Reincarnated as the Villainess... Yeah, I'm Doomed

Chapter Forty-Five: New Year and New Faces

I had to admit that I was excited to start my second year at the academy. Not only because my reputation had been restored, but also because of the new classes being offered to the students this year. For the first time in the school's history, both male and female students were allowed to take either a magical arts class or magical combat class, and I couldn't be more excited. While I still lacked in the strength department when it came to the amount of mana I could release at once, magical combat was still my forte when compared to magical arts. When using combat magic, I didn't need do something big or flashy, I just needed to defeat my opponent before they defeated me. 

"Callista, I know you're excited to go back to school, but could you please stop belting those strange songs out of the window?" Caden asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"You're just jealous of my taste in music," I huffed, sitting back in the carriage's chair before I continued to quietly hum my EDM rendition of a Hannah Montana song.  

"If you can even call that music," Caden said under his breath. 

"What?"

"Nothing, anyways, are you planning on taking a magical combat class?" My brother asked, quickly changing the subject. Over the years he had learned that insulting my taste in music was not something I took lightly and it often ended with violence. 

"Of course, that was the first class I signed up for. I was honestly shocked when I saw the course on the roster, I didn't think that many nobles would support such a huge change." I admitted, my mood turning sour as I remembered the ridiculous gender roles that existed within our kingdom. 

"Wait, so he didn't tell you?" Caden asked with a raised brow.  

"Who's 'he', and what was 'he' supposed to tell me?"

"I guess you'll hear about it anyways... Prince Philip has been working with a few faculty members to stop using gender to determine magical aptitude for certain subjects. This summer he saw an opportunity to finalize these talks after you gained a lot of recognition from your performance at the festival." Caden explained with a proud smile. 

"Wait, so you mean, with everything going on, Prince Philip was able to change a century long tradition within a magic academy that has pretty much remained the same since it was built?" 

"Well, he is Prince Philip. The guy can be strange, but he's really impressive. Why else would I permit someone to act so friendly with you, you know I have high-"

Thoughts of the crown prince's achievements filled my head, drowning out my brother's rambling. Unlike past royalty, the King and Queen only had birthed one heir to the throne, that heir being Prince Philip. This was because the prince's birth almost killed the Queen, making it so that she could no longer have children. Instead of taking another concubine like past royalty, the King decided against that idea. Not only in order to stay loyal to his wife, but to also avoid the bloodshed that would occur during the succession to the throne. 

It was normal for massacres to take place during the throne's succession, the current Civil war in Cynth being a prime example. Even in our kingdom, the King and his brother Alexander were almost forced to fight one another even though they had a good relationship. So, when it was found out that the Queen was unable to bear a child, the King decided to take the risk and gamble on a single heir. 

Prince Philip was the crown prince, and he had always been the crown prince without question. Though the King did his best to raise him, the young prince grew up relying on his own strength as he carried the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders. He had grown so accustomed to this responsibility, that even changing the balance of gender roles wasn't that big a deal for him.