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Chapter – 15
Of course, if he couldn’t be by her side, Raon was always there guarding her. Because of that, it was hard to say she had time entirely to herself, but it was still much better than being alone with Heinrich.
Raon kindly informed the looking-around Solitaire that he would be back soon.
“What did he go to do?”
“He went to select a teacher for you, young lady.”
“With all those fussy and numerous conditions, who would possibly come?”
Must be capable of teaching all subjects related to etiquette and refinement, must be a herbivorous beastman like Solitaire, must have no connection to Tigris, must not have the backing of a powerful family, must be someone who can live in Hiruphs.
The announcement Heinrich posted was filled with such conditions.
When she first saw those conditions, Solitaire doubted whether Heinrich truly wanted to get her a teacher.
“See? The reputation of Hiruphs is no joke.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“What, young lady? I’m on your side, and you’re treating me like this?”
“Only I get to speak ill of the young master.”
Solitaire was so firm that Raon raised both hands in surrender.
“Looking closely, it seems you’re enjoying this situation too, young lady.”
“That can’t be. I’m going to be independent.”
“……”
“……If it’s possible.”
Solitaire answered in a voice as small as an ant crawling, perhaps knowing it was practically impossible.
As if to escape the awkward situation, Solitaire changed the subject.
“The young master is too overprotective. And what’s with him being such a loner?”
“……Don’t you think the two of you are alike?”
“In what way?”
Solitaire stared at Raon with dagger eyes, looking horrified.
Where, exactly!
As her mouth opened and closed, Raon sighed briefly, his momentary panic replaced by a small lament.
“Young lady, how on earth did you hide this kind of personality all this time?”
“……Forget it. I think I’ll go watch the process of selecting my teacher.”
“Wasn’t the point to spend a little less time with the young master?”
Raon shrugged his shoulders as he watched Solitaire walk away without even answering him, then followed her.
* * *
Arriving in front of the reception room, Solitaire focused on the voices leaking through the crack in the open door. The chilling tone of Heinrich’s voice coming from within was enough to freeze the space.
“If you enter Hiruphs, you’ve confirmed the clause stating you cannot leave, correct?”
“Yes.”
“This clause…”
Something seemed to displease him, as Heinrich continued to pick and probe meticulously.
Watching him, Solitaire muttered under her breath that if this continued, they might not find a teacher at all.
When the space fell silent for a moment, Solitaire tilted her head with a *crick*.
“Why are you here?”
“Eek!”
“See? You’re the one who dislikes being apart more than I do.”
Turning around, she saw Heinrich looking at her teasingly.
She was so startled that her ears popped straight up above her head.
The chill that had been emanating from Heinrich in the reception room had vanished, replaced by his usual warmth.
He hummed teasingly.
“You seem really surprised. Your heart’s beating fast.”
“Get away!”
“Look at that, red as a beet. Like a rabbit.”
“I am a rabbit, so of course I look like one!”
“Did your ears pop out too?”
At Heinrich’s words, Solitaire hurriedly raised her hands to her head. Just as he said, her ears were perked straight up, leaving no room for argument.
Solitaire frantically tried to push her ears back down, pressing on them repeatedly. Heinrich watched her flustered movements leisurely.
Feeling his gaze, Solitaire’s face grew even redder, and perhaps out of embarrassment, even the corners of her eyes drooped.
“If you do it like that, they won’t go back in no matter how long you press.”
“Eek…!”
“Why are you so flustered?”
Annoyed that Heinrich was pretending not to know what he clearly did, Solitaire turned her back to him completely.
Then, Heinrich stood behind her and slowly pressed down on the ears sticking stubbornly out from her head. *Push, push.*
“Stop pressing.”
“If I don’t, it seems like they’ll never go back in.”
It was frustrating how he kept teasing her, but she didn’t stop his hands. As Heinrich said, if things continued like this, she’d clearly have to walk around with her ears out for a long time.
After how long had she been pressing? She felt the heavy sensation of her ears disappearing, and at the same time, Heinrich removed his hands.
Then, he smiled proudly.
“Ta-da, they’re all in.”
“……It’s all because of you, young master.”
