Chapter 6

“Hmph.”

At this point, it was probably right for her to back down.

Click.

She leaned her back against the door and let out a long breath.

‘What the hell, what a nasty man.’

Surely he was not teaching etiquette? He did not look like someone with anything worth learning from.

Now that she thought about it, the baton that had seemed to shrink was suspicious too. At first she had thought she had seen it wrong, but now the suspicion took root that what he had clenched in his fist and hidden really had been a baton.

‘And why couldn’t he hear the knocking?’

Branded as a rude person without even getting the chance to explain herself, she stormed down the corridor in irritation.

Then she ran into Henry, who was walking quickly.

“Hmm? That is not the direction of the Young Master’s study, Miss.”

“……Henry, about that.”

It seemed the incident from earlier had upset her more than she had realized.

She had nearly blurted out her suspicions about the tutor to Henry on the spot. But if an outsider like her did that, it would only look as though a rolling stone was trying to dislodge one already settled in place.

After calming her anger, she asked as rationally and calmly as possible,

“By any chance, what kind of person is the tutor?”

“Ah, you mean Viscount Walter. He is a scholar who formerly served as a full professor at Landchild Academy, and he is well known for his excellent character. Have you already met him?”

Of course. He was Cesar’s tutor, after all. There was no way they would have chosen someone strange.

“I see. It’s just that I seemed to interrupt the lesson. It seems no message was passed on in advance.”

“Ah….”

Henry let out a short sigh. It seemed he had simply forgotten.

Before Henry could apologize, she spoke first.

“It looked like the lesson would take a while. The teacher seemed very passionate about it, so I didn’t want to interrupt. Do you know when the lesson ends? Would it be alright if I came back after tomorrow’s class instead?”

Henry answered, his face brightening.

“Yes, please do. The Young Master will likely remain in the study even after the lesson, until dinner time. How about arriving a bit before dinner and joining us for the evening meal? With the Young Master. His Grace’s schedule is free as well, so I can inform him if you’d like.”

She answered readily.

“Sounds good. I’ll do that. See you tomorrow, Henry.”

***

Just as expected, she headed for the Fernande ducal residence at the same time as yesterday.

“Visit after the lesson ends? As if.”

From the look of it, Henry did not seem to know Cesar’s lesson schedule clearly either, and he clearly didn’t know much about the tutor whose character seemed off.

Besides, Cesar’s little round eyes as he had looked at her kept bothering her all through the night.

There were too many things that felt wrong.

As the head of a merchant guild that made the finest toys in the Empire, she could say with certainty: those were the eyes of a child standing on the verge of tears. When a toy failed to work properly, children always looked at her with just those eyes. At such times, she had to quickly soothe them and say it was all right.

Her steps quickened.

After meeting Henry in advance and asking one favor of him, she headed straight to the study. Then, without even knocking, she flung the door open.

Viscount Walter turned to look at her. His eyes widened, and he stared at her in surprise before giving a small bow and speaking.

“……I have heard. That you are soon to become the Young Master’s mother.”

Today, that suspicious baton was nowhere in sight. The Viscount’s expression and tone toward her were gentle as well. Unlike yesterday, she had not even knocked…….

What an impressively quick change of attitude.

She walked boldly over to Cesar’s side and said,

“Yes. I’m the one who is soon to become the Duchess Fernande.”

When she pointed to her chest with an elegant gesture and smiled with her eyes, Viscount Walter wore a pleasant smile.

“My sincere congratulations, Madame. Since someone as wise as you is becoming a member of the ducal family, this must be good news for Young Master Cesar as well. Ha ha.”

“…Thank you for your kind words, Sir.”

“However, were you not informed? This is currently the Young Master’s lesson time…….”

Viscount Walter scratched his head and spoke with an awkward expression, as though trying to placate her.

His abrupt change in attitude deeply irritated her.

Without sparing the Viscount so much as a glance, she crouched down in front of Cesar.

“Yes. But I heard that from now on, it is playtime.”

Bang!

No sooner had she finished speaking than servants came pouring in, carrying boxes. They were the toys that had completed inspection yesterday and had been moved to the playroom.

In an instant, the study was filled with toys. At the sight of the pile of toys stacked high, Cesar’s face brightened.

