Princess Violence

[NOTTHISWAY]

Princess Viola de Lens is the royal family's black sheep, the magicless outcast in the house of the world's greatest magicians. As an outcast, she faces scorn and neglect... until one day, she just snaps, punches her honorable twin brother's lights out, and enrolls herself into the Knight Academy with the sole goal of attaining a noble title on her own merit so she can get out of her annoying family's shadow.

But the shadow of enemies unseen lurks all around her, and some more traditional elements might not look so kindly on such a radical princess...

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

Yo! This is the previous episode of this week's Wednesday Poll Winner, you can read the latest one on patreon right now!

Do you like this Story? Would you like to see it updated more often? If you would, then please consider supporting me on Patreon! Once a week, on every Wednesday, there's a poll to vote on which of my ongoing stories will receive an update that week! If you're interested, please follow this link: https://www.patreon.com/NOTTHISWAY and search for the "Wednesday Poll" to vote!


The Kingdom of Lens was a mostly peaceful one, with peace built on the back of its incredible military might and its strict meritocratic magical tradition, a tradition that had been born from the circumstances of the Kingdom's founding.

Two and a half centuries before the present times, a young boy named Lens was vanished from a now lost and forgotten noble family of the Empire of Armis, for he had been born with a weak and frail constituiton, unfit for his family's martial and military tradition, and even more unfit for the Imperial Doctrine of the time, prioritizing the mastery of the sword over all other things for nobility, and ruling through strength.

Escaping from the grasp and grip of his family, the then young and not yet Archmage, accompanied only by the sole ally he'd had in his father's house, the maid who had cared for him since he was but a child, established their lands in a barren and desolate desert, utilizing his great and powerful magic to control the elements to turn the land lush and fertile and set up the capital, eventually joined by his former bethroted and even joining hands with the displaced locals and refugees of the Empire's wars.

It is said that all the noble families of the Kingdom of Lens trace their line back to the Archmage, and each of them possesses a fragment of his magic, allowing control over the elements and the creation and maintenance of magical tools using the principles left behind by the Founder.

The direct line of Lens and his Bethroted, Queen Emanuelle, lives on, proud of their heritage and the incredibly powerful magic they wield, having inherited the bulk of the Archmage's power, and thus, having the ability and talent required to lead the Kingdom that Lens founded.

All of them...

Except one.

Me.

My name is Viola de Lens, I am a Princess of the Kingdom of Lens, and I alone am the sole child born of the royal family who does not wield the powerful magic inherited from the Archmage. I do not wield the elements, I cannot bring my imagination to life, I cannot manipulate or control magical artifacts and I certainly can neither heal nor use support spells to increase mine or another's abilities.

I cannot use magic, none whatsoever. In two hundred and sixty five years of the Kingdom of Lens' existence, I alone am the magic-less noble.

And it sucks.

It sucks so much that for the longest time, I wanted to be anybody else but me. I hated it. Every second of it. I was the disgrace of the royal family. My father, King Lens VII, refused to even acknowledge me as a member of the royal family, and my mother, well, she thought me worth less than the dirt I walked on.

As if to make matters worse, I didn't come alone. Call it a cosmic joke, but my brother, born twenty minutes after I was, was the Crown Prince Leon, a temporary name of course as he would assume the name of Lens when he was crowned King, and nobody doubted that he would, because he was the prodigy to end all prodigies.

Some even said he was the reincarnation of the Archmage, born two hundred and fifty years after the founding of the country to mark his return.

It clearly went to his head, and he never let me forget it.

I put the book I was reading, one of the few surviving copies of the Diary of the Archmage, down on the table. The royal library was attached to the Palace, but it was one of the few places in the country that was open to all, by order of the Archmage and by will of its caretaker, none were to be denied entry should they seek knowledge, be they king or pauper, affluent merchant or destitute beggar.

Sighing and letting the stress out, I pursed my lips and pushed my chair back. At fifteen years old, one was meant to receive their admission to the magical school that all nobles attended, the Royal Academy of Lens, the man not the country.

But that wasn't happening for me. There was nothing I could do. Even though the Archmage had gone out of his way to note down the dozens of ways in which he had trained and improved his magical powers, hadn't discovered a method to foster magical power in those who had none.

"What're you doing?"

I knew that voice. That was Leon, my brother.

I didn't like him, to say the least. He looked much like the founder Lens, having his straight dark hair cut short and slightly messy, dark eyes and a fair complexion. The Archmage's features being so strong in him contrasted with me, who had the golden blonde hair and emerald green eyes of the Imperial nobility, an anomaly in my typically dark haired family.

