Chapter 3

Part 3: I Became a Genius (1)

Fortunately, the alchemist in this neighborhood was not a fake chemist from my previous life who tried to turn lead into gold.

The alchemist who rushed over took some time but managed to find the poison in the baby food.

The alchemist boasted that it was a persistent poison that was hard to detect, and if it weren't for him, it would have been difficult to find. I silently agreed with his self-praise.

After all, when I died before, neither the doctor nor the priest could find the cause.

‘They must specialize in different fields.’

In any case, the discovery of the poison caused a commotion in the mansion.

It turned out that there was an attempt to kill the young master, even though he was a bastard.

The maids who entered and exited the room, as well as all the mansion's employees, were on high alert.

Then, my father, the duke, who had not shown his face until then, came to my room.

The frightened maids bowed deeply, almost touching the ground, and my mother gave him a solemn greeting.

The duke, with an indifferent expression, looked around and then said to the old butler who followed him.

“Have you caught the culprit?”

“Yes, we obtained a confession from one of the cooks.”

The duke nodded at the butler's words.

“Execute the cook who confessed, and drive his family out of the estate, allowing them to leave with their lives. Also, take action against the head cook and the responsible parties.”

“Yes, I understand.”

A terrifying and cold order.

If the estate's residents were driven out, they would become wandering people, unable to settle in another estate.

Being made to wander without any possessions was essentially a death sentence.

However, the duke's instructions went no further.

He did not order an interrogation of the cook who confessed or an investigation into who had mixed the poison.

In the end, it was a command to bury the matter there.

No one contradicted his words. Not even my mother could raise her head or say a word.

‘Oh, if my father is like this, there really is no hope.’

The duke, having finished speaking, was about to leave the room.

I couldn't let him go like this.

It was really annoying, but I had to use my ultimate move again.

I stared intently at the duke and tensed my stomach.

Then, I shouted with all my might.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Everyone looked at me with surprised eyes, including the duke.

He stared at me with wide eyes.

‘Now’s the time! Good idea, good idea!’

I squinted and smiled widely.

“Giggles, Daddy!”

I had practiced this expression.

The maids and my mother, who had acknowledged my cuteness through practice, smiled.

The old butler standing behind the duke also smiled at my smile.

However, the duke's expression did not change.

He was an annoying person.

But, hold on, my facial muscles! Don't let all your efforts go to waste!

Smile, smile!

Still, he was my father, after all. The duke, who had been staring at me, finally spoke.

“From now on, the head butler will be directly responsible for this child's security.”

“Yes, sir.”

Even after the surprised head butler's response, the duke continued.

“I would like the household to remain peaceful at least until the awakening.”

“I will inform everyone accordingly.”

With the head butler's response, my mother let out a sigh.

A sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

She bowed her head to the duke again.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

The duke nodded at my mother's words and looked at me once more.

‘If you give a sweet to a hateful child, let me see my smile to my heart’s content.’

I stared at him intently. Smiling, smiling. Ah, my jaw hurts.

But it wasn't a forced smile now.

There was no reason not to smile, having achieved my goal.

Fortunately, the duke left the room before my jaw started trembling, and my mother shed tears of joy amid the maids' congratulations.

I must have been born wrong. How could the life of a noble be so terrifying?

Even with priests and magic, the reason for the low infant survival rate seemed to be here.

‘At least I’ve bought some time.’

After the duke left, I muttered to myself as I looked at the screen that appeared.

The safety guaranteed by the duke. He certainly wouldn't send assassins as easily as before.

And the duke's protection was even stronger than I thought.

* * *

Fortunately, the boring time continued.

After the duke's declaration, attempts to kill me disappeared.

Indeed, it was the work of an insider within the mansion.

It was very unsettling not knowing who the culprit was, but there was nothing I could do with my young body.

I just had to grow up day by day.

And since I was recognized as a genius from infancy, I decided to accept that misunderstanding.

I learned to speak as quickly as possible and worked hard to stand and walk.

However, unlike learning to speak, moving my body was not easy. My physical abilities did not benefit much from my past life's memories.

I finally managed to sit without being late compared to other children and immediately demanded to be given books.

Fortunately, this world had an unevenly developed aspect.

Despite the medieval-like era, the publishing industry was quite advanced.

From picture-filled fairy tale books to professional texts.

It was a privilege enjoyed only by the nobles and the wealthy, not the common people, but it was no problem for me.

At first, they naturally brought me picture books.

Princesses and princes, and animals were drawn in these picture books.

I naturally demanded other books.

“Words. Self. Books!”

Everyone looked at me with bewildered faces, but I continued with a brazen expression.

“I like words! Pictures are boring! Show me words!”

“Where did you hear such a thing?”

Surprised maids fetched books, and my mother hurriedly called a teacher to teach me to read.

Fortunately, reading was not difficult. It was a phonetic script, and the pronunciation and writing were not very different.

