Chapter 84
“I honestly wasn’t expecting much.”
Since the chief attendant was one of the emperor’s most loyal subordinates, she hadn’t expected him to go against the emperor’s orders to help her.
“But I thought at least he’d show some hesitation.”
He was the one who’d once told her she was precious, after all. She thought he’d waver at least a little.
But that had been a complete miscalculation.
Even when she begged and pleaded, the chief attendant hadn’t blinked an eye.
In truth, Seyd was beginning to regret what he’d done. To him, the emperor was someone to be feared. If he found out that Seyd had disobeyed his command, the punishment would surely be severe.
“But Jack is my friend.”
He couldn’t just leave his friend alone, possibly crying somewhere. Especially since this must have been Jack’s first time experiencing something like this—he should’ve been more considerate.
The corridor stretched on in a straight line, so Seyd just kept running forward. But no matter how far he ran, he couldn’t see Jack anywhere.
He began to worry that Jack might have already gone outside the competition hall building.
“If he goes out, he won’t be able to come back in.”
Still, since he could freely go in and out, if Jack really had left, Seyd intended to follow him out and bring him back in.
But when the hallway split into two, Seyd stopped running. From here, he couldn’t tell which way Jack had gone.
If he chose the wrong way, they might miss each other completely.
“Jack, where are you?”
“I’m right here.”
The reply came from behind him. Startled, Seyd whirled around and saw Jack sitting against the corner of the left wall.
“Jack! Why are you here? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”
As Seyd scolded him, Jack stood up and brushed off his pants. Then, with a puzzled expression, he looked at Seyd.
“Why are you looking for me, Your Highness?”
“W-well, I was worried you might be crying…”
Seyd stammered, but Jack let out a faint, incredulous laugh. Crying? What did he take him for?
“I was just waiting for the competition to start.”
“O-oh, I see. But Jack, why do you keep calling me ‘Your Highness’? And why are you talking so formally? You can just talk to me like at the orphanage—”
Smack.
When Seyd tried to take Jack’s hand, Jack coldly slapped it away.
Seyd’s eyes widened in shock, while Jack’s brown eyes froze over like ice.
Jack parted his lips, and a voice as cold as his gaze came out.
“Why would Your Highness be my friend?”
“J-Jack…”
“I have never once thought of Your Highness as a friend.”
The merciless words drained all color from Seyd’s face. Jack looked at him with indifferent eyes.
From the first time he’d seen Seyd, Jack had disliked him.
The fact that he was a prince. The way he cozied up to Siela. The way he kept calling him “Jack” and loudly declaring that they were friends.
“I just didn’t show it, that’s all.”
Because Siela and the children were watching. He hadn’t wanted them to see the jealousy and hatred festering inside him, so he had only pretended to be fine.
But Siela and the children weren’t here now. Which meant there was no need to keep up that fake act.
After staring at Seyd for a moment, Jack turned away. He didn’t want to go back there, but he was determined to achieve good results in this competition. Because—
“I want to make the director proud.”
Just imagining her smiling proudly at him made Jack smile too.
Before leaving, he glanced at Seyd, who stood there dazed. For a second, he wondered if Seyd was crying—but he wasn’t.
Seyd simply stood there, head hanging low.
His face was so gloomy that anyone watching would have pitied him, but Jack merely gave him a cold glance before heading back toward the competition hall.
The competition was about to begin.
Halfway down the corridor, Jack noticed no footsteps behind him. He turned around, expecting Seyd to be following from a distance—but Seyd was nowhere to be seen. Jack frowned.
“If he doesn’t go in now, he won’t be able to participate.”
Seyd’s despairing face flashed through his mind.
“…Why do I even care?”
With a scowl, Jack turned back and continued walking inside.
Then, at the entrance to the hall, he noticed a man pacing nervously.
That man…
He was dressed in an attendant’s uniform, with a badge on his chest marking him as the chief attendant. He looked anxious, as if searching for someone.
Jack immediately recognized him as one of the emperor’s close attendants. After a brief hesitation, he sighed wearily and approached.
“Excuse me.”
When Jack spoke, the chief attendant turned to look at him. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he recognized Jack and was momentarily startled.
