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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: A Once-in-a-Century Genius
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I quickly racked my brain for an excuse, then paused.
*Wait a minute. Maybe… this isn't such a bad situation after all?*
Isn't it possible for there to be one kid who's a bit smarter than others, with a knack for mental math?
Besides, I was the daughter of the great Enoch Rubinstein, a man who excelled in mind, body, and spirit.
*The protagonist's daughter is allowed to be a little smart, isn't she?*
With a mountain of things to do, I couldn't afford to waste time reciting multiplication tables forever.
It's better to change course, get the basics out of the way, and graduate from this level quickly.
Having made up my mind, I cheered.
"Ma'am! Did I get them all right?"
"Yes, yes… H-how on earth did you do it?"
"Hee hee! It was easy because you're such a good teacher!"
"But, what did I even teach you…?"
"That if two apples pop up three times, you get six! Thank you for teaching me, ma'am."
I bowed politely from my seat.
"B-but I didn't teach you that if nineteen apples appear nine times, you get one hundred and seventy-one…"
"M-Ma'am!"
*Just let it go. Please.*
I kicked my short legs under the desk, pretending I was eager to learn more.
"You said division comes after multiplication! It's so, so fun! Please teach me quickly!"
“……”
Mrs. Lena blinked blankly, then licked her dry lips with an excited expression.
She fanned out the worksheets she was holding and said.
"I-in my opinion, Your Ladyship… you must be a once-in-a-century, unparalleled genius."
*Ugh, seriously…*
"Wow. Lilis is?"
"What's 'unparalleled'?"
Theo and Leon each chimed in.
"Your Ladyship, from now on, I will do my utmost to oversee your education."
Mrs. Lena, her resolve hardening.
In the midst of it all, having been called a genius for solving a few multiplication problems, I was overcome with an indescribable sense of shame.
Little did I know that this act would later bring about a terrible disaster…
* * *
Late afternoon.
Enoch was in his office, scribbling relentlessly with his pen.
"Hah."
His daughter's prediction that her dad would get busy had been spot on.
Taking over all the ducal duties that Nordic had been handling was so overwhelming that even ten bodies wouldn't have been enough.
*I don't even have time to play with my princess…*
Readjusting to the title of Duke, which he had abandoned for seven years, was quite the headache, but he was diligent.
After all, to live as Duke Enoch and not Mr. James Brown, returning to his duties was an unavoidable task.
"Whew, that's enough!"
Though a mountain of paperwork still remained half-finished, Enoch shot up from his seat.
He had no intention of being a useless father who was too busy to play with his child.
"Time to play with my princess."
Tossing his pen aside, Enoch quickly left his office.
*Click.*
As he opened the door, the butler was standing there, apparently about to enter.
"Oh, Rem."
"Where are you going?"
"To see my daughter."
"Her Ladyship has gone out."
"What? With whom?"
"Lady Ordia took her. She said they were going to the tailor to have Her Ladyship's clothes fitted and then to a dessert shop. The young twin masters went with them."
"Wow, my sister. How could she? Without me?"
"Haha, is this really the time for the young master to be enjoying a leisurely outing in the capital?"
At Rem's smiling but pointed remark, Enoch grumbled as he returned to his desk.
"...Fine, I'll just finish this then. But why did you come?"
"I came to report on a few things I thought you'd be curious about. Her Ladyship had her first lessons today, did she not?"
"That's right, I asked Father to find her an etiquette tutor. How was my daughter? She must have had a hard time with such boring studies."
"Oh, not at all. The tutors all left singing her praises. The great master was quite pleased when he received the report."
Rem gave two thumbs up.
"As expected of the young master. You haven't been neglecting Her Ladyship's education."
"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything. What did my daughter do? No, and… wait. Tutors? Did you just say 'tutors,' plural?"
"Yes. Social studies, mathematics, economics, literature, history, and etiquette. Even though it was the first day of lessons…"
Rem's words trailed off.
It was because of Enoch's reaction—his jaw trembling in anger.
"W-what's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Move."
"Young master? Sir?"
Shoving Rem aside, Enoch stormed out, his footsteps thundering.
The place he headed to, filled with rage, was the office of his father, Nordic Rubinstein.
"Father!"
Enoch threw the door open without knocking, causing Nordic, who was speaking with a woman in glasses, to scowl deeply.
"What is it."
"Are you kidding me? I trusted you with this, and you make a child sit at a desk all day?"
*CRASH—!*
"Oh my!"
Enoch stormed over like lightning and slammed his fist on the desk, startling the woman standing beside it.
