Black Dragon Duchy

Moving on to the female lead, Kathleen Black Dragon is the second character that Anna despises after the main character. Kathleen has an overwhelming sense of inferiority, and she falls for the MC due to his kind nature and lack of judgment towards her.

Of course, Anna felt as though she lost a few brain cells while reading that particular scene, but that's a story for another day.

But that's not what concerns Anna at the moment. The issue at hand is that she skipped the final arc of the book and the author failed to provide any clues about the ultimate antagonist - in fact, Anna wasn't even sure if such a final villain existed.

Yet, does it really matter to her? She now possesses a second chance at life, one where she can pursue her every dream without the need for approval from others.

A grin appeared on Anna's lips.

"Henceforth, I shall go by the name Kathleen."

[AN : I Will Call Female Lead As Kathleen From Here On]

Kathleen's only desire is to live a joyful life, and she's not particularly invested in the original storyline. Despite the synopsis being intriguing, the author's execution was lackluster, and there were numerous plot holes.

As a result, Kathleen believes that by utilizing her knowledge and manipulating the hero and the plot, she has the potential to surpass his strength and achieve even greater power.

In fact, Kathleen's status as the female lead was not inferior to that of the main character. As the heir of the Black Dragon duchy, her father being none other than Duke Oliver Black Dragon himself, Kathleen's status was nothing to sneeze at.

Although the novel didn't delve much into the female lead's origins, rumors had it that the Black Dragon family was associated with a legendary beast - the Black Dragon.

Kathleen's head throbbed as various memories flooded her mind, causing her discomfort.

"These memories flooding my mind belong to the previous owner of this body, from her childhood. However, the circumstances of her death and how I ended up here are of little concern to me at the moment. My focus is on becoming a powerful Magus, and that is where my efforts shall lie for now."

Kathleen delved into reviewing the original owner's memories and emerged an hour later, having practically watched a biopic of the previous owner's life play out in her mind.

Kathleen let out a deep sigh, her brows furrowed in irritation. "I never had any fondness for the Female lead, but I didn't expect her past self to be such an unlikeable character."

As Kathleen delved into the memories of the original owner, she gained insight into the girl's personality. It became clear that the girl had a profound sense of inadequacy; she lacked friends at the academy, failed to leverage her position as heir to a duchy, and avoided social gatherings due to her introverted nature.

Kathleen couldn't help but facepalm after discovering this about the original owner.

Knock~ Knock~

As she pondered over her plans, there came a sudden knock on the door, interrupting Kathleen's thoughts.

"It's nearly 6 PM, who could be knocking on my door at this hour?" Kathleen pondered, but quickly calmed herself, reminding herself that she was no longer Anna. "Just stay calm and trust your instincts, Kathleen." She murmured to herself, rising from the bed and making her way to the door.

Creek~

As the door creaked open, Kathleen's eyes landed on a girl with flowing purple locks standing before her chamber.

"Hehe, Miss Kathleen, do you recall me? It is I, Sophie from the illustrious Sol family." The girl said with a cheerful grin, revealing her pearly white teeth.

"Sophie? The mischievous girl from the Academy's Entrance tests? Is it really you? What brings you to my doorstep?" Kathleen attempted to adopt the original owner's persona at first, but quickly realized that it wasn't necessary since she already intended to alter Kathleen's image in people's minds soon enough. As a result, she simply spoke in her usual manner.

'Mischievous girl? Is she really saying that to my face like that? Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just deliver the message from the family and leave this place.'

Sophie maintained her polite smile and addressed Kathleen with respect. "Miss Kathleen, I'm glad you still remember me. I've been sent here to deliver a message from my family. Would it be alright if I came inside?" She scanned the room briefly, taking in her surroundings.

"Please come in." Kathleen said, stepping aside to let Sophie enter. Sophie from the Sol family--if Kathleen didn't have such a good memory, she might have forgotten about her entirely.

After all, Sophie was a character who only appeared briefly at the beginning of the story and was never mentioned again.

The Sol family hailed from the Imperial Domain, where the Magus Academy was also situated. The Academy drew young geniuses and prodigies from various territories of the Empire.

The Empire was divided into seven main parts, with six Duchies ruling over six of them. The remaining one, the largest and most powerful, was known as the Imperial Domain, and it was directly ruled by the Imperial family themselves.

Kathleen and Sophie took their seats on the chairs placed beside the bed.

Kathleen's lips curled into a friendly smile as she looked at Sophie. "So, what brings you here today? What message did you come to deliver?" she asked in a welcoming tone.

As Sophie observed Kathleen closely, she realized that the rumors of her being unsociable in the academy were quite contrary to her current demeanor.

Sophie had never seen her up close before as Kathleen always tried to conceal her face, but now that she had the opportunity, Sophie couldn't help but admire Kathleen's beauty, which could easily topple kingdoms.

She snapped out of her thoughts and refocused her attention on Kathleen's face.

"I have been sent to convey a message to Miss Kathleen that the Sol Family and the Black Dragon Duchy have arranged a business discussion in a few days. As the first year of the academy is about to end, the Sol Family's representatives have already set off for the Black Dragon Duchy."

"In light of this, we would like to escort the heir of the Duchy from the academy to their destination as a sign of goodwill towards this business deal." Sophie explained in a single breath while maintaining her usual composure.

'Oh, so that's why she's here.' Kathleen thought to herself. Since the story was written in the protagonist's point of view, it was impossible to know what was happening with the female lead when she was not present in the scene.

In the capital, the families don't possess the same level of power and wealth as the Duchies do.

Therefore, they often seek alliances to import daily goods and carry out business dealings in the capital. Since these families are usually the receivers in these arrangements, they are expected to show gestures of goodwill from time to time.