NOVPUB‘Won’t he attack me the moment he finds out I’m a commoner?’
Rine swallowed hard.
She was seriously considering whether she should pretend not to notice and quietly slip away right now.
“Hm. You are?”
Freuden raised an eyebrow as he looked at Rine.
Then, he stepped closer and abruptly leaned his head in toward her.
The reaction made Rine’s heart plummet.
“Hmmm.”
His subtly suspicious gaze burned holes through her, making Rine feel like she was being grilled alive.
Did the leader of the noble faction recognize her?
Could he possibly remember the incident with Dunema Romli? What if he was going to hold her accountable now?
Rine’s mind spun furiously with possibilities.
According to the rumors she’d heard, Freuden was infamous for despising commoners and being a merciless demon.
And yet, Freuden still didn’t take his eyes off her.
When his gaze finally stopped on the book she held against her chest—about Non-Attributed Mana—
Rine instinctively pulled it behind her back with a quiet shuffle.
Freuden narrowed his eyes.
“You...”
“Y-Yes?! Do you need something?!”
“...No, never mind.”
Freuden shook his head when Rine reacted far too intensely.
“More importantly, how did you get in here? Normal students don’t usually come this far.”
“T-That’s...”
Rine struggled to come up with an excuse.
Freuden grew even more suspicious and narrowed his eyes further.
Rine felt her chest tighten at the sight.
Freuden was, without question, strikingly handsome.
Pale skin, a sharp jawline, and a very refined appearance—yet what stood out most was his intense gaze, which radiated charisma.
His part-exposing hairstyle gave his entire aura even more gravity.
The rumors were so fierce that Rine found herself shrinking under his presence before she even realized it.
Fearing that she might die if she ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) lied, she answered honestly.
“I-I heard singing.”
“Singing?”
“Yes. And before I knew it... I-I wouldn’t have come if I’d known this was your space, really! Please believe me!”
Rine seized the moment to beg for forgiveness.
Freuden looked at her with slightly widened eyes, then turned his gaze away and murmured softly.
“I see. So you heard the song.”
“Yes. The song...”
“How was it?”
“S-Sorry?”
“No, it’s fine. What matters is that you ended up here.”
“R-Really? That’s a relief.”
“In return, I’d like you to keep this place a secret from the other students. This is my private space. Not even my personal guard knows about it—it’s mine alone.”
“Uh...”
Freuden’s reaction was so completely different from what she expected that Rine was at a loss for words.
“Y-You’re not angry?”
“Angry? Why would I be?”
“I-I mean, I’m...”
A commoner.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say those words out loud. Rine could only mutter them inwardly.
“I won’t blame you for coming here. Looks like you’re a first-year, still wandering around and exploring. Just make sure to keep what you saw here to yourself.”
“O-Of course! I won’t tell anyone! I swear!”
“Will you promise?”
“Yes! I promise!”
“Good. That’s enough then.”
This conversation is going smoother than expected.
Rine began to wonder if this really was the same Freuden from the terrifying rumors.
‘Could it be... did he mistake me for a noble? No, I don’t think so.’
At least from what she’d heard, Freuden Ulburk was always described as having a cold, predatory demeanor that made people feel like they were about to be devoured.
But the Freuden in front of her now didn’t feel that way at all.
Just look at the dainty flower beds in plain sight.
‘Did he really grow all of these himself?’
Probably. Judging from his reaction, this place had to be Freuden’s personal space.
In other words, this clean, small clearing and all the flower beds had been tended to by Freuden himself.
‘All of this... was made by Senior Freuden?’
Freuden?
The heir of House Ulburk, one of the Empire’s Three Great Ducal Houses?
A symbol of fear to commoners, and someone even fellow nobles tread lightly around?
At least from what she’d seen of nobles so far, their hobbies were always absurdly extravagant.
Buying expensive clothes, collecting ornate jewelry, hosting tea parties and social gatherings...
Even lesser nobles were like that. She couldn’t imagine a high noble being any less indulgent.
But Freuden was different.
‘A high noble this modest...?’
Not to mention the peaceful clearing, the delicate flower beds, and that soft song she’d heard earlier.
‘Wait... was that song... sung by Freuden himself?’
If so, who taught him to sing?
Rine was about to ask, but quickly abandoned the thought.
‘No. It’s better not to attract more of his attention.’
Freuden, surprisingly, seemed capable of mercy—so it would be best to use this opportunity to slip away safely.
“I-I won’t tell anyone. I didn’t see anything today. Yep. I’ll be going now.”
“Alright.”
He’s not stopping me...
Freuden really didn’t seem to look down on her or treat her like a joke for being a commoner.
Rine quietly sighed in relief.
“Then, I’ll be off.”
Just as she began to take slow, careful steps backward—
“Rine.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“You can come back if you want.”
“...Sorry?”
“I’m saying you can come whenever. Hm. Right. I’ll give you special permission.”
“...”
Rine couldn’t make sense of what she’d just heard.
Was he teasing her? Or... was he serious?
Even if he was joking, it was scary in its own way.
Because that Freuden had just made a joke to her.
“Ah... okay.”
He was probably just saying it to be polite, right?
Even as she walked further away from Freuden, Rine couldn’t help but feel like she was waking from a dream.
Today had been full of completely unbelievable events.
She hurried her pace, exiting Freuden’s secret garden.
But for some reason...
Even as she moved farther away, she still felt Freuden’s gaze lingering on her back.
* * *
Ludger’s class had begun.
Right on the dot, without a second’s delay, Ludger entered the lecture hall and scanned the seated students.
There had been visible boredom before, but ever since the demonstration of coordinate magic, the students’ focus had returned.
At this rate, things should go smoothly for a month.
