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Chapter 15
“Teacher, the question is too hard.”
Selene raised her hand.
Erne approached her and looked at the problem the child was struggling with.
“Your spouse asks for a divorce, saying they’ve fallen in love with someone else… In this situation, what would you do?”
As Erne read the question aloud, Ash also raised his hand as if he’d been waiting for the chance.
“M-Me too. I-I don’t know either!”
Hmm. It might be a little difficult for the kids.
Erne nodded twice and glanced over at Schucknen.
“Schucknen, did you solve it?”
“Yes, teacher.”
He had also once pleaded not to be compared to those kids, but Erne half-ignored that request.
Then she took the answer sheet Schucknen timidly held out.
“Schucknen…”
After reading what he wrote, Erne’s head drooped heavily.
“Bless their love.”
It was nice that the results of her education were becoming more and more apparent, but this answer was far from what the question required.
Erne gently hugged Schucknen and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
“You’re really such a good boy, Schucknen.”
“…Heh.”
The stern look of a noble little lord melted instantly under Erne’s hug and kiss.
“But that can’t be the correct answer.”
While praising him for his kindness, Erne carefully pointed out that his answer wasn’t right.
Selene and Ash tilted their heads, confused by the unusual response.
Then, amid that atmosphere, a hand shot up.
“W-Winzerd?”
No, not a child. It was an adult.
“May I answer?”
At some point, Winzerd had claimed one of the small wooden desks and chairs meant for children with his large frame and had been observing Erne’s class from the back row.
Sometimes as an eager student, sometimes as a curious parent.
Erne, unable to stop him from attending, gave a strained smile and nodded.
“S-Sure. Winzerd… what do you think the answer is?”
With no choice, Erne gave him the floor.
Naturally, all the children turned toward him.
“Well, if it were me, I’d beat up the wife first. How dare she cheat and neglect her family.”
Hearing such horrifying words from Winzerd made Erne’s face split in shock.
“What is this lunatic even saying?!”
He just said “beat up” in front of children!
Erne clutched her chest, trembling from the shock.
But Winzerd calmly continued.
“Asking for a divorce for that reason… she’s got some nerve, don’t you think? I’d beat the wife first, then the other man…”
Nope! Before he could finish, Erne threw herself forward.
Mmph. Winzerd’s words were blocked by Erne’s hands over his mouth.
Winzerd looked startled as Erne tightly covered his lips.
“Ha ha ha ha ha…”
Erne let out an awkward laugh, leaning close to his ear to whisper.
“Please… I’m begging you. The children are listening, okay?”
In short, she was pleading with him to refrain from using such violent words in front of the kids.
Finally, Winzerd noticed the three pairs of wide, bewildered eyes staring at him.
Erne gritted her teeth and kept whispering in his ear.
“‘Beat up’? You must never say something like that in front of children!”
Ah…
Erne’s eyes weren’t just blazing — they were practically on fire.
As she whispered in his ear, Winzerd’s earlobes flushed red.
Oddly enough, getting scolded by her didn’t feel all that bad.
Looking at Erne, Winzerd’s face reddened further.
As their eyes met, Erne panicked and quickly removed her hands from his mouth.
“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s alright. I wasn’t being considerate of the children at all.”
No sooner had she stopped him than Ash spoke up.
“Te-Teacher! What does ‘beat up’ mean?”
Damn it. Erne turned back and glared at Winzerd with fire in her eyes.
Kids were extremely quick when it came to picking up bad things.
With Erne’s burning stare locked on him, Winzerd quietly turned his head toward the window.
He had just been so determined to get the right answer…
There was no doubt now that using that phrase had been a huge mistake.
As Erne sighed, Winzerd slowly bowed his head again.
He felt like he had no right to lift his gaze.
“You’re really dumb, Ashclen. You don’t even know what ‘beat up’ means? It doesn’t mean you kill them right away. You just beat them until they die.”
“Gasp…!”
Schucknen’s head worked oddly well in these situations.
Hearing his son’s answer made Winzerd’s eyebrow twitch.
