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Chapter 5
“Hyung! Why did you stop me? I was only saying the truth!”
Renzard stomped his feet, unable to directly blame Chedman.
“It’s because of her that our house turned into a mess!”
“Renzard.”
At the voice calling him, Renzard looked up and flinched at his brother’s unfamiliar expression.
Chedman’s face was so cold it was hard to believe he was only thirteen years old.
“W-what, are you also angry at her, hyung?”
“No.”
“Then why…?”
“Didn’t you notice anything different?”
“Different?”
“Yes. That girl. Didn’t you feel she was different before Father arrived?”
Renzard recalled Roxina from earlier, but aside from her being even more arrogant, he couldn’t see anything different.
“I don’t know. She seems the same.”
“Really?”
‘Was it just my imagination?’
Chedman stared at the door for a moment, the strange feeling still lingering in him, then turned his gaze back to Renzard.
“Renzard. What were you trying to say earlier?”
“Huh? T-that’s….”
Renzard, who thought Chedman would just let it go, panicked and stuttered.
“It was nothing….”
He tried to find an excuse, but Chedman asked again in a low voice.
“What were you going to say?”
“Eek!”
Unlike his usual gentle expression, Chedman’s face held no trace of a smile.
“I-I was just… going to scare her a little….”
“Scare her?”
“Because… she’s the reason our mother died… I was just going to say that….”
“Hah.”
Chedman let out a small laugh at Renzard’s nervous answer.
Thinking he had calmed down, Renzard awkwardly laughed along.
“Hy-hyung, you’re laughing too, right? She basically killed our mother….”
“Renzard Tanjelique.”
Chedman called his name in warning, his face even colder than before.
“You should be careful with your words.”
He stepped closer to Renzard, who froze on the spot.
“She’s our mother, like you said. Not your mother.”
Renzard’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. Seeing this, Chedman curved his eyes slightly as if amused.
“Then how can you say something like that so carelessly?”
Renzard looked ready to run into his room at any moment, so Chedman lightly patted his shoulder.
“Be careful. Understand?”
“…Yeah.”
Even after Chedman left, Renzard stood frozen in place for a long time.
I was lying down with an injury in front of the office, but Heinox never came to see me.
Anne looked disappointed for some reason, but I already knew he wouldn’t come, so I wasn’t particularly upset.
Of course, I had a small hope, but thanks to Renzard, I was reminded again that it was pointless.
“Duke is so cold-hearted. What’s wrong with visiting once…?”
“Anne.”
“Yes?”
Anne looked even more upset than I felt.
I was grateful that she was upset on my behalf. Especially since we had only known each other for a week.
Of course, the real Roxina and Anne probably had a longer relationship, but still.
“I want cooookies.”
“…Yes.”
Anne looked at me with trembling eyes, then went down to the kitchen.
“Ha….”
I closed my eyes in exhaustion.
It was becoming clearer that leaving this house and becoming independent with my own money would be a much better life.
“Uuuhh.”
“Young lady, you need to wake up. Today is your first meeting with your teacher.”
It had already been almost two weeks since I entered this novel.
Heinox’s promise to bring me a teacher wasn’t a lie—he really hired a personal tutor.
Anne’s face waking me up overlapped with how things were when I first became Roxina.
“Mm….”
The only difference was that I was getting used to the maids’ care.
“His Grace said he invited an academy professor. And not just any professor—the author of ‘On the History of the Great Luent Empire and Its Lands,’ Master Dikal!”
“Dikal?”
In the original story, Dikal was famous for being extremely picky and slow-moving.
And for good reason—he was a top authority in geography, having created maps covering not only the empire but surrounding nations as well.
‘Isn’t that too big of a figure just to teach one noble girl?’
As I wondered, Anne continued.
“It’s lucky that he’s currently on leave from his academy professor position!”
“Oh!”
Dikal only rose to massive fame after the story’s main timeline begins. That would be more than ten years from now.
‘So he’s still an academy professor.’
Thinking that he was still in his early career stage and his book was already being used as a textbook made me quite satisfied.
‘This is huge…?’
If I built connections with him now, before he became even more difficult, it would definitely benefit me later.
“B-but I can’t even write yet…”
The problem was my current level.
Today was the first lesson, which meant I didn’t even know basic words yet—and my first teacher was Dikal.
What was Heinox thinking?
‘No consideration at all.’
I nodded at Heinox’s typical lack of concern for circumstances.
“Ah! Young lady, please don’t move. I haven’t fixed your hair pins yet.”
“Okay…”
In the mirror, I saw Anne concentrating hard.
‘Anne really is kind.’
We had only spent a few days together, but she was extremely sincere.
When I barely managed to sit up, rubbing my heavy eyelids, she was already done getting dressed and opening the window.
Even when I refused to get out of bed every morning, she never got annoyed and gently coaxed me.
