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Chapter 32
It had been a week since the official schedule of the Gifted Institute began.
Over the past week, the students toured not only the imperial palace but also all the affiliated institutions.
It wasn’t just a simple field trip.
Many of the students who graduated from the Gifted Institute ended up working in the palace.
Even those who had originally planned to enter an academy or return to their families often changed their minds after seeing the palace.
While managing various tasks, the students also listened to explanations about each class.
Through this, they were encouraged to find subjects related to the future they envisioned and decide whether or not to take them.
Students hoping to join the diplomatic corps chose foreign language classes, while those wanting to contribute to ongoing reconstruction efforts opted to study architecture or mathematics more deeply.
“Hmmm…”
Ebi sat on a chair a bit too tall for her and stared at a piece of paper.
It was the class schedule for the Gifted Institute.
‘Everything looks good… but what should I take?’
True to its prestigious name, the Gifted Institute offered an astonishing variety of courses.
According to the guidebook, aside from the scheduled classes, if a student wanted to learn something specific, they could be assigned a professor after an interview.
Ebi stared at the schedule for a long time, then lifted her head to look around.
All around the garden, students from the Gifted Institute were sitting at tables.
Most of them were with peers their age.
“Wanna take this class together? This professor’s pretty famous.”
“Really? Should we go for the morning or afternoon session?”
They were sitting side by side, already close enough to pick classes together.
Ebi looked at them with envy.
‘How nice…’
Children became friends faster in unfamiliar environments. As a result, most students now moved around with their friends.
‘I wish I had someone to take classes with too.’
Even though a week had passed, Ebi was still alone.
To be fair, she hadn’t been alone until a few days ago.
After the day she was left behind in the museum, Irene, Arcel, and Ruska had stayed with her for two days.
But there hadn’t been much conversation. To be precise, it was mostly Ruska talking while Ebi responded.
Irene and Arcel were there but didn’t say much.
Not that they were completely silent—they just only spoke when necessary.
For some reason, Irene seemed uncomfortable around Ruska and Arcel, while the two didn’t seem particularly interested in Irene.
At least they didn’t seem to have any serious conflicts.
Ebi had thought she could continue hanging out with the three of them.
But after that, the schedule was divided by age.
This was to guide students to classes appropriate for their age and gender.
Because of that, Ebi had to separate from the trio and attend classes alone again.
Technically, there were about three other seven-year-olds, so she wasn’t truly alone. But those students were visibly distressed when they couldn’t see familiar siblings nearby.
In the end, the staff had to half-calm and half-carry those students around.
They repeatedly apologized to Ebi as they tried to manage the tearful children.
Since Ebi was calm and independent, she was reassigned to the group of eight-year-olds—where she again ended up alone.
To make matters worse, another incident occurred.
‘Limora quit the institute.’
In the end, Limora never came to apologize to Ebi on the first day.
Maybe because of that, the next day, when Ebi saw Limora with Director Seraphina, Limora’s face was red as if she was holding back tears, her head hung low.
After Seraphina left, Limora looked around and approached Ebi.
But when she saw other students standing nearby, she hesitated, unable to speak, and quietly walked away.
That went on for three days.
Then, one morning in the dorm lobby, Ebi saw Limora—no longer in the Gifted Institute uniform—getting into a carriage in regular clothes.
The confident attitude she had on the first day was gone. Now she looked like she was running away in a hurry.
The carriage loaded with her luggage soon departed, and that afternoon, Director Seraphina called for Ebi.
“Limora has quit the Gifted Institute.”
“Huh?” Ebi was surprised.
Director Seraphina sighed and reassured her.
“It’s not your fault. She just didn’t want to admit her wrongdoing in front of others, so she quit. Pathetic, really.”
Seraphina muttered with clear displeasure in her voice.
After Limora left, the students who used to hang around her became quieter than before.
Strangely enough, they also started avoiding Ebi, casting nervous glances her way.
Moreover, because of the rumors Limora had spread, no students dared approach Ebi.
“Hm…”
Ebi looked back at the course registration form.
The night before, she had circled the classes she wanted to take.
She wanted to take all of them—but of course, that wasn’t possible.
‘They said first-term students can take up to six classes.’
But Ebi had circled more than ten.
Which ones should she choose?
Some subjects, like math, had multiple classes offered, likely due to high demand.
‘Which professor should I choose?’
Ebi stared at the list of professor names, deep in thought.
Should she pick something she wanted to learn? Or something that would help her land a good job later?
All the subjects seemed interesting. She was especially curious about philosophy and ancient languages—subjects not taught at regular schools.
‘The director would probably say to learn what I want…’
Still, it might be smart to study something that could help her earn more money after graduation.
Holding her small head in her hands, Ebi agonized over the decision.
“I want to take them all!”
The director would definitely be curious about what classes she was taking. She had even asked Ebi to write her a letter about it.
If Ebi chose only practical classes for employment, the director would probably be heartbroken.
‘Okay, then. I’ll pick three I really want to take, and three that can help me earn money.’
Feeling like she had made a wise decision, Ebi marked the classes she wanted.
After narrowing it down, only one remained undecided—math.
She wasn’t unsure about whether to take it, but rather which professor’s class to choose.
After a long deliberation, Ebi finally marked the class taught by the first professor listed and organized her papers.
Then, she went straight to the submission desk.
The staff there were busy working but smiled warmly when they saw her.
“What can we help you with?”
“I’m here to submit my course registration.”
“See the drawer next to you? Just place it in there. Did you write your name properly?”
“Yes!”
Ebi slipped her form into the drawer and left.
A short while later, a group of students entered, chatting as they walked in.
“I don’t mind the other subjects, but I really hate math.”
“Still, it’s a required course. We can’t skip it just because we don’t like it.”
Sighing heavily, they opened the drawer to submit their own forms—only to spot the paper already inside.
Their eyes widened.
“Oh my, someone signed up for Professor Malles’s class.”
“What? Seriously?”
Hearing that, the other students gasped in shock.
Then, realizing their voices were too loud, they lowered them to a whisper.
“Who in the world would choose Professor Malles?”
Their tone was filled with disbelief.
Just then, a staff member looked over and said sternly,
“Girls, you’re not allowed to look at other people’s forms. Please submit yours and head out.”
“O-oh, okay!”
Startled by the sharp voice, they hurriedly dropped off their forms and left.
Before entering the institute, many students used every connection they had to investigate what kind of people the professors were.
Making connections with professors was just as important as befriending students from other noble families.
Many professors were nobles themselves and had extensive networks.
Naturally, through those networks, students could be introduced to influential people or get advice and support for future business endeavors.
Furthermore, when applying to advanced academies after graduation, which professor you studied under made a significant difference.
‘But to choose Professor Malles…’
Though renowned for his accomplishments, he was notoriously eccentric and his classes were known for being extremely difficult—even at the academy.
To top it off, he was planning to retire after this year.
No matter how brilliant he was, what good did that do?
“I heard he barely contacts other professors or former students.”
“Then it’d be nearly impossible to get introductions or build connections.”
In short, he was the one professor students at the Gifted Institute should avoid at all costs.
The girls sighed and shook their heads.
“On top of that, I heard the homework is insane…”
“Whoever signed up for his class is going to have a rough time.”
