The Nerd Turned Out To Be The Tyrant - Chapter 21

It was the morning of the appointment that Luce, who had been half dead for two days, recalled her appointment with the Lord.

 

Why does the Lord want to meet her and Rev?

 

‘They’re not asking me to spit out the prize money because there’s a problem with the procedure, right? I already used it to buy Mom’s clothes.’

 

More than that, didn’t an aide named John ask what kind of book she had bought?

 

Luce, who was pondering, scratched her back neck.

 

‘It’s probably not because it’s a forbidden book. It was a book that was on display in the bookstore…. So, did they find out that we got second place on purpose? Because there’s too much difference in the level of answers for each question?’

 

No matter how much she thought about it, that was the only reason she could predict it.

 

Luce recalled Rev’s hard expression as he mentioned the name of the wizard who had fought until the end.

 

「You know. Rev, how did you know the answer to the last quiz?」

 

There were no history books among the books in Rev’s living room. Of course, there were no books related to wizards either. She has never been to the second floor, so she doesn’t know if it’s there.

 

She was curious. So, when she quietly asked him while playing one card, he answered with his eyes on the card.

 

「…I have seen it.」 

 

This time again, she got an answer from a friend who spoke a few words.

 

Luce, who was thinking hard about it, realized.

 

‘Ah, Rev said he’d been to the capital. They said that there was a monument with his name in the capital park, so I wonder if he saw it?’ 

 

「In the capital? Did you see it in the capital?」

 

「Ung.」 

 

Rev, who has an extraordinary memory, seems to have remembered everything he saw as if he had crossed the street.

 

It was concluded how he knew. However, it is still unknown why the Lord gave such a quiz. 

 

‘Why are you asking me to come, just why? Is it intended to weed out people interested in magic? Witch hunt? But all wizards are dead…’ 

 

She was the one who said she liked the second place, and she was the one who asked to participate in the competition.

 

However, because they participated together, Rev might be in trouble. Luce lowered her eyebrows.

 

“Luce, you look distressed.”

 

Hot cocoa with marshmallows was placed in front of her. 

 

“What’s wrong?…You haven’t been here for two days. Did I, by any chance, do something wrong with you?”

 

Luce shook her head as she looked at Rev’s glistening eyes, who spoke carefully.

 

“You’ve never done anything wrong to me. I couldn’t come for two days because of something.”

 

Luce didn’t mind saying it was because of her menstrual cramps, but like the aide, Rev might be embarrassed, so she put it aside.

 

Luce briefly explained the situation without seeing Rev’s expression fade for a moment.

 

The Lord wants to see us both. I don’t know why, but I just said yes.

 

And if you are uncomfortable, I will do something alone.

 

‘I have to take responsibility. I should have said that I knew the answer, or pretended to have studied later.’

 

“What do you think, Rev?”

 

Rev, who was blinking, answered more readily than she expected.

 

“Let’s go together, Luce.”

 

*****

 

The two of them in the carriage headed for the Lord’s castle were unusually quiet.

 

Luce didn’t say anything about how sorry she was for Rev, and Rev kept his mouth shut for two reasons.

 

The first is to think about the lord, Baron Felice.

 

‘This is someone who worked as a court musician more than 30 years ago. He was the one who was given the title before the current Emperor ascended the throne, and since then he has lived in the manor, so he probably doesn’t know about the current situation in the imperial palace.’ 

 

His conviction was ironically established by someone he didn’t trust.

 

‘If there was even the slightest ties to the Imperial Palace, Radanum wouldn’t have chosen this territory as a place to confine me.’ 

 

Even if he’s an abandoned prince, he’s still a prince anyway.

 

If he knew his identity, people everywhere wanted to use him for their own reasons.

 

Someone will try to hurt the current Emperor in order to look good, and someone who doesn’t like the Emperor may try to get himself to use that as a justification. 

 

However, Radanum, and the Emperor behind him, weren’t the ones to overlook the matter.

 

‘That’s why the Lord doesn’t call me, the Prince, on his own. That’s enough.’ 