Even though she came from a minor noble family, she never raised her voice, and every small gesture carried elegance.
She was probably my first real teacher in this world.
“Anne is realllyyyy… amazing…”
“P-pardon?”
Anne tilted her head, not understanding what I meant.
“You’re pretty… and kind… and smart…”
By the time I leave this mansion, she might be the one I miss the most.
“T-thank you…”
Anne blushed deeply, covering her mouth with her hand.
“But the young lady is much prettier!”
“Me?”
“Of course! There is no one else in the world who suits hair like silk and eyes like sapphires more than you!”
‘Well, that’s true.’
Even in the original story, Roxina was described as more beautiful than the heroine, Bebera.
But because of her personality, her sharp eyes and intense blue gaze often made people feel uneasy rather than comforted.
Probably only Anne would describe my eyes, so similar to Heinox’s, as sparkling sapphires.
‘Maybe she’s just young. Still cute.’
Her soft white cheeks, light blush, slightly raised eyes, and tightly closed lips were adorable in a way that made anyone smile.
“Doesn’t the young lady know how beautiful she is?”
Anne teased me when she saw my dazed expression.
“Th-that’s… n-no.”
I almost agreed for a moment. I quickly corrected myself with a clueless expression.
“In my eyes, Anne is much prettier.”
“Young lady…!”
Anne looked genuinely moved, covering her mouth again.
“B-but… when do I go?”
“Oh my!”
Anne, who looked like she was about to cry, snapped back to reality.
“You need to go right now! Master Dikal is waiting in the reception room!”
Then she quickly picked me up and rushed out of the room.
“Y-you don’t have to carry me…”
But she was already gone.
In the end, I met my first teacher, Dikal, while being carried by Anne.
Dikal frowned slightly at my childish (well, I was a child) appearance, then slowly stood up.
“Dikal Pebient. It is an honor to meet you, Lady Tanjelique.”
“H-hello, teacher. I’m Roxina Tanjelique. P-please speak casually.”
Dikal raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised by my polite speech.
“Very well. Since this is your first lesson, we will start with a simple test.”
“U-um, well… about that…”
Too embarrassed to continue, I hesitated.
“That is fine, I assume?”
From the doorway, Anne looked at me with obvious worry.
For some reason, she looked more upset than I was.
Gathering my courage, I finally spoke.
“I can’t read or write!”
“I can’t! I can’t! I can’t…!”
My voice came out louder than I intended because I was nervous.
When I slowly opened my eyes after squeezing them shut, I saw Anne’s mouth wide open.
‘Dikal…’
I carefully lifted my head.
Dikal looked…
“Hooo….”
Completely dumbfounded.
Ah, seriously…
‘This is so embarrassing…’
Fortunately, Dikal quickly regained his composure.
Even so, I felt even more embarrassed seeing how unaffected he was.
“Cough. Then we’ll start with writing basics. You can at least write numbers, correct?”
“No…”
“Hmm. You do need numbers to read maps…”
“Then please teach me numbers first.”
I decided to be shameless. If I got embarrassed every time, I’d never get through any lessons.
“Very well. Today we will learn how to read numbers.”
Dikal pushed the thick map he brought under the chair.
“First, 1 is….”
The imperial symbols taught by a professor on leave from the academy were not very different from those in Korea. That was a relief.
“For two-digit numbers, you write them like this. For three-digit numbers, they are rarely used unless for accounting, so you only need to remember this much…”
“No.”
What do you mean rarely used? That’s exactly what I needed numbers for.
“I want to learn more. Please teach me more.”
“Pardon? But you won’t need such large numbers…”
“I’m curious. Please teach me.”
“If you insist…”
Dikal reopened the lesson, closing the ink bottle lid mid-motion.
“From here on, whenever the number gets larger, you add this symbol. For five-digit numbers, there is a special case where you insert a mark in the middle…”
“Mmhm. I see.”
‘Good thing I asked. See? If you ask, they teach you.’
I had no intention of letting go of someone this capable so easily.
Someone respected enough to teach at the Empire’s academy surely knew a lot.
For me, who knew almost nothing about this world, there was no better source of information.
“You are learning very well.”
Dikal said, sounding impressed as I absorbed everything like a sponge.
“That concludes today’s lesson. Next time, we will begin proper imperial language.”
“Thank you for your hard work, teacherrrr.”
“You did well as well, young lady. See you in two days.”
After Dikal left, Anne immediately came to me.
“How was your lesson? He had quite an impressive presence… weren’t you scared?”
Anne’s worry wasn’t unnecessary. Dikal was quite large.
I had expected a frail scholar since he wrote such an important textbook, but he looked as sturdy as a knight.
Still, he wasn’t arrogant or intimidating. More like a big gentle bear.
“Nope. Not scary at all.”
“I’m glad. Shall we go back to your room?”
At her question, I shook my head.
“No. I need to go to the duke.”
I need to report to the duke.
