PNA~08

Chapter 08

“Teacher’s acting weird today.”

At Selene’s sighing remark, all the kids nodded in unison.

“Y-yeah, seriously.”

Ash fidgeted with his fingers as he glanced at Erne nervously.

“You guys must not know this, but our teacher’s always been weird.”

“Shuknen’s right.”

Selene, unusually, took Shuknen’s side for once, while he gave Erne a sharp glance and smirked as if saying, Isn’t this just the usual?

Erne, however, was too distracted to care about the kids’ chatter.

It was all because of the things Shuknen brought with him when he arrived at school this morning.

“Father told me to give these to you!”

Following the carriage Shuknen got out of, a line of freight wagons trailed behind.

“W-What the heck is all this?!”

Erne’s jaw dropped when she saw what was packed in those wagons.

‘Mulberry juice for stamina recovery? Eastern Empire ginseng that helps blood circulation? Camel dung from the desert kingdom that soothes eye fatigue?!’

It was a collection of all kinds of rare and supposedly health-boosting herbs.

If only it had stopped there. But the proper, upright handwriting of Duke Douglas hinted that this was not the end.

[Greetings, Princess. I intend to come fetch Shuknen once today’s lessons are over.

I would also like to speak with you again. Please grant me the honor.]

Horrifying! She had come all the way to this countryside to escape the chaos of the original novel’s plot, yet here she was again, getting tangled up with the main cast.

And no less than with the man who, in the original story, led the Kingdom of Nesheld to ruin.

Sure, he was being polite now because she was his son’s tutor, but—

‘Who knows how long that’ll last!’

A chill ran down Erne’s spine, and she rubbed her arms instinctively.

This whole thing was starting to feel seriously off.

“By the way, Teacher, I have a little brother now.”

“Oh? That’s something to celebrate.”

Selene’s sudden declaration snapped Erne out of her spiraling thoughts.

Beaming with pride, Selene grabbed Erne’s arm and clung to her cheerfully, clearly pleased with the reaction.

“But how are babies made?”

Hmm? A different kind of horror drained Erne’s face of color.

Sex education in Cheonghakdong? Out of the question.

She absolutely believed it was essential education—but the kids were still far too young.

Selene puffed her cheeks in frustration when Erne didn’t respond.

“My little brother suddenly showed up like ‘peekaboo’! Where do babies come from? Oh! Are they bought somewhere?”

Bought? Erne choked on her breath.

“What are you talking about, Selene?”

“Well, we’re super poor, so I don’t think we’d have money to buy a baby.”

As Erne wiped away the cold sweat and reached out to her, Selene nodded seriously like she had just solved a mystery.

What in the world was going on in that tiny head?

“Selene?”

“Yesterday, Dad came back from a sudden business trip, and he had a baby with him. I like having a little brother, but… I don’t think Mom does.”

Erne’s stomach dropped. An ominous feeling crept in.

No way… Not in this quiet rural village…

“I don’t remember much, but I do remember one thing clearly. Mom said to Dad, ‘I can’t accept that child as my son!’”

At those words, Erne staggered back.

“An illegitimate child cliché?!”

Just how far did the cursed plot of this trashy royal drama intend to follow her?

Erne wanted to clamp her ears shut and cry. She had accidentally overheard a scandal from someone else’s household and desperately wished she hadn’t.

Selene, meanwhile, simply grinned innocently, oblivious to the emotional wreck she had just caused.

“Greetings, Princess.”

“Oh, yes. Hello, Duke.”

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence swept between them.

Erne was clearly uncomfortable sitting across from this man—the ultimate villain of the novel and now the parent of her student. Meanwhile, the Duke was carefully observing Erne’s demeanor.

After a long moment of silent scrutiny, he was the first to speak.

“Did you like the gifts I sent?”

“Ah—yes! That’s actually what I wanted to ask about. What exactly were all those things?”

“I merely wish for my son’s teacher to stay in good health. Do they not please you, Princess?”

Erne quickly shook her head.

Saying she didn’t like them felt like it might get her killed by the oppressive aura radiating from him.

“N-no, that’s not it!”

But accepting such extravagant and rare gifts was also a problem.

“I’m perfectly healthy.”

“…”

Gulp. Erne stiffened like a statue.

His silence felt like a threat—How dare you reject my gift?

Flustered, Erne backpedaled hastily.

“Not that I’m ungrateful! I’m healthy now, but who knows what could happen in the future? Yes, thank you very much. I really needed those! Lately, I’ve kind of been feeling under the weather…”

The more she tried to explain, the more the Duke’s expression shifted into something unreadable.

If anything, he seemed even more displeased.

‘This isn’t going well.’

Erne awkwardly scratched her arm, goosebumps rising as she tried to read his mood.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like he planned to kill her.