 

In fact, Rev was focused on the second thought.

 

‘There’s something…Luce didn’t tell me.’

 

It was Luce who always told him such a detailed story. 

 

From the story of seeing a fish in the stream to the story of Vincent running around all day to what he dreamed, she is a chatterbox and a window where Rev looks at the world.

 

So she made a little secret. Her expression is not good either.

 

‘If I put it on the scale, my secret would be much bigger.’

 

It is something that shouldn’t be regretted or questioned.

 

He has to think logically. If there’s something he didn’t know about Luce, no, isn’t there a secret that one mustn’t know? 

 

But even so, it was hot and bitter as if a fever had risen inside. It seemed like something was stuck.

 

‘Medicine—’

 

Rev, who was habitually looking for medicine, paused. Green medicine that he couldn’t bring because he was in a hurry.

 

Rev brushed his face down and bit his lip. It’ll be hours at most.

 

That’ll be fine. It has to be okay. He has to calm down.

 

After getting off the carriage, Rev took a deep breath while looking away from Luce. But it didn’t work out. 

 

“Aide John called me. He said if I say Lucette, you’ll know.”

 

“Ah, Miss Lucette. I checked the visitor list. Please follow me.” 

 

How should he behave in front of nobles? Can he think of it as a meeting with the representative of the business?

 

All the way from the carriage to the Lord’s office, Luce looked sideways at Rev.

 

She would ask even simple manners if their eyes met, but he had been walking forward the whole time.

 

Luce also looked forward and whispered while walking.

 

“Rev.”

 

“…Ung.” 

 

“I’m just telling you just in case, but there’s that last problem. About wizard Radanum.” 

 

Rev’s face, which had lost its color, turned toward her.

 

“If the Lord asks about it, just keep your mouth close, okay? I’ll take care of it.”

 

Before Rev could ask why the door to the office opened.

 

Luce followed the silent Rev with a bow, then raised her head.

 

“So you’re Lucette!” 

 

Why is he smiling so brightly?

 

The Lord’s expression of goodwill subsided her worries, but the question was why.

 

Luce, frozen in the Lord’s hands, blinked her eyes.

 

“Yes, I’m…Lucette.” 

 

“You met my aide John first, didn’t you? I’ve heard a lot about it.”

 

It was more like a father-in-law rather than a Lord. Like welcoming a very special daughter-in-law?

 

Luce, who still didn’t understand why, saw the aide who was resting his forehead behind the Lord once, then the Lord once, and Rev once.

 

Rev, who was staring at Luce’s caught hand, opened his mouth.

 

“I greet Your Excellency Felice, the Lord and Baron of Rodante. I’d like to ask why you ordered us to come here.”

 

It was a quiet voice.

 

She wondered where the original low voice went because the voice was now dry and cold.

 

Luce, who knew the difference, opened her eyes wide, but the Lord seemed to focus on the meaning of the words rather than the voice.

 

“And you?” 

 

“Please call me Revinas.” 

 

“Yes, Revinas and Lucette. Come and sit down.”

 

Luce, who was drawn to a table filled with fragrant tea and luxurious sweets, only rolled her eyes. 

 

Rather, she thought Rev would be nervous at a place like this, but he was natural, as if nothing had happened.

 

It would be more accurate to say that he fit in like he was born to do it than to say that he looked arrogant.

 

‘Originally, I thought he might be a Young Master, but….it’s a little different from how he usually treats me. I think he was more polite to me than he was to the Baron.’

 

The sound of applause cut off Luce’s thoughts.

 

Baron Felice asked with a smile as he put his palms together.

 

“Lucette, did you know the answer to the last question?”

 

The time has come.

 

Luce pressed Rev’s arm tightly and answered herself.

 

“Yes, I knew.”

 

“How did you know?”

 

The tone of the question was gentle.

 

It seemed like he was asking out of genuine curiosity, not to question why she didn’t get it right even though she knew the question or to figure out how she knew the answer to the question. Luce quickly rolled her head.

