Just as Lu Xing expected, Anne's math lesson did not exceed his own level of learning. It had not even reached high school level, covering only arithmetic transformations, summing arithmetic sequences, and some geometric constructions for drawing Magic Arrays.
Lu Xing focused intently on the lesson. When it ended, a system prompt appeared:
"You completed a math lesson as Miss Anne and received a score of ninety-five. Reward: 200 experience points. Anne has also gained the mathematical knowledge you displayed during this lesson."
Lu Xing perked up. Two hundred experience points were practically the equivalent of a whole quest!
It had even improved Anne's math knowledge. She would have no idea how happy she would be when she returned.
"Today's lessons are over, right?"
After the teacher left, Lu Xing smiled and asked the maid.
Catherine nodded slightly. The knowledge displayed by the mysterious soul before her during the math lesson had not only astonished her, but even left the teacher in awe. The teacher had praised Miss Anne's mathematical ability as sufficient for her to teach at the Imperial Academy.
Lu Xing waited for a while, but the system did not prompt him that he had completed the beginner experience quest. He could only turn to Catherine and ask, "What activities does Anne have this afternoon?"
It was only around three in the afternoon. A Noble Lady's day was not yet over.
Catherine replied flatly, "After finishing her daily lessons, Miss Anne usually goes to have afternoon tea with Miss Meriel and the others, takes a stroll around town or outside the city, practices magic, or chats with Philys. But given how ignorant you are of this world, I advise you not to go anywhere and stay home to learn more."
After hearing that, Lu Xing asked her, "Is there somewhere in the castle to practice magic? I'm not very familiar with magic, so I want to practice."
Catherine frowned and looked up at him. "You want to use the magic power in Miss Anne's body to practice magic?"
"What's the problem?"
"I refuse your request. You do not know magic. Using magic power carelessly could cause magical disruption and hurt Anne!"
"Catherine!"
Lu Xing directly ordered, "Take me to practice magic!"
He was no longer a clueless newcomer in another world. The maid before him could not fool him so easily.
Lu Xing had learned during alchemy class that magical disruption was difficult to trigger while one's magic power was low. With the amount of magic power in Anne's body, there would be no issue as long as he did not use more than half of it.
Catherine fell silent for a while. She seemed to struggle internally, but in the end, she still obeyed.
Yet she said something strange. "You are not my Master. I am only obeying Miss Anne's orders!"
"?"
Lu Xing had no idea what the maid was doing, so he could only answer with an old saying. "I am Anne."
Catherine lowered her head and led the way. She helped Miss Anne into the carriage, and they soon arrived at an open area west of the castle.
Lu Xing asked the maid about some precautions for magic. Relying on the lingering memories in Anne's body, he was soon casting spells with some semblance of skill.
Anne specialized in light and Wind Magic, variants of sky and earth magic. Lu Xing did not dare try too much. He merely cast a few Light Orb Spells and Wind Blade Spells, then whipped up a few small whirlwinds.
Just as he was enthusiastically experimenting with magic, a maid hurried over to report something to Catherine.
"Anne's friends came to invite me for afternoon tea?"
Lu Xing stopped and looked at the tall maid standing before him.
"Yes."
Catherine explained expressionlessly, "Miss Meriel and Miss Renee came together. One is Earl Perik's daughter, while the other's father is a high-ranking knight of the Swinton Family. Since they are close with Miss Anne, they came to visit without arranging it in advance."
Lu Xing considered it for a moment and sighed. "Looks like Anne's afternoon tea time is unavoidable after all. Have someone prepare things. I'll change clothes and meet them shortly."
Catherine said, "How impressive. You even know to change clothes."
"Not everyone is as stupid as you."
Lu Xing shot back at the maid.
Catherine did not respond. She instructed the maids to prepare clothes for Lu Xing, lead the two young ladies into the garden, and apologize on Anne's behalf, saying she would arrive shortly.
