‘Stop!’
I struggled to stop the mana from leaking out of my heart.
My forehead was sweating with concentration.
‘I could barely control it….. I think I should stop practising magic…..’
“Wow, that was incredibly fast!”
“I think she did it faster than Ulrich.”
I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of their admiration.
‘What’s going on?’
Baffled, I saw a perfectly round ring of fire in front of me. Moreover, it was about my size.
It resembled the ring Miss Richter had created.
‘When did this happen?’
I couldn’t even control the mana flow.
‘Did Miss Richter do this?’
I looked at her, but her eyes were even wider than when she saw Wuli create a ring.
This ring was created by me.
I opened my mouth and gazed at the blazing flames.
“Would you like to try making other rings?”
Miss Richter asked calmly.
“M-Me?”
“Yes. You should be able to do it just fine.”
Perplexed, I proceeded to create the next elemental rings.
One at a time, patiently.
A ring of earth, a ring of wind, and finally, a ring of water.
Even though I only released a small amount of mana this time, it was surprisingly easy.
‘It shouldn’t be this easy.’
Do I have the ‘genius hidden protagonist’ buff?
‘That can’t be. From studying to magic to everything I achieved, was from my sheer hard work.’
Nothing came easy. But for magic it was.
‘It’s weird. Something’s amiss.’
“How did the Princess do this……!”
Professor Frank exclaimed.
“I-It shouldn’t be possible….”
I found it hard to believe as well. Yet, Professor Frank, who had claimed that anything was possible for Ulrich, left me feeling uneasy.
“Didn’t Ulrich did this too?”
“No, you and Wuli can’t be the same.”
“He can do it, but why can’t I?”
“It’s not that. But….”
“Of course you can’t.”
Just then, Ulrich shouted in frustration. He must have been angry seeing me create rings.
I smirked innocently and asked him,
“Why can’t I do it?”
“Unless you resorted to trickery, how did you manage this? What did you do? Speak up!”
“It’s hard to admit that I’m better than you, isn’t it?”
“No! No way! How could you do something that I can’t?”
‘Something that I can’t ?’
I raised an eyebrow at Ulrich’s unintended confession.
‘Wuli made a ring too. So why is he saying he can’t?’
It was beefy!
Hiding my suspicions, I said, “Of course you can’t. It’s just that I, being the true top student, can naturally do things you can’t. I’ve also practiced diligently.”
Wuli smirked as if he had caught on to something.
“Practice? What practice? How could you practice when you received broken mana stones? You probably secretly brought some magical tools to help with spell casting!”
His triumphant tone as he exposed my lie was truly exasperating.
I sighed softly.
“So Ulrich gave me those broken mana stones on purpose.”
Ulrich finally realized his mistake and looked flustered.
“Only the mana stones you gave me had strange colours and cracks in them. Did you give them to me on purpose to prevent me from using elemental magic?”
“T-That’s…”
“You thought you couldn’t beat me, so you resorted to underhanded methods, right? Ulrich, you’re truly mean. Even His Majesty wouldn’t appreciate such behavior…”
I whispered with a concerned expression.
At the mention of the Emperor, Wuli’s face turned bright red.
The Emperor was his weakness.
“I- I..!”
Unable to control his rage, Ulrich started the initiation spell.
A roaring ring of fire appeared in the air.
The heat emanating from the ring was overwhelming. As the classroom heated up, the children screamed in terror.
‘This is strange. How can a young child who barely knows third circle magic do something like this?’
He didn’t stop there, he menacingly pointed the fire ring towards me.
He was trying to scare me.
Professor Frank was is a state of confusion.
“Young M-Master Ulrich, that’s dangerous. If His Majesty finds out……!”
“That brat needs to be punished! The Emperor likes me! How dare she……!”
“This ring can’t be controlled. Princess! Apologise to Master Ulrich NOW!”
I was flabbergasted.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, it should be Ulrich who apologises!”
“Listen to me, Princess! You can’t win over Ulrich. Go and apologise to……!”
At that moment, the ring suddenly grew larger.
Even Ulrich took a step back in panic.
