Sorry for the lack of post but I had stomach issues and I was bedridden for 3 days.
'If you knew I'm a commoner, won't you attack right away?'
Rene swallowed her saliva.
She was at the point where she wondered if he could just pretend she didn't know and get out.
"Hmm….You?"
Freuden looked at Rene and raised an eyebrow then he approached her.
"Hmm."
Rene's stomach was burning at the sight of him staring at her with a slightly skeptical look. Did the leader of the noble faction even recognize her? Will he remember the Dunema incident and ask her to take responsibility now?
Rene's head was spinning in a complicated way.
According to the rumors she had heard, Freuden was famous as a demon that hated commoners and had no mercy. Meanwhile, Freud did not take his eyes off Rene.
When his gaze finally settled on the book about the non-attribute magic that Rene was holding in her arms she hid the book behind her back without realizing it.
Freuden narrowed his eyes.
"You……."
"Yes Yes?!"
"……No, nothing."
When Rene reacted too violently, Freuden shook his head.
"How did you get here? Ordinary students would not come this far."
"Well, that……."
Rene pondered how she was going to answer.
Freuden was suspicious of Rene's attitude and narrowed his eyes even more.
Rene choked her chest at the sight.
Freuden is a handsome man that stands out, his skin is white and his jawline is thin, so he has a very sharp image, but he has a lot of charisma because of his unique eyes and the parted hairstyle that exposed the forehead raised his mood even higher.
Since the rumors were so strong Rene answered frankly to her fear that she might die if she lied.
"I heard someone singing."
"Singing?"
"Yeah….…I wouldn't have come if I knew this was senior's space! Really! Trust me!"
Freuden looked at her with slightly widened eyes, then turned his gaze away and murmured.
"You heard a song?"
"Yeah. Song……."
"How was it?"
"Yes?"
"I'm pretty sure you came here by chance."
"I, really? Thank god."
"Instead, I want you to keep it a secret from other students. This is my personal space and even my bodyguards don't know about it."
"Huh……."
At Freuden's attitude, which was completely different from what she had heard, Rene lost her voice for a moment.
"Hey, aren't you mad?"
"Angry? Why?"
"Oh no, I mean……."
'I'm a commoner.'
She couldn't even say those words, so she just muttered to herself.
"I will not blame you for coming here. All you have to do is keep what you saw in this place a secret."
"Of course! I won't tell anyone! Really!"
"Are you going to promise?"
"Yeah! I promise!"
The conversation went better than she expected and Rene started doubting the rumors about Freuden.
'Maybe you have mistaken me for a nobleman? I don't think so.'
At least according to the rumors she heard, Freuden Ulburg always had a cold attitude that seemed to prey on someone. However, the Freuden she is facing now did not do that at all and the cute flower bed jumped into her eyes.
'Did senior raise them all?'
Judging by his reaction, this must be Freuden's personal space.
'Senior Freuden made this.'
That Freuden? The eldest son of the House of Ulburg, one of the three dukes of the Empire? He is a symbol of fear for commoners and even for aristocrats.
At least the aristocrats she knows are extravagant and brag all the time about their hobbies like buying expensive clothes, buying fancy accessories, or having tea parties but Freuden was different.
'What a simple noble. Is it possible that senior Freuden sang that song too?'
If so, from whom did he learn the song? Rene tried to ask, but she immediately withdrew.
'No. It's much better not to draw attention here.'
Freuden's unexpectedly merciful nature, contrary to what she knew, made it a better choice for her to take advantage of this opportunity to leave.
"Sorry, I won't speak about this with anyone. Today I didn't see anything. Yep. So I'll just go."
"Yes."
Freuden didn't really want to look down on her or make fun of her since she was a commoner.
"Then, I'm going."
Rene stepped backwards slowly.
"Rene."
"Yeah?!"
"If you want to come, you can come again."
"……Yeah?"
"You can come. I will give you special permission."
"……."
Rene didn't understand what the hell this meant. She didn't know if he was serious or was just kidding with her.
"Ah yes."
As she moved away from Freuden, she could only think that she was dreaming because today's been full of incredible things and with quick steps, she escaped from Freuden's secret garden.
* * *
Rudger's class has begun. He came in right on time for lecture and scanned the pulpit where the students were sitting. Before this, they seemed quite bored, but after showing the coordinate designation magic, the students' concentration had returned.
'In this state, a month should be sufficient.'
