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As the already intimidating face became twice as frightening, I felt a chill down my spine, and my heartbeat quickened. My vision narrowed, and my thought process became simplified in an instant.

‘C-could it be that the Duke can’t tolerate someone clenching their fist right in front of him…?’

Clenching a fist could indeed be interpreted as a gesture of aggression. Cold sweat trickled down my back. I smiled as harmlessly as possible to convey that I had absolutely no intention of fighting. At the same time, I cautiously lowered my clenched fist, careful not to let the Duke notice.

But it seemed the fist wasn’t the issue, as the Duke’s tightly pressed lips twitched with anger.

‘Then what on earth is the problem?’

What had upset the Duke so much? As I racked my brain, rolling my eyes back and forth, the Duke suddenly reached out his hand toward me. Reflexively, I flinched and drew back my shoulders. The Duke’s hand paused in midair, then cautiously touched the ribbon on my head.

“…It’s crooked. The balance is off.”

“Ah, balance!”

Realizing what had upset the Duke, I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘The Duke hates things that are out of balance!’

I’d heard of people like that—those who feel extremely uncomfortable when things aren’t symmetrical or when something deviates from a set order.

‘So the Duke of Elpinard is one of those people.’

I made a mental note to myself.

‘I must make sure everything is perfectly balanced when I’m in front of the Duke.’

As I was determined to keep this in mind, the Duke’s gaze swiftly scanned my attire, seemingly checking if there were any other imbalances. The three flower girls had worked hard to dress me up, so I didn’t think there would be any major issues, but it was impossible not to feel nervous under his scrutiny.

“…It’s passable.”

After what felt like an eternity, the Duke finally gave a positive assessment.

“The shoulder line is well-aligned. The shoes seem to fit perfectly, too.”

“Yes, I just received new clothes and shoes today from the atelier.”

I quickly placed my hands over my navel and bowed my head respectfully. It was very important to always express gratitude to those who bestowed favors.

“Thank you very much.”

“How many new items did you receive?”

“Just one set of clothes and one pair of shoes.”

The Duke’s face crumpled at my response.

“One set? What good is that? You should have at least ten of each.”

The Duke muttered coldly, and I made another mental note.

‘Duke Elpinard. Likes multiples of ten.’

* * *

“Sigh.”

Lukas, the youngest scholar of the Ivory Tower, let out a deep sigh as he looked at the little child sitting in front of him.

“So… you’re Lady Reshia Elpinard?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been selected to take the entrance exam on the recommendation of His Grace, the Duke of Elpinard, who is the chairman of the Ivory Tower’s invitation committee.”

“Yes.”

Even though the Duke had commanded it, she was still just a four-year-old child. Lukas, who had been called a prodigy from a young age, hadn’t passed the Ivory Tower’s entrance exam until he was seven years old.

Unlike a regular academy, the Ivory Tower’s entrance exam had no age restrictions. Whether one was a year old or a hundred, everyone received the same level of questions. This was because, to study at the Ivory Tower, one had to meet a minimum intellectual threshold.

Lukas had passed the exam at the age of seven and, after skipping multiple grades, became the youngest scholar of the Ivory Tower at sixteen. But even Lukas, when he looked back on himself at four years old, saw nothing but a clueless, snot-nosed kid.

‘So what meaning could an exam possibly have for a little child like this?’

He was bound to see some terrible answers. 

‘His Grace the Duke must have felt obligated to give her a chance.’

No matter how bad her behavior or reputation might be, she was still a Saint recognized by the Central Church. The Duke was likely extending as much courtesy as he could.

“The time limit is one hour. Just try to answer the questions you know. If there are any,” he added, doubtfully.

“Yes,” came the reply, in the same monotone as before.

Is “yes” the only word she knows how to say?

With a sullen expression, Lukas placed the exam paper in front of Reshia. She clumsily grasped the pen with her small hand and began attempting the problems. The exam was filled with questions requiring complex calculations, but Reshia’s hand barely moved. She just stared at the paper, making small frustrated noises as she did.

‘Hmph, just as I thought.’

Lukas smirked, having anticipated this outcome. Reshia eventually scribbled something, likely just random numbers, without much effort. Curious, Lukas craned his neck to see what she had written.

It was 18.

‘…18?’

Lukas suddenly felt a jolt of alertness. He had created this exam himself. Every answer was already ingrained in his mind. The correct answer to the first question was indeed 18.

Exactly 18.

Lukas rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong, but the number on the paper was still 18. The paper was perfectly clean, with no sign of any calculations.

‘D-did she solve it in her head?’

That was impossible.

‘No, she must have guessed it by sheer luck.’

Lukas tried to reassure himself. That explanation made more sense. 

Trying to calm his pounding heart, he checked Reshia’s next answer.

This time, it was 9.

‘Gasp!’

Lukas inhaled sharply.

‘9!’

Once again, it was precisely correct. And once again, there was no sign of any calculations.

‘This… this can’t be happening!’

While Lukas was reeling from shock, Reshia continued to solve the problems swiftly. Her handwriting was shaky and crooked, as one might expect from a child with weak motor skills, but that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was whether the answers were correct or not.

And so far, they all were.

Before long, Lukas found himself leaning so close to the desk that it seemed as though he might be sucked into the exam paper at any moment. The shadow cast over the sheet made Reshia glance at him uncomfortably, but Lukas was too stunned to notice anything else.

There were five problems in total. Two of them were already solved.

The fact that only five problems were given with a whole hour to complete the exam meant that each question was highly complex and difficult. Yet Reshia—a mere four-year-old child—had solved two of them in less than ten minutes after starting.

And before thirty minutes had passed…

“I’m finished.”

Reshia placed the pen she had been clumsily holding down and handed Lukas the exam paper, with only the correct answers neatly written on it. Lukas received the paper with trembling hands.

Since he had been mentally checking her answers as she solved them, there was no need for him to grade it separately. All the answers were correct.

‘The last problem in particular was so difficult that even I could only solve it cleanly recently…!’

The solution required a long and intricate process, something that was absolutely impossible to achieve through mental calculation alone.

“This last problem…” Lukas began, holding the exam paper right in front of Reshia’s face, “You didn’t write down any of the steps.”

“Yes.”

“How did you arrive at the correct answer?”

“It’s just… that’s the answer. I don’t know how to explain.”

“Th-that’s impossible!”

Lukas trembled as if he had been struck by lightning.

People often think that explaining the reasoning process behind a complex problem is the hardest part, but in reality, proving the solution to a simple problem can be even more challenging. For example, trying to explain why 1 plus 1 equals 2 is difficult because the conclusion is so obvious that the intermediate steps become hard to articulate.

‘Which means…’

To Reshia, this last problem was as straightforward and ordinary as stating that 1+1=2…!

Lukas reached a swift conclusion.

‘A genius…’

This little child, as soft and delicate as pudding, was undoubtedly a genius!