Chapter 107

Chapter 107

Jessica Otto, a princess truly raised in the lap of luxury—not biologically the emperor’s daughter, yet living even more happily than if she were.

Her father, a pure artist, was indifferent to political machinations. In his youth, he fell in love at first sight with a renowned actress of commoner origins and willingly renounced his inheritance to marry his beloved. As the product of this legendary romance that once shook the entire empire decades ago, Jessica was deeply cherished by her parents and held an exceptionally unique status within the royal family.

Though her two older brothers legally retained their rights to succession, they understood that this entitlement brought nothing more than a new title. Thus, the entire family took it in stride—after all, if they truly desired the throne, the previous generation would have already made their move; would they really need to push their kids into it?

Therefore, from a young age, the old prince told Jessica that as a princess, her duty was simply to eat, drink, and live a safe and happy life—aspiring to be emperor was an impractical notion not worth considering. With her father and brothers leading by example, Jessica faithfully adhered to this principle.

She never hesitated to use all her resources to ensure her own comfort. Jessica had a slight competitive streak—or perhaps it wasn’t exactly that, but as a top-tier born privileged daughter, she simply disliked the feeling of being overshadowed. She enjoyed being number one, but what came after achieving it? Jessica didn’t know.

Jessica didn’t need to understand many reasons; she only needed to choose a lifestyle that made her happy.

Just as the crown prince informed her that this year’s Mecha Department had no standout figures, assuring her she could walk right in as Department Chief, Jessica signed up for the Mecha Department without a second thought.

And just as, after enrolling, she discovered that the legendary "Eve of the Medici family" was also in the Mecha Department. Uncertain of her own feelings, by the time she realized it, she had already urgently swapped dormitories with some underling whose name she barely remembered and forcefully moved in next to Eve.

While she was authoritatively directing the decoration team, the neighbor she had deliberately sought to approach happened to step out. With just one glance, Jessica was momentarily stunned.

Eve Medici’s actual appearance differed from both the rumors and her own imagination. Setting aside all previously known information, anyone meeting Eve for the first time would never associate her with those fierce and formidable types.

The dark-haired girl had fine, handsome features, perfectly inheriting the Medici family’s signature elegant, striking beauty. The moment she looked up, her aqua-blue eyes seemed to hold the glow of an entire galaxy’s worth of stars. Tilting her head, she squinted slightly as if deeply puzzled.

"......"

In an instant, only one thought remained in Jessica’s mind: Truly worthy of the Medicis, who rose through marital alliances. Before the other had even made a move, her own fiercely confident aura had already been half extinguished.

Fortunately, the daze lasted only a few seconds. Jessica quickly shook it off, merely casually adding the option of becoming her sidekick to the original challenge.

She hadn’t heard much about Eve’s exploits before... maybe she’s more of a brains-over-brawn type... How good could she possibly be at piloting mechas? Better to join her side early—then she could even appoint her as deputy Department Chief! If she performed well... she could even recommend Eve to the crown prince for a position. What future was there in following that illegitimate son destined to die on the battlefield sooner or later...

Jessica’s plans were falling perfectly into place until she heard Eve’s remark about recommending an acquaintance from the Oliver Family. It took her a moment to realize the other was implying she was sick, and her expression instantly darkened. Furious, she snapped, "You commoner, how dare you!"

By the time she reacted, Eve had already made a run for it, taunted her and vanished in a flash. From afar, the infuriated shouts of Her Highness could still be heard: "—Eve Medici, you just wait!"

...Still using the full name.

A bead of nonexistent sweat formed on Eve’s forehead as she made an exasperated face and ran even faster.

"You said earlier you’d introduce her to an acquaintance from the Oliver Family," Lorca remarked leisurely, his voice calm as the sound of footsteps from the terminal gradually slowed. "Who were you planning to recommend?"

He hadn’t hung up earlier? Eve gave her terminal a strange look. "I was just saying that offhandedly. You actually believed me?"

"I believe everything you say. Anyway, let’s not dwell on that. Did you receive the class schedule the school sent out?"

Among the string of files downloaded earlier, there did seem to be one named something like that.

Eve replied, "Yes, I got it."

Lorca continued, "The First Empire’s school opening allows two days for new student registration and returning students. Your twenty-day military training will likely start on the third day. During training, there will be Department Chief elections—I heard you’re planning to run for chief in two departments?"

His tone held a hint of teasing, but it was understandable. Lu Qing’s identity was facilitated by the Oliver Family, and if Qin Mengde wanted to use that identity to enroll, it would have to be processed through the Olivers.

After that sprint, Eve had no idea where she’d ended up. Coming to her senses, she found herself standing on a gravel-lined path with few people around, a gentle breeze lifting her bangs.

Pressing a hand to her hair, she said exasperatedly, "Alright, enough teasing. I know I have it rough."

A burst of laughter immediately came from the other end.

When Eve called, Lorca was handling matters in the student office of the Investigation Department. The position of Department Chief was special, with authority far beyond that of ordinary student cadres. Just like now, Lorca sat before the computer terminal, alone in the office. The soft blue glow of the screen illuminated his face, making him appear even more inscrutable.

