I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 101

On the third day since Ethan and I arrived on the Island of Knowledge...

We finished our preparations early in the morning and set out for the academy a bit early.

That’s because today was finally the day for Ethan to take the ‘Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam’ to enroll in Luminor Academy. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

“How are you feeling, young master?”

“Fine. I got enough sleep, and I’m fully prepared.”

“That’s good. I was worried you might be nervous about the entrance exam since you seemed to have trouble sleeping yesterday.”

“...That was because of you, Maid.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

How silly.

Well, it’s fortunate that his condition seemed fine on the day of the exam. Yesterday, he looked tired all day, as if he hadn’t slept well.

He was the one who suggested we go sightseeing on the first day if we arrived without delays in our schedule, but what was he thinking, falling asleep until evening due to fatigue?

As a result, we had to stay at the inn for most of the second day after arriving on the Island of Knowledge. We even had all three meals at the tavern-cum-restaurant on the first floor of the inn.

‘Still...’

It’s fortunate that his condition seems better for today’s exam.

He probably felt fatigued from the long and unfamiliar carriage journey. It was a thousand times fortunate that we set out a day early.

At least it’s much better than being tired and complaining on the day of the exam.

Of course, this year’s entrance exam for nobles was expected to have an extremely low passing score for all departments except magic; at least the evaluation reflected in the entrance exam would be helpful in building connections during the first semester.

Naturally, more people would flock to the department’s top student rather than the one at the bottom.

‘With Ethan’s current skills, he could definitely aim for the top of the department.’

Even though it was a mock duel using wooden swords, he had the skills to win against a Sword Master occasionally.

If he could display even half of his usual skills, he’d be able to achieve a score that would surpass most other students.

The only variable would be how strong the protagonist is...

Well, at least Ethan won’t encounter him today. Today is the Noble Entrance Exam for the academy’s Swordsmanship Department.

If the protagonist character enters that department, he’ll participate in tomorrow’s Commoner Entrance Exam. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

They might compete for the top spot, but their directly crossing swords would happen quite a while later.

“It’s quite a distance from the inn to Luminor Academy, should we call a coachman to drive us?”

“I think it’s better to walk. Many nobles will arrive at the exam site on the morning of the exam, so taking a carriage might actually make us later.”

“I think so too, young master.”

“...If the exam finishes early, let’s look around the island this afternoon to make up for what we couldn’t do yesterday.”

“That’s a good idea, young master.”

Thanks to Ethan’s wise decision, we fortunately avoided experiencing the traffic congestion from my previous life in this world.

After walking for a while, we entered Luminor Academy, avoiding the long line of carriages that appeared.

The Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam at Luminor Academy takes place from morning to evening.

Fortunately, not all applicants have to take the exam from morning to evening; the exam proceeds in order of arrival.

“You’re also a noble now, Maid.”

“But I didn’t come here as a noble, I came as your maid for today, young master.”

...And if I had to say, I actually had almost no authority as a noble in reality.

Thinking of it as just an empty title to safely graduate from the academy, it was much more comfortable to just think that I wasn’t a noble.

It was a useless title unless I was going to belong to the Blackwood family for life.

...Come to think of it, I wonder who Ethan’s duel opponents will be today.

“Young Master Ethan, may I ask what your registration number is?”

“It’s 15.”

“Then Applicant Numbers 13, 14, and 16 will be your duel opponents.”

“That’s right.”

By the way, nobles taking the exam at this early hour were more likely to be lower-ranking nobles rather than high-ranking ones.

Most high-ranking noble applicants were probably stuck in traffic somewhere on the road in their backed-up carriages by now.

It was typical of nobles to wait for hours on the road rather than walk directly on the road themselves, even if it took several hours. Of course, this tendency became more severe the higher-ranking the noble was.

In other words, the duel opponents encountered at this time were likely to be relatively weak opponents. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Generally, high-ranking nobles had larger mana capacities than lower-ranking nobles, and their swordsmanship itself was more developed, so it was a natural result.

Well, no matter who the opponent was, Ethan would probably win easily.

As I was thinking this and waiting for Ethan’s turn to duel, someone who looked like a guide staff member started calling out the applicants for the next duel in front of the dueling ground.

“The following people should prepare for the next exam! Applicant Number 13, Louis Finn Agonis!”

Number 13 would be one of Ethan’s duel opponents.

Judging by the unfamiliar feeling of the name, he probably wasn’t a major character.

Given that I’ve never heard of the Agonis family name, they were probably a baron or quasi-baron family from the borderlands.

As I was thinking this and waiting for the next name to be called, the name of applicant number 14 soon reached my ears.

“Applicant Number 14, Benjamin Huckleberry Belvin!”

This was also a name I’d never heard before. Both the name Benjamin and the surname Belvin.

As expected, there were many applicants from borderland families in the morning time slot.

Probably the only high-ranking noble taking the exam by walking directly at this time would be someone like Ethan.

If these are the opponents, Ethan will probably win easily.

“Applicant Number 15, Ethan Richard Blackwood!”

“Let’s go, young master.”

“Okay.”

After confirming that Ethan’s name as the 15th applicant was called, I was about to move towards the dueling ground with him.

However, at that moment, I couldn’t help but doubt my ears at the name of the next applicant that came from the guide staff’s mouth.

“Lastly, Applicant Number 16, Caraham Jamuel August!”

“...Caraham?”

...Why is his name coming up here?