Chapter 118

 

***

 

Melody raised her head and stared intently at the officials, wondering if she had heard wrong.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one doubting her ears.

“Wait a moment.”

After a brief silence, the annoying man sitting next to Melody raised his hand to ask a question.

“Are you saying those whose names were not called are the ones who failed?”

The official pointed to the door again, meaning they should leave. The conference room began to stir slightly.

“But we’ve just submitted our answer sheets!”

When someone protested like this, similar outcries started from all around.

“Did you really grade them properly?”

“Please tell us the criteria for passing or failing. We can’t understand this!”

And when the word ‘criteria’ came up, many eyes turned towards Melody.

It seemed everyone remembered that her answer sheet had noticeably fewer answers.

As the protests dragged on, the official reluctantly began to speak calmly.

“The grading criteria is…”

The room quieted down at his slow response.

“It’s confidential.”

…Of course, it quickly became noisy again.

Despite the protests, the officials did not blink an eye.

Only someone in the corner recording the situation seemed to be having a hard time.

Realizing that arguing wouldn’t change the situation, some of those whose names hadn’t been called started to leave the conference room with heavy steps.

“You, were you Higgins?”

However, the man sitting next to Melody stayed until the end, glaring at her with displeasure.

“And what about it?”

“Higgins… Higgins, right. I knew I’d heard it somewhere before, that’s it?”

The man spoke loudly on purpose.

“The household loyal to the Duke of Baldwin.”

He smirked.

“Having the favor of the Baldwin Duke, who is even respected by the Emperor, must make for a comfortable life.”

That was somewhat…

It seemed to imply that Melody’s passing was somehow unjust. At least, that’s how it must have sounded to the other candidates still present in the room, given his heavily sarcastic tone.

Finally, seeming satisfied, he stood up.

“The Baldwin Ducal family must be something special. Lucky you, truly. A precious lady who’s never known hardship.”

With these last words, he left the examination room. Now, only those who had passed the written exam remained.

Melody sighed softly and sat down.

Her heart seemed to pound, prompting her to fiddle with the watch. Looking at its steadily moving hands brought back a sense of calm.

However, the suspicious glances from the others remained.

‘That must have been his aim.’

The man’s intention was to suggest that Melody had passed the exam through the power of the Ducal family.

‘The Duke would never stoop to such dishonor.’

Moreover, the officials would not bend to any power. After all, they are individuals not even the emperor’s influence can reach.

A little thought would reveal how absurd such an accusation is. It seems everyone is too focused on the exam to come to that conclusion.

‘It’s okay. I can… prove it.’

That she didn’t remain in this place by the Duke’s power.

Only then did she confidently raise her head. Just in time, an official announced the start of the second exam.

Despite the pain in her hands and head from the first exam, Melody felt it was for the best.

Filled with a determination not to lose, she felt she could easily tackle any question.

“Then.”

The officials distributed several blank sheets of paper in front of the candidates.

“During this time, as officers of this land, you will fill these papers with sentences.”

Everyone nodded.

“Your answers will remain as legitimate ‘records’. So, please put your heart into writing them.”

The idea that her writing would remain as a legitimate record thrilled Melody.

Even if she were to fail today’s exam, this record could later become part of the magic of sealing performed by the Tower Master.

“Today, all of you came through the south gate of the imperial palace. I understand the process was lengthy and took quite some time.”

Melody briefly recalled the south gate she had passed through that morning, though she couldn’t remember everything.

“There is a statue in front of the south gate.”

Was there? Given the grandeur and opulence of the place, having a statue there wouldn’t be surprising…

“It was a gift from His Majesty the Emperor, a falcon statue made of granite. I believe you all must have seen it,” she said, prompting several people to nod slowly in agreement.

“Good. After all, it would be hard to miss such a large statue.”

The official, looking relieved, now announced the task.

“Write anything, ‘about the falcon statue in front of the south gate.’ Just describe what you saw. You have one hour.”

