TBCPA 10

Chapter 10

Count Duval looked unusually triumphant, as if he was absolutely certain I would be humiliated again this time.

“Does a ten-year-old not knowing something make you that happy?”

He must think I’d be terribly embarrassed.

If I had grown up in comfort and still didn’t know anything despite years of lazy studying, then yes, it would be embarrassing. But I was just going to learn from now on, so I had nothing to be ashamed of.

Still… thinking about how that smug expression of his would crumble felt a little satisfying.

I didn’t know anything about war, but I did know the answer to this question.

Not specifically about the Hantar Battle, but I had once heard my uncle boast about a battle in a canyon.

Explosives were detonated along the edge of the canyon, collapsing it and wiping out the Imperial Army that was advancing inside.

They had pretended to retreat, luring the enemy into pursuit, only to strike at the perfect moment.

And rebel troops stationed above the canyon—outside the blast range—had ambushed them like hunters, achieving a decisive victory.

After that, I had heard that Emperor Kadelos personally led the army, and the war situation began to swing back and forth.

Back then, I remember someone calling the commander an idiot who didn’t even understand basic canyon warfare.

At the time, I had been too busy just surviving while making chemicals under constant beatings to understand the horrors of war.

Only later did I come to understand that painful reality.

‘If you hide and wait above the canyon, that’s the standard tactic… so they probably did the same.’

A painful memory—but it had just turned into an opportunity to wipe that smug look off Count Duval’s face.

“Still don’t know the answer?”

As my memory drifted, Duval sneered.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to mock a student for not knowing while they are here to learn.”

Today, Kadelos looked unusually irritated and tried to defend me.

And he was absolutely right. But Duval, thinking he was being disrespected, shot him a displeased glare.

“I asked Lady Ferdinand, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“But—”

As Kadelos tried to argue, I clapped my hands once.

“Ah! I remember!”

Both Kadelos and Duval widened their eyes slightly.

Duval frowned immediately.

“You’re not just making something up, are you? I’d like to see you get at least one answer right before praising you…”

As if he was ready to punish me for being wrong, he pressed me with his gaze.

I tilted my head innocently and stared back with bright eyes.

Duval cleared his throat awkwardly.

“If the enemy enters from there, the Imperial Army hides above the canyon and attacks. Then they get surrounded and defeated instantly.”

I pointed at the map as I spoke.

Duval’s cheek twitched slightly. He looked as if it was disappointing that I hadn’t failed.

“Ahem…”

Kadelos seemed to smile faintly. So it was correct.

“Let’s look at this part of the map. Here…”

“Am I right or wrong, teacher?”

I interrupted him.

Duval frowned.

“You are correct. But interrupting your teacher like that is—”

“Then will you praise me? Yay!”

I cut him off again and clapped my hands excitedly.

As I looked at him expectantly, Duval let out a helpless sigh, as if he had lost his words.

“Why are you sighing when I did well? Do you not like it when I answer correctly?”

Good. Let’s stir things up again.

I tilted my head and spoke loudly, pretending to be confused.

Duval tried to speak again, but—

“If you praise me, I’ll feel more motivated to study. I like teachers who praise me a lot.”

“Lady, what do you think this class is?”

“Eeeh… are you getting angry again just because you won’t praise me?”

I pouted dramatically.

Then I pointed at Kadelos, who was watching with amused eyes.

“But even if I get things wrong and don’t get praised… why don’t you praise His Highness when he answers correctly? Oh, I see! You don’t like his answers either!”

Duval’s cheek twitched again.

I tilted my head innocently.

“Strange… His Majesty the Emperor said you praised him whenever you reported on lessons.”

That was a signal that I was close enough to the Emperor to talk like this.

Duval’s expression stiffened slightly.

“That’s because when speaking to parents, we emphasize good points. Otherwise, children lose motivation.”

“Oh? So you’re lying to His Majesty the Emperor? Hiding things on purpose is still lying!”

