The Empress Dowager murmured with a face that showed not the slightest regret. The crooked smile on her proper face was disgusting. Khalil tried not to load his gaze with emotion. 

 The Empress Dowager knew this and let out a small laugh. He slowly chewed on the heat warming his head. The Empress Dowager pulled her lips while tilting her head as if gauging his reaction. Khalil looked darkly at the woman before parting his lips. 

 ‘I apologize for not recognizing Your Highness’s deep intentions. Please send a teacher who will gladly teach my daughter.’ 

 His proper face was composed without even clenching his fist once. The Empress Dowager looked at the man who frightfully showed no emotion. As her smile naturally faded, only silence lingered purely between them. The Empress Dowager received his steadily resting gaze without wavering before rising from her seat. 

 Two days later, a young tutor with her brown hair tied up high arrived at Count Spetunia’s mansion. She was a quasi-noble from Gishu who had earned the trust of the Albrov ducal family, the Empress Dowager’s birth family. The woman, who graduated from a private girls’ school sponsored by the Albrov family and had taught young noble girls for the past 20 years, was as strict and stern as her harsh impression suggested. 

 “Wrong. You should have looked at the slope of the figure precisely. Hold out your hand.” 

 “B-but……” 

 “Ahem.” 

 Jeanne, who had been glancing at her while whimpering, closed her lips tightly. The woman narrowed her brows. Her heart pounded heavily. The baton that had been pointing at the blackboard poked her chest. This was her reaction when Jeanne didn’t respond while holding her hands to her chest. 

 Jeanne slowly held out her hands. Fear came before displeasure, and self-loathing at disappointing the teacher sent by the Empress Dowager came before fear. She swallowed her sobs and held out both hands. The straight, thin baton struck her palms without hesitation. 

 “Ouch!” 

 Tears welled up. The dull pain and burning sensation made her bite down on her lips. One, two, three…… The teacher said she would strike the palm three times for each wrong answer. For etiquette lessons it would be the calves, and for arithmetic and history lessons the calves as well…… 

 History was fine. Though etiquette lessons were difficult, she could follow along well enough. 

 Her straight neck and back hurt every time she walked gracefully with thick books balanced on her head. It was an unfamiliar posture and too burdensome for an eight-year-old child to maintain for dozens of minutes. 

 Though walking with hands neatly folded without making the floor echo was said to be a basic accomplishment for noble young ladies, everything was a first for Jeanne. 

 Moreover, Madam Solis the tutor was a woman stingy with praise. Whether it was her natural disposition or because she disliked Jeanne was unclear, but Jeanne knew this woman didn’t particularly like her. She couldn’t not know. From the first day, she had looked Jeanne up and down before critiquing her clothing and way of speaking. 

 ‘What a beautiful person, like a lark. Indeed worthy of all the praise I’ve heard.’ 

 ‘What do you……” 

 The nanny maid standing beside Jeanne opened her lips as if somewhat displeased. Madam Solis glanced at the maid with sharp eyes before closing her thin lips. The maid lowered her head deeply as if startled. Jeanne shrunk her shoulders, intimidated by the woman’s cold gaze. 

 ‘Madam Solis, what you just said……’

 The old butler who had been quietly watching them asked carefully. Madam Solis briefly parted her lips as if she hadn’t expected this, then glanced at Jeanne. The butler hardened his face before clearing his throat. 

 ‘I merely spoke of the rumors. After Lady Jeanne returned to Derosa, all of Poniente was in an uproar. No, not just Poniente. Este and Norte were noisy too. All of Derosa……’

 Poniente was short for ‘Rosa Poniente.’ Though usually called the ‘West Bank,’ its official designation was ‘Rosa Poniente’ and referred to the area where the capital’s nobles lived. 

 It was called the ‘West Bank’ because it was located on the western side of the Serene River that ran through Derosa. Similarly, Este and Norte were the East and North Banks, with official names of ‘Rosa Este’ and ‘Rosa Norte’ respectively. 

 Unlike Poniente, Este and Norte were residential areas for commoners, so saying all of Poniente was in an uproar meant the central nobles were in an uproar. That was natural. It was the return of the girl who had been chosen as the Emperor’s betrothed from the womb. It couldn’t help but be noisy. However…… 

 ‘……Even so, it would be better to refrain from such words before the young lady. As you can see, she is still young and knows nothing about the matters surrounding her.’ 

