PNA~06

Chapter 06

As Erne taught Shuknen, she held onto the hopeful thought: Wouldn’t it be exciting if I got to meet the Duke of Douglas—the villain of this trashy novel?

But those hopes were quickly dashed. Aside from the coachman and butler who came to pick Shuknen up, she didn’t get to see any other members of House Douglas.

And so, another day in Cheonghak-dong passed with the children’s Thousand-Character Classic—or rather, their laughter—never ceasing.

“Please tell us more about love today!”

Selene, bright and bubbly, stood on tiptoe with a giant ribbon in her hair.

The sight was so adorable that Erne couldn’t help but smile.

Lately, all of Erne’s lessons revolved around teaching the children the values of true love, and naturally, no one looked forward to them more than Selene.

“Never, ever steal someone else’s lover! Only garbage people do that.”

She made a point of emphasizing this part again and again—especially for Shuknen’s benefit.

And after repeating it at the end of every class, the kids’ bright eyes sparkled like they’d been brainwashed.

“Shuknen, promise me. Okay?”

She ended the lesson by linking pinkies with Shuknen.

To her surprise, the boy she had once considered spoiled nodded sincerely at her plea. In fact, he’d been adjusting surprisingly well to life in Cheonghak-dong—aside from occasionally looking down on his peers.

She’d expected trouble, but Shuknen was unexpectedly well-behaved.

That didn’t mean she could let her guard down, though. His father was the man who would bring ruin to Nesheld, after all!

“Now that it’s come to this, should I do what other reincarnated characters do and use my transmigrator bonus to redeem the villain?”

The thought did cross Erne’s mind—but she quickly dismissed it.

There was no guarantee that she could reform the villain just by getting involved, and honestly, the safest route would be to emigrate to a peaceful and remote place before the original plot kicked in.

Why go through all the trouble? she reasoned.

Still, just in case, she decided to thoroughly educate Shuknen and watch for any signs of darkness.

“Teacher.”

The other kids, Selene and Ash, had already gone home after class.

Shuknen approached Erne as he waited for the Douglas carriage to arrive.

Erne squatted down to his level, sitting with him while they waited.

“Hmm?”

“My father says he’s coming tomorrow.”

Though the boy spoke with a slight pout, to Erne he looked like just a kid playing in the dirt with his feet.

He listened better than she expected, called her “Teacher” politely, and never missed a class.

She found him absolutely adorable.

So squishy. I bet if I pulled those chubby cheeks…

As she was thinking about how his baby fat resembled rice cakes, it took her less than three seconds to realize what he just said.

“What?!”

“Why are you so surprised? He said he wants to see how well I’m doing in class.”

“W-Why, though…?”

“I dunno.”

Teaching Shuknen had revealed several things.

First, that the relationship between him and the villainous Duke Douglas wasn’t exactly warm.

In fact, it seemed one-sided—Shuknen didn’t like his father very much.

Shuknen was just as unenthusiastic about his father’s visit as she was.

As the stunned teacher sat in a daze, dusting the dirt off her skirt, the sound of hooves echoed in the distance.

“Bye, Teacher.”

Erne, frozen like a statue, could only awkwardly raise a stiff arm to wave him off.

And as she watched the Douglas carriage disappear into the distance, her lips trembled.

“Why… WHY?!”

The moment the carriage left her sight, Erne bolted inside.

Her discomfort with the Duke’s visit wasn’t just because he was the villain.

According to the novel, the man was brutal.

If a problem arose, he didn’t solve it—he eliminated the problem entirely.

Did I do something wrong while teaching Shuknen…?

Maybe she’d been too liberal with her lessons about love, without considering the child’s age.

Erne bit her nails in anxiety. Her paper was covered in spirals and doodles instead of lesson plans.

She ran through several possible reasons the Duke would suddenly show up to observe class.

First, maybe he was here to confront her and ask what on earth she’d been teaching his son.

Second…

Yeah, the first one sounds most likely, right…?

Ughh. Erne buried her face in her hands, dreading tomorrow’s lesson.

Thanks to Selene’s enthusiasm, tomorrow’s topic was Proper Relationships.

What if the villain sat in, got angry at the content, and just… cut her down?

Erne suddenly felt terrified of the coming day.

But it didn’t take long for her to realize—it was all just in her head.

＊＊＊

That… that stare is intense!

