Chapter 79
Chapter 79
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: After the Exam Ends
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The exam had barely started five minutes ago, and she was already waving her test paper around like she was done?
Liena stared at the sight with her jaw dropped.
‘...What’s this? She’s not even pretending to take the exam?’
For a moment, Liena wondered if she was planning to bribe the examiner during grading. But that didn’t make sense either—observers would be present during scoring too.
That left only one possibility.
‘She was just throwing a tantrum earlier, and now she’s given up on the exam!’
Liena smirked, curling the corner of her mouth. She broke the rule that no one—not the observers, the test-takers, or the kids taking the exam—was allowed to speak during the test.
“Pathetic.”
Her voice was tiny, but everyone there was thinking the same thing.
‘Even so, ditching the exam like this is idiotic, right?’ ‘At least pretend to try. Is she gonna try to buy silence with money? Typical Mirmod.’ Whispers like that filled the air.
The atmosphere turned utterly toxic for Sien.
But Sien just stared blankly at the proctor collecting her test paper.
“Since I’m done, can I do whatever I want now?”
Evan, who’d been supervising the exam, muttered in a daze.
“W-Well... yeah, I guess.”
“Okay.”
And so, with a total exam time of sixty minutes...
Sien, who’d turned in her paper after just five minutes, fell asleep, snoring softly.
As if it were no big deal at all!
Liena ground her teeth, glaring daggers at the test paper in the proctor’s hands.
She couldn’t wait for the hour to pass.
Sien Mirmod.
That girl was definitely about to face utter humiliation and shame the moment the time was up!
At last, all the exams ended.
Liena tore her gaze away from the masked Leonhardt and stood up. The test was over, but observers had to stick around all the way through grading.
Grading would happen in another classroom, so the observers had to move.
As she walked to observe the grading, Liena mentally tallied up their scores.
‘From what I saw, Leonhardt Mirmod seems to know Ancient Language pretty well.’
Her thoughts drifted to Acid. He only smiled when Sien Mirmod was nearby; otherwise, he had this calm, subdued gaze. From what her mother had told her, he was a healer...
‘Not sure about Acid, but... as a healer, he’s got enough talent to get into the Academy. Annoying as that is.’
But Sien was different, at least from what Liena had seen. She’d clearly guessed on the multiple-choice and scribbled nonsense on the essay questions.
How else could she finish everything in five minutes and flop over to sleep?
‘Sien Mirmod bombed it. No way she did well. What an idiot!’
For someone from the infamous Mirmod family, Sien Mirmod was too cute—lacking any real menace. That just made her easier to dismiss.
Liena smirked. The thought of finally bringing shame to the Mirmod family filled her mind with glee. Her mother, who supported the crown prince’s faction, would love hearing about this—she’d probably grind her teeth in delight too.
“Alright, let’s begin the grading.”
While she was simulating their scores in her head, the teacher must have brought in the test papers.
Grading began in front of everyone.
First up was Leonhardt’s paper. Circles and slashes appeared one by one, outlining his score.
“Eighty points.”
An excellent mark. Probably no one else scored that high on such a tough Ancient Language exam. Leonhardt puffed out his chest proudly.
“See? Told you I’d get first! Genius, right?”
Liena steadied herself. She’d already expected Leonhardt to shine, so it didn’t hit her hard.
Next was Acid’s turn.
“Acid’s a healer whose divine power is already recognized, so it doesn’t matter much...”
The grader’s expression darkened a bit. It was lower than Leonhardt’s, and even compared to the others, it wasn’t great.
But Acid was a healer—a rarity on the continental scale. Failing Ancient Language didn’t tarnish his skills.
Finally, it was Sien’s turn.
Everyone assumed she hadn’t even tried. Liena smirked viciously, eager to see her face crumple at a zero.
But then the grader picked up his red pen and hovered it over her paper. He tilted his head, then drew a circle.
“L-Lucky. Guessed right on the first one.”
It was just the first question. Liena figured beginner’s luck ended there and smoothed her twitching lips. But...
“Eek.”
“...W-What?”
The grader’s pupils dilated as his pen flew across the page, circling answers nonstop.
Circle, circle, circle...
The relentless string of circles sent shivers through the grader and observers alike.
Everyone except one.
Sien just tilted her chin lazily, tapping her foot like she was bored. But everyone there knew exactly how incredible what she’d done was.
