Chapter 38 Going to School
At daybreak, Melia woke up to the smell of vanilla.
"Um~ Annie, help me get a piece of paper." She stretched beautifully.
"yes."
Melia slowly swallowed the petal water and wiped her face clean while surrounded by a group of people.
She turned around and looked at the lambskin and feathers in front of her in a daze: I see, even paper hadn't been invented or popularized yet. When I heard about Egyptian papyrus, I thought it must be used for paper.
She didn't complain too much and just picked up the quill pen, dipped it in black mineral oil and started writing and drawing on the parchment.
"Try making paper from bark, shredded linen, cotton wool, wheat straw, and straw pulp. You can also try degumming with lime water..."
I don’t remember the exact steps of papermaking, but I’m sure the raw materials first had to be separated in an alkaline solution, cut and beaten to make pulp, then spread the pulp on a flat surface to form a thin sheet, and finally dried and peeled off.
These four steps are easy to understand and essential.
As for the raw materials, there is no big problem: I didn’t see any bamboo nearby, but there must be papyrus and hemp. I can always find the right proportion after trying a few times.
After writing the papermaking ideas, Melia began to draw tableware patterns on the corners: a soup spoon with a pointed tip, chopsticks, a fork, a fruit pick, a toothpick and a table knife.
By the way, I marked the materials: one set is wood, one set is silver, and you can consider using animal bones to make skewers.
Speaking of which, we have pottery but not porcelain now. Porcelain requires more special clay and higher firing temperature. You can try it later.
Once porcelain is successfully fired, given the luxury of the Roman nobility, it will surely be a huge hit, popular among both the upper and lower classes. It will also save them from having to carry lead jars to carry things every day, scaring her away from attending banquets.
Note: Look for high-quality clay that can withstand high temperatures.
After finishing the final stroke, she rolled up the parchment and handed it over. Annie took it with both hands, smiling and instructing the maids beside her, "Hurry and get the master to the carriage."
"Car? What car?"
Melia was still dazed, but Taffy had already taken hold of her left hand and walked forward. Even Sonny, who had just been humiliated the previous night, stood in front of the carriage as if nothing had happened, and opened the door for her.
"Miss, it's time to go to school."
Hiss—there's still this trick! Are we going to school today?!
It seems that the original owner herself is a girl who hates studying. These people are so skilled in being on high alert!
She was sent to the car from both sides, and the driver even took out a small lock and locked it from the outside: "Miss, you broke your leg jumping off the car before. I was just saying it casually, don't take it to heart."
The wheels clanged forward, and Melia hugged the cushion and shook up and down, speechless.
She's clearly written down a lot of things that are ahead of their time. Shouldn't you all be shouting, "Miss, you're so smart, you don't even need to go to school!" Besides, it's also written in "Rose Princess" that this kind of schooling is different from that kind of schooling, and it's quite different from modern schooling.
There is no school here, and there is no distinction between the titles of teacher and master.
Commoners did not need to read or write; if they wanted to learn a craft, they would become apprentices. As for the nobles, they would hire famous scholars as tutors. These scholars were often fallen nobles or captives brought back from war.
What’s so coincidental is that there is actually an educational institution similar to a school in the Roman palace.
The emperor would hire sages from his own country or other countries, mostly from Greece, to teach the princes and princesses some "elegant" subjects.
For example, rhetoric, social sciences and mathematics.
As the empire expanded, more basic schools would certainly emerge among the people, but the current court schools were more like learning salons for children of the nobility.
Princes, princesses and noble children can attend classes, go on picnics, hunt and feast together, practice sketching in the courtyard, and have horseback competitions with palace guards.
The course time is very irregular. Since it is a family-style education, they are often divided into groups of three or four and go wherever they want.
There is only class time, there is no such thing as skipping classes.
How much had the original owner done to deserve being expelled from the salon despite being the daughter of Rome's richest woman and the highest senator in the Senate? Well, I'll take a nap in the car first. It would be best if I could arrive at noon, have lunch, and then go home.
As long as it's not stinky mandarin fish, anything is fine.
