Hildebrand could feel the stares. It had taken her days to notice, but once she did, she couldn’t stop noticing. They came from all directions. In her past life, all eyes were on her, but they were reverent gazes, as if looking upon a goddess. The stares she felt now were dirty looks and glares, filled with animosity. Once, the world revolved around her, now it had turned against her.

Hildebrand looked to her right. There was Erika, oblivious to the fact she was receiving hate for sitting beside Hildebrand. Hildebrand leaned forward, looking a little further to the right, past Erika. Edith glared back, and so did her circle of friends. Edith and her friends belonged to the Prince faction, a group of mostly female students who let themselves be carried by the wave. They followed around Prince Enane, the second prince of Ailltena, a coastal kingdom far away from the danger of the World’s End.

The boy was a little quiet and dull, despite his good looks. And even his looks were arguably overshadowed by Kian, his right-hand man, whose dark hair and quiet, dark mood had girls swooning for him. The duo hadn’t been troublemakers in Hildebrand’s past life, and they weren’t in her current one, but they did little to reign in their self-proclaimed followers. Especially Edith and her friends, who called themselves the Prince’s Guard. They were little more than bullies, and Hildebrand had stirred their ire for running afoul of their “youngest,” Edith.

Having enough hateful looks, Hildebrand turned to her left and was met with Priscilla’s unearthly blue eyes burning holes through her. Her followers declared her the Saintess, and they swore she must be the Saintess-to-be. That would remain to be seen. If Priscilla was somehow the Saintess, and the Saintess was simply randomly picked on the gods’ whims, she lacked the divine charisma Hildebrand had, evidenced by the fact Priscilla couldn’t control the whole class. Hildebrand smirked at the so-called Saintess’s ineptitude, which invoked silent yelling from Priscilla.

“You back there,” Professor Mayer called. The portly old priest pointed his chalk at Priscilla. “Settle down.”

Hildebrand covered her snickering with a hand.

Having most of the class turn against her was a problem, but there were more pressing matters. Even more pressing than the problem of Montisal, or rather, Roy Garland, as he called himself in this life.

There were a series of dangerous incidents at the academy that Hugo had resolved in the past life. That responsibility now fell on Hildebrand. I won’t let Hugo endanger himself, she promised herself. She wouldn’t let him even catch wind of the incidents.

Naturally, that meant keeping Greg in the dark as well. The two were practically attached at the hip. When Hugo received an on-site suspension, having to sit in an empty classroom along with D, Greg volunteered to join him. Priscilla attempted the same thing, only to throw a tantrum when Roy Garland, denied her like he did Greg. Hildebrand, however, had the good sense to not ask after learning that Montisal, or rather Roy Garland, would be supervising most of the time.

The problem, then, was the fact that even Hugo struggled to resolve the incidents, despite having Greg and Anya by his side.

Hildebrand grumbled quietly. Maybe having the class turned against her was a problem after all. She would need help from the students. The faculty, for all their strength, were utterly useless when Hugo faced the incidents. It was like they allowed the incidents to occur…

Hildebrand looked at Erika, who scratched her head, struggling to understand the basic math Professor Mayer explained.

Well, Hildebrand told herself, at least Erika’s strong. But being a little strong wasn’t good enough. As much as Hildebrand hated to admit it, even though she would admit it freely if she could get away with it, Erika wasn’t very bright. And she had no talent for magic, either.

Professor Mayer tapped his chalk on the board, drawing attention to a newly written problem. “Now, can anyone solve this?” he asked.

Probably not, Hildebrand thought. He was only showing it to impress, perhaps intimidate, the class. In theory, it was simple algebra—simply find the cube root of divided decimals—but Mayer had hardly taught anything yet. He didn’t expect a serious answer, and the students knew it. No one raised a hand, not even Anya. Naturally, Hildebrand didn’t either. She could barely remember a thing about math, and was pleased with herself just for remembering how to add and multiply.

But then one hand went up.

“Please come up,” Professor Mayer said, gesturing for the student to come up.

There were murmurs when Dolph walked up, with his beady blue eyes resting lazily on the problem. In a fell swoop, he picked up a piece of chalk and scribbled an answer in messy, hasty writing.

