"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kayana Estella San Fulgen, Queen of this kingdom," the woman said.

  "Your Majesty the Queen?!?!," I said, surprised.

  "Yes," said Queen Kayana.

  Hearing that, I immediately knelt in obeisance.

  "Wait, what are you doing?" asked Queen Kayana.

  "Of course I want to pay my respects," I said.

  "There's no need to be so stiff. This isn't an official occasion, and there's no one else around. Please rise," said Queen Kayana.

  "Okay, Her Majesty," I said.

  I released my kneeling position and stood back up.

  "Sit in the chair in front of you," said Queen Kayana.

  "No, I..." I said.

  "Okay, just sit," said Queen Kayana.

  Then I followed the Queen's instructions and sat in the chair in front of her.

  "Now, let's chat. First, is there anything you'd like to ask?" asked Queen Kayana.

  "Excuse me for asking such a question," I said.

  But Queen Kayana cut me off.

  "Stop speaking so formally. This is just a casual conversation, so there's no need for it," Queen Kayana said.

  "Okay. Then I would like to ask, why is Her Majesty the Queen here at this academy and why did Her Majesty summon me for a private chat?" I asked.

  "Why am I here at this academy? Because I have something to discuss with Karina, the principal. And the reason I called you here is because... hmm, just think of it as a joke. Actually, I didn't come here with the intention of meeting you in the first place. It just so happened that Karina wasn't here either, and I was bored," Queen Kayana said.

  "Where did Miss Karina go?" I asked.

  "She's out on business, but she'll be back soon. Hearing you call her 'Miss Karina,' it seems like you're close to her," Queen Kayana said.

  "Yes, that's how it is. But I didn't expect to meet Her Majesty the Queen in person here. At first, I didn't believe it because Her Majesty the Queen was only wearing casual clothes, but after seeing your face, which resembles Chloe's, and your hair, which is the same color, I believe you are Her Majesty the Queen," I said.

  "Since my visit here isn't a formal one, I don't need to wear my royal attire. Casual attire is better anyway," said Queen Kayana.

  "I see. Her Majesty the Queen and Lady Karina also seem very close," I said.

  "Of course, she's my sister after all," said Queen Kayana.

  I was a little surprised to hear that.

  "Even though your hair colors are different?," I said.

  "That's because Karina dyed her hair black. Karina's hair used to be golden blonde like mine. But after she decided to leave our family, she changed her hair color. Just imagine the Karina you have in mind with blonde hair like mine, she would definitely look like me," said Queen Kayana.

  I tried to imagine what Her Majesty had said, and it turned out to be true. Lady Karina's face resembles Her Majesty the Queen if she had blonde hair.

  "The name Stella after Karina comes from her former name, Estella. It sounds simple, because she simply removed the "E" from Estella and became Stella. But people wouldn't know she was a former member of the Estella family, as many people also use the name Stella after theirs," said Queen Kayana.

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  "Why did Lady Karina leave the Estella family?" I asked.

  "Because she didn't want to submit to family rules and she found being a noble troublesome. That's why she decided to leave the nobility," said Queen Kayana.

  "I see. Do Charles and Chloe know that Lady Karina is their aunt?" I asked.

  "No, they don't. Besides, Karina, who was from the Estella family, was already rumored to be dead. This was to cover up Karina's departure from the Estella family and to keep her from being connected to the nobles. So Charles and Chloe also assumed their aunt was dead. Have you ever seen or heard of Karina summoning Charles and Chloe for a talk?" asked Queen Kayana.

  "No, I've never seen or heard of her," I said.

  "I see. I told her to look after Charles and Chloe while they were at the academy and to chat with them occasionally, but it seems she didn't," Queen Kayana said.

  The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

  "Well, enough about Karina. I'm more interested in talking about you, because Karina said you were an interesting student," Queen Kayana continued.

  "I once heard that I was suspected as a 'subject' by Lady Karina, and that Lady Karina eventually withdrew her suspicions and reported it to you. So that's how you became interested in me?" I asked.