…
Elena leaned against the apple tree, caught the fallen apple, and took a bite: It's okay, just a little sour.
She stretched out her body and found a comfortable position to lie down. "Math class is coming up soon, so I'd better go later." It wasn't difficult, but it was a pity that those annoying guys always filled the classroom, and only martial arts class could shut them up.
The sunlight fell dappled on the grass, and the taste of the apple in her mouth reminded her of a kitten so white it glowed.
So many days have passed, why haven't I seen her once? Maybe the Roman fairy can only stay in Rome. Does the kitten also have to travel for study and life?
Hmm, what should I do next? The old man from Greece is quite interesting. He can play with sand and stones to make a war game similar to Senet.
However, he had just been ridiculed by Titus last month, and he was probably a little angry about it, so he didn't even want to talk about his vision of a republican system.
And Melia, she's coming to class too...interesting.
Thinking of this, Elena got up from the grass and walked towards the lecture hall: Melia never knew the way and always had to be carried around by slaves. God knows how she found her cabinet and stuffed a dead mouse into it.
Unfortunately, he ran too slowly and was stopped in the corridor and beaten severely.
[Interesting? Isn't this annoying?]
By the time she came to her senses, one foot had already stepped into the lecture hall.
Neither Marcus nor Titus would delay the math class, which was now filled with the sons of nobles who were trying to curry favor with the powerful, and even the corners were occupied by slaves who took care of them.
The last row was occupied by the sons of the rulers of smaller cities: some from cities yet to be conquered, others from relatively remote tribes. Those whose parents had a particularly close relationship with Caesar would not sit there; those who were there were fawning over Marcus.
As Elena took her first steps, the classroom became quieter.
Everyone looked away at the same moment, deliberately avoiding looking at her dazzling blonde hair and eyes. Even Marcus seemed to have something to talk about suddenly. He turned his head to face his brother beside him, as if trying to organize his words.
Only Teacher Pados, who was holding a stone slab in the middle of the hall to demonstrate geometric figures, did not change at all.
Students can walk and listen without affecting the main task at hand: introducing the beauty of geometry to everyone and how to calculate the area of a set square as shown in the picture.
Ignored by everyone, Elena walked to the seat by the window and sat down, supporting her head with one hand.
In the entire hall, only the last row and the seats next to her were empty, and the crowd crowded around the older prince like birds.
Oh, Marcus doesn’t feel hot either?
I'll ask Pados for some parchment after class. What I saw last time was all related to geometric figures. Did the Greeks really believe that geometric figures could contain everything in the world?
Clang!
"Teacher, I'm late!"
The energetic voice echoed throughout the hall, reverberating off the marble panels.
Everyone's eyes unconsciously gathered at the door, and Melia blinked innocently: her emerald cat eyes were wide open, as if she was the one who was late.
What's going on? Does she understand math? Don't you remember how you got kicked out last time? Uh, maybe you don't remember.
Elena was deeply embarrassed and covered her eyes with her hands, unable to bear the sight. "Please, please, just retract your magical powers and go home."
Melia looked around and felt very satisfied: Even if she was dragged out by the teacher to stand in the corner as punishment, it would not be a loss, at least she knew how to decorate the classroom in ancient times.
I don’t know if it’s for lighting or for some other reason, but the ceiling of this lecture hall is actually hollow, allowing sunlight to shine down from directly above.
It is closer to a covered miniature stadium than a modern classroom.
"Ms. Melia, generally speaking, I wouldn't deny anyone access to the classroom at any time..."
Melia had already stepped on the floor halfway through her listening.
"…but you are not one of them." Pardos pointed seriously at his shoes on the ground, holding them up in front of the stone slab. "You said to me last time, 'Math? Geometry? You learned this useless stuff to wipe your ass?' and refused to apologize."
He stared at the innocent-looking girl in front of him, expecting her to burst into laughter, screaming and kicking the stone slabs and tables in the classroom, just as she had done last time, biting the slave assistant who came to help and breaking three precious clay tablets.
If Muala had not apologized on his behalf and bought a new set of teaching aids, he would have picked up the sword and demanded a duel before the gods.
