Chapter 14

Iberia blinked slowly as she met Cynthia’s intense gaze.  

Cynthia’s eyes sparkled as she almost shouted,  

“I’m opening a booth—join me!”  

“Uh, sure.”  

Sometimes, Cynthia’s affection for Iberia was almost overwhelming.  

Hearing Iberia’s answer, Cynthia let out a small cheer and turned back to her book. Watching her, a small smile formed at the corner of Iberia’s lips. Though it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, she thought it was a good thing she had agreed.  

For a while, silence filled the room. Except for the faint murmurs of someone reciting something, the atmosphere was quiet.  

Iberia brushed her hair back from her face and furrowed her brow as she gathered it into one hand, intending to tie it up.  

She was sure she had been carrying a hair tie just the day before, but now it was nowhere to be found. She thought about borrowing one from Cynthia, but for some reason, she couldn’t recall Cynthia’s name at that moment.  

With no other choice, Iberia took a deep breath and tapped Cynthia on the shoulder.  

“…Excuse me.”  

“What?”  

“Can I borrow a hair tie?”  

Without a word, Cynthia handed her a hair tie.  

With her hair now neatly tied, Iberia returned her focus to her book.  

***

After having dinner with Young Master Nesferos, Iberia headed straight to the self-study room. As expected, it was more crowded than usual.  

As she reviewed the exam she had taken earlier that day, the sun had set before she realized it. By the time she organized her notes for the next day’s exam, it was already early morning.  

There had been a time when she had stayed up all night before an exam and nearly dozed off during it. Since then, Iberia always made sure to sleep the night before an exam.  

Her eyes were half-closed with sleepiness as she left the study room. When she bumped into someone, a few of the books she was holding fell to the ground. Iberia reflexively apologized.  

“Oh, I’m sorry.”  

A flash of silver appeared before her eyes. Iberia’s eyes widened in an instant. Standing before her was someone she never thought she’d run into at this hour, in this place.  

Young Master Nesferos bent down and kindly picked up the books she had dropped.  

“Here you go.”  

“Thank you.”  

Iberia bowed her head slightly in a polite gesture. As she exited the study building, Young Master Nesferos called out after her.  

“Watch where you’re going.”  

“Yes.”  

“It’s not a threat.”  

“Yes.”  

Even in her half-asleep state, Iberia let out a small laugh. The Young Master’s words didn’t sound like a threat at all. Nodding absentmindedly, Iberia hurried outside.  

She had vaguely assumed that he wouldn’t bother studying, so seeing him in the study room felt novel. Iberia felt a slight twinge of embarrassment at her own prejudice.  

The possibility that Young Master Nesferos might be putting in as much effort as she was felt strangely unsettling.  

***

Finally, the exams were over.  

Iberia felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. She had experienced similar feelings at the end of previous exams, but this time, the aftermath felt more intense, perhaps because she had worked harder than usual.  

Since the academy collected the test papers after the exams, there was no way to know the questions or the answers she had written once they were over.  

Sitting at her desk, Iberia was reviewing the questions and answers in her mind when Cynthia approached her with a tearful expression.  

“What did you write for the last question on the Ancient Language exam?”  

“I don’t know… I can’t remember…”  

Iberia slumped over her desk as she answered.  

Usually, after finishing an exam, she could vaguely recall the questions when looking at her books and notes. But this time, she couldn’t remember anything—she had no idea what state of mind she had been in during the test.  

All she could recall was scribbling down answers in a rush, feeling flustered right up until the end.  

“I think I failed…”  

Iberia buried her face in her hands. Cynthia moved closer to her side.  

“It’s okay. Sometimes you do better when you think you’ve failed. You won’t know until the results are out.”  

“Ugh, seriously…”  

The uncertainty of her results only made her more anxious.  

Iberia clutched her head. She worried that not only would she lose her top rank, but she might even fall behind the second rank.  

Feeling like she’d be consumed by her anxiety if she stayed in her room, Iberia approached Cynthia. She knew just the place that always brought her peace of mind.  

“I’m going to the library. Want to come with me?”  

“Ugh.”  

Cynthia made a groaning sound, her eyes half-lidded with disinterest. Iberia raised an eyebrow.  

“Do you really hate it that much?”  

“Yes.” 

Her response was firm.  

Iberia folded her arms and turned away, pretending to sulk. Behind her, she heard Cynthia laughing. A smile crept onto Iberia’s lips as well.  

“Let’s go together next time.”  

“Sure. Let’s definitely go together. I need to experience the charm of that library too.”  

As Cynthia dove onto her bed, Iberia closed the door behind her and stepped outside.  

The weather was growing cooler.  

Iberia looked up at the clear sky with a renewed sense of appreciation.  

