As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

No matter how attractive Lensia was as a disciple, sister, or friend, her foster parents preferred well-behaved children who respected their elders. Since infancy, Lensia had never been considered for adoption, let alone adopted, and became a troublemaker in the orphanage, influencing the other children with her unruly behavior.

Around that time, a notice was posted on the orphanage’s bulletin board.

“It’s already time for Eldran Academy to recruit new students.”

The Imperial Eldran Academy, named after the capital, was an elite academy where children of the most prominent noble families gathered, boasting the highest level of education in the empire. The reason such a prestigious academy’s notice could be posted at the orphanage was because the admission criteria had changed a few years ago.

Due to the rising discontent among commoners towards the ruling class, the imperial family changed the admission requirements to allow all citizens of the empire to enter through a fair examination process. However, given the educational disparity between nobles and commoners, it was hard to see this as truly fair. Nobles were educated by the best tutors and had access to extensive libraries, while commoners struggled to buy a single book every few months. Because of this, nobles did not oppose the change much.

Despite the new rules, commoners continued to attend local academies, which were usually reserved for the children of wealthy local merchants. No commoner had ever been admitted to the Imperial Eldran Academy.

As discontent among commoners began to surface again, the imperial family proposed a new solution.

“An interview process?”

Thus, the interview selection process was introduced for the first time that year. Candidates could be recommended by either a noble or the head of an orphanage, and only three would be chosen. This special selection was designed to allow nobles with less qualified children to enter the academy and to occasionally admit commoners to appease public discontent.

“Director! I want to apply for this! Please write me a recommendation!”

Lensia immediately sought out the orphanage director to request a recommendation for the academy. If a commoner was admitted, all tuition fees were waived.

“That’s a good idea, Lensia. I’ll write it for you right away.”

The director, who had always seen Lensia as a thorn in the side, immediately wrote a recommendation letter to send her off to the academy. Though getting accepted would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack, it was worth it just to get her away from the other children for a while. The situation was dire; if left unchecked, all the children might start behaving like Lensia.

“Thank you!”

At the same time, Eldran Academy needed the most dramatic commoner acceptance to quell all objections. A girl who was ostracized at the orphanage for having a name and being unruly, who studied diligently despite her circumstances and applied to and got accepted into Eldran Academy. It was the perfect narrative.

“…I got accepted.”

The acceptance letter, which even Lensia couldn’t believe, was thus delivered into her hands.

* * *

However, Lensia’s value at Eldran Academy ended with her admission. By widely publicizing her acceptance, the imperial family turned commoners’ discontent into praise. No one cared about her well-being at the academy.

“Well, they said women cannot take swordsmanship classes.”

“Why not? Isn’t Eldran Academy supposed to offer fair learning opportunities?”

“

, typical commoner. This is a solemn academy. Lower your voice. And women cannot participate because it’s dangerous.”

“Then aren’t men also in danger? I’m confident I can do better than those pale-faced kids.”

“I said no.”

“Then at least allow a sparring match. If I win, let me take the classes. If I lose, I won’t bother you anymore.”

“…Fine. But if you lose, accept the outcome humbly.”

The instructor, tired of Lensia’s daily pestering, accepted her proposal. And so her opponent was…

“Lay down your sword. I can’t harm a woman.”

“Sorry. I can’t give up on the only field I want to study here.”

“But… this is troublesome.”

He was Edin von Bellord Kaillon Roblin Estante Orwell, the second prince who had entered the academy in disguise after his older brother was assassinated at a young age. Raised in secrecy and meant to be a role model, Edin was brought to the academy. His mannerisms and behavior were different from other nobles due to his imperial upbringing.

Believing him to be an arrogant provincial noble, others pushed Edin into the match. And as a result…

Having not received proper swordsmanship training due to being overprotected, Edin, with his weak skills and strength, chose to lose, unable to confidently overpower Lensia. Just as everyone was about to mock him for losing to a girl…

Unable to safely subdue Lensia due to his weak skills and strength, Edin chose to lose. Just as everyone was about to mock Edin for losing to a girl…

“Your Highness! I apologize for being late.”

“It’s alright. Although I faced some trouble, it’s resolved now without anyone getting hurt. By the way, weren’t we supposed to use aliases at the academy?”

“

.”

Edin’s identity was revealed on his first day of swordsmanship training.

* * *

“It’s quite ironic. To be paired with my first sparring partner for an entire semester.”

“

, indeed…” Lensia laughed, but it was not funny at all.

She ground her teeth secretly. Those annoying nobles had passed the troublesome prince to her because they couldn’t bear to draw a sword against someone the emperor cherished. If he got injured during a spar, she would be executed.

“We have a lot in common. We both got in through the interview selection and are both poor with swords.”

“Didn’t Your Highness have a good teacher?”

“The teacher was excellent, but I lacked talent. I couldn’t even have a proper duel with a real sword because it was deemed too dangerous. I wanted to learn swordsmanship properly, so I’m glad for this opportunity.”

“…Indeed, we do have some similarities.”

“It’s fine if I get a little hurt, so let’s have a proper match. I want to make the most of our class time.”

“Your Highness might be fine, but I won’t be.”

“Really, it’s fine. I’ve arranged for a secret spot to receive treatment from the imperial healer. If it’s a small wound, I can hide it and get treated. So, how about we aim to improve each other’s swordsmanship.”

“No backing out later.”

“Of course.”

Thus, they became sparring partners in swordsmanship class. While Edin’s skills barely improved, Lensia quickly grew stronger, thanks to her innate talent and interest in swordsmanship.

“Your name is Lensia, right?”

One day, an evaluator observing the class approached Lensia. She was a woman with rare black hair and eyes.

“If you truly want to learn swordsmanship, meet me at the center of the maze garden tonight when the moon is up.”

Though it was odd for a mere evaluator to offer such a proposal, Lensia immediately nodded, knowing she couldn’t afford to be picky.

That night, in the center of the maze garden, the woman made Lensia an irresistible offer.

“I heard you were ostracized because you had a name from birth and were considered a tomboy.”

“What does that have to do with learning swordsmanship?”

“It’s relevant. The path will be tough, requiring determination and passion.”

“I have plenty of both. I’m determined to rise to a position where no one can look down on me.”

“Good. I’ll train you to become the continent’s best swordsman. But there’s a condition.”

“What is it? You must have already done my background check, so you know I have neither money nor power.”

“I have a personal grudge. I need you to resolve it for me.”

Lensia laughed bitterly. It seemed these nobles weren’t satisfied with just dumping the prince’s problem on her; now they wanted her to take an assassination job too.

“Do you want me to kill someone?”

“Something similar.”

“I won’t do it. No matter how desperate I am, why would I kill someone? Unless it’s a crazed dragon that regularly destroys buildings and fields.”

“…That’s exactly what I’m asking. Kill the dragon.”

“Pardon?”

“Black Dragon Run. The vicious dragon destroys buildings and burns fields whenever it pleases. Surprisingly, people aren’t very enthusiastic about killing Run. I have a personal grudge against that dragon. If you become a dragon slayer, you’ll become someone no one can ignore, which aligns with your goal.”

“Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I have my reasons. But follow my instructions, and you’ll become incredibly skilled.”

“Why offer this to me? There must be many who want to kill Run. Besides, there are many who scoff at the idea of a woman wielding a sword.”

“Talent matters more than gender. And…”