A single sheet of paper that looked like a notice, along with several pages filled with theoretical subject questions, lay before me.
They had been folded over three times, leaving distinct creases.
‘Who did this? Who’s playing such a childish prank? Was it the twins? Or maybe Ciel?’
Even though we seemed to get along, there was an underlying tension between us. In the end, we were all bound to fight over the wealth and power of the Travel family.
However, it wasn’t easy to pinpoint the culprit. The twins didn’t have the ability to create a test like this. And Ciel—she wouldn’t stoop to such a childish trick.
That meant the only ones left were—
“No, that can’t be.”
It wasn’t that person.
Berry Quartz wasn’t even skilled enough to compete with me. She could barely read until recently—so what kind of challenge could she possibly pose?
“Trying to be sneaky, huh?”
One thing was clear—someone among the direct family members was trying to get in my way. There was even a chance that one of the adults was involved.
It seemed like they were already trying to hinder me because they anticipated I would perform well in this month’s assessment.
“How ridiculous.”
Calypso scoffed, crumpling the papers and tossing them into the trash.
That afternoon.
After horseback riding practice—which he did to avoid Marian’s nagging—he returned to his room.
The same crumpled-up papers he had thrown away earlier were now back on his desk.
“What is this now?”
In front of them lay another sheet of paper, looking brand new.
ˊ•••••••••••••••••••••••••`
Are the questions too difficult for you?
Should I make them easier?
ˊ•••••••••••••••••••••••••`
A vein twitched in Calypso’s forehead.
He grabbed a pen and sat down at his desk.
“Do they think I can’t solve something like this?”
***
Dinner Time.
“Berry, did something funny happen today?”
“Hm? Why do you ask?”
My dad, sitting across from me, suddenly started a conversation.
“Because you’ve been smiling to yourself for a while now! What is it? Tell me too!”
Jeffrey, sitting to my left, chimed in. Even Theon, on my right, turned his gaze toward me.
“Well, it’s just—”
Jeffrey ended up deciding to stay at Stone House.
Since Anne was a personal maid hired by my dad, he couldn’t live within the walls where the Travel servants resided. And if he stayed at the Evening Primrose Inn, who knew when he’d run away again?
“Aah! Jeffrey!”
Anne, who had just brought food to the table, gasped in shock when she saw Jeffrey sitting there as if he belonged.
“You can’t just sit here like that!”
“But this is big sister Berry’s seat! We used to eat together all the time! Why can’t I now?”
“You can’t! You’re now under Young Master Reytan’s employment.”
Anne picked Jeffrey up off his chair and placed him back on the ground. She kept apologizing profusely to my dad before quickly leaving the dining room.
“Big sis Berryyyyyy—”
“Call her ‘Miss’ from now on!”
We all watched as Anne dragged Jeffrey away.
Though I felt sorry for him, Anne was right. Unlike in Leaf Village, we couldn’t all live together here. Stone House had other servants who worked for the Travel family.
“It’s been a while since things felt this chaotic.”
Sherry, who had just come to my left, filled my water glass as she spoke.
At first, I worried that while my dad was away, Aunt Marian would make life difficult for those left at Stone House. But it seemed nothing had happened.
Was it because she was wary of Grandmother Priscilla? Either way, it was a relief.
“But Jeffrey is still cute, right? He’s younger than me—he’s six years old!”
I raised both hands, showing three fingers on each to make six.
Sherry stared at my hands, then at my face, before sighing with a look of regret.
“I feel like I wasted my life.”
“Huh?”
“I never got to see you when you were six. But I bet Young Master Reytan did, right? I’m so jealous! Could you at least leave behind some memoirs about how it felt to have Berry all to yourself?”
At Sherry’s question, my dad’s lips moved slowly.
“Berry was…”
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Clatter.
A maid, who had just entered with a tray, froze in place under Sherry’s intense gaze.
What… what’s going on?
Then, my dad finally spoke again.
“When she was little… she was adorable. So much that I wanted to keep her all to myself.”