However, in the face of his contemptuous look, the girl blinked and stood up straight: "Teacher, is it too late to apologize now? I apologize for my previous stupidity. Mathematics is a very practical subject, and geometric figures are the embodiment of beauty."
That's great! The original owner wasn't a murderer everywhere. Phew~ I was just worried that "Meliya" had killed this person's relatives and friends, but now I can only turn around and run.
"you……"
Even the students sitting in the back row put away their smiles and looked forward with horror, as if they saw Melia transforming into Godzilla and fighting Charizard.
Pardos gritted his teeth and said seriously, "Good, at least you learned to apologize. But do you think an apology is enough? Or can your father's compensation make up for everything?"
He rarely took his anger out on just one person. Pardos believed that people were multifaceted and shouldn't be overly criticized for a single flaw. But from what he knew, Melia was truly vicious and cruel in every way, and he didn't know what evil she was up to.
"Well……"
Melia thought for a moment and bowed sincerely, "You're right. That's why I've discussed with the Pantheon that we'd like to donate a street to be converted into a basic school, so that more people can appreciate the beauty of knowledge."
The bombshell was so shocking that even Marcus lost his smile: none of these princes and princesses were so generous! This, this kid's behavior of selling his father's land without any regrets just happened to collide with the truth, which was really painful.
The classroom was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. No one even paid attention to a beautiful girl who came in through the back door: Sonny playfully walked through the slaves and sat in an empty seat in the last row.
She was wearing Melia's old clothes, and no one questioned who she was. After all, every time Caesar returned victorious, there would be new people entering the palace.
Pardos took a deep breath, his mind gradually sorting out the conversation.
The anger on his face disappeared: "Okay... I accept your sincere apology."
"Thank you, teacher~" Melia shrank her neck and was about to walk around the teacher to sit next to Elena, but the tall teacher held her shoulders.
"Let me see your progress and see if you've gained any new insights into mathematics." Pardos said sternly, "Since you recognize the beauty of geometry, at least tell us how to calculate the area of a shape you like."
Find the area of a geometric figure~ Melia breathed a sigh of relief. That was great! Fortunately, it was set in a fictional ancient Rome, so her poor math knowledge wouldn't get her kicked out on the spot and made to stand in the corner.
“I like circles!”
She gestured happily, "Its area can be calculated by multiplying the square of the radius by a constant!"
Multiply by...
Pados was a little dazed, and some strange nouns seemed to flash through his mind.
He shook his head and took a roll of parchment with a circle drawn on it from the table. "Don't just calculate with your mouth. Pick up the pen."
Melia glanced at the parchment. The annotations had the radius written directly on it. It was 12. It would be embarrassing to make a mistake in front of so many people, so she decided to at least check it.
She took the pen and counted and wrote: 12x12=144. The area is 144π, and π is approximately 3.14.
The constant is 3.14? But the calculation from Egypt clearly says it's 3.16.
Pardos passed over his first reaction and did not raise the issue because a more bizarre concept had taken root in his mind.
"Meliya, why are you writing these numbers vertically? Does this make you calculate faster?"
"Um?"
Melia lowered her head and blushed. "Oh my god, what the hell am I writing? I wasn't paying attention, and the Rose Princess had affected my wrist. It was all written in complicated Roman numerals!"
She quickly crossed out the Roman numerals and replaced them with Arabic numerals: "Teacher, look—ah wow wow wow, don't pull me, if there is anything wrong, just tell me directly—"
Whoosh, the petite girl was dragged out of the classroom by Pados like a whirlwind.
The students in the classroom finally broke free from their daze and stillness, and burst into goose-like laughter: Look, Melia is in trouble again, let's see how long it will take her to be kicked home this time.
"Tsk..." Elena glanced outside worriedly, then quickly looked away. Since the teacher had already left, she simply stood up and headed for the door.
I glanced at the parchment as I passed by, and a ripple of emotion arose in my heart.
That guy... I always feel like he's a little concerned.
The author has something to say:
Thanks to Lei Lei from Luchen_piuma~
Thanks to Riyao, Kuanye@, Xiaolu Dingding, and Boyan for their support~
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