Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37
“Lady Deborah Simour. What are x and y?”
“The answers we seek to derive through the equation.”
“…!”
“In this equation, x and y are the unknowns we’re solving for, which means a and b become constants.”
As I answered the bespectacled student’s question, gasps of astonishment rippled through the room.
‘That makes sense.’
From what I could tell, this world had no concept of unknowns. Unknowns are, quite literally, unknown numbers—what we typically denote as x or y in equations. Without the concept of unknowns, they solved equations through tedious, step-by-step calculations.
But if we simply designate the values we seek and variables as x and y, discovering the pattern becomes remarkably straightforward.
This is less a matter of knowledge than wisdom. And I’m an engineering student who absorbed the wisdom of my predecessors in a single lifetime. All those mathematical proofs I memorized out of sheer obligation—never thinking I’d actually need them—finally had purpose here….
Truly, one can never predict how the world will turn.
Meanwhile, the professors stood speechless, their exclamations tumbling forth without pause.
“To reorganize such a complex equation in that manner. The sheer clarity strikes like a hammer—it leaves one utterly lost for words.”
“When we substitute values into the equation Lady Deborah Simour refined, we can skip the calculation steps entirely and arrive at the answer immediately! Isn’t it truly remarkable?”
“It’s diabolical in its brilliance. Looking at that equation, even a Silver Dragon lost in eternal slumber might startle awake.”
“As expected of Simour! Proving such genius without even mana sensitivity—truly living up to the name.”
Ah, the flattery was delicious.
“This will be invaluable for combat mages where casting speed is critical.”
True to their reputation as Academy scholars, they grasped the concept of unknowns immediately. All of them were absorbed in committing the equations on the blackboard to memory.
After completing the proof, I twisted my neck side to side with the most menacing expression I’d practiced in the mirror.
“Has your suspicion finally cleared? I must say, my anger doesn’t dissipate easily.”
My eyes flickered like a viper’s, and I subtly gestured toward the young lady I’d already coordinated with. She was Arin Oslot, whom I’d happened to rescue while passing behind the academy building last time.
My servant—no, my retainer Arin Oslot stepped forward courageously toward the Grand Hall entrance, approaching where the Dean and Vice Dean stood.
“Arin Oslot?”
“What brings you forward so suddenly?”
It turned out she was quite a talented prospect, earning the affection and trust of the professors. That’s precisely why that chubby fool had tormented her out of inferiority.
“I actually… have something to report. I happened to overhear something while passing near the Courtyard behind the Magic Department.”
She revealed that William Lemong and the chubby fool had attempted to escalate this matter by even daring to speak ill of Duke Simour’s character.
Arin appeared innocent and naive about worldly affairs, yet she subtly picked up on everything around her. It was Arin who had gathered information from every angle so I could understand how the atmosphere in the Magic Department was shifting.
‘She was like a squirrel diligently gathering acorns.’
Arin’s revelation was like pouring gasoline onto the already raging inferno of my fury.
“William Lemong! How dare you use me as a pretext to insult my father!”
The moment Arin finished speaking, I erupted in rage. William Lemong, already half-conscious, trembled violently, his face draining of all color at my outburst.
Strictly speaking, the direct line of Simour had been attacked by both the Magic Department and the Academy before even revealing their great academic achievement. The family itself had nearly been dragged into it. Such shameless conduct was unprecedented.
Even the usually obstinate Vice Dean was now watching my expression carefully.
“My father may be magnanimous enough to overlook this matter, but I am not.”
“What do you mean, Lady Deborah Simour?”
Confusion flickered across Bert Dean’s eyes as he heard my resolute declaration.
“It means that from this moment forward, all responsibility for everything that occurs falls upon Young-sik Lemong and everyone who insulted me through their malicious scheming.”
I made my ominous declaration of war and walked out of the Grand Hall.
* * *
The truth-finding inquiry that day became a nuclear-level controversy among mages. The very notion of refining the formulas of Simeon, the ancient Archmage whose work was considered immutable and flawless, represented a paradigm shift in magical thought itself.