  "Ah, the 'subject' thing. It seems Karina has told you a lot about it. But when I talked to Karina about you, we didn't just discuss the 'subject'. And again, excuse me for being rude, but I'm actually interested in you because I saw the matches you played in the recordings Karina sent me. Like when you played against Javier in the third exam and when you played against Charles and Amelia in the daily matches as well. I watched your matches on the recordings. You put on an amazing performance for a first-year student. That's what attracted me to you," Queen Kayana said.

  "I didn't know that every time I played a match, Lady Karina would record me," I said.

  "Well, not all of your matches are recorded, just the important ones. I don't think Karina ever told you, so I want to apologize on behalf of Karina and me for secretly recording your matches," Queen Kayana said.

  "Ah, it's okay, Her ?Majesty. I didn't think much of it anyway," I said.

  "You really are a good boy. Thank you also for being friends with Charles and Chloe," Queen Kayana said.

  "There's no need to worry about that, Her Majesty. In fact, sometimes I feel unworthy to be friends with them because I'm just a commoner," I said.

  "I never taught them to discriminate against others' social status. I taught them to befriend good people regardless of their status. Whether they're nobles or commoners," said Queen Kayana.

  "You're a good mother and leader, Her Majesty. If only all nobles thought the same way as you," I said.

  "I'm not the good leader you think. If I were, I could certainly change the mindset of all nobles to be like me," said Queen Kayana.

  "However, with you as a leader who thinks like that, perhaps some other nobles will follow your lead," I said.

  "Yes, perhaps. Let's change the subject. I want to talk to you about 'subjects'. Of course, Karina has already explained this to you, because you defeated Javier, the 'subject' and prevented him from entering this academy. But I suspect there are other 'subjects' besides Javier who entered this first year, or perhaps there were other 'subjects' in previous years."

  "Do you think you've encountered any other 'subjects' so far?" Queen Kayana asked.

  I paused and thought for a moment, then began to speak.

  "When I fought Princess Amelia, midway through the match, I felt her aura change, and it was the same aura I felt when I fought Javier in the entrance exam. But I'm not sure if she's a 'subject' too," I said.

  "Amelia, huh. Hmm, well, no problem. Thank you for sharing this information," Queen Kayana said.

  "You're welcome, Your Majesty," I said.

  "But you can see auras too, huh? Well, this explains why you were able to uncover my disguise. But I'm pretty sure my disguise can't be uncovered that easily by someone who can see auras. It seems your aura vision is at the highest level, huh?" Queen Kayana said.

  "I don't know. I've had these visions since I was little. You could say they might have been inherited from my parents. But, earlier, Her Majesty the Queen said 'you can see auras too'. ,does that mean Her Majesty can also see auras?" I asked.

  "Yes, that's true, although it doesn't seem as advanced as your aura vision. If it's inherited from your parents, it seems like they were great people," said Queen Kayana.

  "I don't know, I've never met them since I was little," I said.

  "I see, then let's change the subject. I heard you're dating Irene, the daughter of Duke San Lucia?" asked Queen Kayana.

  "Yes, I didn't expect Her Majesty the Queen to know about that," I said.

  "Well, that's because Karina told me. Anyway, anything interesting at the academy is definitely Karina's story. But it seems this information has also spread outside the academy and has reached the Dukes. It looks like this situation will be very serious going forward," said Queen Kayana.

  "What's so serious, Her Majesty?" I asked.

  But instead of answering my question, Her Majesty the Queen asked me something.

  "By the way, Rid Archie. If I give you an order, will you obey it?" asked Queen Kayana.

  "What order is that, Her Majesty?" I asked.

  Suddenly, Her Majesty's aura grew stronger. The atmosphere in the room felt tense, and the air felt suffocating. This was because Her Majesty's Mana was overflowing, filling the room. It seemed as if Her Majesty was intentionally intimidating me with her abundant Mana. The overflowing Mana felt like it was pressing down on me from all directions.

  "If I told you to break up with Irene, would you obey?" asked Queen Kayana.

  -To be continued