"Everyone! Stop what you are doing and get ready for spell inspection! If you are not able to produce an orange flame at the very least, you will be ejected from the cla.s.s." Mr Wendell announced. He then pushed himself off of his seat and grabbed a pen and a notebook from the podium. No one knew who Mr Wendell would mark first, they only knew that the first person would leave the biggest impression and would have all eyes on them. Something about having everyone"s attention did not sit well with the s.h.i.+er students. As such, many students tried doing trivial things like looking away and avoiding any eye contact with the teacher.
Mr Wendell slowly walked towards the end opposite of Tanya"s, pointing his pen at an enchanting golden haired girl.
"Serena Golde, show me your progress." Mr Wendell said plainly as he readied his pen.
FWOOSH
Instantly, a bright orange rose shaped flame appeared from the girl"s hand. There was nothing much to it, it was exactly as the teacher showed earlier.
At such an age, comprehension like this could only be said to be monstrous. Paired with a look of indifference and disinterest, Serena looked as if she did not even try. A low level 1st grade spell seemed like nothing to her, less than a spell. It was more like a magic trick than actual magic.
"As expected of the crown princess, full marks." Mr Wendell heartily proclaimed as he ticked off a sheet of paper.
Tanya glanced at Serena, browsing the latter"s appearance and demeanour with a watchful eye. Tanya had never met the crown princess and had only heard of her in stories, making Serena a possible opponent. But treating her as a true opponent would not be easy. A princess can not compare to the enemies that Tanya had once fought throughout the ages.
However, Tanya did not expect to see her glance returned by Serena. A cold and calculating smile was instantly directed toward Tanya, surprisingly her.
"Tanya Vermillion, please show me your magic." Mr Wendell spoke.
Tanya smiled back at Serena, releasing a s.h.i.+ning expression fit for the true princes.
"Sure." Tanya replied plainly as an orange rose of equal stability and magnitude to Serena"s appeared instantly. If Serena wished to play a game of the carefree genius, Tanya would of course be obliged to partic.i.p.ate. Showing some dominance is a must.
"Very good, full marks." Mr Wendell moved on to Yuri and then Diana, eventually finis.h.i.+ng the examination of everyone"s roses. While many held grim expressions, there were some that felt like they accomplished something. At the very least, they could hold their head high knowing the fact that they pa.s.sed the test.
As for the notable people that pa.s.sed the test: Yuri pa.s.sed the a.s.sessment with full marks. Diana pa.s.sed the a.s.sessment with 70%. Altogether, They did not disappoint, both being in the higher range than everyone else, especially Yuri. She definitely showed everyone that even a baron"s daughter could be a genius.
However, Tanya knew that this test didn"t mean anything much. It was just to separate the apt from the trash. If one had decent apt.i.tude, they could stay, while everyone else had to drop out of the cla.s.s.
"Dammit! How did I fail?! It was only 1% that I needed!! And what do you mean there was a slight flicker?!" The boy that had been courting Yuri beforehand had failed with a mark of 49%, just unable to continue learning in the cla.s.s. Although he tried to argue with Mr Wendell, the latter would not budge.
Mr Wendell is a man of ethics, not someone that would make illegal exceptions for privileged children.
"[Gust] might be a High 1st tier spell, but it can still be applied as precise as a scalpel in my hands."
The failure was of course a certain lady"s doing. All it took was a directed gust to weaken the boy"s flame"s stability, causing his inevitable fail.
"Yuri, you did so well. I am very happy, you know?" Tanya smiled.
"What about me?" Diana asked with an expectant look on her displeased face.
"What about you? Do you wish for my pampering too?" Tanya coldly replied.
"Wah?! Tanya, when did you become so cold?! I haven"t done anything wrong to you, so-"
Tanya s.h.i.+fted closer to Diana, placing her finger on the latter"s lips.
"I like it when you get worked up."
DUN DUN
"Greetings, Lady Vermillion." A feminine voice greeted Tanya from behind.
"Yes? Who might you be?" Tanya replied.
She was greeted by Serena, standing there with her arms crossed and her face exuding a cold feeling.
"My my… Princess Serena, I did not expect for you to come and greet me. Where are my manners? Greetings, your highness." Tanya briefly bowed her head, smiling somewhat devilishly.
"Enough of that. I am here on important business-"
"What important business could you have when cla.s.s is still ongoing? Perhaps when cla.s.s is over, we can talk? Right now, it may be difficult to hold a conversation since-"
"Cla.s.s has ended, you are all dismissed for the day and may return to your dorms. The Grand a.s.sembly will begin at 5pm, be sure to be ready." Mr Wendell exited the room without saying another word.
"You were saying?" Serena proceeded to sit down next to Tanya, opposite end to Yuri.
"I must say, your eyes are gorgeous." Tanya flirtatiously grinned, easing her face closer to Serena"s.
"This cold and calculative type should be weaker to charms."
*cough cough*
"That will not work on me." Serena staggered slightly, leaning away from Tanya.
"Not as weak to my charms… I see… still susceptible, but not as much."
"Get to the point then." Tanya smiled.
Serena, darted her eyes briefly to the right, before looking Tanya straight in the eyes.
"I need you to enter an engagement with me."
"As you may already know, my brother has essentially been disinherited. I really do not enjoy having him as my brother since he brings many women to the palace and disturbs my study. However, I do not want him to crawl his way back into my parent"s favour. The only way to secure my position is to be engaged to you. My parents like you very much and wish for our two families to be joined, so I see this as a win-win." Serena talked fast, almost as if she was leaking out a bottled up anxiety. A suppressed expression, too unnatural. A fake mastermind, an unnatural personality.
"Not on the level of an average child, but still immature."