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Chapter : 10
Cretanon Academy
A special educational institution located in the western part of the Empire, it is also a kind of neutral zone that officially claims no national affiliation.
It is a place where the continent’s most brilliant minds gather, regardless of nationality.
Jaden Lohas spent ten years there and never once failed to be at the top of his class until graduation.
This was the first time such a thing had happened since the academy was founded.
Truly, an unparalleled genius.
That his classmates and contemporaries at the academy had a more familiar term for him is another matter entirely.
If only the marquis who had been supporting him had not forgotten to bring the dog collar that day.
If Jaden had not reported the marquis to the headmaster.
He would have taken a place anywhere and walked the path to success.
But having fallen out of favor with the marquis, there was nowhere for him to go.
He tried to assert his value and plead his case, but no place would accept him.
The only luck he had was that the headmaster, feeling pity for him, offered an opportunity.
On the day he was summoned to the headmaster’s office after graduation, Jaden became the tutor to the princess, notorious as a lost cause even abandoned by the Emperor.
“Whether you could call it luck, I’m not sure.”
Whether by coaxing, by scolding, or by strict discipline, if he could somehow rehabilitate the princess into a capable person, a chance of revival would appear for him as well.
“…That’s what I thought until yesterday.”
Feeling the pounding of his heart echoing in his ears, he looked at his left palm as usual.
Gradually, his wildly racing heartbeat began to calm.
“Phew…”
Jaden paused as he was collecting the exam papers.
The papers were filled entirely with the princess’s answers.
“Unexpected. No, it’s far beyond what I expected.”
Just yesterday, Jaden had headed to the Mirror Palace for his first class.
He had heard that the princess had never had a proper lesson due to extreme resistance to learning.
She refused books outright, not even bothering with history books, let alone storybooks.
So Jaden had no expectations at all.
When he first entered the study…
“Ah, ahaha. Then I’ll start with a question about the history of the Empire. August 31, Year 23 of the Oreas Calendar. The Emperor Hereo Valdheim—”
“I don’t know. Never heard of it.”
“T-This, you should know. W-Who was the first Emperor of the Empire?”
“I don’t know!”
“A hero became Emperor?”
“Oh, you speak well?”
The princess’s knowledge level at first sight was so abysmal that Jaden could hardly believe she was even from the Empire.
Right after receiving the test sheet, he even regretted accepting the position of her teacher.
[Explain the difference between mana and sword energy.]
[What is the founding principle of the Empire?]
[Write the national title of the Empire.]
There was nothing to even grade, let alone read.
[I don’t know.]
The test was filled with nothing but “I don’t know.”
Feeling a chill run down his neck, Jaden flipped through the pages, praying for proper answers.
And then,
“Hmm?”
He saw it. A page filled out perfectly.
“This is…”
His eyes naturally narrowed.
What caught his attention was the math section.
A foundational subject important for students aiming for magical studies or magical engineering, and also treated as essential knowledge for public service or commerce.
Because it was difficult, he naturally assumed she would have gotten not a single question right…
“Perfect?”
Even if the tests were designed to screen out eight-year-old children, the academy’s entrance exams were no small matter.
Yet about a third of the questions had been solved perfectly. And in a completely new way, unlike anything before.
The rest of the pages were still filled with “I don’t know,” but…
Jaden understood.
Solving complex problems using established formulas was easy.
But finding solutions from a completely new perspective was an entirely different challenge, even for simple problems.
“So she didn’t use conventional formulas, not because she didn’t know, but because she found her own.”
He had heard the princess hadn’t even mastered four-digit addition and subtraction.
But now, he was convinced that information was at least half wrong.
“It wasn’t that she lacked talent—her predecessor simply never taught her properly…”
Perhaps, being a blank slate, she had created her own tools.
Jaden carefully examined her solutions.
His genius spanned all fields, able to grasp the essence of formulas from a single solution.
These were formulas that had never been published anywhere.
“Then this must be the princess’s pure talent.”
It is said that a genius recognizes another genius.
Jaden Lohas was certain.
The princess, notorious as a hopeless case, was a genius.
And when he finally opened the language section of her test…
“Th-this is…!”
Jaden’s hands began trembling uncontrollably.
“Teacher seems a little… odd.”
I said, chewing on eggplant steak.
“A genius always operates beyond the ordinary mind.”
