At the unexpected words, I opened my eyes wide.

Don’t trust Chelsea?

“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”

“Exactly what I said. Let me ask you, Miss Livia. How much do you know about that maid?”

“…Well…”

I pressed my lips tightly together.

I wanted to say something, but as Lemon said, I didn’t know much about Chelsea.

‘More precisely, I asked but was rejected.’

The memory of that rejection naturally left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Please trust me as much as I trust you. Don’t trust the maid by your side too much.”

Lemon left those words, light yet serious.

I opened and closed my mouth before finally nodding.

“…I’ll do that. See you at the next meeting then.”

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, I hurriedly walked away.

I could feel Lemon’s gaze on my back, but didn’t look back.

I was afraid he might notice my discomfort if I turned around.

‘Though he’s probably already noticed.’

Walking quickly, I soon found myself at my room.

After hesitating briefly, I opened the door and went inside.

“Ah, Tutor.”

Chelsea, who seemed to have been cleaning the room with a headscarf on, turned to look at me.

“Welcome back.”

“Ah, yes, Chelsea.”

“Are you hungry? I’ll prepare dinner right—”

Chelsea’s love for food remained unchanged.

“No, I’m not hungry yet. But were you working until this hour?”

I looked outside.

The sun was setting.

Surely she hadn’t been working until now?

As if reading my thoughts, Chelsea shook her head.

“Not at all. I was just tidying up a bit.”

“That’s good then.”

I smiled brightly as I faced Chelsea.

And soon, I slowly parted my lips.

“Chelsea.”

Chelsea tilted her head slightly at my call.

“Yes, Tutor.”

I reflected on my memories with Chelsea.

Chelsea definitely has some secretive aspects.

It’s a bit strange that she tries to hide her past.

If Lemon, the head of the information guild, told me to be careful of Chelsea, it must mean there’s something about her.

But.

“I trust you, Chelsea.”

“……”

Chelsea looked at me with a blank expression at my words.

I awkwardly scratched my head.

“I know it’s out of the blue. I just… wanted to tell you. That I trust you.”

“……”

“So Chelsea, when you feel you can trust me too, tell me then. Whatever it is.”

Chelsea’s eyes, like black pearls, quietly took me in.

I smiled brightly and said.

“I’ll wait.”

I had been thinking about it the whole way back.

This was the conclusion I had reached.

After a long silence, Chelsea quietly answered, “Yes.”

***

Deep in the night.

A room captured by darkness.

“Rom abda… Rom abda…”

A low, eerie voice circled the room.

Eventually, the figure that had been crouching low slowly rose.

The shadow’s gaze turned toward the window.

Outside the window to Livia’s room.

“…Rom abda.”

The voice chanting the spell quietly echoed throughout the night.

***

“If we compare this number here, the third term of the magic formula is completed…”

Vincent nodded with enthusiastic eyes as he took notes.

Vincent’s attitude toward lessons had always been eager, but this blazing enthusiasm was a first.

After the lesson ended, I casually spoke to Vincent.

“Um, Vincent.”

“Yes?”

Vincent, who had been helping me organize the textbooks, turned to me with a puzzled expression.

“Well, about the Academy’s year-end exam, are you really going to take it?”

“Yes.”

Vincent nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Fidgeting with his fingers, he added.

“I’m not running away anymore. I’ll go back to the Academy too.”

Vincent’s eyes were as firm as the earth after rain as he spoke.

‘He’s grown.’

It wasn’t just his eyes and expression that had changed.

He seemed to have grown a bit taller, too.

Though his chubby cheeks remained the same.

‘They say children grow quickly at this age.’

I felt proud but also a bit sad, knowing it was truly time for him to leave my care.

“I’m so proud of you. Now I don’t have to worry about you anymore.”

“Of course not! I’ll protect you, Tutor Via!”

I smiled faintly.

When Vincent returns to school, our home tutoring will end.

‘No need to point that out.’

I shouldn’t shake his newfound determination.

‘It really feels like my time to leave is approaching.’

Of course, my ultimate goal was to find the family heirloom to cure the disease, but the reason I became a tutor was to get close to Cardien.

That purpose had been more or less accomplished.

Which means that without Vincent’s lessons, I would have no reason to stay at Mercedes.

‘Things seem to be going well, so why do I feel so strange?’

My insides felt oddly twisted, like I needed to down a glass of cold water.

With that thought, I hurried toward my room and noticed someone standing in front of my door.

“Oh? Mr. Sigmon?”

“Ah, Tutor.”

The person standing in front of the door was Sigmon, Mercedes’ physician.

Spotting me, he approached with a gentle smile.

His gaze briefly drifted toward the textbooks I was carrying.

“It seems your lesson has ended.”

“Yes. What brings you here, Mr. Sigmon…?”

I thought the examinations were over.

Does he have some business with me?

As if reading my thoughts, Sigmon, looking somewhat hesitant, carefully said.

“Actually, I wanted to consult with Tutor Pellington about something, so I took the liberty of coming here.”

“With me?”

I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected statement.

It was surprising because what could Sigmon, Mercedes’ physician, possibly want to consult with me about?

When there were more impressive people like Cardien and Winston.

“Yes, I thought Tutor Pellington might be able to help me… If my request is burdensome, feel free to decline.”

Saying this, Sigmon made a bitter expression.

How could I refuse when he made such a face?

‘Well, I don’t have any urgent business anyway.’

And I was curious about what Sigmon wanted to say.

“Alright. Would you like to come in?”

But he shook his head.

“The weather is nice, how about a light walk?”

“A walk…?”

I looked out the window.

Indeed, the weather was beautiful.

Well… why not.

“Let’s do that. I’ll just put these down and be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Sigmon looked at me with a gentle smile.

I could only tilt my head in puzzlement.

***

“The Mercedes mansion in winter is beautiful. Looking at the snow-covered garden sometimes makes me feel detached from the world.”

Crunch, crunch.

I could feel the snow compressing beneath our feet with each step.

I quietly agreed with Sigmon’s words.

The Mercedes mansion was so vast that there were many places where people never set foot.

Such places, with no human traces and only pristine snow, sometimes made one feel as if one were alone in the world.

“I heard from the butler that you’ve been living here for about half a year. Has it been difficult for you?”

At his question, I fell into thought for a moment.

Has it been difficult?

‘Extremely difficult.’

From reuniting with Anna upon arrival, getting caught up in Cardien’s magic outburst, to having incidents one after another almost every day.

It certainly hadn’t been an easy life at the mansion, but.

“Everyone has been kind, so I’ve been able to adapt well.”

I’m not sure if I should include Cardien in that, though.

“I see. Everyone is kind indeed.”

Sigmon smiled faintly.

Soon, he stopped in front of a bench.

Taking out a handkerchief to brush away the light snow, Sigmon asked in a gentle tone.

“Shall we sit here and talk?”

“Ah, yes.”

I couldn’t refuse, as his now-soaked handkerchief bothered me greatly.

Sigmon and I sat side by side on the bench.

I glanced at Sigmon discreetly.

What could he possibly want to talk about that required coming all the way outside?

It didn’t seem like a simple conversation.

Soon, Sigmon parted his lips.

“Tutor Pellington, do you know why I ended up traveling around the continent?”

“No.”

When I shook my head, Sigmon looked at me.

Was it my imagination?

Suddenly, his eyes seemed sad.

He slowly parted his lips.

“Actually, I had a daughter.”

Sigmon, as he began, looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.