Certainly didn't help quell the rumors that I was an illegitimate child, even though I was half of a set of twins and nobody doubted my brother's ancestry.

"What's it matter to you," I muttered.

"What was that?"

I felt him grab my shoulder and turn me around. He was short and thin, his skin was more pale than fair, which made sense as he typically spent all his time just studying magic and practicing with it, no matter how talented and how much magic power, a mage who didn't train would be a crap mage after all.

"Nothing," I replied.

Of course; I didn't have the right to talk smack to my brother. He was father's Heir, and I wasn't even a spare, I wasn't even considered an useful political tool, no noble would want a princess that didn't have magic after all, no matter how royal her stock.

"Huh, are you saying my ears are bad and I didn't catch you mouthing off to me?" he taunted me, turning that face that resembled the first King's so much into a smarmy, smug look that made him look a little constipated, he probably thought it made him intimidating, but-

He looked like I could break him like a toothpick- unbidden thoughts that I suppressed swiftly. Royalty didn't use force, royalty didn't dirty their hands, a thousand lessons smacked into me at ruler point from a governess dedicated to 'turning the shame of the royal family into a proper lady', so that I could be married off to foreign nobility, played off of my memory.

"I would never, honored brother," I said, hurriedly, quickly.

"Good, 'cause I've heard you were rejected from the Academy," he said, pulling back and crossing his arms. He was already wearing the uniform, a dark blue blazer adorned with golden epaulettes and fastened with golden buttons, marking him as royalty. Once upon a time, everyone was to be treated equally. That didn't last long.

"... I didn't apply, honored brother," I tried not to show my irritation in my voice, and I probably failed.

"Ho? Correcting me are you?" his eyes narrowed, then he raised his right hand, extending his fingers up while his palm faced the ceiling. Five orbs appeared on each of his fingers. The swirling green of wind magic, the flowing blue of water magic, the blazing red of fire magic, the rumbling brown of earth magic and the crackling yellow of lightning magic, five orbs, five elements, the five basic principles of nature, but even more importantly, over his palm, a colorless bubble the size of his fist formed, glowing a rainbow hue.

He was showing off the mark of the Royal Family, the one thing that set us apart from the rest of the nobility, for the Royal Family was the only ones to be capable of utilizing the Imagination Magic of the Archmage.

The five elemental orbs then began to swirl around the big imagination magic orb like planets around the sun, and I felt the tension increase.

"You see this? You understand what it means doesn't it? That you can't do it," he said, his smirk growing nastier and more openly hostile. "You're wasting your time, you don't have magic, you're a worthless failure, getting an education here is pointless, don't you understand that?"

I clenched my fist. "That doesn't matter..!" I could feel my fingernails stabbing into my palm, I could feel the hot blood squeezed out through the cuts I just made, I could focus on that, try to ignore the pounding in my head as his taunts got to me.

It was constant.

Throughout our entire lives, ever since my inability to use magic and his prodigious talent were discovered, coincidentally shortly after our birth, he has done nothing but make my life impossible... taunting me, insulting me, telling me how worthless I was...

I already had enough with our parents only paying attention to him, I already had enough with everyone reminding me at every step, in every lesson and at every turn just how much better than me he was because he could use magic...

"But it does though! Because since you can't use magic, that means you're going to be sent away!" he leaned over, grinning at me as I put my head on the table and covered the sides of my face with my arms, crossing my wrists over the top of my head, knowing it was futile, he knew that my face was red, he knew that I bit my lip so hard I drew blood, he knew he was getting to me.

He knew he was driving me crazy.

"But don't worry, sis," he said, laughing in a way that was in no way jovial, "because your honorable elder brother is nothing if not merciful! Why, I will even go and ask dad not to send you off to marry some nasty old pervert outside the kingdom!"

As if he would! He'd be the one choosing the dirtiest, nastiest and most disgusting piece of shit noble he could find!

"After all, the best thing you've ever been," I heard a bubble pop and I knew he'd dispelled the bubbles he had summoned, "is a target dummy for me to practice my magic!"

"Eh-"

I raised my head and then felt it, the sensation of magic crashing into me. Water and dirt that formed thick mud, a shocking sting, a painful burn and an aching cut, I could barely raise my hands fast enough to prevent him from getting that all over my face, but even then, the blade of wind cut just beside my left eye.

It hurt. It hurt so badly. It was painful as hell. Even if it was just minor, even if it was just tiny, even if it was just a throwaway word, a careless remark, even if everyone kept telling me to excuse him, to ignore him, kept telling me that he was under a lot of pressure and that I should support him since that was all I could do-

Everyone... everyone!!

