The 21st Century Grand Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy - Chapter 5

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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 Gentleman and the Petty
“That woman again.”
Ryu Min-seok trembled as he confirmed the name written on the scroll. It was because of Sung Hee-joo, who had arrived thirty minutes late to the exam hall yet still achieved first place. From the moment she escaped that elevator, it had been infuriating.
‘Maybe I should just lock her away somewhere.’
What had started as a joke had become something Ryu Min-seok had poured genuine effort into—a perfect crime. He’d accounted for everything: the security guards’ shift changes, Sung Hee-joo’s movements, even the deletion of elevator CCTV footage. What he hadn’t anticipated was Min Jung-woo’s involvement.
Was she lucky, or just ruthless?
Normally, being trapped in an elevator on exam day would shatter anyone’s mental state. Yet that woman Sung Hee-joo had actually shown up to the exam hall and taken the test. Even if she hadn’t been trapped, losing thirty minutes should have left her mentally broken. What kind of mind did she possess to still achieve first place under those circumstances?
Then, Sung Hee-joo appeared, draped in a crimson robe. From the far end of the corridor, she was already smiling—like someone who knew the results beforehand.
“I heard you’d win, yet you lost again?”
“The foolish obsess over trifles. Isn’t it exhausting, struggling so desperately?”
Ryu Min-seok forced a smile, masking his turmoil as he looked down at her. Being larger than most boys his age, he waited for her to shrink back. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, she merely snorted dismissively.
“Was it difficult?”
“What?”
“This exam. I found it rather easy.”
As Ryu Min-seok fumbled for words, Sung Hee-joo leisurely closed the distance between them. Then, in a voice dripping with warmth—
“Accept your defeat gracefully. Don’t embarrass yourself by making excuses.”
She crushed his pride. Unable to contain his wounded ego, Ryu Min-seok’s voice turned harsh.
“How dare you, when you’re not even nobility….”
Ryu Min-seok believed her lack of status was her weakness.
“Watch your tongue, you noble brat. Do you want to be disciplined?”
Sung Hee-joo knew how to wield her own weakness as a weapon. In a school where social hierarchy was clear yet discrimination was forbidden, one careless discriminatory remark would cost him far more than it would her.
“This is ridiculous….”
So even if he snarled as though ready to strike, he couldn’t follow through. Even if given more time, the result would be the same.
Sung Hee-joo smiled with leisurely satisfaction, savoring the loser’s humiliation.
“Try harder. How can you not even win once? And you call yourself nobility.”
Sung Hee-joo climbed onto the wooden platform and took her stance. It was the hour when everyone slept, but this was the only time she could practice. During the day, assignments consumed her time, and whenever she managed to carve out practice time, upperclassmen would steal the space from her.
The archery competition held once a year was nominally a friendly match, but competition between dormitories was fierce. The school’s culture, which viewed overt displays of competitiveness as vulgar, made an exception only for archery. As a result, the cheering between dormitories was intense.
Especially the famous rival pairs—Vermillion Phoenix Palace and Azure Dragon Palace, Black Tortoise Palace and Baekho Palace—were desperate to outdo each other.
As a member of Vermillion Phoenix Palace, Sung Hee-joo couldn’t help but focus on the match against Azure Dragon Palace. Unfortunately, Ryu Min-seok was on Azure Dragon Palace’s roster. It was strange how someone who constantly hung around with low-quality people maintained top rankings in both academics and archery.
It was unlikely he was born with such talent, so there had to be some secret—
‘I have the key to the Archery Range.’
Ryu Min-seok’s voice had echoed through the dining hall during dinner. The way he boasted about that filthy privilege as though it were something to be proud of was laughable. If he’d known she was listening, he should have kept his mouth shut.
Sung Hee-joo had immediately left her seat and headed to the Lecture Hall. If Ryu Min-seok had the key to the Archery Range, if that’s why he practiced more than she did, then she needed that key and the practice time it guaranteed. Only then would it be fair.
