The second lesson of the day began not long after the ten minute break came to an end.

As the classroom gradually settled down, another instructor entered through the front door.

She was an elderly woman who appeared to be in her fifties. Her silver hair was neatly tied into a bun behind her head, and a pair of thin-framed glasses rested comfortably on the bridge of her nose. Although age had left faint lines on her face, her back remained perfectly straight, and the calm confidence in her eyes immediately quieted the classroom.

Following closely behind her was a young man in his late twenties, carrying several neatly organized books and stacks of documents in both hands.

The moment they reached the front of the classroom, the students instinctively became quieter.

The elderly woman gave a small nod.

"My name is Professor Isolde Croft."

Her voice was gentle, yet it carried enough authority to reach every corner of the room without effort.

"This is my teaching assistant. Smith Rollins."

She gestured toward the young man standing beside her before briefly introducing him.

Afterward, she looked around the classroom, allowing her gaze to pass over every student.

"The course I will be teaching your year is..."

She turned and wrote several words across the glass board.

Intermediate Physics

The glowing letters appeared neatly on the transparent surface.

Many students straightened in their seats.

Unlike the Basic Physics every student had learned while growing up...

Intermediate Physics was an entirely different subject.

It moved beyond simple principles and everyday observations.

Here, students would study more advanced theories, proven research, and the deeper laws governing the physical world.

For ordinary citizens, such knowledge was impressive.

For Alchemists...

It was indispensable.

Many Alchemical formulas and inventions were built upon the foundation of physics.

Without understanding those principles...

Even the most talented Alchemist would eventually reach a wall they could not overcome.

The lecture soon began.

Professor Isolde spoke at a steady pace, carefully explaining each topic before moving to the next.

Whenever a complicated concept appeared, she slowed down instead of rushing ahead, making sure the students understood the reasoning behind each theory rather than simply memorizing it.

Occasionally, she asked a question.

Several students answered confidently.

Some were correct.

Others stumbled halfway through their explanations.

Whenever someone made a mistake, Professor Isolde calmly corrected them before continuing the lesson as though nothing had happened.

The atmosphere inside the classroom was noticeably different from Professor Kent’s.

Professor Kent enjoyed making students think for themselves.

Professor Isolde preferred guiding them step by step until they reached the answer on their own.

Before anyone realized it...

Three hours had quietly passed.

The sound of pens scratching against paper gradually slowed as Professor Isolde closed the final page of her lecture notes.

She adjusted her glasses before looking toward the class.

"I have one last thing before we end today’s lesson."

The students immediately became alert.

Several of them exchanged uneasy glances.

After experiencing Professor Kent’s class earlier that morning...

They had already developed a bad feeling whenever a professor said they had "one last thing."

Professor Isolde did not keep them waiting.

"I’ll be giving all of you an assignment."

The words landed exactly as everyone feared.

"...Again?"

Soft groans instantly spread throughout the classroom.

Several students leaned back in defeat.

One boy quietly covered his face with both hands.

Another let his forehead fall onto his desk with a dull thud.

They had only been students of the Royal Academy for a single day.

Yet...

They had already received two assignments.

Professor Isolde remained completely unmoved by the classroom’s reaction.

She calmly handed her teaching materials to her assistant before adjusting her glasses once more.

"You are now students of the Royal Academy."

She looked at every one of them.

"This...is the life you should expect from now on. If you wish to become someone great... then this is the standard you must grow accustomed to."

Her tone wasn’t harsh.

It was simply a statement of fact, that nobody could argue against.

With that...

She gave a polite nod and turned toward the door.

Her assistant quickly followed behind, carrying the books and documents they had brought into class.

The door quietly closed behind them.

For a brief moment...

Silence filled the room.

Then...

"Ah..."

Heavy sighs escaped from nearly every corner of the classroom.

One non-noble student stretched until his back cracked.

"She’s older than my mother..."

He muttered helplessly.

"But somehow... she still looks younger."

Several nearby students chuckled.

The tense atmosphere from the lesson gradually disappeared.

Soon...

The classroom emptied as students stood from their seats.

It was finally lunchtime.

Groups of friends left together while discussing the morning’s lectures.

Others hurried toward the academy cafeterias before the queues became too long.

Outside...

The academy grounds slowly came alive.

Wide stone walkways filled with students wearing uniforms of the royal academy first year wear and different crests on the higher status nobles.

Conversations echoed through the beautiful campus.

Some students laughed while walking beneath rows of carefully maintained trees.

Others sat beneath the shade to enjoy the pleasant weather before their afternoon classes.

The scent of freshly prepared meals drifted through the air from several directions.

For students whose attendants accompanied them to the academy...

Lunch had already been prepared by them specially.