"Did I get it right?" Dolph asked.

"I-it's correct," Professor Mayer said. The priest was a lifelong scholar and a tough teacher, as Hildebrand remembered from her past life. He taught rigorously, more than she had expected from an academy for aristocrat rejects. Even a perfect score on exams wasn’t impressive, simply expected. Hildebrand had never once seen him impressed. "Quite impressive, Adolph."

Hildebrand realized she hated the old priest very suddenly. He was as fat as a pig, and as stubborn as a mule. And he had never once praised her for all her efforts and perfect scores.

“Please call me Dolph, professor,” Dolph said.

Damn you, Adolph, Hildebrand cursed in her mind. She even felt a tinge of anger at Dolph for daring to impress the old man. For being unnaturally gifted. And for threatening her academic ranking. Even if she had to give up everything: her Saintess powers, her dreams of the perfect world, her life, very literally, and even her precious copper coin that she’d had all her life! She wouldn’t give up her number one spot, the spot at the top of the publicly shared chart of student rankings.

She pouted unknowingly. Just that, she thought, please, just leave me that! Maybe returning to the past was a cruel joke, after all, a punishment for all her sins. She had come back just so she could lose the one last thing she still held onto to some insignificant miscreant who just so happened to be a savant.

The stout professor brushed his mustache between his fingers. “But,” he said. “Could you show your work?”

“Huh?” Dolph muttered.

“You have to show your work to get credit in my class, young man,” Professor Mayer said.

“I do?” Dolph asked.

“Yes,” Professor Mayer said, chortling. “Of course!”

Dolph grunted. “But I can do it all in my head,” he said.

Hildebrand cursed him again for being a savant. That’s not human! she thought. It was little wonder he was so strange. He was quiet and eccentric. He hardly paid attention to the open contempt he received, even the small physical confrontations. He lived life with a perpetual scowl on his face, but nothing ever seemed to trouble him. Dolph was simply different, he was an unfair existence.

“Still,” Professor Mayer said, “you must understand each step you took to solve the problem, correct?”

Dolph grunted again, more openly expressing his discomfort. “Can I solve another problem?”

“Of course!” Professor Mayer said, smiling. “But be sure to show your work.”

This time Dolph struggled a little, which once again garnered some hushed whispering, which Professor Mayer shushed.

After a long ten minutes, Dolph set the chalk down and scratched his head, spreading the white dust to his hair. “That’s the answer,” he said with shaky confidence. “I think…”

“Very good,” Professor Mayer said. “That’s correct!”

Hildebrand and Dolph both sighed with relief. He seemed more normal than he did minutes ago, a little more human, maybe. He didn’t seem so brilliant anymore. Hildebrand felt she could speak with him.

“But next time,” Professor Mayer said, with full sincerity, “please show all of your work.”

Dolph grimaced. And Hildebrand smirked.

He seemed like he would be a good 3rd place. Even if it was on a technicality, she would claim victory over him. He might even make a good minion. Hildebrand figured, I could put a brain like that to good use! There was even a good chance that his abilities could be applied to magic.

***

When the bell rang, announcing the end of the class and arrival of lunch, Hildebrand bolted from her seat. As she raced between bodies, slipping between shoulders and bags, Hildebrand bumped shoulders with Priscilla. The so-called Saintess returned Hildebrand’s gaze with a sneer.

“And where are you going?” Hildebrand asked. After a brief pause, she added, “Little Miss Saintess,” with oozing condescension. It was how she imagined Roy saying it in her head.

“Ohoho, none of your business…” Priscilla said. After some thought, she added, “Wish girl.”

“What?” Hildebrand asked.

“Because you—”

Hildebrand shook her head, in part to dismiss the ridiculous conversation brewing, and in part because of her disappointment at the so-called Saintess. “Surely you’re not trying to talk to Dolph,” Hildebrand said. “Do I need to remind you what he said to you?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Forgiven,” Priscilla said. “He did apologize.”

Hildebrand scoffed. “You forgive him?” she asked.

Priscilla smiled. “Yes, aren’t I wonderful and magnani-magnanimoose?”