Everyone told me all I was good for was just to be a tool for him! To be stress relief for my talented brother! To be his target dummy! To be the ugly duckling that stands next to the elegant swan to make him look better!! That was the only thing anyone ever wanted of me!!

AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!

Something possessed me, I don't know what it was, but it exploded from within, a raging heat far greater than the little fireball that left a red welt on the back of my left hand.

"H-hey!! Watch it, idiot!"

I kicked off the chair and almost hit my honored, esteemed, respectable and venerable prodigy of a brother! The chair landed on the ground with an incredibly noisy crash of wood on wood.

"Stupid idiot, you could've hit me!!" he screamed, taking a step back, his face turning red, he did so little physical work and relied so much on his magic for everything that just the act of raising his voice was making him lose his breath.

This guy, this pathetic, weak little shit, who's smaller than me despite being my twin and a boy while I'm a girl, this guy who hasn't even attended a single one of his swordplay lessons, who refused to learn how to dance or courtly etiquette, who didn't even learn to swim or do his exercises, who skips meals to read books all day..!

This little toothpick that I could break by glaring at it hard enough!!

I stepped up to him and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back, almost throwing him to the ground, he barely caught himself and managed not to trip. "You put hands on me, you thug! I'll show you!!" he raised both hands this time, and already, I saw the glow of his magic activating. "Salamander, heed-"

Before he could finish whatever incantation he was starting to belt out, I stepped back into his personal space, my left hand raised and in front of my face, my left foot forward, using everything I had learned from the Knight Captain whose lessons this little shit had pawned off on me so he could go read his novels, and then I pulled my fist back, twisting my hips and then whipping them back with full strength, pushing off of my backfoot and putting my weight on my front foot, turning my shoulders and putting all of that momentum into my right shoulder, traveling down my arm, all the way to my fist, until the most satisfying sensation I'd ever felt when everything clicked and connected for me all at once.

That very moment when my fist connected with his nose and I heard that incredibly satisfying crack is the moment I knew.

"Fuck magic!!" I screamed, carrying my momentum and putting it into turning my right foot forward, following my brother even as the punch I gave him made him move back, and then when my right foot was forward I repeated the process from before but inverted, this time throwing a left hook that turned his face to his left, "fuck traditions!" I then stepped forward again and did the same, this time punching him with a right hook.

He was stumbling.

For the very first time in this arrogant turd's life, he was facing backlash for his actions. I know I'm not the only victim of his antics. I know he relentlessly bullies other nobility, relying on his position, his station and his genius level magical talent to get away with it, crying to our parents when something doesn't go his way.

His nose was bleeding. His lips were busted. He was crying. He almost looked pitiable. But I've seen his crying face too many times, I've seen him cry to get others into trouble countless times, I've seen him crying when he spilled wine on a lady's dress and getting her punished instead, I've seen him crying to pass blame of his misdeeds onto me and distract suspicion.

It doesn't work on me.

"And fuck YOU!!"

I punched him with the hardest left straight I could muster, right to the chin, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. Well, a very light sack of potatoes at any rate. He crumpled, out like a light, and instantly, I knew I was screwed.

...

But I could get ahead of it.

The Royal Academy of Magic was obviously not for me, there was not much of anything I could do about that, I simply couldn't use magic, so there was no point in me even trying to attend it. No matter how good I was at every other subject, magic was the most important thing in the magic academy.

But the Knight Academy accepted anyone.

And of course, after that, neither of my parents wanted to see neither hide nor hair from me, which suited me just fine. The only thing they care about is their little prodigy, well, they're welcome to dealing with the ego monster of their own creation! I'm done with them, I'm done with magic, I'm done with this whole putrid royalty bullshit!!!

I'll be a Knight, I'll become a noble by my own merit, find some frontier lord to serve somewhere and spend the rest of my life earning my own living, and I'll never look back!

After having been yelled at, confined to my room and stuck with garbage tier meals, finally, at last, I'm out of that wretched Palace!

The Knight Academy, or rather the Eon Academy, named after the first Knight who pledged herself in service of King Lens, and also one of his brides, and still to this day run by the descendants of King Lens and Dame Eon, was a prestigious academy in its own right. Far less so than the Magic Academy of course, but it was an avenue for freedom.

