I Became a Genius (1)
I Became a Genius (1)
Fortunately, the alchemist in this neighborhood wasn't some fake chemist from my past life trying to turn lead into gold.
Though it took some time, the alchemist who came rushing over successfully identified the poison in my baby food.
The alchemist eagerly sang his own praises, boasting that it was a slow-acting poison that was incredibly difficult to detect and that anyone else would have missed it. I silently agreed with his self-congratulation.
After all, when I had died previously, neither the family doctor nor the priest had been able to find the cause.
'I suppose it's a matter of different fields of expertise.'
In any case, because the alchemist had discovered the poison, the mansion was thrown into an absolute uproar.
Even though I was a bastard, clear evidence of an attempt to murder a young lord of the ducal family had come to light.
Not only the maids who frequented my room, but every single servant in the mansion was on edge.
And then the Duke—my father, who hadn't shown his face until now—paid a visit to my room.
The terrified maids bowed so deeply it looked as if their heads would plunge into the floor, and my mother also offered him a solemn greeting.
The Duke scanned his surroundings with an indifferent expression, then spoke to the elderly butler following close behind him.
"Have you caught the culprit?"
"Yes. We have obtained a confession from one of the chefs."
At the butler's words, the Duke nodded.
"Execute the chef who confessed, and send his family out of the territory with nothing but their lives. Also, take appropriate measures against the head chef and those in charge."
"Yes. Understood."
A terrifying, cold command.
If a resident of the territory was banished, they would be unable to settle in other domains and would end up as mere wanderers.
Telling a commoner to become a penniless wanderer was, in the end, no different from telling them to die.
But the Duke's instructions ended there.
He gave no order to interrogate the confessing chef further, nor did he mention investigating the mastermind who had ordered the poison to be slipped in.
Ultimately, it meant burying the matter right there.
No one dared to contradict his words. Even my mother couldn't utter a single word, let alone lift her head.
'Good grief. If the bastard who's supposed to be my father is like this, there's really no hope.'
Having finished speaking, the Duke prepared to leave the room.
I couldn't just let the Duke walk out like this. It was incredibly annoying, but I had to use my ultimate move once again.
Staring intently at the Duke, I tensed my stomach and cried out with all my might.
"Papa! Papa!"
Everyone stared at me in surprise. The Duke was no exception.
He looked down at me with wide, startled eyes.
'Now's the time! Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!'
Curling the corners of my eyes, opening my mouth, and unleashing a smile!
"Hehe, Papa!"
It was a facial expression I'd practiced over and over alongside the words.
A smile that the maids and my mother had already deemed adorable after all my practice.
Even the elderly butler standing behind the Duke cracked a smile when he saw my grin.
Yet the Duke's expression remained unchanged.
What an annoying human being.
But hold on, my facial muscles! I can't let all my hard work go to waste!
Smile, smile!
Still, I suppose he was a father after all. The Duke, who had been staring at me intently, finally opened his mouth.
"From now on, you, the chief butler, will personally take charge of this child's security."
"Ah, yes, Your Grace."
Even after the startled chief butler replied, the Duke continued speaking.
"I would prefer there to be no disturbances in the household, at least until his Awakening."
"I shall convey that to everyone."
Along with the chief butler's response, I heard my mother let out a sigh.
It sounded as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
She bowed her head toward the Duke once again.
"Thank you for your consideration."
The Duke nodded at my mother's words and looked at me once more.
'They say you should give an extra rice cake to the one you dislike, so feast your eyes on my smile.'
I stared back at him with all my might. Giggle. Ah, my jaw is getting numb.
Still, this wasn't a forced smile anymore.
I had achieved my goal, so there was no reason not to smile.
Fortunately, before my jaw could start trembling, the Duke left the room, and amid the maids' congratulations, my mother shed tears as she looked at me.
I really was born in the wrong place. What a terrifying noble life this is.
Even with priests and magic around, things like this seemed to be the entire reason infant survival rates were so abysmal.
[The crisis has ended. A new 'Save Point' has been set.]
'Still, I guess I've bought some time.'
I muttered to myself as I looked at the screen that appeared after the Duke left.
It was a guarantee of safety from the Duke himself. Surely, they wouldn't be able to send assassins as easily as before.
And the Duke's protection was even stronger than I had anticipated.
Thankfully, a period of boring peace continued.
Following the Duke's declaration, all attempts on my life vanished.
As expected, it was an inside job within the mansion.
It was deeply unsettling not knowing who the culprit was, but there was nothing I could do in this young body.
I could only focus on growing day by day.
And since I had already been recognized as a genius since infancy, I decided to go along with that misunderstanding.
I strove to learn to speak as quickly as possible and did my best to stand and walk.
Unlike learning to speak, moving my body wasn't easy. When it came to physical matters, the memories of my past life weren't much help.
As soon as I managed to sit up—no later than other children my age—I threw a tantrum, demanding to be shown books.
Fortunately, there was one area in this world that had developed disproportionately compared to the others.
Unlike the medieval-like setting, the publishing industry was quite well-developed.
From picture-filled fairy tales to specialized academic texts.
Although it was a privilege reserved for nobles and the wealthy and hadn't reached the commoners, that wasn't a problem for me at all.
When I asked for books, they naturally brought me picture books at first.
They were filled with illustrations of princesses, princes, and animals.
Naturally, I threw another tantrum, demanding different books.
"Word. Books!"
Everyone stared at me with bewildered expressions, but I shamelessly continued.
"I like words! Pictures are bad! Show me words!"
"My goodness, where on earth did you hear such things?"
The startled maids fetched some books, and my mother hurriedly summoned a tutor to teach me how to read.
Fortunately, the script wasn't difficult. It was a phonetic alphabet, and its letters were pronounced much as they were written.
