The Academy’s evaluation exams were held in the final week of every year. Although Academy grades did not significantly impact graduation or appointments, many families determined their successors based on these results, making it a nerve-wracking time for the students.
While many students were diligently taking their evaluation exams, Dien was fortunate enough to avoid them under the pretext of an advanced inspection tour. By the time he returned to the Academy, all the exams had already concluded.
“Dien!”
He heard Baran’s bright voice calling him from a distance.
“How did the evaluation exam go?”
Dien asked with a smile, already guessing the result from Baran’s cheerful tone.
“I won, of course!”
Since students taking swordsmanship classes replaced their evaluation exams with a sparring tournament, Baran had fulfilled his promise to Dien by defeating Arnold in the competition.
“Whoa! Baran! You really worked hard, didn’t you?”
Dien looked at Baran with pride, seeing that he had defeated Arnold without any help.
“Do you know how hard I worked while you were gone? I practically slept with my sword in my arms!”
“Oh, look at you! So impressive!”
Dien patted Baran on the rear.
“I really wanted to show you the sight of me crushing Arnold. But you skipped out on the evaluation exam using that advanced inspection tour as an excuse!”
“Hahaha, it couldn’t be helped.”
“Well, if it were Dien, you probably would have taken first place in the exam anyway.”
‘I doubt that.’
In truth, Dien considered it a blessing that he hadn’t taken the exam because of the inspection tour. Between his swordsmanship lessons and succession training, he had no time to study. Furthermore, he hadn’t been able to attend classes at all during the tour.
“Winter break is coming up soon. Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“No, not yet.”
Once the evaluation exams ended, the Academy would enter winter break. Many students returned to their hometowns or went on travels across the Empire. Most of them had likely already planned their break activities in advance.
“I’m planning to stay in the Royal Capital and focus on my swordsmanship training. That’s the only way I’ll ever catch up to you, Dien.”
Baran spoke while rubbing his chin. He no longer bragged about his skills in front of Dien. He had already heard from the other children about Dien’s martial prowess when he easily subdued Arnold.
“With your dedication, Baran, you’ll surely become the kingdom’s greatest swordsman.”
“Then does that make Dien the continent’s greatest swordsman?”
“Hahaha, how can you admit defeat before we’ve even started?”
“Because I feel like I’ll never be able to beat you, Dien.”
Chatting away, they headed toward the lecture hall for their final class.
“Young Lord Dien.”
At that moment, Count Hasman approached Dien quietly.
“Greetings, Headmaster!”
Dien and Baran bowed their heads in greeting. Hasman accepted their greeting in silence, a bright smile playing on his face, matching his snow-white hair.
“Young Lord Dien, how was your inspection tour?”
“It was good, Headmaster. I apologize for being unable to attend the Academy lectures.”
“Ho ho ho, it was for the sake of the country, so what else could be done? I already received the official cooperation memo from Count Persian, so do not trouble yourself over it.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes, yes. Regarding the Academy lectures, that is one thing…”
Hasman nodded, his voice trailing off. Dien prompted him to continue.
“Is there something else you wish to say…?”
“Hahaha, while skipping the lectures couldn’t be helped, shouldn’t you still take the evaluation exam?”
“Pardon?”
Dien froze at Hasman’s words. A sudden evaluation exam?
“Hahaha, it is for the sake of fairness with the other students! Surely, you didn’t purposely use the inspection tour as an excuse to dodge the exam, right?”
“Uh…”
Dien’s mouth hung open at Hasman’s words.
‘No way.’
“Surely you didn’t skip it on purpose?”
“No! Headmaster! Absolutely not!”
Dien’s reply was practically a scream.
It was publicly known that he had requested the advanced inspection tour himself. Only King Lonas, Count Persian, and Secretary Noil of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knew about the secret mission. Therefore, it was a situation where Hasman could easily misunderstand.
He could be seen as the clever Young Lord who applied for a tour just to avoid an exam.