It was a magnificently large building, significantly more so than the Magic Academy. It had everything a Knight could ever need, a three story main building with two story wings on its east and west side and a giant clocktower on the east wing, an attached indoor gymnasium on the west wing with a pool and sauna, not one, not three but five dorm buildings forming part of its external walls, grounds that could fit an entire town within, and a track for Rappids, the primary warbeast ridden by Lensian cavalry that doubled as a coliseum for fighting competitions with its high stands.

"A perfect place for a growing knight!" I hummed, pulling at the straps of my backpack, containing only the barest essentials, because even though I was a disgrace I was still a princess and my parents arranged for all my stuff to be delivered to my dorms.

"I know right?"

I turned to my left to see the voice speaking to me. A young lady wearing the same uniform as I was, the formal uniform that mimicked formalwear for knights, a white double breasted jacket trimmed in the black of commoners in contrast with the gold of my own. She had brown hair, cut just under her chin, straight, and I could tell there was a noticeable tan starting from just below her nose down to where her jacket collar closed up.

Based on the discoloration of her hair as well from under the crown of her head, I'd guess she spent a lot of time under the sun, and typically wore a hat. A farmer, maybe? Her build was solid under the uniform, she had wider shoulders than most girls.

"I can't believe I finally made it! Everyone at the village did their best to come up with the tuition! I won't disappoint them!" she called.

She was also carrying a cheap looking backpack, a bit frayed from use, but clean and well cared for, and her uniform was impeccably pressed, despite being visibly worn and used quite a bit. A hand me down or secondhand uniform.

"Yes, I'm sure," I agreed, nodding. "But we should go in, the academy is very big, and I wouldn't want to get lost before we even get to the admission ceremony!" I spoke, hurriedly.

"Uhm!"

Both of us turned around. A girl with blue hair all the way down to her waist called our attention. Her uniform was the same as ours, except where we wore pants, she had a dark blue skirt instead. Skirt or pants were purely choice of the wearer, and were typically more popular with swordwielders in general.

The girl before us was petite, but she had a bundle on her back that was longer than she was tall, a sword, and from the shape, I could tell it was meant for two hands. Almost pastel blue hair, short, carrying a weapon bigger than herself, a noble...

My knowledge of the registry went through my mind as the brunette turned to our interloper, took both of the small girl's hands in hers, and shook them animatedly.

"I'm Coria!" she called, "nice to meet you! Man I'm so excited!! This academy's bigger than my village even!!" she was almost jumping.

"A-Ah, y-yes, sorry, uhm, forgive me, my name is Ellen," she said, her voice gentle and soft, but not trembling at all after she caught herself, "I heard that you might need some help? It's my first year, but, I've been here before, if you want, I can guide you to the Grand Hall where the admission ceremony will take place."

"You would? Man, Ellen you're the best!" Coria said, clasping Ellen's hands and pulling them up, "you're a lifesaver!"

"N-No, not at all, I, I'm sure you would've found it quickly!" Ellen said, sounding a little uncomfortable.

"Coria, please, our friend is a little uncomfortable," I interrupted, once my mental search finished, trying to give the excitable brunette a smile.

"Oh- Oh sorry, I'm just so excited I can't hold it in! I've been looking forward to this since I first learned how to hold a spear!" she clenched her fist and then took a few steps.

Before us, the gates that opened up into the massive academy grounds, with its many buildings, a cobblestone path that lead to the main building and branched out into spiraling paths that lead to the dorms, that passed through fountains and gardens and gazebos set up for students to mill about and enjoy.

But most importantly, the almost intimidatingly immense building, three stories of six meters each, giving it an imposingly large stature, in white marble, carved and created by the Archmage himself, enchanted to be a fortress that could resist even dragon attacks.

As Coria was losing herself in admiring the scenery like I had moments before, I turned to Ellen.

"Typically nobles boast their surnames," I smiled, getting closer so I could whisper, "but if you're keeping it quiet, then I'll make sure not to let it slip," I got closer to her ear, "miss Eon."

Of course I remembered where I'd seen her. The palace had a registry with every single noble ever born in the country, and more importantly, we required families to send portraits along with their registries for milestones, and reaching fifteen years old and debuting in high society was such a milestone.

Hence why I recognized Ellen de Eon, descendant of Dame Eon.

She blushed a little as I pulled back.

"Now, if you would please lead the way," I half asked, half ordered, smiling at the future Dame with the big sword and gesturing to the school.

"Oh!! I forgot!!" Coria almost shouted, turning back to us. "Sorry, I was being rude, back at the village they keep telling me I need to slow down a little!" she rapped her knuckles against the top of her head, sticking her tongue out and winking at me. "My name's Coria, I'm from Hesche village, a logging town south of the Ernst county!" she introduced herself. "That's how I'm supposed to do it right?"

