Cedric had finished the written exam with unsatisfactory results, but... he had no time to ease his frustration or anger before moving on to the practical exam.
The practical exam was divided by department—Cedric was taking the Magic Department test, and following the examiner's instructions, he made his way to the grounds.
"Oh...!"
As Cedric stepped onto the grounds, two young women caught his eye.
A beautiful girl with golden hair pulled into a ponytail, and an elegant girl with silver hair cascading down her back.
Though they bore strikingly similar features, the two lovely young women possessed completely opposite auras, like the sun and the moon—they were the sisters of House Rosemary.
(Sh-It's been a year... She's gotten so much prettier than before...!)
Cedric swallowed hard.
Viola Rosemary and Primula Rosemary had grown into more mature versions of what he remembered, their figures now carrying softer curves at the chest and hips that only accentuated their femininity.
They had always been lovely young women to begin with, but now a seductive allure had been added on top of that charm.
Like buds that had bloomed into full flowers, in just one year they had clearly matured as women.
*Gulp...* Cedric swallowed hard once more.
The men surrounding the beautiful sisters were obviously paying attention to them as well.
They kept glancing toward the Rosemary sisters, searching for an opportunity to strike up a conversation.
(Stop staring! They're my women, you know!?)
A strange possessiveness sprouted in Cedric's chest.
Those women were his. It had to be that way. It *had* to be.
A chosen man like himself was the one truly worthy of those beautiful sisters.
I should talk to them… Right, I have a topic. If I take the form of apologizing about that thing from a year ago…!
Cedric, smitten, moved to approach the sisters.
However… at that moment, the two of them noticed Cedric and shot him a piercing glare that could have drilled through steel.
"……!?"
Under that intense gaze, Cedric couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
The elder sister, Viola, with eyes full of fury, and the younger sister, Primula, with eyes of bone-chilling contempt… both were glaring daggers at him.
Even Cedric, whose vanity was absurdly inflated and who was insufferably self-confident, could tell he was being rejected when faced with looks like that.
H-Hey, hey, hey… that's not fair. What did I even do…?
It was true — a year ago, he had taken the two of them out and gotten them into a dangerous situation.
But… in the end, neither of them had been hurt, right?
That wolf must have been frightened by Cedric and fled. It was because he, a genius, had been by their side that they had made it out unscathed.
And yet… to be looked at with such resentful eyes — wasn't that just too much?
Damn it… for how good-looking they are, those two have awfully petty hearts. Fine then — I'll have to show them that I'm a special individual, more outstanding than anyone else!
Cedric gave up on calling out to the sisters, but he had not yet given up on bringing them under his control.
It seemed a small accident had earned their hatred, but… he possessed talent in magic.
If he demonstrated overwhelming ability in this exam, the two of them would surely be drawn to him without fail.
As Cedric stoked the flames of his motivation into a blazing fire, the female proctor stepped forward and began explaining the practical examination.
"Now then, you will each take turns firing magic at that target! A special magic item is attached to the target, which can measure the power channeled into the spell. You are permitted only one shot at the target. However… if you miss the target, you may use additional spells!"
"……?"
As long as you didn't hit the target, you could use multiple spells.
Cedric tilted his head at the explanation he couldn't make sense of, but that feeling of unease quickly left his mind.
(If I'm going to fire, it'll have to be advanced magic. I'll use the secret technique I just mastered and blow) the minds of everyone here away!)
To begin with, his scores on the written exam hadn't been anything to write home about.
He needed to score as high as possible on the practical exam to make up for it.
(Once they see my magnificent magic, even those two will have to change their attitude...!)
"Now then, please come forward in order of your examination number. First up, the son of Baron Jean Queste."
"Yes!"
The examinees whose names were called stepped forward one after another, firing spells at the target.
Fire, lightning, ice, wind... all manner of magic was hammered into the target, and numbers appeared on its surface.
(Hmph... an average of about 80 points, I see. What trash.)
They deserved to be called nobles, at least.
The scores were reasonably high, but every single one was lower-tier or mid-tier magic.
There wasn't a single examinee capable of casting advanced magic.
"[Fire Cannon]!"
"[Ice Cannon]!"
The Rosemary sisters' turn had come around as well… Viola, the elder, scored '137,' and Primula, the younger, scored '129.' Both had smashed past the hundred-point mark.
