The teacher felt a little guilty.

Aurora had always had a solid foundation. Truth be told, most of her progress came from self-study. The school hadn’t actually taught her all that much. In fact, during lessons, there were even moments when some teachers sought Aurora’s help. But of course, those details weren’t something the teacher would share with Arnold. What if he ended up thinking the school’s faculty incompetent?

If that led to the family pulling Aurora out, it would be a loss for them. Scratching her head, the teacher didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

“Alright, alright. Let’s just wait patiently for the competition to end.”

Arnold nodded with a smile. Even though it was Aurora who was competing today, he didn’t feel the slightest bit nervous. Deep down, he knew how capable she was—there was nothing to worry about. And yet… His gaze slowly shifted to the teacher, who was pacing anxiously nearby. He couldn’t help feeling speechless. This teacher had surely seen her fair share of things. Shouldn’t she know better by now? With Aurora’s skill, there was no doubt she’d do well. To Aurora, this was barely a warm-up. Still, for all his calm on the surface, Arnold couldn’t stop checking the time. Part of him felt uneasy too. After all, Grace hadn’t shown the slightest regard for the competition. Aurora was out there fighting for herself. Which meant it was all the more important that he took it seriously.

Aurora stood nearby, watching the contrast between the two adults–one pacing, the other subtly checking his watch–and couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated.

Honestly, there was no need for all this fuss. She knew what she was capable of.

Aurora ended up winning first place without any suspense. It had been a small-scale competition from the start. She’d only participated to pad her portfolio a little. To be honest, whether she showed up or not wouldn’t have made much of a difference. As expected, just an hour later, young Aurora walked out with her pen and admission slip in hand. The teacher glanced at the time and stared in disbelief, mouth slightly open.

“Wait, Aurora, it’s only been an hour. Was today’s test difficult?”

Aurora shook her head. “No, I just finished early.”

Hearing that, the teacher finally relaxed. “Alright, as long as you finished, I’m relieved.” It seemed the competition hadn’t been challenging, which was the only reason Aurora could’ve written so quickly. That alone reassured the teacher. His title as an outstanding educator was safe.

When Aurora spotted Butler Arnold, she looked a little surprised. “Mr. Arnold, you’re still here? I told you earlier that I might finish late.” The original duration was three hours. Aurora hadn’t known how long it would take, so she had suggested Arnold return first. She hadn’t expected him to still be waiting. She even felt a little guilty.

But Arnold simply shook his head. “It’s alright. I knew you’d come out early.”

Hearing that, Aurora felt a rush of emotion. It turned out the ones who truly understood her, aside from Megan, were people like Arnold. He’d stood by her side all these years and never once let her down.