Chapter 317: Education(1)
Chapter 317: Education(1)
After the Ters Royal Family’s belated apology, Adelia’s expression grew noticeably brighter. It was as if she had completely shaken off her lingering regrets; she radiated an aura of happiness that anyone could see.
Friedrich’s apology played a part, but Hiriya’s contribution was likely the most significant. Adelia had delivered a refreshing slap to her face, the crisp sound echoing through the drawing room.
The amusing part was that she hit the exact same spot I had struck before. The words Adelia spoke along with that slap remained vividly etched in my mind.
—If you ever do that again, I’ll hit the other side. Consider yourself warned.
—Yes, yes! I understand, sister! I promise!
Hiriya had clutched her swelling cheek with a look of genuine relief. She probably felt that all her past debts had finally been settled.
Of course, even with the debt "settled," I could still turn her into a total wreck whenever I pleased, so I didn't take any further action. If Hiriya had any common sense left, she wouldn't act up anymore.
I wouldn't have minded turning her into a slave or something even lower, but since Adelia didn't want that, I let her go quietly. I’m not a person who goes that far without reason.
Honestly, even if I kept her as a slave, I’d have no use for her. Her skills as a knight were inferior to Adelia’s, so she’d likely do nothing but waste food.
At any rate, the settlement with the father-daughter duo, Friedrich and Hiriya, was concluded. That left Laos, but Adelia refused to see him.
—Why bother? I don't even want to see his face, so just tell him to get lost.
Those were her actual words. She felt that slapping Laos wouldn't even be satisfying and that she wanted nothing more to do with the royal family.
Instead, she mentioned she would gladly allow Lara to visit. Since Lara was the last person with a shred of conscience, it could be seen as a form of leniency.
And so, having ended our long, exhausting ill-fated relationship with the Ters Royal Family, we returned to our peaceful daily lives.
Though, "returning to daily life" mostly meant me handling leftover work while Adelia assisted me as usual.
"Good grief. When am I going to finish reading all of these?"
The problem was that there was a nauseating amount of work. I sighed, looking at the mountain of letters piled high on my desk.
These were fan letters, greeting letters from famous families, and various other correspondences all mixed together.
Naturally, these letters were addressed to Xenon—to me. Normally, they would have gone to the publisher, but ever since my identity was revealed, they were redirected to the mansion.
Furthermore, unlike before when I maintained an air of mystery, everyone now knew who Xenon was, causing the volume of mail to skyrocket. Just reading them was enough to make me want to gag, but the problem didn't end there.
"Wow. This drawing is really well done."
"Who drew it?"
"Let’s see... it says Bernardo Hellinke. Do you know him?"
"No idea."
It wasn't just letters; packages containing various items were arriving at the mansion in droves. The sheer amount visible right now was enough to make me let out a hollow laugh, but even this wasn't the end of it.
Every letter and package currently in my bedroom had already passed 'inspection.' In other words, there were still piles downstairs waiting to be checked.
Since my identity was public, there was a risk of demon worshippers attempting a terrorist attack, so everything had to be inspected individually. Wizards dispatched from the Imperial Palace, Helium, and Albenheim were checking every item meticulously.
They were especially thorough with packages; if any magic was detected, it was immediately set aside. If there was an explosion spell hidden inside, the entire mansion would be in danger.
So, I was only dealing with the items that had been cleared, yet even that amount was terrifying.
I wonder when I’ll be able to go back to the Academy.
As soon as my identity was revealed, the Academy began granting me special privileges. Even for royalty, the maximum leave of absence is one year, but for me, it was unlimited.
The Academy wasn't about to miss the golden opportunity to claim the unprecedented honor of being the institution Xenon graduated from.
They even told me that if I wanted, they would grant me a diploma immediately and even offered me a professorship.
However, that felt far too shameless, and since I still had much to learn under Elena, I flatly refused. Besides, unlike the other professors, I didn't possess deep academic knowledge.
There’s a reason professors are called professors. They are experts in their fields who go beyond mere knowledge to present various academic papers.
Even as a reincarnated person with memories of my past life, my knowledge of this world was severely lacking. An honorary position might be one thing, but a real professorship was out of the question.
