The Double ( or More ?) Life of The Fake Heiress

Vincent’s eyebrows twitched slightly as his gaze fell upon the piece of paper he had just received. Initially nonchalant, his expression shifted dramatically upon seeing the solution to the physics problem written on it.

The problem he had posed was a notorious one from last year’s International Physics Olympiad, a challenge so daunting that it was conquered by only a single student across the globe. It was infamous for its borderline diabolical complexity.

The equations and steps laid out in this paper were even more concise than those of the proclaimed genius from the previous year, with a completely original approach to boot. Even though he had studied this problem in depth, Vincent still found it hard to believe there was another way to solve it. If this solution were to be posted online, it could probably send waves of despair through the ranks of otherwise brilliant students.

As some of his classmates noticed the once–reigning academic titan of their grade approaching the current top dog, they couldn’t help but gather around, eager to catch a glimpse of the paper that had so visibly affected Vincent’s demeanor.

When the crowd laid eyes on the inscrutable equations scattered across the page, the liberal. arts majors in The Advanced Class were left utterly dumbfounded. Love letters were out of the question. The world of the academically gifted was a realm forever beyond the grasp of the struggling students.

With a complicated look, Vincent turned to Mirabella, who seemed utterly oblivious to the commotion, nonchalantly pulling out a book in French and beginning to read. After a moment of hesitation, Vincent finally spoke up, “With science grades like yours, why would you stick around in a liberal arts class?”

Without even glancing up, Mirabella answered in a breezy tone. “It doesn’t make a difference which class I’m in.”

Once, such brazen confidence was Vincent’s trademark. Hearing it from someone else was irritatingly intriguing.

Vincent didn’t linger much longer in The Advanced Class. After he left, the classroom buzzed back to life.

“Did Vincent just imply that Queen Mira’s science grades are even better? Am I hearing this right?”

“No need to overthink. It’s just the plain truth.”

“Ah, today’s another day that challenges my intellect.”

Having left The Advanced Class behind, Vincent had made it some distance towards the Prodigy Class when he abruptly stopped, turned on his heel, and headed towards the physics

10:08

teacher’s office.

Deep in lesson preparation, the physics teacher looked up in surprise at Vincent’s entrance. Vincent placed the paper with the equations on the teacher’s desk. “Take a look at this, would you?”

The teacher set down his pen and, upon glancing at the problem, instinctively remarked, “Int this the problem from last year’s Olympiad that stumped countless students?”

“Yes.”

As the teacher continued to peruse the solution, his expression quickly turned to one of utter astonishment. Looking up after a moment, he asked with excitement, “Did you come up with this solution?”

Vincent shook his head, “Not me.” He paused before adding. “It was Mirabella from The Advanced Class.”

“The Mirabella who topped this month’s exams?” the teacher asked, hand trembling.

“That’s the one from last year.” Vincent couldn’t hide his admiration. “I spent a week and couldn’t crack it. She did it in one evening.” Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The teacher’s eyes widened in disbelief, “One evening?”

For a problem of such difficulty, even a seasoned physicist like himself would need a day or two to solve it–let alone a student in one evening….

The physics teacher felt a buzzing in his head, at a loss for words. The revelation was simply too much to process.