Nellisdo was also watching the silver-haired boy. Nellis whispered, making sure no one else could hear, except for Diane.
"That's right. You're the Young Master."
Nellis, who had been made to hate the name "Nel" by the person who had killed her mother to take control of her family's estate.
The man who had used Nellis all her life and discarded her cruelly when she was no longer useful.
"Why did you have to go that far?"
Nellis wanted to rush over and ask him right now, revealing the pent-up anger in her chest. She wanted to make him feel the cruel satisfaction he would never feel again.
She wanted to rush over, take the dagger from his waist, and stab him in the neck. Even if it meant Nellis would die too, it didn't matter. She was already dead once, anyway.
But would that be enough punishment?
"No, I have to endure for now."
Nellis whispered to herself. Coincidentally, her eyes met those of Nellusion.
Nellusion, too, had met Nellis before, just a few months ago.
The Elantria Dukedom family had invited Nellis and her mother to their estate for dinner, as they needed money for Nellis's academy tuition. The atmosphere was quite pleasant back then.
At the time, Nellis had thought simply, "I must become a great adult to repay the kindness of my relatives who treated me to dinner."
"I wonder if it's true that the child of Ja-an was born."
They had confirmed it and lent them the money. It was likely that they had planned to thoroughly use the mother and daughter from then on.
Perhaps Nellusion would remember the innocent and pure Nellis from back then.
"You're the one who ruined that, Nellusion."
So, when the time came, Nellis was ready to shatter Nellusion's smiling face.
Nellusion, who had volunteered to run an errand in the female freshmen's classroom, felt satisfied with his clever decision.
Nellusion Elantria lacked nothing. He was born as the eldest son of a prestigious family, second only to the imperial family and the grand duchy, and had earned the trust of Prince Abelrus.
In the political department, he studied with students older than him, skipping grades, and all the students admired him for being handsome and fair.
Kind and fair.
As he recalled these two words, a smile appeared on his face. Nellusion was receiving such an evaluation.
However, he didn't plan to use his exceptional talent to become a great duke and serve the emperor. Someone as clever as him should have bigger ambitions.
And the thing that could help him achieve that ambition was right in this freshmen classroom.
The faces of the freshmen, overwhelmed and curious, were something he had seen for years. Nellusion pretended to be nonchalant as he scanned the freshmen, just before reaching the center of the auditorium.
It wasn't hard to find a familiar face. The sharp Ja-an and the mysterious platinum blonde hair caught his attention.
Nellis Truede.
The daughter of a declining branch of the family, who was only worthy of marrying a low-ranking knight, was of no interest to Nellusion's family.
However, that cousin's daughter surprisingly possessed the precious Ja-an, and as soon as the duke confirmed this, he decided to invest. The Ja-an noblewoman would be a good asset in the noble society.
Nellusion knew that it had been over a hundred years since a Ja-an was born in his family. This situation was worrisome for the Elantria family.
Anyway, one of the reasons the Elantria family was respected was because they were descendants of the legendary three heroes, just like the imperial family.
Young Valentine might have been sulky, but Nellusion thought his parents' decision was excellent. In the noble society, where dignity was important, symbols held great significance.
So, he gave a kind encouragement to the mother and daughter who were thanking him for lending them tuition, leaving a good impression.
"Hmm?"
But was this child really like that?
The Nellis that Nellusion remembered was an innocent and pure child, but the one he met now was completely different. Her sharp eyes, like a seasoned politician, pierced through him, and even he couldn't help but be surprised.
Fortunately, Nellis smiled shortly after. It was a beautiful and soft smile. He calmed himself down and stood at the center of the auditorium.
It must be a misunderstanding. People couldn't change that much in just a few months, especially not a twelve-year-old child.
However, his smile was already slightly distorted due to his surprise. Realizing this, Nellusion quickly put on his usual kind face.
If that child was smarter than he thought, it would be a good thing. After all, she was just a child, and it would be easy to manipulate her. The daughter of a low-ranking knight and a duke's cousin were in completely different positions.
"Ladies, soon, Mrs. Alex will come to supervise your math abilities. I am Nellusion Elantria, in charge of explaining the test beforehand."
Even the children who didn't know Nellusion's name held their breath. He looked around at all the children once.
He had already memorized the names and faces of the notable children, but he had to appear fair to everyone. It was unclear who among them would reveal their usefulness.
"Just like Cartak Won, where I belong, has a martial arts department, magic department, political department, and theology department, your Ain Won has a general department and theology department. You are here now because you are students in the general department."
Each class could be taken regardless of gender, but traditionally, most men chose martial arts, magic, or politics at Cartak Won, while most women focused on social etiquette and education in the general department at Ain Won.
The reason each won was divided like this, with both having a theology department, was a remnant of the old conservative tradition where students of different genders couldn't even meet face-to-face.