“Gott. But you know… she’s really a genius, right?”
Even in The Sword of the Sky, Jaden had an unusually timid side.
On the other hand, his passion for learning bordered on mania, making him officially one of the “mad geniuses” of the story, in a way different from the male leads.
But yesterday, seeing Jaden…
“He just looked like an idiot.”
I couldn’t forget the way he fumbled over the stack of test papers.
“Even the new recruits Gott selected don’t inspire much confidence.”
Especially the laundry maid I met on escape day.
Around me, there were only simple muscle-heads.
Now that I was Eirensia, the people I could recruit were all a bit clumsy.
“…That’s just my luck.”
On the bright side, I could mold things in the direction I wanted.
Even the old comrades could be said to have been raised entirely by me.
Experience had taught me one thing.
“If you roll them, it works.”
That was an unchanging truth.
Can’t do it? Then keep rolling until it works.
“Rather kill me….”
Until that phrase was uttered hundreds or thousands of times.
“Looks like I’m going to be struggling for a while.”
I sighed deeply and shoveled more eggplant steak into my cheeks.
“Luckily, you seem to be eating well again these days.”
Gott smiled warmly at my chubby cheeks.
According to the old man, I hadn’t been able to eat properly for days.
“My appetite has returned.”
Literally, I was hungry again. Hunger makes food taste better.
No matter how much training I had in my previous life for emergencies, young Eirensia’s body and mind couldn’t handle starvation.
Besides, there was no way to avoid poison other than eating.
“Gott wouldn’t have failed to take any measures anyway.”
I busily worked my fork.
“Your Highness. You need to eat properly to grow.”
“…It’s okay. I can supplement with other nutrients.”
I pushed the pile of pickled cabbage to the edge of my plate with my knife and spoke.
“Gott, by the way, did you take care of it?”
“I handled everything as you instructed.”
Quick as always.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“How much did we gather?”
“It seems to be two platinum coins.”
“Platinum coins? Two of them?”
Platinum coins? We only liquidated the princess’s jewel boxes and personal items, yet the amount was surprisingly high.
Comparing with local currency value, I could roughly calculate.
“This should be enough.”
“Good, carry on as planned.”
“Yes, understood.”
I folded my tiny hands and began counting.
“Four? Maybe six?”
What I planned were investments in real estate and promising ventures.
From the moment I arrived here, I had been painting a small, precious picture in my mind.
As soon as I became an adult, cut ties with the royal family, move to a remote place with no secondary characters around, build a palace-like villa on land with good scenery and infrastructure, and live a wealthy, peaceful, carefree life.
That was my ten-year master plan.
Since I was already in the novel world, I had no ambition to become Emperor.
In the past, I had been a chairman’s illegitimate child and the favorite hunting dog.
The only reason I was even allowed that much was because my abilities were useful. Otherwise, I would have been expelled long ago.
“But here, it’s impossible. The conditions aren’t suitable for my abilities.”
Here, there were no modern technologies I was familiar with, but magic was an overpowered tool.
Among my abilities, the only thing somewhat usable in this world was swordsmanship from my past life.
“Come to think of it, the princess had trained in swordsmanship too.”
But because she was afraid even to hold a wooden sword, Eirensia’s talent had never sprouted.
It wasn’t fear of injuring others that held her back.
She often threw pots at people, so she wouldn’t hesitate over a mere wooden sword.
“She was probably afraid of being hit herself.”
The word “rebellion” didn’t apply to dueling.
Both would clash swords.
With her poor skill, it was impossible not to get hit even once.
Especially for someone like Eirensia, who had made many enemies.
“Besides, she lacked persistence. Even with a capable teacher, she couldn’t manage basic cuts.”
A hundred strikes a day?
If she managed ten, we’d be applauding her.
“But… now it’s different.”
She is no longer a ten-year-old brat specialized in tantrums and oppression, but a diligent, hardworking top-class worker in a country where the lights never go out.
The only concern is whether the techniques I learned in Korea would work here…
Her thin lips curved slightly.
“If it doesn’t, I’ll make it work.”
It was simple and absolute logic.
“Better if there’s someone to suffer alongside me.”
Doesn’t have to be doing the same task; other work is fine.
What matters is that there’s someone sharing the hardship.
On a hot summer day, running alone on an empty field is nothing compared to the comfort of having at least one companion.
“The first time…”
