I tilted my head as I watched the child chattering enthusiastically about me. The name tag pinned to her chest read ‘Riena’.

‘How boring.’

I listened to her next words with my chin resting on my hand, feeling unimpressed, as only unpleasant sounds poured out.

I thought she would talk more about the ‘daughter of… evil’, but it was just a constant stream of criticism directed at me.

I crumpled my expression like a piece of paper and thought.

‘Hmm, this won’t do at all.’

I glanced around discreetly.

‘I need to make all the kids here my allies!’

Since I ended up attending the academy anyway, there was no need to consider the time spent here as wasted. I just had to understand it as a process of expanding my network.

‘Carrot and stick are important for proud and arrogant nobles.’

I sat down at my desk with my chin held high and set down my writing utensils with a thud.

The gazes of the young children, still unskilled at hiding their emotions, fell on my desk. Seeing their eyes rolling with interest, I stood up.

“What? Do you all have a problem with me?”

It meant I couldn’t listen anymore, but the atmosphere turned as cold as if ice water had been poured on it. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at them intently.

“Who says I’m not taking the test?”

I moved towards Riena. Being a tall child, I was a whole quarter span taller than her.

“I’m Sien Mirmode, you know?”

Just as I looked down at Riena intimidatingly, the teacher entered through the front door of the classroom.

It was the start of academy life.

After the morning self-study period, during the teacher’s homeroom time.

Evan, the teacher with a splendid mustache, smiled kindly as he introduced the three new students.

“Now, these are students from the Mirmode family. Everyone, give a round of applause to our transfer students.”

However, no applause erupted.

It was then that the flustered teacher wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Riena, who played the role of controlling the classroom atmosphere, spoke sarcastically.

“I don’t want to accept children who don’t even take the exam as members of our class.”

“Class president, Riena! What are you saying? You should help the children adapt well.”

“I don’t want to. I only take care of friends who have been admitted fairly.”

All the children in their seats took pride in the academy’s entrance exam. Perhaps that’s why they all began to agree with Riena, the class president, one by one.

Evan looked quite perplexed. He too was someone who had graduated from the Royal Children’s Academy with excellent grades and became a teacher.

“…What are you saying? They were admitted fairly. They’re from the Mirmode family.”

At the mention of Mirmode, the atmosphere among the children there turned as cold as ice water. Evan’s words only seemed to provoke more antipathy.

The children here disliked Sien because she came from Mirmode and didn’t take the exam, relying solely on her family name.

The children had been raised as nobles to the bone and had great pride.

In the tense atmosphere, Riena whispered as if to chide:

“Besides, I heard they’re not even ‘real’ Mirmode.”

Her whisper spread like a ripple in the quiet atmosphere. The children began to murmur. I shifted my gaze towards Riena.

‘Ah, now I understand.’

Although the paternity test was over, it only proved that I was of Mirmode blood.

In reality, only a few nobles had attended the trial. Although positive rumors about me had spread more than before the trial, it seemed insufficient to extinguish the antipathy of some children.

‘Well then, I’ll just have to show them.’

I raised my chin and was about to say, ‘Then we’ll take the exam to prove ourselves!’ But Evan smiled and said:

“Ah, we’re going to have a separate exam at Lord Matthias’s request anyway.”

A faint smile appeared on Evan’s lips, as if he thought this would be enough to calm the situation.

However, Riena pounded on the desk with a vicious expression.

“No, this is unfair, teacher!”

The boy next to Riena also sharpened his expression and said:

“Riena is right! Isn’t the academy exam supposed to be taken in front of everyone?”

“This is clearly preferential treatment. Even transferring in the middle of the year is preferential!”

“Our academy doesn’t usually allow students to transfer in the middle like this.”

The expression of Evan, a teacher lacking leadership, became seriously perplexed.

‘I guess Dad must have requested a private exam as a rule?’

But I didn’t mind taking the exam publicly. Having passed the welcome maze of the educational institute director at age 5, why would I be intimidated by mere children watching?

I shrugged and said:

“Then please make the exam public.”

“If the exam becomes public, it might be a bit uncomfortable for you…”

Riena, who had been watching the seriously subservient Evan, raised her eyebrows.

“Teacher! They’re asking for it to be public. We’ll need observers then, right?”

“Uh… yes, I suppose so.”

I stared at Riena. Seeing how this tiny child was being so consistently annoying, I thought I should quickly establish some discipline.

‘I don’t know which family she’s from, but being class president, even swaying the teacher, and having antipathy towards me. Perfect.’

There was no need to deal with someone who had antipathy towards me, but to achieve my goal of ‘building connections’ at this academy, I needed to establish some discipline.

