"Cost? I'm not sure I–"
"Adi, you must've noticed." She cut him off. "You get too much freedom and far less supervision compared to your brother. Why do you think that is?"
Adrian remained silent, not because he couldn't think of an answer, but because too many answers came to his mind and he wasn't sure which one was correct.
Ever since he was reincarnated into this body, Adrian had been able to do almost whatever he wanted, and nobody regulated him, which was unusual since a small child needs care and monitoring. His doubts grew more when he observed his younger brother, Elias.
Elias was treated like how a normal child was supposed to be treated, unlike him, who could roam around the mansion, and nobody would say anything. Adrian's strongest guess was that he was intentionally being neglected for some reason. Or it could be that the people here cared for Elias more.
'Well, it worked out well for me, anyway.'
He had been able to spend most of his time in the library thanks to this neglect, so he had no reason to complain.
After waiting silently without receiving an answer, his mother finally replied.
"Because that is what seemed best. Adi, you have always been unusual. You learned mannerisms and etiquette without being taught by anyone. You learned to walk, learned to talk, learned to read, all on your own. You even reached the Origin Phase at such a young age."
Her eyes flickered with something Adrian couldn't quite describe.
"You were producing results on your own; we had no reason to interfere. Such a grand genius was born in this house; why would we restrain your growth?"
Hearing the word genius once again brought out the memories buried in his mind.
'Adi, you're our hope. I don't know what I'll do without you…'
'Son, how about we go on a trip? You've more than earned it.'
Adrian did his best to calm himself down and suppress the memories, fighting through the nausea rising within him.
"So think of this five-year delay as a privilege I am allowing you. A privilege that you have earned due to your abilities."
Then her expression turned more stern.
"But Adi, privileges like these have requirements. Do you really fulfil those requirements?"
'...What is she getting at?'
Faced with that question, Adrian wasn't sure how to reply. Did she want him to prove himself? Or was it something else?
After hesitating slightly, he asked.
"What do I need to do–?"
But before he could even finish speaking, his small face was suddenly pressed down against the table in front of him.
It felt as if the invisible pressure pressing down on his shoulders had suddenly multiplied severalfold, pressing him against the table.
He tried to lift his face, but no matter how much strength his tiny arms exerted, he could not move an inch.
"From now on," she suddenly spoke. "I am going to test you whenever I feel like it, however much I want. To make sure you don't rust, that you always remain brilliant."
She folded her arms.
"And this is your first test. You must get up and sit straight back. If you fail, then forget about delaying the engagement."
'...What… the hell…?'
It was all too sudden, and Adrian was still half confused. Still, he did his best to lift himself. He tried pulling himself, tried to balance the force and rise, but everything failed. The force pinning him down on the table was simply too tyrannical, not letting him move even slightly.
'Is it even possible for me to… move? Wait, did she do this intentionally? For me to fail?'
He didn't understand why she would go through all this trouble, but that doubt had already taken root in his mind.
After observing his futile struggle for a while, she finally spoke.
"You must've learned about presence, correct? It's the excess mana constantly leaking from your body, forming an aura around you. But what you don't know is that if a presence is large enough, it can physically affect the surroundings."
'So this invisible pressure is caused by her presence? But why did it suddenly increase?'
Thinking for a bit, the answer came to him rather easily.
'She's intentionally releasing more mana to increase the size of her presence.'
After understanding that much, it was obvious what he had to do in order to pass this test.
'I have to release my mana and counter her presence with my own.'
And he did try to release all the mana in his body all at once, but he just… couldn't. It was as though the pressure from her presence was suppressing his mana release as well.
He could just keep trying until he succeeded, but the suspicion that had taken root within him was making him think differently.
'Maybe it's all an act. To make it look as though I failed due to my own lack of ability.'
Adrian somehow turned his face to observe his surroundings. He could see the surface of the table pressing against his cheek, the lamp on the table illuminating the room, and his mother sitting across from him as she watched silently.
Adrian gritted his teeth, then decided on his move.
'Just like Sir Joran taught.'
He gathered mana in his right hand, condensing it. He dragged his tiny hand toward the lamp, then released all the mana in his hand in one burst.
The burst of mana hit the lamp, sending it flying with incredible speed straight towards his mother. It was sudden, and due to the distance between the lamp and his mother, there was barely any time to react.
Yet somehow, she did. Grabbing the lamp at the last second. There was slight confusion on her face, as though she herself didn't quite understand what had happened, yet her body reacted instinctively.