Although she kept her eyes on the path ahead, her gaze often drifted upward as she walked. Near the entrance to the library, she ran into Young Master Nesferos.  

“Hello.”  

“Hello.”  

Young Master Nesferos was, as always, impeccably dressed. He seemed unusually thoughtful today.  

Wondering why he wasn’t stepping aside, Iberia blinked at him curiously.  

Meeting her gaze and smiling, he neatly folded the newspaper he was holding and asked,  

“How were your exams?”  

“I’m not sure.”  

“Yeah, I thought so.”  

Young Master Nesferos’ words were still difficult to understand at times, but Iberia felt she was slowly growing accustomed to his way of speaking. Or perhaps it was simply that she had more mental space now that the exams were over.  

“Anyway, keep working hard.”  

“Yes.”  

“And take care of your health.”  

He waved with a smiling face.  

Leaving Young Master Nesferos behind, Iberia entered the library. She skillfully found the book she needed and settled into a seat, opening it.  

Even surrounded by familiar text, she found it strangely hard to focus. The words “take care of your health,” which she had heard at the entrance, echoed in her mind.  

At some point, Young Master Nesferos had started telling her to take care of her health every time they met.  

Iberia wondered if her appearance during the exam period had been that severe.  

“I don’t think it was that bad…”  

Tilting her head in thought, Iberia tried to focus on her book. Its title was ‘A Guide to Efficient Magic’.  

The academy’s festival, held after the midterms, was divided into two main events.  

One involved students running their own booths, while the other was a competition. While the booths were open to all students without distinction, the competition was divided into two categories: magic and swordsmanship.  

The festival was considered a significant opportunity, attracting everyone from minor nobles across the continent to the Emperor and even the Mage Tower Master.  

For students at Lacanel Academy who were either low-ranking nobles or commoners, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they spent most of the year preparing for this event.  

However, Iberia hadn’t participated in the competition during her first year.  

While other students were competing and enjoying the festival, Iberia had stayed in her dormitory, studying. She had judged herself to have no talent for magic.  

Compared to the past top students of the academy, who had achieved excellent results in the competition, she had been afraid of performing poorly. She had also been intimidated by the unpleasant rumors that might follow.  

‘This time, I’ll participate.’ 

Since she had decided to dedicate her efforts to all aspects of academy life, she couldn’t let her past self down. Iberia clenched her fists.  

Her strengths lay in quick thinking and efficiency.  

Iberia was well aware that her mana capacity was far below that of the top students. This only made her practice even harder.  

She had felt the stark difference in talent, experienced relative deprivation, and faced countless moments of despair. Yet, thanks to her efforts, she managed to maintain a high rank in the magic department.  

To be precise, she compensated for her low practical scores with her written exams. Anything beyond that was impossible.  

Under normal circumstances, the gap in scores would have been insurmountable, but her efforts had raised her practical skills to a recoverable level.  

As Iberia reflected on the past, she realized she hadn’t practiced magic recently. To maintain her hard-earned skills, she needed to practice again.  

Thinking about how she now had tasks in various areas after the exams, Iberia rubbed her face with her hands.  

There wasn’t a single day she could rest. Not that she wanted to rest.  

For someone who wasn’t exceptional in any one area, she had to at least be exceptional in her efforts. Iberia felt an inexplicable fatigue.  

***

At Lacanel Academy, scores were released first, followed by rankings.  

It was a nerve-wracking process for the students. Some held out hope only to be disappointed, while others despaired and then found joy when their scores exceeded expectations.  

Starting today, scores for each subject were being released.  

As soon as Iberia entered the room, she was met by Cynthia, who stood by the door with sparkling eyes.  

“How was it?”  

“Well, like you said, I think I did better than I expected.”  

Iberia tried to maintain her composure.  

In truth, it wasn’t just better than expected—it was far better. She had thought she had completely failed and had been ready to give up, but her scores were surprisingly high. Even Iberia herself was astonished.  

Cynthia was even more thrilled than Iberia.  

“See! I told you so!”  

“Yeah.”  

Unable to hide her joy, Iberia let Cynthia pull her into a tight hug. Surprised by the sudden physical contact, Iberia instinctively flinched.  

After holding her for a moment, Cynthia grabbed Iberia’s shoulders and looked into her eyes with a determined expression. Iberia tried not to show her discomfort, though her arms trembled slightly.  

“Do you think you’ll get the top rank?”  

“I don’t know. But this is the highest score I’ve ever gotten so far.”  

Unconsciously, Iberia’s lips curled into a smile. For the first time, she thought she might actually be able to keep her top rank.  

“Then you didn’t lose any points?”  

“Not exactly.”  

Iberia chuckled silently at Cynthia’s exaggerated reaction. Though she appeared calm on the outside, she was far from it on the inside.