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Perhaps because it was the first day of the semester, the gate of Riod Imperial Academy was unusually crowded.
At the center of it all was a four-wheeled carriage that had stopped in the middle of the plaza.
The antique carriage, pulled by four horses, was engraved with the emblem of a red Dragon and two crossed swords.
It was the symbol of the Argenta Duke Noble house, which boasted the most powerful military force in the Empire.
And now, the Noble house's lost Heir was about to reveal himself.
As soon as the carriage door opened, a quiet excitement spread among the people.
Soon after, a boy stepped onto the footstool of the carriage and slowly revealed himself.
His smooth silver hair fluttered in the wind, brushing past his straight nose.
And the moment the light green eyes beneath it were revealed.
The people were instantly enveloped in silence.
"Could it be..."
The faces of those who recognized him turned pale.
The status of Duke Argenta and the honorable Kistar Knights who followed him.
The identity of the Heir who would inherit all of that was none other than Felix, whom they had once ridiculed and ignored so much.
Kadin's face, who had been at the forefront of bullying him more than anyone else, was twisted.
"Felix? Why is that guy getting out of that carriage?"
Rosia, who was standing nearby, quickly replied to his dissatisfied tone.
"Isn't it because he's Duke Argenta's disciple? I guess they came in the same carriage."
Unlike her hope that Felix could not be the Duke's son, no one else appeared even after time passed.
Soon, the knights escorting the carriage approached Felix with precise movements.
"Young master, were you uncomfortable on your way here?"
With that one word, the front gate of the Academy became noisy once again.
"Felix... was really Duke Argenta's son?"
"How on earth did this happen?"
Amidst the murmurs of the people, Rosia was shocked to the point of feeling dazed.
Until only recently, Felix had been nothing more than an insignificant commoner.
Yet, he had not only become Duke Argenta's disciple, but also the Duke's lost son?
Moreover, Felix was the person Ayla, whom she hated so much, was dating.
Her friend Freya was also frozen for a long time, seemingly shocked by the situation before her.
However, she soon seemed to come to her senses and opened her mouth calmly.
"...It's a good thing, rather. Now that he's become the Heir of the Duke Noble house, he'll know who he should associate with. Ayla will be abandoned soon."
However, as if denying her words, Felix was looking around the crowd, searching for someone.
Before long, his gaze was fixed on one place.
Ayla was standing at the end of it.
Soon, Felix began to push through the crowd towards her without hesitation.
As people's attention focused on her, a look of embarrassment crossed Ayla's face.
But that was only for a moment.
As Felix stopped in front of her with excited steps, the corners of her lips slowly began to rise, as if it was difficult to hide her joy.
As she greeted him and said something, Felix also gave a happy smile.
Soon after, Felix carefully raised her hand. And he kissed the back of her hand respectfully.
At that very moment, light gasps erupted from all over the plaza.
Soon, the female students began to chatter in excited voices.
"Wow, Ayla is so lucky. Did she know that Felix was Duke Argenta's son?"
"There's no way she would have known. It just happened to coincide. By the way, is it because he took off his glasses? He's surprisingly handsome."
"Doesn't he seem to have gained dignity since becoming the Heir of the Duke Noble house?"
"I know, right? I'm so jealous. I should have been nicer to him earlier. Besides, he doesn't seem to care at all that Ayla is a commoner."
"Honestly, the two of them look good together."
Watching the two of them, Rosia unknowingly gritted her teeth.
Compared to them, who were affectionately clinging to each other, the distance between Kadin and her was too far.
Moreover, Kadin's gaze was directed only at Ayla, not at Rosia, his fiancée.
It was the opposite of Felix, who couldn't take his eyes off his lover for a moment.
Eventually, the two of them linked arms affectionately and walked towards the Academy building.
Then, when their distance became fleetingly close, Ayla slowly turned to look at Rosia.
Soon, she opened her mouth quietly.
"-So. Are you satisfied with that position, Rosia?"
Ayla leisurely raised one corner of her lips.
"...!"
The moment she heard those words, Rosia's heart beat so fast that she couldn't control it.
She had to say something, but her throat was so tight that no words came out.
While Rosia remained rooted to the spot, Ayla began to move again.
But Rosia couldn't bring herself to grab her as she walked away.
Feeling the gazes of those around her glancing at her, Rosia bit her lip tightly.
An emotion that was impossible to know whether it was anger or helplessness swirled inside her.
To be in a position where she couldn't immediately answer yes to the question of whether she was satisfied.
It was strange. Even though she had gained the position of Princess Consort of the Blanche Noble house, which she had once admired so much, she was not happy at all.
Ayla, who was smiling brightly next to Felix, seemed to shine more than herself, who was pathetically buried in the crowd.
Soon, Rosia's clenched fist trembled.
"...Ayla."
However, the name she barely managed to utter was soon carried away by the wind and disappeared.
Ayla looked at the girl in front of the mirror and covered her head.
She saw beautiful pink hair and yellow eyes resembling daffodils.
She raised the corners of her lips and tried to smile.
Then, the girl in the mirror also gave an awkward smile.
'It's a face I've always seen, but...'
She was newly impressed.
'She's an amazing beauty. She's really pretty.'
But what good was it?
The owner of this body, Ayla Blanche, was the heroine of a regret novel.
Now, all she had to do with this beautiful face was to make a tearful face and shed tears.
'How on earth did this happen?'
Her mind was very confused, with the memories of living as Ayla and the memories of her previous life mixed together.
'I never thought I would become the protagonist in the novel I read in my previous life.'
And she was being swayed by the villain to a serious extent.
"What, I wouldn't be like this. The protagonist is really stupid."
"No, is this right? The truth has finally been revealed, but she's dying?"
She was only taken advantage of, and only when people realized all the truth and regretted it, her body became weak and she closed her eyes.
The memory of stomping her feet, calling it a frustrating novel, was still vivid.
'And yesterday, the villain really appeared.'
Ayla recalled the nightmare she didn't even want to remember.
A girl with bright pink hair that had a higher saturation than her own, Rosia.
She appeared before the people of the Duke Noble house with her uncle and made a bombshell statement.
"I am the only daughter of the Duke Blanche Noble house. When I was a child, a nanny who worked in the Duke Blanche Noble house switched her daughter with me."
At first, the Duke and Duchess did not believe it.
No one could believe that their daughter had suddenly been switched.
Ayla's brothers also became furious and drove Rosia away.
"If you tell a lie, we won't let you off."
"Can you handle those words?"
However, as soon as they performed a DNA test with Magical Tool, everyone's attitude changed.
It was revealed that Rosia was the real bloodline of the Duke Blanche Noble house, and Ayla was a complete stranger.
Soon after, the warm gazes of her family looking at Ayla became colder than the north wind.
"Ayla, how on earth did this happen?"
"Were you a fake?"
"That nanny did such a terrible thing!"
Soon after, the second Cedric and the Duke began to urge her with faces she had never seen before.
"Don't tell me you're still in contact with that woman?"
"If you knew you weren't of the Duke Blanche Noble house's bloodline and deceived us, we will never forgive you."
Rosia even stepped in to defend her, as she couldn't bear to watch.
"Everyone, don't do that to Ayla. It's all my fault."
Ayla, shocked by her family's sharp questioning, fainted.
'And all the memories came back.'
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