Chapter 23
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23
“That stupid girl is receiving the Lineage Pendant?!”
Tedric, who had been moved to a small, shabby room after being sentenced to a confinement order, bellowed at the top of his lungs.
His personal servant flinched and bowed his head.
“Where did you hear such ridiculous nonsense?!”
Tedric tried to storm out immediately, but he was stopped.
“You cannot leave, Young Lord.”
The Frezier private soldiers blocked his path. These were soldiers who followed only the orders of the Grand Duke.
If they hadn't been, his mother and father—who surely felt sorry for him—would have found a way to release him by now while keeping a cautious eye on Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
Fuming, Tedric Frezier returned to his room. When he saw his personal servant still standing there with an anxious look, his eyes bulged with rage.
“What! What else is there?”
“Well, Young Lord Tedric...”
As he listened to the servant’s lowered voice, Tedric felt like his head was turning bright red with fury.
“What? That brainless girl got a perfect score?!”
It was as hard to believe as a report that gravel had suddenly started falling from the sky instead of rain.
For a moment, all sorts of despicable thoughts crossed his mind—that she had cheated, or that those damn twin brothers of hers had organized and sent her the secret answer keys—but he quickly dismissed them.
Cheating?
Schuls Schmidt, the Pneuma of the White Ivory Tower, was a man like an ancient book that had been kept frozen for a thousand years.
He had never once bowed his head, not even to Tedric Frezier, who had always lived like the prince of a small kingdom.
“My son comes back completely deflated every time he goes to class! That Pneuma is truly a piece of work!”
Even Lilius had once shouted in indignation like that.
And the twin brothers of the Marquis’s house.
Tulia’s twin brothers, who were currently at the Academy, were exceptionally talented individuals, but...
Those guys helping Tulia?
That was impossible.
As her cousin, he knew better than anyone how terrible the relationship was between Tulia and her family.
Father told me a long time ago.
“Tedric. Every time she’s about to forget, tell Tulia this: compared to other ladies, she is as vulgar as mud on the ground.”
Tormenting Tulia was an act that relieved Tedric’s inferiority complex, so he had joyfully carried out his father’s orders.
His father was the Grand Duke’s youngest son, but he possessed a hidden, powerful ambition, and thus had a decent eye for piercing through a person’s essence.
In his eyes, Tulia was a dangerous element.
The reason was simple.
It was because Tulia Frezier was the Grand Duke’s ‘only’ granddaughter.
If Tulia were to come to her senses and behave even slightly properly, Grand Duke Asis Frezier would have immediately showered her with countless privileges simply because she was his granddaughter.
The Grand Duke cherished his ‘daughters’ exceptionally.
Therefore, Tulia could never be allowed to grow up properly or intelligently.
Tulia Frezier’s position was one that could easily snatch away all the privileges that should have gone to Tedric.
So, his father had stimulated Tulia’s extravagant tendencies—which the Marquis had all but abandoned—to keep her away from academic studies and make her focus solely on luxury and adornment.
However, there had been one mistake in that process.
“Is it because you don't have parents? Hey, you’re so pathetic and vulgar compared to other ladies who actually have parents.”
As it happened, the words Tedric himself had thrown out touched Tulia’s sore spot.
It was also the starting point where his father’s original goal—to raise Tulia as a vulgar, extravagant fool who didn't even know basic etiquette—began to go awry.
The comment about not having parents.
The comment about being vulgar because she lacked parents.
Tulia Frezier stayed up all night in the library to master etiquette.
She mastered it like a woman possessed.
Even when his father tried to coax her otherwise, he couldn't stop that one thing.
However, everything else had proceeded smoothly according to his father’s intentions.
Tulia summoned jewelers and dress designers to the castle whenever she had the chance.
Blinded by luxury, Tulia had struggled to decorate herself as flamboyantly as possible.
“And that insignificant girl got a... what? A perfect score?”
Tedric ground his teeth.
Thanks to the top-tier tutors his parents had provided, Tedric had always maintained excellent grades on his exams.
Even though he was of the Frezier direct line, he was only set to inherit a Viscountcy; the only reason he could act superior to the young lords and ladies of the territory was because of those excellent scores...
“And she’s receiving the Lineage Pendant tomorrow? Grandfather is always like that. Always focused on ability. That merciless old man with those terrifying eyes.”
Tedric began to ponder.
How could he humiliate Tulia Frezier?
How should he get her?
What could he do to make that girl realize her place...?
Ah!
“According to the Frezier Family Law, the Direct Lineage Examination is always held without warning, and cheating is strictly forbidden, right?”
“Yes, Young Lord Tedric.”
“My exam papers. Are you keeping them safe?”
“Pardon? Of course.”
Lilius knew well that his son, Tedric, had to receive high scores to stand out.
Furthermore, he was already incredibly wealthy from the crumbs he skimmed off his ‘sovereignty over internal affairs’ in the Grand Duchy.
Attaching eight famous and expensive tutors to his son was an easy task.
Tedric’s exam papers, which had received very high marks, were their pride and joy.
Tedric spoke with a despicable smile.
“Bring them to me as secretly as possible.”
* * *
“Lady Tulia.”
Adel, who was preparing my bed as usual, quietly pulled something from her bodice.
“I saw Lilda hiding this deep inside your wardrobe.”
I took the bundle of papers Adel handed me and checked them, my expression quickly turning to one of absurdity.
“This Tedric lit—”
I almost called him a little shit, but I quickly cleared my throat.
“These are Tedric’s exam papers, aren't they?”
Tedric wasn't much older than me, so it hadn't even been six months since he received his Lineage Pendant.
The bundle of papers from his Direct Lineage Examination was as clean as if he had received them yesterday, as if they had been carefully preserved.
Naturally, my eyes were drawn to the content of the exam.
“Looking at it like this, there are some overlapping question types. But it looks like not a single question is exactly the same.”
I found myself thinking once again that Schuls Schmidt was quite diligent.
Or is it? Is it not Schuls Schmidt, but rather that I was too immersed in The Milk Bread?
If you think about it, this is also the Direct Lineage Examination that appears in The Milk Bread, which means I know all of this too.
Just how much did I focus on the game during every break...?
I shook my head as I recalled my time as Han Ina, juggling part-time jobs, tutoring, and job hunting.
“Anyway, thanks for finding this, Adel.”
“Don't mention it. I simply kept an eye on Lilda because she was acting suspiciously.”
Tedric is currently under confinement.
I knew he was staying separately in a small, shabby tower, far away from the luxurious room he usually occupied.
This guy is hopeless.
Instead of reflecting on his actions, he’s trying to frame me for something bizarre?
“Adel, for now, burn this immediately.”
“Yes, Lady Tulia.”
“And Adel. Can you prepare several sheets of paper similar to this?”
I whispered in a low voice.
“It needs to be done as secretly as possible. Can you do it?”
Adel rolled her eyes for a moment, then whispered back with an "Ah!" of realization.
“I know a place where I can get some. I’ll have them ready right away, My Lady.”
“Thanks.”
This bastard Tedric is trying to screw me over?
I’ll give it back to him twofold.