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Chapter 12
It was the weekend. For once, even Erne was free from lesson preparation and leisurely sat on a wooden swing reading a book.
Ah. On second thought, maybe this was still part of lesson preparation for the children.
It was an adult romance novel with a rather suggestive cover.
She had overheard that it was quite popular among the maids, so as soon as she withdrew some money from the bank, she had headed straight to the bookstore and bought the whole series.
‘There’s no point in overthinking things that have no solution. This is what you call healing.’
By the time she opened her eyes that morning, the wanted poster from yesterday was long forgotten.
Erne justified her reading by telling herself this wasn’t about personal taste but simply material for classroom reference. She flipped to the next page quickly.
“Right. Exactly. I have to read stuff like this so I can teach the children the opposite of what’s in these books.”
Looking quite satisfied, Erne turned the first page.
Of course, even in this story, affairs, passion, lust, and the wild kingdom of animals were all present.
“Exactly. If I just teach them the opposite of all this, the kids will grow up… no, grow up right.”
She paused reading, inserted a homemade bookmark, and hurriedly tucked the book deep into her arms, as if someone might see.
“Oh dear. My eyes suddenly feel tired.”
Not a single person ever passed through Cheonghak-dong, nestled near the forest. Still, Erne sprang to her feet with urgency—for one reason.
‘Ooh! The real romance is about to begin…!’
To properly follow the emotional development of the main characters, she had to be under the covers, bundled up and cozy.
Erne didn’t want anyone to find out about her shy little hobby. Reading childish romance novels as a grown woman and a teacher made her feel slightly embarrassed.
No one was watching, but her cheeks flushed anyway as she quickly covered her face and hurried back inside the house.
Just the fact that she could now freely indulge in hobbies she had to suppress while living as a royal princess filled Erne with happiness.
Time to go and read. Lala~
Humming with joy, Erne perked up at a faint sound in the distance and turned her head.
“Huh?”
There shouldn’t be anyone visiting.
She had grown so used to the sound of the children’s occasional carriages that she immediately recognized the faint noise as one approaching.
The forest road behind Cheonghak-dong didn’t continue further, so it couldn’t be a lost traveler.
She stood frozen, watching the carriage approach—and soon spotted a familiar crest on a flag.
‘The Douglas Duchy…?’
The carriage stopped in front of Cheonghak-dong, and once again, a familiar man stepped out.
He spotted Erne outside and came straight over.
“Prin— No, Ellen.”
“Du— No, Windsor?”
He had no reason to visit on the weekend…
Erne tilted her head, wondering why Windsor was starting to feel so obsessed with her.
“Count Vanessa would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening.”
“What?”
“To thank you for teaching the children so well.”
“…”
“I’ll send a carriage for you at the appropriate time.”
Windsor, ever impatient, got straight to the point without so much as a greeting.
Even after he finished speaking, Erne had to tilt her head repeatedly, wearing a puzzled expression.
“So… you came all the way here just to tell me that?”
Cheonghak-dong strictly followed a five-day workweek.
Erne’s heart sank, now realizing her precious weekend would be interrupted. She desperately wished she could go back and nap.
Windsor, however, nodded with a rare bright smile.
Fine. It wasn’t that Erne didn’t understand his words.
She appreciated that the Count and Countess of Vanessa wanted to thank her for her efforts with a dinner invitation. That part was fine. But…
“Why is Windsor the one delivering the invitation from the Count’s family…?”
It was odd. Very odd.
“Ah…”
Only then did Windsor realize how strange it seemed. He nodded, acknowledging her suspicion.
Still flustered, Erne watched as Windsor tried to lie—gently mixing fact with fiction.
“I happened to be passing by. I ran into Count Vanessa on my way back to the estate, and since I was headed that way anyway, I told him I’d deliver the message. It seemed more efficient than bothering a servant.”
But Erne wasn’t buying it. He had already said something revealing earlier.
“There’s no road beyond Cheonghak-dong, Windsor.”
“…”
“If you’re going to the Douglas villa, you’ll have to turn back the way you came.”