He knew lifting his head now would mean facing Erne’s terrifying wrath.
Sure enough, he felt the heat rising from her glare.
Sigh…
This disaster was entirely his fault.
But seriously, how did Schucknen know what that meant?
Cheonghak-dong certainly didn’t teach such language, so it had to be Buddy, the knight who served as his escort.
Back when he was a mercenary, that man’s mouth had been filthy — no doubt Schucknen picked it up from him.
“It’s best not to use bad words like that. Ash, Schucknen, don’t say or remember such things, alright?”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Y-Yes, I understand, teacher.”
Thankfully, Ash and Schucknen were good students when it came to Erne.
Selene, who had her hair neatly braided into twin tails, sat silently before raising her hand again.
“So what’s the correct answer, teacher?”
Oh, right. The answer. Realizing she’d forgotten, Erne patted Selene’s head and smiled softly.
“The correct answer is to get a lot of alimony.”
Her gently curved eyes looked at the children with such kindness.
Winzerd, stunned by an angle he hadn’t even considered, lifted his head despite being in the middle of reflecting.
“Squeeze them for everything and kick them out with nothing.”
The three kids fell silent.
Selene and Ash exchanged glances.
They didn’t know how to respond to Erne’s answer.
Selene didn’t know what ‘alimony’ meant, and Ash — even if he did — didn’t understand why you’d take it.
Only Schucknen, who understood both what alimony was and why you’d claim it, looked at Erne with concern, thinking her answer was too kind.
Unaware that the three children each had their own thoughts, Erne, ever the thorough teacher, began explaining calmly.
“Money isn’t everything, but it’s necessary to live. And blessing a husband or wife who’s cheated is a foolish thing to do. If the house is under the spouse’s name, switch the ownership first.”
As she spoke, Erne thought of her garbage ex-fiancé, Derrick.
If she ever had to return to the royal palace of Nesheld because of her mother, she was going to wring him dry.
“I barely managed to run before he dragged me into a cesspool…”
If her Cheonghak-dong life ever ended because of her mother, she might really have to go back.
And if that day came…
“I’ll strip him down to his underwear!”
Every cent — hidden, saved, or even owed — she was going to take it all.
Determined, Erne nodded fiercely, unaware of the three kids still lost in her previous answer.
But Winzerd, the only one who fully understood, clapped slowly with a voice that sounded about to break.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
“As expected from the teacher.”
Winzerd stood up, admiration filling his voice.
“That was incredible.”
Moved by Erne’s clever plan, he applauded her sincerely.
Of course, he didn’t agree with her kind approach — he would’ve been far more brutal — but seeing how different she was from the queen only deepened his affection for her.
“Changing all the ownerships and squeezing out the alimony before kicking them out. What a brilliant idea.”
Even though it didn’t quite satisfy him, he wisely kept his darker thoughts to himself in front of Erne.
When Winzerd clapped, Schucknen looked to him and began clapping too.
Seeing Schucknen clap, Ash and Selene quickly glanced around and followed along.
They hadn’t even understood the problem, but clapped because everyone else was.
Erne, now showered with applause for coming up with a brilliant solution to a cheating spouse, squirmed with embarrassment.
“T-That’s too much praise…”
Sniffling a little, Erne rubbed her nose with a bashful expression.
Winzerd nodded with genuine admiration at her kind heart.
He still couldn’t believe someone like her had come from the Queen of Nesheld.
As even the kids joined in applauding, Erne lightly swung a clenched fist.
“Kids, stop that. Come on now…”
Like a pianist receiving applause after a concert.
Though embarrassed by the overwhelming praise for something she didn’t think was a big deal, Erne felt secretly proud.
“It’s not like I did anything amazing… right? Wait, what am I even doing?”
Realization struck her, and she quickly erased her bashful smile.
Until a moment ago she’d been squirming, but now her face flushed red as she fanned herself, biting her tongue.
“What the hell was that?! Why did I get applause?!”
Unfortunately, no one heard Erne’s internal scream.