“Because of me? Should I take responsibility?”
Solitaire looked at Heinrich with sharp eyes. Finding her cute, he just shrugged his shoulders.
Around that time, as she tried hurriedly to escape his grasp, an unfamiliar voice came from behind her.
“Is this the person?”
“Who told you to come out?”
The sudden address from a stranger made Heinrich hide Solitaire behind his back and bare his teeth. With only his broad back now in view, Solitaire pouted. While she was startled by the sudden address, it wasn’t to the extent of needing to be shielded like this.
If anything, Heinrich was the startling one. There was no need for such overprotectiveness…
“Let’s consider the hiring discussion null and void. I can’t bring a teacher into Hiruphs who has not even a speck of patience.”
“Ah, I thought I was the last applicant.”
“What…!”
It was Solitaire who reacted to those words. Heinrich, as if it were nothing, gently patted her hand, which was tightly holding his.
“Don’t worry, Sol. I’ll definitely find you a teacher.”
“……That teacher with all those strange conditions…?”
“Strange? I just mixed what you want and what I want a little when setting the conditions.”
Solitaire felt exasperated by Heinrich, who acted as if it were perfectly normal.
“Just tell me not to learn anything at all, then.”
“Is that what you want? Or you could learn from me. Just give me a month, and I’ll study everything for you.”
Nonsense. It was truly an absurd thing to say.
Solitaire stared at Heinrich in disbelief, but he acted as if there was nothing wrong with his statement.
He smiled so prettily that she couldn’t even think of punching him; Solitaire gave up and let out a small sigh.
“Ugh, do whatever you want.”
“But there must be limits to what you, young master, can teach the young lady.”
And the unfamiliar voice rang in their ears once more.
The woman, pushing up her glasses, continued speaking as if she didn’t even see the menacing Heinrich.
“Moreover, your companion uses quite a unique form of address.”
At that pointed remark, Solitaire grew tense and gripped Heinrich’s hand tightly. In response, he stepped in for her.
“That’s not an area for your concern.”
“……It’s a form of address from childhood that just stuck.”
As if mustering courage, Solitaire spoke in a small voice. Reacting to her response, the unfamiliar woman made an apologetic expression and replied.
“My, I didn’t mean to make you wary.”
“Please stay right there. You must not come any closer.”
Raon hurriedly stepped in front of Solitaire and Heinrich, blocking the woman. Although Raon, who looked twice her size, stood before her, the unfamiliar woman showed no concern, her eyes twinkling.
She didn’t hesitate to pour cold water on the tense atmosphere.
“I was just curious, that’s all. I didn’t get to mention it earlier, but if you look at my application, it’s all written down where I’m from and what I’ve done. I graduated at the top of my class from the most prestigious school on the mainland, of course… Whether it’s knowledge or self-defense, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
“Shut your mouth right now…”
“I’m an orphan, so I have no family to pose a threat to Hiruphs. Oh, and for reference, I’m a sloth beastman. Please set aside any prejudices about sloths being slow.”
She spat out everything she had to say without batting an eye. As the atmosphere grew even more hostile, Solitaire finally stepped in.
“Haha… ha… Young master? Sir Raon? How about we put away the murderous looks and clenched fists and try talking?”
“Young lady, you really are the kindest.”
Whether she didn’t sense the atmosphere or was pretending not to, the unfamiliar woman continued to provoke Heinrich and Raon. Finally, Solitaire furrowed her pretty brows and spoke to her.
“……It’s not that I’m kind; I just said that because if this situation continues, I’ll become uncomfortable too. I wasn’t taking your side.”
“Is that so? Well, that doesn’t matter. More importantly, if I leave, you won’t be able to find a teacher for the young lady. There’s no one better than me, and Hiruphs isn’t planning to open its doors again for quite some time.”
It meant that if this woman left, Hiruphs, which had temporarily opened its gates to find Solitaire a teacher, would close them again.
Heinrich had closed Hiruphs for her safety and opened it to give her what she wanted. Even with Sophia and Eremus’s support, Heinrich was pushing himself quite hard.
This might be the last time he could do such an unreasonable thing as the heir.
