The Ninth Exam Hall

Hina woke up on the stone floor of a throne room with a crown tucked in her pouch and a holy mark burning in her hand. She had died in one world and crossed over into another world, right in the middle of the kingdom’s exam season. That first shock almost broke her. The second thing nearly did. She was weak, undersized, and useless in a fight. So she did what kept her alive back home, and what now looked like magic in a court full of knives. She watched mouths, hands, and lies. She noticed who needed water, who needed cover, and who wanted praise more than truth. Every calm answer bought her one more day. Every kind word left a mark. The boy who kept standing beside her seemed to hear the pa...