 

‘What is this?’

 

“I thought I saw it in a book, but I couldn’t write it down as an answer because I wasn’t sure. And when the answer was announced, I thought that my answer was right and that I should have written it down. I thought it was a shame.” 

 

‘I’m sure that name is listed somewhere in any book.’

 

It was a vague answer, but it seemed that the reason didn’t matter to the Baron.

 

“You seem to be interested in wizards.”

 

“Y, yes it’s something like that.” 

 

Wizard? Well, if magic really exists, it’s amazing.

 

Luce, who had been moving vaguely as if shaking her head and nodding, stopped.

 

“Then, of course, you’re interested in magic engineering, which is the legacy of wizards, and pharmacology, right?” 

 

Pharmacology?

 

The study she wanted to learn just came out of his mouth. It seemed like he was asking with an answer in mind. 

 

“I’m a bit interested in pharmacology. I want to learn it too.”

 

As soon as he saw Luce hesitantly nodding her head, the Baron asked with a smile on his face.

 

“It’s such a pleasure!”

 

Rev nodded as if he knew what was going on when she looked at him sneakily.

 

At the Baron’s words that followed, Luce seriously suspected that she was dreaming.

 

“Then, Lucete, do you have any intention of receiving sponsorship?”

 

“Sponsorship…?”

 

Luce was sure that her voice sounded very stupid.

 

*****

 

‘Just what’s going on?’

 

She was nervous because the teacher called her, but she felt as if she had seen candy being offered instead. 

 

The Baron, who seemed very excited for some reason, promised to give his full support to anything she wanted to learn, but his expression darkened in an instant.

 

Then suddenly, he asked if she was thinking of leaving Rodante.

 

When Luce and Rev said no, he smiled again and started to talk about how sad his life was. 

 

As the sun was setting, he told them that he had sent talented people to the capital with the hope that they would help develop Rodante, but everyone was just trying not to come back.

 

‘It’s not a bad suggestion for me.’

 

Luce, whom they actively support to study pharmacology, secretly saw Lev. 

 

He didn’t say anything when they came out of the Lord’s mansion. For some reason, it seemed that his face was a little pale.

 

‘Why is Rev…’

 

“I want to learn magic engineering.” 

 

“Yeah, I see.” 

 

The Baron, who had been paying attention to Luce throughout the conversation, nodded his head modestly and tilted at Rev’s words.

 

“And, if possible, I would like you to introduce me to someone who can help me learn combat skills.” (t/n: They put it as 체술(Combat skill (only body without weapon))

 

“It’s not difficult, but…combat skills?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

‘What do you mean combat skills? Do you want to exercise?”

 

Come to think of it, Rev seemed to be quite talented in sports.

 

He said it was his first time skating, but he didn’t fall and was good at snowball fights. 

 

Of course, it was the standard of Luce, who was bad at dancing.

 

It would be nice to exercise, but she thought Rev would be more interested in the study behind the Baron’s office because he loves books.

 

She wondered why he made that choice.

 

Luce got off the carriage that took her to the village and started talking.

 

“Hey, Rev.”

 

“…Ung, Luce.” 

 

His words trembled a little.

 

Luce, who stood for a while, took a step in that direction.

 

“Rev.”

 

She approaches him.

 

“Ung.”
 

“Rev, look at me.” 

 

Rev didn’t raise his head.

 

The white steam from his breath colored his eyelashes as he turned his head down.

 

“…I’ll go first, Luce.”

 

“Rev?” 

 

“See you tomorrow.” 

 

He walked away, leaving footprints in the snow.

 

‘It’s strange.’

 

A winter night with only moonlight as the light source.

 

His back figure grew further away from her as he walked slowly through the night air. The shrinking shadow seemed to shake somehow.

 

Luce, who stood firm, slowly moved.

 

‘He’s trying to walk straight, but he can’t do that.’ 

 

Today, did Rev bring out his medicine?

 

The moment the thought reached her, Luce started running in the snow.