Episode 2
Luize Fredelin.
That silver hair and blue eyes made him stand out as the most handsome boy at school, and he was the only son of the famous Duke Fredelin family. He also ranked number one—by a landslide—on Harrington Bell Academy’s 96th “best-looking student” poll.
Anyway, that pretty boy was the male lead of this story, the one Serena had originally been in love with. According to the novel, he would graduate at the top of his class and later become the Master of the Mage Tower, leading the empire’s magic to new heights.
Right now, he was in the Magic Division—famous for his incredible talent in magic. Of course, he was also extremely rude. But hey, that’s just a standard webnovel setting.
While Serena was lost in thought, Luize walked past her with a blank face, acting like she wasn’t even there. She thought he’d just leave like that—when suddenly, his voice came from behind.
“I hope you meant what you said.”
Serena snapped her head around. Luize met her eyes and smirked.
“What the—”
Before she could even respond, he slipped away inside.
“Wait! Did he just say that to me? ‘I hope you meant it’—what the hell?!”
Storming out of the cafeteria, Serena kicked an empty can across the ground. Obviously, he didn’t believe her at all.
“That arrogant jerk…”
She glared back at the cafeteria. She’d made a big, dramatic declaration and he treated it like nothing.
To be fair, she sort of understood his reaction. In the original story, Serena had made that “I give up on Luize” declaration multiple times—only to take it back within three days every single time.
But this time was different.
“This time it’s real. I’ll prove it.”
Clenching her fists, she marched into the main school building. Fourth period was about to begin.
“Now, the greatest event in imperial history was in the year…”
Fourth period was history class. In her original world—before all this transmigration mess—Serena had been a good student. Her high school GPA was excellent, and she’d always scored in the top ranks on exams.
“Teacher, I have a question.”
“Huh? O-oh, yes. Serena? What is it?”
The teacher, caught off guard, fumbled with his glasses. Clearly, he wasn’t used to Serena asking questions. And no wonder—original-Serena had given up on studying ages ago, too busy chasing Luize around.
“The textbook says we don’t know the exact timing of that event. Why is that?”
She had zero intention of being the useless original Serena. No—she was going to study hard, succeed, and shine on her own.
She wasn’t going to die pathetically chasing after love. She was just an extra anyway, barely even appearing in the original novel. A few scenes here and there, and then—dead.
So what if she acted a little differently? It wouldn’t really change anything. Besides, the story hadn’t even officially started yet. The male and female leads would meet and fall in love eventually, with or without her. Not her problem.
“Ah, yes. That’s an excellent question. The reason is because…”
As the teacher explained, Serena pushed her glasses up and focused on the lecture. Now that she was aware of the truth, there was no way she’d follow the same doomed path.
“Alright, that’s it for today. Don’t forget to review for midterms.”
After an hour, class ended and students bustled around. Harrington Bell’s schedule had only four formal classes a day; the rest of the time was for self-study, clubs, or going back to the dorms.
About two-thirds of students lived in the dorms, but some—like Serena—commuted from home.
“Serena, you’re going home, right? Let’s go together.”
Her deskmate, Randy, slung her bag over her shoulder. Randy was the daughter of Count Tenesia—and Serena’s only friend. She was sweet and easygoing, never avoiding Serena even with all the gossip attached to her.
“Oh, I’m staying in the library for a while. You go ahead.”
“What? The library? The library?”
Serena planned to stay as late as possible, partly to study but mostly to avoid going home.
“Yeah. Li-bra-ry.”
She pronounced each syllable clearly. Randy frowned even harder.
“You’re not sick, are you? Since when do you study? No, wait—forget the library. Let’s go eat something. They just opened a new dessert shop on Main Street. I’ll listen to everything you want to vent about.”
Clearly, Randy thought heartbreak had driven Serena crazy.
“I’m fine, Randy. We’ll go for dessert after exams. For now, you go home safe.”