“Headmaster, it’s not that I wanted to avoid the exam…”
“Hahaha! I know! There is no way that the person who took first place in the thesis competition would do such a thing!”
“Heh.”
While he truly hadn’t intended to dodge it, he wasn’t prepared to take an exam right now either.
Once the inspection tour was confirmed, Dien had naturally assumed he wouldn’t have to take the evaluation exam and hadn’t studied at all. Of course, he hadn’t even had the leisure to look at a book.
‘You could have at least told me in advance that I’d have to take it separately!’
He cast a pitiful look at Hasman, but such a gaze had no effect on the man.
“The professors have prepared separate questions just for you.”
“Hahaha… I feel bad that the professors had to go through such unnecessary trouble because of me…”
“Hahaha! What are you talking about? It is only natural. Do not worry. For a winner of the thesis competition, what is a mere Academy evaluation exam?”
‘That’s only true if I’ve actually studied.’
There was no regulation stating that Academy students absolutely had to take the evaluation exam. The fact that Hasman had prepared a separate exam was likely the result of his suspicion that Dien was trying to use the tour to skip it.
Of course, there was also the natural desire for Dien to focus on his studies at the Academy as much as his work at the Royal Castle.
“Hahaha, come now. I have even secured a private location just for you to take the exam.”
“Why go to such lengths… haha…”
Dien’s awkward laughter faded. Even if he had listened well in class, things were bound to be erased from his memory if he didn’t review them. He wished he had at least done a quick review. Maintaining a calm expression despite his thoughts, Dien followed behind Hasman with an awkward smile.
“Hang in there, Dien.”
As if sensing Dien’s inner turmoil, Baran patted him on the back.
“The exam location is the Headmaster’s office.”
“That is correct. There are no other empty lecture halls.”
“I see.”
“I plan to act as the proctor myself.”
“I see…”
It was a continuous series of burdensome situations. To make matters worse, the Headmaster himself was the proctor. How was he supposed to take an exam under such pressure?
“Headmaster… I think there’s a misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding? Hahaha. There is no such thing. Look, here come the exam questions.”
Just then, Professor Helena opened the door to the Headmaster’s office, her arms full of exam papers.
“Good luck, Young Lord!”
She placed the exam papers in front of Dien and pumped her fist encouragingly.
“Yes…”
Her support provided no comfort at all.
Dien had attended classes diligently despite his succession training. He opened the exam papers, hoping that the difficulty would be reasonable.
However, contrary to his hopes, the difficulty was beyond anything he had imagined. Just a quick glance at the first question made him feel like he was suffocating. He suspected they had deliberately made the questions harder than the ones the other students had taken.
“The time limit is 2 hours, just like the other students.”
“Yes, I understand.”
And so, the solitary exam began. Dien started with his most confident subject, Understanding Royal Palace Administration. Fortunately, he didn’t run into a single problem with this subject.
After solving them in an instant, he looked at the questions for Geography and Environment of the Continent.
‘This can’t be… Out of the ten questions, I only know two.’
To make matters worse, they were ten subjective questions, not multiple-choice. There wasn’t even a chance to guess the answers. Dien looked up at the clock anxiously, only to catch the Headmaster’s cold smile.
‘Fine, let’s just turn it in blank.’
He decided to give up on a high score and accept the results. If the grade came out poorly, he’d just be a laughingstock for a day or so. It was at that moment, just as Dien was about to stand up from his seat.
“Headmaster! Someone from the Chancellor’s office is here!”
“From the Chancellor’s office?”
“Yes!”
Helena rushed into the office. Along with her words, Carrick appeared in the room.
“Aide Carrick?”
“Young Lord! We have an emergency!”
Carrick hurried toward him, calling his name.
“What is the matter?”
Hasman’s expression instantly soured upon seeing this.
“Greetings, Headmaster. I am Carrick, the aide to Chancellor Persian. The Chancellor has ordered me to bring the Young Lord immediately. Here is the official cooperation document for the Academy.”