Nevertheless, the ring’s flames grew more fierce.
The classroom was on the brink of being engulfed in flames.
‘It seems Ulrich isn’t the one controlling this.’
Terrified the children screamed. Miss Richter tried to intervene. I quickly expanded the ring of water, which I hadn’t yet used, to envelop the ring of fire.
Slosh!
Cut off from oxygen, the ring of fire shriveled.
Quickly replacing the ring of water with a ring of earth. I stretched the ring out in the air and scattered the soil. The already weakened fire ring disappeared in an instant as the earth rained down.
“!”
Surprised gasps echoed through the smoke-filled classroom.
I let out a small sigh of relief.
“Phew! Ulrich, what are doing on a day His Majesty would visit?”
Ulrich, who would normally have gone on a rampage, didn’t answer.
He was simply stunned.
Professor Frank and Miss Richter were equally silent.
“What happened, how could… It’s simply impossible…”
“Young Lady, well done. Thanks to you, a major disaster was averted.”
Miss Richter exclaimed instead of Professor Frank, who was at a loss for what to do.
She brushed the dirt off my head and cautiously inquired, “I have a question. How did you change the shape of the ring?”
In an instant, my mind went blank.
How did I do it?
“…I just did.”
Richter’s expression turned quizzical.
‘But it’s true!’
Startled by the growing ring of fire, I acted before I was thinking.
“You did it naturally….?”
“Yes. I took what I learnt from Richter and changed it up a bit.”
“So you applied what you learnt, then how did you go from a water ring to an earth ring so quickly?”
“What? Oh, that just happened…”
“Is that so?”
I nodded timidly.
Then Richter gave me a small smile.
“I guess I was right after all. I suspected it from the time you modified the formula…..”
“?”
What is she talking about?
I scratched my head and looked up, and Richter’s smile widened.
“Princess, you’re already able to use magic incantations continuously.”
“What’s that?”
“That mea- …”
“That means you’ve already reached the fifth circle.”
Miss Richter’s words were interrupted by a familiar voice. It was so familiar that it caused a panic.
‘The Emperor?!’
But the Emperor hasn’t come yet?
I was bewildered.
I looked up to see Miss Richter and Professor Frank staring off into space with their mouths open.
They saw a knight in a helmet approaching.
As the knight got closer, the helmet was removed.
It was the Emperor!
“!”
How was the Emperor here?!
The Emperor looked at me with amusement evident in his eyes.
“W-We were informed that you were coming later Your Majesty! When did you arrive?”
Professor Frank asked, his face looking like he might faint.
“I have been here from the beginning.”
The Emperor replied, ignoring Professor Frank’s gaze.
“B-But how come Your Majesty has turned into a knight and…”
“That’s the only way to make the kids behave as usual, don’t you think? If I had stood behind them like a statue, they would have simply followed the professor’s orders. Thanks to this, I witnessed an entertaining spectacle.”
“…….”
The Emperor’s words shut Professor Frank up.
But it was uncomfortable enough with the scary knights behind him!
‘Though they were less scary than the Emperor!’
The Emperor approached me step by step.
Perhaps due to his knight’s attire, he appeared even taller.
As I froze nervously, he stroked my hair with his large hand.
“Hanelope. Do you know what it means to be a fifth circle user?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“I see. Even though you have mastery over magic, there’s still much for you to learn. I will give you a special assignment. Find out what your rank is and strive to reach the 6th circle.”
Richter was horrified by the Emperor’s words.
“Your Majesty, but the sixth circle is…”
“It’s quite possible. If she’s of my bloodline, she should naturally possess that level of talent.”
The Emperor said with a smug face.
Richter, on the other hand, looked like she was holding back the urge to say, ‘Don’t be ridiculous’.
‘The Emperor must have said something strange again.’
I had more faith in Richter.
‘He’s already fooled me once.’
Did he read my mind?
For a moment, the Emperor stared at me. I looked away, startled.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you scared I’ll deceive you again? Or do you dislike me?”
There was a hint of laughter in his voice.
I cautiously lifted my head. The red eyes were glowing, holding me in their gaze.
