The Northern Duke’s Daughter Will Never Fall

Chapter 28: With Eranya

Compared to other squads, Astrid’s squad and Akemilla’s squad had lost significant time.

In the morning’s score tally, Astrid’s squad was narrowly ahead of Akemilla’s, holding first place.

However, with the incident involving the Hellveig in the afternoon, both squads ended up with zero points for the afternoon, pushing them to the bottom of the rankings.

But this didn’t mean they were incompetent. In fact, their quick decision to retreat to the checkpoint, as well as the camaraderie shown by Leopold and Akemilla’s efforts to rescue Astrid, earned them additional points. This ultimately resulted in a reward: a leave pass.

After the four-week training period, cadets were usually required to remain on the premises for a one-month standby period.

During this time, they could freely move around within the Academy City. However, they weren’t allowed to leave the city.

The leave pass that Astrid’s and Akemilla’s squads had earned allowed them to return home for a month after completing the training period—a rare privilege.

The results were announced that afternoon. With no training scheduled for the rest of the day, the cadets were given free time.

Due to the previous day’s incident and the revelation that both Leopold, the crown prince, and Astrid, the prospective imperial daughter-in-law, had been involved, Kreutz von Einthafen was furious.

He ordered an immediate and thorough investigation, causing the instructors to scurry about in a panic as they tried to gather information.

The cadets, unaware of this turmoil, simply enjoyed their unexpected day off, assuming it was a result of the previous day’s incident.

However, since trips into town were still prohibited, the cadets could only rest in their dorms or take short walks around the grounds.

And here, on a bench, sat a beautiful silver-haired girl, scowling. Unaware of the gazes being drawn to her, she looked irritated with the world.

‘No smartphone, no television—there’s literally nothing to do.’

One of the few not enjoying the break was Astrid von Miterien.

There were no interesting books to read, and access to the Academy’s library was still off-limits.

She had no way to research how to return to her original world, and staying in her dorm just meant rolling around on her bed with nothing to do.

With no better option, Astrid came outside, sat on a bench, and spaced out.

‘It’s strange…’

It’s been half a year since she woke up in this world. A few more weeks had passed since then.

She hadn’t kept track of the days precisely, but it was probably around that time frame.

Not once in all that time had she forgotten who she truly was.

‘I’m a man. Yep, I’m a man. Definitely a man.’

Her body might have become that of a woman, but her mind remained male.

When she first learned she had a fiancé—and that it was Leopold, the crown prince—she had been utterly dumbfounded.

Her mind was still that of a man. Even now, she was sure of it. And yet, she was expected to get married soon?

It was absurd. Absolutely impossible. Unacceptable. It was a situation that should never, ever happen.

As a result, she’d come all the way to this academy. Her goal was to delay the marriage as much as possible and stay away from Leopold. But her plans had gone completely awry, and she now found herself stuck close to him every day.

‘…Thinking about it, it’s kind of odd.’

Back when she was living in the northern Miterien estate, she’d barely seen Leopold in person. Their relationship had been indifferent at best.

She had felt absolutely nothing toward him.

No emotions, no excitement.

Of course, Astrid’s mind was that of a man’s.

Men can sometimes be attracted to other men. It’s possible.

Even Astrid could admit that Leopold was handsome and carried himself with a dignified presence. It’s understandable if others found him appealing.

But Astrid wasn’t into men.

She had always been attracted to women, so why would she feel anything for Leopold? It didn’t make sense.

‘Come to think of it, things started to feel strange when we came to the capital, didn’t they?’

It was around the time they spent 24 hours together in a carriage on their way to the capital that something began to shift.

She started to notice Leopold’s words and actions. During meals, she’d find herself paying attention to his expressions.

And then they arrived at the Academy. Ever since the arrival of that irritating presence known as Akemilla, whenever Leopold did something strange, it grated on her nerves.

‘At this rate, it’s almost like…’

Her thoughts trailed off. She didn’t have the courage to continue.

If she finished that line of thought, something terrible might happen.

“Oh my, Astrid. What are you doing here?”

At the sound of a familiar voice, Astrid raised her head.

