Chapter 58
Still, since a library is a facility that multiple people can use, it might actually be less burdensome for Noel.
Noel’s house was already packed with other books, so there was no place to put more.
Books tend to take up surprisingly a lot of space.
└ [Totally relatable]
└ [That’s why I bought an e-reader]
└ [I can’t buy books because I lack money and real estate…]
That would be the same for others, too. So if Hestina wasn’t planning to build a library, it would be okay to suggest it this time.
Libraries also often become tourist spots that many people visit.
“If you buy books, you can lend them to people who need them, so I think it’s fine! And if there’s not enough space, we can keep them in an annex for now.”
“Is that so? Well, later when the books are out of print, it’ll be hard to get them…”
Since Noel was also someone who liked books, he didn’t refuse any books that came along.
After resolving his small concern, another small footstep sounded from upstairs.
“Hello…”
It was Wizen, whose condition had worsened since last time.
“This is my subordinate number three, Wizen.”
“I’m Wizen Conil…”
“Nice to meet you. But Wizen, you don’t look well…”
“Wizen even got second place on the math test.”
“Ugh…”
Damian poked at Wizen’s sore spot.
Yes. The math test results had just been updated, and Wizen came in second place.
Noel was about to say, “Second place is amazing…” but seeing the atmosphere, he kept quiet.
If left alone, Damian would bluntly say something again, so I explained first.
I grabbed Noel’s sleeve, lowered his posture, and whispered softly:
“Wizen was originally the top of the entrance exam, but in the next test, he got pushed down to second place in every subject.”
“Ah, I understand. Nothing is more disappointing than that.”
Noel sympathized with Wizen’s situation immediately, without even bringing up tuition fees.
└ [Seems like kids who study well understand each other lol]
└ [I’ll never understand that in my life…]
└ [Watching someone cry because they missed one question in every subject]
They seemed to have their own fierce… something.
Anyway, since Wizen couldn’t get over the shock, Noel invited him to the townhouse on the day he came.
“I want to study with Wizen.”
“Yes. I will do my best to teach him.”
Noel nodded with determination.
However, about an hour later, his expression changed to a puzzled one.
“Wizen perfectly understands all the previous material up to now…”
“But there were always some questions he didn’t know on this test. On the entrance exam, there were only confusing questions.”
“Hmm. Do you remember what kind of questions you got wrong?”
Explaining what you don’t know is never easy, but Wizen squeezed his memory to explain the questions he got wrong.
Noel compared Wizen’s explanation with the academy’s textbook and tilted his head.
“There are questions on the test that aren’t in the textbook?”
“Yes. Those are things the teacher tells us separately.”
In fact, Wizen’s textbook was filled with notes he had added as essays.
Compared to that, Damian’s textbook felt… patchy and sparse.
“But I really don’t remember hearing about this…”
“Damian also took the same class, right?”
They looked at Damian, who was solving problems nearby.
“Even if the class times differ by section, the teacher is the same, so isn’t it the same?”
“That’s right. In our academy, one teacher handles each subject.”
“Then Damian, did you learn this in class?”
“Huh? No idea!”
… It’s unlikely Damian would know something Wizen didn’t.
With notes this full, it’s safe to say he didn’t miss much.
“Maybe the teacher accidentally skipped explaining it only to Wizen’s class?”
“No… Barado is in the same class as me for history and literature.”
The student who came in first place this time got 100 points without any questions missed.
That Barado student is a commoner who entered through grade selection.
Having a tutor like Damian is rare unless you’re a noble.
If you’re a commoner, you probably didn’t get private lessons, meaning you got 100 points just by attending academy classes.
They took the same class, so why did only one person’s grades drop?
Maybe Wizen felt the burden of being top secretly, or got mentally shaken after seeing other subject scores.
But not having any clue what he lacked seemed a little strange.
└ [When descriptions like this come up, there’s always a mastermind behind the scenes]
└ [Could this be related to Gerald’s rising grades???]
It’s not just that I don’t like Gerald’s improved scores and want to pick a fight—this is suspicious, right?
I don’t know what happened yet, though.
Noel consoled Wizen with an apologetic expression for not having a solution.
“Next time, I’ll try to get textbooks from other academies. The overall content is the same, but detailed explanations differ. Maybe the answer is in a different textbook.”
“Yes…”
“Unfortunately, let’s preview the next test material. If you know the textbook content in advance, you’ll better understand the teacher’s extra explanations.”
After that, the tutoring session was normal.
Wizen seemed to have self-studied by looking at the textbook because he understood everything immediately after hearing Noel’s explanation once and nodded.
“Why do birds represent peace? There are birds of prey, too.”
“Oh, Damian. That started when a gift was sent to befriend another country.”
This even ended up being a lesson for Damian.
It just became Damian’s 2-on-1 tutoring session.
Still, teaching others is the best way to learn, so Wizen also got to review once more what he knew.
Noel took notes on the questions Damian wondered about and Wizen’s explanation method to build an effective child education method, while I savored dessert beside them.
Although this was a gathering stemming from one student’s family situation, it was quite a peaceful scene.
‘I’m here again.’
I arrived at the iron gate leading to the outdoor garden of the royal palace.
When I came with the director on the day of the title conferment, the place was packed with people so much that I hardly noticed the gate. Today, however, I could see the quiet garden and the tall fence enclosing it clearly.
This time, I got down from the carriage carefully so as not to dirty the hem of my new dress.
Duke Valent, who got down first, was talking with Grandfather Benjamin, who had driven the carriage.
“You’re planning to stop by the knight order, right?”
As expected, while we participated in the party, Grandfather Benjamin also had an appointment at the palace.
Although he accompanied us as the coachman, he is the teacher of the Royal Order of Knights.
He was a knight in the royal order long before Duke Valent.
On the way to the island, he often met acquaintances, but it had been a while since he had entered the knight order building in the palace.
Perhaps because of this, a smile of gladness showed on Grandfather Benjamin’s face.
“Then I’ll head there after finishing my schedule.”
Grandfather Benjamin patted my head as if to say “Take care,” then placed a hand on Duke Valent’s shoulder and got back into the carriage.
At that moment, he looked just like a former royal knight.
The carriage left for the palace storage, and the rest of us turned to enter the gate.
“Go.”
But first, there was something I had to do.
I lightly grabbed the hem of Duke Valent’s trousers.
“Could you hold me?”
Duke Valent didn’t refuse immediately but narrowed his eyes and looked down at me as if wondering what I was thinking.
He might be thinking, Why is she asking this again when I refused before?
‘But this is the royal palace!’
A place watched by the Emperor’s eyes and ears.
If they went to the trouble of holding a ward party and inviting Duke Valent and me, the intention was obvious.
They want people to see the duke wearing a keyring rose, after all.
└ [Now she even calls herself a keyring rose lololol]
└ [What kind of logic will she use to attack next?]
‘Logic? Well…’
I kicked forward hard as if kicking a transparent wall.
Then the shoe on my foot flew off in a smooth arc far away.
“My shoelaces must have been loose. No wonder it was hard to walk.”
