exam, the questions only covered what we’d learned in class since enrollment. If that’s all, then it *was* possible to catch up!
In some subjects, I was actually ahead of everyone else thanks to my past-life knowledge!
And not to brag, but—Ekaterina *is* Aleksei’s little sister. If I’m anything like him, then of course my memory and comprehension skills are top-tier stuff!

I didn’t realize it! I mean, I was on par with Flora-chan since we studied together! Come to think of it, Flora-chan had no “past-life cheat” or fancy childhood tutors, yet she still managed to take first place in the original game. What terrifying potential…

Crap, I messed up! What do I do, what do I do!?
No, but Flora-chan ranked higher than the prince too! That’s… that’s barely safe, right!? Right!? Waaah!

“Ekaterina, Flora—congratulations.”

Eek, he’s here—!!

Ekaterina screamed inwardly as she turned around. Of course, there stood the prince.

Ah—sorry!
I’m really sorry, Your Highness! Please don’t take it personally!

Ekaterina trembled like a leaf.
But the prince only gave Ekaterina and Flora a gentle smile.

“You both did wonderfully. Especially you, Flora—it must’ve been hard with unfamiliar subjects, yet you still achieved such results. Impressive.”

Ah—he praised Flora-chan! Thank goodness, I’m safe, thank goodness!

Overwhelmed with relief, Ekaterina glanced back and forth between the prince and Flora, her face glowing with joy.
Flora demurely shook her head.

“I only studied because I wasn’t used to the subjects. It’s nothing worth praise. Besides…”

With a playful smile, Flora linked her arm around Ekaterina’s.
Ohhh, cute.

“Lady Ekaterina invites me to her dorm room every day so we can review and prepare for class together. My grades are thanks to her.”
“A study group between the top two students, huh? That sounds productive.”

The prince smiled, but when his eyes fell upon the ranking list, he gave a faint sigh.

“…I’m ashamed.”

I’m sorry. I dragged your ranking down with what’s basically a *cheat*—my past-life bonus.
I’m really, really sorry.

But you’re admirable yourself, prince.
You’re busy, right? Maybe not as busy as Onii-sama, but still. Even visiting the ducal mansion is part of your royal duties. You’re a student, but you also have responsibilities that others don’t. Yet, of course you feel you *must* take first place.
You’re the Imperial Prince, after all. From childhood, you’ve had the best tutors, the finest education. And still, two girls who just entered school outranked you. Any ordinary fifteen-year-old would be sulking. Maybe throwing a fit, maybe picking a fight.
But instead, you’re acting like a complete gentleman. That’s our royal prince.
No—maybe *because* you’re a royal prince, you *have* to be this way. You live in a world where people flatter you constantly—where it’d be easy to become arrogant or entitled. Even many nobles below your rank turn out that way. Like those idiots who discriminated against Flora-chan, for example. But you’ve been kind to her from the very beginning.

You’ll probably get serious next time. You’ve had the best education, after all—you were born to be on top. And since you’re ashamed of your current rank, you’ll face it head-on. Honestly, I don’t think I can beat that kind of person.

Ah… this natural sense of *noblesse oblige* that he carries—it’s just like my brother. They don’t seem alike at first glance, but maybe people in similar positions inevitably resemble each other.

“Prince Mikhail, I think it’s wonderful how sincerely you face the weight of your position.”

When Ekaterina said that, Mikhail smiled a little—though his expression was somewhat complicated.

Yup, you really are a good kid.
So go ahead, let our heroine Flora conquer your heart already—and hurry up and be happy together!