Not quite, but for a commoner, it would do. We'd be learning and starting to introduce ourselves as knights soon enough anyway. "Nice to meet you Coria," I responded. "I'm Viola. I was born and raised here in the Capital of Lens City."

"Oh that's nice! That means you probably know all the best places in town," she hummed, "maybe we can grab Ellen and check out the capital together, Vi!"

"Vi?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Oh, sorry - I thought - do you not like nicknames?" Coria asked, shrinking a little.

Well, she was from a small village, probably everyone knew everyone there. "No, it's fine, I like it, you can call me Vi if you want," I responded, "but I won't be much help with touring the capital, I don't really know it all that well."

"Ehh? But how, don't you live here?" she asked, shocked and appalled that I could somehow not know the place where I ostensibly lived.

"Well, that is- it's a bit embarrassing," I admitted, laughing a little nervously. "I never really left the palace, you know!"

"P-Palace?"

Ellen cleared her throat. "Miss Coria, allow me to introduce you to Her Royal Highness, Viola de Lens, First Princess of Lens."

Coria's eyes went wide. She looked at me. Then at Ellen. A wind blew Ellen's long hair in such a way as to make it look like the trail of a comet. Mine was pulled into a tightly bound braid and swung like a pendulum as the wind rushed behind us.

Trembling, the brunette raised a hand. She pointed at me. Then she pointed in the direction of the distant palace, which dominated the skyline towards our south east, the largest building in the city by a significant margin.

I nodded.

And then Coria fainted.

...

I looked at Ellen and she looked at me, and it immediately became obvious neither of us had any idea on how to proceed beyond that point.

Well, I got here by letting go of thoughts and just doing what I felt, and so far this has been great, so why stop now?

"Onward!" I declared, "to the admission ceremony!"

 

[Zarbapha]

Born the weakest in a royal family but was secretly the archmage, flexed on those muscleheads, and established a bunch of noble lines.
Like the sequel to an isekai power fantasy. Neat.

 

[Cimbri]

Ganbatte Violent-Princess-Chan! Lol well lets see how this turns out.

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

Born the weakest in a royal family but was secretly the archmage, flexed on those muscleheads, and established a bunch of noble lines.
Like the sequel to an isekai power fantasy. Neat.

Click to shrink...

Basically, yeah.

It's one of those "I was born with a talent my family didn't understand so they exiled me to some barren wasteland, but my cheat powers allowed me to build a prosperous nation and also a harem gathered" setups, except since this is QQ the MC was 100% fucking his harem, got them all pregnant and produced a massive horde of descendants, hence why there are so many noble families with magical abilities inherited from him. Plus give or take some wild oats sown here and there.

Also yes I am annoyed that so many of these have the mc go out with a shotacon maid while being mentally an adult and he spends all his time defending his virginity instead of banging their hot shotacon maid, unironically the least realistic part of all those isekais is the mc not banging their hot maids

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

Yo! This is the previous episode of this week's Wednesday Poll Winner, you can read the latest one on patreon right now!

Do you like this Story? Would you like to see it updated more often? If you would, then please consider supporting me on Patreon! Once a week, on every Wednesday, there's a poll to vote on which of my ongoing stories will receive an update that week! If you're interested, please follow this link: https://www.patreon.com/NOTTHISWAY and search for the "Wednesday Poll" to vote!

The Knight Academy's hugeness was as impressive as it was annoying, but thanks to our esteemed guide, we made it to the great hall with more than enough time to find ourselves seats near the front but not quite on the front row.

Everyone was mixed, commoners and nobility intermingled as small groups and cliques of acquaintances were formed, people from the same towns had a tendency to drift together, or, in cases where a preexisting rivalry prevented it, they would instead sit as far apart from each other as possible.

The great hall where the ceremony would take place was quite large; I knew it to also double as an amphitheater used for the culture festival held yearly, but knowing it was big and actually seeing it were two entirely separate things. The palatial mansion I was confined to for most of my life was smaller than the Great Hall, which had capacity, from my simple estimation, for at least six thousand people in its seats.

The seats were separated into two decks, an upper and lower one, the upper deck was held up with columns, and each deck was divided in nine sections, split by two horizontal hallways and two vertical hallways, with the four columns that held up the upper deck firmly being on the middle of the intersection of the hallways, they went through the upper deck and to the ceiling.

The floor was mostly concrete covered in a thin cloth carpet that served to dampen the sound of steps, cushioning them just enough that the sound of people walking wouldn't disturb the quiet required to enjoy a play, the carpet was a deep red color and its edges had the design of flowering vines in irregular patterns.