Ludger nodded to himself with satisfaction and opened his mouth.
“The first round of testing will begin soon.”
His low voice rang out across the lecture hall.
First-round tests.
There would be many exams throughout the year, but the phrase first round carried significant weight for the students.
Especially for the first-years, as this would be their very first test since entering Seorn.
There was no way it wouldn’t feel heavy.
But above all else, there was one reason they felt a strong obligation to do well on this first test.
“As I told you before, only the top-performing students will be taught the <Source Code>.”
And with that, Ludger continued speaking.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Of course, I’m not going to teach you the entire Source Code. What you’ll be able to earn through the first test is just one of the <Frameworks> that comprise the Source Code.”
The Source Code spell system is made up of four total Frameworks.
In other words, even if you earn one Framework through the first test, if you fail to place in the top five in the following tests, it’s essentially meaningless.
If you want to learn the Source Code magic, you’ll have to start with this upcoming first test and keep it up until the final exam at the end of the semester.
That means placing in the top five in all four tests—a grueling and exceptional requirement.
“I’m quite curious myself... who among you will earn the right to learn my <Source Code> magic. This first test could be considered the opening move of that challenge.”
Gulp.
Some students swallowed hard and clenched their fists.
A mix of anticipation and tension spread throughout the room.
Yet even amid the intensity, a few students remained relaxed.
“Since this is the first test, the material won’t be too difficult. It’s based on the basics. I just want to see how well you’ve been paying attention in class.”
At Ludger’s words, sighs of relief burst out here and there.
He had just said it wouldn’t be overly difficult, so they figured there was no need to panic too much.
“I assume you all know the subject areas, but I’ll review them just in case. If you’re not sure, now’s the time to write them down.”
The moment those words left his mouth, students quickly pulled out their pens.
Even if they already knew, the fact that he was repeating it meant they wanted to be safe and jot everything down.
‘Tch. Idiots.’
Flora silently scoffed at the other students’ frantic reactions.
She already remembered everything Ludger had taught.
‘Obviously, it’s just because I’m smart. It’s not like his lectures are actually interesting or anything.’
While she justified it to herself, Ludger began listing the subjects for the students.
“The material will be drawn from Mana Dynamics I, Fundamentals of Natural Science, and Introduction to Elemental Theory. There will be a total of 20 short-answer questions.”
Short-answer format. To prevent students from just guessing blindly.
Furthermore, for any problems that require calculations, he sternly warned them to write out their full work.
“Even if your answer is correct, if the solution process is off, it’ll be considered wrong. On the other hand, if your process is sound but your answer is slightly off, you’ll get partial credit. So don’t skim over things thinking you ‘kind of’ understand—review everything properly.”
Ludger’s explanation was clear-cut.
The students didn’t really have anything more to ask.
“Since it’s your first exam, we’ll keep it light.”
“Light, as in...?”
“It’ll be an open-book test.”
“...What?!”
A few freshmen reacted in shock.
Surprisingly, it was the second-years who made the biggest stir.
‘They must not know what open-book really means.’
Most people assume that an open-book test is easy because you can just look up the answers.
But in reality, it’s the opposite.
There’s only one reason a teacher would allow open books:
‘The test will be so difficult that even with the book in front of you, you won’t be able to solve it easily.’
Still, the students who didn’t understand that hidden message were just happily excited by the idea.
The second-years watched the freshmen and sneered inwardly.
They’d learn soon enough what the open-book “hell” really meant.
‘He calls this light? If the first test is open-book, how hard are the rest going to be?’ 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
Rine, who did know what open-book truly implied, blinked blankly while still jotting things down.
And at that moment, she suddenly felt someone’s gaze.
She turned her head slightly.
‘Huh.’
Flora Lumos was looking straight at her.
But just as quickly, that gaze passed her by like it had never been there.
‘What was that?’
Still, Rine couldn’t shake off a strange uneasiness. It felt like Flora had looked at her with subtle wariness.
It might’ve been a mistake... but Rine had always been quite sharp when it came to reading people.
“I’ll end the exam briefing here. Let’s move straight into the lesson.”
With Ludger’s follow-up, Rine had no choice but to push the thought aside for now.
* * *
After the lecture, night fell—bringing with it the arrival of the weekend.
Ludger finished getting ready to head out and boarded a carriage down to Rederbelk.
Tonight was the night of the meeting.
A meeting about what to do with Rederbelk’s criminal underworld from now on.
Wearing a long black coat, he stepped out onto the tiled pavement and pulled his hat low over his face.
Just then, the sharp sound of an engine rang out as a black-coated car rolled up and stopped in front of him.
With a soft clunk, one of the car doors opened, and a familiar face looked out with a wide grin.
“Boss. Hop in.”
“Where’d you get the car?”
Ludger climbed into the back seat behind Hans and asked casually.
Hans, gripping the steering wheel, started the engine and replied,
“Well, the Red Society bastards were involved in all sorts of stuff. Among their side businesses was transport—and I just happened to grab the best-performing one they had.”
“I see.”
“Ah, of course I’m not keeping it for personal use or anything. But since you were coming, I figured we ought to show a little class. The place we’re headed suits it, too.”
“That’s fair.”
“So, how are we handling tonight’s meeting?”
“How else?”
Ludger pulled a monocle from his inner pocket and fitted it in place, then adjusted his collar.
“The same way we always do.”
“Haha. That’s the boss I know.”
Hans drove them toward the meeting spot.
Eventually, they arrived at a bar lit up with dazzling neon signs.
Even from the entrance, it was crowded with patrons, and nearby, heavily made-up women waved to passersby, trying to lure them in.
“Unnecessarily flashy.”
“Well, better than some filthy, gloomy rat hole, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s go.”
The two of them stepped out of the car.
