Royal Lady of the Blueprint

Michael's Test

‘Before I go to my work, I need to organize everything I know.’

It wasn’t like she wasn’t tired, but it was for her. She couldn’t skip over things. She had crammed like this on Earth too, so she was used to it.

At Harvard John A. Paulson School Of Engineering And Applied Science, every day was a war with tests. An all-nighter was normal, and sometimes, she only slept 2 hours over the course of three days, so this was nothing. But that was what she thought, and her family thought differently.

“My dear, Catarina. Aren’t you doing too much?”

Her father came to see her with a cough.

“I’m fine, father.”

“What do you mean ‘fine.’ Your body isn’t even that strong.”

She wasn’t sick, but her body had always been weak. Marquis Nix looked at her with complicated eyes.

“Catarina.”

“Yes, father.”

“Can you really do it?”

He asked. Now he knew his daughter wanting to become an engineer wasn’t a phase. She wouldn’t overwork herself like this if she wasn’t sincere.

‘An engineer. It’s a good profession. Meaningful too. But….’

Being an engineer wasn’t easy. Even healthy men couldn’t do it, but could a privileged noble lady do it? There would also be a lot of prejudice in the field.

‘And it’s not just Imperial Engineering, but Therese Institute of Engineering.’

To be honest, the Marquis didn’t want to send his daughter there. It was obvious she was going to have a hard time there. She is vulnerable to prejudice and she has to work along with the commoners.

“I can do a good job, father. I’ll do my best. Don’t worry.”

The Marquis sighed.

“Catarina, this isn’t to avoid your engagement with the Crown Prince, right? If so, let me know. If you really don’t want to, I’ll speak to the Emperor.”

“…!”

She looked at the Marquis with surprised eyes. Her father looked at her worriedly.

‘Father…’

She was touched by the love he had for her.

“That’s not why. I really want to do this.”

After confirming his daughter’s thoughts, he bitterly smiled.

‘Since we’ve already come this far, I guess there’s nothing I can do except for hoping Catarina quits.’

He loved his daughter, but he truly believed his daughter couldn’t be an engineer. He wasn’t looking down at her. He was just thinking realistically.

“I told the hospital you’ll be beginning in two days.”

“Did you tell them as I asked?”

“Yes, but do you have to do that?”

“Yes, I would like it if you don’t tell them that I’m from the Eisenberg family.”

Her request was to hide her identity.

“I did that, but why did you do that? It’ll be much harder and difficult.”

“If they know I’m your daughter, I won’t get a proper education.”

She remembered when she had worked as a professor at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Earth. It was annoying every time the child of a VIP came. ‘And the father isn’t just a VIP.’ He was the chancellor. Also, he was the head of the Eisenberg family and the owner of the Therese Institute of Engineering.

‘If this was Earth, he would be like the prime minister or CEO of a large corporation.’

The engineers wouldn’t be able to treat her comfortably.

“I told them you’re sponsored by Viscountess Anastasia.”

Viscountess Anastasia was under the Marquis.

“Thank you.”

“Catarina, I’m saying it again, but take it easy.”

Catarina had a thankful smile at his words. And after two days passed it was time to go to the Therese Institute of Engineering. May 28th, Year 283. It was a day that would go down in history.

…

Therese Institute of Engineering was the largest engineering facility in the empire, with five floors, and a capacity of 500 people consisting of engineers, architects, analysts, and the like. And in the professor's office room on the fourth floor.

‘Damn.’

A young man cursed internally.

‘They leave me in charge of an immature 16-year-old?’

His name was Michael. He was the youngest professor of Therese Institute of Engineering, and he was known as a ‘genius.’

The reason why he was so annoyed was because of the director’s orders a few days ago.

‘Take care of the lady sponsored by Viscountess Anastasia. Does she think this place is a ballroom?’

He swept his hair up.

What did it matter if he was talented? The good positions went to the guys who had connections, and he only got the leftovers.

‘She’s coming soon?’

He looked at the clock. She was supposed to arrive at 10, and it was now 9:57.

‘If you’re late by even a minute, I’ll kick you out right away.’

Unfortunately, at exactly 10, there was a knock on the door. It was like she had been waiting outside the door for the clock to turn to 10.

…

“Come in.”

Creak.

A girl entered with the sound of an old door.

“…!”

Michael’s eyes widened in surprise. A completely unexpected girl entered!