“Magnanimous,” Hildebrand corrected. It took her a while to get that word right, too.

“Why yes,” Priscilla said, putting on her disgustingly perfect smile, “I am!”

“Then forgive me too,” Hildebrand said.

“Huh?”

“For what I’m about to do,” Hildebrand said. She stuck her foot between Priscilla’s legs, sending the Saintess sprawling towards the ground. Priscilla hung onto the person in front of her, saving herself from a nasty fall.

Hildebrand didn’t look back as she slipped her way through and out of the crowd crammed in the narrow doorway. She only glanced back after she escaped the classroom, confirming Priscilla wasn’t hot on her heels.

She spotted Dolph leaning against the railing by the stairs. His beady eyes were busy tracing the diamond patterns on the floor tiles. But when Hildebrand took a loud step towards him, his eyes shot up. It seemed even unsettlingly mechanical, in a way.

It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him do it. She had observed him from afar for a couple days, and that was only one of his strange habits.

“H-hey,” Hildebrand said. He didn’t say anything. It was understandable. Their eyes had met more than a few times over the past few days, but it was the first time their eyes had met and either of them addressed each other. Hildebrand pointed at him. “Hay’s for horses, right?” she said.

The edges of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly. “Hey,” he said. “I wanted to speak—”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Hildebrand said.

He wasn’t a very friendly person from what Hildebrand had seen over the past few days. He hardly even glanced in anyone’s direction, but now he was staring intently at her with a smile on his face, or at least a smile by his standards. For someone who wore a permanent scowl, even a flat expression could be considered a happy one.

“You wanted to speak with me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Hildebrand answered.

“Oh,” Dolph said. “Well, ok. What is it?”

She couldn’t find the words easily. Be my minion! Would that work? Hildebrand thought. She furrowed her brows in deep thought. She was more eloquent when she was Saintess Hildebrand, even though she didn’t even need to be. People fell to their knees at the sight of her. Now, however, even the beady-eyed delinquent standing before her was starting to look annoyed.

No wait, she told herself, that’s how he normally looks… But his discreet smile did fade.

“Uhh,” Hildebrand murmured, still searching for the words. “I…” She saw Priscilla approaching quickly out of the corner of her eye, and Hildebrand pointed at Dolph, almost touching his chest. Let’s be friends? she considered. No, that was an odd thing to say out of the blue, but Priscilla was closing in fast. “I need you!” Hildebrand blurted.

There was a gasp.

“What!” Priscilla said, running up, slapping Hildebrand’s hand away from Dolph. “You two-timing harlot! You already have that ape!”

“Ape?” Hildebrand asked. She bared her teeth in anger. “Hugo? He’s not an ape!” She poked Priscilla’s chest with a pointed finger. “Your pet is the ape!”

“No! He’s not!” Priscilla grumbled, pressing a finger back at Hildebrand. “D is a gentleman!”

“Well,” Hildebrand said, rolling her eyes. “He looks exactly like Hugo, so… You’re the one calling him an ape.”

“You called him an ape too! And they look nothing alike! D has dark hair, and… Hmm. And—”

“Ahem, why don’t you two calm down,” Dolph said, interrupting. But he only caught Priscilla’s ire. She poked his chest.

“What’s so good about this dopey looking delinquent, anyway?” she asked.

Dolph grunted, and his forehead wrinkled with frustration. But he closed his eyes and crossed his arms like he was going to accept the verbal lashing. Other than the verbal assault he had unleashed on Priscilla on the very first day, Dolph seemed the stoic type. Perhaps he was the penitent type. She knew the type.

“He’s quiet and creepy,” Priscilla continued. It was true. “And he has dead fish eyes!” That was true too. “And—”

Priscilla’s gang of followers had encircled the trio like an angry mob, their suspicion-filled stares turning onto Dolph.

There were angry murmurs and questions like, “Is this thug harassing you, Saintess?” and “Should we take care of him?”

“No,” Priscilla said, raising the hand that settled the crowd. “I have some business with him. Everyone, please go ahead to the dining hall.”

