Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: No Matter How You Look at It, She's a Genius!
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I tilted my head as I watched the child chattering away about me. The name tag hanging on her chest read 'Liena.'
‘Boring.’
Propping my chin up listlessly, I listened to her next words, but only unpleasant things poured out.
I had expected her to say more about the ‘demon’s daughter,’ but instead, it was nothing but accusations against me.
I scrunched up my face like a crumpled sheet of paper as I thought.
‘Hmm, this won’t do.’
I glanced around at my surroundings.
‘Gotta win all these kids over to my side!’
Since I was already commuting to the academy, there was no point wasting time here. I just had to think of it as building connections.
‘Stuck-up, arrogant nobles need both carrots and sticks.’
I sat primly at my desk with my chin held high and set my writing tools down with a clack.
The gazes of the children—who were still too young to hide their emotions—landed on my desk. Watching those intrigued eyes roll toward me, I stood up.
“Why? Do you all have a problem with me or something?”
It was meant to say I was done listening, but the atmosphere went as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and stared them down.
“Did someone say I’m not taking the entrance exam?”
I took a step toward Liena. Being a tall child, I towered over her by a good half-head.
“I’m Sien Mirmod, you know?”
The moment I looked down at her imposingly, the teacher opened the classroom’s front door and walked in.
Academy life had begun.
***
After morning self-study ended, it was time for the teacher’s roll call.
The teacher with the stylish mustache, Evan, introduced the three new students with a kindly smile.
“Now, these are the students from the Mirmod family. Give a round of applause for our transfers.”
But no applause came.
It was then, as the flustered teacher wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, that Liena—the one who ruled the classroom’s atmosphere—spoke up snidely.
“I don’t want kids who don’t even take the exam as part of our class.”
“Class rep Liena! What’s that supposed to mean? You should help them adjust.”
“No way. I only look after friends who got in fair and square.”
All the children in the room took pride in having passed the academy entrance exam. And so, one by one, they began agreeing with their class rep Liena.
Evan looked extremely troubled. He too was someone who had graduated from the Imperial Children’s Academy with top grades and become a teacher.
“…What are you saying? They got in fair and square. They’re from the Mirmod family.”
At the mention of Mirmod, the mood among the children turned icy cold. Evan’s words only fueled their resentment.
The kids here disliked Sien precisely because she was from Mirmod and relying on that name to skip the exam.
These children had been raised as nobles to their bones, with immense pride.
In the tense atmosphere, Liena whispered as if scolding.
“And they’re not even ‘real’ Mirmods, anyway.”
Her whisper rippled through the quiet room like a wave. The children started murmuring. I turned my gaze toward Liena.
‘Ah, now I get it.’
The paternity test was over, but all it proved was that I carried the Mirmod bloodline.
Only a handful of nobles had attended the trial in person. Positive rumors about me had spread since then, but apparently not enough to dispel the prejudice some kids held.
‘Then I’ll just have to show them.’
I lifted my chin, about to say, ‘Fine, then we’ll take the exam and prove it!’ But Evan spoke first with a smile.
“Oh, and per Lord Matthias’s request, they’ll be taking a separate exam anyway.”
A faint smile appeared on Evan’s lips, as if he thought this would calm the sparks.
But Liena slammed her desk with a venomous scowl.
“No, this is unfair, teacher!”
The boy next to Liena pursed his lips sharply and chimed in.
“Liena’s right! Aren’t academy exams supposed to be taken in front of everyone?”
“It’s blatant favoritism. Transferring in mid-year is favoritism too!”
“Our academy doesn’t normally allow mid-year transfers like this.”
Evan, a teacher lacking leadership, looked gravely troubled.
‘Dad must have requested a private exam as the default.’
But I didn’t mind taking it publicly. I’d cleared the education director’s welcome maze at age five—who cared if a bunch of kids watched?
I shrugged and said.
“Then make the exam public.”
“If it’s public, it might be a bit inconvenient for you…”
Liena raised an eyebrow at Evan, who was bowing excessively low.
“Teacher! She’s asking for it to be public. That means we’ll need observers, right?”
“Y-Yes… right.”
I stared straight at Liena. Seeing this little kid nitpick everything, I decided it was time to set her straight.
‘Doesn’t matter what family she’s from—if she’s got the class wrapped around her finger, plus the teacher, and hates me to boot. Perfect.’