For a moment, I wondered how they'd fit the carpet around the columns as I couldn't see seams, and then I decided to just chalk it up to magic.

The stage at the other end of the hall from the main entrance was raised just enough that it was visible from both decks, its curtains were drawn however, huge red and heavy, sound dampening fabric, and there was just about enough space between the seats that as me and my two new acquaintances walked past the people who had unwisely sat near the hallway we could get through without stepping on their feet if they tucked those feet in.

We didn't really pay too much attention to the people around us, but from what my wandering eyes caught, it seemed like for the most part, the grand majority of the noble students had decided to populate the upper deck, while through a tacit understanding, the commoner corp. remained almost entirely on the lower deck.

From what I could see, most of the students went to the front seats, even we ourselves had simply joined the rest there following the flow.

Slowly but surely the trickle of students increased, and in fact, the side doors to the great hall, which I hadn't noticed until that moment, opened, and the hundreds of upperclassmen from the five years above the first poured in like floodwaters after a dam bursts.

The murmur and din of speaking became a deafening cacophony of disparate conversations, though as everyone took their seats, filling about a fifth of the capacity of the great hall by my guess, it started to die down and people became quiet little by little, eventually quiet enough that conversations became audible whispers and eventually even that was quieted down.

With the sound of screeching metal and the whine of old pulleys being forced to once more perform their duty, the curtains were pulled apart, moving to the sides and then disappearing behind the walls on either side of the stage.

There, on the middle of the stage, was a raised podium, and behind it, there were three rows of thirty seats, for a grand total of ninety, each of them occupied by men and women in outfits that ranged form the robes of scholars to riding suits typically worn by cavalrymen for training as well as more formal military uniforms similar to the clothes we students were wearing.

Three people were standing in front of the seated adults.

Standing proud and tall like an oak tree, wide at the shoulders, with mostly white hair that still had a few strands of blue, dressed in a lightly decorated military uniform, black pants, white jacket, epaulettes and only a single medal hanging from the left breast of the jacket, was the woman I knew to be the Headmistress of the Knight Academy.

Agnes Eon, mother to the current head of the house of Eon, Grand Marshall of the Royal Army. The medal hanging from her jacket was a simple one, a blue ribbon with golden edges from which hung the shape of the sun with a vertical sword, a simple longsword design, inlaid in the middle, its blade made of resplandescent, ever-glowing magical mythril.

I was, as a royal who actually attended her lessons unlike a certain someone I could name, very familiar with Agnes Eon's exploits, and the reason why she and she alone was granted the Mythril Sword. She was one of a precious handful of people who had slain a demon in single combat, and bore the almost mythical rank of Knight Gallant.

The single greatest swordsman the country had seen since her own grandmother.

I could almost feel Ellen tense beside me.

Headmistress Eon stepped forward. She moved with purpose, her steps were heavy, and in the quiet of the hall, they were almost like thunderclaps.

"Greetings, I bid you a warm welcome to the pride and joy of the Eon family; the Eon Academy," her voice was deep, smooth and she projected it well, even in my public speaking lessons my teachers hadn't been able to project their voices that well. I couldn't even sense magic, she wasn't even enhancing her voice.

Raising her arms, her gloved hands opened, almost as if she was spreading her arms in embrace, a gesture that clearly was getting to the students, I could almost sense the tension in the people around me relaxing a little. Since I was mostly surrounded by commoners with the odd lower noble, their nervousness was even greater than normal.

Her lips were thin, but she still smiled grandly, her crow's feet becoming more pronounced, the dimples of her face forming as her eyes closed and she regaled us with an expression more at home in the face of a kindly and elderly grandmother than a muscular retired general who could still break almost everyone in the room like a chopstick.

"From this day onward, each and every one of you new arrivals will join us all and become Knight Cadets," she explained, stepping towards the podium and putting her hands on it, her voice becoming amplified by the magical effect placed into the podium, "and with that, each and every one of you has become one and the same, equals in the pursuit of something greater than ourselves.

"Each and every one of you has become a comrade in arms. Look at your right, look at your left, you may know that person, you may not, you may never have crossed paths before or they could be your best friend, tomorrow they may save your life, or put their own in your hands.

"Tomorrow you might lean on one another's shoulder, fight side by side, back to back, tomorrow, this person you might have never met before will become your sworn brother or sister, forged in the fires of battle, sharing joys and sorrows."

Ellen was to my left and Coria to my right, and both of them were quiet, it was a strange thought, but, I didn't dwell on it too long.