"I specifically told you to only get her an etiquette tutor."
"Lower your voice."
"You locked a seven-year-old in a study room all day, except for mealtimes?"
He had only asked for the basics of noble etiquette, since she needed to learn them.
Social studies, economics… what else? Upon hearing Rem's absurd report, Enoch had seen red.
Nordic retorted calmly.
"She is a child who bears the Rubinstein name. Can she be allowed to lack in her studies?"
"My daughter is seven years old. She's at an age where she still wants to play. And you said you would only teach her basic etiquette before she enters the training center. Once she gets back, I'll take care of her education myself…!"
"Enough. I also told the tutors to only introduce themselves today. It was Lilis who said she wanted to take the lessons."
"Hah, Father."
Enoch ran a hand through his hair, his breath ragged with fury.
"Lilis is a mature child. She's already trying to read your mood, Grandfather. She probably forced herself to sit through the lessons because she couldn't just send away the tutors you went to the trouble of hiring."
"Is that so? That's not what I heard in the reports. They all said it seemed Lilis has been educated beyond her years."
"I haven't taught her anything special. The kid's just smart."
Enoch added, grinding his teeth.
"Enough. Send all of them back except for the etiquette tutor. And you, Father, will stay out of my daughter's education. I'll handle the rest myself after she returns from the training center."
Having issued his warning, Enoch turned to leave, only then noticing the woman standing to the side. He glared at her.
"And who are you?"
"I-I'm the math tutor…"
Enoch slowly closed his eyes, carefully nursing his anger.
"E-excuse me, Your Grace? Could you please listen to me for a moment?"
"Stop being angry and listen to the tutor. This is Mrs. Lena, the one in charge of mathematics."
"There's nothing to listen to."
Enoch glanced at Mrs. Lena with displeasure and added.
"You don't need to come starting tomorrow."
"N-no, you can't do that, Your Grace."
"What?"
"Her Ladyship has a natural gift for mathematics. She also has a passion for learning. We must teach her more now."
"I'll handle it. I'm not saying I won't teach her. Just slowly, at a pace appropriate for her age…"
*Fwip.*
As Enoch was speaking, Mrs. Lena unrolled a long sheet of paper in front of him.
The crooked handwriting was Lilis's.
Staring at the paper, Enoch gritted his teeth.
"...You made a seven-year-old do multiplication. All the way up to 19 times 9…"
"That's not all!"
"I've only taught her up to addition and subtraction…"
"Yes, yes! When I asked Her Ladyship about her progress, she said you had taught her up to subtraction. She asked me to teach her multiplication, so I only explained the principle of how 2 times 3 equals 6. But then."
Mrs. Lena spread a few more papers she had been holding onto the desk.
There were dense traces of division, the four basic operations, and even fractions and decimals.
Seeing that, Enoch's jaw dropped.
"Are you kidding me? What have you been making a seven-year-old do?"
"P-please, calm down. I told her I would only teach her up to division in case it was too difficult, but Her Ladyship said it was too fun and asked me to teach her more."
Mrs. Lena calmly pointed to the worksheet.
"And look. She didn't get a single problem wrong. I knew it when she mentally calculated 19 times 9."
Mrs. Lena added in a serious voice.
"Her Ladyship is a genius. A mathematical genius the likes of which may appear only once in a century."
“……”
"Teach her one thing, and she understands ten. I explained division, and she immediately grasped the concept of fractions. Then she became curious about the numbers between 0 and 1 and started using decimal points on her own."
"That's..."
"I really didn't do anything. I was curious if this was truly the level of a seven-year-old, so I asked the other tutors."
"Look."
Picking up on Mrs. Lena's words, Nordic took out the results of today's lessons from a drawer.
"The other tutors also only intended to make her acquaintance. It was Lilis who pestered them for lessons, saying it was fun. Looking at this, it doesn't seem like she was forcing herself to do something she dislikes."
Enoch quietly scanned his daughter's crooked handwriting.
Social studies, economics, literature, history…
Even though it was clearly her first time learning the material, it was all neatly organized.
"Your Grace."
Mrs. Lena pushed up the glasses she was wearing and said.
"Her Ladyship is, without a doubt, a genius. And you said she was just reading the room, but no. The expression of someone enjoying learning is something that can never be faked."
“……”
"A genius."
The silent Enoch's eyes blinked slowly.
"A true genius."
Mrs. Lena's voice, whispering in his ear like a devil.
"A total genius."
Soon, the corners of Enoch's mouth twitched, as if about to curve into a smile.
