Chapter 6.2

“I thought you said you were pretty good at math?”

“I guess so.”

“Student, are you going to keep giving me half-hearted answers?”

Jeras, who was choosing books, turned his head and glared at me.

I’m not scared. I scoffed.

“I wasn’t giving a half-hearted answer. How am I supposed to know how good ‘pretty good’ is to you, Teacher, and answer accordingly?”

“Fine. I guess we’ll see if you’re any good at it or not.”

A faint whiff of a wicked villain wafted from the grinning Jeras.

Sure enough, Jeras started piling all the books he had pulled from the bookshelf onto me. Each one was incredibly thick. I felt like I could knock someone out with just one of them. Still, I stood my ground. I didn’t want to lose to Jeras before the lesson even began.

I could grit my teeth and hold on for one, two… even three books. But four was a different story. My twig-like arms trembled.

It’s heavy!

Following the seemingly weightless Jeras, I let out a groan without realizing it.

“Is it heavy?”

“No… it isn’t!”

“Are you okay? You’re more resilient than you look. I was testing you to see if you’d collapse before we even started studying.”

Saying that, Jeras held up a book he had taken from the bottom shelf and waved it at me. The size and thickness, comparable to an encyclopedia, instantly made me lose my temper.

“Who do you think is exhausted before we even start studying?”

“That won’t do. Give them to me, Student. I’ll carry them.”

Jeras took the books from my hands. Why was he being so friendly and kind all of a sudden after being so maliciously mean?

I massaged my stiff arms and walked beside him.

“Weren’t we going to study in the library?”

“Why would we? There’s a separate study room for that. Ah, you wouldn’t know. It’s the room I used when I was in the academy with Sion. I think it was around here.”

Jeras’s memory was spot on. When he opened the door, a calm and tidy study room came into view.

Inside the rectangular room, two desks faced each other at a reasonable distance. A long sofa and a table were placed in front of the fireplace near the door. A peaceful garden view unfolded beyond the window, as if it were a place to rest when tired of studying.

There was nothing in the room that could distract from studying.

Jeras didn’t even look at anything else and immediately lay down on the sofa, using the books he brought as a pillow. It fit his length perfectly and looked quite cozy.

“Hmm, good. It’s still the same.”

“You’re already resting without doing anything?”

“Resting? This is my spot. It has been all along.”

I could picture it. Sion studying diligently at his desk and the good-for-nothing slacker stretched out on the sofa.

Wait… Sion in his late teens? That must’ve been ridiculously cute.

“Student Eloe, come and sit here.”

As I was imagining a teenage Sion and looking around the study room, Jeras called out to me. He had sat up on the sofa and gestured with his chin to the opposite sofa.

I need to finish this quickly, send this nuisance away, and get some time to myself. I should also try to find a portrait of a young Sion.

Putting my regrets aside, I quietly sat down on the sofa.

“Before we begin, I want to assess your academic level, Student. That way, I can plan our lessons.”

“Are we having a pop quiz?”

“That’s too much trouble. Let’s just do it orally. I’ll ask the questions, and Student Eloe will answer. Easy, right?”

“Simple, I like that. But what happens if I get everything right?”

“Student Eloe has a very rich imagination.”

“Enough with the compliments and just answer me.”

Jeras shrugged.

“It’s unlikely to happen, but if you get every question right, we can end today’s lesson here.”

“Bring it on.”

I gestured to Jeras with my finger. Sparks flew between our eyes, signaling an intense battle. Jeras looked directly at me and spoke.

“Question number one.”

Exactly ten minutes later, I was clinging to Jeras, who was staring at me with a look of utter disbelief.

“Just one more question. Just one more!”

“What difference will one more question make?”

“Zero and one are different…”

“You have to get it right to get one point.”

Jeras scoffed. Since I hadn’t gotten a single question he asked right, I had nothing to say.

However! I had my own reasons. To be honest, it was a bit unfair. If you think about it, I was the victim here.

‘How was I supposed to know Eloe was so disconnected from her studies?’