Just as Shuknen said, the Duke of Douglas sat in the back row, silently watching the class.

The desks and wooden chairs were clearly too small for someone of his stature.

Yet he sat there with his arms crossed, listening intently to the lesson. It was… an odd sight.

“Okay, let’s move on to a question from the teacher!”

“T-Teacher? Why are you suddenly speaking formally…?”

Ash eyed her suspiciously—Erne was acting unusually friendly and high-spirited today.

Ahaha… Erne felt like crying under Ash’s sharp gaze.

Though she was usually gentle, she had no problem disciplining the kids when necessary.

Especially when Shuknen had once complained about her using informal speech—she’d just smiled and brushed it off.

“I’m the only heir to House Douglas!”

“And I’m your teacher. So I’ll speak however I want!”

But now? The boy’s father was sitting right behind her.

And it hadn’t been long since the House of Douglas sent a generous donation to the academy.

She’d taken their money—so she couldn’t exactly afford to get on his bad side.

She awkwardly raised a finger to her lips.

Shh.

And the lesson continued.

“So, there’s Chulsoo, Yuri, and Hoon. Chulsoo and Yuri are in love, but Hoon has a crush on Yuri. Now, here’s the question—what should Hoon do? Yuri loves Chulsoo, and Chulsoo loves Yuri back.”

Erne had prepared this as a way to help kids avoid the pitfalls of Nesheld’s toxic romance culture.

There wasn’t time to whip up a better lesson, so she stuck with the original plan.

“Let’s hear from Selene first.”

Selene jumped up eagerly and nodded.

“He should give up cleanly! He should bless Chulsoo and Yuri’s love! Because making the person you love happy is what real love is—just like Teacher said!”

Kids really were quick learners.

Erne beamed with pride and turned to Ash, who was clearly waiting for his turn.

“Ash, what do you think?”

“U-Um, I don’t think I could ever tell her. If the girl I liked liked someone else… I think I’d cry…”

His answer reflected his personality perfectly. Selene clicked her tongue.

“Why would you cry? Tsk. Ash, you crybaby loser.”

There they go again. Erne sighed, then turned to Shuknen.

Was he nervous because of his father’s presence?

He stood up abruptly—unlike his usual calm participation—and opened his mouth.

Given all her efforts and care, Erne was sure he’d give the “right” answer…

“I’d steal her.”

Stumble. Erne nearly lost her balance and had to grab the desk to steady herself.

“Sh-Shuknen! What are you talking about?! I told you stealing someone else’s partner is the worst—only trash does that!”

Her voice rose in panic. Her frustration at all her hard work bubbling over.

Seeing her distorted expression, Shuknen let out a quiet sigh she didn’t catch.

“…Now that I think about it, you’re right. Stealing’s wrong. I’ll just watch the two of them live happily. Forever.”

He sat back down after that.

I’ll just watch them live happily forever sounded like I’ll bless their happiness! to Erne’s ears.

Trying to regain her composure, she forced a bright smile.

“Right. You should never commit adultery, cheat, have affairs, or two-time! Okay? And sometimes loving someone means wishing for their happiness even if it’s not with you.”

“……”

“And if you marry someone you love, you have to be faithful to that family.”

As she said it, she thought of her own disaster of a family.

Just awful, dirty memories.

Her mother’s infidelity. Her ex-fiancé cheating on her with her best friend.

Her head throbbed. She clapped her hands lightly.

“That’s all for today’s lesson! Tomorrow’s topic will be How Not to Be a Sucker—”

Mid-sentence, she locked eyes with the Duke.

Gasp. I just said that… in front of the kids…!

He’d been so quiet, she forgot he was even there.

Trying to recover, she awkwardly smiled as she dismissed the class.

But her gaze remained glued to the Duke as he slowly stood up.

I-Is he going to kill me…?

Hold her accountable for corrupting his son?

The thought made her face pale.

And when the Duke approached her, Erne blurted out first—

“I-I’m sorry!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and bowed with her hands together… but no punishment came.

Time passed, but she felt nothing.

Cautiously, she cracked one eye open.

The Duke was standing there, wearing a troubled smile.

When their eyes met, he smiled gently—and reminded her of something she’d been trying to forget.

“Princess.”

At that hated title, Erne turned pale again—but this time for an entirely different reason. Her body trembled.