“I never disliked His Majesty.”
Though my words suggested that, but an indignant tone slipped out unintentionally.
Taken aback, I covered my mouth with both hands. The Emperor laughed, as if enjoying my embarrassment.
“Still, you don’t think I’m bad? Even though I’ve deceived you and spied on you all today.”
Was he teasing me, or testing me?
The tension grew as everyone around us fell silent.
The crowd grew more nervous and quieted around me.
I pondered, then answered.
“You’re right, His Majesty is bad.”
The Emperor arched one of his brows.
“How dare you speak such blasphemous words!”
Professor Frank stopped me in my tracks.
The others in the room were equally aghast.
It was clear that they all thought I had lost my mind.
I turned to the Emperor, who looked down at me coldly.
“But it’s good that His Majesty is bad.”
“What?”
The Emperor looked at me with surprise.
“His Majesty is bad, but as an Emperor, he is good. You’re good because you’re willing to deceive us to see the truth, and you’re willing to sacrifice your own children for the sake of your people. Sometimes, being bad is necessary to uncover the truth and save the people.”
The Emperor just stared at me.
I couldn’t tell if he was angry that I’d crossed the line or if he was stunned.
However, others didn’t understand the context of my words.
‘Especially the part about sacrificing his own child.’
I recalled the “Rebellion Suppression Report” I had read in the Imperial Library.
The detailed account of the suffering of the people during the rebellion.
‘So many people died or got hurt because of the rebellion.’
During the rebellion, the Emperor prioritized minimizing harm to the people, even if it meant sacrificing his own child.
‘I’ve never thought of him as bad. If I were a commoner, I would have liked this Emperor.’
The Emperor’s eyebrow twitched.
“This bold little crumb.”
Then, he simply uttered those words.
It could be interpreted in several ways. But I noticed a glint of amusement in his red irises.
‘He likes my response?!’
Of course, not everyone interpreted it positively.
“Are you out of your mind? How dare you speak ill of His Majesty!”
Seizing the opportunity to impress the Emperor, Ulrich shouted, his voice full of indignation.
‘Stop!’
I struggled to stop the mana from leaking out of my heart.
My forehead was sweating with concentration.
‘I could barely control it….. I think I should stop practising magic…..’
“Wow, that was incredibly fast!”
“I think she did it faster than Ulrich.”
I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of their admiration.
‘What’s going on?’
Baffled, I saw a perfectly round ring of fire in front of me. Moreover, it was about my size.
It resembled the ring Miss Richter had created.
‘When did this happen?’
I couldn’t even control the mana flow.
‘Did Miss Richter do this?’
I looked at her, but her eyes were even wider than when she saw Wuli create a ring.
This ring was created by me.
I opened my mouth and gazed at the blazing flames.
“Would you like to try making other rings?”
Miss Richter asked calmly.
“M-Me?”
“Yes. You should be able to do it just fine.”
Perplexed, I proceeded to create the next elemental rings.
One at a time, patiently.
A ring of earth, a ring of wind, and finally, a ring of water.
Even though I only released a small amount of mana this time, it was surprisingly easy.
‘It shouldn’t be this easy.’
Do I have the ‘genius hidden protagonist’ buff?
‘That can’t be. From studying to magic to everything I achieved, was from my sheer hard work.’
Nothing came easy. But for magic it was.
‘It’s weird. Something’s amiss.’
“How did the Princess do this……!”
Professor Frank exclaimed.
“I-It shouldn’t be possible….”
I found it hard to believe as well. Yet, Professor Frank, who had claimed that anything was possible for Ulrich, left me feeling uneasy.
“Didn’t Ulrich did this too?”
“No, you and Wuli can’t be the same.”
“He can do it, but why can’t I?”
“It’s not that. But….”
“Of course you can’t.”
Just then, Ulrich shouted in frustration. He must have been angry seeing me create rings.
I smirked innocently and asked him,
“Why can’t I do it?”
“Unless you resorted to trickery, how did you manage this? What did you do? Speak up!”
“It’s hard to admit that I’m better than you, isn’t it?”
“No! No way! How could you do something that I can’t?”
