The bell signaling the end of class had rung some time ago. The other students had long since left their seats, either heading outside to stretch their legs or gathering in small groups to chat and laugh with friends.
Each class at Baron Rector Magic Academy lasted an hour and a half, so the breaks were somewhat longer too, a full twenty minutes. Naturally, the students wanted to make the most of that time to relax.
Vivian alone was an exception.
Apart from a trip to the toilet, Vivian had never left her desk. She kept her head down, carefully studying the notes she had taken in class, reading them over and over in an effort to commit the knowledge firmly to memory and understand it as thoroughly as she could.
Ever since Xu Yi had sent her to this academy, Vivian had studied with this same desperate hunger for knowledge.
Because both her parents were slaves, Vivian had been designated a slave from birth. For the fourteen years before Xu Yi bought her, she had lived her entire life as one.
Although Viscount Leslie treated his slaves far more kindly than other nobles did, a slave was still a slave. His so-called kindness merely meant that he would not casually abuse or kill them. Giving Vivian an education had naturally been out of the question.
After Xu Yi became her master, Vivian found that her life had changed enormously. Not only did she no longer have to worry about food or a place to sleep, but her work consisted of nothing more than a few easy household chores.
Moreover, Xu Yi treated slaves countless times better than even Viscount Leslie did.
When Vivian learned that Xu Yi had bought her, she had already prepared herself mentally. She assumed that,