“Do as the class president says. I prefer it that way.”

I grinned.

The teacher, who was clearly mindful of the Mirmode family, mumbled:

“Are you… really okay with that?”

Looking at Teacher Evan, who was using an ambiguous semi-honorific speech from who knows what country, I nodded.

“Yes, I don’t mind!”

It was true. I didn’t really care how anyone tried to slander me.

‘As long as I do well, that’s all that matters, right?’

Leonhart and Acid seemed to think the same, as their eyes became determined.

“Then I’ll go discuss this with the other teachers. It’s an unusual situation…”

As Teacher Evan left with an expression that seemed to have lost all his soul, Acid, who was next to me, whispered:

“I’ll try to get first place for your glory, Lady Sien.”

“…Huh?”

Leonhart also clenched his fist with eyes burning with fighting spirit.

“First place is mine, Acid. You little runt.”

Seeing those two, I couldn’t bring myself to say what I was thinking.

‘That won’t do. I need to get first place.’

…This is bad. My position seems to be under threat. I clenched my fists tightly and thought.

‘I wonder what the first exam will be?’

Somehow, the thought of taking the exam made me feel a bit nervous.

The teachers’ meeting ended quickly.

With the consent of myself, Leonhart, and Acid, a small classroom was borrowed after classes ended. Various grade levels of children and teachers were placed there as observers. Of course, the children from our class, including Riena, also participated as observers.

The number of observers was about fifty.

The exam time was about 60 minutes per subject.

They said we would take just one subject today, and two subjects tomorrow.

I looked around at the people participating as observers and then plopped down at my desk.

It felt like everyone was staring at me intently, making goosebumps rise on my hands.

I tried to rub away the goosebumps on the back of my hand while fixing my gaze on the blackboard.

But then…

‘Purple eyes? Why is that kid looking at me like that?’

A boy with purple eyes sitting near the blackboard was glaring at me sideways with an expression that was neither hostile nor friendly.

‘How uncomfortable!’

But there was no time to pay more attention to that boy.

Because Teacher Evan appeared with the exam papers!

“The principal’s seal has been stamped to prevent cheating. The exam will be held over two days, today and tomorrow, and the first exam you’ll take today is…”

The teacher handed us the exam papers with an expression like he had bitten into a bitter persimmon.

“Ancient language interpretation. Is that alright?”

This made me think that the heavens were truly on my side.

I grinned.

‘Ancient language? That’s totally easy! I’m a genius at ancient languages.’

I bared my teeth aggressively, which had grown to the size of rice grains, and glared at the exam paper.

The letters on the exam paper began to come into focus one by one.

Riena gnawed on her lips as she glared at Sien. Although she had somehow taken on the role of observing the exam, she didn’t think Sien would cheat blatantly. She thought she would cheat subtly.

‘She’ll surely be caught properly.’

The three thorns in her side – Sien, Leonhart, and Acid – were busy interpreting the ancient language.

Riena took in their appearances at a glance.

First, Leonhart.

He was diligently writing down letters, but it seemed he was generally pondering and deliberating before writing.

‘Mother said that this Leonhart child was quite intelligent.’

The students and teachers who had taken their seats to observe could also receive the exam papers at the same time as those taking the exam. Riena was briefly shocked when she received the exam paper. It wasn’t just her who was shocked; she could hear murmuring around her.

“It’s really difficult, isn’t it?”

“Is it okay for it to be this difficult?”

At this level, it would be difficult to solve even in an adult academy, let alone a children’s academy. Riena hid a smile at the corner of her mouth.

‘As expected of the ancient language teacher! Anti-Mirmode indeed.’

Although the Mirmode faction was very strong, there were actually quite a few people who harbored resentment against Mirmode. Like Riena’s family here.

She didn’t know why they came to the academy, but since it was illegal to punish based on what happened at the academy, it was certain that the ancient language teacher had also played a trick.

To humiliate the three children from the Mirmode family!

‘Still, that masked Leonhart seems to be solving the problems quite well.’

It was a pity, but it couldn’t be helped. Riena slightly furrowed her brow and clicked her tongue. One person could be smart, she supposed.

As for Acid…

‘Pass on the healer. He’s someone who could enter through a special admission anyway.’

Finally, her sharp gaze turned towards Sien.

Sien Mirmode was writing down answers to the problems without hesitation.

The scratching sound echoed in her ears. Riena was dumbfounded.

‘Is she actually solving those difficult problems?’

How many minutes had passed after that? The sound of Sien putting down her writing utensil was heard.

And then, straightening her body neatly, she raised her chin and said:

“I’m done.”

It was an expression so shameless and confident that it could stun everyone present.