The 21st Century Grand Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Twenty-First Century Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy
The School Grounds in November
November arrived with a chill carried on the wind, and the School Grounds of the Royal Academy grew tense. The heightened anxiety of twelfth-grade students facing the entrance examination intensified with each passing day. Most students at the Royal Academy aimed to enter the Royal University, yet only a handful would transform that aspiration into reality.
“Ugh, I’m just going to study abroad.”
“Are you seriously asking me to do long-distance with you?”
“No, Da-young. I’ve been suspended multiple times—there’s no way I’m getting into the Royal University. Come study abroad with me, yeah?”
“Ow!”
Da-young smacked the back of Tae-joo’s hand sharply. There were barely two weeks left until the entrance examination.
“You said you’d inherit the company. That means you’re planning to do business in Korea, right?”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“Then of course you need to get your bachelor’s degree from the Royal Academy. Don’t you know how important educational credentials are in our country?”
“Yeah, I know. I do know, but….”
Tae-joo understood that no matter how hard he tried, the Royal University was impossible for him. His grades weren’t as strong as Sung Hee-joo’s, and he had no remarkable talents to speak of beyond academics. The only advantage he had over Sung Hee-joo was that his relationships with classmates weren’t terrible? At least he wasn’t as prickly as Sung Hee-joo.
But he was chronically late, perpetually neglected his assignments, and constantly skipped class without permission, forcing him to narrowly escape expulsion countless times. Without his father’s enormous donations, he would have been expelled long ago.
“You do know?”
“Well….”
When Da-young’s gaze turned cold, Tae-joo’s voice grew smaller. He knew it too. Unlike him, Da-young would gain admission to the Royal University. Tae-joo wasn’t overestimating Da-young—it was simply fact. Da-young maintained excellent grades despite playing just as much as he did, excelled at calligraphy, and had such strong relationships with her peers that she served as Dormitory Director.
Moreover, the Royal University had a special custom. If a family member had graduated from the Royal University, bonus points were awarded—a form of privilege that wasn’t explicitly codified in regulations but clearly existed in practice.
And Da-young had every qualification to take full advantage of that system. Her father, who served as Minister of Justice, and her mother, a professor in the Royal University Law Department, were both Royal University alumni, and her two older brothers were currently enrolled in the Royal University Law Department.
“I want to attend university with you too. But you know it’s realistically difficult.”
Tae-joo muttered with a dejected expression.
“Come on. Why won’t our Tae-joo use what he has?”
“What I have?”
“Yeah.”
“I have something like that?”
Da-young gently cupped Tae-joo’s face, which bore an expression of complete bewilderment.
“Money.”
“Money?”
“A lot of it, too.”
Da-young wasn’t unaware that Tae-joo’s grades fell far short of even approaching the Royal University’s threshold. She knew he couldn’t benefit from legacy preferences, couldn’t secure teacher recommendations. But she also knew that in this country, no one had more wealth than Tae-joo’s father.
“Make a donation to get in.”
“Ugh, no way!”
Tae-joo immediately shook his head, raising his voice.
“Why not!”
“Because Sung Hee-joo’s obviously going to the Royal University too. Why would I go?”
“Are you seriously refusing because you don’t want to attend the same university as your sister?”
Da-young asked with an incredulous expression.
“No, that’s not it….”
“Then what!”
“It’s embarrassing. She’ll get in on merit, but I’d be going because my parents paid for it….”
No matter how high Sung Tae-joo’s self-esteem was, he didn’t want to prove that he was inferior to his younger sister in every conceivable way.
By that point, Han Da-young gave up trying to persuade him and closed her mouth. It wasn’t that she understood Sung Tae-joo’s feelings. She simply didn’t want to pressure him any further as he sat there looking dejected and hurt.
“Sung Tae-joo.”
“Hm?”
“You’re confident you won’t cheat while you’re studying abroad?”
Realizing that this was Han Da-young’s permission, Sung Tae-joo brightened and stood up.
“Hey, Han Da-young. I’m Sung Tae-joo. Do you really think I’d even notice another woman when you’re around?”
“As long as you don’t say things like that.”
“What? You don’t trust me?”