The Royal Academy allowed these maids and butlers into specially designated academy kitchens during lunchtime.

There...

They could prepare fresh meals, desserts, tea, and anything else their young masters or mistresses wished to eat instead of purchasing food from the cafeterias.

Many of the pavilions scattered throughout the academy park areas had already been reserved for those private lunches.

Lucy had naturally booked one for Ezra.

After leaving the classroom...

The Ashenlocke students gradually separated.

Veda lazily walked toward another pavilion, with Nickolas following closely behind him as usual.

Nate headed in the direction of the cafeteria.

Henry scratched the back of his head as he watched the occupied pavilions.

He hadn’t managed to reserve one quickly enough.

Instead...

He decided to join Bess Ashforge along with several acquaintances they had met during the General Social Gathering before entering the Royal Academy, together with a few of the friends they had made throughout Orientation Week.

Ezra calmly continued walking toward the academy park where his pavilion was booked.

The afternoon breeze brushed gently past him as students passed on both sides of the stone pathway.

"Hey."

A familiar voice called from nearby.

Ezra turned slightly.

Cyrus waved once before catching up to him.

Soon...

The two boys found themselves walking in the same direction.

"Your family is eating at the same pavilion area as mine?"

Ezra asked after returning the greeting with a small wave.

"Yeah."

Cyrus nodded.

"Well... Kind of."

He rubbed the back of his neck before laughing awkwardly.

"You know I don’t have an attendant. So, I don’t exactly have anyone preparing lunch for me."

His tone was so casual that anyone unfamiliar with noble society would never think twice about it.

Yet...

If another noble overheard him, they would almost certainly be shocked.

A Duke’s son...

Without a personal attendant.

That was nearly unheard of.

Ezra merely glanced at him before returning his attention to the path ahead.

Neither surprise nor pity appeared on his face.

Around them...

Several students still secretly glanced in Ezra’s direction as they walked past.

Yesterday’s Welcome Party remained fresh in everyone’s minds.

His dance with Vera.

His performance on the ballroom floor.

None of it had faded overnight.

Whispers quietly followed him wherever he walked.

Ezra simply ignored them.

"They say Sasha wants me to eat together with the family today."

Cyrus continued complaining as though he hadn’t noticed the attention surrounding them.

"Even Ravenor looked like he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the idea."

He sighed dramatically.

"Honestly... I don’t want to eat with her either."

A playful look of resentment appeared on his face.

"I’m still angry she made money from my misery yesterday."

He clenched one fist in exaggerated frustration.

"I should make her compensate me for everything she earned."

He suddenly turned toward Ezra.

"What do you think?"

Ezra answered without hesitation.

"Anything that adds to your own pocket is valid."

His voice remained as calm as always.

"And too me... Your stepsister has a good sense for business."

Cyrus stared at him.

"...Even though she’s the daughter of a Duke?"

He blinked.

"You know she already has more money than she could ever spend."

Ezra shook his head once.

"And what does that have to do with her?"

He looked at Cyrus.

"That money belongs to your father. The Duke. If one day he decided to cut off your allowance... or take back every coin he had ever given you... What can you do?"

Cyrus quietly fell silent.

"It was never your money to begin with."

Ezra continued walking at the same pace.

"But earning your own money is different. It gives you peace of mind. That, no matter what happens...You’ll always have something that truly belongs to you."

He looked at Cyrus seriously.

"No one has the right to take away the money you’ve earned with your own hands."

His explanation ended as simply as it began.

Yet...

The words lingered in Cyrus’ mind long after Ezra finished speaking.

"...That actually makes a lot of sense."

Cyrus rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He felt as though he had just learned something unexpectedly important.

Cyrus remained deep in thought as they continued walking side by side along the academy pathway.

The conversation about earning one’s own money refused to leave his mind.

After a few more steps, another thought suddenly surfaced.

"Now that I think about it..."

He looked at Ezra while keeping the same relaxed pace.

"Doesn’t Selena have her own job that earns her a lot of money?"

Ezra turned his head slightly.

"No."

Cyrus answered his own question calmly before correcting himself.

"Not just Selena. All the Flowers of Britannia in our year do. They’re all models for different fashion brands."

His expression became more animated as he recalled everything he knew.

"My sister models for Scarlet Lush, and she’s also one of the faces of Silver Wheels. And it’s the same for the other girls."

He counted them one after another in his mind.

His voice carried a trace of admiration.

"Even when the Phantom Rolls was launched... She was the model standing beside the vehicle."

He smiled faintly after finishing his explanation.

Ezra blinked once.

"She did?"

His face barely changed.

Only the faint movement of his eyelids revealed that the information had genuinely surprised him.

Cyrus stared at him.

"You didn’t know?"