“Ugh.”
A collective groan of disappointment echoed around the room.
“I’m still jealous, though.”
“……..…”
Sherry muttered under her breath, and Theon nodded in agreement.
Then my dad turned to look at me and asked,
“So, you’ve been smiling all evening—did something fun happen?”
“Not exactly fun, but something to look forward to! We have exams all next week.”
“Wait, do you actually like taking tests, Berry?”
Theon sounded genuinely surprised. Wanting to meet his expectations, I quickly shook my head.
“I don’t like tests~! But next week, we’ll finish early every day because of them! And if we’re having exams, Madam Freya probably won’t assign homework, right?”
Ever since I learned the alphabet during our field trip, I had been practicing reading. Seeing my progress, Madam Freya got excited.
Her dictation assignments had recently started getting more… motivational.
Even a dung beetle will reach the finish line if it keeps crawling.
Diligence is my greatest weapon.
It’s not that you can’t do it, you’re just not doing it.
I think I’m starting to understand Madam Freya’s teaching style.
My dad chuckled before asking,
“If you finish early, what do you plan to do in the afternoons?”
“I’m still thinking~”
Actually, I had already decided!
That night, as I lay in bed, my plans were already set in motion.
[Partner, I got it!]
Aqum entered through the open window, having just returned from Sapphire House.
On its back was a cloth bag—the same one I used to carry Aqum around when it was just a pebble. I quickly hugged the little creature and rushed into the Room of Reflection.
“How did it go? Did he solve them?”
[He was agonizing over them, holding his head in frustration. But he solved them all! I guess he was mad about what Little Quartz wrote on the paper. I waited until he fell asleep and then took them.]
“Aqum, you’re the best!”
[I know, right?]
Aqum wagged its short tail proudly, the little water droplets on its body shimmering with excitement.
I untied the drawstrings of its bag and pulled out the folded sheets of paper.
The answers were written with such force that the ink was almost blotting through the page.
He must have really hated doing this.
“Well then, let’s see.”
I had been saving something just for this moment.
[What are you doing?]
Aqum asked when it saw me pick up a red pencil. My eyes sparkled as I looked at Calypso’s test paper.
“It’s grading time.”
***
Five Days Later.
“As I informed you earlier, for the next week, you will be taking two exams per day.”
Madam Freya announced the start of the monthly assessments in her usual stiff tone.
The first test of the first day was Language Arts.
Each direct family member received a personalized exam based on what they had learned over the past month.
“Miss Berry, you can now—”
“I can read!”
“Indeed. Try to score above 60 points.”
“Yes!”
Berry, sitting in the front row, responded confidently as she received her test paper.
Meanwhile, from the back row, Calypso watched nervously.
‘Tch. Must be nice. She was an illiterate idiot until recently, so her test must be easy.’
At most, she’d probably just have to write the alphabet from A to Z or put together simple sentences.
‘And of all times, Grandfather just had to get involved when we’re covering difficult grammar topics.’
Calypso had received permission from his parents to take it easy until he turned ten.
Starting next year, he’d have to prepare for the Academy entrance exams for four years straight—there wouldn’t be any time to slack off then.
But ever since finding out that Lassek would be overseeing this test, Marian had been pressuring him relentlessly.
Constantly checking if he was studying, scolding him for wasting time, and even threatening to hire a private tutor if his scores were too low.
‘Damn it. I still have five more months to enjoy myself.’
But lately, Marian had been in such a foul mood that he didn’t dare complain. He could still hear the sound of glass breaking in the house every night.
“Young Master Calypso, here is your exam.”
Madam Freya handed him his test paper.
Last month, he had scored 52 points in Language Arts.
He needed at least 60 this time. But was cramming at the last minute enough?
“You may begin.”
As he worked through the problems, his fingers unconsciously drifted to his mouth. He chewed on them as he wrote, his brows furrowing in concentration.
Then suddenly, his chewing slowed. His eyes widened as he lifted his pen and stared down at the test paper in shock.
“What the—?”