Lu Xing took the carriage back to the house and changed into another one of Anne's dresses: a light green short dress paired with a wide-brimmed round hat. Her long golden hair was left loose behind her head, making for an outfit well suited to strolling through the garden.
Before long, he met Anne's two little best friends waiting in the garden.
"Anne~"
The two Noble Ladies, dressed in wide-skirted gowns and beautiful jewelry, happily came forward to greet her.
The maid helped Lu Xing down from the carriage and whispered, "I hope you remember that you are Anne, not a man!"
"Thanks for the reminder."
Lu Xing calmly got out of the carriage. After spending a day as a Noble Lady, he had gained some experience.
Meryl and Renee walked over together, happily taking both his hands as they told him about interesting things that had happened that day.
It was nothing more than what classes they had attended and what amusing things had happened in the city. Lu Xing vaguely responded a few times and muddled through it.
They then pulled him into the flowerbeds, where a large parasol had already been set up. Lu Xing sat with them and happily savored tea carefully brewed from tea leaves from the southern Empire beneath the warm afternoon sun.
The three young Noble Ladies, dressed in exquisite clothes and jewelry, elegantly enjoyed afternoon tea among the flowers. The maids and servants who saw the scene from afar could not help casting envious looks their way.
A true Noble Lady had long grown accustomed to a life above others.
But the fake Noble Lady felt a little embarrassed. After finishing the tea, he went inside the castle with them to rest.
They did not do anything else. Even if they wanted to, they could not.
Yet somehow, as they chatted, both girls suddenly blushed and secretly asked Lu Xing, "Anne, is there anyone you like?"
"..."
So young girls really did talk about handsome guys too!
But Lu Xing was a handsome guy himself, so he had no interest in the subject whatsoever.
Meryl said quietly, "Recently, Gerard seems to want to pursue me. I didn't agree. He is handsome, and his family is about on par with mine, but I heard he isn't a traditionalist. His father and mother both have a bunch of lovers. I can't stand that!"
Lu Xing had not wanted to get involved in this subject, but he was shocked by what he heard. Seriously, you nobles played that wildly?
Renee covered her small mouth with a hand clad in a white silk glove and giggled softly. "You're a traditionalist now, but that may not be the case after marriage. Many people claim to be traditionalists, but secretly have more lovers than anyone else!"
Meryl hesitated, but still shook her head and asked, "What about you?"
"I'm traditional too. I would never allow my husband to find lovers outside!"
Then the two of them looked at Lu Xing together and said in unison, "The Swinton Family is the most conservative traditionalist family in the Northern Territory!"
"I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
Lu Xing went along with them. He recalled Anne mentioning in her letter that the Swinton Family was traditional.
The two Noble Ladies chatted for a while longer about handsome men they had recently met. Only at four in the afternoon did they leave, satisfied.
After they had gone, Lu Xing asked the maid, "What are traditionalists? Do most nobles have lovers?"
Catherine said coldly, "Miss Anne is innocent and adorable. She has never shown interest in boys. She will obey her parents' wishes, marry the husband they choose for her, and sleep only with her husband for the rest of her life! Do not defile Miss Anne with such filthy things!"
Lu Xing was stunned. Was this a problem with the system's translation? That was far too explicit.
After thinking about it, he asked, "If Anne encountered what happened today, how would she answer her friends?"
"I am not Miss Anne. I do not know how she would speak with her friends, but I know that she would never be tainted by such obscenity!"
Catherine spoke with absolute conviction.
Lu Xing thought about it and decided to mention the matter in his letter to Anne. He was curious how she would respond.
Five in the afternoon.
Almost the instant he finished writing the letter, Lu Xing returned to Earth in the blink of an eye.
"Anne, big sister will take you to dinner! Let me show you Chinese cuisine from Earth and see how it differs from what you eat in the Northern Territory."
"..."
Lu Xing stood frozen in place. Xiao Yu, who was holding his hand, could not pull him along. She finally noticed something was wrong, turned back, and met his gaze.
Before you continue