Grading wrapped up quickly, and the paper passed to the inspector.
The grader set down his red pen, eyes bulging as he stared at Sien.
“T-This is a first for the Academy.”
Sien replied indifferently.
“A first, huh?”
“Y-Yes! A first! A perfect score in Ancient Language. Unprecedented...! And they said the exam was extra tough this time...!”
Sien smirked.
“No big deal.”
The room erupted in murmurs.
Leonhardt and Acid, faces flushed with excitement, turned to her.
“Sien, that’s amazing!”
“Yeah! How’d you get them all right?”
That’s when a shrill scream pierced from the observers’ seats.
“T-This can’t be real!”
It was Liena.
People staring at Sien turned to gawk at Liena in the observers’ section.
Seeing her hands clapped to her cheeks, a few whispered.
“In the end, it just proves Sien Mirmod’s a genius.”
“Liena’s the only one who looks like a fool now.”
The words stabbed Liena’s ears. Trembling, she shouted.
“This is impossible!”
“What’s impossible?”
“She cheated, right?”
I tilted my head cockily, propping my chin on my hand.
‘These kids... the more I see them, the more they mistake me for an easy mark?’
I flicked the graded paper away with my fingertip.
I’d stayed quiet until now, but I’d proven my skill—no need to hold back anymore.
“Liena, was it?”
My gaze landed on her, but my finger pointed to the proudly gleaming perfect-score paper, stamped with the headmaster’s seal.
In other words, cheating was impossible, and the headmaster himself vouched for my ability.
I lifted my chin and whispered to her.
“You. Cut the crap.”
“......”
Liena bit her lip, speechless. The kids sitting with her as observers looked just as stunned.
“So you’re saying the headmaster’s sealed paper is wrong?”
Invoking the headmaster’s authority crushed her. Time for the finishing blow.
“Then go complain to the headmaster yourself. Not me.”
Liena panted raggedly, unable to retort. I scanned the kids around her. None dared speak.
I’d crushed them with pure skill. A perfect victory.
I glanced at Liena—still fuming silently—then turned back to Mr. Evan.
“Mr. Evan! What’s tomorrow’s exam?”
Evan, who’d just been rolling his eyes at the noble kids’ power plays, finally spoke.
“A-Ah...”
‘He’s pretty shaken.’
I waited patiently as he wiped cold sweat and calmed down. It took a while, but he finally answered.
“Tomorrow is swordsmanship and magic.”
“Got it. Sounds good.”
I nodded and stood up.
It seemed like official Academy exams.
Of course, thanks to my perfect Ancient Language score, I’d already more than qualified for admission.
‘Just pass swordsmanship and magic—no failing grades!’
My mind felt lighter. I grinned and shrugged.
Rubbing out people who look down on me is always a thrill.
***
And so Sien left with the teacher. With the exam and grading done, there was no reason to stay.
But Liena and the pro-crown prince faction kids remained in the classroom.
“This can’t be.”
“Yeah.”
Scraaaape. A chair dragged across the floor. It was the boy who’d sat silently with eyes closed, just watching.
“What can’t be?”
His eerie purple eyes pierced Liena. Flustered by his arrow-sharp words, she blurted his name.
“What’s wrong, Martin?”
Martin straightened his coat, ignoring her completely, and headed for the door. Of course, he didn’t forget to whisper mockingly at the threshold.
“She proved it in the end.”
“...!”
“Right?”
Liena was the class rep, the one who set the room’s mood.
But Martin’s every word carried weight.
He didn’t have many close friends, but he was the only son of a marquess, the Academy’s top admittee. And already famous as a genius who could manifest aura on his sword.
Plenty of kids secretly admired him. Liena’s lips quivered.
She bolted after him as he vanished through the door—his strides were so quick, he was already far down the hall.
Liena screamed at his retreating back.
“Martin! So you’re taking Sien Mirmod’s side? Your family’s suffered plenty from the Mirmods too!”
Martin turned. He smirked.
“I’m just pointing out your bias. Not taking her side.”
“...What?”
A flash sparked in his violet eyes.
“I hate Mirmods too. You know I don’t get excited about much.”
Martin fixed Liena with an inhuman, detached gaze beyond his years.
He was right. Liena liked him, so she knew everything about him.
Staring at his departing back, her face drained to ghostly white.