Rosalia, who had never been out of her home, had no way to relieve her boredom other than to study.
She who became interested in the outside world was suddenly overwhelmed with reality. Therefore, she continued her studies without slacking off.
For Rosalia, the prestigious Lestria Academy test was not so difficult. It wasn't even sort of a challenge, just a feeling that it's only natural to solve the questions.
The first half of the test was over, and the results are posted the next morning. In front of the bulletin board, Rosalia is in the center of astonished crowds.
[ No.1 Rosalia Seltfer: 500 score ]
The sounds of gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sight of the perfect score. However, not a single one was able to speak to Rosalia amidst the buzz.
Then Renwild approached Rosalia with his escort.
"Good morning, Lady Rosalia."
"Good morning, Prince Renwild."
Renwild may have noticed the strange atmosphere, but she admired him boldly approaching her in public with that usual smile on his face.
He was wearing the same school uniform and yet he looked quite dazzling with it that it's almost blinding. His unrivaled appearance leaves not a point unguarded.
"Good morning, Sir Cadio."
"Good morning, Lady Rosalia."
A refreshing smile goes well with Cadio's fierce looks. Since the study meeting the other day, she had come to talk to him often.
"—I see. So this was the case."
While looking at the ranking list, Renwild put his hand on his chin and sighed. It seemed he had guessed the cause of the disturbance.
"Congratulations. As expected of Lady Rosalia."
"Isn't Your Highness, Prince Renwild, done a good job as well?"
"I made some mistakes."
Renwild's name was just below Rosalia. A score of 477 means that one or two questions were wrong.
After listening to their conversation, Cadio finally turned his eyes to the bulletin board. His eyes were shining brightly when he found the names that rank first and second place.
"Your Highness and Lady Rosalia are both amazing. It was worth studying hard for the test."
Rosalia feels a little uncomfortable with his praise. The real purpose of that study group was never to prepare for the test.
—Anyway, you would have found out that I didn't take the study seriously if you look at me for a second.
However, Rosalia noticed something while she was watching him.
Cadio has little understanding of the way things are in the kingdom. Even the simple history of the foundation of the nation that everyone knows, he had a hard time understanding it.
She'd heard of him losing his memory.
Although he said his mission as a knight will not be hindered by this, could he get injured on duty by not being knowledgable of things?
As she was pondering this, a cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Good morning, Renwild-sama, Cadio-san! And Rosalia-sama!"
It was Lutier who came running towards them with strawberry blonde hair waving in mid-air. Renwild and Cadio each greeted her with pleasantries.
"Good morning, Lady Lutier."
"Good morning, Lady Lutier. You're doing well today, too."
Why does she carelessly try to touch Cadio's body? Rosalia's smile twitches as she gets irritated by the minute.
"Good morning, Lady Lutier. The results of yesterday's test have been posted, and we're all talking about it now."
"Oh, that's true. I think it was difficult this time."
Lutier, a scholarship student, is also on the top of the ranking list. However, she seemed to get a lower rank this time, so her face had slightly dimmed.
When her eyes stopped at the first place spot, her expression steeped with astonishment, and she stays rooted to the floor.
Lutier muttered in a daze.
"No way. Something like this... It's as if she knew all the answers from the beginning..."
Her muttering was heard by the students nearby and suddenly brought attention to those around her.
"... That's right! Isn't it strange that it's like this?"
"If you think about it normally, it's unnatural to get a perfect score..."
The remark dropped by Lutier spread to every corner of the hall. It seemed that the small ripple Lutier created turned into a big wave.
He must be slow on the uptake that Cadio didn't seem to know what was going on, but he reflexively covered Rosalia behind his back.
Before she knew it, many students, including Lutier, were keeping their distance.
You can't expect help from this.
Renwild must remain neutral as a member of the royal family, and Alexis has not even gone to school yet. Rosalia saw Folse in the corner of her vision, but he looked away with an uncomfortable expression.
Cadio's back was emitting assurance and safety, but Rosalia dared to move forward.
If doubt was placed upon you, you have no choice but to get rid of it yourself.
"It's the Rose Princess..."
Someone's sharp remark has pierced through her. But if she let it get to her, she will lose.
Rosalia gave a benign smile in front of the crowd.
"You said it was strange a while ago. What do you think I did, then?"
When Rosalia turned her head to the first person who spoke before, he was visibly frightened.
