Stained Hemline

I hadn’t noticed while rushing to pull on the boots and armor, but blood was smeared across my exposed ankles and calves. A careless slip in the details.

“Ariang, there’s so much blood on your legs.”

Ancy. She’s a first-year, likely innocent in the grand scheme of things. Do I have to kill her too?

“That’s… um…”

“Are you okay?”

Sky Castle is a school for nobles. As future leaders of society, these girls are taught never to cast their gaze toward the ground.

‘Never lower your gaze below the waist.’

‘A noble does not walk while looking at someone’s feet.’

During the first few days of the Academy, first-years are drilled on how to walk. One of the maxims professors and seniors hammer in is “Do not look below the waist.” However, there’s always someone who grows accustomed to walking with their eyes downcast. Education and reality are different things—dignity is a luxury you can only maintain under the assumption that the other person won’t use violence.

Of all things, she had to see this here…

I overlooked it. I forgot that there might be a student here who has only learned—and practiced—how to keep her eyes lowered.

“Are you alright? Where are you hurt?”

She doesn’t seem to suspect I’ve killed someone. I took a hint from her worried tone. It wasn’t an easy excuse to come up with on the fly, but since I’m pretending to be a woman…

“That… well…”

I simply clutched my lower abdomen, hunched over slightly, and stopped explaining. These aren’t commoners; “filtered communication” is the standard here. Noblewomen rarely use direct language for such things.

“Oh… ah?! I-I’m so sorry!”

Ancy’s face turned beet red. She clearly understood what I was implying. I didn’t want to overact the “pain,” so I just gave a small nod.

“Did it… just start?”

“I’m not exactly keen on sharing that with you. Is that the kind of thing you usually go around talking about?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that.”

She really has no sense of timing. In a situation like this, one usually isn’t in a great mood, right? I acted as annoyed as possible to keep her from digging further. Since I’m not actually a woman, if she started asking technical questions about how it “leaked,” I’d be at a loss for words.

“Anyway, why are you wandering around in a place like this?”

I didn’t really want to chat, but it was better for me to ask the questions than to be the one answering them.

“Well, Ariang doesn’t come out often, but… I thought you might see me. I just figured it was better not to be noticed.”

She looked like the most pitiful thing in the world, her eyes welling up. Honestly, compared to someone like me who lost a mother and precious younger siblings, there aren’t many people more pitiful than that.

“Don’t cry. No one here is going to look at you with pity just because you’re crying.”

“What should I do?”

“In this situation, it’s better to just drop out and go home.”

“That’s…”

“If you’re determined to endure it, I don’t have an answer for you. Even if your grades improve, the bullying will likely continue. That’s just how a stigma works.”

“A stigma… Ariang, how do you overcome it?”

Overcome? I wasn’t doing anything of the sort, but in Ancy’s eyes, it seemed I was also someone living with a stigma. I suppose our “proud classmates” have been labeling me too. After all, there’s the “outcast” and the “subtle outcast.” Ancy probably sees me as a fellow traveler in misery.

Between being the only first-year in the Knight course, being called out by a fourth-year on day one, holding a Countess title while being older than average, and my non-standard way of speaking—it’s a recipe for a social stigma.

“You can handle it, but the answer isn’t ‘making friends.’”

I was covered in blood and in no position to keep talking, so I turned to leave. Then, a trembling voice called out from behind me. She really specializes in talking to people’s backs.

“I know. I know that if Ariang gets close to me, the same thing will happen to you.”

“At least you’re self-aware.”

“Still… even if it’s just in secret… can’t we talk like this?”

Honestly, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel a flicker of compassion. Especially since she ended up like that for taking my side.

“Well, I don’t mind that much. Do what you want.”

“R-really? Then, during the times only we can use, we could go to the sauna together, and have tea in the room…”

Are they all from Finland? What is with this obsession with saunas?

