Chapter 21
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21
“Lady Tulia?”
“Yes?”
Lost in thought, I looked up. Adel was holding out a cup of warm grain tea, though I hadn't noticed when she’d brought it.
“Please have some before you head out.”
“Oh… thanks.”
It was just a habitual word of thanks, but for some reason, I felt strangely bashful when saying it to Adel.
The warm tea felt like it was filling me up right down to my stomach.
* * *
The ‘study room’ where the exam was to be held looked like a Greek temple.
Wait, why is this place more luxurious than my own room?
The room was covered in cream-colored marble from ceiling to floor. Every time the light from the chandeliers shifted, it created an elegant atmosphere, making me feel as if I were strolling along a path under the night sky.
It wasn't gaudy—there were no jewels embedded in the pillars or anything like that—but that only added to its sophisticated aura.
It felt like seeing the most high-end version of an ancient Greek academy from a painting in real life. Despite being made of marble, the color scheme made the entire room look bright and warm.
And at the center of it all stood a very cold, sharp-looking handsome man.
Whoa. It’s Schuls Schmidt.
“My name is Schuls Schmidt, Lady Tulia.”
I didn't even need to click on his profile to know who he was.
Despite being a supporting character, this man had garnered quite a lot of popularity in The Milk Bread.
The reason? It was simple.
He’s handsome.
Even with the same level of beauty, people have different tastes. Schuls Schmidt was the kind of man anyone who loved the intellectual, cold-hearted type couldn't help but fall for.
Besides, he’s a vital figure if I want to get an audience with the Crown Prince.
Whether in reality or in a game, the more important a person is to you, the better you have to treat them.
“Hello, Teacher.”
I gathered my skirts and gave him a polite bow.
It was the kind of greeting a lady would give to someone of equal or higher status—a bit too much respect to show someone like Schuls Schmidt.
“Lady Tulia.”
As if to prove it, Schuls Schmidt immediately gave a cold rejection of the gesture.
“I have merely received the title of ‘Pneuma’ as a scholar of the White Ivory Tower. In terms of the Empire’s five noble ranks, it is equivalent to a life peerage of a Baron. Such a greeting is far more than I deserve from a young lady of your station.”
“But as far as I know, even the daughters of Dukes use honorifics for a Pneuma who comes to teach them.”
This was common knowledge that even a child of the Imperial nobility would know. It was also a memory that remained from the original Tulia.
“That is true, however…”
Schuls Schmidt continued firmly.
“The Grand Ducal House of Frezier is different.”
Yeah, I know that all too well.
The White Ivory Tower.
A massive collective of intellectuals that gathered the scholars of this Empire.
Those with noble blood were desperate to have their children educated by the scholars of the White Ivory Tower.
However, the arrogant and prideful scholars were already few in number.
Still, where there is demand, there is supply. Families of the rank of Count or higher would somehow manage to invite a scholar from the tower as a tutor and request their teachings for a few seasons.
Families below the rank of Count, or those without power or scale, would band together to invite a scholar to teach their children as a group.
It was a sort of educational cooperative, if you will.
The scholars of the White Ivory Tower were addressed by the honorary title of ‘Pneuma’ and were held in high esteem by society.
Even the Imperial Family of the Brillant Empire worked hard to maintain good relations with the White Ivory Tower. Yet, there was exactly one place in the Empire that had a notoriously terrible relationship with them, and that was…
Yep. The Grand Ducal House of Frezier.
The setting was that the relationship between Grand Duke Asis Frezier and the head of the White Ivory Tower had soured for some reason. Because of that, the only grandchildren currently in the Frezier territory were me and that brat Tedric.
The rest are all away at the Academy.
The fact that a Pneuma was even here despite such a bad relationship was, in a way, a testament to the sheer power of the House of Frezier.
In most endings, he’s a character who becomes Corico’s ally…
I looked at the cold-hearted handsome man, who was set to be exceptionally young and a genius even among the Pneumas of the White Ivory Tower.
“If you really hate it, I’ll just speak comfortably to you.”
“Please do so.”
“Only outside the classroom, though.”
“…”
Schuls Schmidt looked at me with an expression that said he hadn't expected that.
It definitely wasn't a look of admiration.
