CHAPTER 17: Formula

"My Liege, lord Leo is here."

"Let him in."

Busy with his work, he didn't bother to look up at his son who just went inside as he thought.

"Father… May I know why'd you let Solene go to the training ground and let her teach the recruits??"

'As I thought…'

"Don't bother to be interested in that Leo, that's part of her subject which is physical education since she's growing just like you and your brother from those days."

After that, Leo made a face which is considered to be displeased with his father's words. "But father, what I had with my brother was in academy and not like this. She doesn't even know what the tenants are before going to the battlefield and now she's allowed to teach!? She's an inexperienced father!"

With his hysterical statements, the Grand Duke finally landed his gaze at him and carefully pulled out his eyeglasses before responding. 

"Before you can say that, are you forgetting what happened just after we came back?" 

"..!" Leo stilled for a moment, he staggered all the way to his father's office not to complain but to remind him that Solene should be on a proper education that's only for her course. 

Remembering his arguments with his sister just earlier, making him hold a tight grip.

Flashback

"Why do you suddenly want to teach them? How did you know they're the recruits coming today?"

Sean looked at Solene's brother and  he seemed to be impatient with his answers. He shrugged, "Well, it's because they look weak." Some of the recruits were shocked by his statement and some of the veterans went chuckling because of the same thing. "I've got this information from the Grand Duke as well."

Leo, who's not convinced by his sister's words, responded. "Not only do you do some dirty manners, you even dared to speak such insolence to our future knights."

'Future knights my ass.' Sean raised his eyebrow, "If you're still not convinced, why don't you get the hell out of here and go ask his excellency about this?" He irritatedly responded, "and to tell you this, why did even your own army dare to criticize the grand duke's judgment while I can't?" He added as he looked at those veterans behind Leo's back, who's now stunned with his words.

"This kind of activity is beyond your liking, Solene. You're not fit to be here and to teach these recruits since…" He looked up and down to his sister, "... You're just a lady."

After what he said, all of them went stunned when the wooden sword suddenly flew past him and it stabbed one of his armies out, making him look at her in disbelief. But when looked at his sister, he saw how his sister's eyes changed as it portrayed the triggers. 

Shock, building up mixed reactions inside, Leo couldn't bother to say more.

"Look here Leo…" 

He courageously looked up to his sister's eyes when she called him and he saw something ominous making him stilled and gulped secretly as if he's facing up a… Devil.

"... The more you say, the less common you become. Hence just shut that f*cking mouth of yours and do not attempt to keep your nose up to what's my business here anymore. Understood?"

End of flashback

"With those enormous eyes and her voice could possibly kill a person…" He whispered under his breath but enough for the Grand Duke to hear.

'I guess he had a hard time dealing with her.' He thought. "Leo." He called his first born's name, "I understand what you feel and I am gradually expecting Ravi to react to this either but, in order to balance our system, including the first lady of this household could possibly raise our benefits."

"But Father, aren't we, your sons are enough for the successions?" A sudden statement interrupted both of them.

Leo looked at Ravi who's leaning on the closed door, "When did you get here?"

"I just got here." He answered and put his hands in his pockets before walking near them, "Father, if you meant to include Solene in this kind of trial, would that mean she's now going to gain the part of being your successions?"

The Grand Duke massaged his forehead and took a deep breath before answering his second born, "Including her does not mean anything, son. You guys are just being paranoid after knowing she's going to have a part in the union."

"Isn't that more reasonable enough for having her that course, father?" Leo asked his father and looked at him straight, "I have read so many books about this matter and it's impossible for her to be included. Moreover, if she's not, she could be learning some stuff that is suitable to be an Empress which she's destined to marry the Crown Prince."

"The prejudice you're holding out to your sister right now is bearable. However…" The grand duke turned his back on them and continued while looking outside of his window, "Once you've figured it out yourselves of what she's capable of, with ulterior motives or not, neither of us will think of her inferiority sooner."

'Though they all got a point. It was sudden of me to put her in this trial since she has asked for it.' He thought and heaved a sigh.

"... So you knew." Leo uttered, looking at his brother.

"..." Ravi just faced the floor with its turned off face. "Yeah.." Thinking about what he just witnessed, he couldn't believe it at all. "... After you downed her by your words, I saw one of your knights get stabbed by her." 

Leo went stiff after hearing his brother's statement, 'So he was there…'

"You both have the judgment in common, thus your complaints make sense." The Grand Duke faced both of his sons, "However this time, I will ask you to stay and keep laylow for now and see what she's up to." He added. 'Since her movements are unpredictable now, we must keep an eye on her and see what she's really up to.'

Seconds later, Leo blew a sigh and agreed with him. "Father's right. We should have kept an eye on her and couldn't understand what she really wanted to achieve…"

They all nodded as well as the Grand Duke agreed to him, 'Plus I don't intend on including her at the succession's line since it's pretty dangerous to take the risk.' He Thought, 'though we must not stay on underestimating her capabilities since I can admit to myself that she has more potential on handling some big matters now than her brothers unlike before.'

Flashback

"There are a lot of qualifications before you jump higher, Solene."

