"Marquis Booker, you have my assurance that I will look into this matter thoroughly..." The tired voice of Teacher Ren could be heard in the main hall as he tried to placate the latter's anger.

"I don't doubt it. But please know that I will also be running my own investigation. There is someone out there trying to harm my daughter's future, surely you do not expect me to take a backseat on this, right...?" The Marquis replied dejectedly.

"Sigh... Of Course." Teacher Ren replied as he massaged his temples. This day really tired him beyond anything, even more so than the time he tried to court a lady when he was young. One can imagine how awkward it must be for a solemn guy like him to say sweet words. It was as if you ate sugar but it tasted like spinach.

Claire Walker's crime had been caught with sufficient proof to support it. She was misguiding Lady Selena Booker's studies and making her purposely fail exams. If this had continued, Selena could have failed all the subjects in the upcoming Aristocrat Exam and it would have severely affected her reputation and would have turned her into a laughing stock for the whole world. Just thinking about it made Marquis Booker break out in cold sweat.

But the huge problem was once the investigation begins, this incident will be known to many and it will definitely spread once it gets to an Aristocrat's ears. Thus, Selena's reputation would take a hit regardless. This would mean all the eyes would be on Selena now, hoping to see her fail. It was like trying to drop a pan and fart at the same time to avoid the fart noise from leaking out, but you accidentally dropped the pan first which gathered the attention of everyone, and then you farted.

"I...I will talk with the upper echelons and see if they can talk with the elders of the Aristocrat Exam holders so that we can delay Lady Selena's exams." Teacher Ren continued, "After all, this problem originated from our guild and if we do not take responsibility, our name will also go through the mud because of this incident."

But Marquis only shook his head in distress. The reason why the Aristocrat Exam is held in high regard was because they did not bend the rules, no matter the reason. Once, there was a Duke's son who had an accident and came for the exam an hour late. The Guards of the Exam Hall did not even allow him to enter despite his identity. So it was obvious that he failed that exam. The Duke was furious and tried to pressure the Elders of the Exam Hall, but not only did he fail to change their mind, but he also incurred the wrath of the Royal Family.

The Exam Hall was established by the Royal Family ages ago to set a standard for their aristocrats. If one hopes to become a future head of a manor, the only requirement other than being a true-born child of the family is to pass the Aristocrat Exam. Only by passing the exam does the Royal Family allows someone to inherit the Manor, and the title that comes along with it. As for the reason why only trueborn children are allowed, it was to deter cheating. A Family could adopt a smart kid to pass the exam. There was not anything wrong with it, except for a clause in the Royal Laws of the Country established by their ancestors. In case of a situation where a future head dies, the title and the manor would be transferred to their closest sibling in order to calm the masses, regardless of the fact that the sibling had passed the Aristocrat exam or not. As one can see, how this clause would be exploited and many smart kids could potentially be in danger. As for the childless Aristocrats, they could only return the manor and the title back to the Royal Family.

It was normal for a male to inherit the manor and title, but it was rarely so for the women of aristocracy. When a woman marries, she is considered to be part of her husband's family and on the chance that the woman died, the title and manor went to her husband. Hence, aristocrats rarely took that risk in fear of their manors falling in the hands of others. Because of this, the only women who held manor and title were still single or married to a commoner since commoners had no right to inherit the title and manor.

So why do women take the exam? Because passing the exam allowed them to marry other aristocrats. Only those who passed the Aristocrat Exams were allowed to marry other Aristocrats. This was placed, not to limit the commoners but to make sure the commoner in question was not harassed to death by the harsh environment of the Aristocracy. If an Aristocrat wished to marry a commoner, the Aristocrat first has to pay a huge fee and make the Commoner take the Aristocrat Exam as well. If the commoner passes, he or she was allowed to marry the aristocrat, but they were still not allowed to inherit the title and manor after the Aristocrat's death. However, their blood children can inherit it.

All of this may seem harsh but the world is even harsher than that. This was not only a test for the Aristocrat children, but also for their manors. If they can't even get past this hurdle, then they wouldn't have been able to survive the harsh world anyway. Only those who pass the exams had the true ability to call themselves Aristocrats. It was not just a title for enjoyment, it came with heavy responsibility.

The Grades one receives in the exam also plays a huge factor for both men and women. The Grades are divided into 5 parts.

0% to 50% - Exam failed - The examinee cannot inherit titles or manors nor they can marry those who can or have inherited them.

51% to 60% - Third Class Aristocrat - The examinee can inherit title up to Baron only. If the parent's title is higher, the title is reduced down, but they can still inherit their parent's manor and they can marry anyone who also is a Third Class Aristocrat.

61% to 75% - Second Class Aristocrat - The examinee can inherit title up to Marquis only. If the parent's title is higher, the title is reduced down, but they can still inherit their parent's manor and they can marry anyone who is or below a Second Class Aristocrat.