It seemed the writing system hadn't been created all that long ago.
While continuing the basic physical activities necessary for growth, I kept up with my studies.
A day, a week, a month, a year... Time passed.
And I grew rapidly.
Unfortunately, despite my active efforts, my body was only average for my age.
Still, the knowledge I accumulated as I grew was beyond what other children could match.
As I grew, the rumors gradually spread, and now that I was a full five years old, all the servants in the mansion referred to me as a genius.
A study filled with books. A child sat in a chair leaning against a bookshelf, peering into a book.
The child, who looked to be about five or six years old, swung his feet—which didn't reach the floor—as he sat in the chair.
The maid Flora leaned against the wall, watching the child—the Duke's son, Alex.
The tiny child sat in a chair with his legs dangling above the ground, peering into a massive book.
Even to her, it was incredibly adorable to see him reading so intently, a book the size of his upper body resting on his lap.
'It would be even better if the book he was reading were a fairy tale filled with pictures.'
Flora, who had been smiling, wore a slightly wistful expression.
The child—Young Lord Alex, who was about to turn six—was reading not an age-appropriate fairy tale, but a history book. And a highly difficult one written in the Ancient Imperial Language, at that.
Unlike other commoners, Flora was literate enough to read and write the common language, yet even she couldn't read a single word in this book.
It was indeed a sight worthy of the genius young master rumored throughout the entire mansion.
Unfortunately, once outside the mansion, almost no one knew of Young Lord Alex's genius, but inside, there wasn't a soul who didn't know.
And the young master wasn't just smart.
Flora glanced around discreetly before leaning her back against the wall.
'This is comfortable...'
Letting out a soft sigh, she silently thanked the young master, who was engrossed in his book.
It was absolutely unthinkable for a maid to lean against a wall in front of the ducal family.
Alex was still young, but if a child let slip the wrong words, she would have no excuse, even if she were kicked out on the spot.
Yet Young Lord Alex didn't care about such things at all.
Unlike a typical child, he maintained his own manners perfectly, and his consideration for the servants was far superior to anyone else's in the mansion.
Young Lord Alex had given her permission a long time ago.
-You can make yourself comfortable when it's just the two of us.
It was something she had heard well over a year ago, and because she hadn't complied for several months afterward, he had repeated it to her multiple times.
At the time, Young Lord Alex was only four years old. Naturally, she couldn't simply trust the words of a four-year-old and let her guard down.
But the young lord had never been an ordinary child, just as he wasn't now.
There had been the disappearance of the maids—the very reason she had been assigned as his maid and the beginning of all the rumors—as well as the first words she had personally witnessed the young lord speak.
"Mamma hurts."
Thanks to that, the mansion had been thrown into a massive uproar, and from that moment on, Flora had begun to look upon the young lord with awe and reverence.
Even after that, the young lord's behavior was extraordinary.
He no longer startled people as he had during his infancy, but he continued to demonstrate outstanding talent.
He picked up speech rapidly and learned to read at an incredible pace.
From books written in the common language to the Ancient Imperial Language he was currently reading.
Even now, a child who was barely turning six was reading books meant for adults who had graduated from the Academy.
A genius who could hardly be viewed as a mere child.
Having watched him constantly at his side, Flora took some time, but eventually came to believe his words telling her to make herself comfortable.
And his promise was kept. For a whole year, no one else in the mansion found out about her moments of rest.
Thanks to that, she had been able to spend the past year in comfort.
'There isn't much time left...'
As her thoughts drifted, Flora's face grew sorrowful as she looked at Young Lord Alex.
She thought of the rumors circulating through the mansion and the attempted poisoning she had witnessed firsthand.
Peaceful days had followed the poisoning attempt, but now even that peaceful time was drawing to a close.
The Awakening Day promised by the Duke was just around the corner.
Unlike in the beginning, she had grown incredibly fond of Young Lord Alex, but there was very little a maid could do.
Just then, footsteps echoed from far down the hallway. It was time.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she pulled her back away from the wall and spoke.
"Young Lord, it is time for your lesson."
"The nobility of the continent originated from the heroes who annihilated the Demon King's army five hundred years ago. Of course, nobles and royal families existed before then, but they were ordinary people no different from commoners, not nobles possessing the kinds of abilities we see today."
"...The royal family of our Carlos Kingdom are the direct descendants of the hero, Knight Carlos. Naturally, the Gracia Dukedom, which branched off from the royal family, shares the same lineage. And..."
Lesson time. In front of me, a young scribe was talking away with great enthusiasm.
I had heard he was a capable scribe from a baron's estate, but he was far more sleep-inducing than I had anticipated.
If I were a normal child, I would have already slumped over my desk and fallen asleep or thrown a massive tantrum.
Then again, a normal child wouldn't even be receiving lessons like this in the first place.
I was sleepy partly because I already knew all of this.
'I did way too much advance studying.'
I had already spent over three years devouring all kinds of books in the mansion's study, which was the size of a library.
The words of the teacher standing before me were nothing more than a tedious review.
I sighed inwardly. It couldn't be helped. I should be grateful for even this much.
If I were a legitimate child of the Gracia Dukedom, they might have brought in some great sage, but as a bastard, I had to be thankful just to receive lessons from a local official of the territory.
Even this lesson was offered to me only because rumors of my genius had spread throughout the mansion.
Calling it a "lesson" was a bit of a stretch, as it consisted of nothing but liberal arts and accounting classes, given twice a week by the territory's scribes.
Today's lesson was packed with historical tales, but in the end, it was merely a 'liberal arts class.'
Still, the content of the lesson was quite substantial.
The structured nature of the lessons made it seem as though they intended to turn me into a civil official.