Rudger shook his head with satisfaction and opened his mouth.
"The first test period is coming soon."
That soft voice reverberated throughout the classroom.
There are many tests to be taken during the school year, but the word 1st came heavily to the students. In particular, this is the first exam for the freshmen who just entered Theon.
"As I told you last time, I plan to teach {Source Code} only to high-ranking students who do well in exams."
Rudger continued.
"Of course, I am not teaching the entire Source Code. What you guys can get from the first test is one of the {frameworks} that make up the Source Code."
The Source Code formula consists of a total of four frameworks. In other words, if they want to learn the entire Source Code the students must be in top 5 for all 4 tests that take place during the semester.
"I wonder who will learn the entire Source Code this semester."
Gulp.
Some of the students swallowed and clenched their fists.
Their responses were half mixed with anticipation and tension but in the midst of that, there were some who showed leisure.
"As this is the first test, there will be no difficult content. It's a test to check how carefully you listened to my classes based on the basics."
A sigh of relief erupted everywhere at Rudger's words.
"I think you know everything about the subject itself, but just in case you don't know, I'll tell you again. If anyone doesn't know yet, write it down now."
As soon as the words came out, the students took out their pens.
Even if they already knew, they decided to write it down in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
'Tsk. It's stupid.'
Flora laughed at the students' actions since she already remembered everything Rudger had taught in her mind.
'Of course, I remember everything because I'm smart. It's not because I never thought that the teacher's class was good.'
While she was rationalizing herself, Rudger introduced the subjects one by one to the students.
"The range of questions will be from Mana Mechanics 1st volume, the Basics of Natural Sciences, and the Basics of Understanding and Introduction to Elements. There are a total of 20 questions and all of them are subjective."
In addition, in the case of a problem that requires calculation, he even warned firmly to write down the entire math.
"Even if the answer is correct, if the explanation is strange, it will be considered incorrect. In the opposite case, I will still give partial points. So, don't go over what you know vaguely, and review properly."
Rudger's explanation was clear and the students didn't even have any more questions to ask.
"It's my first test, so I'll go lightly."
"Lightly?"
"It's an open book test."
"Yes?!"
To that call, some freshmen responded by asking why while an unexpected reaction burst out among the second graders.
'You're still a freshman, so you don't know the meaning of the open book test.'
People think an open book test it's a very easy test because you just have to look at the answers and write them down but it's the opposite. There is only one case when a teacher has allowed students to open books.
'He will make the exam so hard that it will be difficult to solve it even if the students use the book.'
The second graders laughed at the first graders.
Rene, who knew what open book meant, did not stop writing notes even though she had a slightly blank expression on her face. Then she suddenly felt a gaze and turned her head.
'Huh.'
Flora Lumos was looking at her but that gaze just disappeared as if passing by.
'What?'
However, Rene felt a strange sense of uneasiness. She felt as if Flora was somehow looking at her with a slightly wary gaze.
"The explanation of the test ends here. I will start the class right away."
With the following words of Rudger, Rene had no choice but to put an end to her doubts.
* * *
Soon after the class was over, the night came, announcing that the holidays were approaching. Rudger immediately finished getting ready to go out, and rode a wagon down to Leathervelk.
Today was the day of the meeting about how to deal with the behind-the-scenes world of Leathervelk.
Dressed in a long black coat, he pressed his hat deep down as he stood on the sidewalk. At that moment, a black-coated car stopped in front of him. One of the car doors opened and a familiar face appeared.
"Brother let's go."
"Where did you get the car?"
Rudger asked, sitting in the back seat naturally.
Hans, who took the steering wheel, responded while starting the car.
"Well, the enemies of the Red Society were working on this and that. Among them was the transportation industry, and I just brought the best performing vehicles they had."
"Hmm."
"Oh, of course, I am not saying that I use it for personal purposes. We have to be stylish when we go to the meeting."
"Yes."
"How are you going?"
Rudger pulled out his one-eyed glasses from his inner pocket, put them on, and cleaned his collar.
"I will go as I always have."
"Ha-ha. You are my brother."
Hans drove to the meeting point.
Eventually, they stopped at a street side bar lit up with colorful lights. From the entrance, customers were swarming and nearby women were waving their hands in thick make-up to solicit.
"It's needlessly flashy."
"Well, wouldn't it be better than doing it in a dirty and dreary place?"
"Yeah."
"Let's get off."
The two got out of the vehicle.