The head of the family had ordered that Firentia participate in the lessons. But Clerivan himself had too many doubts to follow the order blindly without first seeing for himself.
A seven-year-old child reading such a book… Could it be that even this cold, unyielding gentleman turned into a hedgehog mother in front of his granddaughter?
Clerivan knocked on the door of the room used by Gallahan and Firentia, thinking over the matter.
Entering after receiving Gallahan’s surprised greeting, he spotted Firentia in one corner of the drawing room, reading a book.
The child was clearly engrossed in the green-covered People of the South.
“She couldn’t really be reading…”
From the beginning, Clerivan hadn’t trusted Lullock’s words. He didn’t want to disrupt the carefully maintained atmosphere of the lesson by bringing in an uninformed seven-year-old. Today, he would confirm that Firentia was merely treating the book like a picture book, then persuade the head of the family accordingly.
“Tia, come here.”
At Gallahan’s call, Firentia closed the book and walked over. Her curly brown hair tied with a ribbon and her rosy cheeks, glowing with the vitality of a child, made her strikingly cute.
Yet, despite that, Firentia still looked very young. Sitting on her father’s lap emphasized that even more.
But there was one thing that shook Clerivan’s firm resolve: the deadly seriousness in her bright green eyes, identical to her father Gallahan’s.
How many seven-year-olds would meet a stranger’s direct gaze and smile back without turning away?
“…Indeed.”
The head of the family could say that this child carried his blood.
Certainly, Firentia seemed closer in temperament to her grandfather Lullock than to her father Gallahan.
But she was still a child. Even if she would one day grow bold and confident, that was an entirely different matter from hypothesizing that she possessed the genius intellect to read and understand scholarly books at age seven.
Clerivan’s thoughts, however, shattered as soon as he began conversing with Firentia.
“I’ve only read a little, but it says there are fascinating people living in the southern forests of the Empire. This book tells their story.”
Astonishingly, the child grasped the content accurately.
At this level, perhaps she could have been told by someone else.
Clerivan tried not to show his agitation as he thought this.
“And who is the author of this book?”
“It says ‘Rophili’ on the cover.”
“And what was the content of Chapter One?”
“Rophili talks about how he learned of the rumors about the southern people.”
“Hmm……”
But as Firentia continued answering each question effortlessly, Clerivan had nothing left to say.
Could this child really understand everything she read?
Clerivan’s confusion didn’t end there.
“Rophili isn’t ‘he.’ It’s ‘she.’”
“Eh?”
“It’s in the preface. Her full name is Abane Rophili. She’s a female scholar.”
To be corrected by a tiny Firentia!
People of the South was a book he had read long ago, but he hadn’t realized the author and narrator, Rophili, was female.
It was a careless assumption: anyone publishing such a famous scholarly work must be male.
Realizing his mistake in front of Firentia’s bright, sharp eyes, Clerivan’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“You said you’d already read it. Seems you skimmed through it.”
In the end, a little child had even mocked him.
At the sight of him smiling faintly while curling the corners of his lips—a face so familiar—Clerivan frowned.
This child really did resemble the head of the family.
Even that mischievous, heart-flipping smile was a perfect copy.
“Have her join the lessons starting on the sixth day of next week.”
Yet, as he left Gallahan’s room, Clerivan was already smiling.
“The position of education officer felt tedious, so I thought of resigning… but perhaps I’ll stay a bit longer.”
With this child, teaching could be interesting after all.
Regaining his motivation after a long while, Clerivan hurried back to his office to prepare for the lessons.
“Since the sun’s out after such a long time, shall we have a picnic in the garden?”
My father suddenly suggested during our leisurely afternoon.
“We can pack lots of your favorite cakes and cookies and enjoy the sunshine. Oh, and we can stop by Dr. O’Malley’s for a bit first.”
Ah.
I immediately understood his intent. He guessed I’d dislike going to the hospital and was trying to tempt me with a picnic full of treats.
A week had already passed since Dr. O’Malley mentioned the matter. I nodded, thinking how quickly time had flown. My father smiled widely, hurrying to move before my mind could change. The picnic basket was already prepared—it must have been planned ahead.