“Hmph.”
Hasman let out a low groan as he took the document Carrick handed him.
“This is… Is the matter very urgent?”
“Yes, Headmaster!”
“It will only take 1 hour—”
“Oh no! Aide Carrick! Let us go at once!”
Dien, who had been watching for an opening, seized the moment and stood up.
“Headmaster! It seems a major problem has occurred at the Chancellor’s office. I will come back another time to finish the exam.”
“Hmph… Very well.”
Dien bowed to the turning Hasman and followed Carrick out of the office.
“Young Lord! We have an emergency. The Kerth River bridge has collapsed, and the Chancellor’s office is in an absolute uproar—”
Before Carrick could finish his sentence, Dien pulled him into a tight hug, letting out a sigh of relief.
“You did a wonderful job, Aide Carrick!”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve known it for a while, but you truly have it all—talent and character!”
“Pardon? Right now, the bridge is…”
“I’ll make sure to look after you until the day you retire.”
“Hahaha. Thank you!”
At Dien’s incomprehensible behavior, Carrick’s voice trembled awkwardly.
‘Fortunately, I’ve bought some time.’
If he just studied, an Academy evaluation exam would be nothing. He had a track record of passing the notoriously difficult civil service exams even amidst the job shortage of his previous life.
***
The Secretaries of the Chancellor’s office took their seats in the conference room one by one, with their aides standing behind them in their respective positions.
“We have received word from Baron Prance, who is currently at the Kerth River bridge construction site.”
At Persian’s words, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. The Secretaries who had already heard about the accident sighed, while those who hadn’t widened their eyes, sensing that this was no ordinary matter.
“It is reported that during the work on the Kerth River bridge, the shoring collapsed, and the bridge’s upper structure has been submerged.”
“Oh, no.”
“How could this…”
Short exclamations of despair escaped the Secretaries’ mouths. The collapse of a bridge that was only 2 years away from completion was a serious matter.
The Kerth River bridge was a project Delos was leading to facilitate grain trade with the Kingdom of Dinaf, which held the granary regions.
Because of its importance, they had already requested the King of Dinaf to attend the completion ceremony in 2 years. If the completion was delayed, they wouldn’t be able to lead the grain trade with the Kingdom of Dinaf effectively.
“How could a bridge that was eighty percent complete collapse! How could this happen…?”
“The problem doesn’t end there. The completion ceremony is only 2 years away. If the King of Dinaf learns of this, how much will he look down on our kingdom’s engineering capabilities?”
“We are the ones who need the trade with the Kingdom of Dinaf more.”
“We must immediately escort Baron Prance back to the kingdom for questioning! And of course, we must hold the Kenta Merchant Group, who led the construction, responsible!”
“That’s right!”
As the Secretaries raised their voices regarding the punishment of Baron Prance, Persian bit his lip and furrowed his brows.
*Bang!*
Persian slammed the table hard, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Wasn’t it Baron Prance who took on a job that no one else wanted to touch? His punishment is for His Majesty to decide! We are not gathered here to shift blame, but to find a way to complete the bridge within 2 years as scheduled!”
“Hmph.”
At Persian’s scolding, the officials all became as quiet as mice.
“With only 2 years left until the completion ceremony, how could that be possible? Even if we pour in all available resources, there won’t be enough time, and hurried construction might lead to…”
“That is not the kind of talk I pay your stipends for!”
Persian shouted, cutting off the Secretary’s words. It was a rare sight to see Persian so agitated. His disappointment was as great as the expectations he had placed on the bridge’s construction.
After a moment of silence, Persian spoke again.
“His Majesty has ordered that the bridge be completed in time for the ceremony, no matter what. Does no one have a solution?”
Following Persian’s words, a long silence began to flow through the conference hall. Even those who were seasoned veterans as Secretaries were unable to offer a solution.
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