(Hmph! They're going to be my wives, so they'd better perform at least this well! Still, it's a shame they only managed intermediate magic… but that just makes my magic stand out all the more!)
The Rosemary sisters' scores were, at this point, the highest.
Incidentally… among the examinees present, there was no one from a family ranked above a marquis.
Members of royalty or ducal families took their exams individually due to security concerns and were not present at the testing venue.
(If the rumored genius Third Prince Rodele and his fiancée, Duke Crocus's daughter—the country's most celebrated prodigy—had been here, it would have been a different story entirely… but no one would score higher than Viola and Primula on this test.)
Of course, that was only when excluding himself.
Cedric chuckled to himself.
"Next up… Cedric Eberun, son of the honorary viscount."
"Yes."
Hearing his name called, Cedric strode forward with a commanding gait.
Bathed in the gazes of the other examinees… he planted his feet in front of the line drawn across the grounds and fixed his eyes on the target ten meters away.
(You insignificant commoners, bear witness! Gaze upon my overwhelming talent and despair!)
"[Lightning Storm]!"
The spell cast was an advanced magic he had only recently mastered.
A thundercloud materialized centered on the target, unleashing a rain of lightning across a wide area.
"Advanced magic!?"
"Amazing...!"
"No way! He can use magic like that...!"
"As expected of Cedric Eberun. Being the son of a court magician and called a genius isn't for nothing."
*(How's that, impressive, right!? This is the true power of the man they call a genius!)* From behind, cries of surprise and admiration rose from the other examinees.
Cedric held his head high, looking as if to say "See?" and turned his gaze toward the Rosemary sisters.
"......"
*(...Huh?)* The Rosemary sisters were indeed looking at Cedric.
With cold eyes. Smirks of contempt and mockery playing on their lips.
This was not the reaction he had expected. He couldn't understand what it meant to be looked at with those kinds of eyes.
"Cedric Eberun — eighty-six points."
"...Huh?"
The next moment, the exam proctor's announcement caught Cedric off guard.
He hurriedly turned back, and the number displayed above the target was "86." It was a barely above-average score compared to the examinees before him.
"Alright, you may step down."
"W-Wait, no way!"
"Hmm...?"
"There's no way my score is that low! This has to be some kind of joke!"
Cedric raised his voice and confronted the female exam proctor, pressing close to her.
He had cast an advanced-level spell. And yet, his score was lower than the Rosemary sisters, who had used intermediate spells? Impossible!
"This is some kind of mistake! I demand a retake!"
"...You only managed to hit the target once with your spell. A retake will not be granted."
"That's... damn it! The target malfunctioned—no, this is a conspiracy! Someone's jealous of my talent and trying to frame me!"
Perhaps blinded by fury, Cedric lunged for the exam proctor's collar.
However, the exam proctor immediately cast a spell to restrain him.
"[Earth Bind]!"
"Wha—!?"
Bound by black earthen ropes that burst from the ground, Cedric writhed on the dirt like a worm.
"...This is a point deduction for violence against an exam proctor. Cedric Eberun."
"D-damn... son of a bi—...!"
"You don't seem satisfied with the results... but with that spell, this outcome is only natural."
Looking down at the restrained Cedric, the exam proctor let out an exasperated sigh.
"You seem to have a poor understanding of magic... [Thunderstorm] is an area-of-effect spell designed to attack a wide range simultaneously. Its power against a single target is not particularly high. As a spell meant to engage many enemies at once, it is poorly suited for a target-shooting test."
"Th-that..."
"It's impressive that you managed to master an advanced-level spell at your age... but the score is the score, and it will be recorded as such. Don't take it personally."
".........."
Cedric was in despair.
To begin with, his performance on the written exam had already been lackluster.
If he couldn't secure a sufficient score on the practical exam and even lost points for violent conduct, he would definitely fall into the failing range.
(Wh-What... Me, of all people, possibly failing...? What am I supposed to tell Father and Mother...?)
"Whoa, he really did it."
"How disgraceful. Is that person truly a noble?"
"Despite being called a genius, this is all he amounts to."
"Newly elevated nobles getting above themselves always end up like this. What a pathetic spectacle."
"............"
He could hear the voices of the other examinees mocking him.
He had no memory of anything beyond that.
He vaguely felt like some individual task was imposed on him after the practical exam ended, but those details had already faded from Cedric's consciousness, which was drowning in despair. In the end, he was simply escorted back to House Eberun's mansion in a state of utter dejection.