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.CHAPTER 04.
The answers I’d written for him were, in fact, complete garbage.
Wouldn’t that be a problem?
Not at all.
Every homework assignment I’d done for him before had been wrong anyway.
Philip was Garen’s private tutor.
He was a fairly insignificant supporting character.
Minor characters like him were usually my responsibility to design, which meant he eventually became one of my spoiled boss’s assignments.
“Is it really okay for an employee to be making the CEO work like this? At home, no less? Do I not get any work-life balance?”
“I’ll make you ramen with chopped green onions later.”
“The CEO wants to work.”
“I’ll add an egg too.”
“Busy people become CEOs.”
That was how my boss had originally described Philip.
[An Efficiency Freak Taken to the Extreme.]
We’d almost submitted it exactly like that.
Luckily, I caught it at the last minute and changed it to:
“A mage who pursues efficiency above all else.”
Anyway…
Philip had recognized Garen’s talent long ago.
Garen excelled in combat magic that utilized the body.
Philip knew perfectly well that solving math problems like these did absolutely nothing to help him.
He assigned homework… but never actually graded it.
It was nothing more than a formality required for admission into Somarfi Academy.
The important part was simply turning it in.
Even if Philip somehow did read it, it wouldn’t matter.
For the sake of his own career, Philip also wanted Garen accepted into Somarfi Academy.
There was no way he’d make an issue out of a homework assignment.
“Next time, do it yourself.”
“B-But…”
“What? You only know that white is paper and black is writing?”
“When did you learn mind-reading magic?”
“The important thing is trying.”
“Don’t give up.”
“No, that’s not right.”
“What’s important is doing it well.”
That was simply how House Devernon operated.
Trying wasn’t enough.
Only success mattered.
That was why…
No matter how hard Seila tried to be kind…
No matter how desperately she tried to earn everyone’s approval…
They still looked down on her.
“It’s okay if you’re not good at it.”
“The important thing is trying.”
“I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”
“If you don’t understand something, come to my room.”
“I’ll help you until you can do it.”
I gently patted little Garen’s head.
Before the coming-of-age ceremony, there wasn’t much difference in our heights.
People in this world grew dramatically afterward.
“Next time, I’ll have cookies and hot cocoa ready.”
“Really?”
“But you have to be polite.”
“And ask me properly.”
“Then I’ll help you.”
“Okay!”
“I’m noble, after all.”
Garen broke into a bright smile.
After finishing today’s “disciplining of little Garen,” I suddenly felt hungry.
Maybe because my body was younger.
I seemed to get hungry all the time.
I picked up the small bell sitting on my desk.
It was used to summon servants.
…When exactly was Seila supposed to use this?
According to her memories…
She had never rung it even once.
Seila always handled everything herself.
She hated troubling anyone.
If you’re entitled to something, you should enjoy it.
For the daughter of a prestigious noble house…
Failing to make use of the privileges available to her was practically a flaw.
Jingle.
I rang the bell.
No one came.
Seriously? Not a single person?
I rang it harder.
Jingle!
Still nothing.
The servants who were supposed to remain nearby in case I needed them were nowhere in sight.
So that’s how it is.
Bell in hand, I stepped into the hallway.
The third floor was deserted.
So I went downstairs to the second floor and rang it as loudly as I could.
Jingle!
Jingle!!
Jingle!!!
I walked down the long corridor while continuously shaking the bell.
Apparently summoning servants wasn’t considered beneath Seila’s Elegance, because my body moved without any resistance.
Startled by the noise, one of the maids came running toward me.
She immediately grabbed my arm.
Judging by how tightly she squeezed…
She was clearly irritated.
“My lady! What are you doing?! Young Master Demian is still asleep!”
She was angry…
Yet ironically whispering because she didn’t want to wake the eldest young master.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
I looked up at her face.
A nameplate was pinned to her chest.
“Julie.”
“Who gave you permission to touch me?”
Unfortunately…
Young Seila had chosen the wrong approach.
A daughter of a prestigious noble house was expected to behave like one.
Seila’s kindness was adorable.
It was exactly the sort of behavior many romance-fantasy heroines adopted.
But…
This world wasn’t kind enough for that.
I lightly brushed Julie’s hand off my arm.
She stared at me as though I’d struck her.
“You are dismissed.”
“Permanently.”
“W-What?”
Are your ears broken?
