The first major class of the Imperial Academy’s art department had begun.

Unlike the general elective class, only about thirty students, all from the art department, were seated in the classroom.

Since it was a place to learn drawing, the room was filled with canvases and art supplies instead of desks, and the students were busy preparing their tools, waiting for the class to start.

“I’m really curious about what the first lesson will be.”

“Well, considering how amazing the professor’s skills are, I’m sure it’ll be great.”

While students from other departments either didn’t acknowledge Rupert, the youngest professor at the Academy, or were jealous of him, the art department was divided.

Since they were all involved in the arts, they knew how incredible Rupert’s talent was from the fairy tale books and comics he had created. Many of the students were eager to learn from him.

“Tch, if it weren’t for Father threatening to throw me out if I didn’t attend the Academy…”

On the other hand, some students didn’t want to learn art but had chosen the art department simply to gain entry into the Academy.

To them, drawing was a mere trivial skill.

They had no interest in improving their drawing skills and only saw art as something insignificant. After all, they believed their grades were determined by donations, and instead of working hard, they were more focused on expanding their social circles.

Thus, the art department was divided into two groups.

One group consisted of commoner students who were genuinely talented and passionate about learning art.

The other group consisted of nobles whose only goal was to attend the Academy.

Though there were slightly more commoner students, the unfortunate reality was that the noble faction held the dominant position in the art department.

“Hey, stop making noise. Don’t you know how to be quiet?”

“Sorry…”

“You’re like parasites. Do you even realize it’s thanks to someone else’s donations that you can attend the Academy?”

Although the Academy was supposed to be a cradle of talent, where everyone received equal education regardless of status, such ideals were only observed at the beginning.

One of the famous sayings passed down within the Academy was, “The Academy may be short, but life is long.” Although commoner students might be on equal footing with nobles during their school days, the harsh reality of status would catch up with them after graduation.

The stories of commoner graduates being tormented by nobles after leaving the Academy were so common that they were no longer even noteworthy.

Therefore, commoner students had to tread carefully around the nobles, trying not to give them any reason to pick on them.

This was especially true in departments like the art department, which had little connection to power even after graduation.

However, the military and magic departments were different.

In those fields, where skills mattered more than status, even commoner students could rise to prominence if they were talented. Nobles, too, avoided unnecessary conflicts with such talented individuals, leading to a more cautious atmosphere in those departments.

But in the art department, none of this mattered.

Thud!

Suddenly, the silence in the classroom was broken as someone entered through the door.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

Rupert walked up to the podium with natural, confident steps, as if he had been a professor for years.

“Hello,” some of the students responded politely.

However, it was only the commoner faction that returned his greeting. The noble faction sat with their arms crossed and legs propped up, maintaining a haughty posture.

‘What’s with them?’

Rupert quickly grasped that the students were split into two groups.

‘The ones sitting in the back must be nobles, and the ones up front are the commoners.’

Though all the students wore the same gray sweaters, white shirts, and green ties that indicated they were part of the art department, it was easy to tell them apart.

Despite the uniformity, nobles and commoners were distinctly different.

The well-groomed hair, the uncalloused hands, and the fair skin all signaled the kind of luxury only nobles in this world could afford.

‘How arrogant.’

Rupert had taught high school students going through their rebellious phase back in Korea, so he thought to himself, Can they really be worse than that?

But just seeing the expressions of the noble students was enough to irritate him.

‘Whatever. These guys aren’t the main characters anyway.’

Though Rupert’s family had once been poor, the Somerset family was still a count’s house, a high-ranking noble family.

When it came to nobility, there were far more lower-ranked noble families than higher ones. Rupert’s family was well-respected, and in recent times, they had become financially stable, reaching a level just below the great noble families.

Moreover, as Rupert was adored by the royal family, the noble students in front of him were nothing more than amusing distractions.

‘Fine, I’ll take my time and teach them a lesson.’

Though he had fallen into this world, Rupert’s Confucian roots from Korea were ingrained in him, and he saw this as a perfect opportunity.

“Now, to gauge your current level and teach you the basics, I’ll be assigning your first task.”

Rupert approached the blackboard, grabbed a piece of chalk, and swiftly drew a perfect circle.

It was a flawless shape, as if it had been drawn with a compass, yet Rupert had done it effortlessly with a single stroke.

“A circle is the foundation of drawing,” Rupert said, placing the chalk down casually.

“I’d like all of you to draw a circle on the canvas in front of you. The size doesn’t matter, and feel free to draw multiple circles.”

• Once you feel like you've drawn your best circle, you can come to me for evaluation and leave.

 

The room buzzed with murmurs.

“What? That’s it? We just have to draw a circle?”

“This is an easy class. I’ll finish up quickly and take a break.”

The noble students, who had been displeased at the idea of learning from someone their age or younger, immediately picked up their pencils and started drawing circles.

Meanwhile, the commoner students hesitated, taking their time to figure out how to draw the perfect circle.