76% to 90% - First Class Aristocrat - The examinee can inherit title up to Duke and they can marry anyone who is or below a First Class Aristocrat.

91% to 100% - Royal Class Aristocrat - The examinee is eligible to marry into the Royal Family and possibly become the next King or Queen if they are talented enough.

Thus, it can be seen how important the Aristocrat exam was for the Children of Aristocracy. This was also the reason why Grant was confident that he could successfully convince his parents to let him marry Patricia. They both had already taken the exam and they both had successfully become Second Class Aristocrats.

As for why Marquis Booker was relaxed despite Selena's failing grades was because of the Church of Light. There were, after all, some backdoors to the exams. One of them being the Bishop. He had connections to the Royal Family and if he asked for it, they would have allowed Selena to marry Grant back then despite her failing grades. The reason why the Bishop would help them is because Selena's Magic was crippled in the Bishop's presence and he allowed the Marquis to ask from him one thing. The Marquis had been holding on to that promise and he had hoped to use it to help Selena marry Grant.

But now, everything was a mess. Grant broke off the engagement. Selena was being sabotaged by an unknown entity, and she could become a future joke in the Aristocrat world thanks to this incident. Even if she started studying now, there was no way she could assimilate the knowledge of so many years. Not to mention, her brain was already filled with lies, and adding more information on top of that could confuse her thoroughly. Sure, she could probably pass Arithmetic now, but that was only one subject, what about the other subjects?

Both men had a distressed look on their faces. They couldn't even release their anger on Claire as she had fainted. Any attempts to wake her up only ended in failure. It seems her mental state was extremely damaged and along with her injuries she was actually in a pretty serious situation. The Marquis had her rushed to the hospital but they don't know when she will wake up. Thus, the reason why they don't know who put her up to this.

"I...I can get other Teachers from our guild to help Lady Selena study. If we work together, and maybe make a schedule then----" Teacher Ren tried to find a solution but stopped midway. There were only two months remaining for the exam. No matter how hard Selena studied, it was impossible to cram years of knowledge within a few months. Especially considering the garbage that was filled inside her head. Even a Royal Prince would not be able to pass.

"Sigh... What crime did my daughter commit that she has to go through all of this? First, her mother died, then her magic was crippled. As if that was not enough, that bastard Grant broke the engagement and she almost killed herself, and now, this..." The Marquis despaired as he breathed a heavy sigh.

"Father..." a sound came from the Marquis's side.

"Hm?" The Marquis turned to see his son looking at him worriedly with one of the fake books in his hand.

"Father, maybe Sister's future is ruined, but I promise... I will look after her." Nicholas said with a stern face. Despite their past differences, Selena was still his big sister. He could not allow something like this to destroy her life.

"I am afraid that won't be enough. Your sister already tried killing herself when her engagement broke. If she became a huge joke now because of the exam, who says she won't do it again?" The Marquis replied, with moist eyes. He had no idea how to solve this situation.

"Ah...!! No, I can't give up... sniff..." The Marquis swiftly composed himself.

"If I give up now, how can I face her mother in heaven?" He said with clenched fists. Then he called for the Head Butler and commanded.

"Make sure to stop all the gossips of today's incident. If I find even one butler or maid talking about this, I will punish the entire staff with a thousand lashes...!!" The Marquis bellowed.

"Y-Yes...!!" The Head Butler replied. He knew how delicate the situation was.

"Also... request for a meet with Ex-General Burn. He has some very good spies under him. If the bastard who sabotaged my daughter's future thinks he can keep hiding, then he is sorely mistaken...!!"

"Yes Sir...!!"

"Also, make sure to keep an eye on Selena. She is in a very fragile state. Have at least one maid with her and make sure she eats properly...!!"

"Er... Sir..."

"Also, have a couple of guards around her all the time. The Culprit may try other means to harass her."

"But Sir..."

"What...?!"

"Lady Selena... went out." The Head Butler replied with a nervous tone.

"She... went out?" The Marquis abruptly stopped his actions which almost made him stumble.

"What do you mean she went out? Where did she go?"

"Er... The Lady meant to inform you but since you both were engrossed in your thoughts so much that... she didn't want to bother you... and left this letter behind." The Head Butler explained as he brought forth a letter.

"Letter?" The Marquis jolted in fear. Could it be a suicide note?

He immediately grabbed it and hurriedly tried to open it. While doing it, his thoughts raced like a Horse on Cocaine.

'What could she have written? Is it the place where she would kill herself? This is why she needs maids and guards now. My poor daughter. It has been past lunch and she probably didn't even eat anything. How could she have an appetite after everything that happened? She would probably not touch another book in her life again.'

The letter was finally opened. However, after reading the contents, his worried face immediately transformed into a confused one.

"I am going to the Library. Since I plan on borrowing a lot of books, so I am bringing along two maids with me. I am also bringing along a couple of guards considering the situation. Don't wait up for me. I had the maid packed my lunch and would it kill the Chef to make more delicious food?"

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