Some rational minds might wonder why they hadn’t just simply infiltrated Lukas’s workplace directly. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to approach the target head-on, dissect his habits, and shadow him up close?
If you were to ask Julius, he would refuse. It was, perhaps, a flaw due to his past. Julius was convinced that this kind of approach had already been attempted before and had ultimately failed.
He had no intention of repeating a doomed method.
To Julius, getting close to Lukas was a death sentence. Years had passed since Lukas left the battlefield, yet Julius knew with absolute certainty that the man’s strength had not faded.
Even among the Revolutionary powerhouses, Lukas’s overwhelming might rendered their ideals and their struggles almost comedic in comparison.
Julius was certain this was the only way.
"Good morning, Teacher Jeremy!"
As Julius stepped into the classroom, he was met with a chorus of bright voices. The children’s enthusiastic smiles lit up the room, their voices filling the space before he even reached his desk.
Over the past few weeks, he had settled into the school with surprising ease. Somehow, without meaning to, he had become one of the students’ favorite language teachers.
Their eyes followed him with excitement, as if each day in his class promised something new. He set his things down, returning their greetings with a nod, and found himself almost smiling at the innocent energy surrounding him.
He set his notebook on the desk and looked around the room. Little hands were already raised, eager to be chosen for a greeting or a question that had not even been asked yet.
"Alright, settle down," Julius said, lifting a hand. "We will begin soon."
They obeyed immediately, though a few were still bouncing in their seats. Julius began taking attendance, calling names one by one. Each reply came with cheerful energy as he worked through the list.
When he reached the twins, Helga and Alina, they sat up straight in their seats with matching grins.
"Present!"
Julius nodded. "Good."
Once attendance was finished, he clapped his hands.
"Today, we continue our vocabulary lesson. I hope you remember what we practiced yesterday."
A wave of confident nods filled the room.
"Good. Then let us begin with something simple." He pointed at a boy near the front. "Martin. Give me one word for the day."
Martin puffed his chest. "Apple!"
Julius nodded. "Correct. Now use it in a sentence."
"I ate an apple with my brother," Martin said proudly.
"Very good," Julius replied. "Next. Alina."
Alina thought for a moment. "Library."
"Good choice. Sentence?"
"I went to the library with my sister," she said quickly, nudging Helga.
Alina giggled.
Julius nodded. "Excellent. Helga. Your turn."
Alina grinned, eyes bright. "Teacher."
"Sentence."
"I like Teacher Jeremy!"
The class erupted into giggles, and Julius paused, clearing his throat.
"...Correct," he said, moving on. "Next."
The lesson continued. He guided them through new words, corrected pronunciation and answered their questions.
When the bell finally rang, the children stood from their seats.
"See you tomorrow, Teacher Jeremy!"
"Bye, Teacher!"
"Teacher, can you teach us writing next time?"
Julius raised a hand. "One at a time. Dismissed."
They filed out of the classroom, some looking back to wave at him before disappearing into the hallway. The twins lingered at the door.
"Teacher, could you tutor us?"
Julius looked up from his desk. "Tutor? With what?"
"We’re having a math test today," Helga said. "It’s about fractions. We failed last time, so we’re wondering if you could help us..."
Alina nodded, hugging her notebook to her chest. "Can you teach us before class starts?"
Julius raised a brow. "Fractions. I teach language."
"Yes, but..." Helga said, staring at him with wide eyes. "You explain things better than our math teacher..."
Julius sighed. "Fine. Show me. But don’t tell your math teacher."
"Hehe~"
Alina and Helga hurriedly gathered around him, dragging chairs to his desk. They opened their notebooks, pointing to messy scribbles and half-erased attempts. Julius scanned the first page.
He tapped a problem with his finger. "Look here. You have one half and one fourth. You cannot add them directly. You need a common base. The bottom number tells you how many pieces the whole is cut into."
Alina blinked. "So... two and four?"
"Good. Now, which one can change to match the other easily?"
"Half can become... fourths?" she guessed.
"Yes. One half is the same as two fourths," Julius explained. "So instead of one half plus one fourth, you think of it as two fourths plus one fourth. Then what do you get?"
