Chapter 197 The Day To Face Reality
"It looks like we've got a full house today. There are so many people."
Sara was agonizing over where to study until the very last minute. Normally, she would choose Maiden's Tower without hesitation, but she was torn about whether to bring her cousins along.
In the end, Sara decided to study at Maiden's Tower. Today, they were supposed to receive samples from the women's settlement, and she wanted to discuss it with Alicia the Alchemist Girl and Amelia the Pharmacist Girl. Moreover, she didn't want to cause any trouble for Thomas.
As the Lady-in-Waiting of the Marquis Grandchester household, it was common for the daughters of lower-ranking nobles to work as etiquette tutors. Therefore, while Thomas was staying at the main residence, Sara kept her hair down, creating an awkward atmosphere.
Of course, there weren't many women who stood out in the usual Grandchester Castle. However, Chloe told Sara that among the Lady-in-Waiting brought from the royal capital by the Young Marquis's family, there were 3 Viscount daughters and 2 Baron daughters. It seemed that even among the maids, there was a knight's daughter, but Chloe didn't know the exact number of people.
In other words, it was highly likely that there were daughters who knew Thomas or had a crush on him. Sara thought that she had to avoid creating a new stalker among the Marquis's servants at all costs.
Now, they're heading to Maiden's Tower, and Chloe's governess will be coming with them. She's a widow in her mid-40s who isn't good at horseback riding, so the ladies will be traveling by carriage. When she explained the situation to Durandal at the stables, she told him he'd pull the carriage, but he insisted on doing it with Rovi, so they decided to have 2 horses pull it instead.
Durandal looks up to Rovi like a father or older brother. According to Durandal, Rovi is someone he can talk to, but Sara can only hope their conversations aren't too risqué.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sara Grandchester."
"The pleasure is mine. I'm Jane Rochester. I'm the widow of the late Viscount Rochester and currently serve as Chloe's governess at the Grandchester household."
"Long time no see, Mrs. Rochester."
"Lady Orson is as beautiful as ever, isn't she?"
Rebecca spoke up to Jane, seemingly familiar with her.
"Should I call you Mrs. Rochester as well?"
"No, please call her Miss Jane!"
Sara confirmed the way to address her, and Chloe chimed in from the side with enthusiasm.
"Then can I call you that way too?"
"Of course, Miss Sara."
"That's great, and we can call each other 'teacher' too, just like we do with our home tutor, Mister Thomas."
"That sounds wonderful. I'll call you Miss Rebecca then."
"Yes, Miss Jane."
It seems the teachers will be calling each other 'Mister/Miss' from now on.
Adam and Christopher decided to travel by horse. As children of the Grandchester family, they had been trained in horseback riding since they were young, so both brothers were skilled riders. According to Durandal, Adam and Christopher's horseback riding skills were on par with Durandal's older brother.
When they arrived at Maiden's Tower, Scott, Blaze, and Thomas were already there. The usual classroom had new desks and chairs added to it.
"Whoa, Sara, are we all going to study together?"
Adam asked, looking surprised.
"It's not like we can all take the same lesson. We'll work on individual assignments and receive individual guidance from our teachers as needed. We'll just be keeping an eye on each other's progress,."
"Sara and Chloe are getting lady-like education, right?"
"I want to focus on history and literature, but since we're here, I'll study accounting basics with Chloe today."
"That sounds fun!"
Sara smiled brightly, and Chloe's eyes sparkled too.
"But before that, we need to test Chloe's math skills."
"Milady Chloe can solve basic calculation problems with no issues."
Jane explained Chloe's study progress.
"Oh, Chloe is taking math lessons too?"
"I can do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but not anything too hard."
'Hmm, if she understands the rules of arithmetic, that's excellent. We should check her level anyway.'
"Okay, let's do this. Today, we'll take a test to check everyone's study progress!"
"Ugh..."
Adam suddenly let out a complaining cry.
"Sara, does your cousin hate studying?"
"The only thing I don't like is the unfortunate Adam."
"You're saying that's pitiful?"
"What's with you?! I'm the eldest son of the Grandchester Young Marquis, you know!"
"Hmm, so that makes you a pitiful guy, huh?"
Blaze didn't know the rules of the nobles, so he showed no mercy towards Adam.
"Blaze, it's true that Adam has a pitiful brain, but if we tell him the truth, he'll get hurt and cry. So, please don't call him pitiful. If he falls behind in his studies any further, he won't be able to enter the Academy, and that'll be a total disaster for the noble family."