He really was quite thoughtful.
I took his hand and we headed to Dr. O’Malley’s clinic. The consultation room, sliding open with a soft creak, held Dr. O’Malley and another person.
“Oh?”
A young blonde woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, was nodding attentively as if receiving instructions from the doctor.
“You’ve come, I see.”
Even as Dr. O’Malley greeted me, I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman. My father noticed and asked who she was. Surprised, she spoke in a soft, thin voice:
“Oh… I’m Estira, Dr. O’Malley’s student.”
She didn’t look particularly timid, but she seemed startled by the sudden attention from the family head’s son.
“Alright, let’s take a look at your wrist.”
Dr. O’Malley approached with a smile, but I turned into my father’s arms, avoiding the doctor’s touch.
“Tia?”
“Ha ha, seems the young lady is suddenly shy.”
My father looked slightly troubled by my unusual behavior.
“Why is our Tia acting this way? Scared, perhaps?”
I shook my head vigorously.
“That… sister…”
“Hm? Say it again, Tia.”
“That sister should do it.”
My words left all three of them startled. Breaking the brief, awkward silence was, of course, Dr. O’Malley.
“It seems Estira has won the young lady’s favor. Then today, she shall handle the consultation.”
“B-but…”
“Estira is among my most skilled students. Don’t worry. I’ll be right beside her too. That’s alright, isn’t it, Miss Firentia?”
I nodded and approached Estira, holding out my injured wrist.
“Ah… th-then… just a moment.”
Blushing, Estira carefully unwrapped the bandage from my wrist. Her fingertips trembled slightly from tension. To ease the situation, I spoke first.
“Your name is Estira, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“My name is Firentia, and my father’s name is Gallahan.”
Since she worked in Lombardi, she probably already knew our names. But introducing ourselves once more wouldn’t hurt, helping her remember us more clearly.
“What do you learn from the doctor?”
“I study herbal medicine.”
“Wow. So you’re training to be a doctor too?”
“Yes, though it’s still a long way off.”
I chattered on, and Estira’s tension seemed to ease further.
“The swelling has gone down quite a bit, so we can change the medicine, Master.”
“I see. Go fetch the Sacos Pull extract.”
I frowned. I trusted the medicine would be fine, but the taste worried me greatly.
Sure enough, the pale green liquid Estira brought looked bitter at a glance.
“Drink this, Tia.”
As if on cue, my father offered cookies from the picnic basket. I grabbed three large ones, holding them in one hand.
Gulp.
I swallowed the bitter medicine in one go, trembling all over, and quickly shoved a cookie into my mouth. I handed one of the remaining cookies to Dr. O’Malley.
“Oh! Thank you, young lady!”
The doctor gratefully devoured the cookie in one bite.
And the last cookie?
“Here, you eat it.”
Estira’s eyes widened at the cookie I held out.
“I… I—”
“You treated me, so here. It’s delicious.”
After a brief hesitation, Estira finally accepted the cookie with both hands.
“Shall we go then?”
My father lifted me in his arms energetically.
“Goodbye.”
I waved to Dr. O’Malley while held by my father. Through my retreating vision, I saw Estira gazing at the cookie I had given her.
“Bye, sister!”
Startled, she bowed slightly toward me. I kept waving. Next time, I thought, I’ll make sure to ask her to come specifically.
I needed to keep watching her and grow closer.
“Hmm—hmm.”
Leaning on the windowsill, feeling the cool breeze, I began humming.
“You look especially cheerful today. Is it because you’re excited about your first lesson tomorrow?”
Well, partly.
I smiled at my father, who returned the smile, then went back to his work, drawing diligently.
I turned my gaze to the sky. The rain that had poured until yesterday seemed like a lie, as the sky cleared completely. The air felt exceptionally clean. I inhaled deeply, greedily taking in the full gust of wind.
At the end of that long breath, I saw a carriage flying the guild flag entering the estate.
I curled the corners of my lips and muttered softly.
“They’re here.”
