Chapter 75: Finally got it

"In this household, we don’t burden others just because we took more than we can take. You don’t have servants here, so you clean up after yourself. Carry it on your own!"

What nonsense was that? Nina frowned as this was the first time she heard something so absurd. They might not be her servants, but wasn’t it only natural for him to carry her things since he was a boy?

"Only our mom can boss us around here!" Yugi added and crossed his arm. "What a princess."

Yuri frowned and approached Nina kindly. "I can help you."

Help wasn’t what Nina truly needed, but she wanted them to take it to her room. However, she ended up not saying a word and carried the luggage with great difficulty. The help Yuri told her to give was useless because Nina still did all the work.

"This is your room!" Yugi casually stopped in front of the door, which was Penny’s old study room for her books and when she wanted to concentrate. "That room across from you is Yuri’s, and the one next to that is mine. Don’t be loud."

After saying his piece, Yugi decided to call it a day. This was already showing his real cousin around. Yuri stayed though.

Yuri smiled. "Nina, sorry about Yugi. He’s usually like that, but he’s not a bad person. Do you need help with your things?"

"No need." you might steal her stuff.

"If you need anything, then you know where I am. I’ll just be in my room."

Nina nodded before her eyes veered to the other room next to hers. "Yuri, this room... is this where your mom and dad sleep?"

"No. Mom and Dad’s room is downstairs. That room is Penny’s."

"Penny’s?"

"It’s her room," was all Yuri said. "Don’t go in there because she likes her room very much. We want to keep it as it is because she decorated it herself. Anyway, I’ll go now. I still have a project to finish. Don’t worry. We spent two days cleaning your room, so you can just rest."

Having said that, Yuri made a quick walk back to her room. When she opened the door, Nina caught a glimpse of the pink and cozy room. It didn’t look bad, although she could tell it was still small.

"Maybe the rooms here aren’t that bad," Nina thought, a little hopeful her private place was something that could appease her. But alas, the second she opened the door and saw the inside of her room, her heart sank.

Unlike Yuri or any part of the house, this room was too shabby with worn wall paints, shabby flooring, a small bed, and a small study desk. This was even smaller than Yuri’s if her estimation was correct. Although it was clean, it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Or rather, it wasn’t to her liking.

"This... is my room?" Nina bit her inner bottom lip until it bled. "This is disgusting."

But at the end of the day, Nina would still have to stay here for the rest of the week until the next weekend.

"I have to get out of here as soon as possible."

******

Meanwhile, in the Bennet Mansion, the heaviness lingered in the household even after hours since Nina left. Although no one was talking, everyone still did what they would usually do. Atlas was in the library and Slater insisted on continuing his study with Penny. So the three of them were stuck in one space.

Hugo, on the other hand, asked Penny if he could babysit her pets. Hence, her beloved pets were currently in his care in the garden. Even so, there was still this undeniable silence that was too heavy.

Cupping her soft cheeks, Penny darted her eyes between Atlas and Slater.

’I’m still surprised that despite Nina leaving, Slater initiated to continue our study session. I was thinking of giving him some time to process his grief.’ A shallow sigh slipped past her lips before her eyes inevitably moved to Atlas.

Her nose scrunched up when Atlas irritably scratched everything he wrote and then tore the page and crumpled it. Looking at the side of the table, it was mostly crumpled sheets.

’He’ll soon make a mountain out of those papers.’ She shook her head.

Curious, Penny stretched her neck to peep at the problem he had been trying to figure out since early this morning. But just as she got a glimpse of it, Atlas discreetly moved his hand as if to cover his paper. Her face twitched.

’I’m not gonna copy it. Tch.’ But Penny already saw the problem. ’Professor Singh is really a sadist. How can he give Atlas such a hard question when this problem is the reason everyone in the national exam didn’t get a perfect score?’

Not to brag, but Penny answered that question in her first lifetime on her own.

’Right. I answered it back then because I happened to stumble upon a book while cramming.’ Penny’s eyes lit up. Helping Atlas was not a problem for her, but she was afraid it would be a problem for Atlas. His fragile ego would break if his youngest sibling started tutoring him as well.

"Uh, Penny —"

"Answer the next one first," Penny said before Slater could give her his answer sheet. "I’ll be back."

Penny quickly jumped out of the chair and bounced her way to the bookshelves. Slater and Atlas just stared at her. When she returned, she was wearing this wide grin and placed it near her first brother.

"What is this?" Atlas raised a brow and glanced at the book cover.

"Brother, can I borrow this book? Did you already finish reading it?"

"I’ve already read this book."

"Oh." Penny’s lips formed an o-shape before she added, "It looks interesting, doesn’t it?"

’Is she trying to strike up a conversation?’

Penny didn’t answer anymore and just grinned, sitting back down on her chair and continued watching Slater’s activity. Atlas didn’t think much about it, but his eyes still fell on the book she put on the table.

’Interesting...’ he repeated in his mind and continued answering.

Penny didn’t bring up anything about the book anymore until it was time for their snacks. At that time, Atlas excused himself and told them he would continue his study in his room. Hence, Penny and Slater spent the day in the library to cover some lessons in other subjects until dinner.

After dinner, Atlas quickly returned to his room to study more because he was afraid the star section already sent their answer to Professor Singh. Atlas didn’t want to disappoint his tutor and felt the need to answer it quickly.

But after hours of trying to figure it out, after countless research, and after hours of reading in between, Atlas felt like his mind was about to burst.

"I still can’t figure this out," he sighed while massaging his nape, eyes closed. When he reopened his eyes, he couldn’t help but gaze down at the solution he wrote. "Is this even a real problem that needs an answer?"

"Goodness." He shook his head and was about to rip the paper when he suddenly stopped.

[Brother, it’s interesting, doesn’t it?]

"Wait a minute." Atlas furrowed his brows as he was suddenly reminded of the book Penny took out from the bookshelves. "I think..."

His remarks trailed off as he got up from his chair and went straight to the library. The book was still on the table. Picking it up, he opened the lamp and opened a page. His eyes barely skimmed through the page he deliberately searched before his mouth fell open.

"This...!" his lips stretched from ear to ear as his exhaustion slowly faded. He felt like a miner who finally found the hidden gold in the long tunnel he had been digging. "How did I not remember this?"

His eyes lit up and with such enthusiasm, he sat down and wrote the problem as he had already memorized it. This time, Atlas got the answer — he almost cried.

*

*

*

The next day, Penny and Slater knelt in their seats in the van while peeking over the backrest just to look at Atlas.

"Penny," Slater called quietly, eyes still on his first brother. "Did I lose my hearing after studying so much? I’m hearing First Brother snore."

Hugo, who finally joined them in their service, was looking at his side. "He is... snoring."

"His snores sound so weird." Penny flinched when Atlas’s snores hitched. "Is he dead?"