"Does that mean I should learn swordsmanship before taking them to my account?"

"You can't."

"Why not?" 

He stopped walking and faced his daughter. She's been following him 'till they got home from the capital and now she's asking him to be in charge of those recruits. 'She really has the guts to request for that.'

"Because you can't just handle a union without even having the degree of being a knight..!" He explained, although it was similar to what he just explained earlier. '... She's so stubborn..!'

"I should really learn swordsmanship, then."

"..." He closed his eyes and heaved a loud sigh, "... When I say you can't, you can't. And that's final." After that, he finally turned his back on her and was about to leave his place when she suddenly stopped him.

"Wait– father…" He stilled in his place and looked at his daughter who suddenly picked up some random stick beside them making him confused.

"What are you doing?" He asked and his daughter looked at him naturally blank and showed him something. 

She's now writing something on the dirt and it caught his attention. 

"That… That's…" He couldn't absorb what he just saw. He became speechless.

"I know using calculations is essential in every battlefield, your excellency." He looked at her in disbelief but she just shrugged off and showed him more on the dirt, "calculating the time, speed, and distance is very crucial while fighting an opponent. Especially to a mage."

"..." He stared at the formula she wrote on the dirt. It seems pretty foolish but accurate when evaluating it in their usual way. 

She randomly drew a three triangle and showed him a formula that he just witnessed for the first time. 

"In order to take the time, a soldier must divide the distance and speed through basic calculations." She wrote it in the first triangle and continued to another one, "for the speed, a soldier must divide the distance and time. However, it should be accurate to maintain the accuracy of the speed attack." 

"..." He was stunned in his place and just watched his daughter do some accurately random formula in the dirt, "... How is that possible?.." He whispered under his breath and continued to what his daughter is about to show him.

"..For the distance, it's similar but a soldier must multiply the time and speed without using the ruler method." She looked up at him and smirked, "Moreover, there's another formula to calculate the distance but too difficult for a soldier to calculate."

Being dumbfounded, the grand duke stared at his daughter's smug face and glanced at those calculations she just showed. He gulped secretly his own saliva before taking a word, "Follow me." 

After that, his daughter followed him to his office and even before she could sit, he gave her a piece of paper and a pen. Solene looked at him blankly.

He admits that he's amazed by what she just showed him and now he wants to learn everything from her. 

Another smirk suddenly appeared on the young lady's face, "Are you sure of this, your excellency?" 

"Yes. Those were not taught ever since so I must admit you did quite excellent showing me those formulas earlier." He answered. 

But then the young lady is not convinced by it and puts back the paper and the pen on the table making the Grand Duke stiffened. 

"What are you doing..?"

His daughter looked at him indifferently and responded, ''I cannot fill the satisfaction you're expecting, your excellency."

He blinked twice, "..What..?"

"First, you didn't allow me to be in charge of the recruit and now you're asking me to teach you the formula that you just learned from me," Solene pointed out, "Isn't that too unfair for the both of us, your excellency?"

"I…" The grand duke was too stunned to speak, thinking his pride is possibly being stepped down by his own daughter. He squeezed his eyes, "... I'll allow you now to be in charge of the recruits."

A sudden grin rose up from his daughter's face, "How can I believe that, your excellency?"

The Grand Duke first hesitated to give her the answer but then, he responded. "I'll give you the seventy percent of it."

Seeing how her daughter's grin went wider made him calm, he saw how she took back the pen and sat on the sofa before rewriting what she just showed him earlier on the paper. However, he saw an unfamiliar formula.

His daughter faced him up and showed him the unfamiliar formula, making him confused. "This is another example of distance formula, your excellency."

"Wha–How do you read that?"

"Simple. Distance equals under the square root of quantity x sub two minus x sub one squared multiplied to the quantity of y sub two subtracted to y sub one squared is equals to the squared ratio which is the distance..." 

The Grand Duke couldn't keep up to his daughter's explanation and just stared at her with curiosity. Solene stood up in front of him and he's looking at her as if she was someone.

'... Has she been this genius..?'

His eyes darted on the paper she's holding. He was about to take it to look at it when Solene moved it out of his sight, he stilled. 

"Your excellency… With this piece of paper," He looked at her.

'How cunning…'

Her lips rose up once again, "I will be handing this to you if you will approve my proposal properly…"

His brows furrowed, "What do you mean..? Haven't I given you my permission already?"

A smirk widened in her lips and looked down at him, "If that's so, then…" She covered half of her face with the paper in her hands while looking at him before continuing, "... Have me fully in charge of every amateur knight."

"..!" The grand duke was alerted by it and looked at her in disbelief, "Are you…"

'Is she challenging me?' He could see an evil smirk behind that paper.

She lowered her eyes' pace while looking at her, "Give me a hundred percent of it…"

End of Flashback 

After that, they both had a deal of giving him all the formula she has and he'll allow her what she wants to do. 'However, there's still limits to that.'

He looked again outside and he could see how the leaves were dancing together with the wind outside. 'To think she'll call me father once again…' He couldn't help but to raise his side lip up. 'Now I'm rooting for someone unexplainable.'

…

To be continued