Chapter Text
Death, Katarina discovered, felt like falling.
The last thing she remembered was Geordo's face, twisted with hatred as he struck her down. Now she was tumbling through endless darkness, the weight of her failures crushing her chest. The blonde light mage's face flickered through her mind - Maria Campbell, the girl who had stolen everything from her.
When Katarina's eyes snapped open, she found herself staring at the familiar canopy of her bed at the academy. Sunlight filtered through the windows, and she could hear Anne bustling about the room, preparing for what would be the first day of classes.
First day. The realization hit her like a physical blow.
She had returned to the beginning.
Katarina sat up slowly, her mind racing. This was the day before everything began - before that commoner girl would start weaving her spell over everyone Katarina knew. Her first instinct was to plan, to scheme, to ensure Maria Campbell would never gain the foothold she needed to destroy Katarina's life.
Or better yet, break off her engagement right this instant and avoid all this trouble. Because for all she despised the state of her parents’ marriage, at least her father had never run a sword through her mother. Bringing in his bastard son to the household one random evening seemed much more preferable than the alternative.
But then she remembered the cold steel of Geordo's sword.
Breaking their engagement immediately would be foolish. She knew Geordo well enough to understand that nothing intrigued him more than things being taken away from him. In her first life, she had fought desperately to keep him - and that desperation had only pushed him further away, into Maria's waiting arms. But more than that... the memory of his cruel smile as he struck her down made her blood run cold. No, she wanted nothing to do with a man capable of such violence, even if he didn't remember it.
"My lady?" Anne's concerned voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," Katarina replied automatically, her voice steady despite the tremors in her hands. It wouldn’t do for a Claes to appear vulnerable. "Just... thinking about the year ahead."
As Anne helped her dress, Katarina's thoughts continued to whirl. She had tried destroying Maria Campbell once, and it had led to her own destruction. Perhaps... perhaps the solution wasn't to actively oppose her. If she simply stayed away, focused on her own affairs...
"The class assignments have been posted," Anne mentioned as she brushed Katarina's hair. "Of course, your fiancée was the top scorer. Also I heard something interesting about this year's student council selections."
Katarina's lips curved into a bitter smile. The first time, she had been overjoyed that Geordo was at the top of the school rankings and proceeded to spend the rest of the morning going on a tirade about him and his genius, not paying any mind to Anne’s words about this “interesting member.” Of course, it was Maria Campbell, having scored highly on the entrance exams. The perfect little commoner prodigy.
"I suppose I'll need to work harder at my studies this year, seeing as I didn’t make the cut," Katarina said, more to herself than Anne. If Geordo was destined to break their engagement, she would need a backup plan. The Ministry always needed capable administrators, and the Claes name carried weight, but she would still need to put in the work to salvage her reputation after Geordo broke things off with her.
Because of course, it could only be the woman’s fault if the engagement was broken. She would gain a reputation as a person so undesirable that the third prince would rather lose the backing of the Claes household than take her as his wife. And if he flirted with a commoner while they were still engaged? Well, that was only his right.
With each and every thought she was convinced of one thing: she should absolutely never end up marrying Geordo. It was ironic, then, that her survival depended on becoming exactly what everyone already thought she was - cold, distant, and utterly uninteresting to the third prince of Sorcier.
"My lady?" Anne's surprise was evident in her voice. In the past, Katarina had never shown much interest in academics beyond the minimum required to maintain appearances.
"Things change, Anne." Katarina stood, smoothing her skirts. "Sometimes they have to."
With this cryptic message, she exited her room and started to make her way over to her first class.
On the way, Katarina caught sight of a familiar blonde head in the distance. Maria Campbell stood at the base of a tree, looking lost and uncertain. Something seemed vaguely familiar about the scene.
The next moment, it struck her.
So now’s the time for the first meeting between that hussy and Geordo?
In moments, Geordo would appear, drawn to her damsel-in-distress act like a moth to flame. She had heard of this event from her friends, and had laughed at the image of the commoner wanting to climb a tree like a monkey before her oh-so-beloved fiancée came to stop her from making a fool of herself.
Yes, she had laughed, not knowing the danger lurking around her until much later…
Katarina turned away, her steps quickening. Let him have his precious light mage. She had a different path to walk this time.
But she couldn't quite stop herself from glancing back, just once, to see Geordo approaching Maria with that gentle smile he had never once shown to his fiancée.
"This time," Katarina murmured to herself, "I choose survival."