The crowd hesitantly dispersed, but a few people lingered. Anya was among them, but there were two others. One was a boy with a soldierly look, with a square jaw, short hair, and a grim stare. The other was a beautiful boy, presumably, who had jet black hair and ruby red eyes, who reminded Hildebrand all too much of Prince Ryu, although imperfectly. Had Hildebrand not met Ryu, she might have figured the ruby-eyed boy for a girl.

“Ryu?” Hildebrand asked. It was a wild guess. She only really knew two eastern names by heart after all, and only one of the two was masculine.

The boy flinched, his piercing bloody eyes jumping, as if he had been caught. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t have the chance.

“I’d like to speak with them privately,” Priscilla said, nodding to her inner circle.

They walked away without a further word, although the ruby-eyed boy glanced back at Hildebrand from the stairs.

Priscilla smiled her perfect smile at Dolph. “I apologize for my outburst. This girl makes me so heated,” she said, trying to shove Hildebrand aside. “I actually wanted to speak with you.”

“About?” Dolph asked, opening his eyes.

“I’d like to invite you to my social circle,” Priscilla said. “I’m sure you’re aware of how important knowing the right people is at this academy.” She fished through her bag and pulled out a pristine card. It appeared handwritten. “It’ll be dangerous to be alone, given your reputation.”

“Why?”

“Hmm?” Priscilla muttered.

“Why invite me?” Dolph asked.

“Well, you seem very capable,” she answered. “Maybe even brilliant.”

“So, you’re willing to overlook my reputation?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “I’m farsighted.”

Dolph rested his eyes, like his eyelids had been a burden all this time. He seemed pleased with the answer. And yet…

“Sorry.”

“Is that a no?” Priscilla asked.

“I’m not as capable as you think I am. I’ll only disappoint you,” he said, his usual scowl returning to his face.

“I have a good eye for people,” Priscilla said, thrusting the card forward.

But Dolph rejected it, pushing it away with his palm. He glanced over at Priscilla's inner circle, who were lingering by the top of the stairs.

“I can see that,” he said. “Your friends all seem like capable people. And you’re quite capable yourself.”

“I-I am,” Priscilla said. She seemed confused by Dolph’s earnest observation, but Hildebrand could see he wasn’t joking or lying or mocking. Whatever he saw in them, he seemed correct in his assessment. Begrudgingly, she had to admit maybe he was right about Priscilla too, but just a little.

“Your name is Priscilla Hildegard, right?” Dolph asked.

Priscilla tilted her head slightly. “Yes,” Priscilla said.

“I’m sorry, Priscilla Hildegard,” Dolph said. “Sorry for cursing you out the other day. And for insulting your forehead.”

Priscilla touched her golden bangs. She pulled her middle part closer together to cover more of her forehead.

“Your forehead is… lovely. It’s your charm point,” Dolph said. “I shouldn’t have insulted it.”

Priscilla covered her forehead, her cheeks turning a rosy red. The color stood out even more against her pale, glimmering skin that almost seemed a shade of blue. “Charm point?” she muttered.

“And I’m sorry, but I have to reject your offer,” Dolph said. “You don’t need me. I doubt much good will come of having me in your network.”

“Network?” Priscilla asked. Hildebrand wondered the same thing.

“Social circle,” he corrected. “Clique.”

“This is your only chance,” Priscilla warned, wagging her card at Dolph.

But he shook his head. “You shouldn’t be hanging around scum like me.”

“Fine!” Priscilla whined. “Don’t come crawling to me later!” She turned her nose up at Dolph with a “Hmph!” and hurried to join her friends, but glanced back once, then twice, like a sad puppy. Then she turned one last time to stick her tongue out at Hildebrand, a gesture Hildebrand returned. “How audacious!” Priscilla grumbled, covering her forehead again.

“What a brat!” Hildebrand said.

Dolph smiled and let out a few brief laughs. “She’s an interesting girl,” he said.

“I think you mean grating,” Hildebrand said.

“…I think she’s strong-willed,” he said.

Hildebrand scoffed at his attempts to defend her.

“Don’t be too hard on her,” he said. “She has it tough, being the Saintess and all.”

Hildebrand rolled her eyes. “She’s not the Saintess,” she said, “but think what you will.”