"Let me see. I want to see how well they drew it."
"Here."
Adelia, who had been helping me sort through the cleared items just in case, handed me a drawing. I had seen countless works at the exhibition, but this was the first time a piece had been sent directly to the mansion.
You might wonder what I’d been doing until now, but as I said, the inspection process takes time. They couldn't afford to miss even a 0.001% chance of danger.
That was why I received this mountain of fan letters and mail all at once today. The problem was that since these were only the ones already sorted, more would surely follow.
The thought alone made me dizzy, but first, I examined the drawing.
"It’s Jin and Lily."
The drawing Adelia showed me featured the popular couple from the Xenon Biography, Jin and Lily. Lily stood in front with her hands clasped in prayer, while Jin stood behind her.
It was a piece that perfectly captured the essence of their relationship. Jin, who willingly became a shadow for the sake of the light, was particularly striking.
Though the era meant there was a clear difference in style compared to the illustrations of my past life, the fact that it was a work created for me—fan art—remained the same.
Moreover, the composition was excellent, fully capturing the unique emotional depth of watercolor.
"I should ask Mother or Mari about this later. Come to think of it, I don't really know any other artists personally."
"Oh... Isaac. Look at this one too."
"Hmm?"
Just as I was thinking it wouldn't be bad to meet some master artists, Adelia handed me another drawing.
Her face was slightly flushed as she passed it to me. Though I found it curious, I took it without suspicion.
Then, looking at the drawing, I couldn't help but blink.
"...This is Lilith, right?"
"Yeah."
"Umm..."
It was fan art of Lilith, the representative of Lust. However, given the nature of the character, the exposure was beyond bold—she was practically naked.
Her wings cleverly concealed only the most private areas, making the drawing feel even more provocative. Also, since Lilith’s motif was Cecile, I kept seeing Cecile in her.
The quality was so high I almost worried the authorities in Helium might come to confiscate it. It felt like Cecile’s sexiness had been pushed to its absolute limit.
I placed the drawing on the desk before any strange thoughts could take root. I had seen the real thing, not just a drawing, but it was stimulating in many ways.
There’s going to be even more intense stuff than this later...
The problem was that my future plans included a sex scene between Xenon and Mary.
Before reclaiming Albenheim from the demons, they would reaffirm their feelings for each other, knowing it might be their last night.
This wasn't just for the main characters; the same applied to Jin and Lily. Such occurrences were common on actual battlefields, so it wasn't a lack of plausibility.
The challenge was whether to pour all my personal experience into it or describe it simply with metaphorical expressions.
Mari said it was fine, but...
For the psychological description, I could just recall my first night with Mari, but writing down the actual act from that time would be too intense and lewd.
Even though it was the first time for both of us, we had been as wild as animals in estrus. Thinking back, I never knew I had that much stamina.
It was a secret—or not so secret—that I was devoured by Mari every single day after she "awakened" to pleasure.
Currently, I had already received her consent to write our sex life into the book as it was. However, when it came to actually putting it in, several difficulties arose.
Drawings are one thing. The problem is the teenagers or children who might see it.
I could overlook erotic art like the one I just saw. Even if it was a bit embarrassing, it was just a drawing and didn't directly depict Mari and me.
However, the age of the readers was a concern. The Xenon Biography was a book read by people of all ages and genders.
In other words, minors were reading it too. Nobles received mandatory sex education, but as seen in Cardinal Kate’s case, commoners were different.
If they lived in a city, they might receive higher education, but the vast majority lived in rural areas. I had to remember that even the Maishal territory, right next to the capital, was a quiet countryside before its development.
While a few major territories had achieved urbanization comparable to the capital, they were still very few. Naturally, the quality of education was bound to be lower.
Even on Earth, where culture is highly developed, there are people who don't know anything or just blindly imitate what they see. How much worse would it be here?
Sometimes, people who gained incorrect sexual knowledge through pornography or smutty pamphlets made mistakes. It was no different here.
Erotic novels? This was a place where simple prose was made as difficult as a CSAT English exam; I shouldn't expect much.
Erotic novels themselves only appeared after the French Revolution to insult royalty and nobility, so the timing didn't even match.