No one pointed out that Sara was the one who hurt him the most.
"Yeah, I'll tell you, Adam, Chris. Blaze is the same age as Chris, 10 years old. He's only been studying for 2 months, so if you get a worse score than Blaze on the test, chess is banned. You're going to stay behind and study."
"You, you've only been studying for 2 months?"
"That's because I was in a mercenary group before. I didn't study at all."
"I see. Then it's a piece of cake."
"I'll work hard for chess too."
'Ugh, Adam is so simple-minded. Chris seems to be aware of it, though. His eyes are on high alert.'
In reality, Thomas had already asked for the test questions to be created. Rather, this test was a collaborative effort between Cordelia the female educator, Thomas, and Rebecca, and it was also a test to determine class rankings in the new educational institution.
Sara got a perfect score on the test, but Scott got 470 out of 500 points, and Blaze scored 380 points. Surprisingly, Chris got 450 points, a great score, and Chloe got 340 points, a decent result.
And, unfortunately, Adam got 230 points, the lowest score.
"Adam... you... seriously, this is bad! You even lost to Blaze, and to Chloe, who only had a lady's education, by a huge margin!"
Sara covered her face.
"This is ridiculous. Has he really only been studying for 2 months?"
"To be exact, he hasn't even studied for 2 full months, Adam."
"But Blaze is definitely a genius, right?"
Christopher pointed out calmly. That was an undeniable fact.
"Well, I acknowledge that, Chris. Once he memorized the numbers, he could do the 4 basic arithmetic operations effortlessly, and he could even write and read texts. However, his lack of knowledge is what's holding him back, so he's making up for it now."
"No way, Sara. I just started learning how to write recently, but it seems like I don't quite understand the verb conjugations and particle usage in this country's language."
"That's amazing that you can even understand that much! Blaze, you weren't born in Avalon, were you?"
"I'm not really sure. I'm an orphan, so I've been living near the border with Roisen for a long time, so I might be more used to speaking Roisen's language."
"Ah, I see. Avalon's language and Roisen's language are similar, but they're not the same, right?"
"Yeah, the intonation and spelling are different, after all."
At this point in the conversation, Adam had a stunned expression. It wasn't just that he had lost to a commoner's orphan, but also that his younger brother, whom he had thought was stupid until now, was actually much smarter than him.
Thomas burst in, holding the test papers with his scores marked.
"Scott, If you can fix your spelling mistakes, you can easily score 10 more points. And, you made a few calculation mistakes in math too. If you review thoroughly, you can avoid these mistakes. Be careful during the academy's entrance exam, okay?"
Thomas gave advice to Scott. It seemed he had already entered the brushing-up stage for the academy's entrance exam.
"Christopher, you seem to be struggling with history. There were a few math problems that you didn't even attempt, maybe because you didn't learn the formulas? Did you not understand the solutions?"
"Yes. That's true, Mister Thomas."
"Then, later on, I'll explain the math solutions. For history, it's better to get assignments from Miss Rebecca, okay?"
Of course, Rebecca had already prepared assignments tailored for Christopher.
"Ms. Chloe, you had many math problems that you couldn't solve, but that's understandable considering the curriculum so far. However, your handwriting is beautiful, and your understanding of literature and history is amazing, isn't it?"
"Yes. Thank you, Mister Thomas. I'll work harder."
Chloe bowed her head, her face reddening as she thanked Thomas.
'Wow, Chloe is totally smitten. She must have a thing for handsome guys...'
"Blazen is, as always, doing well. There are still math formulas to memorize, but if it's just math and writing, I think you'll be on par with Scott soon. However, literature and history require accumulating knowledge, so you need to read a lot of books. Your memory is excellent, so you might absorb it all in no time."
"Yes. Thank you."
Then, while looking at the last answer sheet, Thomas was at a loss for words.
"Adam... to be honest, if things continue like this, getting into the Academy is hopeless. As a noble, there's still the option of studying abroad, but with Avalon language writing skills being unreliable, it's questionable whether you can use foreign languages. Even if you obtain some kind of degree while studying abroad, the entrance exam is still required. There are private schools that don't require exams, but you won't be able to get a degree. If... you return without getting a degree, it would be quite embarrassing for you as the head of a high-ranking noble family."
And so, Adam was forced to face the harsh reality he had been avoiding for a long time.
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