His eyes shifted over to Hildebrand, focusing on her intently. “I wanted to apologize,” he said.

“Again? I already forgave you,” Hildebrand said. “You can’t be sorry forever.” She mumbled, “grow a spine,” under her breath, certain he wouldn’t hear it.

“Not for hitting you. That was an accident, to be clear,” he said. “Do you remember what I wrote on that piece of paper?”

“The one that caused this big mess with Little Miss Saintess?” Hildebrand hissed.

Dolph nodded. “I told you those words were meant for you, but I was wrong. They were meant for Priscilla. It was a case of mistaken identity. In my defense, you two look like. Even your names are similar.”

“We don’t look alike,” Hildebrand grumbled. “And I thought you were defending her, why would you want to say all that to her? You didn’t even know her, right?” She smirked. “I guess you didn’t really know me either! But that didn’t really matter, did it?” Hildebrand said, prodding Dolph with a jab of her fingers. “You were still planning to say those mean things to me, right?”

“Yeah, it didn’t matter,” Dolph said. “I had a reason for doing it, but I guess it didn’t matter what I did.” His words were cryptic, and annoying. Dolph spoke like someone who held a deep, dark secret he couldn’t help but tease. He wanted to reveal something, unveil it. Hildebrand couldn’t tell if it was just because he had loose lips or because he wanted to unload a heavy burden.

“Mystery is overrated,” Hildebrand said. “What reason could you possibly have had to say those nasty things to her?” If he wanted to tease her with his secret, she would dig deeper and unveil it.

Dolph tilted his head. “It’s hard to explain,” he said, “but I thought there was a role I had to play, so she would meet the right people.”

“The right people?” Hildebrand repeated, staring off toward the stairs. Priscilla and her clique were long gone, but Hildebrand could guess the meaning of Dolph’s strange words. “You mean her friends just now?”

Dolph nodded. “Yeah. Although,” he said, “it would have been good if she could’ve been friends with your boyfriend’s pal, too.”

“Boyfriend?” Hildebrand asked. Hugo could certainly be considered a friend, and he was a boy. “You mean Greg?” she asked, tension building in her veins. She didn’t like where the conversation was going.

“Yeah,” Dolph said. “I know you’re not exactly on good terms with her, but could I ask you to introduce her to Greg? There’s a good reason—”

“Dolph,” Hildebrand interrupted. She stared intently at the strange beady-eyed miscreant, with both eyes, ghoulish and not. She stared with brows furrowed and nose wrinkled, and she took a step forward, cornering him against the railing of the stairs. “Who are you?” she asked.

He tilted his head to the other side, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “I’m Dolph,” he said.

The coincidences weren’t entirely lost on Hildebrand, although she tried to deny them. A nagging question deep in the back of her mind was crawling forward. Was someone trying to create a new Saintess? Someone who knew what her life was like, or would be like in the future?

“Are you—” Hildebrand choked on her words, uncertain if she should ask them. But she felt the need to ask, anyway. “Are you a Virtue?” Hildebrand asked, leaning in closer.

“A what?” Dolph said, pure confusion on his face.

She believed the look on his face. “Then,” Hildebrand continued, grasping the railing around Dolph. “Did you come back?”

“What?” Dolph asked. “Come back from where?”

“Dolph,” Hildebrand repeated, gripping his shirt collars. “Did you come back?”

“From where?” he asked excitedly, almost shouting, reeling dangerously back.

“Hilde,” Erika called.

“Dolph, did you come back from the future?”

“The future?” Dolph asked, teetering.

“Yes!” Hildebrand shouted.

“Hilde!” Erika called again. “That’s dangerous—"

Hildebrand turned back and growled at Erika, “Not now!” She turned back to Dolph, pressing him even more. “Yes! The future—ah!” She sent herself over the railing with Dolph. She closed her eyes and held her arms in front, bracing for impact, but she felt hands grasp her ankles.

“Hilde!” Erika shouted. “Are you crazy?” she shouted, pulling Hildebrand back up to safety.

“Dolph!” Hildebrand shouted at the beady-eyed boy who had landed on his feet like a cat. He stared up at her as Erika pulled her back, and Hildebrand stared back.