I looked at the old man in bewilderment.

Love affair…… what?

No, more importantly, that old man.

‘Who exactly is he?’

To barge into the room of the Duke by flinging the door open like that.

‘And it seems Winston couldn’t freely stop him either.’

I narrowed my eyes.

It wasn’t difficult to deduce his identity.

After all, there are only a few people in this empire who can visit Cardien’s room as they please.

The imperial family, ministers, and…….

The Council of Elders.’

When our eyes met, gray eyes flashed between his wrinkles.

As if sizing up prey…….

“First.”

At the sudden voice, I flinched and looked up.

Cardien was looking down at me.

“You’re a bit heavy, Tutor.”

“……? Oh!”

Belatedly coming to my senses, I quickly got off Cardien’s body.

“S-Sorry.”

Cardien slowly sat up.

Now I noticed he was only wearing a robe, his chest fully exposed.

Since he had been unconscious, it seems they had difficulty changing his clothes, so they just wiped his body and put a robe on him.

When his broad, firm chest came into view, my face flushed and I turned my head away.

Then my eyes met Winston’s.

Winston, who had hurriedly followed the old man in, had been staring at Cardien and me with blank eyes since earlier.

He looked like he still couldn’t believe that Cardien was awake and moving.

I smiled at Winston and blinked.

Roughly, a gesture saying that everything was fine now, so he could relax.

Winston’s eyes wavered and then began to well up.

The old man, unaware of what was happening behind him, stared at me and addressed me.

“Who are you, young lady?”

It was a neutral question, neither particularly polite nor rude.

However, the look in his eyes as he asked was so sharp it was hard to believe he was an old man.

I looked at the old man and then calmly bowed.

“Hello. I am Livia Pellington.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I added one more thing.

“I am Vincent’s live-in tutor.”

“Live-in tutor?”

At that moment, a cold smile spread across the old man’s lips.

He turned to Winston.

“A live-in tutor? So the child still doesn’t attend the academy?”

Winston flinched at his chilling tone.

That’s when it happened.

“The Council of Elders must be quite idle these days. To take interest even in the young master’s education.”

Might as well dissolve it.

Cardien, who had stepped down from the bed without even closing the front of his robe, sneered with n*ked contempt.

The old man frowned at Cardien’s behavior.

“You’re still lacking in proper conduct, Your Grace.”

Is it my imagination?

He seemed to emphasize “Your Grace” particularly.

Indeed, the old man’s eyes were filled with hostility toward Cardien.

The emphasis on “Your Grace” probably implied that the title didn’t suit him and he should come to his senses.

Cardien couldn’t have missed that.

Sure enough.

“And the great Head of the Council of Elders of Mercedes is unnecessarily robust.”

“……”

It seemed like they were embedding not just knives but bombs in their exchange of words.

In the end, it was the old man who backed down first.

The old man glanced at Cardien with narrowed eyes, then stepped back and said.

“It seems this is not the right time, so I will take my leave.”

Cardien didn’t even bother to respond.

Just before crossing the threshold, the old man took me in with his eyes.

Chills.

Is it my imagination?

The old man’s eyes were like a snake eyeing its prey, and it gave me goosebumps.

Click.

After the old man left, silence descended upon the room as if a storm had just passed through.

It was Winston who broke the silence.

“M-Master……!”

He approached quickly and stared at Cardien with blank eyes.

Cardien, who had been quietly looking down at Winston, soon parted his lips.

“I heard from the tutor. That I was unconscious for ten days.”

‘Wow……’

I inwardly exclaimed as I watched Cardien speak in such a stiff manner.

To talk about his own situation as if it were someone else’s story.

Anyone would think he was talking about a complete stranger.

Winston bowed his head deeply.

His shoulders trembled slightly.

It seems this incident was quite shocking even for him, the cold-hearted butler of the villain’s house.

“Y-Yes, that’s correct…… We couldn’t wake you up no matter what methods we tried…… But……”

Winston’s gaze turned toward me.