I covered my mouth as if shocked.

“And earlier you said discipline and getting scolded weren’t related. But I’ve only been getting scolded and my motivation has gone down.”

I stuck my lips out again, speaking sharply on purpose.

Duval slammed the desk.

“Lady, do you even understand respect toward your teacher?”

Then, just as I looked startled, he raised his hand again and struck the desk.

“Eek!”

My desk tipped backward with a loud crash.

At that moment, I had subtly pushed it with my knee, making it easy to fall.

So I tumbled to the floor with the desk.

“Huu… huuuh! Teacher is scary!”

I cried loudly, squeezing out tears as if I were truly a child.

“L-Lady!”

“Alisia!”

Duval panicked and called me, startled.

And Kadelos jumped up, quickly clearing the desk and helping me up.

‘He called me Alisia?’

I had expected him to coldly call me “Lady Ferdinand,” but in this urgent moment, he used my name.

It felt oddly surprising.

“Did you get hurt? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Kadelos looked at me with unusual concern.

I rubbed my reddened knee and pouted.

“He’s scary… he hit the desk… Is the teacher bullying Your Highness too?”

“What nonsense is that!”

“He’s just like my uncle… raising his hand and never apologizing…”

Duval had suddenly become a teacher who pushed a ten-year-old girl with a desk.

My body ached, but it wasn’t a bad move.

After all, a body that had been beaten thousands of times wouldn’t break from one more fall.

“Lady, I only meant to move the desk. I must have used too much force.”

Duval clearly didn’t want to apologize, offering excuses instead.

Of course, without my own push, the desk wouldn’t have fallen.

“Teacher, did you hit His Highness too?”

“That is imperial insult! I would never do such a thing.”

“But last time you said the Emperor leaving the Prince behind was disgraceful…”

I glared at him.

Duval trembled with anger.

“That was purely a political philosophical remark!”

Good. I finally got him to admit something.

I suppressed a smile and slumped down.

“Your Highness, I’m scared and my body hurts. I don’t want to attend this class anymore…”

Kadelos quickly supported me.

As I grabbed his sleeve and lowered my head weakly, he turned to Duval with a frown.

“Teacher!”

Yes! Say it!

“Isn’t it too much to lay hands on a young lady?”

…No, that’s not what I meant!

I set this whole thing up for you to expose him!

I sighed and pulled away from Kadelos, gathering my things.

“I really don’t feel well. I can’t continue today…”

I walked slowly toward the side door instead of the hallway exit.

There, the Emperor stood with a hardened expression.

‘Even without a window, with his senses, he must have heard everything.’

What I had asked the Emperor to do was simple: secretly observe my first lesson.

He had been puzzled at first, but I convinced him by saying he could also see how Kadelos attended class.

I already knew Duval disliked me and would ignore me. I intended to force a confession about his verbal abuse before the lesson ended.

‘He wouldn’t believe me if I just told him to remove Duval. So I need to show him properly.’

Honestly, it was the best decision.

I walked toward the Emperor with teary eyes while smiling inwardly.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I interrupted the class without permission…”

If Kadelos’s dragon blood made him strong, the Emperor’s presence must have been even more intense. Kadelos hadn’t noticed him at all.

The Emperor glared at Duval.

Duval trembled and called out weakly.

“Y-Your Majesty… that is not—”

The Emperor’s red eyes burned with fury.

“How absurd. To think this is what has been happening in my palace.”

Duval dropped to his knees in panic.

“Please, Your Majesty, allow me to explain!”

“I have already listened for forty minutes.”

The Emperor’s voice was ice-cold.

“I heard everything. You bullying a young girl. And the disgraceful words you spoke about my son.”

Duval shook violently.

“You should be executed immediately for imperial insult.”

Duval turned pale and tried to speak, but his voice came out thin with fear.

‘Goodbye, idiot.’

I lowered my head and smiled in satisfaction.