Only then did she rise to her feet and say,

“I think today’s lesson can end here, Sir. Thank you for your hard work. Well then.”

Walter lightly swept his chilled gaze across the study. The veins stood out on his clenched fist. Soon, however, the Viscount concealed his tightly clenched hand with his sleeve and replied with seasoned composure.

“Yes. It was an honor, Madame. Then.”

‘As expected, he’s suspicious.’

Any person who was not pleased to be told to go home from work deserved suspicion. That was a lesson she had learned firsthand through many years as the head of a merchant guild. There was a reason the Everdeen Merchant Guild had never once failed to catch spies.

She added, as though driving in a wedge,

“Hm? Please, do go along now, Sir.”

Once Viscount Walter disappeared from sight, Cesar finally smiled brightly and opened his mouth.

***

Half a month later.

Even while running the Everdeen Merchant Guild, she had always trusted her instincts. Unexpectedly, she had a good eye for people.

Viscount Walter was suspicious beyond necessity.

‘He feels deeply unsettling.’

Visiting the Duke Fernande family again after a long while, she headed for Cesar’s study in long, brisk strides.

In the meantime, the wedding preparations had gone smoothly. During that entire period, she had not set foot in the ducal household even once.

There was only one reason she had stayed away from the ducal house.

‘Lowering his guard.’

She had to wait for a moment when that mustached teacher let his guard down.

‘Though it did worry me a little that Cesar had been left with Viscount Walter all this time…….’

Tense, she placed her hand on the doorknob. Perhaps because they had been mindful of noise, Cesar’s study was located all the way at the end of the corridor.

‘And of all things, it’s tucked away far from Sierd’s office?’

She hugged the dolphin doll in her hand tightly. It was a toy into which an artifact had been implanted. She had been stalling all this time in order to sneak this in. If Sierd invited her first, the inspection would not be so strict.

The doorknob turned smoothly without a sound.

Tap tap tap.

“Have you made another mistake? At this rate, you will only be a burden to His Grace, Cesar.”

‘Cesar?’

Had she heard that wrong just now? A mere viscount from a vassal family dared to speak the young duke’s name so casually? The hand she had clenched trembled.

“Again.”

The back of the mustached teacher blocked Cesar’s child-sized desk from view.

The silver baton in his hand tapped, tapped against the desk. Each time it did, Cesar shifted his feet uneasily. The child’s anxiety could be felt all the way where she stood.

Even so, Viscount Walter continued in a threatening, admonishing tone,

“Hm, try it again.”

“…….”

“That is not it. If His Grace were to see this, he would certainly be disappointed.”

“…….”

“Again.”

Each time that stern voice rang out, Cesar adjusted his grip on the pencil.

There were three reasons in total, based on what she had witnessed today, for Viscount Walter’s dismissal.

First, he kept invoking ‘His Grace’ to crush the child’s self-esteem.

Second, he used a baton meant for indicating blackboards or teaching materials to menace the child and create fear.

Third, a noble from a vassal family was carelessly calling the young duke by name.

She did not want to bring up this damned status system if she could help it, but everything about Viscount Walter trying to lord himself over Cesar began there.

A young child who had gone silent from shock. At the same time, the next heir of the family he was supposed to serve. He was suppressing such a child to satisfy the hunger born from his own inferiority.

She quietly closed the door. Then she sank against the wall, hugging her weakened legs.

‘Sierd really…… didn’t know, did he.’

That Cesar was going through something like this.

‘If he had known, it would only have been normal for him to separate that man from the child long ago.’

She should have realized it from the moment he did not even properly know how his son was living.

Clutching the dolphin doll tightly, she rose to her feet.

She wanted to take Cesar by the hand and lead him out immediately, but it was not time yet.

“First… I need to gather evidence.”

The Duke Fernande family had kept the Everdeen Merchant Guild, which dealt in artifacts, at arm’s length.

She would soon become the Duchess and live here, so it would be better to avoid drawing attention to herself.

But…….

‘Why did I make toys in the first place.’

Unlike herself, who had endured a miserable childhood, she wanted other children to laugh often, chatter, play pranks, and simply be happy. As long as she remembered that, she could not pretend not to see a child who ought to be cared for.

As she returned to the playroom, she steeled her resolve.