Luvia only had three exams, so the parchment she received was quite short. Shade, who had to take eighteen exams at once, received a sheet of parchment that, when unfolded, was long enough to securely tie up Mia, the orange cat currently lying quietly on the windowsill, into a ball—with plenty left over.
Saint Byron's exams allowed no breaks. The exams began at nine in the morning. Students could leave after finishing their answers, but if they had not finished, they could not leave their seats even for physiological needs.
Shade had learned this in advance. Thus, starting at nine on Saturday morning, he buried himself in writing furiously while conversing with her voice in his heart. Miss Louisa had invited him to the opera that evening. Taking eighteen exams was no easy task; even if each exam did not cover much material, he could not relax in the slightest if he did not want to miss his first chance to visit the Opera House.
Luvia got up and left at ten-thirty, followed by Miss Louisa and Doctor Schneider. Even Priest Augustus, who had taken seven exams, left the room at noon. By then, Shade had already answered the questions for ten courses.
At lunchtime, neither the professors nor Shade got to eat. The four who had finished early needed to listen to the professors discuss some matters after their exams, so they all waited in Room One next door.
They had originally wanted to take Little Mia with them to get something to eat, but Mia lay on the windowsill waiting for Shade and had no intention of leaving with anyone else. To let his starving pet cat eat sooner, Shade quickened his writing pace once again.
His Delarion Language handwriting had always been terrible. Writing faster made the