Dinner the Night Before the Exam

After that, I took it easy until dinner. The four people at the dinner table today were Richard-sama, Catherine-sama, Lucien, and me.

Before I forgot, I made sure to thank Richard-sama for the pen.

"Richard-sama, thank you for the pen. It looks very easy to use. I had completely forgotten that I would need one, so this was a huge help."

"I thought you would need one at the Royal Academy, so I had it made for you. I'm glad it seems useful. I wanted to give you a more luxurious, ornamented pen, but I thought a simple one would be better for everyday use."

"Yes. It looked very easy to use. I'll start using it tomorrow."

I'm glad he chose a simple one. If I'd had a fancy pen, it would have given people another reason to notice me. Especially since someone might have broken it just to harass me.

As I was thinking that, Lucien turned toward me with a very happy look on his face.

"Leon, it's been a while. Are you ready for tomorrow's exam?"

"Lucien-sama, it's been a while. I think I'll be fine, but I'll do my best without letting my guard down."

"That's right. I think I'll be fine too, but let's both do our best tomorrow."

I wasn't nervous, but Lucien didn't seem particularly nervous either. He was eating dinner as usual. Well, Lucien seemed smart too, so there was no way he would fail.

In the first place, the Royal Academy entrance exam wasn't all that difficult for nobles who had access to education. It only covered basic arithmetic, reading and writing, and simple history. Anyone who had studied seriously until then would almost certainly pass.

Apparently, it was normal for every noble to pass, but once every few years, a noble apparently failed the exam. In that case, that person would be kicked out of the family.

It was pretty harsh, but if they didn't graduate from the Royal Academy, they couldn't become nobles, quasi-nobles, government officials, or knights. Their families probably didn't want to keep someone like that around.

Apparently, some kind families hired them as servants, but being employed as a servant by one's own family seemed even more cruel to me.

For nobles, that was the extent of the difficulty, but commoners, who had trouble obtaining educational opportunities, almost never passed.

Most commoners who passed were children of extremely wealthy merchant families—people who could afford to spend money on their children's education. Even those who had been fortunate enough to receive at least some education apparently took the exam on the off chance they might pass, but almost none of them did.

Thinking about that, there were probably many children desperately studying in one final push right now. The noble children who had slacked off in particular must have been frantic.

"When will Leon start living here?"

Richard-sama asked me that. I hadn't even passed yet, but everyone was already assuming I would. I started to feel sorry for all the children desperately studying right now. Well, their situation was their own fault, too.

"I'd like to move in a few days before starting school, if that's all right. I'd also like some time to prepare the things I'll need."

"A few days before starting school, then. I'll inform the servants accordingly."

"Thank you very much."

"I'm looking forward to being able to live with Leon from now on!"

Lucien-sama was absolutely delighted. It didn't feel bad at all to have someone this happy about it.

"I'm looking forward to it too. I'm not very familiar with noble society, so please teach me all sorts of things."

"Of course!"

I was glad I had become friends with Lucien-sama. Considering my life from now on, he would probably be a very reassuring ally.

I hoped everyone would be as kind as the people in the Townsend ducal family... But there had to be plenty of people who weren't.

...I would have to stay strong and do my best.

"Leon, your magic lessons with Martine-sama were only meant to continue until you enrolled in the Royal Academy, so they've ended, but please teach me again every now and then."

"Catherine-sama, if you ask me, I'll teach you anytime."

"That makes me very happy! Since we'll be living in the same estate now, you'll be able to teach me much more than before."

The magic lessons I gave Martine had ended when I enrolled in the Royal Academy.

Part of the reason was that I had already taught her most of what there was to teach, but another was that my face would become known after I entered the Royal Academy, making frequent visits to the Royal Palace far too conspicuous. Especially since my magic was still supposed to be a secret.

I had worried that people would quickly realize I was the same person, since I had gone there so frequently before, but I was told that I had always dressed and styled my hair like a servant. If I changed those things, people probably wouldn't recognize me so easily.

According to Alexis-sama, whenever I had gone to the Royal Palace before, they had apparently taken care to keep me out of sight as much as possible. Few people could accurately remember a servant's face under those circumstances. When he put it that way, I found it fairly convincing.

However, the most dangerous thing was what Martine had said during our final lesson. "From now on, you can teach me anytime at the Royal Academy!" That's what she had said!

If the princess-sama came to visit a commoner like me frequently, it would attract attention—or rather, nobles targeting the princess-sama would probably harass me horribly.

It was extremely dangerous. But I had no way of avoiding it...

However, Alexis-sama had warned me that Stefan-sama and Martine were not supposed to have met me, so I mustn't act as if we had known each other from the start.

It would be fine if it looked as though we'd become friends at the Royal Academy. Martine would show some restraint, at least—she was smart, after all. Though maybe only at first.

I'd only spoken with Stefan-sama a few times, and we'd never been particularly close, so I thought it would be fine. I hoped we could become friends from now on.

Since they had kept this hidden until now to protect me from danger, I needed to be careful.

If people found out that Martine and I had originally been close, they'd definitely investigate why. Then they'd end up suspecting that I was somehow connected to the circumstances behind her recovery from illness.

I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. I wanted to reveal my ability to use all attributes only after I'd gained a position and people could no longer easily lay hands on me. It would still be dangerous, but it would be far better than being a commoner.

As I ate while thinking about all these things, I finished my meal before I knew it. For now, I just had to get through tomorrow! I could think about what came afterward once the exam was over.

"Then, you two, get some early rest tonight and do your best tomorrow."

"Yes, Grandfather. I'll do my best."

"Understood, Richard-sama. I will give it my all."

And so dinner came to an end, and I went to bed early that night. I would do my best tomorrow.