His eyebrows slowly rose.

"You’re the creator and you don’t even know how the people you sold the rights too are advertising your creation?"

Ezra looked ahead again.

"I only knew they had launched the Phantom Rolls."

His answer remained as plain as ever.

Cyrus could only stare at him for another second before letting out a helpless laugh.

"Seriously... Ezra. What exactly do you use your phone for?"

Ezra answered almost immediately.

"Research. A little news. And checking the stock market. So, I know which companies or industries are worth investing my money in."

There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation in his reply.

The answer sounded so natural that it was obvious this had long become part of his daily routine.

Since, no one sends me an allowance.

And I can’t let the money I already have remain stagnant.

Money that sits still loses opportunities.

So, I invested in a few companies.

Thanks to Mr. Anderson, I was able to invest in the Phantom Rolls project itself.

Then after discussing it with Elder Ivanhoe...

He also helped me invest the ten percent reward I received from the first firearm sales into the main company responsible for manufacturing the firearms.

Besides those...

I still hold investments in two other companies.

Ezra quietly organized the information inside his mind.

"...So, stock investing is actually a thing?"

Cyrus asked in genuine surprise.

Ezra looked at him.

A slight narrowing of his eyes was enough to make Cyrus realize how unusual that question sounded.

Even though, other young noble class didn’t know of it...

A young noble from a Duke family should.

"Sasha did tell Ravenor and me to invest our money in the Phantom Rolls."

Cyrus scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"But she made us keep it a secret. If the elders and adults in our family found out... They’d probably complain that she’s encouraging us to gamble."

He let out a helpless sigh.

"So, I stayed away from it."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Even though I’m usually the one who breaks the family rules the most."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess I really need to improve my sense for making money."

Ezra nodded once.

"The thing about the stock market in Britannia, that might make them think like that is."

His voice remained calm.

"It’s considered a private financial field. Even the identities of investors remain anonymous."

Cyrus listened attentively.

I didn’t even know stock investments existed.

It was only after I started studying more on Britannia’s financial system that the thought crossed my mind.

So, I simply asked Elder Ivanhoe whether investments were possible to confirm my thoughts.

Ezra continued thinking quietly.

The biggest difference between this kingdom and my previous self’s one...

Is the rate of return.

Compared to the investment market I saw from the Book of Memories...

Britannia’s profits are much lower.

But they’re still profitable by this world’s standards.

But after seeing how large returns could become in that world...

The investment market here feels rather disappointing.

He calmly pushed those thoughts aside.

Before long...

The two boys finally reached the academy park.

Elegant stone paths separated dozens of open pavilions scattered beneath rows of tall trees.

Students could be seen eating lunch together while attendants served freshly prepared meals.

Laughter mixed with the gentle sound of the afternoon breeze passing through the leaves.

"I guess..."

Cyrus suddenly pointed both index fingers toward Ezra with an eager grin.

"I’ll have to ask you to teach me how to get started."

Ezra looked at him for a brief second.

"Yeah..."

He paused.

"...No."

His answer was perfectly flat.

Without another explanation...

He simply gave Cyrus a small wave before walking toward the pavilion Lucy had reserved for him.

Lucy was already standing quietly beside the table.

The moment she noticed Ezra approaching, she straightened her posture and greeted him with her usual professionalism.

Cyrus watched Ezra leave before laughing helplessly.

"Figures."

Shaking his head with a helpless smile, he turned and walked toward another pavilion where his siblings and several members of the Burnwick Household were already waiting for him.

The lunch break lasted only one hour.

Students spent the time eating, talking with friends, or simply relaxing after the long morning of lectures.

Soon...

The academy bell rang loudly across the campus.

Its clear sound echoed through the grounds, signaling the end of the break.

Students gradually stood from their seats before making their way back toward the academic buildings.

The final lesson of the day was about to begin.

Unlike the earlier classes...

This period was reserved for Optional Courses.

Each student attended a different classroom depending on the course they had personally selected.

Groups that had spent the morning together naturally separated.

Some headed toward laboratories.

Others disappeared into lecture halls located in different wings of the academy.

Ezra calmly followed one of the stone corridors until he arrived in front of a classroom marked with elegant golden letters.

Class B1.

Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Only a small number of students had arrived before him.

Several quietly glanced in his direction after recognizing him.

A few students whispered among themselves.

Others merely looked for a moment before returning to their conversations.

Ezra paid none of them any attention.

His eyes calmly swept across the classroom before he walked toward the middle row.

Compared to the General Studies classroom...

This one was noticeably less crowded.

The optional course had attracted far fewer students, leaving many desks empty throughout the room.

Ezra chose a seat near the center and quietly sat down, waiting for the lesson to begin.