At this point, Cordelia felt something was off. The unfounded kindness of people was more suspicious than pleasing.
Leonard scolded her as soon as he saw her.
“Do you know what time it is? What took you so long? I’ve been waiting.”
“Master, about people… No, never mind.”
Cordelia caught herself and mumbled. On reflection, she couldn’t really complain about people being kind.
He lectured her for a while, but fortunately, he started the lesson when Cordelia handed over her homework.
“I won’t get angry, so tell me honestly.”
“About what?”
But Leonard already looked furious. Cordelia chose to stay silent instead of pointing it out.
“Why are you so slow? Is it congenital, or did you fall from a tree and hurt your head when you were young?”
“That’s too much! Even when I was young, my tutors praised me for being smart. I was the smartest student they ever had.”
“Why were you praised? For knowing how to breathe? Or because you could walk?”
“…”
Better to remain silent.
Cordelia realized daily how high this man’s standards were.
Even if she memorized everything taught the previous day, she received no praise, only treated as if it were expected.
Instead, every time she asked for something to be explained again, he looked at her as if she were a creature from another world.
As if to say, ‘How can you not understand this?’
Baron Lancaster, who arrived late, awkwardly smiled and took Cordelia’s side.
“But she has already learned to form magical energy. That’s actually quite impressive.”
“What’s the use if she can’t do calculations to move to the next step?”
“That will come with familiarity.”
Cordelia felt so grateful to the Baron for defending her that she wanted to bow.
Despite her teacher’s constant teasing, Cordelia was not discouraged; rather, she was more determined.
‘Just you wait. One day, you’ll brag about me being your student.’
She made this resolve internally, grinding her teeth.
The maid brought a letter on a silver tray. Cordelia’s face hardened quickly as she saw the name written on the envelope.
Leonard asked casually, “What? Who sent it?”
“Just… it’s nothing.”
She forced a smile and shoved the letter into her pocket.
Leonard noticed that the sender’s name on the envelope was Vasquez, but he did not probe further, knowing that Cordelia considered her family a shameful secret.
The lesson finally ended after a long time.
Cordelia had to jot down formulas for five hours, memorize over a hundred magical terms, and was given homework to analyze two papers.
She said with heavy eyes, “When am I supposed to sleep?”
“Sleep is something you do when you’re dead.”
“…”
Cordelia, too drained to argue, left Leonard’s room exhausted.
After the door closed completely, Baron spoke.
“I was surprised.”
“What about?”
“Cordelia. Did you know about her when you took her as your disciple?”
“If I had known, I would have checked if she was brain-dead before forming the blood pact.”
Leonard responded curtly, but excitement was evident in the Baron’s eyes.
“Master. It’s only been ten days since she started learning magic, and she’s already formed the shape of her magical power. Even the celebrated figures in the Magic Association take months or years to achieve this.”
“I did it in two days.”
“…Comparing ordinary people to you is difficult, Master. At this rate, she might indeed manage a star by twenty-five.”
“Hmph. She’s still far off. She struggles with basic mental arithmetic.”
“Math will come with practice. If she had been proficient at that too in just ten days, I would have doubted if she was human.”
The Baron shivered slightly.
At first, he thought Leonard had impulsively taken Cordelia as a disciple, but witnessing her astonishing talent made him exclaim in awe.
“Perhaps another great mage might emerge.”
“Don’t get carried away. More importantly, how’s the Council?”
“As expected, Elpenbaum is fiercely opposing. They say a funeral without a body is unacceptable.”
“How touchingly grateful.”
His tone was sarcastic, but he meant it sincerely.
There are over twenty nobles in the Council. If half agree, the title succession can proceed.
So far, other nobles, led by Elpenbaum, haven’t acknowledged Maximilian’s succession, but the leader position of the Attilay family can’t be left vacant for long.
“It’ll last three months at most.”
“Yes.”
The Baron nodded gravely.
That meant Leonard had to reclaim his original body and dethrone Maximilian within three months.
Leonard clenched his fist. Time was running out.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
