When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that my hands were different from usual. Lying on a bed covered with white cloth, Sakura stared intently at both her hands. They were slender and delicate, with joints that weren't hers. Like porcelain. Or like a doll's. (What... happened?) Memories stirred. That moment at the intersection. A large truck running a red light. The truck bed looming above. And—— That man's face. The face of the man from when she lived under the name "Tanaka Sakura." Along with the words, "You're no longer needed." Her heart throbbed sharply. At that sensation, Sakura caught her breath. Wait. This body's heart. This heart is beating. But I should be dead. As she pushed herself up from the bed, a sense of wrongness so intense it felt like it might burst ran through her entire body. The white nightgown she wore was unfamiliar. The dim lighting by the pillow was unknown. The dusty window. The religious emblems on the wall——everything felt alien. Unsteadily, she placed her feet on the ground. The wooden floor was cold against her soles. Ahead of the floor was a mirror. What was reflected in the broken wooden frame was—— An unfamiliar girl. Black short bob hair, deep brown eyes, slender shoulders. A faint purple scar on her left temple. A silver hair ornament barely held her hair together. None of it was Sakura's. But—— As she stared into those eyes, she could certainly see herself reflected there. Memories from her past life came flooding back like a broken dam. Losing her parents. Being left with relatives. Boring days in high school. Waiting at a station-front café after school, facing a man named Teiito. Creating smiles for him even if it meant erasing herself. And that day. "Let's go to Disneyland on graduation day. I'm probably going to that university." He said that. His eyes were distant. Directed at another woman. The next day, Teiito told Sakura: "Sorry. Let's break up after all. You're... not enough." It was despair. But stronger than that was anger. Anger and humiliation. And—— A large truck running a red light. The girl's face reflected in the mirror was rigid and quiet. No tears flowed. Her lips pressed together, pushing emotions inward——a survival instinct she'd developed in her past life. "...Where is this?" The voice that escaped was not her own. Thin, girlish. The door opened. "Ah, young lady, you've awakened." An elderly woman with gray hair stood holding a tray. Her wrinkled face bore a gentle expression. This woman said something. Something——important. But what entered Sakura's mind wasn't her words, but the uniform the woman wore. A faded black dress. A red cloth wrapped around her arm——the mark of a lower-ranking noble. "Today is the day of the magical aptitude registration examination. Please visit the Aokitoin branch office by noon. Do not forget your young lady's noble status certificate." Those words told her everything. Sakura nodded slowly. Without speaking. Without asking. Instead, she continued to stare at the mirror. She had become something. A girl who had obtained a different body, a different name, in a different world. *** The royal capital Carentis was far larger than she had imagined. A walled city spreading across the western bank of the Ardel River. Population approximately 280,000. Surrounded by high stone walls, with labyrinthine streets spreading within. The voices of merchants selling goods echoed through the markets, and the social status of those walking the streets was evident at a glance from their clothing. Noble daughters draped in luxurious silk descended from carriages while commoners in worn traditional dress pressed themselves to the sides. Sakura walked among them. The white blouse and black slacks, topped with a gold-trimmed emblem cloak, drew attention simply by existing. But the attention was not respect——it was contempt. When merchants saw the lower-ranking noble's emblem, they openly raised prices. "Ah, a lower-ranking noble, is it? This item is a bargain at 3,000 regna per piece," they'd say of goods normally priced at 2,000 regna. Noble youths deliberately blocked her path, their eyes carrying clear disdain. Innate contempt for lower-ranking nobility. Sakura observed and memorized all of it calmly. (Seven-tier noble system. The lowest-ranking lower nobles are essentially titular nobility. No power, no funds, no dignity.) Her knowledge from her past life wouldn't work in this world. But the noble hierarchy was the same in any world. Survival of the fittest. A world judged by apparent rank. She already knew such things. She had learned them well enough in her past life. The Aokitoin