With so many concerns, I couldn't help but be deeply troubled. Volume 23, which focused on the battle with Envy, was over, and the preparations and "blossoming" were set for Volume 24.
I had originally planned to reveal the hidden origins of the elves in Volume 24, but I pushed it back slightly due to a lack of plausibility. I would just drop a few hints and leave it at that.
Human nature being what it is, people will definitely look. I have to write it with that in mind.
One might scoff and ask if a single scene really required such deep thought. Personally, I wanted to write down everything that happened on my first night.
The problem was that people all over the world, not just in one country, would see it. Furthermore, even in my past life, I had seen such things but never written them myself.
It meant I had to capture what I saw and felt within these pages. And for two different couples, no less.
I glanced at the erotic-level drawing before turning my head. Adelia was opening another package and admiring a different drawing.
"Noona."
"Hmm? Did you call?"
When I called her name, Adelia looked at me, her sky-blue eyes blinking. Come to think of it, my first night with her had been just as passionate as the one with Mari.
A stray thought flashed through my mind, but I managed to suppress it. For now, figuring out how to write the scene was the priority.
It would be more efficient to write the most difficult scene first before moving on to the main story. So, I asked Adelia.
"How old did you say you were when you entered the palace?"
"Was it around twelve? Probably around then."
"Then, did you receive sex education before that?"
"Sex education?"
"Yeah."
Adelia looked slightly flustered by my question, her face reddening a bit. But sensing my seriousness, she cleared her throat and answered quietly.
"...As you know, my mother was a prostitute. Perhaps because of that, she taught me quite practically."
"If you say practical..."
"Things like how to please a man more. She focused only on physical pleasure, without any confirmation of mutual affection."
"So that's why the night service back then..."
"You want to get in trouble?"
When I made a mischievous joke, Adelia scolded me. Thanks to her having completely moved past her history, we could now have such provocative conversations casually.
I gave a weak laugh, dropped the joke, and got back to the point.
"Then do you know how commoners receive sex education?"
"It varies. There are academies, but commoners who receive education before that are usually very wealthy. Most are taught by their parents."
"Hmm... I see."
Not every territory had schools or academies, so parents would likely handle all education before adulthood. Since lifestyles varied so much, it wasn't standardized.
"But why do you ask?"
"It’s just that there’s going to be a consummation scene at the end of Volume 24. Xenon and Mary, and Jin and Lily."
"What? They’re finally getting together? Finally?"
When I mentioned the scene, Adelia’s eyes widened in surprise. She even marched right up to me.
I flinched slightly as she pressed me with an expression that asked if I was serious. Come to think of it, Adelia was a fan of Jin and Lily too.
She felt that Jin, who had a miserable and depressing childhood, was a reflection of herself. Even the fact that he was a child abandoned by his biological father was the same.
Because of that, I knew she got along quite well with my mother.
"Uh... yeah. We’re heading toward the conclusion now, so shouldn't there be an event like this?"
"Ah! Finally..."
Adelia clasped her hands together, looking moved. Was it my imagination, or did I see a glimpse of my mother in her?
While I stood there with a dubious expression, Adelia spoke to me with a face full of anticipation.
"Was that all you were worried about? You can just write it all out and be done with it."
"But people might try to imitate it. I have to at least make sure they don't get the wrong ideas about sex."
"Hmm... I guess it would be a bit much if you wrote exactly what we do."
"Right?"
That was true, but there was one person in particular I was most worried about.
"I don't want to put strange ideas into the head of a perfectly innocent person. I have to prevent that as much as possible."
*
Meanwhile, around the same time, at the Temple of Luminous in the Maishal territory.
"Achoo!"
Kate, who was praying reverently as usual, suddenly let out a sneeze.
[What is it, child?]
'Sniff. It’s nothing. My nose just suddenly got itchy...'
Kate was now able to communicate directly with Luminous, just like Isaac.
'So, Lord Luminous. When will I be able to receive his light?'
[...Perhaps it will be soon.]
'Really?'
[It will depend on how you choose to receive it.]
'Ah!'
Receiving what felt like an oracle from Luminous, she could hardly contain her joy.