Morning songbirds filled the air as I looked up at the clear blue skies with a few white puffy clouds overhead. I was getting stared at left and right, but that is to be expected with the six knights standing behind me and the metal shackles on my wrist. Not to mention I was surrounded by a large group of students as well.

I could hear the murmurs of those we passed, trying to figure out who I was. I could only shed a silent tear since my school life now seemed to be over. But this was all for the greater good, and I already had a large group of friends. More than I could ever ask for. Luckily David stationed himself outside the academy gates with no intention of entering the grounds. He took my cuffs off, allowing me to walk unimpeded into the academy as a free girl.

“Boss, was all this fanfare really necessary?” Hailey asked. She did not seem to understand why I was inflicting this self punishment on myself. But it was all necessary to show that I was truly under house arrest, with going to the academy as the only exception..“Yes, it is. If I wish to keep those nobles at bay, they will need to believe that I am under house arrest. This should also give me some peace during this time. So I plan to make the best of the situation. After my classes, I will head straight to the library!” The time had finally come to get back to my roots and lose myself in the wonderful world of books. I have been waiting for this day for a long time now.

“Well, if you say so. But I am surprised that they held off on the opening ceremony until now.” Hailey was right, they did hold off on it, but that was only because of the incident in the dungeon. Otherwise, it would have been a few days ago.

“Ummm!” A nervous cry came out from the side, causing me to turn to see a young man with blushing cheeks standing there.

“Yes?” I have no idea why he was so nervous. It’s not like I did anything to him.

But to my surprise, he suddenly bowed his head to me deeply as he yelled out: “Thank you for saving my baby sister!”

“Umm, your welcome?” I was unsure of how to answer, so I answered in more of a question than anything. I can only guess that his sister was amongst the girls who had suffered greatly in the dungeon. Luckily they will never know the truth as they have had those memories washed away and their bodies returned to new. They only know that they barely escaped death.

“You may not think much of it, and I respect you for this but truly thank you.” The young man bowed once more before turning around and leaving. I guess I am not seen as bad as I thought I would be. Although I could still feel a few hostile gazes on me, but I do not care. They were probably all the Prime Minister’s people.

We all gathered in an auditorium, where we sat and waited for the Dean to finish his long boring speech. Something about making sure we take our time here seriously and make sure we do everything we can for the kingdom. In other words, pure brainwashing. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was not for the fact that it had been going on and on for twenty minutes now, and my eyelids were starting to go heavy.

“I will now call our entrance exam’s top student up here to say a few words. Faith Cyrilia, please come up!” I could have sworn I heard my name called as I slowly opened my eyes and yawned. I looked around to see many eyes on me. “Hmm?”

“Faith, you are being called up,” Adel said while nudging me from the side.

“Oh?” I stood up and stretched lazily as I made my way to the stage. I had no idea why I was being called up, so when I got up on stage, I stood there staring at the Dean to tell me what was going on. But a few seconds passed, and the Dean had not said anything. “Ummm…. You called me up here?”

I could hear some chuckling from down below. I didn’t even need to turn to see who it was. It was definitely Steven. The Dean suddenly let out a drawn out sigh as he said: “Say a few words. You are the top student in this year’s entrance exam.”

“Oh!” I suddenly realized what was going on. I wondered why he stepped aside. I guess falling asleep during someone’s boring speech is not always the best of ideas. I could feel my cheeks heat up as I turned and looked out at the students down below. “Well… I had no idea I was supposed to give some sort of speech, so I will just say this. Life is hard. No matter what your birth is or your status, life will always be hard but remember this, it is precious, and this is why you should make good use of your time and better yourselves. Dealing with things that do not allow you to reach the goals you set for yourself are just useless distractions that might stop you on your path. So before you act and do something that might ruin your future, always make sure you ask yourself. Is this the right course of action to reach my goals? Where do I see myself in the near future if I do this or that? Never give up on the dreams you have had since you were young. Work hard and make use of this time to reach those goals. Besides that, never forget those who helped you achieve those goals.”

With my small speech over, I turned and bowed to the Dean before leaving the stage. I once more stretched. I had no idea what I just spat out, but it sounded good. Maybe it will make those who the prime minister is using as a puppet think twice before acting out of line. But all in all, life truly was precious. I knew that more than anyone. Yet I still keep throwing myself into dangerous situations. Me, someone who used to be nothing more than a simple high school student, has turned into a strange being that was nowhere near her old self. Well, in some aspects. But for the first time in my two lives, I will finish my schooling and make something of myself and meet the goals I have set since young.