In My Previous Life I Was a Saint, but Now I Want to Cut Corners - Chapter 7

Anna knew that even if the task was deemed impossible, it was her job to try anyways. She could not afford to betray the expectations of the Marquise and Renaria. The Dormitory rooms that were dedicated to the higher-ups in the nobility were spacious and beautiful. They had a dedicated maid’s room and a guards room that protected the occupants’ main room.

Of course, Anna came along as the chosen maid to take care of Renaria’s needs during her time at school, while the chosen guard to protect her was a man named Klaus. He was Anna’s cousin who looked relatively plain but beauty didn’t matter as a knight. He was considered to be one of the most prominent knights employed by the Marquise. You could tell Anna was relieved that he was chosen since she could easily trust her own cousin with the protection of Renaria.

The room that they were using was under normal circumstances dedicated to members of the royal family. But since the second prince is currently the only royalty enrolled, they gave the room to the Sherdian family since they were in the top echelon of power in the nation.

As expected, the room was furnished with the most extravagant of furnishings and decorations. You could tell this room was built for royalty. There was a dresser with a mirror in the shape of a follower that was supported with two fairy figurines holding the glass in the room. I couldn’t help but giggle as the fairy looked like a way more feminine version of Aria.
//TLNote: Aerials and all Guardians are asexual Creatures. They don’t have male or female features. During the translation multiple times, the author has called Aria them, they, he, she, and all the above. I just wanted to clarify that and say that I stuck with ‘her’ as that was the most common pronoun used. Check the manga version for what an Aerial looks like. I did this so I wouldn’t be confused about who was talking, but yes, Aria has no gender. This doesn’t get confirmed for a long time in the later chapters, but I thought it best to explain it now.

Anna asked me why I was giggling to myself.

“I just thought that if Aria was more feminine, she would exactly look like that.”

“Oh yeah! I see what you mean. You’re amazing, you know that, Miss? No one else has been able to get an Aerial to show itself before. It’s normally considered an invisible spirit… It really shows how amazing my young miss really is.”

“Normally yeah… But I guess I have the power to bring her appearance out…”

“Miss… You know… You don’t have to do this to yourself, right? You should be dressed up and dolled up to show off your beauty.”

“I know… This is my choice Anna, I don’t want to marry into the royal family, that is why I have to hide myself.”

The queen who abandoned my mother is still alive, and the current dowager queen is still around. I know that if I were to get married to one of the princes, I would be ostracized till I could no longer take it. I had to explain this to Anna so she could understand why I’m going through such lengths.

It was perplexing if I’m honest, in front of me, in this extravagant mirror, in the room specifically designed by royalty, sat a refined version of myself. It felt unreal. I felt awkward… But I had to do this for my own good so I can choose my future by myself.

“Shall We go miss?”

The entrance ceremony was about to begin. I was extraordinarily nervous, but since Anna was by my side with Klaus’s watchful eye beside us who stood a bit off to the side, I felt some comfort. As I entered the auditorium, located in the center of the school, I saw this vivid painting on the front wall.

It was a painting of a goddess with the gentlest of smiles, holding a laurel ornament on the shoulder of a kneeling student that displayed all the Guardian spirits surrounding her. However, the Aerial spirit was missing for obvious reasons.

On each side stood a different stone statue, one holding a sword and the other holding a staff.

Velvet chairs were standing in the front that were made specifically assigned to the upper ranks of the nobility. As the chairs went further back, they became smaller and more ordinary chairs up until the halfway point. At this point, they became regular wood pews that sat the lower-ranked and commoner status students.

As is the tradition, the students with the lower rank went first, then came the next rank up the nobility ladder. Since I was considered the second-highest rank, I was seated second last as only the second prince held a higher status than me. Unfortunately, I had to be separated from Anna and Klaus, which sent a nervous shiver up my spine as I walked down the aisle.

The commoner students sat in the back, all with a nervous expression and forced perfect posture. While there weren’t many of them, you could feel their worries and nervousness.

I eventually came up to the lower-ranked nobility section of the seating arrangement. As I passed, they started to snicker and mock my appearance. While a little bit painful, I was glad the disguise was working.

“Fufu, When I heard the rosebud of Marquise De Sheridan was entering the school, I heard she was a beauty beyond our imaginations! Pfft! She looks so plain!”

It never occurred to me how many people were disappointed because of the rumors of my beauty. I was getting a lot of attention… However, it was in a bad way, which was better than positive attention soon no one would even care about me.

I picked up my pace to get past their hurtful worlds and sat in my designated seat. On the left side of the aisle, there were only two of these chairs in the entire room. They were extravagant with the finest of velvet and gold materials displaying whoever sat here was important.

If I had been wearing a dress, I would have such a hard time sitting here. I’m glad to be in my school uniform. I decided it would be best to keep my low profile by wearing the same uniform as everyone else. This way, I can display a more plain and humble appearance than showing up in one of my favorite dresses that would instantly draw attention to me.

I heard a slight rustling of clothes and jingles of jewelry from the right side of the aisle. I looked over and saw the second prince dressed up in the finest of clothing drawing all occupants’ attention in the room. Their gazes fixated on him made me feel at ease as all the girls were now ogling over him instead of mocking me.

Fixating my vision on him, a sudden flash of Prince Marius, who looked identical to the now second prince, flashed in my mind. “There is no way… Right?” I whispered to myself.