Part of the reason I asked for the special entrance exam was my trust in Eloe. I thought that because of her status as a Grand Duchess, she would have received a certain level of education.

According to the novel’s setting, a transmigrator can freely use the original owner’s knowledge and habits as their own whenever they need to. How else would I have known the noble’s way of greeting? I just did what Eloe’s body remembered. The movements came so naturally, without any conscious effort, as if this body had been mine from the beginning.

But what do you know? I couldn’t answer a single one of Jeras’s questions. My mind was a complete blank. It was shockingly empty.

There were two possibilities: either I couldn’t access Eloe’s memories, or there was no knowledge to access.

After Jeras asked twenty questions and my correct answer rate remained at 0%, I came to a conclusion.

I’m completely screwed for the entrance exam.

“At this rate, you’ll just be a disgrace and get kicked out. There’s no time. Sit up straight, Lady.”

Jeras was unusually serious. That meant the situation was just as serious. It spoke volumes that I couldn’t get a single question right.

I sat there like a wilted weed, gauging Jeras’s reaction. He frowned deeply and rummaged through the books he had chosen. Was it possible that Jeras had asked me incredibly difficult questions? I cautiously held onto a sliver of hope and spoke up.

“Um, Teacher. Weren’t the questions… too difficult?”

“Student. Getting into the academy isn’t your only problem right now. Is it even possible not to know who the emperor that completed the law codes was?”

“…I don’t think so.”

I lowered my eyes to avoid Jeras’s icy glare. His sigh pierced my heart.

It’s not that I don’t know, it’s that Eloe doesn’t know. I muttered this useless excuse to myself.

After that, not a sound could be heard in the study room, not even a breath. I was crumpled on the edge of the sofa like a deflated balloon, while Jeras skimmed through books and occasionally used magic.

“Student Eloe.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Five books were placed in front of me as I obediently answered. He couldn’t possibly expect me to read all of these in a few days, could he? No way.

With trembling eyes, I silently pleaded with Jeras. Please, please.

“Memorize all the parts I’ve marked with magic. I’ll give you five days. One book a day should be enough.”

“…The books are too thick.”

“How commendable of you to say you’ll do it in three days. Then I’ll see you in three days.”

“Teacher! Just one day. Just one more day! Please, I beg you!”

Jeras narrowed his eyes at me. I don’t know how much he marked, but three days is absolutely not enough. I’m especially bad at rote memorization!

I clasped my hands together as if in prayer and shot him a pitiful look. Jeras pretended to think for a moment, tilting his head, then smiled radiantly.

“Alright. But on one condition.”

***

Jeras glanced at the pocket watch on the table. The hands were past 4 p.m. and slowly approaching 5.

He hadn’t expected the meeting, which started at 10 in the morning, to drag on for so long. He had tried to pawn it off to Kieryk, but since Kieryk wasn’t feeling well, he had no choice.

He stared intently at one spot with a look of displeasure. His gaze toward the two counts, who were engaged in a pointless verbal battle, was not to be trifled with.

“Ahem, how about we move on to the next agenda?”

“I agree. Both of you, please calm down. His Highness has surely understood your intentions.”

“It’s getting late. It would be best to wrap things up quickly.”

A few quick-witted nobles noticed Jeras’s discomfort and tried to change the mood. But the two counts wouldn’t back down easily. In a public setting like this, backing down first was a sign of defeat.

“I cannot move on until Count Rodiu apologizes. Apologize, Count.”

“This is absurd. The one who should apologize is not Count Inotice but me? It was you who first dragged my son into this mess!”

“Calling attention to suspicions of tax evasion is hardly the same as dragging someone into it, Count.”

“Don’t portray baseless rumors as facts! And if it’s about tax evasion, you should be the one who has nothing to say. Did you think we wouldn’t find out that you’ve been hiding the discovery of a silver mine on your territory?”

“Pardon me for interrupting your conversation.”

Jeras’s calm voice echoed in the meeting hall. The nobles who had been observing the situation and the two counts, who were fervently shouting with bulging veins, all looked at Jeras.