"Be it of the most pure blue or the most common red, blood is blood all the same, and thus, a Knight Cadet is a Knight Cadet. In this academy, the only rank that matters is your rank within it."

I'm relatively aware of this, but, not its intricacies. I knew there was a very insular culture to the Knight Academy, but I wasn't entirely or completely sure how any of it worked. Naturally, I'm aware that the trappings of class systems won't simply disappear because of school rules, but it is an interesting concept nonetheless.

"However, this old retired knight has taken entirely too much of your time, instead, allow me to introduce you to your Student Council President for this year, the First Rank among the Sixth Years, miss Athena Hellas," she spoke, gesturing behind herself.

I almost hadn't registered the student behind her at all, I knew she was there but the entirety of my attention was taken by the Knight Gallant, Dame Agnes, so when Miss Hellas stepped forward, I was surprised by her stunning appearance.

Though she was almost deceptively slim, she walked with firm steps and I could almost sense the certainty of every step, she walked with weight and purpose, she didn't walk as if she was imitating authority, rather, as she stepped forward and took the place of the Headmistress behind the podium when said Headmistress stepped aside, I could tell that her confidence was genuine.

"Thank you for the introduction, Headmistress," she said. She had long dark brown hair that reached the small of her back, the silver of her jacket marked her as a noble and the VI pin on the collar of her jacket I assume was simply an indicator of the year she belonged in.

She had no outwardly supernatural features, but in the Kingdom of Lens that meant little, one could not assume species so easily, and she wore the skirt version of the uniform, though she wore it shorter than the typical down-to-the knees skirts and kilts typically worn by swordsmen.

"My fellow students, as Dame Eon said, I am Athena Hellas, and for this year, I shall be serving as your Student Council President. It is my role, which I accept with pride and honor, to serve as your guide and as your role model, and to aid and help you through your struggles should you ever need it.

"As my predecessors before me, I shall be at your service alongside the Student Council," she explained, raising a hand and placing it in front of her chest, as if she was clutching at something, "to give back to the student body, as my upperclassmen gave to me, I promise to devote my time and my strength. As your guide, as your helper, as your upperclassman and as your friend, should you need it!"

That was a bit of a speech. Still, it doesn't surprise me. Of course, someone who was the Student Council President at an academy like this would certainly be put on the fast track to leadership positions in the 'real' world outside of the academy. She had probably received quite a bit of training in public speaking, enough that she could at least read a room and bolster morale.

The headmistress was smiling, and as Miss Hellas turned to face her, gave the President a small smile and a nod.

Miss Hellas returned that nod before turning back to face us. She leaned forward and put her hands on the podium, leaning forward.

"Now, I shall speak to our first years," she said, looking directly at the students' faces, I even felt for a moment her eyes fall on mine, though she quickly moved, scanning both the upper and lower decks. "I see in many of you the same fire that I feel within me, I see in many of you the inner strength required to face the trials that await us all."

I somehow doubt that, but that felt a bit gauche to say.

"But fear not; you will not be sent into battle ill prepared, the God of Battle Mars guides and blesses us Knights!"

The God of Battle, Mars, was said to be the patron of all who would do just and honorable battle, those who would represent and exemplify bravery. It made sense then, that the Knight Academy opened up and started during the third month of the year, the Month of Mars.

"For this month, you will conduct your orientation and guidance classes, you will be acclimatized and conditioned. You will not learn of battle but instead you will learn of training, you will learn of studying, you will learn of eating and you will learn of playing! These are the principles of the God of Battle!" she raised her hand, then clenched it into a fist.

I was a little confused, this was the first time I heard about something like this.

"You have to work hard! You have to learn a lot! You have to eat well! You have to rest deeply! You have to play to your heart's content!!" she called, sweeping her hand across the student body as if she was projecting it to us. "Work yourselves to the limit, learn from every experience, feed your body everything it needs, allow yourselves to recover, and never neglect your spirit or your mind, a healthy mind, a healthy spirit and a healthy body, these are the three fundamental aspects of a healthy knight!!"

She extended her right arm and flexed it, her jacket sleeve straining a little, letting the muscles' size and shape show through it, and she patted it with her hand.

"A sickly knight, a tired knight, a weak knight, an unstable knight, they cannot protect anybody, if you cannot protect yourself, if you cannot protect your body, then you can protect no one!"

She then clenched both hands into fists, her eyes almost seemed to light on fire as she pumped her fists.