Rather, it was the look of someone seeing a strange anomaly for the first time—like a rooster that glowed with the colors of the rainbow.
But it was only for a moment.
“Fine. Let us agree to that.”
One of Schuls Schmidt’s traits in The Milk Bread: he absolutely despised nobles who abused their power based on status.
“We shall begin the exam, so please take a seat wherever you find comfortable, Lady Tulia.”
Schuls Schmidt spoke with a voice that was slightly less icy than before.
“I’ll sit here.”
I thought to myself as I took the exam papers.
His second trait: he liked smart students without prejudice.
An exam like this is a piece of cake.
Adel had actually been very worried about me taking this exam. She had even gone so far as to get me an access pass to the library.
Just in case, I had browsed through the books in the libraries and done a fair amount of studying myself.
But I didn't even need to.
The moment I received the exam papers today, my positive hunch became reality.
I know every single one of these questions.
It was only natural.
I was someone who had played The Milk Bread hundreds, thousands of times.
Corico was in the ‘beloved girl’ position. As is common in this genre, despite entering the Frezier family as a prospective daughter-in-law, she gradually took over the position of a granddaughter.
Because of that, she received the unprecedented treatment of taking the Direct Line Examination despite not having Frezier blood.
Since Corico taking the exam was a mandatory event in the early stages of the game, I had solved almost every possible question that could appear.
“The exam is divided into seven subjects in total. I will grade them immediately and inform you of the results on the spot.”
Listening to Schuls Schmidt’s voice, I picked up my fountain pen with confidence.
The answer to number 1 is option 2.
Yes, that was when it happened.
The fountain pen, which was about to mark option 2, moved toward option 3 instead.
For a split second, I thought, My mistake.
I was sure my hand had just slipped.
Anyone would think that at first.
But when the same mistake repeated for the second and third questions, I realized.
Wait. Is this…
As if reading my thoughts, the yellow star that always followed me like a shadow bounced lightly.
At the same time, familiar text floated before my eyes.
(! Warning: Due to the Skill Penalty, you are unable to select the desired answer.)
(! Warning: Favorability of those nearby is scheduled to drop to the minimum.)
Ack!
By ‘those nearby,’ the only person here is this cold-hearted handsome teacher, Schuls Schmidt, who is staring blankly at my exam paper!
The exams in The Milk Bread were always like this.
It was tradition for the first question on the first page to be so easy that even a commoner who had just learned to read could solve it.
To get a question of that difficulty wrong would make me look so stupid that even the basic favorability one has for another human being would plummet.
I screamed internally.
How can the Skill Penalty be applied like this?!
Wasn't making my hair look like a mess enough?!
I hurriedly opened the Status Window.
[System: Status Window]
Tulia Frezier (15 years old)
- Coins: 1,005
- Personality: 1
- Beauty: 8
- Skill: -10
- Wealth: 0
- Luck: -10
Overall Rating: F
My precious coins… the ones I barely earned from the jam I spent all night making with my blood, sweat, and tears to give to the rotten… no, no, the most noble Grand Duke…
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill -8 achieved!
Huh?
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill -7 achieved!
Wait?
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill -6 achieved!
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill -5 achieved!
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill -4 achieved!
.
.
.
[System] 1 Coin consumed.
[System] Skill 0 achieved!
I was stunned.
Even though I had raised my Skill from the negatives to zero, it only cost 1 coin per point.
What’s going on? When I was raising my Personality stat, a thousand coins vanished in an instant.
[System: Status Window]
Tulia Frezier (15 years old)
- Coins: 995
The comfortable number of 995 coins looked like a masterpiece of abundance to my eyes.
This Status Window bastard… maybe it actually came here to help me.
Had I been looking through tinted glasses all this time, calling it a villain and a lunatic?
While feeling a faint sense of touched emotion, regardless.
The Skill Penalty was still in effect, so I cautiously raised the stat further.
[System] 2 Coins consumed.
[System] Skill +1 achieved!
[System] Remaining Coins: 993
My vision glowed beautifully, and the words I had longed for appeared brilliantly.
[System] Skill Penalty has been removed.
[System: Status Window]
Tulia Frezier (15 years old)
- Coins: 993
- Personality: 1
- Beauty: 8
- Skill: 1
- Wealth: 0
- Luck: -10
Overall Rating: F