What would a diplomat do, analyzing only the information presented by the other party? Of course, an ‘explanation’ with one’s own speculation and interpretation had to be given.
When a freshman from the Hanmi family pointed out a nuance that not even the son of a diplomat could catch, Duke Voltaire smiled for the first time since he entered the classroom that day. It was only for a very brief moment, but it was clearly a smile of satisfaction.
“Why are you learning foreign languages?”
The students couldn’t open their mouths because they realized that Duke Voltaire not only pointed out the wrong answer on the spot but also compared it with others’ answers publicly. As the lesson was not proceeding, Arthur Pendlandt cautiously answered.
“Isn’t it to converse with people from other countries?”
“It’s basically correct, Arthur Pendlandt. But you are nobles. If you really want to converse with people from other countries, you can have an interpreter. Or you can use the common Lundic language to talk to nobles from any country on the continent. So why bother learning another country’s language?”
In the classroom, frozen in silence, Neris answered smoothly.
“To gain an advantage in diplomacy.”
“Correct.”
Duke Voltaire looked at Neris with a twinkle in his eye. The students could tell that Duke Voltaire liked Neris.
Even in retirement, he’s still a big name in diplomacy, so if Neris wishes, she could have an easier start in that field than others.
“You learn foreign languages for diplomacy. Don’t overlook even a single word. Analyze not the information that appears, but what that information means to you. If you understand ‘roughly,’ diplomacy fails. Neris Trued knows this, and that’s why she’s in the same class as you now.”
His last words brought a significant change to the classroom’s atmosphere.
Even though the word ‘smart’ was the same, Megara’s evaluation meant that Neris was overly stepping forward in front of the children.
However, Duke Voltaire’s evaluation meant that Neris would be helpful to the other students in the class.
He knew that favoring one student as a teacher could create resentment among the other students, so he stopped speaking at a delicate point.
‘He is still an excellent diplomat at this time.’
Neris smiled inwardly.
When she was a Crown Princess, her main duty was diplomacy. There were even trivial matters she handled for a short period due to diplomatic disputes with Berlen.
So she applied for his class this time as well. She never expected Megara would follow.
“But Teacher.”
Megara was calmly raising her hand. She asked in a voice adorned with loveliness.
“Isn’t Neris’s interpretation itself wrong?”
“That’s correct.”
Mahuradi Endim quickly agreed and soon began to chastise Neris loudly.
“She’s a freshman and from a rural village, so it’s unavoidable that she lacks in some areas. But then she should take classes that match her level. Isn’t it wrong to steal the time of upperclassmen when she can’t even properly interpret simple words?”
“What?”
Ren sat up straight for the first time since entering the classroom. Mahuradi hesitated under his fierce gaze, but soon gathered the courage and glared back.
“What? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Who was the one who didn’t know the diplomatic terms in Berlenese just now?”
“I can’t believe it. How would she know diplomatic terms? Even Brother Aser didn’t know, right? You must have taught her, Ren Faiel.”
“Why would I teach her that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because nobody wants to get close to you, you flattered her a little?”
Ren’s eyes glowed coldly. A momentary devilish and dangerous smile appeared on his young face, a look he wore when he was angry.
“I think that’s something I should say.”
“What?”
Mahuradi was clumsier than Ren. His angry, blushing face made others uncomfortable.
Neris looked at Megara with an unreadable face, and Duke Volter watched Neris’s actions with a sharp gaze.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t understand human language? If you didn’t understand, never mind.”
“Hey, Ren Faiel……!”
“Tuus, Areté. (Both of you, stop it.)”
Ren nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and just before Mahuradi exploded, Duke Volter intervened and calmed the situation. Then he asked Neris,
“Keurnha du pensla ah diskuur prebien? (What do you think of the recent conversation?)”
“Ka nuenme derangje parang, sior. (It has nothing to do with me, Sir.)”
At Neris’s calm words, Mahuradi’s face turned furious, but Ren looked utterly unaffected.
As far as Ren thought, this was a matter between himself and Mahuradi. Mahuradi seemed to have targeted Ren from the beginning.
“Mahuradi Endim, Ren Faiel. Both of you have forgotten that this is class time. Come find me at lunchtime. And Neris Trued, come forward and explain why you interpreted it that way.”
“Yes.”
The students’ eyes slowly focused on Neris as she calmly walked to the front of the classroom.
She was accustomed to such attention, so she did not display any of the typical agitation a freshman might show. No, rather, to others, it seemed as if she was receiving the admiration she deserved.
The giant blackboard attached to the podium was managed magically, so even short people could write without difficulty by using the conductor’s wand. Neris took the wand from Duke Volter and wrote a few words in Berlenese on the board, noting their Imperial meaning next to them.
“Nice handwriting.”
Aser Pendland expressed his admiration in a voice louder than he intended. Then, shrugging off Mahuradi Endim’s resentful look, he thought, What?
He had only spoken what was on his mind. To write as skillfully and elegantly as that freshman required years dedicated solely to practicing handwriting. Though he himself was praised for his penmanship, he was not at that beginner’s level. Moreover, writing on a magical blackboard was not an easy task for a novice.
Megara bit her lip at one of the words Neris had written.
‘Kangje: Ambassador.’
Megara thought the word pronounced as ‘Kinjei,’ thinking it was a person’s name, was read as ‘Kangje’ in the Berlen style, and in diplomatic terms, it meant ambassador. Originally, the imperial name Kinjei itself was derived from that word.
And the word Megara translated as windmill meant ‘a flow that occurs continuously within a certain range,’ and such a translation was not impossible, but in this context, it was a complete mistranslation.
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.