Slowly, realisation dawned on her. She turned to Adrian while putting the lamp back on the table.
But Adrian's face was no longer on the table; he was sitting back straight, looking at her expressionlessly.
His mother let out a sigh, her face containing slight irritation.
"This wasn't how you were supposed to do it."
'I know that.'
But he couldn't get rid of the suspicion that it was all planned by her and that he would fail no matter how much he tried. So Adrian opted for a different solution. He knew that controlling mana needed focus, so he distracted her by throwing the lamp at her.
And the moment the pressure lifted, he sat back up.
"From the start," Adrian replied. "I was only told that I had to sit back up, you added nothing else. And I did, which means I passed the test. Please hold your part of the promise; going back on your word will reflect poorly."
Hearing his answer, a small smile bloomed on her face, erasing the irritation present moments before.
"So that's what you're doing, huh? Indeed, it will reflect poorly. It was my oversight for not mentioning the rules clearly. You have passed, …for now."
Adrian let out an internal sigh after hearing her.
'I guess it's finally over.'
At least, he had solved the problem temporarily.
"If that was all," he asked in a polite tone. "Then may I take my leave now, Mother?"
She observed him, as if she were trying to read something about him. He didn't know whether she was able to read him or not, but she replied soon after.
"Sure, you can leave now."
He stood up as soon as he heard her answer. But as he was just about to open the door, her voice came from behind.
"Adi, you should be ready. Even I do not know when I might decide to test you next."
Adrian did not reply; he only gave a light nod before opening the door to leave.
"Oh… Greetings, Young Master Adrian. It seems you were just about to leave after visiting the lady. Forgive me."
A middle-aged man with his white hair combed back neatly stood right in front of Adrian, just outside the door. It was the butler of this house, Winston. It seemed like the butler was just about to enter the room when Adrian opened the door.
Adrian didn't reply to the butler's greeting; he just stared at him expressionlessly.
At first, Winston seemed confused as to why Adrian was staring at him, but as if coming to a realisation, he stepped aside from the entrance, letting Adrian pass through.
Adrian quietly left the room, walking with his tiny legs.
***
"My Lady, forgive me for speaking out like this, but I feel as though I must say something here. Why did you do that to Young Master Adrian?"
Hearing Winston's words, Seraphina frowned slightly.
"How long have you been watching? That's stepping out of line, and you should know that, Winston."
Guilt briefly flashed on Winston's face, but he soon hardened his expression.
"I will accept the necessary punishment. But before that, I believe you were acting a bit too rashly back then. What if the Young Master had gotten hurt? He's only a child. More than that, I fear the Young Master will now hate you, My Lady."
Seeing Winston's firm attitude, Seraphina narrowed her eyes. His behaviour was unacceptable for a servant. However, he did have a point. She replied with an irritated expression.
"Winston, you must think I'm foolish, right? I had controlled the pressure enough that he wouldn't get hurt. Besides, I couldn't care less if the boy hates me. More than that, you should've understood why I did what I did."
Winston gritted his teeth. He spoke in a voice laced with frustration.
"No, My Lady, I am afraid I cannot understand. I can infer that you were trying to teach Young Master Adrian. But nobody can learn something on the spur of the moment like that; it was simply impossible. It felt to me that you were intentionally trying to fail him."
Seraphina sighed.
"Indeed, passing that test should've been impossible for almost anyone. But Winston, Adi isn't just anyone, is he? Anyone with eyes can see that; they wouldn't even need to interact with him. I've often heard that geniuses achieve impossible feats under pressure, so I hoped he would also be able to."
She leaned back, relaxing her shoulders.
"Although I couldn't find out whether that saying was true or not, I did find out something. It seems like that little boy is quite good at scheming. I wonder how I should develop that part of him."
Winston's expression turned confused the more he heard her speak. As she finished, he asked.
"My Lady, wasn't it you who gave the order not to interfere with Young Master Adrian? Isn't that why we haven't hired any tutors for him until now? What made you change your mind like this?"
Hearing him, Seraphina looked up at the ceiling, as if reminiscing about something.
"You are right, Winston, I did indeed order that before. Truth is, I just couldn't understand the boy; he learned, behaved, and thought in incomprehensible ways. It was hard to read him since he always had that expressionless look. I could only leave him alone and hope that he would grow into his full potential."
Then she turned to Winston, meeting his eyes.
"But what if he doesn't develop to his full potential? Wouldn't that be my fault? My blunder? In the end, I've decided that I must take things into my own hands."