“Nice to meet you. I’m Emilia.”

She was petite and frail-looking. And she was as beautiful as a doll. She was wearing a simple outfit, but her face was like a diamond that would stand out amongst all other jewels. With just her entrance, the atmosphere of the room changed.

“You…are Emilia, recommended by Viscountess Anastasia?”

“Yes, are you Sir Michael?”

A calm yet pleasing voice. Michael shook his thoughts away and broke away from marveling at her.

“Yes, I know I am lacking, but I’ll do my best.”

Michael frowned.

‘She’s pretty. But she’s just a standard noble lady.’

He knew about noble ladies because he had been a part of it when his family went into debt.

A single glance told him she hadn’t been through any hardships. Her hands looked soft, without any blisters. A lot of men would follow her around with her face if she went to a ball, but with that frail body that made a man’s protective instincts kick in, she wanted to be an engineer?

Michael clicked his tongue.

‘This is unbelievable, she looks like a spoiled noble who can probably not do the math.’

He could feel himself getting more annoyed by the second.

‘Does she think engineering is easy?’

He had a deep pride in his profession as he had worked endlessly and tirelessly for this position more than anyone. It was hard to keep his rage in check thinking that the lady was working just for fun.

Meanwhile, for Catarina, she had researched about this man in front of him.

Michael Pierce, twenty-one years old. From a young age, he has been lauded as a genius with a brilliant mind. This man possesses an extraordinary intellect. He has presented many papers and is a burgeoning young scholar in the fields of engineering and mathematics. On top of that, he is quite handsome.

“Let me introduce myself, my name is Michael Pierce. Now let’s get to the point. Incidentally, I’ve read through some materials about you. For some reason, your personal history was completely omitted. Where did you go to university?”

“Nowhere.”

“Pardon?”

“I never went to university.”

“You don’t say…” Michael lifted his glasses, looking disappointed at what he had just heard. “In that case, I’ll be meeting you at 12 o’clock. I have important things to do that will benefit the country. Even if you’re recommended by Viscountess Anastasia, I do not have time to spend with someone who has never even studied at university. Which is, I can safely assume that you don’t even have knowledge about the basic foundations of engineering.”

Catarina's face turned pale, ‘No way...is this going to be my first and last day?’

But Catarina maintained a noble gesture. She was equipped with the knowledge of the Earth and this world. It seems that Michael doesn’t even know her capabilities yet.

‘Should I ask for a test?’

Before Emilia could suggest that, Michael immediately followed.

“But since you’re recommended by Viscountess Kate, I’ll humor you in an interview. Unfortunately, I have something that requires my attention so I’ll leave you here. If you want tea you can request one. That’s all, goodbye.”

With that, Michael left the room coldly, leaving Catarina behind, baffled.

‘What the...is he going to leave me like that? I am his apprentice...why is he acting so cold towards me? Is it because of the university?’

Outside the room, Michael grinned mischievously, “I heard that nobles are not that patient, when they get bored, they’ll just leave. Let’s try her out.”

…

Two hours later. Michael arrived at the door. It’s been two hours and he believes that Catarina was not in the room anymore. Looking relieved, he opened it. His eyes widened.

“You...you’re still here?”

He saw a petite woman reading books. “You said you’re going to meet me at 12 right? I’m just waiting for you…”

‘Unbelievable…’ Michael sighed as he headed to his desk.

Seated, Michael began to interview Catarina.

“I see that you’re determined to become an engineer. But do you really have what it takes?”

“Yes,” Catarina answered without hesitation.

“Then with all due respect, I would like to put your abilities to the test.”

This is what Emilia was expecting.

“A test?”

“To assess the caliber of a new apprentice who hasn’t gone to university. All of the professors here thus far have been less intelligent than I am. I’m strict with qualifications. If you fail the test, I ask you to leave this post immediately.”

After he finished his words, Emilia pondered.

‘So, I just need to do well in the test and he’ll accept me right?’

“Okay, I accept.” Catarina declared.

As he heard her answer, Michael rose to his feet and picked something in the bookshelves.

“You must be relatively learned for Viscountess Anastasia to recommend you at all. Our first battle would be through chess. One can see their opponent’s level of intelligence, thought process, and personality all through their moves on the chessboard. I’ve never lost a match. I hope you’re prepared for the challenge.”