Serena gave her a warm smile, packed her bag, and left. As a fourth-year, her classroom was on the 5th floor, but her destination—the Central Library—was on the 1st floor, open to every division: General, Magic, and Martial.
Which meant it was usually crowded.
‘Let’s see if there’s an open spot…’
She slipped past students picking out books and entered the reading room. Luckily, there weren’t too many people—probably because there was still plenty of time before midterms.
After walking past a few empty seats, she spotted the perfect one: a quiet corner, not too close to the heater, just right for concentration.
“Nice, I got lucky today.”
She sat, unpacked her bag, and pulled out her textbook. Time for some review.
About 30 minutes later, her body felt stiff. Stretching, she noticed the seat next to her had a magic textbook open, but its owner hadn’t returned for half an hour.
“If you’re not coming back, don’t hog the seat.”
Muttering under her breath, she returned to her book. But the drowsiness kept creeping in.
Maybe it was because original-Serena never studied—her body wasn’t used to it. Sighing, she opened her bag and pulled out a cute little glass jar full of chocolates. Randy had made and packed them for her that morning.
She set the jar on the desk, but when she tried to tidy up her bag, something seemed missing—her summary notes.
‘Huh? Where are they? Did I leave them in my locker?’
She didn’t need them right away, but she didn’t plan to stop by her locker again before going home. Thinking it’d be good to wake herself up anyway, she decided to fetch them now.
Pushing the jar of chocolates aside, she left the library.
“Ugh, I’m sleepy. Maybe I’ll just head home.”
Even after grabbing her notes from the locker, the sleepiness stuck. No point forcing herself. She went back to her seat to pack up.
But then—
“…Huh? Where is it? My chocolates?”
The jar she’d left on the desk was gone. She searched the area, even ducked under the table, but nothing.
‘Really? Someone actually stole chocolates? And ones I already opened? How desperate do you have to be?’
Shaking her head, she finally gave up and walked out. But right then, a hand suddenly stretched out in front of her.
“Whoa!”
She flinched and turned her head.
“…Luize.”
It was none other than Luize, leaning against the wall and holding out a very familiar glass jar.
“Wait—that’s my chocolates—”
“Serena. How many times do I have to tell you? Stop leaving chocolates on my desk.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you make that big announcement earlier? That you’re done with your crush?”
“Yeah. I did. And I am done. Been done for a while now.”
Serena scoffed, utterly baffled. But Luize chuckled softly, like he didn’t believe a word.
“Your words and actions don’t match. Guess it’s my fault for expecting better.”
Wait. Did he seriously think she gave him those chocolates?
Serena frowned, then suddenly remembered the open magic textbook at the next seat.
‘…Don’t tell me that was his desk?’
So while she was gone, he came back, saw the jar, and assumed it was another gift? Sure, in the original story, Serena always offered him sweets, but—ugh. Jumping to conclusions much?
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Serena rubbed her temples. So much for her “lucky day.” It was like the universe itself was sabotaging her attempt to move on.
“If you get it now, then take this back.”
“Hey, Luize.”
Snapping, Serena yanked the jar from his hand. His eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“These were for me. I was going to eat them myself.”
What, did he think only he liked chocolate?
She popped open the lid, poured a few pieces into her palm, and tossed them straight into her mouth. Sweetness melted across her tongue. Luize’s brows furrowed at her bold move.
“See? Got it now? So stop making stupid assumptions. Oh, and by the way—if you’re not planning to study in the library, don’t hog the seat. Other people actually need it.”
Snapping the lid back on, Serena brushed past him. She could almost hear his exasperated sigh behind her, but she didn’t care.
“Ahh, that felt good!”
Out in the open air, she practically cheered. The look on Luize’s face when she ate the chocolates was priceless. Even if it was small, landing a blow on that arrogant guy felt amazing.
Maybe—just maybe—this was how she’d really complete her “Forget the Crush” project once and for all.
Humming happily, she skipped across campus.
But her hope shattered the very next day—when the Academy’s official newspaper printed a huge, bold headline about her.
