Winston flinched at Cardien’s question, then slowly bowed his head and answered.

“He has declared his plan to remain here until the upcoming Grand Council.”

“Not declared his plan, but unilaterally informed us, I’m sure.”

Cardien sneered coldly and resumed moving his pen.

Crack.

But before long, the pen nib broke. Cardien’s hand stopped.

The document was already torn by the nib, with ink spreading across it.

Winston, who witnessed this, showed a sympathetic look.

However, that look disappeared without a trace the moment Cardien raised his head.

“The Grand Council is merely an excuse anyway.”

“An excuse…… you say?”

Winston asked with widened eyes.

Meanwhile, having replaced his pen with a new one, Cardien answered with an expressionless face.

“There’s still a month left until the Grand Council, yet he suddenly appears and says he wants to stay?”

Hmph.

A cold smile formed at the corner of Cardien’s mouth.

“He’s spouting lies that even a dog wouldn’t believe.”

“Then……”

“He must have a separate agenda.”

“An agenda……!”

Winston raised his voice in surprise.

What possible agenda could that elder of Mercedes have here?

“We’ll find out what his agenda is in due time.”

Slash.

The pen nib mercilessly cut across the document.

Resembling the beheading of someone.

“Keep a close watch so he doesn’t act recklessly. Especially.”

Cardien’s gaze lowered.

Soon his lips parted again.

“Make sure he doesn’t approach the tutor and Vincent.”

At those words, Winston showed another surprised expression.

Because until now, Cardien had never tried to protect anyone.

Realizing how much his master had changed, Winston nodded.

“The tutor has Chelsea, so you needn’t worry. As for the young master, I will discreetly inform him.”

“That maid Chelsea.”

Cardien raised his head and looked at Winston.

“Is she trustworthy?”

The management of household staff in the mansion was handled entirely by Winston, the head butler, and Rosanne, the head maid.

This was because the position of the Duchess, the lady of the house, was vacant.

Normally, the maid Chelsea would be under the supervision of Rosanne, the head maid, but Chelsea’s case was somewhat special.

She wasn’t formally interviewed and hired by Rosanne, but was taken in by Winston and directly became a formal maid after a brief apprenticeship.

Since she had been under Winston’s supervision from her apprenticeship, he was still overseeing her.

As she hadn’t formally submitted documents or gone through an interview, there was no information about her remaining in Mercedes.

Where she was born, what background she grew up in, how old she was, and whether “Chelsea” was even her real name.

Cardien was pointing out this issue.

When Cardien had assigned Chelsea to Livia, he hadn’t been interested in Chelsea.

More precisely, he hadn’t been interested in either Chelsea or Livia at all.

So it hadn’t mattered to him who Chelsea was when she was assigned to Livia.

But now the situation was different.

Now……

Winston, who understood Cardien’s thoughts, immediately bowed his head.

“I personally vouch for that child’s identity.”

“……”

Cardien stared at Winston silently before turning his gaze away.

“If the butler says so, then she must be trustworthy.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“And.”

Cardien’s words didn’t end there.

After a moment’s consideration, Cardien slowly parted his lips.

“Send a secret letter to the Crown Prince.”

“To His Highness the Crown Prince…… you say?”

Winston asked with a surprised face.

It was understandable, as while the Crown Prince had initiated contact quite often, this was the first time Cardien was sending a letter first.

And ‘secretly’ at that.

Cardien nodded.

“The content is-“

“……”

“In one week, I will share the Moon’s Trace.”

“The Moon’s Trace……”

Winston, repeating Cardien’s words, bowed his head with a serious expression.

“Yes, I will send it right away.”

To carry out the order, Winston immediately left the room.

Cardien looked down at the documents, then turned his head to look at the clock.

1 PM.

“……Only 1 o’clock?”

Unlike his bored voice, there was an inexplicable urgency in his eyes.

***

Bang!

“Tutor Via-!!”

Just as I knocked with a tense expression, the door flung open and a small figure jumped out and hugged me tightly.

Fluffy silver hair, like a puppy’s, was squished against my clothes.

Eventually, revealing ruby-colored eyes that were sparkling brightly.

Red eyes that were twinkling with excitement.

“Vincent!”

The moment I saw his face, my tension melted away like snow under the sun, and I found myself smiling brightly without realizing it.

“It’s been a while.”

The voice that came out was surprisingly comfortable, even to my own ears.

According to Winston, Vincent had been told that I had returned to my family home.