Jeras tapped his pocket watch with his fingertip.

“It’s almost 5 o’clock already. Your conversation was so fascinating that I lost track of time. However, from now on, if you wish to use my time, you must pay a fair price. How much should the price be…”

The meeting hall was coated in a thin layer of ice, a stark contrast to his lazy voice. It was due to the chilling auro of intimidation emanating from Jeras.

A smile appeared on Jeras’s face as he stroked his chin with his long fingers.

“A thousand Tians per minute seems appropriate.”

A thousand Tians was the amount a family of four commoners could barely live on for a month.

The two counts’ expressions stiffened. But Jeras’s words weren’t over yet.

“Time is precious to everyone, so I shouldn’t be the only one to put a price on my time. If we add up the time of everyone present here… both of you will have to spend ten thousand Tians per minute.”

Jeras, with a full-faced smile, pushed the pocket watch toward the two counts.

“Feel free to speak and calculate at the same time, both of you.”

The two counts just glanced at each other and the watch, unable to speak easily. Jeras, still smiling, drove the final nail in the coffin.

“You don’t have to worry about the tax evasion suspicion. I will conduct a thorough investigation and reveal the truth. We can’t have an innocent person be wronged by a baseless rumor or lose a talented individual, can we?”

The two counts’ faces turned deathly pale. If they took one wrong step, the ice beneath their feet would surely crack. It was the result of letting their guard down in front of the Second Prince, not the Emperor.

In the end, the two of them could only lower their heads without a word.

Jeras crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. The end of the tiresome meeting was finally in sight. It was a little later than the promised time, but since it wasn’t late at night, it would be fine.

He wondered how much the troublemaking squirrel had studied.

Jeras couldn’t hide his lips curving upward as he imagined Eloe looking dejected after a pop quiz.

To be honest, Jeras didn’t have high expectations for Eloe from the start.

She was a Grand Duchess who was born with a weak body and was completely unable to participate in outdoor activities. No matter how strict the Grand Duke was, he wouldn’t have forced his daughter, who was on the verge of life and death, to study while lying in bed. No, because he was a Grand Duke who was so fond of his daughter, he would have been even more lenient. At least, that’s what he thought based on the Grand Duke he had seen so far.

So, it wasn’t surprising that Eloe lacked knowledge.

‘Even though she doesn’t even know things that are closer to common sense than knowledge.’

Knowledge could be filled in. The problem was time. There was only about a month until the entrance exam. It wasn’t enough time to build a solid foundation from scratch.

Jeras spent his time during the tedious meeting brainstorming a curriculum.

The most urgent subject was history. Not for any special reason, but because there was a vast amount of it to study. She had to learn the history of the Empire and how magic had evolved to its current state. Language was a smaller amount than history, so he could just cram it into her head.

‘There were no etiquette problems with the Lady’s behavior. I can only hope she received a good theoretical education.’

As for math… let’s not worry about that for now.

Jeras pressed on his temples as if to drive away a faint headache. The nobles, completely unaware of what he was thinking, simply assumed that the Second Prince was exhausted from his excessive workload.

***

Jeras finished sketching out a rough curriculum and opened the study room door. It was well past 7 p.m., quite late even though he had come straight from the meeting.

The sofa was empty.

Did she leave while waiting?

Jeras slowly turned his gaze inward. Eloe was sitting at Sion’s old desk, pulling at her hair. She hadn’t noticed his presence and continued to look at a book, suddenly bursting out.

“What’s with all these names! Keep them short and simple!”

Then she slammed her fist on the desk and stood up. Jeras quietly closed the door and leaned against the wall.

Eloe, still oblivious to the intruder, kept bumping her forehead against the wall, muttering in a low voice.

Despite the bizarre sight, Jeras didn’t take his eyes off Eloe. As he listened closer, he realized she was reciting the names of past emperors. She couldn’t say them all in one go, but she got the order and names perfectly right.

As soon as she finished with the last emperor’s name, Jeras began a slow clap.

“What a diligent student. I am deeply moved.”

“Oh my! When did you get here? You should have made some noise.”