"Don’t blame them. Actually, having two Department Chief roles would only bring you more benefits than drawbacks," he comforted the girl on the other end of the terminal in a gentle voice. Unsurprisingly, he heard Eve’s complaining tone the next second.

"......Why didn’t you mention how tiring it is for me to handle two departments at once?"

Lorca paused briefly before continuing, "Department Chiefs also have the privilege of skipping classes. Don’t worry too much—we won’t assign you problems you can’t handle. The Princess won’t deliberately make things difficult for you."

"Hasn’t she made things difficult for me enough already?" the girl grumbled, then asked, "What are you doing right now?"

"Handling some work, but it’s nothing urgent. I can chat with you for a while."

"Oh, I almost forgot you’re a Department Chief too. Never mind, go back to your work," Eve said lightly. Though she had rambled on with many complaints, it was clear she wasn’t resistant to studying at the First Empire. "Grace and Dick asked me to go out. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now."

"Mm, there wasn’t anything important anyway. I just wanted to hear your voice."

A sharp gasp came through immediately. Lorca could almost picture Eve’s weird look. Sure enough, the next second, the girl said bluntly, "Goodbye."

The busy signal instantly filled the quiet space.

Lorca sighed silently, set down the terminal, and redirected his attention to the proposal on the screen.

The start of the academic year was always the liveliest time at the school. The First Empire Academy emphasized providing students with the most unique and profound school memories, so each year, specific adjustments were made for the military training season.

This year, perhaps due to certain restlessness and unruly behavior among the new students, the student office’s proposal was particularly bold and novel. By convention, such proposals required approval from at least four Department Chiefs and the Academy Chief.

As Lorca looked at the document on the screen, a faint smile gradually appeared at the corners of his eyes, with a hint of mischief.

His fingers moved slightly as he signed his name in the "Approved" column.

The Investigation Department Chief, usually the most meticulous and thoughtful, was actually the first to approve such an unconventional, almost outrageous proposal.

-

Perhaps because they were usually kept on a tight leash in their families, Grace and Dick seemed exceptionally excited on their first day of school. After testing the campus map by walking around, they still weren’t satisfied. Even late at night, the two suggested going to "find something fun to do."

As a result, Eve had to grab both by their collars, holding them back like two restless young horses: "Stop, stop, stop. Have you two forgotten you’re still students? What kind of fun are you trying to find?"

"I want to go shopping!" Grace turned around, her eyes shining brightly.

Dick nodded along with her, "I want to go shopping too!"

"What shopping? Is there anything you can’t buy online?" Their innocent act might fool others, but it was clearly insufficient to deceive Eve, who knew them inside out.

Eve mercilessly dragged them back toward the dormitory area, saying dryly, "Should I remind you two what happened last time you went out under the pretext of shopping and ended up causing trouble?"

She first patted Grace on the back and said calmly, "Prohibited weapons—no clue how you got them. It’s a miracle. Second Steward still hasn’t figured it out. It’s practically one of the Medici’s biggest unsolved mysteries."

Then she patted Dick on the back, her tone growing even more exasperated: "A so-called fortune-telling Alchemical Tool—is that something you can just buy off the street? You bought it anyway and brought it back, claiming you’d tell fortunes. Then Cecil happened to pass by, played with it, got some nonsense result, and almost got himself beaten up. And now you’ve forgotten the pain once the wound healed."

"......"

Grace insisted, "I told you I assembled it myself, but none of you believed me."

Dick argued, "If you believe, it exists; if you don’t, it doesn’t. Cecil never believed in the first place—he was just looking for an excuse to pick a fight."

"Knock it off," Eve snapped, smacking both of them on the back. "Before school started, Second Steward specifically told me about your past antics and made me keep an eye on you two. Don’t even think about fooling me. Look how late it is already? Get back to your dorm now."

Seeing that even Second Steward had been brought into this, the two reluctantly headed back.

By the time they returned to the dorm, it was already pitch black outside. Eve didn’t bother turning on the lights and drifted like a specter through the courtyard, heading straight into the dorm.

Six sets of camouflage uniforms were neatly arranged on the table. The little robot butler introduced them matter-of-factly: "These are military training uniforms. You will officially begin military training the day after tomorrow."

Eve nodded, taking off her coat as she casually asked, "Why so many sets? The school is being surprisingly generous."

"Three sets per person. Three are for Lady Eve, and three are for Lady Lu Qing." The little robot hesitated at this point—its intelligence struggled with such complex situations involving one person with two identities, so it could only refer to them by their respective names. "The specific military training arrangements for both ladies have also been delivered. Would you like me to show them to you?"

"No need, I’ll look at them myself."

Eve declined the robot’s assistance. She changed into her slippers, took a few steps, and suddenly realized something was wrong.

What did it mean by "both ladies," she wondered...? Surely the military training arrangements weren’t separated for "two people"?

A bad feeling came over her.

She was only one person—how could she attend two separate military training sessions?