Retrieve the Kingdom

New Knowledge, New Plans

After enrolling, it was already her first day of school. It’s been weeks since she has been in the mansion and learned a lot of things. 

“Don’t hesitate to go in the library, some subjects might not be familiar with you,” Bermin said as Phoebe was on her way. “Thank you for guiding me, sir.” She smiles as she hops into the carriage. The vehicle starts to go as Phoebe waves goodbye to the archduke. She set aside her book pile and her sling bag. 

While on the ride, Phoebe was reading a philosophy book, a subject she least familiar with. As they are approaching the beautiful campus, she returned the book from her book strap and geared up. As the carriage stops, she opened the door and hop out of it.

She noticed other fancy carts start to arrive too and others are already parked here. She decided to let hers go to make room for the others. She went inside the campus as she finds her educational path’s building. She stopped at one with its formality and a logo of the school with a judge’s mallet and the councilor’s ribbon. 

“Well, this must be the building that they are saying.” She was about to enter the school building as a familiar voice shouts at her. 

“Hey! Aren’t you gonna go to the school orientation?” Andrei approached her as Phoebe was quite surprised. “Aren’t you supposed in the royal school?” She blocked him with another question. The boy froze as Phoebe hit something on him. “Uh… Uhm…” He stutters as he tries to think of a reasonable answer. 

“Are you stalking me?” Phoebe questioned him again, which made him quickly disagree. “No! No… Of course not, I’m not a freak.” The young lady looks at him with more suspicion, which made Andrei a bit uncomfortable. “And, I don’t do something just for certain people, even I am that positive and bouncy, I am not a pushover.”

“Why didn’t the archduke told me you are here? Are you even a student?” Andrei sighs, “I have the uniform, so I am a student here.” Phoebe squints her eyes, “You are the son of the king, you might h—” Her voice muffled as Andrei pushed her on a pillar of the building, covering her mouth. 

He sighs as he puts his mouth away a minute later, “I am sorry. Let’s go to the school’s orientation.” He grabbed her hands as he drags her all the way to the announcement hall, which is in the main building, the center of it. 

Phoebe looks at the yellow walls and a big glass dome sheltering the center of the announcement hall. The warm and bright sun rays shone upon the hall as the students are already piling up. They stopped and gets their position just in the middle of the audience, which is not near enough to bend your neck up and not far enough to not hear the announcer. 

She looks at Andrei who is looking at the stage, avoiding any conversations. “Why did you stop me there—” She was stopped as he raises his index finger at her, she raised her eyebrow as she looks at the small built-in stage in the middle of the announcement hall. A man with his red tuxedo and yellow tie, a well-combed black jet hair went up and stands firmly in front of them. 

“Good morning, every student of Driessen Academy!” With his old yet deep voice greeted them, the announcement hall with good morning’s and greetings, and apparently, Phoebe was oriented that he is the headmaster of the school. “Welcome to our freshmen, please be acquainted with me. I am Headmaster Aurelius of Driessen. We are pleased to be with you and be the lucky institution that you chose.” 

Phoebe little by little, slowly remembered him, he was that headmaster who almost got kicked out of his job on her parent’s reign due to “problems” of which she doesn’t know of. She clicked her tongue as she can’t wait to write something in her notebook. 

“We have here, my secretary, to orientate you with the school rules and regulations, how things are going here, and most of all, be acquainted with our school staffs.” He looked at the beautiful woman with brunette hair, with her formal fitted dress. She went up the small stage, “I am Leona of Hastey, I am the Headmaster’s secretariat and the secretary of this school too. I hold the records of every student here, from their personal information you consented to give us and up to the violation records of every single student.” She smiled sweetly at the students as other freshmen boys are already drooling at her. 

“Anyway, let us proceed to our orientation proper, so you could all have your first-day class orientation in your respective classrooms.” She draws some notes and started to orientate about the school rules and schedules and possible events. The orientation ended after a short closing remark from the headmaster.

“See you later at lunch, maybe,” Andrei said as they part ways. Phoebe watches him from a distance, observing his actions. Phoebe decided to go to her class. She walked her way through the Politics building and went up the 3rd floor, where her classroom is. She entered the classroom as she saw her new classmates, there are few of them here, approximately 20 are in the classroom. She went to the vacant seat at the corner of the first row. 

She placed her things on her front. Mostly the class consists of boys, her uncle was right about few girls getting interested in politics. Even she spent 18 years of her first life before, she didn’t bat an eye to other institutions and kept an eye on her education as a princess. 

She is learning new things she hasn’t known in her past life. She was like really a newborn, except she isn’t. She was just living inside a customized wall by her parents, she was limited in her world. “Maybe I will make everything worth it in this second life.”

“Second Life?” She has trailed off her thoughts as she realizes there’s a girl student just beside her. She looked at her in horror as she was anxious if she said everything out loud. In front of her is a brunette girl with her hair on a braid. She looks a little older than her and more mature. 

