Your highness, miss Darcy, please follow me."
A young girl approached us and spoke in an ice-cold tone.
I smiled and followed her, with darcy behind me. The girl ignored us during the way, not even bothering to look at us.
When we reached the headmistress's office, the girl knocked on the door respectfully. "Headmistress, they are here."
"Come in." Answered a calm voice from inside.
The girl opened the door and gestured us to enter. I nodded and went inside together with darcy.
Currently, we were at the Arcadian Imperial Institute. It was our first day here, so we had to meet the headmistress and determine our classes and lodgings. The classes would start tomorrow.
I was a bit curious about the headmistress. She was known as one of the most powerful mages of the empire, attaining the twelfth layer of mana before turning fifty. She was currently sixty, and some people suspected she had surpassed the twelfth layer and attained the legendary thirteenth layer.
Counting the old butler beside Alice, the headmistress would be the second true powerhouse I meet after reincarnating this time.
Of course, when I say powerhouse I mean people beyond the twelfth layer.
When we entered the office, we were greeted with the sight of a dignified woman seated behind a luxurious desk while wearing a mysterious smile.
The headmistress was a very beautiful woman. She had long black hair that fell until her waist, and her eyes were as red as blood. Her presence covered all the office and pressured us.
Despite being in her sixties, the headmistress looked like someone in her thirties due to her incredible mana. It was normal for people that trained mana to look younger than their true age. Unfortunately, their longevity remained the same. If you want to live longer than a normal human, then you have to surpass the twelfth layer of mana.
"Headmistress." The girl that guided us here bowed slightly.
The headmistress waved her hand casually. "Don't be so formal, Katherine. You know I don't like formalities." She then looked at us with an appraising look and narrowed her eyes.
"Another prince huh. To be honest, I have enough with three princes. And now I receive another one..."
I smiled wryly and did not answer.
The headmistress's gaze turned complicated when she saw my expression. She then sighed and closed her eyes with an exasperated expression.
"Young prince, I'll tell you something about this academy. As you know, this place was founded when this empire was born. In the beginning, it was a place for nobles to send their children to socialize and learn, but after so many years, this place had gone through many changes.
"This year, the academy had begun to receive commoners as students. We have only twenty currently, but we hope to increase their number soon. However, it's hard for commoners to face nobles. So, I have created a few extra rules."
The headmistress then narrowed her eyes and looked at us with a forceful gaze. "Young prince, in this place, social position is meaningless. Here, there are no princes, nobles, or commoners. We have only students." She then moved her gaze towards darcy. "I see you brought a servant with you, huh. She looks like a talented girl. However, she can't be your servant here! She will be just another student! If I learn you are using your position to order her or made her do something against her will, then you will be punished! I don't care if your father is the emperor or God himself! Do you understand?!"
I smiled wryly and nodded. Actually, I like that rule. As a reincarnator, I consider the feudal system as something obsolete.
But though I like it, I know it's useless.
No matter how hard the headmistress tries to made nobles and commoners equal, the fact is that the commoners themselves think that they are below nobles. Even if the headmistress said she will punish the nobles if they force the commoners to do something against their will, the truth is that no commoner will dare to defy the words of a noble.
And even if one of them resist and is bullied, I'm sure it will not reach the headmistress's ears.
So is how the real world works.
The headmistress stared at me fixedly. I could see a resolute expression on her face, mixed with a bit of expectation and distress. She was an idealist that wanted to make her dreams true, only to be faced with the cruel reality of the world.
Even if she was Evelyn Humillitie, the bloody witch, and a thirteenth-layer mage, she was unable to change the reality of this world.
The headmistress stared at us for a moment to make sure that we understood her words. When she saw that both I and darcy nodded, she retracted her gaze and looked at some papers on her desk.
"Um. According to this, prince Claus is at the fourth layer and the little missy is at the third. Not too bad I think." She then tried to examine our mana.
But when she looked at me, she wrinkled her brows.
"... Is something wrong?" I asked with a nervous expression.
"... No, nothing. I thought something was wrong, but it was just my imagination."
I wiped my cold sweat inwardly. You can't underestimate the instincts of a powerhouse huh. To think she almost noticed something despite my true mana being completely hidden.
Once she finished reading our files, the Headmistress asked us a few questions before nodding.
"It's everything for now. Katherine, lead the prince and the little missy to their lodgings and tell them about their classes and other rules they must pay attention."
The girl that guided us here, Katherine, nodded slightly and looked at us.