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Oh…”

I’ve lived many years not acting like a human, so I’m perfectly capable of drawing a line. Some things are just out of the question.

********************************

“You are beautiful today as well, Senior.”

I hate hearing “You’re so pretty,” so I launched a preemptive strike.

“In what way? Are you teasing me?”

I’ve learned one thing from having a handsome face: if you keep hearing a compliment that makes you feel awkward and want to deny it, you eventually end up accepting it. Many people won’t accept criticism, but compliments are different.

“When you keep hearing praise from others about your appearance, you start by reflecting on yourself. Eventually, you begin to accept the self that you previously avoided due to your own subjectivity.”

“How mature. And what do I gain by accepting it?”

“You can build the self-esteem to realize you are truly lovely. Because you actually are.”

“Goodness, what do I care if I look lovely to you?”

“Is there someone else you’d rather look lovely for? I believe fourth-years are allowed to meet their fiancés.”

Since many marry right after graduation, the Academy doesn’t take issue with third and fourth-years focusing on romance over studies. Some ladies even have dates with their fiancés in the village below Sky Castle. If that’s the case, they should just lift the ban on dating and male contact for the first and second-years too, rather than dealing with the mess caused by girls taking knights as playthings. But I suppose parental pressure prevents that.

“You can be over eighteen and still be a first-year.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Apparently, even first-years are exempt if they are over eighteen. Once a lady finishes Sky Castle, she doesn’t have to leave her future entirely to her parents. They graduate with the skills to make a living. Still, many marry the fiancés their families chose, though “free love” within the nobility does happen. From the perspective of the groom’s parents, a bride who completed Sky Castle is a top-tier catch—she can exercise inheritance rights unlike other noblewomen, potentially doubling the estate their grandchildren will receive.

“Yes, Countess Aosta. My, with a face like that, I wonder which man you’ll end up making cry.”

“I have a void where my father’s affection should be, so I’m quite deficient in that area.”

“Then shouldn’t you be looking for a partner even more? You’ll be able to meet a fiancé next year.”

“I think it’s better to find someone to love because you have affection to give, rather than searching for love because you lack it.”

“You really are an adult, aren’t you?”

Rene looked at me with admiration, then added:

“But you really never show up at the baths or the sauna. There’s so much water here—are you still not adjusted? You can use as much as you want while you’re at the Academy.”

The Sky Castle Academy has public baths and saunas. They’re considered a local specialty and a place for the ladies to relieve stress. Of course, I can’t go, and I don’t want to. It’s not that I’m not curious about the female body, but imagine a seeker of vengeance leaving behind the stigma of “frequented the women’s baths while disguised as a lady.” It would tarnish the legitimacy of my revenge and reduce me to a pervert looking for a thrill. I don’t care about my own reputation, but I won’t let the memory of those I honor be dragged down with me.

“Well…”

“Hey, tell the truth. You just don’t wash, do you?”

So I’m the kid who doesn’t wash now. Maybe I should have just acted embarrassed and moved on. Because I stayed here writing a “thesis” with my mouth, I’ve become the unwashed kid.

“The maids bring enough water to my room for me to bathe.”

Does she want to wash with me, or what? If I keep hearing this, it’s just going to become a running joke she uses to tease me.

“In the past, the seniors got rid of the rule where maids would fetch water for first-years if it conflicted with their own bath times. It’s a good thing that’s gone.”

Talk about toxic traditions. If a lady asks, the maids will bring bathwater. But if they were busy or short-staffed, the seniors used to get priority and the juniors were pushed back. Glad that tradition is dead. Not that it matters to me—I can store water in my Inventory and wash anywhere in secret.

“Yes… honestly, I’m just very shy. That’s why I’ve been avoiding it.”

I had no choice. I just put a hand to my chest and acted bashful.

“Still, it’s better if you go.”

“Why is that?”

“Swordsmanship isn’t a hobby; it’s a subject. You have to do combat training with your peers.”

“That’s true.”

