TCL 32

chapter 32

“So your mother not being around was supposed to be normal?!”

└ [Maybe she is dead but today is some kind of memorial day? Like ancestral rites?]
└ [Wait omgㅠㅠ maybe what’s “coming” is like… her ashes or something??]

…Was that what he meant?

If so, I needed to tread very carefully.

I chose my words with extreme caution so I wouldn’t poke at anything sensitive.

“Um… what’s the occasion today that she’s coming?”

“Hm? In her letter she wrote she’d just come see how I’m doing.”

She’s… alive and well?!

└ [Wait she’s ACTUALLY alive?? LOL]
└ [Yesss the mom isn’t dead]
└ [Rose said they parted because of death so I assumed she had died]

Well, that was just a society rumor…

I’d almost committed a grave offense—treating the duchess like a deceased person inside her own ducal house. Good thing I found out now.

But still… why didn’t I meet her before the regression?

I had attended every social gathering imaginable and seen enough noble faces to last a lifetime.

└ [Probably gonna die soonㅠㅠ]

Great. First they treat her like she’s already dead, now like she’s about to die.

…But they weren’t wrong. It was strange that the duchess, despite being healthy, had never shown her face in society.

Maybe the reason she lives separately is because her health isn’t good… maybe she needs treatment…?

I had tons of questions, but I couldn’t exactly ask Damian to explain his family’s issues. I’d dig later—right now, Damian came first.

“So… what does your mother visiting have to do with skipping lessons?”

“Shouldn’t I go out to greet her personally?”

“You can go out on time and greet her.”

“I don’t know what time she’ll arrive.”

So he was planning to wait endlessly at the front gate?

└ [He just doesn’t want to attend lessons LMAO]

…Let’s just say it’s because he’s a filial son who dearly loves his mother.

Anyway, I learned that the duchess could move around freely and that her relationship with her son was good.

And conveniently—I recently failed in my parent-targeting strategy.

If the parent wasn’t only the duke…

Then there’s one more parent to win over!

Damian would be entering the academy soon. For a parent, seeing their child study diligently was reassuring.

“Since she’s coming to see how you’re doing, I think she’d prefer seeing you attending your lessons as usual rather than waiting outside.”

“Hm. That makes sense.”

Damian accepted the logic and sat back down. The tutor quietly let out a relieved breath.

We exchanged a silent nod—comrades tied by the same precarious employment.

* * *

“I still haven’t gotten used to how huge this mansion is.”

The silver-haired woman stepped down from the carriage and looked up at the newly completed ducal estate.

Her name was Hestina Linward.

She was Damian Valente’s mother, but her last name was different because she was no longer legally married to the duke.

Not because of anything bad.

When I got married, I thought we’d build a small, peaceful household together…

Back then, the Duke of Valente had been a mere viscount—lower in standing than the Linward Count family.

As the second daughter of a count, Hestina didn’t need to be picky. At the right age, a reliable-looking man who also happened to fit her tastes appeared, and everything—from meeting to wedding—went smoothly.

Who could have known that man would become Captain of the Imperial Knight Order… and then a duke?

When the war ended, rumors spread that he would be granted a title. That meant lots of changes—good ones, yes, but heavy with responsibility.

Her status would rise dramatically. Restrictions would follow. Not only for her—everyone around her.

And so they had chosen divorce.

It was mutual. No resentment. No scandal.

Damian did shed a few tears when he heard we’d be living separately…

But with the old residence under renovation, they lived together for a while and traveled back and forth, so he adjusted quickly.

Since Damian was now receiving intensive education before entering the academy, Hestina decided to visit.

“I expected Damian to be waiting at the gate.”

“He is currently in the annex, Madam. Shall I escort you there?”

“Yes. I want to see my son’s face first.”

Following the butler, Hestina headed toward the annex where Damian was taking his lesson.

And there—she witnessed something she had never imagined.

“Oh my…”

Her son was sitting properly at a desk, listening diligently to the lesson!