“A teacher shouldn’t disturb a student who is studying so hard.”

“Or are you just creepily monitoring whether I’m studying hard or not?”

Eloe pouted and moved to the sofa with her book. She pointed her chin lightly at the remaining four books, as if they were Jeras’s share.

Jeras shrugged and brought a pen and paper instead of the books. When she saw him neatly writing out a quiz, Eloe sighed.

“Please go easy on me.”

“Think of this as the real thing.”

A few minutes later, Eloe’s mouth fell open as she received Jeras’s pop quiz. The test, filled with a total of 80 questions, 20 for each subject, was a natural disaster. Just looking at the dense writing was enough to drive anyone crazy.

This couldn’t be called a pop quiz.

Eloe slyly turned her head toward the window. What floor was this, again?

“The fourth floor. You’ll die if you fall, Student.”

Jeras answered in a gentle voice and locked the window. Then he took out his pocket watch and placed it on the table.

“The test time is one hour. Now, begin.”

Eloe resigned herself to her fate and picked up the pen. Her lifeless, fish-like eyes suddenly changed.

Jeras watched with interest as Eloe began to write her answers in silence. Was it because her bangs were neatly pushed back? Her face was clearer than usual, making it easy to read her expressions and emotions. It wasn’t that hard to begin with, as she was usually quite honest.

Despite her earlier complaints, Eloe displayed amazing concentration. She seemed to be completely immersed in the act of solving the problems. Occasionally, the pen that had been writing so smoothly would stop. This was when she encountered the high-difficulty questions Jeras had intentionally placed.

These were questions that couldn’t be solved by just memorizing the contents of the book, but Eloe still wrote down an answer for them. The way she tilted her head suggested she wasn’t entirely confident.

Still, it was enough to surprise Jeras.

“…I’m done! The time isn’t up yet, right?”

Eloe looked up with a jolt. Jeras put the pocket watch back into his pocket without answering. It had slightly exceeded the one-hour limit. He had been so engrossed in watching Eloe’s expressions change with every passing second that he hadn’t noticed the time.

Jeras, who had been avoiding questions like a snake slithering over a wall, took the test paper and began to grade it. Eloe sat opposite him, leaning forward to watch the grading process.

As time went on, Eloe’s expression grew brighter, while Jeras’s grew darker. The moment he finished grading, both of them spoke at the same time.

“100 points! I got 100 points, right? I got 100 points! Wow!”

“…That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

Eloe’s answers were perfect. Considering Eloe’s abilities four days ago, when she couldn’t answer anything, this was absolutely unbelievable. He couldn’t believe that she had perfectly solved the math problems he hadn’t even taught her.

Jeras grabbed Eloe’s shoulders, who was jumping up and down in place, and asked.

“What did you do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what did I do’? I just studied hard. I knew the questions were too easy. The difficulty level is a bit low, Teacher.”

Eloe spoke with an arrogant and smug expression. He had made the questions himself and had watched Eloe solve them with his own eyes. It was hard to believe she had cheated.

But still. Did she really memorize four books’ worth of material? In just four days? And how did she solve the math problems for which he hadn’t even chosen books?

“Lady, did you perhaps use magic…?”

Jeras, who couldn’t shake his suspicion and was about to accuse Eloe, couldn’t continue his sentence. A stream of red blood was flowing from Eloe’s nose.

Eloe herself was so intoxicated with a sense of accomplishment and victory that she didn’t even notice her nosebleed. She simply thought that Jeras’s serious expression meant he was shocked by her genius brain.

After all that abuse, serves him right!

“I told you not to look down on people… Mmph! Mmph!”

“Is anyone there?”

Jeras, who had covered Eloe’s nose and mouth with a handkerchief, shouted loudly. Two maids immediately came running at his call.

The maids couldn’t hide their bewilderment at seeing Eloe with her mouth covered and half-clinging to Jeras. But when they saw the bloodstain on the handkerchief, their faces turned pale.

Jeras frowned deeply and gave an order.

“Summon a healing priest right away.”