“Okay, I’ll take you on.”

…

Five minutes later, beads of sweat trickled down his face as he realized his mistake.

Catarina took the opportunity.

“Im...possible…!”

“Checkmate…”

“How did I lose?” Michael sluggishly plops his head on the table as he analyzes what just happened, “This ended up like this, and this like this, and that…”

“Are you quite satisfied?” Emilia said with a radiant smile across her face.

“Next! On to the next test. Don’t relax yet.”

Michael turned his head and muttered to himself.

“Could this lady be an exception? No, it’s too soon to say. I’ll test her with less conventional means.”

Having decided on her next test. Michael grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it. Then, he gave it to Emilia.

“Solve it.”

Emilia checked the papers and saw a number of equations. Like.

Find positive numbers a and b. Equation: (X→ 0) lim 1/(x-bsin(x)) ∫2/√(a+2t) dt =1 (integral limits are x and 0)

‘What? Is he supposed to intimidate me with those numbers? Too bad for you, this is where I’m good at…”

Emilia began spinning her pen as she started to think about the question. Michael, who had just seen her actually solving it, was in disbelief.

‘Don’t tell me...this girl can solve this algebra equation?’

She took less than a minute before saying. “I solved it!”

“You… You solved it just like that?” asked Michael suspiciously. He wondered how the hell did she solve it without writing anything down.

However, honestly speaking, he was shocked by how fast she solved the question. He had solved this type of question before but it was never this easy. She did not even use the paper. The steps to solve the question just came into his head.

Catarina did not waste his time and began writing down the working to the question. While writing he began to explain, “Typical 0/0 undefined equation. Just use L’Hopital’s rule. The first step is to separate the integral. That’s easy, right? From (X → 0) lim (1-bcosx) = 0, b equals 1. Plug this back into the equation and you would get a = 4. Check the answer and see if I’m right.”

Michael stared blankly at the paper. She thought that this guy’s explanation speed was faster than her listening speed.

When he wrote down the two answers, she was still thinking about solving the integral.

Then he arrives with the same answer.

“Correct...But the calculus problem is not yet solved.”

“I already solved it as well…”

“You already did?...”

“Yes, you heard me,” said Catarina. She was spinning his pen as he explained the formula on the draft paper. “A typical two-step problem. First, you convert Cartesian coordinates into polar coordinates. Due to the interval symmetry, you can simplify and reduce this part into cot^2(x)…Then calculate the derivative as csx^2(x)! Then substitute back into the original function!” Michael’s pupils contracted slightly. She was correct again.

He was amazed at the miracle happening in front of him. Is this girl a genius than him? Who could even solve it without the need of plotting it down to paper?

“...I see...you’re quite good in mathematics. Then down to the last two tests...I test you on mental arithmetic!”

Five minutes later…

“I’ve finished.”

“Whaat?!” Michael perplexed as he scanned her paper, “You could’ve written in random numbers.” if there’s one equation wrong, he’ll laugh at her. But there is none, all of the mathematical equations are correct.

“I can’t...on to the next test. I challenge you to a game of cards.”

…

“Royal straight flush.”

“This goes beyond brilliance.”

Michael’s body trembled in shock, “What is going on here?”

“What will be the next challenge?” Emilia smiled.

“A five-tier tower while I was thinking? How easy is this for you? My papers have been praised by scholars the world over. How can I be…No, keep it together. Be proud of your intelligence! You won’t lose to anyone in pure academic knowledge.”

“Um...pardon me, but you’ve been speaking your thoughts aloud.”

Michael plopped down a set of papers.

“Next, I’ll have you take a test I created myself.”

Emilia looked at the papers. “I need only to finish this?”

“Hmph...One hundred difficult questions covering the fields of mathematics, surveying, hydraulics, design and construction…”

One hour later.

“I’ve finished it.”

“Already?” Ever since he was testing her, he had never been always shocked like this. He grabbed the answer key and compared it to her answers...All are correct.

“...What the…”

Emilia only smiled beautifully, “Did I pass? Pro-fes-sor?”

At this moment, Michael Pierce, who has been lauded as the genius of the century, was on the brink of collapse. He fell down to his knees.

“Could this be...this woman...is more genius than I am?”

There’s nothing left to test her. She proved herself capable and answered all of his tests perfectly.

“Okay, you passed.”

“Thank you!”