The Tale of the Ice Princess

Part 2 - Chapter 7

[It's been a long time since the last update, so I'll recommend older readers to refresh themselves so this will make more sense. I wrote the first part of this alongside the previous chapter :) ] ~ Light 

Today was the first day of actual classes but the student body was abuzz with chatter, discussing the Gala the previous night, the lingering excitement could be felt in the air. There were roughly around 300 students per Year, thus students were split into different classes based on aptitude. The Year 1's had an exceptionally large number of students, totalling close to 400 students. However, there was a very logical reason for this surge in numbers, the closer in age one's child is to the Royal Heir, the higher the chance of one's child being selected either as a retainer or fiancé.

Higher ranking students usually hired lower ranking students as retainers as The Academy only allowed one attendant per student, thus, most higher-ranking students would enlist the services of those taking the Knight course as guards and those taking the scholar course to handle written work.

Those of lower nobility and mid ranking nobility usually became retainers for higher ranking nobility, however, higher ranking nobility also do become retainers for others with high status, like a Prince.

For First Years, the first day was for aptitude testing. The Classes the First Years were assigned to would be their Class for their entire stay at The Academy, except for specialized courses.

Common subjects like Mathematics, Magic Theory, Potion Brewing, Geography and History, were taught by Class, while specialized subjects like Spellcasting, Economics, Knight Training, Governing, Magic Tool Craft and Attendant Service were taught in different ways.

All the First Years gathered at the Auditorium, where there was a staggered seating, the higher one went up the stair-like seating, the further from the stage one would be. The whole seating was curved around the stage with two aisles running down the one-third mark. In each row, there was a large, curved desk with curved seats a short distance away. The higher-ranking students would sit at the bottom, closest to the stage, followed by students who ranked lower further up the stage.

I took my seat in the last row, the nosebleed section, alongside some other lower ranking students. I just could not be bothered to socialize today; my mind was fatigued for some reason, and it was like there was a pound of lead on top of my heart. Many doubts, insecurities, fears and questions were weighing me down. I felt tired and wanted some alone time to sort out my mind but alas, Life was cruel.

Perhaps my displeasure showed on my face because the students nearby did not bother to approach me, instead, they were chatting with acquaintances they knew through their parents.

"Greetings First Years, I am Professor Riel. I specialize in Mathematics and Geography, and I shall be administering this Year's aptitude Test. Before we start, let me give everyone a quick rundown on what is going to happen. First of all, the tests are to test your aptitudes and proficiency on a subject, through the results, you would be assigned to a class that can cater to your needs. We shall only be testing 3 subjects, Mathematics, Geography and History. Other subjects like Magic Theory and Potion Brewing are to be taught in class and shall not be tested. Whereas subjects that pertain to Mana shall be taught separately, decided by Status.

The first test is Mathematics. Similar to most other tests, we would require you to use special mana pens. After the time is up, we would collect the parchment back to grade it. Following that, there would be a break followed by the History test."

"Now, I shall distribute the test paper."

The auditorium was silent, except for the rustling of parchment. The papers were passed down, from the front to the back – from high ranking to low ranking. I was one of the very last to take the paper. I could sense the feint mana signature being emitted from the paper through my Mana Field. Presumably, the Professors would dip the parchment in some kind of mana-dissolving solution so that the parchment could be reused; parchment did not come cheap.