It was a look that seemed to say, "Don't you know 1, 2, 3, 4 when you're a grown adult?" or rather, "Don't you even know how to use a spoon?"
'She must be a really famous person.'
He had been stuck at the academy—and room and board are provided. He hadn't paid any attention to the world.
"Lady Erencia is our light and hope."
Todd furrowed his brows deeply.
This person is also a counselor.
The idolization of humans and blind trust require counseling.
“Please go in.”
"Yes?"
The noble lady opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"You just need to go straight to Professor's Office 3."
Then the professor will take care of it.
The woman in the fluttering yellow dress was dumbfounded, but a servant holding a parasol urged her on, so she entered the school gate in a daze.
And the young ladies who watched the scene from behind.
They reached a strange conclusion that...
"Lady Erencia, you are truly beautiful!"
"Flowers, yes, flowers! I tell you, even flowers look withered when standing next to Lady Erencia!"
"Lady Erencia is a reformer who will abolish the evil customs of the nobility!"
"You have an extraordinary passion for learning..."
Todd covered his ears.
Everyone surrounded Todd and poured out praises for Erencia.
"Be quiet!"
Todd yelled.
It fell silent for a moment at the loud shout.
Taking advantage of that moment, Todd quickly went inside the school gate and locked it.
It is clear that there are people who need counseling, but at this rate, the third professor's office will be overflowing.
"Come back tomorrow!"
Todd slipped into the office as if he didn't want to hear any more.
Todd slammed the door shut and let out a deep sigh.
Todd glanced open the window and checked outside.
The young ladies were gathered in a circle, talking to each other.
"I guess we weren't good enough."
"The expression about flowers earlier was too common, wasn't it?"
"Let's go study more."
The story was taking a strange direction.
However, Todd didn't know exactly what was strange either.
Shortly after, the area in front of the school gate became deserted.
"What's this...?"
Todd had to ponder all night over why the young ladies, who had refused to leave despite his best efforts to send them back all morning, had returned on their own.
***
Euclid dismounted from his horse as soon as he entered the schoolyard.
Riding horses was forbidden on campus.
Euclid's attendant and Frederick, who had arrived earlier, approached.
"Thank you for coming."
“It was fun.”
Euclid grabbed Erencia by the waist and pulled her down, then answered the attendant.
Euclid handed the reins to his attendant and looked at Frederick.
"How did you get in?"
Euclid asked Frederick.
It wouldn't have been easy to get in with the front of the school gate so crowded.
"This is a place we sponsor. Where is there a place that refuses sponsors' entry?"
"Are you the sponsor? I'm the sponsor."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Erencia intervened.
Euclid tried to reveal that he was a patron when Todd blocked his way.
"I missed the timing because you stepped in."
Thanks to that, he almost got treated like an unreasonable person outside for stubbornly demanding admission.
To think he's being treated so poorly at the place he supports.
Although he eventually came in, Todd had a strange expression on his face as he opened the door.
'It seemed like he felt pity for me.'
The word 'pity' sounds strange.
"Would you like to look around?”
Erencia nodded at Euclid's words.
"Never mind, go do your business."
When Euclid spoke to Frederick, Frederick stepped back.
Euclid and Erencia walked side by side through the schoolyard.
The campus was magnificent, reflecting the empire's will for educational reform.
It was a magnificent building that would be perfectly suitable for use as a banquet hall right away.
A wide-open garden with a lawn spread out. There was a central fountain, and to the back, a spacious drilling rink for light exercise and a dormitory.
Since there was no precedent, it was modeled after an academy in another kingdom, so at first glance it looked grand and splendid, like an educational institution for royalty and nobility.
It wasn't just the exterior that looked impressive. It was one of only two public educational institutions remaining in the Empire. Moreover, unlike a place rumored to be closing down soon, it was well-maintained in every corner.
"You spent a lot of money; how is it?"
Erencia looked back at Euclid.
"Did you invest here?"
“It’s not an investment; it’s a sponsorship.”
"Isn't it the only sponsor?"
Euclid closed his mouth instead of answering. That was a sure answer that Erencia was right.
Public education is clearly not a profitable business.
Who would donate a large sum of money with only good intentions?
"You can tell a lot of money was spent. It's excellent."
It wasn't meant as a compliment, but Euclid smiled, seemingly pleased.
"The maintenance costs here are enormous, aren't they?"
“I guess.”
“They need to get paid.”
Erencia looked straight at Euclid and spoke.
Erencia thought.
What if the nobles insist on going about it even though I caused a disturbance?
Let's charge them a fortune in tuition!
Since Euclid is the patron, it is entirely possible if he withdraws his sponsorship or expresses his intentions to the dean.
And I'm letting people know I'm behind it. This is a good idea, isn't it?
Erencia's eyes sparkled.
"We charge tuition."
Euclid's eyes wavered.
Rather than saying Let's collect tuition, on the word 'we'.
Since when did she and he become 'we'?
"Let's think..."
Euclid's voice as he answered was different from usual.
Regardless, Erencia was already focusing on the two people on the bench.
"This is 180 degrees."
"What are you talking about? It's clearly a 90-degree angle."
The two people were talking over a triangle drawing.
It was a problem of finding the size of one angle of a triangle.
"Hey! What do you think of me? How is this 90 degrees? Don't you know what 90 degrees is?"
"Why don't you know what 90 degrees is? I taught you that it's the distance your feet are spread apart when you stand straight!"
Erencia, who had been silently listening to the story from behind, was dumbfounded.