Children really did grow up in the blink of an eye.

Is it because he’s entering the academy soon? Has he suddenly matured?

This was the same boy who used to escape the house during reading time and be found on top of trees.

Had she really missed that much of his growth?

As guilt and longing washed over her—

“Hm?”

Through the corridor window, she noticed another small head beside her son.

A child in boys’ clothing. At first she thought Damian had made a new friend—but then she recognized the clothes. They were Damian’s old garments.

So the child lives here?

Looking more closely…

“Why do I need to count apples and potatoes separately when they’re all in one basket? I can sort them when I eat them. Math makes no sense.”

“Imagine the apples are knights instead. If Damian took them into battle and suddenly there were more than he brought, what would that mean?”

“…A spy infiltrated the ranks.”

“Yes. Then how many spies do you need to drive out?”

At the child’s explanation, Damian became fully absorbed in solving the problem.

Hestina blinked.

She had hired the tutor herself, but…

“…Did the tutor come as a pair?”

* * *

└ [Whew I was nervous she’d pull the “assassin chapter 4” twist again]

They were talking about spies—where did assassins come from?

The comment fairies always yelled at others for bringing up assassins too much, but they themselves mentioned assassins more than anyone…

└ [It’s not nonsense, it’s career counseling]
└ [If she wants a trot debut she should start training early]

Tempting but… later!

More comment fairies were chatting about something else now.

└ [Divorce? In this era?]
└ [Don’t people in romance-fantasy divorce a lot? Many novels start with “let’s divorce.”]
└ [But if you mention divorce the obsessive male lead prevents it and they grow old together]

Speaking of marriage… did the duchess arrive?

Damian was nose-deep in his workbook solving spy problems, so I subtly lifted my head and looked toward the corridor window.

The tutor followed my gaze and bowed politely.

“I found it! There are four spy potatoes!”

“Very good. Let’s end today’s lesson here.”

Right on time.

She must have deliberately come now—Damian almost skipped his class for nothing.

“Damian. I think your mother is here.”

“Huh? Mother!”

Damian’s face lit up, and he ran straight to the door, throwing himself into the duchess’s arms.

He acted all tough around the mansion as ‘the young master,’ but in front of his mother he was just a little boy.

Smiling at my student’s adorable behavior, I gathered the remaining materials. Then I noticed the tutor glancing at me with a slightly pitying expression.

└ [Rose is all aloneㅠㅠ]
└ [Please give our girl a normal set of parentsㅜㅜ]

Well… all my memories of parents are bad ones.

I never felt like I needed parents.

As a child I just needed basic protection so I wouldn’t die alone, that’s all.

└ [What if the tutor adopted her]
└ [He likes Rose, she’s smart, this works]
└ [That’s such a grad-student route…]
└ [NO GRAD STUDENTS!!!!]

…Why is being a grad student worse than being an assassin?

└ [Because college students who slip up become grad students—aka prison.]
└ [Please break us out of grad school prison]

While the comment fairies argued about incomprehensible things—

The duchess finished greeting her son and then her gaze turned toward me.

“A face I haven’t seen before. Who might you be?”

“She’s my subordinate, Number One.”

Damian’s explanation was useless, so I stepped forward and introduced myself.

“Hello! My name is Rose. I lived at the Zelton Orphanage before coming here with the duke.”

“With him? The Duke?”

She tilted her head, puzzled.

“He doesn’t seem like someone children would follow.”

Fair enough.

It wasn’t just children—many adult nobles avoided him out of fear. What more explanation did she need?

But I had my own reasons.

“I… wanted to request guardianship. He allowed me to stay here for now.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m five!”

At my answer, the duchess narrowed her eyes.

It was a measuring gaze—as if weighing me.

I held my breath, wondering what she would say—

“For five years old… you’re far too smart.”

└ [??: Suspicious. An assassin, perhaps?]
└ [Honestly Rose DOESN’T talk like a five-year-old lol]