3| History or Flattery?

As Celestia briefly met the golden eyes of her eldest brother, she suppressed her anger. In the original novel, Devon Aster was one of the female lead's dependable allies.

The memory of how he would treat the female lead as if she were his own sister in the future, combined with his indifference towards her, made her mad. It was the same with Jeremiah.

Devon hated her because of her incompetence.

It was difficult to view her brothers in a good light after reflecting on both her future knowledge and her past experiences. They had treated her like she was trash.

Celestia knew their mother's death had deeply affected them, twisting their personalities, but she had lost her mother too. She had also grieved. If even she, as the younger one, could recognize and process their shared pain, why couldn't they?

"Celestia," Devon called, his tone unexpectedly soft as he approached her.

She turned to face him, arching a brow.

"Crazy," she muttered under her breath. His appearance was stunning. He didn't resemble a swordmaster at all but rather a wickedly handsome businessman.

As expected of one of the protagonist's party members.

Even his gold rimmed monocle suited his sharp, cold features perfectly.

"I heard you've hired new tutors," Devon remarked casually.

"Yes," Celestia replied evenly. "One of them is Oliver Vincent. I'm not familiar with the others."

Devon's expression darkened slightly. "I've also heard about your recent foolish behavior at the palace. Oliver is a scholar I've been keeping an eye on. Don't disgrace yourself in front of him."

Oh, yes- Devon was a year older than the current Crown Prince and served as his close friend and secretary. He worked at the palace, where his arrogance likely flourished. True to his cold personality, he offered his unwanted opinion and walked past her without a second glance.

In the past, Celestia would have smiled through the insult, shamelessly trailing behind him and attempting to make small talk, happy that he even spoke a few words to her. But those days were long over. Instead, she turned and made her way to the study, where her new tutor awaited.

When Professor Oliver Vincent first saw her, his anxiety was palpable. As a commoner, he was acutely aware of Princess Celestia Aster's infamous reputation. There wasn't a soul in the empire who hadn't heard of the elusive princess from the illustrious Aster Duchy.

Rumors painted her as stupid and talentless—a black mark on her family's prestigious name. Despite being a direct descendant of the famed swordmaster lineage, she had no talent for swordsmanship. The Aster family was renowned for producing swordmasters in every generation.

The number of swordmasters in the empire could be counted with a single hand, and three of them were from the Aster family's direct lineage. Even so, Celestia had not inherited their skill.

The princess rarely participated in aristocratic social circles, yet she was still infamous at the academy for her supposed bad temper and for shamelessly chasing after Zachary Draken, heir to the Draken Duchy, despite his repeated rejections.

Still, Oliver resolved to withhold judgment. He had been hired to teach, and he would do just that. Besides, the amount of money for this job was far too good to refuse!

"Good morning, Princess," Professor Oliver greeted her amicably.

Celestia took her seat and gave him a curt nod in response.

"Then, I shall begin the lecture," he said, bowing slightly before pulling out a heavy book and launching into a detailed account of the Aster family's history.

His lecture was quite good.

It seemed he had started with the Aster family's history on purpose in an attempt to flatter her.

It worked.

To summarize Oliver's flattery disguised as a lecture:

The seventeenth emperor, Aeternitas Kaiser, had favored the Aster knights for their loyalty and valor during a time of great peril. As a reward, he granted the family authority over the Imperial military. This tradition had endured for centuries, bolstered by the Asters' consistent production of swordmasters.

For nearly seven hundred years, the empire's military resources had been under Aster control.

Her father, Duke Aster, was a swordmaster, a duke, and the Minister of Defense.

'That's absurdly overpowered,' Celestia thought.

Sensing her growing interest, Oliver continued with the tale of the family's origins.

The Aster lineage began with Sienna Aster, an unparalleled swordsman who had aided the first emperor in founding the Kainosia Empire. For this, she was granted a dukedom. The families that were bestowed this honour were the Aster, Kadirah, Draken, and Ventus families.

The Aster family, led by the only swordmaster of that era and a loyal knight to the emperor.

The Kadirah family, led by an archmage of unmatched destructive power.

The Draken family, whose paladin was said to have been chosen by God.

The Ventus family, blessed by the elemental spirits of nature.

These four ducal houses formed the cornerstone of the empire's strength.

No one dared to criticize Celestia just because she was the direct descendent of not one, but two of those families. Her mother was a Kadirah. So she was not born with a golden spoon, but a platinum spoon encrusted with diamonds.

The lecture, though filled with familiar content, served as a helpful refresher. Celestia and Oliver were so engrossed in the session that they went well beyond the scheduled time.

After history, Celestia attended swordsmanship and war strategy classes. She had considered skipping swordsmanship altogether but decided against it. Though she would never become a swordmaster, she was still stronger than most and recognized the value of self-defense.

The war strategy class was her own special request, driven by the need to prepare for the impending conflict with the demon realm. The signs of war were already evident, and she refused to face her demise as she had in the novel.

Finally, it was time for her last class of the day—magic engineering.

Once, she had aspired to be like her mother, a powerful mage. She had tried everything, only to discover her mana reserves were too small. People reassured her that this was a trait of the Aster lineage—large mana reserves were incompatible with swordmasters.

That reassurance turned hollow when her efforts at swordsmanship also failed. During that dark period, Celestia stumbled upon magic engineering. It didn't require vast mana reserves, only intelligence and determination. She had both.

Yet, despite her initial enthusiasm, ridicule from her brother Jeremiah and other people had crushed her spirit.

Now, with the memories of her past life—where she had studied mechanical engineering—Celestia was determined to reclaim her passion.

This time, she vowed, no amount of disdain would stop her.