Against the Gods

27. The First Test

^^ Finn

Eve's POV

I appear in a seat behind a wooden desk. The room has high ceilings and there are about thirty desks in rows. At the front of the classroom is a wall made of chalkboard, a podium, and a large desk off to side. The right wall is made up of many windows with oak wood window frames, allowing people to see the gardens outside. 

I look around the room to see if I know anyone. Nyx is sitting on my left and Finn is on my right. Behind me is the crown prince and next to him is the second prince. In fact, I'm starting to notice a lot of high profile nobles here. A few seats to my left is Princess Odette Crassus, the daughter of the Duke Crassus, a powerful family that's one of the biggest supporters of the second prince. 

A couple seats in front of me is Marquis Hugo Solston who lost his parents at a young age and thus is already a Marquis. Moreover, he's the nephew and sole heir of Duke Pierre Thrice who never fathered children of his own, meaning that soon Hugo will become a Duke. He's the main supporter of the first prince, and was the prince's best friend in the otome game. 

None of the Dukedoms hold as much influence or power as the Callisto Dukedom which rivals only the imperial family, but they are certainly not to be underestimated. 

I feel a little better when I spot Lady Annalise Bombar, daughter of Countess Olive Bombar, and Lord Andre Montvil, the son of Duke Ernest Montvil. Both nobles are children of cabinet members of the Callisto Dukedom, which means I have political allies here. 

Several other high ranking nobles have been placed in this room. Most of them are either part of the crown prince's faction or the second prince's. Multiple are also allied with the Callisto Dukedom. I'm choosing to view that as a positive, but of course I can't help but notice that most of the corrupt, shady, or sadistic nobles are sided with the Callisto family. However, there are still some that stay neutral or are princes and princesses from foreign countries. I'm just happy that crazy purple haired bastard and my oh-so-dreamy "fiance" aren't here.

Nevertheless, clearly the school's commitment to equity is a lie since right from the start they've separated us by status. At least they put Finn and Nyx with me. I guess that's the silver lining to all the rumors speculating about our close relationship. 

A man suddenly pops out from underneath the wooden desk at the front of the classroom. He's wearing what looks to be a nightgown complete with a night cap. His hair is about shoulder length and looks like it's never seen a comb in it's life. He looks late thirties but it's hard to tell since he has large dark circles under his bulging eyes. There are bandages going up his arms as well, but they're all coming undone. 

"All right everyone settle down!" he shouts, then takes a long drink from a flask he pulled out of seemingly nowhere. "OH YEAH THAT'S THE GOOD STUFF!"

He then throws the flask down onto the floor. 

"Are you a teacher here?" asks Marquis Hugo Solston skeptically.

"Hell yeah I am. I'm the best teacher here. You're in good hands," says the man.

"I really don't think you should be inebriated in class," says Hugo.

"And I really don't think you should be such a little b*tch, but I guess we don't always get what we want. And chill, I'm totally not," he lets out a large burp, "inebreeiated" 

"Somehow I'm not convinced," replies Hugo.

"Okayyyy, so unless anyone else wants to whine about how I do my job, LET'S GET THIS TEST STARTED!!!" says the man.

He starts rummaging in his desk mumbling a lot of concerning things like "f*ck did I forget it?" and "maybe I shouldn't have just drank that slip slop juice".