Someone stood before her, backlit by the sun.

From the silhouette of the flowing hair, she could tell it wasn’t a man. And the only person who would call her by name like this was—

“Eranya, sister?”

Like Leopold and Astein, Astrid and Eranya had also grown close after spending about a week together.

Given that elves are a long-lived race, Eranya was certainly much older than she looked. Though she claimed to be 25, Astrid suspected she’d probably just dropped a zero from that number. Regardless, they’d come to an agreement—partly forced—that Astrid would call her “sister.” Over time, the title “sister” began to feel natural on Astrid’s tongue.

“…Just basking in the sun.”

“Yeah, you probably should soak up some sun. Your skin’s so pale—what’s up with that?”

‘Says the pot calling the kettle black,’ Astrid thought.

Her skin was naturally fair, and living in the northern region with little exposure to sunlight only made it paler. But Eranya’s skin was just as pale, if not more so.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“I just told you—I’m basking in the sun.”

Not understanding Eranya’s repeated question, Astrid gave the same answer. But Eranya suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“We’re going to the canteen. It’s finally open.”

“Didn’t we just eat lunch?!”

Astrid’s shocked question came from genuine disbelief. Eranya had piled her lunch tray high with meat and eaten every last bite. And now, only a few hours later, she was already talking about getting more food?

“That was my meal belly. A woman’s got a separate belly just for snacks, you know.”

“I don’t have one of those—ah!”

Though Astrid’s strength was far from ordinary, Eranya wasn’t weak either. It’s only natural since one can’t wield a bow properly without a certain amount of strength.

So when Eranya suddenly yanked Astrid’s hand, it caught her off guard. Before she knew it, she’d been pulled off the bench and was already standing.

“Then I’ll eat and you’ll pay.”

“What did you just say?!”

‘Are all elves like this?’ Astrid wondered. But as she thought about it, she realized something. The worries that had been swirling in her mind earlier had all vanished thanks to Eranya’s antics.

That realization made Astrid burst into laughter.

“Fine, the squad leader will treat you this time.”

Calling it a “canteen” was one thing, but to Astrid, the word “PX” felt more familiar.

The structure of the canteen also fit that image. Upon entering, the first thing in sight was the checkout counter straight ahead. Past that, several rows of shelves were neatly stocked with products.

They had everything from sausage-stuffed bread to muffins, cupcakes, and a variety of cookies. There was even a bakery section in one corner and a drink bar next to it.

“This is pretty serious,” Astrid remarked.

“Right? I came here last week and tried this—it’s good. You should try it too.”

Without waiting for Astrid’s opinion, Eranya tossed a sausage roll into their shopping basket. Astrid hadn’t planned on eating anything, but after seeing Eranya’s enthusiasm, she figured she’d try at least one.

Or so she thought.

By the time they’d finished shopping, the basket contained not only the sausage roll but also a cheese muffin, raisin cookies, a snack that resembled a dumpling stuffed with minced meat, madeleines from the bakery, and a chilled black tea from the drink bar.

“…You do realize this is more food than we had for lunch, right?”

As Astrid pulled out some coins to pay for everything, she couldn’t hide her disbelief. But the person who should have been listening was already gone.

“Eranya, sister?”

Looking around, Astrid spotted her. Eranya had already claimed a table by the window and was waving at her with a grin.

“Over here, over here!”

She had left the checkout to Astrid and gone ahead to secure a seat, where she’d already started eating.

“Sister, we just ate lunch not long ago. You’re aware of that, right?”

As Astrid pulled out a chair across from her, she let out a small laugh, and Eranya beamed right back at her.

It was hard to tell who was the older sister and who was the younger one.

“You’ve got to eat well to train well. How can you train properly if your supply lines are lacking? We’ve been eating that garbage for a whole week, so we’ve got to make up for it now.”

With that, Eranya stuffed an entire cheese muffin into her mouth, cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. Watching this, Astrid could only shake her head in disbelief.

And on that day, Astrid only managed to eat a single sausage roll. Everything else? It all ended up in Eranya’s stomach.