CROWNS ACADEMY || A Royalty's Academia Book Series #1

෴VOLUME [35]෴

Rai's POV

The moment our jet touched down in Seoul, I knew this wasn’t going to be just another class trip. 

Tinku, sprawled across the plush white seats of her father’s private jet, grinned at me over the rim of her iced coffee. “Ready to meet the future of space tech, future Queen of the States?” 

I rolled my eyes, kicking her shin lightly. “Stop calling me that.” 

“Never.” She winked, adjusting the oversized sunglasses perched on her nose. “Besides, you’re basically royalty now. Might as well own it.” 

“Remind me again how you got into Crowns?” I teased, nudging her. “Last I checked, ‘billionaire heiress’ isn’t a royal title.” 

Tinku smirked, twirling a strand of her perfectly curled hair. “Because my daddy literally funds half the school’s tech labs. Also, Princess Yoona pulled some strings. We went to middle school together before she transferred to Crowns.” 

Ah, right. Yoona. The South Korean princess who’d left Crowns Academy last year under vague circumstances. Rumor had it, it was something to do with family politics—but Tinku had always been tight-lipped about it. 

Before I could press further, the jet’s doors slid open, and the humid Seoul air rushed in. 

The palace’s arrival pavilion was all sleek marble and modern elegance. At the top of the steps stood Princess Yoona, her posture regal, her smile warm but guarded. 

She was dressed in a stunning fusion of traditional and modern—a high-collared hanbok in deep cobalt, but with a sheer, shimmering overlay that caught the light like liquid metal. 

“Tinku!,” Yoona called, her voice melodic. “You didn’t tell me you’d bring the future Queen of the States.” 

I groaned. “Not you too.” 

Tinku laughed, bounding up the steps to pull Yoona into a hug. “Please, she’s just here to steal your telescopes.” 

Yoona’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she turned to me. “Estrella. It's so nice to finally meet you.” 

Before I could respond, a sharp voice cut in. 

“Yoona.” 

A tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped out from behind a pillar—Prince Joon, Yoona’s older brother, as I later came to know. His sharp jawline and piercing gaze were almost intimidating, but it was the way his eyes immediately flicked to Tinku that caught my attention. 

Huh

“Father didn’t mention guests,” Joon said coolly. 

Yoona’s smile didn’t waver. “Because I didn’t tell him. It’s an astronomy trip, Joon. Not a coup.” 

Tinku, ever the chaos gremlin, smirked. “Aw, Joon, missed me that much?” 

His jaw tightened. “Hardly.” 

Oh, this was gold 

෴

Later, we officially began our learning.
The Celestial Observatory was a marvel—a towering glass structure with telescopes that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi film. Our class (a mix of Crowns Academy students and Seoul’s royal scholars) was ushered inside, where holographic star maps flickered above us. 

But something was off. 

Every few minutes, the projections stuttered, distorting constellations into unrecognizable shapes. Yoona frowned, typing rapidly into a tablet, but Joon’s expression was unreadable.