As their bickering gradually transformed into playful banter, Sung Hee-joo, who happened to pass by, felt her expression slowly darken. Why were they talking about studying abroad due to poor grades as if it were something to celebrate? And why did that senior seem so pleased about it?
“Does that senior’s family even know their daughter is seeing our brother?”
For the first time that day, Sung Hee-joo found herself worrying about a middle-aged couple whose faces she’d never seen.
“What department are you planning to study, brother?”
Sung Hee-joo asked while studying with Jung-woo in the Library. Because of the conversation between Sung Tae-joo and Han Da-young she’d overheard earlier, she couldn’t shake thoughts of university from her mind all day.
“Suddenly?”
Jung-woo asked, his voice lowered to a whisper. Even after they’d grown considerably closer, Sung Hee-joo had never asked anything personal. He’d wondered if she was simply good at maintaining boundaries or just lacked curiosity. But seeing her eyes widen with genuine interest now, it seemed she’d simply never had anything she wanted to ask before.
“Yeah, suddenly.”
“What about… sociology or international relations?”
“Royal University?”
“Yes.”
“Is that your dream?”
“Hm?”
“Your father’s the Prime Minister. You’re not just following in his footsteps, are you?”
Jung-woo stared at Sung Hee-joo, who was leaning forward with a serious expression, before bursting into laughter. He found it amusing how she questioned his future with the same casual certainty that everyone else took for granted.
“What about you?”
“Hm?”
“You said you’d manage your family’s company like your father does.”
“I guess I did…?”
Sung Hee-joo admitted it readily and returned her focus to the math problem. But it wasn’t long before she set down her mechanical pencil. Noticing the irritation in that small gesture, Jung-woo removed the earbuds from his ears.
“What’s wrong?”
“Would you be willing to repeat a year? Just for about three years?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, because once you graduate, I’ll be an outcast again.”
I knew it was an unreasonable complaint. I knew it wasn’t something to say to someone facing the university entrance exam. But the thought of Jung-woo graduating made my mood sink regardless. It was an undeniable fact that school life had become easier since I’d grown closer to him.
“Repeating a year isn’t an option.”
“This is frustrating.”
“…Want to go to the School Canteen?”
“Instead of repeating a year?”
“Instead of repeating a year.”
Sung Hee-joo, who had been watching Jung-woo quietly, let out a small laugh. The fact that his idea of consolation was the School Canteen was so absurd that continuing to pout seemed ridiculous.
The two of them left the Library and headed straight to the School Canteen in the Main Building. The crisp wind was sharp enough to make one shiver, but Sung Hee-joo, who loved the cold, quickly chose an ice cream.
The path leading to the Dormitory was quite quiet.
“Hee-joo.”
Perhaps because of this, Jeong-woo’s voice came through with perfect clarity,
“Hmm?”
“Graduate early.”
“….”
The silence stretched long.
Sung Hee-joo, who had been frowning in confusion at his words, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Goodness, I can’t even respond to that. You were joking earlier, weren’t you?”
“I’m not joking.”
“But how can I suddenly graduate early?”
“If you start preparing now, you can accelerate by a year.”
Jeong-woo answered without a trace of humor, and Sung Hee-joo’s expression grew serious as well. He was right—it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“Still, it sounds like it would be incredibly demanding….”
“I’ll help you.”
“You will?”
“I have plenty of connections.”
“No, it’s not about connections….”
“If you need recommendation letters from any teachers or upperclassmen, just tell me. I can arrange that too.”
Jeong-woo spoke as if he’d been waiting for this moment, and Sung Hee-joo fell into thought once more.
“Why are you being so proactive about this?”
“You said you hated being isolated.”
“I never said I hated it.”
“….”
Instead of answering, Jeong-woo shrugged. From the moment he’d heard the word “retention,” he’d been quite desperate in finding the solution of early graduation, and he didn’t want that desperation exposed. Especially when the very person who’d brought up the isolation seemed so unbothered by it all.
But—
“It feels good.”
“What does?”
“That you’re on my side.”
Those words filled him with a warm sense of satisfaction. He wanted to support her even more actively, even more often.
“I wish you really were my older brother.”
“I don’t like that, Hee-joo.”
“What?”
“I would’ve wanted to see you hit Sung Tae-joo.”
The School Grounds in November were peaceful and cold.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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