Among male nobles, those who would become knights chose martial arts, those who would become mages chose magic, and the rest chose politics.
For women, it was simpler: those who didn't enter the theology department belonged to the general department.
This was why the political department at Cartak Won and the general department at Ain Won were essentially similar.
"In the general department, there are music, language, and literature departments. Since you are all first-year students, you will take all the basic subjects together. However, some of you may have already studied certain subjects in advance at home. It goes against our academy's highest value of self-improvement to waste time listening to content you already know. Therefore, based on the test results, some students will be able to take specialized courses with upperclassmen who are not freshmen."
Megara Rikandros, who had already become the center of attention in the classroom, sparkled her eyes. Nellusion understood her reaction, knowing that she had shown talent in various fields since she was young.
Students who had been taught by famous teachers from a young age and those who could barely write would naturally produce different results. Nellis Truede probably didn't receive proper education either.
It would be great if she came to him, pleading for help.
Then, he could easily win her favor. Nellusion found Nellis to be impressively talented and attributed it to her usefulness.
Originally, he just wanted to observe her along with the other students in the classroom.
But since she was so pretty and seemed to have already made friends, it would be worth paying more attention to her.
***
The results of the math ability evaluation test were posted near the entrance of the middle auditorium before the first common social studies class for freshmen began.
The students couldn't close their mouths as they saw the results, which listed names, families, and scores in order of rank.
The eyes of the children, who were either hopeful or fearful as they checked their scores, widened in surprise. The shorter kids quickly checked their own scores and then peeked at others', jumping up and down excitedly.
Although the students of Cartak Won and Ain Won took separate tests for administrative convenience, the test contents were identical. Therefore, the abilities of all thirty or so freshmen were revealed on the spot.
The male students who visited the middle auditorium at Ain Won for the common social studies orientation were boasting, their pride wounded.
"Where is the Truede family from?"
"Who is Nellis Truede? I've never heard of that name before."
Regardless of gender, the name "Nellis" was written as the overall top student and the only one to achieve a perfect score.
Nellis stood at the back of the group of children, her eyes gleaming with a cold light. Even among the boys with still chubby cheeks, there were those who had bullied her.
Some of them enjoyed insulting Nellis in front of the whole school, even when the other students had stopped their blatant bullying.
The boys who particularly bullied Nellis were mostly one of two types. Either they were students from Cartak Won who didn't do well in their own studies and wanted to bully someone, or they thought it was a way to show off in front of girls who enjoyed being mean.
The name of the former was already written in the lower ranks.
Nellis was the type who could get high scores without trying, so she had never been interested in others' rankings before. Now, she saw that some of the boys who had been the most annoying were doing terribly in their studies.
It was fortunate that she wouldn't have to see their faces in the advanced classes.
"You're the top student? That's amazing."
A few quiet girls approached Nellis and started talking to her. Nellis hesitated in her response.
When she was being bullied, the kids would criticize her no matter what she said, so Nellis still didn't know how to respond to such comments.
"...I was just lucky."
"You must have studied really hard. Hey, where is the Truede family from? Are you from the Truede family in Rocaster?"
"Rocaster is the Truss family. I'm Truede. Our father isn't a lord, so we don't have any particular background."
The kids nearby leaned in, eager to hear Nellis's voice. This was a new experience for Nellis, so she was a bit flustered. Just then, the crowd around her suddenly parted.
The girls who were talking to Nellis quickly left when they saw Megara appear. Megara approached with elegant footsteps and said,
"You're amazing. You must have received a good education from a great teacher."
"Not really."
Megara's companion, a black-haired girl, scowled. Nellis was familiar with that expression from the girl, Rianon Velta.
Whenever Nellis breathed, Rianon would always make that face.
As if to say, "How dare you, someone like you, breathe in front of me?"
As if it was arrogant for someone like Nellis to breathe, to get good grades, to hold her head high and look at Rianon.
Predictably, Rianon criticized Nellis in a sharp voice.
"You're really funny."
"What's funny?"
Nellis asked, amused by the fact that Rianon was already following Megara around.
It was easier to respond to Rianon than to the girls from earlier, who seemed to be looking for a specific reaction. Nellis knew the reason behind Rianon's behavior.
There was only one reason why Rianon spoke ill of Nellis.
"It's because people around her agree with her."
When she was younger, Nellis didn't understand that. So, she tried to become someone who wasn't "funny" to avoid being ridiculed.
However, no matter how hard she tried to please others or maintain a smiling face, she couldn't change the fact that people thought she was strange. Nellis's efforts were in vain.
But Rianon was still just a child, and the only person who actively agreed with her was Megara.
Rianon responded to Nellis's calm question with a frustrated tone.
"You did well on the test. You must have had a good teacher. Why are you lying? Are you trying to make others think you didn't have a teacher?"