“You haven’t been feeling well lately?”

“Uh, yes. Those are hard to find, right? I’m sure I’ll feel much better after taking them. Thank you.”

“I’m glad I could be of help to you, Princess.”

His sticky smile sent a chill down her spine.

Erne had to swallow a scream and just nodded.

After sending Selene and Ash home, Shuknen quietly worked on the homework Erne had given him, while the Duke observed with a strange expression before turning back to her.

“Shuknen’s changed quite a lot.”

“Has he?”

Her face immediately lit up at the mention of the child.

She much preferred talking to the Duke in the role of teacher and parent—it was much less nerve-wracking.

“Since coming to Vanessa, five of the servants who were in charge of Shuknen have already quit. All of them said it was because of his disrespectful behavior.”

“Really? That’s strange. Shuknen’s a very polite child. He’s smart too—if not to the level of learning ten things from one, he definitely understands two. Well, as long as it’s a subject he likes.”

Erne looked at Shuknen affectionately as he worked on his assignment.

She hadn’t always felt this way about him. At first, she was scared—he was the son of the villain, after all.

‘But a child is still a child.’
Shuknen wasn’t misbehaving because he was evil. He simply hadn’t had anyone properly teach him.

As long as someone stayed by his side to guide him, he could grow up better than anyone else.

Erne was determined—she would rid Shuknen of any trace of a villainous future.

What she didn’t know was that she was already his seventh tutor.

The Duke watched Erne’s affectionate expression with a curious gaze.

He glanced back and forth between her and his son, then tilted his head slightly.

‘That little brat… actually likes the princess?’

Windsor almost let out a laugh.

He had thought Shuknen might be sick, given how strangely well-behaved he’d been since returning from Cheonghakdong.

Just the other day, he hadn’t even flipped the dining table—a miracle in and of itself.

Normally, dinner at the Douglas household went something like:

“Who told you to bring me this garbage?!”
—followed by the head chef kneeling and begging for forgiveness.

But now?

“Thank you for the meal.”

That one sentence had caused an uproar.

“Young master! Are you alright?!”
“Why hasn’t the doctor been summoned yet?!”

As the servants panicked and tried to restrain him, Windsor had to massage his forehead.

Had it not been for Shuknen’s furious shout—

“Get lost! I’m doing what Teacher told me to, why does that mean I’m sick?!”

—it would’ve all been a disaster.

A teacher who could fix this brat? Was that even possible?

Only then had Windsor remembered: Shuknen was attending Cheonghakdong.

It was the same school that cured the count of Vanessa’s son’s selective mutism and turned some noble’s unruly daughter into a quiet, polite girl.

Apparently, the same transformation was happening to Shuknen.

‘Local recommendations really are the most trustworthy.’

Windsor decided he should reward Count Vanessa for the excellent referral.

But at the same time, he became very curious about this teacher Shuknen was so obsessed with.

“What was the name again? Ellen? Erne?”

That very day, he dropped by to observe one of Shuknen’s classes—and what he saw left him utterly dumbfounded.

“A princess?”

While the royal guards were turning the capital upside down looking for her, this princess was peacefully teaching kids in a remote village.

And the subject of the class?

‘Healthy Romantic Relationships.’

She was teaching eight-year-olds about love.

Windsor barely held back a snort.

“There’s Chulsoo, Yuri, and Hoon. Chulsoo and Yuri love each other, but Hoon has a crush on Yuri. Here’s the question: What should Hoon do? Remember, Yuri loves Chulsoo and Chulsoo loves Yuri.”

The lesson itself was strange, but the example question was even worse.

To Windsor, the answer was obvious.

After various innocent, dreamy answers from the kids, Shuknen raised his hand.

“Take her.”

Windsor smiled proudly for the first time in a while.

Finally, the kid said something that made sense.

But the next moment, the princess snapped:

“Absolutely not! Never! That’s something only trash would do!”

Trash…
Windsor was genuinely shocked to realize his own beliefs were being labeled garbage.

The princess stood with her hands on her hips and lectured Shuknen sternly.

Maybe that teary, stern face of hers was why the kids listened so well.

Shuknen, struck by her expression, revised his answer.

But it only made Windsor clench his fist.

“Take her anyway.”

Blessings? Love? Who cares?

If anything, lighting their future on fire would be generous.

Crying in silence, unable to confess your feelings—how pathetic.

Windsor shook his head and narrowed his eyes darkly.

He should go tell Yuri how he feels. He should declare war on Chulsoo.

And Shuknen?

If he really wanted to prove he was living his best life…

Windsor touched the ring on his second finger and smiled wickedly.

“It doesn’t matter if Yuri doesn’t love me. I love Yuri. So all I have to do is kill that Chulsoo guy.”