‘Though I don’t have such a thing.’

I felt uncomfortable about lying to the child, but it was much better than him knowing that I had collapsed.

‘Otherwise, he would have been too cautious and unable to approach me properly like before.’

Still, seeing Vincent’s face made me finally feel like I was returning to my daily routine.

‘Daily routine… huh.’

There were too many problems hanging around my ankles to call it a daily routine.

‘During the lesson, I’ll focus on Vincent.’

Ironically, Vincent’s lessons had become a kind of refuge and sanctuary for me.

“Have you been well?”

I asked as I took Vincent’s hand and entered the room.

Vincent hesitated before nodding slightly.

But soon he shook his head again.

“……Actually, I haven’t been well.”

Surprised by this unexpected response, I asked back.

“Why? Did something happen?”

I worried that something might have happened while I wasn’t paying attention.

Concern washed over me.

Then Vincent, who had been hesitating, held my hand tightly and said.

“Tutor Via……”

“Yes?”

Me?

“I couldn’t see Tutor Via.”

“……Oh.”

I stared blankly at Vincent.

It wasn’t just flattery.

I couldn’t find even the slightest hint of deception in Vincent’s appearance as he held both my hands tightly with a tense expression, avoiding my gaze.

‘My goodness.’

He’s so adorable.

Along with the adorableness came a wave of guilt.

I’ve been calling myself a tutor, yet I haven’t been able to pay attention to Vincent.

‘My teaching license should be revoked.’

Inwardly reproaching myself, I said to Vincent.

“I’m sorry. I took too long a break from lessons. From now on, I won’t take such a long break.”

Vincent stared at me blankly before nodding his small head.

His chubby cheeks were flushed pink.

Looking at Vincent adoringly, I moved to the desk.

“Shall we start the lesson then? I’m worried that Vincent might have forgotten everything since we took such a long break.”

Saying this, I handed Vincent a test paper I had prepared in advance.

Vincent’s face tensed up.

His small hand gripping the pen became rigid.

I smiled slightly and said in a light tone.

“You don’t need to be so tense, it’s all content we’ve already covered. It’s okay if you’ve forgotten. Just solve it comfortably.”

Vincent nodded.

However, he still looked quite tense.

It’s really okay though…

Feeling that no words would get through to him, I decided to just watch.

I didn’t want to disturb his concentration by speaking unnecessarily.

While Vincent was solving the problems, I looked out the window.

White snow was piled on the dry branches.

It seems it had snowed without me noticing.

‘I was so busy preparing for the lesson that I didn’t even notice it had snowed.’

It wasn’t heavily piled up, but seeing the pristine white snow made me realize that winter had truly arrived.

As I quietly gazed at the untainted white snow, I became lost in thought.

‘It still feels like a dream.’

Everything that happened at the baptism ceremony and Cardien’s dream.

It all started to feel unreal as it gradually exceeded the range of what I could handle.

Nothing has been resolved, yet mysteries continue to pile up.

Like that snow.

And…

‘The Head of the Council of Elders.’

I lowered my gaze.

That old man I saw yesterday.

The leader of the group that was desperate to devour Cardien in the original story.

The reason why that man suddenly appeared.

‘It must be the Grand Council, right?’

It’s the largest meeting held in Mercedes before the end of the year.

In this meeting, they summarize the issues of the year, present problems, propose solutions, and prepare for the next year.

Due to its scale, representatives from the Council of Elders and branch families all gather at the Mercedes ducal residence.

However… one of the topics that is inevitably raised at that meeting is.

‘The matter of Cardien’s qualification.’

An unstable duke who is not only an illegitimate child but also bears the stigma of madness and doesn’t possess the family heirloom.

Even a duke cannot overturn the results that come out of the Grand Council.

That’s why those who disapprove of Cardien have been using every means possible to try to bring him down at the Grand Council.

And Cardien isn’t the only one they want to bring down.

“……tor.”

“……”

“Tutor Via!”

“Oh, y-yes?”

Startled by Vincent’s call, I turned my head.

Vincent was looking at me with a worried expression and asked.

“Are you okay?”

It seems my serious expression had caused unnecessary worry.

I deliberately let out a laugh and nodded.

“Yes, I’m fine. I was just lost in thought for a moment… Do you have a question?”

Vincent shook his head and handed me the test paper.

“I finished it.”

“What? Already?”

I received the test paper with a surprised face.

It feels like only about 10 minutes have passed, and he’s already finished?

But the surprise didn’t end there.