According to the school regulations, your status wouldn't matter whether you are of lower or higher rank, but no one would want to be noticed by a prominent Marquis household. The other students who said whatever they wanted also shut their mouths.
"Then you, what do you mean about 'unnatural' that you mentioned earlier?"
"Oh, I-I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Didn't you say it's unnatural to get a perfect score if you think about it normally? I remember EVERY word."
The referred female student turns pale all at once.
Rosalia looked around and regarded the students who criticized her earlier.
"I'm sure you're suspicious of me cheating, but I don't feel the need to go out of my way to commit such a crime in this kind of test. You don't think so, do you?"
Renwild's blood runs cold when Rosalia suddenly turned towards him with a smile made of ice. He unconsciously shrank a little under that pressure.
"Do you have any of the five subjects from the previous exam, Prince Renwild?"
"Ahh-ah, Right now, I only have political economics."
"Then, please specify any page you have in mind."
He did not seem to understand Rosalia's intentions, but he obediently followed.
"It would be page 178."
"Alright, Your Highness, please open the page you specified."
Rosalia folded her hands in front of her and took a deep breath. Platinum eyelashes slowly lifted, revealing ice blue eyes like cold winter.
"... This Act was enacted in 562 because of the explosive industrial development in the Maranas region. Farming was flourishing in the warm Maranas region at that time, but it was only for the daily food of the farmers. It was Rolf Maranas, the 37th Maranas lord, who foresaw that there was still room for growth. He worked on the invention and improvement of agricultural equipment, and also worked to develop the community by explaining to the farmers the importance of warehouses. A few years later, the Maranas region became one of the richest regions of the Kingdom of Lestria, which solved the problem of taxes. Rolf Maranas gained more wealth than a local lord could have done—"
"—Wa-wait a minute, Lady Rosalia."
At last, Rosalia stopped her recitation after being interrupted by Renwild. After looking around, it seems that all students were dumbfounded.
Renwild rubbed his temples with a tired face and said nervously.
"Well... do you remember every word of the textbook?"
Rosalia put her hand on her chest and smiled.
"Of course! I have a good memory."
"I don't think it's that... I think it's a whole another level..."
"Fufufu. That's why I remember exactly the faces and names of the people who are here."
When Rosalia glanced at the crowd with a smile, everyone quickly looked away.
Renwild's status is too high to be suspected of being an accomplice who randomly specified the page. This will put an end to this troublesome matter all at once.
Rosalia delivered a stunning blow.
"If your allegations are only to this degree then please spare yourself some shame and don't suddenly attack someone in the future, understood? It's so depressing that I can't even enjoy competing with you lot."
It's the second time that she pressed them like this and everyone shrinks like shivering animals amidst a storm.
It was the voice of an unknown party that ended Rosalia's streak.
"Miss Rosalia Seltfer!"
The professor in charge of mathematics class came approaching, waving a sheet of paper in his hand.
"I'd like to talk to you about your paper—."
As soon as the professor opened his mouth, a male student from the crowd suddenly intervened with eyes sparkling as if it was his chance to win.
"Excuse me, professor, was there any suspicion of cheating?"
The instructor shrugged off his question and chided him.
"What the hell are you talking about? I just want to talk to her about math."
What the teacher held up was the answer sheet for the subject in question. Out of all the answers written in his handwriting, only one of them is marked with fine red ink.
"This is a model answer that I made. However, only this one point was wrong. The process leading up to the answer was too complicated. It was Miss Seltfer who simplified this considerably in just a few minutes. As a math enthusiast, I think she has such great talent that I want her to teach me. It's definitely one of the hardest to come by talents in a hundred years!"
Realizing that his attempt was a failure, the boy dropped his head defeatedly.
Lutier runs up to her with moisture in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Rosalia-sama, I misunderstood you because it was just too unbelievable..."
"It's okay. Anyone can make mistakes."
As Lutier, who expressed her suspicions first, had apologized, an awkward atmosphere spread to the other students. The misunderstanding seems to have been completely cleared up.
It was rather annoying that she was suspected of cheating, but what transpired today was an excellent opportunity for her. It is better to show off one's ability in public than to continue to be suspected behind the scenes.
However, Lutier's words and actions are worrisome.
It was as if Lutier was deliberately leading the suspicions with malice. She acts like a fuse by manipulating the doubts and dissatisfaction that governs the scene. It was also very clever of her when she didn't say anything risky.
While casually responding to the persistent plea of the mathematics professor, Rosalia discreetly stared at Lutier who was quite suspicious.
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