TBCPA 12

Chapter 12

Laura quickly ran out of the bath and returned with medicine, handing it to Lindar.

Lindar gently spread ointment over my palm and wrapped it with bandages. To me, it was just a small wound, but once it was tightly wrapped, it felt like something far more serious.

It didn’t seem necessary to go this far. I stared blankly at it, then snapped back to attention at Lindar’s words.

“Miss, what exactly happened? How did you get hurt like this?”

“It was… something that happened.”

“Something happened? Did someone actually dare to push you?”

I should’ve just said I fell. Lindar’s face turned pale as she shouted.

Flustered, I shook my head.

“I fell on my own. There was a reason I had to…”

“Don’t tell me… you deliberately fell?”

Lindar looked horrified.

I pouted and slowly nodded.

When I glanced at Laura, I realized this wasn’t something I could casually say in front of her, so Lindar quickly gestured for her to leave.

“Please explain everything. What on earth happened? You’re not saying you can’t even tell me, are you?”

Lindar’s eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to see through me.

It felt like I was being scolded. I was the master here, yet I was the one getting scolded. Ridiculous—but Lindar’s presence was too intense to ignore.

“I met a very bad person. I just used the most efficient method to show him a lesson.”

“How? Did you make it look like he pushed you?”

I nodded.

Lindar sighed and began lecturing me about not taking care of myself.

“The Lady’s body doesn’t belong only to the Lady. If even a tiny thorn pierces your finger, it feels like a giant needle piercing my heart.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And this wasn’t even an accident—you intentionally hurt yourself. Do you know how upsetting that is?”

“…Upsetting?”

She was upset because I got hurt?

I looked up at her with a slightly guilty expression.

I knew Lindar cared about me, but I hadn’t expected her reaction to be this intense.

I stood there awkwardly, unable to comfort her or respond properly.

“If doing something like this brings a good result, isn’t it fine?”

“Once you start thinking your body can be exchanged for results, there will be no end. You’ll slowly begin to devalue yourself.”

Lindar firmly refuted me.

Thinking about it, she wasn’t wrong. It was hard to decide what value could match one’s body.

I had thought it was fine as long as it wasn’t a serious injury or death, but Lindar clearly didn’t see it that way.

“No matter what the reason, do not use your body as a tool. Your safety and health must come first.”

“Mm…”

“The people who made you think this way must have been very wrong…”

Her words made me think of Kadelos.

Was he worried about me too when he said those things? About my safety and health?

Thinking about it, maybe he and I were similar in that neither of us properly valued our own well-being.

If I kept insisting like this, Lindar might feel the same frustration I had felt earlier.

‘I don’t want that.’

I bit my lip and lowered my head.

“I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

“I wouldn’t dare accept an apology from the Lady… but please, think more of yourself.”

Lindar said gently, still worried.

I hugged her briefly, then quickly pulled away when I realized I was getting her wet.

“Now then, be careful not to put your hands in the water.”

Lindar returned to her usual calm expression and prepared the bath oils.

“Haah…”

Warm water poured over me, instantly relaxing my body. I leaned against the edge of the tub.

“Did you meet someone unpleasant today?”

Lindar asked carefully while washing me, as if giving me permission not to answer.

I remembered what she had said earlier—that it was wrong for people to instill harmful thoughts in me.

She was right. If I hadn’t been abused by my uncle for so long, I probably wouldn’t think of injuries so lightly either.

I asked her:

“Say… it’s about someone else. There’s a teacher who keeps saying really awful things to them, like they shouldn’t have been born. So I tried to remove that teacher for them.”

At my words, Lindar’s face hardened.

“But then that person told me not to care if I get hurt. That even getting hurt doesn’t matter!”

I stomped my feet in the water, splashing loudly.

“That sounds like someone unfit to be a teacher. Your judgment is correct, but you must not hurt yourself on purpose.”

“Mm… I won’t do it anymore since it upsets you.”

“So you weren’t angry—you were upset.”

I blinked.

Upset?

I thought about it again.

“…That’s right.”

“And that person as well,” Lindar added.

“Huh?”

“They seem upset that you got hurt because of them.”

I stared at her in shock.

Kadelos… upset?

“That’s impossible! He doesn’t like me that much!”

“Then even more so, he must be a very kind person. He simply doesn’t want anyone to get hurt because of him.”

I was stunned.

That explanation actually made more sense than him suddenly liking me.

Kadelos was surprisingly kind and attentive. Even though I kept bothering him, he still always met me.

“So we were both just upset…”

I muttered.

My anger faded a little.

Well, with that kind of personality, it made sense he would quietly tolerate Duval’s nonsense.

“Then I really should find a new teacher for him.”

Someone a thousand times more decent than Duval!

“But… you’re talking about the Crown Prince, right?”

“…Was it that obvious?”

“You came back from the palace.”

Fair point. I nodded.

“Then… surely you’re not saying you’ll personally find him a new teacher…?”

“I won’t visit the Crown Prince again until I find one.”

At that, Lindar looked troubled.

“But no one will want to become his teacher…”

That hit me like a blow.

Right. No one had wanted to teach Kadelos in the first place—that was why Duval had managed to slip in so easily.

‘Oh no. At this rate, I’ll never be able to go back to the palace!’

My worry continued for several days.

Even though it became known that the Emperor had severely punished Duval, there was still no news of a new teacher being found.

Through the Imperial knights who were quietly keeping watch over my house, I learned that no one had volunteered to teach Kadelos.

‘Tch… if they just pretended not to notice and called me, I would’ve gone.’

Kadelos also never contacted me, as if he considered the situation resolved.

The Emperor only replied to my report with, “I look forward to your abilities.”

When I tried to rely on his so-called “daily advice,” all I got when I skipped meals was: “Eat properly.”

I tried it anyway—and nothing happened except I ended up full.

For the first time, I realized the daily advice wasn’t an all-purpose solution.

There was nothing I could rely on!

In the end, I had no choice but to find a new teacher myself. My impulsive words had become my own burden.

After days of denial, I finally stood up and ordered Laura to dress me neatly.

‘If it comes to this, I’ll just have to go myself!’

I arrived at the academy.

The academy library was my destination—I planned to find documents and check the list of professors.

It was a prestigious institution, so I stood out immediately while walking through the library halls. Everyone around me was several heads taller.

The stares I received were sharp, but no one stopped me.

I wandered around looking for the library.

“Are you looking for someone? Your brother? Your sister?”

Someone spoke to me from behind.

I turned around and saw a woman with a kind face and simple clothes smiling warmly at me.

She looked at me as if I were adorable and waited for my answer.

I blinked, then shook my head.

I did need a new teacher, but first I had to get to the library.

“I want to go to the library.”

“To the library? Hmm… see that tower over there? Go that way.”

She pointed to a distant building.

If I lost her now, I might get lost again!

“Please help me, big sister.”

I looked up at her with my ultimate sparkling-eyes technique.