“I’m done.”

Barely a minute had passed before one of the nobles, seated at the back, announced the completion of the task.

Soon after, most of the noble students followed suit, declaring they had finished as well. Rupert moved over to inspect their work.

The students confidently showed him their circles.

“This is supposed to be a circle? Wow, I’m going to enjoy teaching you. I’ll have to teach you from scratch.”

Rupert’s mocking tone made the students bristle, but his cold expression stopped them from speaking up.

“Could you explain why? You asked us to draw a circle, didn’t you?”

“This is supposed to be a circle? No, it’s not.”

Rupert took the student’s crooked circle and pointed out several flaws with his pencil.

“What… What does that matter?”

“Yeah! What does a circle have to do with drawing skills?”

The noble students, upset by Rupert’s criticism, voiced their dissatisfaction.

But Rupert ignored their complaints and quietly returned to the blackboard.

He picked up the chalk again and, next to the original circle, drew a larger circle, followed by a smaller one.

The students were in awe of how effortlessly he produced perfect circles of different sizes.

But Rupert wasn’t done. He then drew a cross within the medium-sized circle and began sketching over the lines, transforming it into the shape of a face.

In the small circle, he added a series of curved lines, turning it into a beautifully detailed flower.

As for the large circle, with just a few additional lines, it became a whale swimming in the sea.

All of this was done within minutes, leaving the students speechless.

Even though they had entered the Academy because of their own artistic talents, Rupert’s skill was on another level entirely.

As the students stared in shock and disbelief, Rupert spoke again, as if nothing had happened.

“Does it still not matter?”

The noble students, who had been voicing their complaints, were now silent.

Rupert simply said, “Again,” and returned to the podium, leaving the noble students grumbling as they reluctantly began redrawing their circles.

Meanwhile, the commoner students, who had taken their time from the beginning, managed to draw circles that were surprisingly decent.

“This is harder than I thought.”

“Yeah, keeping it from wobbling is tough.”

“Try relaxing your wrist a bit more.”

Rupert watched their efforts with a pleased expression.

Drawing a circle wasn’t just busywork. It was an essential skill, crucial to starting any drawing. Moreover, it was an excellent way to gauge their talent.

Anyone who could draw a proper circle was likely to have a natural talent for art.

It seemed like a simple task, but it was more challenging than it sounded.

The students now realized how difficult it was to draw a perfect circle like the one Rupert had demonstrated.

“This student passes.”

One by one, the commoner students who had been naturally talented in art passed the circle test, received their next assignment to bring in a sketch for the following class, and left the room.

But the noble students…

“Damn it! Why can’t I draw this right?”

“What does this have to do with drawing?!”

Frustrated by Rupert’s repeated rejections, the noble students continued to grumble as they attempted to draw their circles.

Their anxiety only grew as they watched the commoner students, whom they had considered inferior, pass the test and leave the classroom.

The more nervous and impatient they became, the harder it was to draw a proper circle.

“…Professor, the class is almost over.”

One of the noble students, barely able to suppress his resentment at having to call Rupert “professor,” finally spoke up.

“Ah, students who lack the skills can stay and continue drawing during the break until they catch up.”

Rupert casually instructed them to keep working, leaving the noble students scowling.

‘Anyone who takes my class is a potential future employee… I mean, valuable talent, so I’ll train them thoroughly from the basics.’

Rupert had no intention of letting any of his students slack off. After all, they all had to possess at least some level of talent to have been admitted to the Imperial Academy.

The noble students, unaware of Rupert’s thoughts, could only grit their teeth and keep drawing. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

“On top of the sketch I’ve assigned, I also expect all of you to bring in a properly drawn circle for the next class.”

• See you next time.

 

Rupert gave the noble students a parting smile for the first time as they left.

“What do you think about combining illusion magic with telekinesis?”

Surprisingly, the magic department’s courses were closely related to the engineering department.

One of their joint courses was magical engineering, where students from both departments worked together on a project to create a magical engineering device by the end of the semester.

The professor merely answered questions if asked, but otherwise, it was up to the students’ creativity to come up with ideas.

Amelia Bluewell, a famous figure in the magic department, was also working with students from the engineering department to create their magical engineering device.

“Are you suggesting we create a pen that can draw whatever the user imagines?”

Amelia’s proposal was none other than a magic pen.

A miraculous tool that would automatically draw whatever the user pictured in their mind.

“Yes, I think it could be useful in many fields.”

Everyone agreed. Even the engineering students realized that such a pen would make it much easier to draw up blueprints.

It would also be helpful for describing things to others, and even for drawing wanted posters of criminals.

There were endless potential uses.

“That’s a great idea! How did you come up with it?”

“…I just thought of it randomly.”

Amelia’s response was modest, though it seemed like there was more to the story.

Regardless, the engineering students, already overwhelmed by the fact that they were on a team with one of the most beautiful women in the Empire, were now more determined than ever to create the magic pen.