 ‘Because she knows nothing, I think she should learn now. What positions the adults around her hold, what seat she will reign from. These are all things she must know.’ 

 Madam Solis smiled faintly. Her expression as she pulled her lips was threatening. 

 It was evident just from meeting her gaze that she was fundamentally someone without smiles. Except when expressing her twisted mood, she likely never showed gentle expressions to those of lower status than herself. Everyone present thought the same. 

 Jeanne carefully grasped the maid’s skirt hem. 

 ‘Though beautiful, the position of Emperor’s bride is not one that can be obtained by beauty alone.’ 

 Madam Solis moved her thin lips while looking Jeanne up and down. Jeanne read the frost in her eyes. Her tone suggested that what Jeanne had was nothing. Even if her expression was cold, it would have been fine if her manner of speaking was warm. 

 However, the woman who picked apart and critiqued Jeanne from head to toe had a face that showed she disliked Jeanne herself. 

 “Hic, hic……” 

 “Calculate it again.” 

 Madam Solis spoke in a stern voice toward Jeanne who burst into tears while clutching her reddened hands. Jeanne hiccupped while her shoulders shook. The woman shot her a sharp look. Jeanne quickly grabbed her quill pen, frightened. 

 She couldn’t understand arithmetic no matter how many times she studied. However, Madam Solis said she would add two more subjects next week. Naturally the class hours would increase and her time with the teacher would increase as well. Jeanne was already scared. 

 She was afraid of getting her palms or calves struck by Madam Solis, but she was also afraid of disappointing her. She wasn’t confident she could do better than this. Moreover, Madam Solis the tutor was a woman stingy with praise. Even when she wrote correct answers, there wasn’t a single word of praise. When wrong, she would strike while…… 

 “I, I don’t understand.” 

 Jeanne shook her head while whimpering. Though it was an explanation she had just heard, she couldn’t remember. She felt like an idiot. Jeanne lowered her head deeply, thoroughly frightened. It seemed like she would say how could someone like this become the Emperor’s wife. Jeanne sniffled sadly, unable to bear hearing such reproach. 

 “I just taught you earlier.” 

 “B-but I still don’t understand. I can’t remember.” 

 Jeanne put down her quill pen while her shoulders shook. Whether it was her natural way or not, Madam Solis did not teach her step by step. She would roughly summarize the key points before having her solve problems. As this was Jeanne’s first time with such lessons, she thought they were all like this. 

 Especially since she was sent by the Empress Dowager and was from a famous private girls’ school in the east with 20 years of experience teaching noble girls her age. Jeanne wanted to do well. She wanted to do well at everything. Her father had expectations and her mother had encouraged her saying she must do well. 

 Her half-sister Antonia was a year younger but was said to be good at everything from arithmetic to history due to consistent tutoring. So she could probably solve such problems with her eyes closed. In truth, that made Jeanne sad and frustrated. 

 That despite being a whole year older, she couldn’t do anything Antonia could…… Though her father said he loved her, being an illegitimate daughter weighed on her mind. Perhaps that’s why she wanted to do even better. Because she didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Even that brother…… 

 She thought of the Emperor. Though they weren’t even married yet, everyone thought of her as the Emperor’s wife. Not simply because her entry to the palace was approaching, but because they said she was destined to be his wife from her mother’s womb. 

 However, Jeanne didn’t want to. She wanted to quit everything and return to the village where she lived with her mother. 

 “Lady Jeanne.” 

 Madam Solis who had heaved a deep sigh called her. Jeanne didn’t answer. 

 Suddenly the thick door resonated as someone entered. Jeanne didn’t raise her head and only fidgeted with her reddened hands. It must be father. 

 Jeanne could now tell it was her father just from hearing the low shoe heels. The proper resonance without a hint of frivolity was heavy yet monotonous. Her heart pounded heavily. 

 “Your Grace.” 

 Madam Solis hurriedly lowered her head. She was flustered, not knowing what to do with the baton she was holding. Khalil lifted up his whimpering daughter without even giving the woman a glance. The child as light as a feather buried her face in his chest. 

 He lightly patted her thin back before staring at the woman who had bowed her head.