I didn’t need to deal with everyone who disliked me, but to achieve my goal here at the academy—‘building connections’—I’d need to establish some discipline.
“Do as the class rep says. I’m fine with it.”
I grinned.
The teacher, clearly wary of the Mirmod name, hesitated.
“Are you sure it’s… really okay?”
Watching Evan use that oddly half-respectful speech from who-knows-where, I nodded firmly.
“Yes, I don’t mind at all!”
It was true. I didn’t care how anyone tried to slander me.
‘As long as I do well, that’s all that matters, right?’
Leonhardt and Asid seemed to think the same; their eyes burned with resolve.
“Then we’ll discuss it in a teachers’ meeting and get back to you. It’s irregular, so…”
It was then that Evan teacher shuffled out with a soul-drained expression. Asid, sitting next to me, whispered.
“For Sien’s honor, I’ll aim for first place.”
“…Huh?”
Leonhardt clenched his fist with eyes ablaze with fighting spirit.
“First place is mine, Asid. Shorty.”
Looking at those two, I couldn’t get another word out.
‘No way! I’m the one who needs to take first!’
…This was bad. My spot was in danger. I clenched my fist tightly and thought.
‘What’s the first exam on?’
For some reason, thinking about taking it made me a little nervous.
***
The teachers’ meeting wrapped up quickly.
With our agreement—mine, Leonhardt’s, and Asid’s—we borrowed a small classroom after classes ended. We gathered observers from various grades—kids and teachers mixed. Naturally, Liena and the rest of the class joined as observers too.
Around fifty observers in total.
Sixty minutes per subject.
Today was just one subject; tomorrow, two.
I scanned the observers, then plopped down at the desk.
It felt like everyone was staring right through me, making goosebumps prickle my skin.
I rubbed at the chicken skin on the back of my hand, trying to fix my gaze on the blackboard.
But…
‘Purple eyes? Why’s that kid staring at me like that?’
A boy with purple eyes sat by the blackboard, glaring at me with an expression that was neither hostility nor friendliness—just pure weirdness.
‘Creepy!’
But I had no time to dwell on him.
Evan teacher had arrived with the exam papers!
“The principal’s seal prevents cheating. The exam will be over two days—today and tomorrow—and the first subject today is…”
The teacher handed out the papers with a face like he’d bitten into a bitter persimmon.
“Ancient language interpretation. That okay?”
It felt like the heavens themselves were helping me.
I grinned.
‘Ancient language? Piece of cake! I’m an ancient language genius.’
Baring my buckteeth aggressively, I glared at the exam paper.
The text on it started coming into focus, word by word.
***
Liena gnawed her lip as she glared at Sien. She’d volunteered to observe the exam by chance, but she didn’t think Sien would cheat outright. Subtly, maybe.
‘She’s definitely gonna fail hard.’
The three eyesores—Sien, Leonhardt, and Asid—were diligently interpreting the ancient language.
Liena took them all in at a glance.
First, Leonhardt.
He was scribbling away intently, seeming to ponder and deliberate before writing.
‘Mom said that Leonhardt kid’s pretty smart.’
The observers—students and teachers—had received copies of the exam too. Liena gasped briefly upon seeing it. Whispers filled her ears, so she wasn’t the only one shocked.
“This is really hard, isn’t it?”
“Is it okay for it to be this tough?”
At this level, even adult academy students would struggle. Liena hid a smile.
‘As expected of the ancient language teacher! Anti-Mirmod through and through.’
The Mirmods were so powerful, but plenty harbored grudges against them—like Liena’s own family.
She didn’t know why they’d come to the academy, but punishing them for academy matters was illegal, so the ancient language teacher had clearly pulled some strings.
To humiliate the three Mirmod kids!
‘Still, that masked Leonhardt seems to be solving some problems.’
Too bad, but oh well. Liena furrowed her brow slightly and clicked her tongue. One smart one was fine.
Asid…
‘Healer? Pass. He’s the type who gets in via special admission anyway.’
Finally, her sharp gaze turned to Sien.
Sien Mirmod was writing answers without hesitation.
The scratch-scratch of her pen echoed in Liena’s ears. She grew bewildered.
‘Is she actually solving these hard problems?’
Minutes later, the sound of Sien setting down her pen rang out.
Straightening up neatly, she lifted her chin and declared.
“I’m done.”
Her expression was so brazen and confident, it left everyone in the room dumbfounded.