Passing through the empty Lecture Hall corridor, Sung Hee-joo made her way to the Azure Dragon Palace classroom and successfully stole the key from Ryu Min-seok’s desk. She felt no pangs of conscience. Rather, the ease with which everything fell into place filled her with certainty—that heaven itself was aiding her victory.
So her practice should proceed without any interference—
“Who are you?”
A voice came from behind her. It was Prince An, dressed in a blue jeogori. Though she’d never spoken with him up close, she was certain. His exceptional height and refined features made him unmistakable from any other student.
This was a disaster. If it had been a teacher, she could have appealed to their mercy. If it had been Ryu Min-seok, she could have fought. That would have been better.
Prince An was the worst person she could possibly encounter. She’d heard he didn’t use the dormitory, so why was he here at this hour? Why, of all people….
“Your name.”
I tried to flee from him as he demanded it, but his calm voice bound my racing legs firmly in place.
“If you’ve committed a transgression, you accept the punishment it warrants—don’t compound your shame by running and being caught.”
I had no choice but to stop and face Wan. My upturned gaze burned with defiance, but he let it pass without acknowledgment. I understood that whether I stood still or stepped forward, both were forms of surrender.
“Your name.”
“…Sung Hee-joo.”
“Your affiliation.”
“Vermillion Phoenix Palace, ninth grade.”
“You’re aware you’ve violated school regulations.”
“I lacked sufficient practice time. The friendly match is practically upon us….”
“Are you a person of integrity, or one of base character?”
Wan’s stern voice cut through the air as his brow furrowed. Whether I lacked practice time or not, he had no interest in excuses. If one commits a transgression, one accepts the punishment—and a person of true character does not make excuses when admitting fault.
“Students in tenth grade and below are prohibited from leaving the Dormitory after hash. Violation of this regulation results in twenty demerit points. Use of athletic facilities outside designated training hours requires prior approval from the headmaster. Violation results in ten demerit points. In total, you….”
“What about you?”
Again, defiance flickered in the girl’s eyes.
“You’re here as well. Do you receive demerit points too?”
Wan let out an incredulous laugh at her brazen suspicion. She truly believed he’d violated the regulations just as she had—her narrowed gaze held absolute conviction.
“Perhaps I came without approval.”
When he produced an authorization letter from his pocket, the fire drained from her eyes.
“H-how did you obtain one? The headmaster said he feared the students’ enthusiasm would overheat before the friendly match, that the Archery Range exists not for individual practice but for… yet he approved yours….”
Her voice trailed off with frustration, and Wan fell silent for a moment. Each word she spoke transformed her expression, drawing his gaze—the aggrieved droop of her brows, the widening of her eyes in disappointment, the way her lips trembled with indignation, the flush creeping across her cheeks in anger. Every detail captivated him.
The spirited girl then produced a key adorned with a blue tassel.
“It belongs to Ryu Min-seok, ninth grade of Azure Dragon Palace.”
“Ryu Min-seok?”
“Yes. He had the audacity to boast about having a key, so I stole it from him.”
Not only had she practiced theft, but she’d actually stolen a key. This was grounds for expulsion if anyone chose to press the matter.
“I don’t understand why an individual would possess a key to the Archery Range, which doesn’t exist for personal practice… but seeing how easily you obtained your authorization, it seems the bar was simply higher for me.”
Only then did Wan recognize her as the infamous Sung Hee-joo—the illegitimate daughter of Castle Group, the mad dog of Vermillion Phoenix Palace.
“So don’t lecture me about demerit points or anything else. I will seize every opportunity my enemies enjoy, precisely as they do.”
“You’ll become equally tainted?”
“I’ll win through tainted means. Better to win that way than to lose with honor.”
Like a hedgehog bristling with spines, she strode toward the door with confident steps—not the gait of someone fleeing, but of someone advancing. Then she turned back, bowing deeply at the waist. As if to declare herself a person of integrity. As if to insist that the filth and pettiness belonged to others, not her. It was a defiant assertion.

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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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