Chapter 118:
Right then, he gave his response to the examiner’s question, and that response left even more of them stunned than his victory had monts before.
"What would be the point of keeping the thod to myself?" Lucuis’s voice carried across the hall with calm certainty, as if he were explaining sothing so obvious that he could not understand why anyone would need to ask.
"If I did that, if I simply solved my puzzle and walked away without showing anyone else how it was done, then wouldn’t that just make all of this incredibly boring? What is the point of an examination if there are no others around to compete with?"
" What value is there in winning if you have eliminated everyone else from the contest before they even had a chance to truly participate?"
His words landed among the assembled examinees like stones dropped into still water, sending ripples of reaction spreading outward in every direction.
So of them thought him unbearably cocky, him being from a wealthy family, they saw him as an arrogant noble who simply could not resist showing off even when silence would have served him better.
Others felt a surge of genuine gratitude rising in their hearts, believing that he was truly a kind and magnanimous soul, soone worthy of the stature he held within his household and worthy of the respect they now felt toward him.
A few paid him no heed at all, too focused on their own failing puzzles to care about the philosophical musings of soone who had already succeeded, rather than care, they secretly began exchanging with one another, in hopes of passing quickly as well.
As for the princess, she found herself completely speechless in the face of his reply, as she tried to formulate so response that would put him back in his place.
But for once in her life, words failed her entirely, and she could only stand there staring at him with an expression that cycled through more emotions than anyone bothered to count.
"That useless, absolute idiot." Snow’s voice erged as barely more than a whisper, but those close enough to hear caught every word clearly enough.
She cursed him beneath her breath with genuine frustration, thinking to herself that thanks to his foolishness, her darling Adrian would now be forced to compete with far more people than would have been necessary if Lucuis had simply kept his mouth shut and let the others fail naturally.
Every person he helped now beca another obstacle between Adrian and success, another competitor who might take a spot that rightfully belonged to her beloved.
"He’s quite a strange one for an aristocrat, isn’t he?" Amy couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the situation, her earlier disturbed expression replaced by sothing approaching genuine amusent. Although she hadn’t t many nobles in her ti.
Due to their short ti in the capital, she’d observed the behaviors of a few and had learned their patterns, and never once had she encountered one who acted quite like this. If Lucuis actions on their way had left feeling skeptical about him, now she felt as if he was soone worth looking forward to.
Gunter was stunned into complete silence, his mouth hanging slightly open as he tried to process everything that had just occurred. He had been monts away from giving up entirely, accepting this as his failure and planning his return next year, yet now, because of this young man’s inexplicable generosity, he might actually have a chance in this entrance exam.
Leo rely shook his head softly, a warm smile spreading across his features as he watched his brother handle yet another impossible situation with his new signature unique blend of confidence and compassion that had co to define his recent behavior.
After spending the past few days in his brother’s company, and witnessing firsthand the transformation that had occurred within him, he had long since accepted this new version of Lucuis for who he was, and monts like this only reinforced his belief that the change was genuine and lasting.
As for Adrian, a light smile erged on his face as he listened to Lucuis’s words, but he said nothing about it, offering no comntary or judgnt on the matter.
His silence spoke volus, however, suggesting that he understood sothing about this young man that others might be missing, so deeper layer of motivation that explained actions that seed otherwise inexplicable.
The examiner regarded Lucuis with those calm, knowing eyes for a long mont, and then sothing unexpected happened.
A chuckle escaped his lips, the nonchalant man actually laughed for the first ti since they t him, his voice carrying with it the weight of soone who had seen countless examinees pass through these halls over the decades and had long since grown tired of witnessing their predictable actions. This young man, it seed, was anything but predictable.
"I see." His voice remained as calm as ever, but now, there was sothing new beneath it. Which might have been respect or perhaps, simple amusent at encountering soone who refused to follow the expected path.
"Alright then. I suppose that is as good a reason as any."
He turned his attention then to the princess who still stood frozen nearby, her expression caught sowhere between fury and confusion as she tried to process everything that had happened.
" Before I make my final judgnt. You must first tell ."
"Is she apart of your group as well?" The examiner’s question cut through the lingering tension like a blade through silk, and every person in that hall suddenly found themselves holding their breath as they waited to hear the answer.
Lucinda heard the words clearly enough, and understood their implication perfectly, and yet she found herself unable to respond imdiately.
Her eyes locked onto Lucuis’s face, searching for so sign of his intentions, so clue as to what he might say.
Rather than showing any of the conflicting emotions they might have expected, instead of displaying the smug satisfaction of soone holding power over an enemy, his expression remained perfectly neutral, almost as if he were genuinely giving her the chance to respond first.
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