The boy representing the Creyman ducal family this time…
He had already done background research on the Siela Orphanage, so he recognized Jack immediately—but pretended not to.
“Yes, what is it?”
“I saw His Highness running that way just now. The competition’s about to start, so I thought I should let you know before he’s late.”
The chief attendant looked in the direction Jack pointed, then turned back to him with a surprised expression.
Without Seyd, one less competitor would remain—he hadn’t expected the boy to be helpful.
“I see. Thank you for letting me know. May I ask your name?”
He feigned ignorance while probing. His investigation hadn’t yielded much about the children—only names and ages.
Jack, in particular, was the most mysterious of them all, so this was a good chance to learn more.
Putting on his most kindly smile, he spoke gently. Children usually let their guard down around kind, warm adults.
Having raised Seyd since childhood, he considered himself good at handling kids.
But Jack was different.
“It’s nothing. I’ll be going now.”
Jack gave a short bow and briskly walked past him into the hall.
The chief attendant’s polite smile froze. He quickly turned around, but Jack had already gone in and closed the door.
“…Not your average child.”
Most children, even shy or rude ones, usually tried to impress someone who worked for the emperor.
Even if they didn’t know who he was, as commoners they’d naturally want to make a good impression on someone from the palace. But Jack showed no such interest.
“He’s not ordinary.”
That alone was valuable information.
The chief attendant looked once more at the door Jack had gone through, then started walking in the direction Jack had indicated.
What a troublesome prince indeed.
In the end, Seyd never showed up for the competition. Jack was faintly concerned about him, but for now he focused on the exam.
The test was divided into five subjects: mathematics, history, philosophy, theology, and foreign languages including ancient tongues.
Each question was difficult, and groans could be heard all around. Some students were even caught cheating and dragged out.
A student from the Imperial Academy, sitting diagonally behind Jack, glared daggers at the back of his head.
“You dare raise your hand against me? You, a commoner?”
Grinding his teeth, he looked down at his paper. Even elite academy students found this exam challenging. There was no way a mere commoner could solve it.
“I’m top-ranked at the Academy, you know. Just wait—I’ll get a higher score and crush your arrogance!”
It would also damage the reputation of the Creyman family for bringing a lowborn, so it would be killing two birds with one stone.
Fueled by fury, the student attacked the problems with burning determination—
already gleeful at the thought of humiliating Jack once the results came out.
After six grueling hours, the exam finally ended. As the sun set, Jack stepped out of the hall. I, waiting outside with Leonard, quickly approached him.
“Jack, good job! That must’ve been exhausting.”
I handed him the bottle of water I’d prepared.
“Thank you,” Jack said, bowing slightly before taking a sip.
Leonard was next to speak.
“So, Jack, how was it? I heard the test wasn’t easy.”
According to what we’d overheard in the waiting room, since this was the first competition, they’d made the exam university-level. The pale faces of the students coming out seemed to confirm that.
But Jack shook his head.
“It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult either.”
Leonard burst out laughing, clearly pleased with that answer.
“They said the results will be released today, right?”
“Yes, the grading’s done with magic, so it shouldn’t take long.”
Nodding, we headed back to the waiting room together.
The place was crowded with students and their companions. Yet as soon as we entered, the room fell silent.
Everyone was staring at us—especially the students from the Imperial Academy, whose hostility was palpable.
Sensing something odd, I leaned toward Jack and whispered,
“Jack, did something happen inside?”
Jack flinched slightly, which told me everything.
“Well… actually…”
He explained what had happened inside.
So they insulted him for being a commoner, and he got into a fight.
I sighed.
I had worried something like this might happen. But seeing it come true still left a bitter feeling.
Jack seemed to interpret my silence differently and spoke hesitantly,
“I shouldn’t have caused a scene. I’ve disgraced the Creyman name. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s—”
I was about to tell him it was fine—
—but Leonard’s booming voice cut me off.
“No, you did well! If anyone looks down on you again, hit back even harder next time!”
“…Is that really all right?”
“Of course. Today, you stood here representing House Creyman—and above all, you’re my disciple. Be confident. Hold your head high, and if anyone dares insult you, cast them aside without hesitation.”
Jack nodded at Leonard’s words. Watching that, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
Was this really… the right kind of moral education?