"So give it your all! A great journey starts with the first step, so make the most of that step!" she called. "My fellow students, you can be anything that you work for!! So together, let's aim to be the best we can be!!"

Somehow, it seemed like everyone clocked that the speech was over, as a raucous applause began. Seemed like she was quite well beloved as a Student Council President, and I realized my face had formed into a smile, the passion in her voice, the strength of her shouting, it felt sincere, and a bit contagious.

So I joined everyone else, as the applause became deafening.

"Thank you!"

Striking a bow, the Student Council President, Miss Hellas, stepped back and to the left.

Finally, the third person who had been standing up stepped forward, taking the Podium after Miss Hellas.

He was a somewhat dull looking man compared to the women that came up before him, but that, in itself, was impressive. He was a commoner, his uniform's trim being black made that obvious, he had short well groomed brown hair, square rimmed glasses and a strong jaw. He had three medals and a single golden bar attached to the left breast of his jacket; the single golden bar denoted his rank.

Former Knight Captain, Tobias of Raidel.

The reason for his retirement was immediately obvious if one noticed the limp with which he walked, and the cane that supported his weight held in his right hand.

"Thank you Miss Hellas," he spoke to her, before turning to the student body. "Some of you might recognize me; but most will not. I am Tobias of Raidel, and here at the academy, I am your Deputy Headmaster."

I nodded, I was somewhat vaguely aware of that, kind of, as my Swordsmanship teacher sometimes mentioned his predecessor in the First Order of the Royal Guards.

"Before I release you to your devices so that you may avail yourselves of the academy's amenities," he explained, "allow me to wish each of you great success. Students from second to sixth year," he raised his hand, extending the fingers and almost cutting through the air with a knife hand, which ended in a fingers spread, palm forward pose, level with his chest, "you are dismissed!"

I am genuinely shocked at how quickly people dispersed and disappeared into the doors, it took what felt like only a minute before only the newcomers like myself were left.

"Now..."

I didn't count, but there were definitely more than a hundred students left in the room.

Even the adults, the staff and teachers I suppose, started to leave, until it was only the Deputy Headmaster and seven teachers left.

"Students," he began, "for you first years, this month will perhaps be the most important of your first year," he began, tapping his cane against the wooden flooring of the stage, causing the seven teachers still there to stand up. At least I assumed they were teachers. They were dressed in military uniforms so that's what they looked like at least. "You will be separated into seven divisions."

So we would be split into more manageable numbers, that made sense to me at least.

"Thus, each of you will be classes 1-A through 1-G," he said. "At the end of each month, an Evaluation Test will take place, including this Month of Mars. Do your best, that test will determine your Rank in your year and overall, and thus, the privileges and benefits that you may receive from the Academy."

His smile was hard, his eyes were serious.

"However make no mistake, for even someone who took the first rank once, should they fall asleep on their laurels, may find their position stolen from under them. Each of the teachers who remained behind today will be the teacher in charge of your class, they will be in charge of you.

"Each of the teachers has been given a list, they will call your registration number, form a line before the teacher who calls your registration number. You will then be guided to the class house assigned to your class, which will serve as your living quarters until next year."

The teachers stepped forward, and I could almost feel the excitement in the students around me. Well, except for Ellen, I have an inkling not a single part of any of this was surprising to her in the least, even if the inner workings of the Knight Academy aren't typically publicized, I would imagine she knows them pretty well.

Coria, meanwhile, was positively beaming. Honestly I'm surprised she managed to stay in her seat, she was practically vibrating, her eyes sparkling and her mouth fixed into a huge smile.

Honestly, I can't lie, I'm also kind of excited... it's like everything's about to become real, after all! How could I not be excited? Grand speeches, strong people, honorable, valiant knights, scholars, the enormity of everything, how could I pretend to be calm?

Everything just seemed so grand, that I had almost forgotten to think, like even my thoughts stayed quiet so I could listen.

The seven teachers then stepped off the stage and each of them stood at the front. Four men, three women, four sirs, three dames. From the most severe and stern looking Dame to a relaxed, happy-go-lucky looking sir... I can't wait to learn which one of them is going to be taking me under their wing.

"I hope we're all in the same class," Coria said, sounding giddy. "It'd be great, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah I guess," Ellen seemed less convinced. "It's unlikely but, if I had to choose, I would rather be with people I know."

Did that mean us, or someone else? As for me, well, I find these two rather agreeable and I basically don't know anybody else in person, I wasn't exactly popular as a Princess ought to be.

Facing the teachers, I tried to pretend I totally wasn't just as excited as everyone else and eagerly waiting to get chosen, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't pulling it off.