‘Something that I can’t ?’
I raised an eyebrow at Ulrich’s unintended confession.
‘Wuli made a ring too. So why is he saying he can’t?’
It was beefy!
Hiding my suspicions, I said, “Of course you can’t. It’s just that I, being the true top student, can naturally do things you can’t. I’ve also practiced diligently.”
Wuli smirked as if he had caught on to something.
“Practice? What practice? How could you practice when you received broken mana stones? You probably secretly brought some magical tools to help with spell casting!”
His triumphant tone as he exposed my lie was truly exasperating.
I sighed softly.
“So Ulrich gave me those broken mana stones on purpose.”
Ulrich finally realized his mistake and looked flustered.
“Only the mana stones you gave me had strange colours and cracks in them. Did you give them to me on purpose to prevent me from using elemental magic?”
“T-That’s…”
“You thought you couldn’t beat me, so you resorted to underhanded methods, right? Ulrich, you’re truly mean. Even His Majesty wouldn’t appreciate such behavior…”
I whispered with a concerned expression.
At the mention of the Emperor, Wuli’s face turned bright red.
The Emperor was his weakness.
“I- I..!”
Unable to control his rage, Ulrich started the initiation spell.
A roaring ring of fire appeared in the air.
The heat emanating from the ring was overwhelming. As the classroom heated up, the children screamed in terror.
‘This is strange. How can a young child who barely knows third circle magic do something like this?’
He didn’t stop there, he menacingly pointed the fire ring towards me.
He was trying to scare me.
Professor Frank was is a state of confusion.
“Young M-Master Ulrich, that’s dangerous. If His Majesty finds out……!”
“That brat needs to be punished! The Emperor likes me! How dare she……!”
“This ring can’t be controlled. Princess! Apologise to Master Ulrich NOW!”
I was flabbergasted.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, it should be Ulrich who apologises!”
“Listen to me, Princess! You can’t win over Ulrich. Go and apologise to……!”
At that moment, the ring suddenly grew larger.
Even Ulrich took a step back in panic.
Nevertheless, the ring’s flames grew more fierce.
The classroom was on the brink of being engulfed in flames.
‘It seems Ulrich isn’t the one controlling this.’
Terrified the children screamed. Miss Richter tried to intervene. I quickly expanded the ring of water, which I hadn’t yet used, to envelop the ring of fire.
Slosh!
Cut off from oxygen, the ring of fire shriveled.
Quickly replacing the ring of water with a ring of earth. I stretched the ring out in the air and scattered the soil. The already weakened fire ring disappeared in an instant as the earth rained down.
“!”
Surprised gasps echoed through the smoke-filled classroom.
I let out a small sigh of relief.
“Phew! Ulrich, what are doing on a day His Majesty would visit?”
Ulrich, who would normally have gone on a rampage, didn’t answer.
He was simply stunned.
Professor Frank and Miss Richter were equally silent.
“What happened, how could… It’s simply impossible…”
“Young Lady, well done. Thanks to you, a major disaster was averted.”
Miss Richter exclaimed instead of Professor Frank, who was at a loss for what to do.
She brushed the dirt off my head and cautiously inquired, “I have a question. How did you change the shape of the ring?”
In an instant, my mind went blank.
How did I do it?
“…I just did.”
Richter’s expression turned quizzical.
‘But it’s true!’
Startled by the growing ring of fire, I acted before I was thinking.
“You did it naturally….?”
“Yes. I took what I learnt from Richter and changed it up a bit.”
“So you applied what you learnt, then how did you go from a water ring to an earth ring so quickly?”
“What? Oh, that just happened…”
“Is that so?”
I nodded timidly.
Then Richter gave me a small smile.
“I guess I was right after all. I suspected it from the time you modified the formula…..”
“?”
What is she talking about?
I scratched my head and looked up, and Richter’s smile widened.
“Princess, you’re already able to use magic incantations continuously.”
“What’s that?”
“That mea- …”
“That means you’ve already reached the fifth circle.”
Miss Richter’s words were interrupted by a familiar voice. It was so familiar that it caused a panic.