She was initially dumbfounded by the students who blindly shouted 180 and 90 degrees, even though the three angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees.
'How do you teach the kids?'
She was dumbfounded a second time by the explanation the teacher gave.
This school is truly...
"It's a total mess."
A candid comment burst out loud.
Euclid, standing beside her, smiled awkwardly.
Perhaps because it was a place he sponsored, he was overly concerned with Erencia's evaluations.
"Huh? Eren, E-Lady Erencia!"
The two students jumped up.
It is a waste to use a high-end feather fountain pen with such a glamorous dress.
It hurts her heart to speak harshly to kids who look way younger than Erencia at first glance, but this is why she came here.
"You two are both fools."
Erencia snatched the paper between the two.
"The sum of the three angles of a triangle is 180 degrees, so how can one angle be 180 degrees? How would you calculate the size of one angle? You'd have to add two and subtract, right? Don't you even know such basics? You are truly beyond ignorant."
"Wow! So that's how it works? It's written right here: the sum of the three angles of a triangle is 180 degrees. Why didn't we see this?"
"With eyes as decorations..."
"Thank you so much, Lady Erencia! I was going to get scolded by the teacher if I couldn't solve this, but thanks to you, I was able to solve it!"
Erencia gaped.
The two students bowed so low their foreheads almost touched the ground, then disappeared, saying they had to do their homework.
Laughter was heard from somewhere.
It was Euclid.
He covered his face with one hand and clutched his stomach, stifling his uncontrollable laughter.
"If you want to laugh, laugh."
Erencia left a single word and went ahead.
"After all, fools never realize they are being insulted."
She tried hard to rationalize that she hadn't helped.
***
"But why do we have to hide?"
Euclid and Erencia were crouching behind a garden tree.
Four students were gathered around a wide table in front of the garden tree.
The sight of him holding a pen while wearing gloves was far from studying.
It unintentionally ended up looking like they were peeking.
"Well, because we have to wait for the right opportunity?"
“What opportunity?”
"An opportunity to make them realize how terrible they are!"
Euclid did not understand what Erencia was doing, but he decided to join in to some extent.
Because it's fun.
The reason for wanting to verify whether her idea was right or wrong was secondary; the important thing was the timing to meet the dean.
Although it is supported in the name of the Empire, most of the amount came from Euclid's assets.
So, it was necessary to check if it was being used properly.
Usually, he would just accept it as a document report and be done with it, but he changed his mind the moment Erencia started spouting negative views on public educational institutions.
Decided to see for himself with his own eyes
“Now!”
While he was lost in thought, Erencia suddenly stood up from her seat.
"The conversation is too low-level to listen to!"
***
Anna and Josephine, and Ophelia and Helen were in the middle of a heated debate.
It was the part about the pure goddess that they learned in theology class today.
It was the part where the goddess gathered and drank the morning dew, conceived, and gave birth to Delphis, the god of the empire.
Anna and Josephine argued that it made no sense to have a child without being married.
On the other hand, Ophelia and Helen argued against desecrating the myth of the sacred empire, claiming that if one prays sincerely, a child can be conceived simply by holding hands while sleeping.
The children must have just turned thirteen.
Considering that sex education for noble ladies begins two years before their debutante ball, Ophelia and Helen's innocent idea is fully understandable.
While men followed their parents or male cousins around from a young age to learn sex education through firsthand observation, women did nothing but let their imaginations soar in their rooms using romance novels they had painstakingly acquired.
Geez, that's unfair.
Perhaps that is why there were many women who failed their first relationship.
'So Mary...'
As the memory of the treatment Mary had received at the banquet came to mind, a surge of anger welled up inside her.
Silly Mary!
She wondered if she was still being treated like a pushover by other men these days.
"It's true. I'm telling you, my mom said so! Let's go find the professor right now and ask him!"
Good heavens, a theology professor would happily tell you that, in fact, to have a child, a man and a woman have to go "uh uh hahaha."
Erencia thought that now was the time for her to step up.
I'm going to spew out a torrent of blasphemy and lewd words!
"The conversation is too low-level to listen to!"
Erencia sprang to her feet.
She climbed over the bushes and approached the four startled students.
Having missed his timing, Euclid had to hide behind the bushes.
"Wh-who are you?"
They seemed not to know Erencia.
"Who am I? I'm Erencia Novellita!"
Erencia placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
"Hello. Since you don't recognize us, I assume you are here for a field trip. Do you need a guide?"
Josephine said, pushing up her glasses.
Erencia paused at the innocent and warm welcome.
"No! I didn't come to a low-level academy like this just to be a guest."
"Th-that's right. Our academy doesn't have many students... We aren't even good students, but you said they'd accept us because there's no one else..."
Ophelia slumped her shoulders and spoke in a hushed voice.
Erencia looked back at the children.
They were all wearing outdated dresses.
One of them wore a neatly ironed, baggy dress like those worn by commoners.
Erencia immediately realized that these students had not come to the academy because of her, but were original students and children from poor families.
The tips of Erencia's eyebrows trembled slightly.
"Then, what brings you here? Shall we help you?"
Helen, dressed in commoner's clothes, took a step forward.
"I never need your help! If anything, I'm the one who helped! What on earth are they teaching at school? Don't they even provide proper sex education? To think a boy and a girl can have a baby just by holding hands while sleeping. Good heavens."
Erencia shook her head exaggeratedly and smacked her forehead.
"Eh? S-S-Sex education?"
The faces of the four people turned red at the same time.
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