It seemed that writing had not been around for long.

While continuing the basic activities necessary for growth, I continued my studies.

Day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year...

Time passed.

As time passed, I grew rapidly.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts, my body was similar to that of other children my age.

However, the knowledge I accumulated as I grew was incomparable to that of other children.

As I grew, the rumors spread, and by the time I was five, all the mansion's employees called me a genius.

* * *

A study filled with books.

A child was sitting in a chair leaning against a bookshelf, looking at a book.

The child, who looked about five or six years old, was sitting in a chair with his feet dangling off the ground.

Flora, a maid, was leaning against the wall, watching the child, the duke's son Alex.

The small child was sitting in a chair with his feet not touching the ground, reading a large book.

Holding a book as big as his upper body on his lap and reading it diligently, he looked very cute to her.

‘It would be better if he were reading a picture-filled fairy tale book.’

Flora, who had been smiling, showed a slightly disappointed expression.

The child, Alex, who was about to turn six, was not reading a fairy tale book suitable for his age but a history book. Moreover, it was a very difficult book written in ancient empire language.

Even Flora, who could read and write the common language, a knowledge not shared by other commoners, could not read it.

Indeed, it was a fitting sight for the genius young master, whose reputation had spread throughout the mansion.

Unfortunately, outside the mansion, few people knew of Alex's genius, but inside, everyone knew.

Moreover, the young master was not just smart.

Flora glanced around and leaned against the wall.

‘Comfortable...’

She sighed softly and was grateful to the young master, who was reading the book.

It was an unthinkable act for a maid to lean against a wall in front of the duke's family.

Of course, Alex was still young, but if a child said something wrong, they could be dismissed without a word.

However, Alex did not care about such things at all.

Of course, he was well-mannered for his age and showed more consideration for the employees than anyone else in the mansion.

Alex had given her permission long ago.

-You can be comfortable when it's just the two of us.

She had heard this more than a year ago and had heard it several times over the following months.

At that time, Alex was four years old. It was natural not to trust a four-year-old's words and act carelessly.

However, the young master was not an ordinary child, even then.

The reason she became his maid and the start of the rumors, the disappearance of the maids, and the first words she heard from Alex.

-Mama, it hurts.

Thanks to this, the mansion was in an uproar, and from then on, Flora looked at Alex with a sense of reverence.

After that, Alex's actions were not ordinary.

He did not surprise people as he did when he was a baby, but he continued to show outstanding talent.

He learned to speak quickly and learned to read at a rapid pace.

Not only books in the common language but also the ancient empire language he was reading now.

A child who had just turned six was reading books that adults who had graduated from the academy read.

A genius that was hard to see as a child.

Flora, who had been watching him closely, took some time but eventually believed his words to be comfortable.

And his words were kept. For a year, no one in the mansion knew about her rest.

Thanks to this, she had a comfortable year.

‘How much longer...’

Flora, who had been thinking, looked at Alex with a worried face.

The rumors in the mansion and the poisoning attempt she had witnessed.

Although peaceful days followed the poisoning attempt, the peaceful time was not long.

The awakening day promised by the duke was approaching.

Unlike the beginning, she had grown very fond of Alex, but there was little a maid could do.

At that moment, footsteps were heard from the corridor. It was time.

She sighed softly, straightened her back, and spoke.

“Master, it's time for your lesson.”

* * *

“The nobility of the continent began 500 years ago with the heroes who destroyed the Demon King's army. Of course, there were nobles and royal families before that, but they were ordinary people, no different from commoners, and not the nobles with the abilities we see today.”

“...Our kingdom of Carlos is the legitimate descendant of the hero Carlos. The Grecia Duke's family, which separated from the royal family, is also a descendant. And...”

Lesson time.

In front of me, a young scribe was speaking enthusiastically.

I had heard he was a capable scribe from a baron's family, but he was surprisingly sleep-inducing.

If I were an ordinary child, I would have fallen asleep or thrown a tantrum by now.

Of course, an ordinary child wouldn't be receiving such a lesson in the first place.

Of course, I was sleepy for those reasons, but it was also because I already knew the content.

‘I overdid the advanced learning.’

I had already devoured various books from the mansion's library, which was on par with a library, for more than three years.

The words of the teacher in front of me were merely a tedious review.

I sighed inwardly. There was no choice. I should be grateful for this much.

If I were a proper heir of a duke's family, they might have invited a great sage, but as a bastard, I should be grateful to receive lessons from a bureaucrat of the estate.

This was also a lesson I received because I was known as a genius in the mansion.

Of course, the lessons were limited to general education and accounting lessons from the estate's scribes twice a week.

Today's lesson was also full of historical stories, but it was ultimately just a ‘general education’ lesson.

Still, the content of the lessons was very substantial.

It even seemed that the proper lessons were intended to make me a civil servant.