Chapter 5

She was so shocked that the word surprised could not begin to cover it. It was not something a man who had been threatening her with hanging just moments ago ought to say, talking about how he liked her and the like. And before she knew it, Michael had come right up in front of her.

“There are times when that innocent and reckless courage can be a source of strength. That is why I want you, Miss Denier.”

“…….?!”

A faint smile rose on the face that had been wearing a cynical expression. Michael had become certain when Seina poured water over Julia’s head. That there was no teacher better for his elder sister than Seina.

Until now, he had brought in several governesses, but not one of them had treated Julia solely as a student the way Seina had. All of them had merely watched the mood and skimmed the surface. As a result, the idea of education had become hollow in name. More often than not, they only took advantage of the prestige of being a governess to the Grand Duke’s household.

But Michael, seeing Seina’s cheeks flushed pink even in the darkness, gave a hollow laugh.

“Ha! Miss Denier, it seems you have misunderstood what I said.”

“What? What…… do you mean?”

“I did not mean that I like you as a woman.”

Michael even shook his head from side to side in a tone that said the idea was absurd. At once, Seina’s pink complexion turned pale.

“I am not foolish enough to make that kind of misunderstanding.”

She had merely been startled because the wording, that he wanted her, had been rather shocking. It was not a phrase she often used or heard. More than anything, she was not unaware of her own place. She knew perfectly well that for someone like her, even blushing at the sight of the Grand Duke of Lebia was an act beyond her station.

“In that case, I hope you do not forget this from now on.”

“What?”

“That Julia is an Imperial Princess, and you are nothing more than a hired servant.”

“I know.”

“To teach a noble being means, in other words, that you must stake your life.”

At Michael’s words, Seina swallowed dryly in tension. So that was why he had interrupted her. Whatever you are, whatever you do, do not forget your place.

“Education is all very well, but there are also things that must absolutely not be done.”

“Please tell me.”

“Never, ever cross the line.”

“I will bear it in mind.”

“You had better. If you do not wish to shorten your life.”

It was a kind of warning not to handle his unstable elder sister carelessly under the excuse of education, or a warning not to mistake the authority given to a teacher for power and to use it properly. To begin with, she would have understood even if he had said it more kindly. His behavior of frightening and threatening her by talking about her life was not right either. No, perhaps Michael was simply that kind of person by nature.

‘He feels like someone whose soul is twisted.’

“Will six months be enough?”

Michael’s question pulled Seina from the brief thoughts she had fallen into.

“Six months?”

“I do not believe Julia can, through education alone, think and behave like people her actual age. Still, it would be troublesome for her to remain as wild as a beast……. It would be good if, within six months, you could make her into a well-mannered lady— no, a quiet child.”

Michael did not explain in detail why it had to be six months. He merely said firmly, like an order, that it had to be done. Only then did Seina let out a sigh of relief. At the very least, she had escaped hanging. But before that, there was something she needed to make clear to the Grand Duke.

“I understand your meaning, Your Highness. I will not cross the line or mistake authority for power. But at least when we are in the midst of education, we must be teacher and student. If that relationship collapses, proper teaching cannot take place.”

“Are you asking me to trust you unconditionally? You?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“Please do not see everything I do in a bad light.”

As he had said, asking him to trust her immediately was not persuasive to begin with. Building trust would require time and effort.

At that moment, Michael suddenly held out his hand toward Seina.

“…….?!”

Not understanding why, Seina could only stare blankly at his face.

“The agreement has been made, so let us conclude it with a handshake.”

“Ah.”

She carefully took the hand Michael extended.

‘There is not a trace of warmth.’

A cold hand. Unexpectedly, it was also a hand covered with many calluses. He must train often in swordsmanship or shooting. It was not as though a Grand Duke would swing an axe until his hands were rough.

When Seina, her face flushed, looked to see Michael’s expression, just as expected, his ashen eyes were sharply examining her.

* * *

“You will not stay the night?”

“I cannot leave the convent unattended for too long.”

Seina complained a little as she looked at Hilda, who was leaving late at night. After the disturbance had been settled, Seina and Hilda had already cleared up their misunderstanding, and Seina had also heard a scolding and words of advice. Yet Hilda stubbornly insisted on returning to the convent that very night. She reassured Seina, saying it would be safe since she would be riding in a carriage provided by the Grand Duke’s household.

“Sister Hilda, why did Lady Julia develop an affliction of the mind?”

Naturally, she ought to ask the Grand Duke, but he was hardly someone with whom even meeting eyes was easy.

“I do not know the details either, but the Grand Duke and the Lady are half-siblings.”

“Half-siblings?”

“It is the tragedy of House Impea.”

Hilda clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“I heard that when Lady Julia was about eleven, she witnessed her own mother committing s*icide. From that shock, her mind was never sound again.”