The candidates immediately picked up their pens. However, Melody, once again, found herself unable to focus on the test right away.

She had intended to perform well on the second test for the Duke’s honor.

Describe the falcon statue made of granite as seen?

‘I didn’t see such a thing!’

Melody briefly banged her head on the desk.

No other thought came to her mind except that she was doomed.

 

***

 

There were two good things about the second test.

First, since she had nothing to write and only penned down, ‘I did not find the falcon statue made of granite,’ her hand, which had been sore from the written exam, had time to recover.

Second, since they were asked to fold their answer sheets before submitting, her empty sheet was not exposed to other candidates.

…Well, even so, the officials would see her scant answer sheet, so failing was inevitable.

The officials who collected the answer sheets left with a promise to ‘return soon.’

It seemed this time they intended to read the answers properly before deciding who passes and fails.

In the meantime, the royal maids brought in some snacks, but Melody wasn’t much in the mood to eat.

‘Still…’

If she starved now, by the time she returned to the mansion, the mix of gloom and hunger could lead to an even more miserable state.

Knowing how profound the sadness hunger can create, Melody decided to eat something.

Fortunately, the food, accompanied by warm tea, was delicious and not too heavy on the stomach.

After eating enough to feel somewhat satisfied, her mood improved a bit.

Indeed, one should never go hungry.

Having efficiently consumed even the after-meal fruits, the officials returned.

They called out several names again, but Melody’s was not among them.

It was a bitter outcome, but she had to accept it.

The honest ‘I didn’t see it’ was unlikely to have impressed the officials.

“Then.”

The official pointed towards the door again.

Melody gripped the bag she had prepared in advance.

“Those whose names have been called may now return home.”

…What?

Melody was once again bewildered and stared intently at the official.

The ones sitting are the ones staying?

“Yes, those whose names have been called may now return home.”

As if answering the question in her heart, the official repeated the same statement.

Melody wondered if there would be any backlash from the people this time.

But strangely, they left the conference room without any complaints.

There were those who sighed, but no one asked for the reason they failed, as if they had anticipated this outcome.

Once they all had exited, the conference room that had been filled with candidates became quite empty.

Only eight candidates, including Melody, remained.

She glanced around a bit and then cautiously raised her hand, wondering if there had been some mistake.

“Excuse me.”

The official nodded lightly, permitting her to speak.

“I was wondering if I could know the criteria for passing.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say, ‘I only wrote one sentence, though.’ Embarrassment prevented her from voicing that thought.

The official nodded and answered,

“The criteria for grading are…”

As she listened to his slow speech, an uneasy feeling crept in.

“It’s a secret.”

…Just as she thought he would respond.

When Melody looked a bit dismayed, the door to the conference room opened.

The maids who had prepared the food earlier entered and stood behind each candidate.

“Let me explain the final exam. You will each be guided to different archives. Of course.”

The official emphasized his next words powerfully, his eyes sparkling.

“It’s the actual royal archives where the imperial records are stored.”

The atmosphere immediately froze with tension.

The storage archives are divided according to the importance of the materials, and even the lower-grade archives are not accessible to just anyone, since they belong to the royal family.

“What you are required to do is to ‘maintain the archives in their proper condition’ until tomorrow morning.”

“By ‘proper condition’ you mean…?”

Someone raised their hand to ask.

“Exactly as it sounds. All materials should be correctly and neatly organized.”

Naturally, an archive should already be in such a state, one would think.

Melody thought that perhaps the third exam might be simpler than expected.

After all, she had experience organizing the disordered archives of the Baldwin estate on her own.

Of course, the culprit who had messed up those archives was Claude himself.

The extent of his rummaging while searching for something had made Melody sweat profusely as she organized.

‘But this is the royal archives. There surely won’t be anyone so undignified as to rummage through records.’

She didn’t want to feel grateful to the annoying Claude, but regardless, the experience had definitely boosted her confidence.