branch examination office was located in the southeastern district of the royal capital. A simple building. A stone rectangular structure with five examination desks inside. Among the boys and girls waiting in line at the counter, what particularly caught Sakura's attention was——that everyone else appeared to be from higher-ranking noble families or respectable commoners. She was the only lower-ranking noble. When her turn came, she stood before the examiner. A man in his forties with an unpleasant expression. His face, after glancing at her emblem for just a moment, placed the documents down with apparent disinterest. "Now, we'll conduct the pulse examination. Please extend your right arm." Flat, mechanical words. Routine procedure. The examiner had even forgotten to check the documents. Sakura extended her arm. A thin silver needle——a "pulse needle"——was placed against her wrist. In that instant—— The measuring device swung dramatically. The numbers on the meter advanced rapidly to the right. And on. And on——then burst. The reading maxed out. "Eh?" The examiner's face went blank. He withdrew the needle from her wrist. The meter's number slowly returned to zero. But the position of that number was—— Standard range was "1 to 7." Practical threshold was "5 or above." Sakura's body had exceeded the meter's limit. "...A malfunction?" The examiner retrieved a backup needle. The same result again. A third needle. A fourth. All identical. With each one, the examiner's face grew more frozen. Sakura simply observed his reaction. With no emotional fluctuation. Just quiet observation. (This is... magical aptitude. Power in this world.) The examiner spoke. His voice trembled. "Such a reading is... I must report this to the Aokitoin. Um, excuse me. What is your name?" "Crest family, lower-ranking nobility. Sakura." The moment those words were spoken, the examiner's eyes widened dramatically. A lower-ranking noble. A merely titular noble. Could never produce such readings. *** That evening, Sakura sat on the stone steps of the Gyokukoden. The Gyokukoden was the center of faith expressing gratitude for the blessings of the earth-vein. White walls, large doors, faint sounds of morning prayers drifting from within. But Sakura had chosen this place not from religious devotion. Simply to avoid attention. To think. And then——a flashback came. That day's scene. Teiito's eyes. The moment those eyes perfectly overlapped with the portrait of the "Crown Prince" she'd seen in one corner of the royal capital's noble district. Shudder. Sakura's body trembled. And then, after a while. She laughed quietly. Not from anger or sadness, but a quiet, cold laugh. It was filled with certainty. (In this world... the Crown Prince is Teiito. And this is... a chance for revenge.) That man was the Crown Prince in this world. At the center of power. In the position to inherit the throne. And Sakura possessed abnormal magical aptitude. Gain power. Climb the stairs. Crawl up to that man's feet. And then, completely, crush him. The sensation throbbing in her chest. It wasn't just revenge——it was the remnant of her past life's emotions. The lingering pain of love for a man she had once truly loved. But now, that too. Meant nothing before power. *** When night fell on the Crest Baron's mansion, Sakura walked through its corridors. Burst plaster. Peeling wallpaper. A neglected garden. The eight-room mansion maintained only the pretense of nobility, but was essentially a ruin. This was the reality of lower-ranking nobility. From the window, the white tower of the royal palace "Shimohana Palace" was visible. Stone the color of lilac. The royal seal displayed at its peak. Sakura stared at it intently. (No power. No funds. Only a nominal title and... the abnormal magical aptitude measured today.) An elderly maidservant brought dinner. A single loaf of coarse bread and thin soup. The finest that could be made with a lower-ranking noble's budget. Seeing it, Sakura spoke matter-of-factly. "...First, I'll change this." There was determination in that voice. That night, Sakura formulated her plans for the coming days. To seek opportunities for contact before the Aokitoin's message arrived. To place herself in a proper place of training to utilize her magical aptitude. Staring at the palace tower, Sakura exhaled once. Not from sentiment. With pure, strategic, quietness. The goal named revenge had already transformed from abstraction into concrete reality. With a specific target——the Crown Prince. With concrete means to crawl up to his feet. The humiliation from her past life would be settled in this world. Thus, Sakura quietly swore.