It’s been a few days since I enrolled, and I haven’t seen anyone but Rene Le Havre at the dueling grounds. Are there even any other seniors in the Knight course?

“Eating and bathing together is how you share a life. Naturally, the bonds formed there are much stronger.”

It’s not that I don’t know that, Senior. I’ve seen men form groups over shared habits many times. Those groups form their own opinions of people, and the larger the group, the more influence they have. There’s a clear difference in cohesion between groups that spend regular time together over a shared activity and those that don’t. In Sky Castle, it seems the sauna and baths serve that purpose.

“Ah, I see.”

“You need to get close to your classmates and seniors. The quick-witted ones are already doing it. Don’t you want to?”

Still, being treated as a naive hatchling who doesn’t know the ways of the world is better for now.

“I’m fine.”

“How strange.”

“I have you here, Senior.”

“I’m in the graduating class.”

“Aren’t you staying for another year?”

Fourth-years at Sky Castle are like soldiers on their last month of service. If someone fails or goes for a double major, they might stay a year or two longer, but usually, it’s a four-year curriculum.

“Hey, I have a family to inherit and a marriage to get to. Why would I stay another year? There’s nothing left to learn, and I’m bored to death.”

“Am I not an interesting enough first-year?”

“I think you’ll grow up just fine on your own. Not interested.”

“My heart is broken.”

“I’m joking. Don’t be heartbroken. Of course I’m interested. But it’s good to have friends… and it’s better to serve the Princess than me. So you should find some kids to at least eat with.”

“Does the Princess come here too?”

“Yes, she does.”

I hadn’t seen Princess Celisty, the hero who saved the Empire in the last war, since the start of the semester.

“I really want to meet her. Where did she go?”

“I have a general idea, but it’s not something I should talk about. She was supposed to be back by now… she should be arriving soon. She can’t stay away for more than a month.”

The Princess is coming soon. Princess Celisty isn’t just a personal acquaintance; looking at how the Imperial class works, she is the absolute authority. I’m certain she’ll have information regarding the twin murders in the Kingdom class.

“Anyway, whether it’s the sauna or whatever, you should make some friends.”

By the way, why is she so fixated on me making friends and going to the sauna?

“In that case, can I transfer to another department? I like magic too. There are plenty of friends in the Magic department.”

“Hey, do you want to die?”

“Is it a death sentence if I go?”

“Sigh. I feel bad because this is partly my fault, but… there are rumors about you among the first-years.”

“What rumors?”

“Just… things. It feels like I’m the one who caused it, so I feel responsible. Go make some friends.”

Sounds similar to what Ancy said. My plan was to stay close only to the seniors who held information and use flattery to get close to the Princess. I didn’t need the first-years, but I expected they wouldn’t look at me kindly. However, if there are signs of bullying, leaving those rumors to fester isn’t helpful. I’ll have to suppress them early.

“You can just come and save me, Senior. Then I’ll fall for you.”

“I’m graduating! Those girls are going to be in the second and third years with you for a long time. Pay a little attention.”

Do I really have to stay here that long? At the latest, I plan to make sure the culprits among the third-years don’t leave this place alive before they graduate, and then I’m out. I have my own lands to rule in my true form, and I need to get married too. Still, since Rene was worried and feeling guilty about bringing me into the Knight course… I did give her one stern warning.

“If anyone bullies me, that girl is going to learn what it’s like to eat without her front teeth.”

“Oh, really?”

“Just as a lion isn’t a creature that a hundred sheep can defeat by working together, violence from a group isn’t a problem if the individual possesses power that transcends that group.”

“My, our Ariang certainly is strong.”

“That sounds like a doting wife bragging at a ball while patting her husband’s arm.”

“Are you calling me a doting wife again?”

“It’s my first time using the expression, but I guess that’s what you were.”

“You are so dead.”

*********

And then.

Slap.

Another beating today.

“Ah…”

“Eyes front, now. Hurry up.”