The noble families of Savaya were divided broadly into two camps.
On one side stood the military lineages that produced commanders and took to the battlefields themselves, while on the other were the political houses that remained within the empire to guide its affairs.
If one were to classify the Arsene countship, it leaned far closer to the political sphere; their influence came from moving resources, generating wealth, and dealing with other noble houses on the back of their commercial gains.
Selina, therefore, had no inherent reason to attend the Academy. In truth, the empire's sole academy was an institution designed to lay the groundwork for children of military stock.
Naturally, male students made up the vast majority, and the few young women enrolled were almost all daughters of military households.
A single offhand comment from Erik had played a decisive part in her entering such a place—and on a scholarship, no less.
“Do you really have to stay in that mansion? Why spend every day looking at the people tormenting you? Why not leave and live somewhere far away from them?”
Whenever Count Arsene left the estate on business, Flora and Brandon's cruelty would begin without fail.
They skimped on her food, threw out her cherished belongings, and struck her where the bruises would never show. Even so, Selina had never told her father.
Watching his childhood friend endure it all without a single complaint had finally prompted Erik to speak up.
“I’m going to the Academy on behalf of the imperial family. They have dormitories there, so let's go together. You can learn how to crush anyone who tries to bully you, then come back stronger.”
In truth, Erik had suggested it largely because he hated the thought of going alone, yet his words had struck a chord with Selina.
She realized she was under no obligation to cower in solitude, and that a path existed for her to grow far away from that house.
The moment she reached that conclusion, she went straight to Count Arsene with her request.
“Out of the question.”
Count Arsene's refusal was only natural.
“You are still far too young. If word spreads that a ten-year-old girl has left her family to board at the Academy, it will do your reputation no favors. It would be far better to debut into high society early and secure your place…”
“My Lord Count, let the child go. This is the first time I have seen Selina show an interest in pursuing anything on her own. If this is truly her wish, she is bound to return with something of value to our house. Isn’t that so, Selina?”
For the first time in their lives, Flora supported Selina's desire. She had seized on Selina's unspoken admission that she wished to leave the house where she was so thoroughly mistreated.
“Still…”
The Academy's curriculum spanned four years at minimum, and if a student fell behind, it stretched on even longer.
“I cannot pay for your schooling indefinitely. It is impossible.”
He used the tuition as an excuse, but in truth, Count Arsene feared the prospect of his only daughter living alone and far from him.
Distance had certainly grown between them after his marriage to Flora, yet Selina remained his cherished, beloved child.
Following Sebastian’s birth, he had convinced himself that keeping everyone under a single roof was the only way to weave them into a true family.
That hope, however, belonged to him alone. From the moment Flora set her sights on securing the family's legacy for her son, coexisting with Selina had never been an option.
Even as a young child, Selina had understood as much.
“Pay only the first two years.”
There was a bitter humor in the house of Count Arsene fretting over expenses despite their legendary wealth, yet Selina spoke with steady poise.
“I will secure a scholarship for the remaining years no matter what.”
When Erik heard of her plan, worry showed on his face.
“If people find out the daughter of a family as wealthy as yours is relying on a scholarship program, they'll criticize you. They'll claim you stole someone else's opportunity.”
Selina merely answered as if there were nothing in the world to fear.
“The Arsene fortune is not mine yet. I can endure a few stray whispers. Besides, I will show everyone beyond any shadow of a doubt that I earned the award myself.”
Faced with her resolve, Count Arsene could not sway her. In the end, Selina entered the Academy.
“How strange… It seems our thoughts are aligned for once. Well, if we cannot get along beneath the same roof, living in our own spaces may be the wisest course. Regardless, I shall speak to the Count and have him cover the full four years.”
Flora had offered those words with manufactured sweetness when left alone with Selina, but the girl's gaze remained glacial.
“Two years are more than enough. I will secure scholarship support for the remaining two.”
“You are young and do not know how the world works, but people have eyes. What will become of House Arsene's standing if their daughter is a scholarship student? What do you imagine they will say?”
“They will assume we have fallen into financial straits and cannot afford the full tuition. That is a hundred times better. So do not demean me with your charity. Even if you hold every copper in this house, I would never beg a thing from you.”
As Selina moved past her, she paused and glanced back over her shoulder.
“And to be precise… When you say ‘our family,’ a stranger might think you were my mother.”
Her face flushed scarlet, Flora screamed in fury at Selina's retreating back.
“Fine! Do as you please! We shall see just how long you survive!”
And so Selina set off for the Academy.
Throughout her schooling, the funds her family sent amounted to only a single year's worth of tuition. There was hardly any need to ask whose design that had been.
Consequently, during her visits home twice each year, she went out of her way to avoid mentioning the matter of fees.
“I could easily cover another year of your tuition…”
“There is no need. I will handle it myself.”
Erik had offered once again, but Selina turned him down on the spot. Her refusal was effortless, as if she had anticipated the offer long before.
Selina had been laying the groundwork for this since her first year. During the term, she took on clerical work for the Academy lecturers; on holidays, she carried out odd jobs at the Arsene trade bureau.
Working beneath the lecturers allowed her to earn their favor and absorb effective ways to master every discipline.
And through her time at the bureau, she picked up the practical business skills she would one day need to steer the family's trade.
As her marks climbed step by step, fellow students began approaching her for private lessons.
Thus, three and a half years of relentless labor culminated in early graduation at the top of her class.
Life at the Academy had not been as easy as onlookers assumed, yet it had been fulfilling.
Without the luxury of wholehearted family backing, she had been unable to dedicate herself solely to her studies, yet she had gained far more in return.
The harsher reality had begun only after she set foot in high society.
‘I will never forget.’
Selina returned the quill case to its place, her mind hard at work.
Despite graduating as the class valedictorian, she had been met with cold stares from every direction.
Her insistence on attending the Academy against her family's wishes; her scholarship, treated as though she had stolen a needy student's place—all of it had clung to her from her very debut, like an indelible stain.
That was why Morgan Patel had always carried himself as though their engagement were a monumental sacrifice on his part.
Had it not been for the joint trade venture, had she not been pressured into the arrangement, had she not embraced the role of the ‘villainess,’ no suitor would have ever looked her way.
“The one who gained the most from this joint venture is Selina. It solved her betrothal problem as well, did it not?”
Selina clenched her fist tightly at the memory of Flora’s airy laughter before the Patels.
‘And what was it she said after the engagement was settled? That once a woman marries and leaves the house, her claim to everything is severed? Fine… Watch me. I will become the head of this family no matter what, and I will live right here, claiming my birthright with my head held high.’
Selina made the silent vow as she gazed through the window toward the estate’s main manor, gleaming silver beneath the moonlight.
‘That place is mine. I will not let anyone take it from me. Least of all Flora and Brandon.’
Selina was no longer the ten-year-old child who endured every slight and huddled away in silence.
She had grown into a woman of unyielding purpose, capable of doing whatever it took to reach her goal, forged through trial into something unbreakable.