“My goodness! But why would she take her own life?”

“That is not something it would do you any good to know. It is enough if you know only that much.”

Hilda looked as though she had no intention of saying any more. Rather, she seemed to believe that too much information would be poison to Seina. Yet before getting into the carriage, Hilda tightly held Seina’s hand and put on a grave expression.

“Seina, you must remember what I am about to say from now on.”

“What are you trying to say……?”

“In this Bellus, the safest place for you is right here, Woodville. So all you need to do is teach Lady Julia well.”

“But Montes Convent is a safe place too.”

“That something is sacred can also mean it can be defiled in an instant. In the end, it is a place without power.”

Seina could not readily understand what Hilda meant. She only kept saying strange things, like not to take off her glasses, and that it was safest for her to stay attached to Woodville. And all the while, Hilda knew better than anyone that Seina had never lived a life involving danger.

“And if, while living in Woodville, you notice anything strange…….”

“Anything strange?”

“Ah, no. I will tell you when we meet next time. In any case, I will come to see you often.”

Hilda stopped herself just as she was about to say something important.

“Until I contact you separately, you absolutely must remain here in Woodville. Understood?”

“Yes……? I will. Do not worry. I will write letters to the convent every week.”

“Yes. I shall wait only for your letters to come.”

Seina and Hilda parted in tears. Seina remained standing in place until the carriage Hilda rode in was no longer visible. Life without Hilda by her side was frightening, but she knew well that she could not keep living while depending on someone else. It was time now to carve out her own life as a proper adult. Even so, it was hard to hold back the sorrow rising to her throat. Then she turned over Hilda’s words again in her mind.

‘What is the tragedy of House Impea?’

Hilda had said she did not need to know, but Seina felt as though she had to know if she was to truly educate Julia. If Julia’s mind had been sound, there would have been no reason to agonize over it. But because it was a special case, it seemed difficult simply to let it pass.

* * *

Michael’s hand holding the polishing cloth was careful. After finishing his conversation with Seina, he had returned to his study and was meticulously cleaning a silver revolver. It was a new model newly brought in from the homeland, and before today, he had never had the chance to test it properly.

‘What a waste of a bullet.’

He had not wanted to fire the first shot at nothing more than a viper’s head. At the very least, he had wanted to fire it properly at an assassin aiming for him. At that moment, he recalled the report given by his aide Matthew before Seina’s interview.

[Your Highness, I have investigated the new governess for the Imperial Princess.]

[Report.]

Matthew handed Michael several sheets of paper, and Michael read through them with an indifferent expression, though his eyes alone were sharp.

[There are no records, but it is certain that she is an orphan. So that is not something you need to be concerned about, Your Highness. It is certain that she is from Bellus, and the surname Denier is the same as that of the Mother Superior.]

[Find records from before the age of five somehow. There is always some story, even if only as much as a speck.]

[But Montes Convent is old in history and a trustworthy place. As you know, Your Highness, Mother Superior Hilda is one of the respected religious figures. And every year, there is no end to the orphans abandoned in front of the convent.]

Before Bellus became a vassal state of Lebia, the two countries had fought a great war, and at that time there had been many orphans in Bellus who had lost their parents. So Seina Denier must be one of those orphans. But on what grounds, and from where, was he supposed to find records?

[There are always exceptions. Rather, it may be that someone used that very point to approach us.]

[Oh, surely not?]

[Because of that “surely not,” my parents were assassinated.]

Michael glared terrifyingly at his secretary Matthew. His father had been the only Grand Duke of Great Lebia and the hero who conquered Bellus. On the day he returned in triumph to Lebia after turning Bellus into a vassal state, he was shot before the eyes of the Imperial citizens. Who was the culprit? Naturally, they had thought it was a Bellusian. But it was actually one of the politicians in Lebia who had shared his views.

[You mean she might be an assassin disguised as a governess. If there is even one tiny thing that feels suspicious.]

[If there is?]

[Then she must be dealt with.]

Michael had spoken indifferently, as though it were obvious. Then he changed the subject.

[Have you found the men who assassinated the former Minister?]

Michael’s expression grew serious again. Every Minister appointed to Bellus had been assassinated by Bellusian independence groups called Black Swan. Since they operated in small cells and their identities were unclear, wiping them out was no easy matter.

[Not yet. But one major piece of information has been obtained.]

[What is it?]

[It is said that those Black Swan bastards are searching for Bellus’s last Princess.]

[Bellus’s last Princess?]

[They must be trying to rebuild Bellus.]

[Ha! So the last Princess, who was only ever rumored to exist, is actually alive?]

[Yes.]

[Then we had better find her first and put her on the guillotine.]

Michael cast aside his thoughts and set the revolver he had been holding down on the table. Soon, in the gleaming surface of the polished gun, he caught sight of his own eyes, filled with unease.