**Chapter 36: Cedric Struggles with the Written Exam**
Cedric Ebern had been hailed as a magical genius since childhood. With an evident abundance of magical power compared to his peers, he excelled at learning spells, and his parents doted on him, certain that he would one day become a Court Magician.
However, this pampering had left him devoid of empathy, nurturing a selfish disposition. Yet, his magical talent was undeniably genuine. The fact that his half-brother, Rest, was Magicless only fueled Cedric’s pride. As he grew increasingly resentful of his father, who shunned his inept son, and his mother, who despised her lover’s child, Cedric began to lose any hesitation about hurting others.
Had Cedric truly become a Court Magician and attained the title of Viscount, a haughty, arrogant, and wicked noble would have emerged, causing considerable distress to many.
Yet, it seemed that divine judgment existed in this world. On that day, a reckoning was about to befall Cedric, who had always acted with impunity.
—
“Damn it! Damn, damn, damn it! Why is this so difficult?!”
At the Royal Academy, on the day of the entrance exam, Cedric Ebern cursed inwardly as he faced the written exam questions. The spacious auditorium was filled with the offspring of many nobles, all taking the test. Today was the noble bracket of the academy’s entrance examination. The people around him were all well-dressed, exuding an air of privilege. Among them were both newly ennobled nobles like Cedric and those from established noble families, radiating an unmistakable aura of high birth.
“Damn it… This question was definitely in the reference book… Ah, damn it! I can’t remember!”
The sound of pens scratching against paper around him only heightened Cedric’s anxiety. Yet, no matter how much he panicked, it wouldn’t help him solve the problems. The answer sheet before him was nearly half blank, and the time until the exam’s conclusion was slipping away.
“How can I, a magical genius, be struggling like this… It’s all that useless failure’s fault! Ever since that loser was taken in by the marquis’s family, I can’t concentrate on my studies…!”
The face of his half-brother, Rest, floated into Cedric’s mind. Since childhood, Cedric had taken pleasure in tormenting Rest with magic at every opportunity. Whenever he learned a new spell, Rest was the first to become his test subject. Even when he faced unpleasant situations, he would unleash his frustrations on Rest to relieve his stress. Although Cedric possessed magical talent, he was not particularly adept at subjects outside of magic, such as history or mathematics. The routine of tormenting Rest had helped him cope with stress, but ever since Rest was taken in by the House of Marquis Rosemary a year ago, that outlet had vanished. Consequently, he found himself unprepared for the entrance exam.
“Why the hell did that worthless brat get taken in by the marquis’s family? He’s probably stuck doing menial tasks… Just thinking about that failure being so close to Viola and Primula makes me furious…!”
Cedric had once met the sisters of the House of Marquis Rosemary and had taken an instant liking to them. He envisioned a future where he could marry one of them—or, if fortune favored him, both—and indulge in their beauty. However, ever since he had led them into the forest and put them in danger, he hadn’t seen them again. Even his requests to the marquis’s family to meet them for an apology had been dismissed without a second thought.
“If I can just get into the academy, I’ll surely see them again. There’s no need to rush.”
“That’s right. You are a chosen child, unlike that stray dog. If you show them your worth, they will surely come to like you.”
Though his parents reassured him, the mere thought of Rest being so close to the beautiful sisters stirred a bubbling irritation within Cedric, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his studies. Even in the midst of the exam, the image of his brother ignited a seething anger that he could not suppress.
“Five minutes remaining until the end of the exam.”
“Ugh…!”
“Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn it! Damn it all to hell!”
Hearing the examiner’s voice, Cedric grimaced and desperately tried to solve the problems.
In the end, Cedric managed to answer only about seventy percent of the questions on the exam. And even that seventy percent had no guarantee of being correct. He had been informed beforehand that the minimum passing score for the written exam was sixty percent, and he had barely scraped through the first half of the exam.