"Three... fourths?"
"Correct."
Helga, seated beside Alina, raised her hand. "Teacher, how do you know what to change it to?"
"You look for the number both bottoms can share," Julius replied. He reached for a blank sheet of paper. "If you have thirds and sixths, you change them both into sixths. If you have fourths and eighths, you change both into eighths. You always want the same-sized pieces."
He drew two simple circles on the page. One he divided into two. The other into four.
"See this? One half," he said, shading a large piece. "You turn it into fourths." He split the shaded region again. "Now you have two smaller pieces. It is the same amount of cake, just cut smaller."
The twins stared, slowly nodding as though the world made a little more sense.
"So you just change the shape so they match?"
"Yes," Julius said. "Once they match, you add the top numbers. The bottoms stay the same."
Their faces lit up. He continued guiding them through practice problems. Helga seemed to struggle quite a bit compared to her sister, but she improved quickly, repeating the steps until the idea sank in.
After several minutes, Helga looked up, eyes sparkling. "Teacher, you’re really good at this."
"Of course. It’s my job to guide you kids."
The next day, Julius finished speaking with one of the administrators and stepped out of the office. He had only taken a few steps into the hallway when two small figures rushed toward him, waving papers over their heads.
"Teacher, look!"
He knelt slightly so they could hold the papers up to his eye level. Helga and Alina grinned from ear to ear. Their tests were marked with bright red circles and a large score at the top.
"Oh, wow. A perfect score? Both of you? Did you cheat?"
The twins gasped in offense.
"No!" Alina protested, shaking her head so fast her braids whipped around.
"We studied!" Helga declared proudly.
Julius crossed his arms, nodding slowly as if evaluating their claim. "Studied. Hm. Hard to believe."
"We did, really!" Alina insisted. "You taught us fractions, remember?"
Julius tapped the paper with his finger. "I did? I don’t remember. Fractions, huh? And now you can do them all?"
The twins nodded vigorously. "Yes!"
"Well then. I suppose I should congratulate you."
Their eyes brightened. They leaned forward, eager.
"Congratulations," Julius said, reaching out to ruffle their hair.
They squeaked, giggling at the unexpected gesture. Helga held her paper higher, proud.
"I showed Daddy too," she said. "He said we did great."
"...."
Julius froze for a second. The mention of Lukas crossed his mind.
"Is that so? Good. Keep impressing him."
When the two girls left for their first classes, Julius headed to the faculty room. He found the math teacher preparing worksheets at his desk.
"Yes? How may I help... you..."
The teacher’s voice faltered when he noticed Julius’s expression. Julius gave a small gesture with his hand, indicating they should speak elsewhere. The teacher nodded quickly and led him down the hall to an empty meeting room.
"Y-Yes, sir? Is there a problem?" the teacher asked.
"It’s too obvious," Julius said. "I told you to pass them, not hand them perfect scores."
The teacher swallowed. "It’s okay, sir. It’s better this way. The twins will grow overconfident. When they slowly begin to fail, they’ll understand the value you bring. They will rely on you more."
Julius just stared at him, unimpressed. The teacher kept talking, trying to justify himself.
"That’s not the point. Subtlety matters," Julius said, cutting him off. "Anyway, next time, fail them. Teach a new topic. Helga tends to struggle with problem-solving, and Alina has difficulty when terms become too theoretical. Focus on that."
The teacher nodded quickly. "I understand, sir. I will adjust their lessons accordingly."
"Good." Julius stepped toward the door, pausing just long enough to add, "Children learn the fastest through pressure. Don’t make it too easy. But don’t make it suspicious either."
"Yes, sir. You can leave it to me."
It had to be said, but every faculty member was well aware that the new language teacher was an officer of the Secret Police. The moment his identity was quietly confirmed among the staff, no one dared question him.
They followed his directions, adjusted their instruction, and bowed their heads without complaint. The consequences of refusing cooperation were not spoken aloud, but everyone understood the implications.
To interfere with a Directorate officer, even unknowingly, was enough to destroy a career, or worse, a life.