His brown eyes wavered like they had encountered a storm.

‘How on earth did you do it?’

His eyes seemed to be asking that.

I had been prepared to reveal my ability, but for now…….

“I-I’ll be going now. You must be tired, so please get some rest.”

This wasn’t the time for me to intervene.

Above all.

‘……It’s so distracting!’

The broad chest occasionally visible through Cardien’s open robe was too distracting.

“Wait……”

I think I heard Winston trying to stop me, but I just nodded and quickly left the room.

Bang.

After closing the door, I leaned against it and let out a long sigh.

‘……I’m exhausted.’

This wasn’t the first time I had entered a dream, but for some reason, this dream seemed to drain my mental and physical energy more severely.

Well…….

‘It wasn’t an ordinary dream after all.’

No, Cardien’s dreams were never ordinary, but this one was particularly serious.

Anyway, I think I need to talk to Cardien again later.

At least Cardien would have seen the same scenes as I did.

‘For now, I should rest too.’

And I also need to start Vincent’s lessons again soon, so I should make plans for that.

‘I need to meet Lemon too.’

There’s a mountain of things to do.

Just as I was about to trudge toward my room.

Suddenly feeling a gaze on my back, I flinched and quickly turned my head.

“……”

At the end of the corridor, the white-haired old man, the Head of the Council of Elders, was watching me.

Despite the distance, his gleaming eyes were vivid.

“The Council of Elders……”

Truly, an unpleasant person.

Both here and in the original story.

I turned away from him and deliberately strode back to my room.

That gaze persistently followed me until I turned the corner.

***

I had many things to do, but the most urgent was…….

“You’re going to resume lessons?”

The next morning, I went to see Winston.

Winston looked surprised when I told him I wanted to resume Vincent’s lessons today.

“B-But you must still be unwell…… You don’t have to push yourself.”

Winston tried to dissuade me, breaking into a cold sweat.

It’s an ironic situation.

To think that none other than the formidable Winston would be trying to postpone Vincent’s lessons.

Under normal circumstances, I might have found it curious and listened to him.

But…….

“No, I’ve rested for too long. And it’s almost the end of the year……”

At the end of the year, the Imperial Academy holds year-end exams that even students on leave can take.

Students who score high on those exams can enjoy privileges in the following year.

Moreover, the year-end exam results remain like a tag and influence even after graduation.

It can be considered the most important exam of the year.

Because of this, some students occasionally resort to cheating, and some faint from the pressure.

There have even been students who were expelled for carrying out chemical attacks to reduce competition.

‘I was also unknowingly targeted many times.’

Anyway, that’s not the important part.

“……I don’t know if the young master will take the exam or not.”

Honestly, there’s a greater chance he won’t.

“Still, I want to do my best.”

At my words, Winston looked at me quietly and then sighed, nodding his head.

“With your will being so firm, I dare not stop you.”

After saying that, Winston soon looked at me and grinned with a meaningful smile.

“One thing I should mention is that if you proceed with the lessons this time, you’ll probably be surprised.”

“Pardon?”

What does that mean?

I looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Winston didn’t seem inclined to explain properly.

Well.

‘I’ll find out when I get to the lesson.’

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since the last lesson, but my heart was already starting to flutter.

***

“She’s resuming Vincent’s lessons?”

Cardien, who had received the report from Winston, stopped his pen and asked.

Both sides are pushing themselves too hard.

Thinking to himself, Winston bowed his head.

“Yes, she said she will resume them from this afternoon.”

“Really…… Is there nothing but lessons in her head? How remarkable.”

Cardien sneered heavily.

But Winston knew that this came from affection for Livia, so he quietly smiled.

After thinking for a moment, Cardien’s lips parted.

“That person.”

When he finally raised his head, his purple eyes were frozen colder than ever before.

Cardien spoke in a voice filled with chill.

“Where is that person now?”