Aini Miccola, the illegitimate child of a countryside baron, is the talk of the Royal Academy. The boys can’t get enough of her cuteness, and the girls seethe at her blatant ignorance of noble conduct…but as she makes a name for herself, three others are gaining notoriety as the “villainesses” of the academy: Serafina, daughter of a powerful marquess and fiancée to the crown prince; Sandra, a viscount’s high-minded daughter with a once-in-a-generation talent for business; and Bernardetta, cunning attendant to the prime minister and heiress to a house with close ties to the royal family. When the three villainesses go toe-to-toe with Aini the apprentice saint, what paths will each of them choose?