IMK Chapter 11

Raymond was the first to seek a deeper understanding of the royal family.

After enrolling, he borrowed books from the library whenever he had free time. Onyx also began borrowing books, striving to outdo Raymond.

“Do you actually retain anything when you read that fast? You seem to be turning a page every ten seconds.”

“As long as I remember it, isn’t that enough?”

“Nonsense.”

“Then test me.”

In just one week, Raymond had borrowed 20 books from the library, reading at a pace far beyond that of ordinary students. Observing him read, Onyx’s skepticism was understandable. Provoked by Raymond, Onyx randomly picked up one of the stacked books and opened it. The title was “The History of the Royal Family II.”

“Last line of page 33.”

Glancing briefly at the spine of the book Onyx held, Raymond answered indifferently.

“And thus, the history of the royal family was rewritten, but the reigning king at that time did not feel pride in the prosperity he had achieved.”

“…First line of page 632.”

“The king declared that he would never pass the throne to his successor unless the crown prince could use magic.”

“…You’re not completely useless, are you?”

Onyx was astonished. He continued to test Raymond with several more books.

Raymond answered every page Onyx questioned without missing a single detail. That day, Onyx returned to his room, his jaw hanging open in disbelief.

After Onyx had left, Raymond returned to his room around 11 p.m., followed by Nicole. Using his library card, which was issued even to first-year students, Raymond borrowed four more books.

“Young master, aren’t you overdoing it? You might collapse at this rate.”

“I’ll read only until today and then stop. I’ve almost finished them all.”

Nevertheless, to extract something from that guy Yuta, Raymond needed to be much more knowledgeable about the royal family than him. There were a total of three bookshelves in the library related to the royal family that were available for reading.

While it wasn’t perfect, it was sufficient for Raymond. Moreover, along with gathering information on the royal family, he had something else he desperately wanted to accomplish within the time limit. Time was given equally to everyone, so he had to use it efficiently.

“I’ll take my leave then.”

After Nicole left the room, Raymond sat back at his desk. The scrolls he had just unrolled were filled with magical theories not found in the mansion’s library. Reading these would likely make utilizing magic much easier.

He recalled what Parisha had said.

‘Anything can become a wand if you can just hold it in your hand.’

***

“I’m sleepy.”

“What kept you up last night? Oh, is that a new bracelet I see?”

Nicole, who had spent the night at the servants’ quarters in the annex, pointed at Raymond’s hand. Did you bring this bracelet from the mansion too? Raymond vaguely shook his head in response to Nicole’s question. Don’t want to talk about it. Too bothersome.

“Hey, Nicole. That expression won’t change anything.”

“Since enrolling in the academy, you’ve been keeping so many secrets from me. This Nicole feels left out.”

“I’ll buy you a cake later. But what’s all this commotion about?”

It was nearly time for class to start, yet something seemed off.

As soon as he left the room, he heard murmurs coming from somewhere. The noise was coming from the lobby connecting to other classes. Raymond tried to avoid the needless commotion, but he was swept up in the tide of students from other classes and ended up in the common lobby used by the entire class.

Fortunately, he saw a familiar face and naturally approached.

“What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

Although Onyx frowned upon seeing Raymond, he explained the situation in a grumbling yet kind tone.

“Some noble just bullied a commoner. And now a prince who saw it is throwing a fit.”

Incredible.

Raymond was astounded.

“Sounds like something that would happen at an entrance ceremony.”

“Yeah, it does.”

It was like a scene straight out of a painting: a victim, a villain, and a hero making a timely entrance.

In a society with a class system like this, where nobles and commoners mingled, such incidents were almost inevitable. Despite Foreston being a merit-based academy, implicit discrimination couldn’t be entirely absent. There are always those who want to flaunt what they haven’t earned through their own efforts.

Raymond, blending into the crowd of students, stealthily observed Yuta.

He thought this incident was a timely event that he needed. It would allow him to understand a bit more about the Fifth Prince.

“It’s the commoner’s fault. I did nothing wrong.”

The noble, who had been swaggering over a commoner, seemed to have softened a bit after Yuta’s arrival. But that didn’t mean he completely backed down. This was Foreston, not the royal palace, and even when facing royalty, there was a slight room for defiance.

Raymond began to focus on the conversation between the two.

“So what now?”

“He bumped into me first, so it’s only natural I got angry.”

“So you’re saying you’re making a big deal out of something that could be settled with a simple apology? Are you really that hot-headed over such a trivial matter? Why don’t you go tell your mom, mama’s boy?”

“Y-you, I-“

“Can’t even talk properly, yet you’re throwing a tantrum?”

Raymond was certain: Yuta must have taken ‘How to Hurt Others’ as a special course at the royal court.

‘Didn’t even use a single curse word, but it feels so dirty.’

While Raymond was admiring Yuta’s eloquence, the young lord from a ducal family, who had been yelling loudly, began to stutter even more.

“Y-you, have you finished talking?!”

He then spat out a line befitting a typical villain and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a wooden stick about 15 cm long, unmistakably a wand.

“You couldn’t have possibly succeeded in making a wand already.”

Yuta tilted his head slightly.

The overly smooth shape of the wand, its conventional size, and the utterly unremarkable color suggested one thing.

“So you bought it? A wand.”

“Ugh.”

“Aren’t you ashamed? Using a standard-issue wand with such low efficiency.”

Yuta continued after a short cluck of his tongue.

“Besides. You do know it’s forbidden to use magic for personal reasons on campus, right?”

“So what! You’re the one who made me angry!”

He seemed quite furious, taking a threatening stance as if he was about to use magic right there.

“It’s chaos here, what are the seniors doing?”

“Preparing for the welcome party. That’s why they’re late.”

Raymond, intervening, asked a question.

“What are the penalties for breaking the school rules?”

“Personal grades and overall class grades get docked!”

“…What?”

So, if that guy breaks the rules, my grades drop, and my school ranking falls? That might mean I can’t fulfill the conditions set by my father. If I can’t stay in Foreston due to not meeting the condition, I can’t work on making the prince a king.

‘…This is bad.’

Unaware of Raymond’s thoughts, Yuta continued with his hand on his chest.

“I really want to end this situation quietly.”

That’s when it happened.

[ Activating Insight trait. ]

[ Detecting deceit in Yuta Stedium Stern’s words. ]

[ – Yuta Stedium Stern’s true thoughts – This is an opportunity to make a name for myself. How can I use it effectively? ]

[ – Anticipated outcome: Grade deduction due to rule violation, no impact on reputation ]

‘Damn it.’

Having seen the expected outcome, Raymond naturally stepped forward. His feet wouldn’t stop.

‘My grades, my grades, my grades!’

“Raymond?”

“Hey, just do as I say.”

“Huh?”

Do as you say?

Yuta’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s at Raymond’s words. His look seemed to ask, ‘Really, should I do that?’

‘Yes.’

Raymond briefly offered advice and then withdrew to the back. The foolish young lord, just steps away from expulsion, ranted furiously, wondering what Raymond had whispered. But Raymond didn’t look back and promptly left the scene.

“What did you say to him?”

“Huh?”

“To Lord Yuta. Did you offer him some advice?”

“Oh, that. It was just a little something.”

Raymond, having smoothly bypassed the commotion, was the first among the first-year students to arrive in the classroom. The rest of the students only managed to get to the lecture hall after the class president and other seniors came and resolved the disturbance.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Ten minutes after the class had started, Yuta entered, greeting the professor. His eyes sparkled as he spotted Raymond sitting at the back of the classroom. Raymond desperately averted his gaze, hoping Yuta wouldn’t approach him after class.