Mmm. He hadn’t thought of that.
Windsor muttered to himself, half under his breath.
＊＊＊
Windsor had finally decided to act on something he’d been thinking about for days.
While in Vanessa, Windsor had agreed—somewhat by chance—to support a business being run by the Count’s family. As a show of goodwill for introducing such a great teacher to his son, Windsor decided to offer exceptionally favorable terms.
“R-Really? You’re not going to charge any fees?”
“That’s right. We’ll just take 15% of the monthly net profit.”
“You’re investing this much and not even charging interest?”
“I’ve said four times already: you don’t even need to repay the principal.”
Count Vanessa’s eyes welled up with emotion at Windsor’s words.
They were meeting at the Count’s estate to sign the business deal.
At first, the Count had suspected ulterior motives—after all, the Douglas Duke was famously strict in business. But as Windsor repeatedly confirmed his generosity, the Count eventually realized the Duke was offering this out of pure goodwill. He couldn’t hide his smile.
He beamed with joy, his shoulders bouncing with excitement.
“Don’t think of it as a handout. It’s a token of appreciation for introducing a good teacher to my son.”
“D-Duke…!”
The Count bowed his head in gratitude.
He was so moved that every time he bowed, the desk wobbled from the force.
Windsor, with his usual haughty gaze, waved him off.
“No need for all that. I’ve gained plenty from your valuable information as well.”
“Really? I’m honored to have been of help!”
“I’ll be staying in Vanessa for a while, so let’s meet often. The grapes I had here were delicious. They’ll make fine wine.”
The business Windsor and the Count were embarking on was—of all things—wine.
As wine was a common indulgence among nobles, demand was high.
Instead of interest on the loan, the Count would pay a commission for using the Douglas name. But Windsor had waived even that.
In the short term, it looked like a loss. But in the long term, it wouldn’t be.
At the very least, he’d break even—so for Windsor, this was simply a gesture of gratitude.
Nothing could be more appropriate.
“This really makes me appreciate Miss Ellen, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed. She helped your son improve, and mine has matured a lot too.”
“To be honest, I was worried at first because she was a country teacher… Our Ash only followed his childhood friend Selene to Cheonghak-dong, so we didn’t have high hopes. But now I feel proud that such a talented person lives here. Even the Duke himself recognizes her!”
The Count, in high spirits, lavished praise on Windsor.
Windsor accepted the compliments as if they were his due, lifting his chin proudly.
So many tried to earn the favor of the Douglas family, and yet here was a no-name teacher who had clearly won their trust!
The Count scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
“We should invite her to dinner soon.”
“…Hmm.”
“Ash’s speech has improved so much. Thanks to her, I even received this incredible generosity from the Duke. She deserves proper thanks.”
As the Count spoke, Windsor set down the business documents and stroked his chin—a habit when he was deep in thought.
“At first, I thought it was a strange place because they said they didn’t even charge an admission fee.”
Unaware of Windsor’s inner debate, the Count kept chatting.
Eventually, he nodded.
“Let’s invite her to dinner tomorrow evening and make it a fine affair.”
The Count quickly pulled the service bell to start preparations for the meal.
Watching this, Windsor seemed to reach a decision.
“Pasta… with as little spice as possible… basil…”
“That sounds good. Duke?”
“Yes?”
Windsor, who had been silent, finally spoke—and what came out was completely unexpected.
The Count looked at him with bewildered eyes as Windsor firmly set his jaw.
“I’ll join the dinner, too.”
“…What?”
“Shall I repeat myself? I’m attending the dinner.”
The Count stared blankly at Windsor.
But… I didn’t invite you…
Yet, faced with Windsor’s chilling gaze, the Count flinched and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
If he didn’t invite him now, it looked like the Duke would kill him on the spot.
The Count quickly clapped his hands and nodded.
“Y-You’ll be joining us for dinner tomorrow evening, Your Grace?”
At last, the question Windsor had been waiting for.
He nodded, satisfied.
“Yes. That sounds perfect. I’ll come.”
