ITHTJ 16

Chapter : 16

Somehow Suspicious People (1)

Somehow, I managed to wrap up the first lesson.

Leaving behind Lynette’s curiosity-filled gaze, I headed toward Eclipse’s office.

Ugh… I don’t know why, but I’m getting nervous for no reason.

Rrrr—rattle, rattle.

The sound of the cart carrying my teaching materials echoed through the quiet hallway.

At the unnecessarily cheerful noise, I let out a deep sigh.

Cheerful, my foot. My mind’s a mess right now.

Eclipse’s summons, and the total amount of Lynette’s mana.

Those two things alone made my head feel like it was about to burst.

I can’t exactly ask Eclipse why his precious little sister has only half my mana, can I?

Who was Lynette du Rudeau?

She was the original story’s female lead—the one who received every protagonist buff imaginable.

And you’re telling me that Lynette only had half the mana of an extra like me? Did that make any sense?

But no matter how many times I checked, the crystal ball showed no errors…

Come to think of it, my mana did seem to have increased recently.

It was true that my mana was exceptional, but it shouldn’t have been exceptional enough to completely outclass Lynette.

What on earth is going on?

So many changes had happened to me over the past few days that I couldn’t even begin to measure them.

Lost in thought, I stared intently at Silvern’s back as he walked ahead.

Then, all of a sudden, something popped into my mind.

Oh, right. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen those soldiers lately either.

Those scoundrels who, despite being gatekeepers of the Rudeau Grand Ducal House, had dared to threaten Lynette!

The moment I thought of them, my face twisted into a frown.

Bastards. How could they be so shameless?

Judging by the fact that they were nowhere to be seen, they must have been punished by the hammer of justice.

Feeling oddly satisfied, I snorted.

See? My instincts were right. I knew it was them.

I flashed a victorious grin at the back of Silvern’s head.

“Mr. Silvern, don’t you have something to say to me?”

Silvern didn’t answer. I chuckled quietly at his back.

After a moment, he responded curtly.

“Well… no.”

“Oh, come on. I feel like you do.”

Perhaps he noticed the laughter in my voice.

Silvern replied with slightly more emotion than before.

“I don’t.”

“Isn’t that a bit too firm? Why don’t you think about it just a little more?”

“I’ve thought about it enough.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so~.”

I deliberately dragged out the end of my sentence.

Silvern seemed to give up on responding altogether and closed his mouth again.

“You’re quieter than I expected.”

Feeling suddenly cheerful, I began humming softly.

By the time we reached the office door, Silvern spoke stiffly.

“You may go in.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Just as I was about to enter, I abruptly turned around and stared at Silvern.

Come to think of it, I felt like something was supposed to happen to this guy too.

“W-Why are you staring at me like that?”

Ah, that’s it. I remembered.

“Mr. Silvern, you’re the eldest son of Baron Silvester’s family, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But why do you ask?”

“Well, since you’re a noble, I was wondering if you really need to speak so politely to me.”

“Ah.”

Silvern pursed his lips as if to say, Why worry about something like that?

“It’s just a habit. When you work as a butler, you end up speaking like this without realizing it. It’s more comfortable for me, so please bear with it.”

All the rude brats in this world should learn from Silvern.

Look, everyone—politeness can be a habit! Isn’t he the perfect role model?

“Let’s not dwell on that. Polite or casual, what difference does it make? We’re both employees here anyway. Mutual respect is what matters.”

Mr. Silvern, you’re cooler than I thought!

I kind of like him.

I took back my earlier judgment about his bad first impression.

I extended my hand toward him.

“I think we can become good friends. I look forward to working with you.”

After staring at me for a moment, he let out a small laugh.

Silvern readily shook my hand.

“Yes, likewise. Just don’t cause any trouble.”

“I absolutely won’t. I plan on working here for a long, long time.”

“I certainly hope so.”

I smiled brightly at Silvern and stepped through the door he opened for me.

Eclipse was still seated at his desk, working.

As I rolled the cart forward, my gaze landed on the desk.

Oh—that candlestick.

On his desk sat a candlestick identical to the one I’d been given before.

“If you need it, you can take it. I have plenty of spares.”

Eclipse’s words from back then resurfaced in my mind. Unfortunately, the butterfly powder I’d been dreaming of was nowhere to be found.

If I want to pull off the perfect crime, I have to recover that powder somehow. What do I do now?

My head was full of unrelated thoughts.

Eclipse glanced at me briefly before refocusing on his documents.

“Can you wait a moment?”

“Yes! Of course.”

Whose order do you think this is? Of course I’ll obey!

I stood before him, quietly observing his movements.

How does he not take his eyes off his work for even a second? No wonder they call him a workaholic.

This was my third time facing him.

As I stared at Eclipse’s face—always so expressionless as he worked—

He’s still handsome, even now.

The thought escaped me without warning.

Was it because he looked slightly tired? He seemed strangely decadent compared to usual…

While my thoughts wandered freely, Lynette’s voice suddenly crossed my mind.

“Most of the teachers who meet my brother come back completely deflated. I guess it’s because he’s so difficult.”

Right. I wasn’t here on a casual visit.

Like someone splashed with cold water, I snapped back to my senses and discreetly rubbed the stiff back of my neck.

If people lose their nerve just by being around him—even when he doesn’t mean to—what does that say about him?

Just as anxiety about the near future began to sprout, my eyes met Eclipse’s.

I immediately straightened my posture and clasped my hands politely.

As he stared at me, Eclipse’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You look nervous.”

“P-Pardon? No, I’m perfectly fine.”

“It doesn’t look that way to me.”

Of course I’m lying! How could anyone not be nervous in front of a grand duke?!

I pulled my lips into a wide, professional smile.

“Everyone says the same thing. Even those who are normally as fluid as flowing water stiffen the moment they stand here.”

What a coincidence! That’s exactly what’s happening to me!

“Don’t feel pressured. I didn’t call you here to burden you.”

You’re the one holding my livelihood in your hands—do you really think that’ll make me relax?!

“Y-Yes, I understand…”

Of course. I have to say that. Even if my heart won’t cooperate.

Trembling with nerves, I layered on another coat of my professional smile.

“Do you know why I called you here?”

Eclipse asked, picking up my teaching materials.

I felt momentarily flustered.

I’m terrible with open-ended questions… At least with multiple choice, I could guess. This feels like mind reading.

After much deliberation, I decided to take a gamble.

“I believe it’s regarding Lady Lynette’s education.”

It was the perfect answer for a man so invested in his sister.

Eclipse, still skimming the materials with an impassive expression, looked back at me.

“That’s correct. But that’s not all.”

What—was this a multiple-answer question?

I widened my eyes and waited for him to continue.

Setting the documents down, Eclipse looked straight at me.

“Bloomhire.”

“Yes.”

“You knew that Lynette has not fully awakened her divine power.”

“…Yes.”

“How did you know that?”

The look in his eyes as he asked was sharp.

As I considered the intent behind his question, realization struck me.

“She is truly a remarkable talent. Though she hasn’t fully awakened her divine power yet, she will soon spread her wings—”

Ah. So that’s what this was about.

Now that I thought about it, Eclipse’s reaction back then had been unusual.

Wasn’t this mentioned in the original story?

That Lynette slacked off in her training because she didn’t want to become a saint—it was common knowledge to those in the know.

So why was he so surprised?

Ah. Right.

It clicked.

Only a very small number of people knew this!

Lynette’s public image was that of a pure, devoted saint, inheriting her mother Aileen’s blood.

But few knew the full truth.

At most… Eclipse and a handful of high-ranking priests?

Even including Lynette herself, there were probably no more than five people who knew.