“When I speak…”
“Listen carefully.”
“Y-Yes?”
Time to tighten discipline within House Devernon.
“Bring me the head butler.”
The head butler, Taikan.
He had once been the eldest son of a noble house that had since fallen into ruin.
Twenty years earlier, during the Continental War, he had earned great fame as both a swordsman and a soldier.
He had been Lord Dephelto Devernon’s comrade-in-arms.
During the Battle of the Red Desert, Taikan saved Dephelto’s life but suffered severe injuries to his right arm, forcing him to retire.
Afterward…
He became House Devernon’s head butler.
Dephelto trusted him completely.
For more than ten years, Taikan had flawlessly managed everything inside and outside the household.
Naturally…
He wasn’t an easy man to confront.
Don’t overthink it.
Just say what you mean.
Mr. Butler, weren’t you supposed to be amazing?
What came out instead was:
“I’ve heard that twenty years ago, during the Continental War, you were called the Devil.”
“A flawless swordsman without a single weakness.”
“Your enemies feared you greatly.”
…Wow.
So that’s how it translates?
“What exactly are you trying to say, My Lady?”
Then why are you so bad at managing your people?
What I actually said was:
“I do not believe you are unaware of how the servants have treated me all this time.”
“Their indiscipline is ultimately your responsibility.”
…Seriously?
Even that became elegant?
They’ve been treating me like trash!
I’m still the daughter of this house!
I’m only thirteen years old!
Couldn’t the head butler at least protect me?
Instead, my mouth produced:
“Regardless of my abilities, I remain a direct descendant of House Devernon.”
“You must answer for neglecting your duties.”
“And everything that has been done improperly until now… must be corrected.”
How did it translate that into this?
Once again…
I found myself deeply impressed by the ridiculous power of Elegance.
It almost made me want to test its limits.
Even if I spoke nonsense…
This body somehow transformed it into refined aristocratic speech.
Taikan is an absolute believer in rules and principles.
At the same time…
He looked down on the weak.
Not because he was exceptionally cruel.
That was simply how the world of worked.
The strong were respected.
The weak were ignored.
Among nobles…
Even more so.
He despises Seila because she’s a Devernon by blood yet enjoys none of the status that should come with it.
However…
If she actually began behaving like a true member of House Devernon…
Taikan would support her without prejudice.
After a long silence…
He nodded.
“You’ve changed somehow.”
“An apology should come before your observations.”
The middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a perfectly pressed suit and white gloves, bowed respectfully.
“My deepest apologies.”
“My failure to properly manage the servants rests entirely upon my shoulders.”
Julie’s face went pale.
Taikan wasn’t known as the Devil only because of his exploits on the battlefield.
Within House Devernon…
The servants secretly called him the Devil as well.
Because he was terrifying.
“H-Head Butler!”
“I… I…!”
“Speak.”
“What offense have you committed against the Third Young Lady?”
“I-I was only trying not to disturb Young Master Demian! He went to bed very late last night!”
“That was all!”
Taikan turned toward Seila.
“My Lady.”
“Is what she says true?”
Seila stepped forward.
She approached Julie.
Then gently took Julie’s right hand.
Lifting it slowly…
She said,
“She touched my body without permission.”
Then she placed Julie’s hand upon her own shoulder.
“And she raised her voice to me.”
“As though scolding a misbehaving child.”
The shoulder of Seila’s blouse was badly wrinkled.
As though someone had gripped it tightly.
“If I committed any wrongdoing…”
“It was merely ringing this bell rather loudly.”
“No matter how much I rang it…”
“Not a single servant appeared.”
Seila handed the bell to Taikan.
It rang perfectly.
Jingle.
“I believe this bell is defective.”
“Dispose of it.”
“And bring me a new one.”
“…Understood.”
“You will bring it personally.”
Julie’s face turned ashen.
Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Leaving the trembling maid behind…
Seila walked away with graceful, measured steps.
Gone was the timid girl who constantly sought everyone’s approval.
“Oh.”
“One more thing, Head Butler.”
She turned back to face him.
“The blouse I’m wearing.”
“It originally had a blue gemstone attached here.”
“For some reason… it’s disappeared.”
“It seems a little rat has been hiding somewhere.”
…Oh?
I thought the system would censor little rat too.
Apparently calling someone a rat is considered sufficiently aristocratic.
It seemed noble insults were perfectly acceptable.