Moreover, through the numerous observers present that day, the refined formula developed by Deborah Simour began to spread beyond the School of Magic, reaching even the Magic Tower.
“Wow. This is genuinely impressive. No joke!”
A mage marveled as they cast a complex and tedious spell in a single breath, bypassing all intermediate steps.
“The Simour family’s wild child refining formulas in such a groundbreaking manner. I’ve lived long enough to see everything.”
“With zero mana sensitivity, at least she has this ability.”
Then a colleague who had entered the Magic Tower’s training chamber, where the faster and more potent magic now flourished, gasped in horror.
“Listen here! You absolutely cannot use the formula refined by Deborah Simour carelessly!”
“Why not?”
“Sigh…! You know nothing. You’ll find out soon enough.”
The mage who ignored their colleague’s warning and recklessly used the refined formula received, not long after, an official notice bearing the seal of the Imperial Judicial Department.
A notification of patent infringement and a request to cease infringing activities.
Regrettably, the recipient has been confirmed to be infringing upon the patent rights of Deborah Simour, the sender. We hereby request that you immediately cease all infringing activities and comply with the patent holder’s demands.
The mage who read the patent holder’s demands narrowed their eyes.
“…What exactly is a monthly fee?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? Isn’t it written right there? If you want to continue using the refined formula, you must pay a monthly sum to Deborah Simour. If you use it without paying the monthly fee, you’ll face fines from the Judicial Department like you are now. They call it ‘you use, you pay.'”
The colleague took a drag from their cigarette with a troubled expression. This was all because of William Lemong and Kyle, those fools who had provoked the already ill-tempered Deborah Simour.
Just stop already!
They had dared to call the direct Simour line parasites. That fool William had even involved the Tower Master, leaving no room for anyone to even lodge a protest.
“You use, you pay?”
The mage who had suddenly been hit with an enormous fine asked with a dazed expression.
“As you can see, the enraged Deborah Simour has patented the refined formula.”
“If you want to use it too, pay up. You. Use. You. Pay.”
And so she coldly declared to all who protested, or so the story goes.
“At least we only have to pay 7 silver per month to use that refined formula, so we’re in a very favorable position.”
“What do you mean?”
“Several families, including the Lemong Family, have fallen out of favor with the young lady and been blacklisted—they can’t even subscribe to the service at all, I hear.”
“Good heavens.”
* * *
Money and justice rain down from the heavens!
Seven new monthly subscribers signed up for my refined formula service today alone, and I couldn’t help but smile contentedly.
‘Kyle and William Lemong really helped me in every way possible.’
Honestly, since patenting magical formulas was unprecedented, I never expected things to go this smoothly….
* * *
Three weeks ago.
The idea to earn money through formulas came to me on the day Duke Simour gifted me an enormous amount of jewels.
Through my conversation with Duke Simour, I learned that the speed at which one solves formulas is closely related to the casting speed of magic. Despite this groundbreaking discovery, my situation was unfortunate—with zero mana aptitude, I couldn’t properly utilize this knowledge myself.
‘I’ll never reveal this publicly.’
For whose benefit, after all?
If I revealed the improved formula, the pitiful glances directed at me—a parachute hire of the School of Magic—would certainly diminish. But the real beneficiaries would be combat mages like Rozard, leaving me with nothing but heartburn.
‘Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.’
At first, they’d praise my discovery, but people are fickle creatures. They’d quickly forget their gratitude and try to claim my formula as their own from the very beginning.
‘Damn it, I’ve been played.’
That night, I fell asleep in deep despondency, and in my dreams, I was chased by a hundred Thomson’s gazelles.
‘Save me!’
Then, something suddenly appeared before my eyes—a golden rope inscribed with the word “patent.” I thrashed toward that golden rope and jolted awake in bed.
“That’s it, a patent!”
If I could patent the formula, it would be a jackpot—but does the Empire even have patent laws?
On the off chance, the moment Academy classes ended, I rushed straight to Maison D.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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