‘The Emperor?!’
But the Emperor hasn’t come yet?
I was bewildered.
I looked up to see Miss Richter and Professor Frank staring off into space with their mouths open.
They saw a knight in a helmet approaching.
As the knight got closer, the helmet was removed.
It was the Emperor!
“!”
How was the Emperor here?!
The Emperor looked at me with amusement evident in his eyes.
“W-We were informed that you were coming later Your Majesty! When did you arrive?”
Professor Frank asked, his face looking like he might faint.
“I have been here from the beginning.”
The Emperor replied, ignoring Professor Frank’s gaze.
“B-But how come Your Majesty has turned into a knight and…”
“That’s the only way to make the kids behave as usual, don’t you think? If I had stood behind them like a statue, they would have simply followed the professor’s orders. Thanks to this, I witnessed an entertaining spectacle.”
“…….”
The Emperor’s words shut Professor Frank up.
But it was uncomfortable enough with the scary knights behind him!
‘Though they were less scary than the Emperor!’
The Emperor approached me step by step.
Perhaps due to his knight’s attire, he appeared even taller.
As I froze nervously, he stroked my hair with his large hand.
“Hanelope. Do you know what it means to be a fifth circle user?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“I see. Even though you have mastery over magic, there’s still much for you to learn. I will give you a special assignment. Find out what your rank is and strive to reach the 6th circle.”
Richter was horrified by the Emperor’s words.
“Your Majesty, but the sixth circle is…”
“It’s quite possible. If she’s of my bloodline, she should naturally possess that level of talent.”
The Emperor said with a smug face.
Richter, on the other hand, looked like she was holding back the urge to say, ‘Don’t be ridiculous’.
‘The Emperor must have said something strange again.’
I had more faith in Richter.
‘He’s already fooled me once.’
Did he read my mind?
For a moment, the Emperor stared at me. I looked away, startled.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you scared I’ll deceive you again? Or do you dislike me?”
There was a hint of laughter in his voice.
I cautiously lifted my head. The red eyes were glowing, holding me in their gaze.
“I never disliked His Majesty.”
Though my words suggested that, but an indignant tone slipped out unintentionally.
Taken aback, I covered my mouth with both hands. The Emperor laughed, as if enjoying my embarrassment.
“Still, you don’t think I’m bad? Even though I’ve deceived you and spied on you all today.”
Was he teasing me, or testing me?
The tension grew as everyone around us fell silent.
The crowd grew more nervous and quieted around me.
I pondered, then answered.
“You’re right, His Majesty is bad.”
The Emperor arched one of his brows.
“How dare you speak such blasphemous words!”
Professor Frank stopped me in my tracks.
The others in the room were equally aghast.
It was clear that they all thought I had lost my mind.
I turned to the Emperor, who looked down at me coldly.
“But it’s good that His Majesty is bad.”
“What?”
The Emperor looked at me with surprise.
“His Majesty is bad, but as an Emperor, he is good. You’re good because you’re willing to deceive us to see the truth, and you’re willing to sacrifice your own children for the sake of your people. Sometimes, being bad is necessary to uncover the truth and save the people.”
The Emperor just stared at me.
I couldn’t tell if he was angry that I’d crossed the line or if he was stunned.
However, others didn’t understand the context of my words.
‘Especially the part about sacrificing his own child.’
I recalled the “Rebellion Suppression Report” I had read in the Imperial Library.
The detailed account of the suffering of the people during the rebellion.
‘So many people died or got hurt because of the rebellion.’
During the rebellion, the Emperor prioritized minimizing harm to the people, even if it meant sacrificing his own child.
‘I’ve never thought of him as bad. If I were a commoner, I would have liked this Emperor.’
The Emperor’s eyebrow twitched.
“This bold little crumb.”
Then, he simply uttered those words.
It could be interpreted in several ways. But I noticed a glint of amusement in his red irises.
‘He likes my response?!’
Of course, not everyone interpreted it positively.
“Are you out of your mind? How dare you speak ill of His Majesty!”
Seizing the opportunity to impress the Emperor, Ulrich shouted, his voice full of indignation.
