I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 78

78. She’s a Genius, No Matter How You Look at It!

I tilted my head, watching the child chatter on about me. The name tag on her chest read ‘Liena.’

‘How boring.’

I rested my chin on my hand listlessly, listening to her next words, but only unpleasant things poured out.

I thought she would talk more about the ‘daughter of evil,’ but all I heard were voices criticizing me.

I crumpled my face like a piece of paper and thought.

‘Hmm, this won’t do.’

I glanced around.

‘I need to make all these kids my allies!’

Now that I’m going to the academy, there’s no need to think of the time spent here as a waste. I just need to understand it as a process of expanding my network.

‘For arrogant and haughty nobles, carrots and sticks are important.’

I tilted my chin up haughtily and slammed my writing utensil down on the desk.

The gazes of the children, still unskilled at hiding their emotions, landed on my desk. Watching their eyes roll with interest, I stood up.

“Why? Does everyone have a problem with me?”

It was a signal that I couldn’t listen anymore, and the atmosphere became as quiet as if cold water had been poured on it. I crossed my arms and stared at them intently.

“Who said I wouldn’t take the exam?”

I moved towards Liena. Because I was a tall child, I was a whole half-span taller than Liena.

“I’m Sienne Mirmode, you know?”

The moment I looked down at Liena as if to overwhelm her, the teacher opened the front door of the classroom and came in.

It was the beginning of my academy life.

***

After the morning self-study time, it was the teacher’s assembly time.

The teacher, Evan, with a splendid mustache, smiled kindly as he introduced the three new students.

“Okay, these are the students from the Mirmode family. Everyone, please give the transfer students a round of applause.”

However, no applause poured out.

It was when the flustered teacher wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Liena, who played the role of controlling the classroom atmosphere, sneered.

“I don’t want to accept children who don’t take the exam as members of our class.”

“Liena, class president! What are you saying? You should help the children adapt.”

“I don’t want to. I only take care of friends who were admitted fairly.”

The children in the room all had pride in the academy entrance exam. So, perhaps.

They all began to agree with the words of the class president, Liena.

Evan looked quite embarrassed. He was also a person who graduated from the Imperial Children’s Academy with excellent grades and became a teacher.

“…What are you talking about? They were admitted fairly. They came from the Mirmode family.”

At the word Mirmode, the atmosphere of the children in that place turned as cold as an ice bath. Evan’s words only bought more resentment.

The children here disliked Sienne because she came from Mirmode and didn’t take the exam, relying only on Mirmode.

The children grew up as nobles to the bone and had great pride.

In the grim atmosphere, Liena whispered as if to taunt.

“Besides, I heard she’s not even the ‘real’ Mirmode.”

Her whisper spread like a ripple in the quiet atmosphere. The children began to buzz. I turned my gaze towards Liena.

‘Ah, I get it now.’

Although the paternity test was over, it only proved that I was a blood relative of the Mirmode family.

In fact, only a small number of nobles attended the trial. Although positive rumors about me had spread more than before the trial, it seemed insufficient to quell the resentment of some children.

‘Then I’ll just have to show them.’

I was about to lift my chin and say, ‘Then we’ll take the exam and prove it too!’ But Evan said with a smile.

“Ah, anyway, according to Matthias’s request, we will hold a separate exam.”

A faint smile appeared on Evan’s lips as if he thought this would calm the embers.

However, Liena made a vicious expression and slammed her desk.

“No, this is unfair, teacher!”

The boy next to Liena also changed his expression, pursing his lips.

“Liena is right! Originally, the academy exam is supposed to be taken in front of everyone, isn’t it?”

“It’s clearly a special privilege. It’s a privilege to transfer in the middle!”

“Originally, our academy doesn’t allow children to transfer in the middle like this.”

Evan, a teacher without leadership, looked seriously embarrassed.

‘Maybe Dad requested a private exam as a principle?’

But I didn’t care if the exam was private. I passed the headmaster’s welcome maze when I was five years old, so why would I be intimidated by children watching?

I shrugged and said.

“Then please switch the exam to public.”

“If the exam is switched to public, it might be a little uncomfortable…”

Liena, who was watching Evan with a seriously submissive attitude, raised her eyebrows.

“Teacher! She’s asking you to switch it to public. Then we’ll need observers, right?”

“Uh… yes, I guess so.”

I stared at Liena. Seeing that the little child was bothering me about everything, I thought I needed to establish some discipline quickly.

‘I don’t know which family she’s from, but she’s the class president, she controls the teacher, and she has resentment towards me. Perfect.’

