‘The very last subject—math!’
It was the subject Mr. Callet had warned to work hard on.
It wasn’t an easy subject to cram for, and on top of that, it was the one Calypso struggled with the most.
The last day of the monthly evaluation.
“Are you okay, Brother Calypso? Did you stay up all night?”
“He looks like he’s about to collapse.”
“As long as you do well in math, you won’t fail overall. Get it together, Calypso.”
I heard voices behind me worrying about Calypso.
Well, considering his face was practically shadowed down to his cheekbones when he walked into class earlier, their concern was understandable.
Even though I had prepared a perfect summary of the material, I was still moved by how hard Calypso was working.
Please, at least score above 60, Pochi.
I clasped my hands together in prayer. Pochi from Leaf Village had done well. Would Calypso be able to do the same?
Then, someone entered the classroom, and I was shocked. It wasn’t Madam Freya. Instead, it was a tall, handsome man with red hair and a stern expression.
“Callet? Where’s Madam Freya?”
Marty asked.
Mr. Callet placed a thick envelope of papers on the teacher’s desk and answered,
“I will be supervising the math test.”
“But Madam Freya always supervises the exams.”
“This is by order of the Count.”
The Count’s order? Is it that serious?
I swallowed hard. Not for myself, but out of concern for Calypso.
Mr. Callet checked the time on the desk clock, then pulled out test papers from each envelope according to age, distributing them to each student.
“You must not look at anyone else’s test under any circumstances. I have been ordered to report any violations without exception.”
At those words, the students who had been sneaking glances at other desks quickly focused on their own test papers.
Mr. Callet, being the Count’s aide, wasn’t one to go easy on us.
“The test will now begin.”
As soon as he spoke, I heard the sharp sound of papers being flipped behind me. I slowly turned to the front page, which had the subject and my name written on it.
‘Which question should I get wrong on purpose~’
My test had a total of three pages. I skimmed through the first two pages of questions.
1. Write the numbers from 1 to 10.
2. There are three apples. If you take two more, how many apples will there be?
3. Which number is bigger? 6 or 4?
The questions were so easy I nearly yawned.
I glanced at Mr. Callet before playfully pretending to count on my fingers.
‘Three apples… two more apples… Should I get this wrong? Let’s say four. And Jeffrey ate one.’
From behind, I heard someone groaning. Fortunately, it was just Harty.
I wondered if Calypso was solving the problems well.
Perking my ears, I focused on solving the questions at a slow pace. It was finally time to move on to the third page.
And then—
Huh?
The moment I flipped to the back page, I was so shocked that my forehead tingled.
16. Solve the Edward equation using linear algebra methods.
(1) Express the equation in matrix form.
(2) Find the eigenvalues of the matrix used to solve this equation.
(3) Use the eigenvectors to find the general solution.
17. Using the Edward equation, solve the following:
(1) Find the solution x(y) that satisfies the initial conditions x(0) = 2 and y’(0) = -1.
(1-1) Find the value of x when y = 0.
(1-2) …
These were problems that no seven-year-old could possibly solve.
I quickly raised my hand, and Mr. Callet came over.
Pointing at the question, I looked up at him.
This test paper is strange.
Even without explaining, it was clear to everyone that there was a mistake. The questions were obviously incorrect.
But Mr. Callet, after glancing at my test paper, said nothing.
I whispered quietly.
“I don’t think this is my test paper.”
I looked at him, seeking agreement.
Mr. Callet pressed his lips together before slowly responding.
“…It’s correct.”
“What?”
“The paper you received is correct.”
What?!
Mr. Callet, as if avoiding any follow-up questions, moved back to the teacher’s desk.
“……….”
I looked at him with a face of pure devastation, then back at my test paper.
Questions 16 to 20—mathematical problems applying the Edward equation.
…The points for these questions add up to 41…
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Did they find out…?
***
But without proof, suspicions mean nothing!
Confidently, I left the entire third page blank.
We would receive our final scores after lunch when we returned to the education hall.
And the results—
“Miss Berry, your math score is 52.”
Failing grade.
I sat in my seat, staring blankly at the report card Madam Freya handed me.
Calypso scored 62 in math. For reference, Ciel got 100, Marty got 84, and Harty got 86.
“Young Master Calypso performed well. An average score of 80 is impressive.”
Even from my seat, I could see Calypso’s shoulders rise proudly in front of the teacher’s desk.
On his way back to his seat, he stopped beside me and flicked my forehead.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“Study harder. What’s with 52 points?”
“Wow.”
He smugly held out his full report card as if showing off.
Who does he think helped him ace this monthly exam?!
“Next month—”
“Yeah, yeah. Do better next month, okay?”
Calypso waved his report card in front of my face one last time before heading to his seat.
Ridiculous. Truly.
There’s no way I’m studying next month.
Let’s see who cries when the private tutor disappears.
Well, at least I managed to score lower than Calypso, which was my goal.
But since I didn’t pass 60, Grandpa’s going to scold me for sure…
Honestly, there was something even scarier than my test results.
‘Questions 16 to 20 definitely had Grandpa’s influence. The fact that Mr. Callet came in, the absurd difficulty of the questions—it all makes sense.’
For direct descendants, the monthly evaluations were an important test. While they didn’t directly impact anything, they were a chance to leave a good impression on our family head, Grandpa.
That meant Grandpa wouldn’t have just thrown in those ridiculous problems as a joke to mess with his youngest granddaughter.
‘What was he trying to check? Did he find out I solved a math problem before? Ugh.’
Tap, tap.
Someone patted my shoulder as I sat there in despair.
I looked up to see Harty and Marty, with Ciel standing behind them.
Ciel looked at me with concern and said,
“Berry, are you okay? If Grandpa scolds you, just say it was your fault no matter what.”
“Here, take this.”
“You poor thing.”
The twins’ sympathy followed. Looking at the candy Marty handed me, I wanted to cry.
Even the twins felt sorry for me—meaning my situation was really bad.
“Miss Berry.”
“Yes…”
Even Madam Freya looked at me with pity.
She didn’t even scold me for my weak response. Instead, she said,
“There are no assignments today. Go see the Count immediately.”
***
At the same time.
The sun was blazing.
Theon stepped out of the training yard to lay out his gear under the sunlight.
Jeffrey, who had been training with him, had left about an hour ago after Anne nagged him to earn his keep.
Wiping his sweat with a towel, Theon glanced toward the main house.
“Did Berry get her report card?”
She had been so confident when he dropped her off at the education hall that morning. She must have scored over 60, no doubt.
“……….”
He fell into deep thought for a moment.
A few days ago, when they were returning from Leaf Village to the Count of Travel’s estate.
Because of the concern over Jeffrey’s escape, Reytan and his group had stopped by Hispoth Town to reassure the owner of the Evening Primrose Inn.
“Theon, Theon!”
Berry, who had been fiddling around in the backyard of the inn near the Peeing Boy statue, called out to him with a bright expression.
“Want to go buy some snacks?”
“Snacks?”
“I still have 10,000 Konas left of my allowance!”
She spread out a bill with visible fold marks and grinned widely.