“Uhm, are you okay?” She asked again which snapped Phoebe again back to reality. “Y-yes!” She exclaimed abruptly, “I am fine, don’t worry.” The girl wasn’t sure for her excuse, “Are you having some school sick or something? You seem so pale…” She said as Phoebe thinks of what to say to drive her off from this embarrassment. 

“It’s nothing… Don’t mind me.” She said as she grabs her book and about to read herself away. “Oh, anyway, I am Belle of Lalonde.” She offered her hand to her, which Phoebe hesitated at first, but accepted it anyway to avoid embarrassing her new classmate. “I am Phoebe of Mires…” She introduced herself, which made Belle smile. 

“So, you are from Mottram. I never met someone from there, maybe because our provinces are like, miles away from each other.” She giggles, “Anyway, nice to meet you, Phoebe. It’s nice to meet a Mottrean.” Phoebe just smiles as someone entered their room. It was their teacher, they all stood up to greet him. He gestured for them to take their seats and went to the middle of the room. 

“Welcome, Politics path freshmen. I am your homeroom and Eshecaean Politics teacher, Mister Eric of Gumpel. Welcome to my class and we will start today with a little acquaintance activity. We will start with you,” he pointed at a male on the right side corner of the first row, “and let’s have our snake pattern here,” he gestures his index finger back and forth and finally pointing at the left side of the back of the room, pointing at a male again. “And end it with you, say your name, your former school, age, and why did you take the Politics Path.” 

The first male went to the middle as the teacher sets himself aside. One-by-one, they introduced themselves and many, as expected, are from the city of Enoch. And people are living up its name as the ‘The city where dedication and leadership resides.’ 

“I am Phoebe of Mires, I am from Fara’s School in Oliver. I am already 16 years old and I chose the Politics Path, even though some said few girls are interested in it because I feel like I want to contribute to the society by leading it.” All of the eyes in the room are looking at her. “Your name rings me a bell… Since you came from the girl’s school in Oliver… Are you the daughter of that restaurant there?”

She nods, deep inside her, the restaurant’s popularity will make her fame increase, and it is being proved now. Her professor nods, “And you are still 16, the youngest in this class yet, is there any other 16-year olds here?” No one answered, which made the professor went to his conclusion. “You didn’t take up any transition classes? I hope you will cope up with our lessons. Next.”

She sat on her chair as the self-introduction continues until the last person in the class. “Now, we will start our classes. And also, remember, observe your classmate’s behavior because, at the end of this week, we will have our class election for class representatives and some officers, got it?” They all agreed as they started their class with an introduction to Eshecaean politics. 

“There are 5 provinces or cities in Eshecaea, Enoch, Dorsite, Henrikus, Opdhal, and Mottram. Each of them has distinctive qualities and purpose in the kingdom. Enoch being the capital, the trading center, and home of the leaders, and the same with the rest of the provinces. But, despite their differences, they still have the same political classes, positions, and functions. Maybe some have unique leaders like the Hectare Masters in Dorsite, but in the higher classes, they have the same positions, and that is what we will gonna study today.”

Phoebe listened to what the professor is saying and discussing. They are actually reviewing what she knew about the Geography class she had before, but more on the political side of it. She is taking notes and scribbles in her notebook, it was a mess, but she will polish it later. Their class ended and the next session started as their Mathematics professor arrived, which is Mister Alfred of Hastey. 

After their Mathematics lesson, their lunch hour has started. The other students are buying with their aurels some food, while Phoebe has her homemade food and took a seat on the cafeteria plaza with tables. There are some tables inside the cafeteria itself, but she rather has some outside breeze while eating her delicious food. 

“Hey, Phoebe, can I sit here with you?” She looks up as she saw Belle smiling at her with her warm beef soup. She nods as Belle puts her food there and sat in front of her at the circular table. “I have no one with who I am close, but since you are my seatmate, maybe we are close enough.” She giggles as she puts her water container which is made of polished wood. 

“Well, it’s okay if you do this every day, I have no friends yet.” She lied, she knows one person in this school that she didn’t even expect that he was here. Speaking of him, she tries to find him on the cafeteria plaza grounds, she didn’t found him, nor even his silhouette. She really has a hunch he was just a fake student and was goofing around with her. 

“Maybe we can be friends, I mean, why not?” Phoebe just shrugged and agreed to befriend her. “Since you’re from Oliver, you must be rich enough to be here, aren’t you?” The black-haired girl looks at her, “Well, you can say that we have enough money for our needs.” 

“You have a restaurant, right?” Belle insisted as she takes a sip on her soup. “Well, I am here because I am a scholar of the archduke.” The braided girl in front of her was shocked, “That is amazing and lucky! I am here because my aunt took me from the province and decided to help me achieve my dreams.”

“Why did you took the politics path, anyway?” Phoebe asked as she chews the shrimp in her mouth. “Well, aside from helping the nation, I want to do something…” “What is it?”

“Avenge Hawthorne.”