There was no need to get rid of someone who had resentment towards me, but in order to achieve the goal of ‘building connections’ in this academy, I had to establish some discipline.

“Do as the class president says. I’m all for it.”

I smiled.

The teacher, who was clearly wary of the Mirmode family, hesitated.

“Are you really… okay with that?”

Watching Evan, who was using a subtle mix of formal and informal language that I didn’t know which country it came from, I nodded.

“Yes, I don’t mind!”

It was true. I didn’t really care who slandered me in what way.

‘Isn’t it enough if I do well?’

Leonhardt and Acid seemed to think so too, their eyes becoming resolute.

“Then I’ll go and discuss it through a faculty meeting. It’s an unusual case…”

It was when Evan left with an expression that seemed to have lost all his soul. Acid, who was next to me, whispered.

“I’ll try to get first place for Sienne’s glory.”

“…Huh?”

Leonhardt also clenched his fist with eyes burning with fighting spirit.

“First place is mine, Acid. You little brat.”

Seeing those two, I couldn’t bring myself to say the next words.

‘This isn’t good? I have to get first place?’

…This is a problem. My position is in danger. I clenched my fist tightly and thought.

‘What will the first exam be?’

Somehow, thinking about taking the exam made me a little nervous.

***

The teachers’ meeting ended quickly.

With the consent of me, Leonhardt, and Acid, we borrowed a small classroom after class. We mixed children and teachers from various grades and placed them there as observers. Of course, the children in the class, including Liena, also participated as observers.

The number of observers was approximately fifty.

The exam time was about 60 minutes per subject.

They said we would only take one subject today, and two subjects tomorrow.

I looked around at the people who participated as observers and plopped down on the desk.

I felt goosebumps rising on my skin as if everyone was staring at me intently.

I tried to fix my gaze on the blackboard, wiping away the goosebumps on the back of my hand.

But…

‘Purple eyes? Why is he looking at me like that?’

The boy with purple eyes sitting next to the blackboard was staring at me askew with a face that was neither hostile nor friendly.

‘Uncomfortable!’

But there was no time to pay more attention to that boy.

Because Teacher Evan appeared with the exam papers!

“We stamped the principal’s seal to prevent cheating. The exam will be held twice, today and tomorrow, and the first exam we will take today is…”

The teacher handed us the exam papers with a face as if he had chewed on an astringent persimmon.

“It’s ancient language interpretation. Are you okay with that?”

I thought this was heaven helping me.

I smiled.

‘Ancient language? That’s totally easy! I’m an ancient language genius.’

I aggressively revealed my front teeth, which had grown as big as grains of rice, and glared at the exam paper.

The letters in the exam paper began to come into view one by one.

***

Liena gnawed on her lips and glared at Sienne. She had volunteered to observe the exam, but she didn’t think Sienne would blatantly cheat. She thought she would cheat subtly.

‘She’ll definitely get what’s coming to her.’

Sienne, Leonhardt, and Acid, the three thorns in her side, were diligently interpreting the ancient language.

Liena took in their appearances at a glance.

First of all, Leonhardt.

He was writing diligently, but it seemed that he was mostly thinking and pondering before writing.

‘According to my mother, that child named Leonhardt is quite smart.’

The students and teachers who had taken their seats to observe were also able to receive the exam papers at the same time as those taking the exam. Liena was briefly shocked after receiving the exam paper. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who was shocked, as she heard murmuring in her ears.

“It’s really difficult, isn’t it?”

“Is it okay for it to be this difficult?”

At this level, it would be a difficult problem to solve not only in the children’s academy but also in the adult academy. Liena smiled, hiding her smile.

‘As expected of the ancient language teacher! He’s anti-Mirmode.’

The Mirmode’s power was so strong, but in fact, there were quite a few people who resented the Mirmode. Like Liena’s family here.

I don’t know why he came to the academy, but it was definitely illegal to punish him for what happened at the academy, so the ancient language teacher was definitely using a trick.

To humiliate the three children of the Mirmode family!

‘Still, that masked Leonhardt seems to be solving some of the problems.’

It was a shame, but there was nothing she could do. Liena frowned slightly and clicked her tongue. Well, one person could be smart.

Acid is…

‘The healer is a pass. He’s someone who can enter through a special admission anyway.’

Finally, her sharp gaze turned towards Sienne.

Sienne Mirmode was writing down the answers to the questions without hesitation.

The sound of scratching echoed in her ears. Liena became flustered.

‘Is she even solving those difficult problems knowing what she’s doing?’

How many minutes had passed since then? The sound of Sienne putting down her writing utensil was heard.

And she straightened her body neatly, lifted her chin, and said.

“I’m done.”