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Chapter 1 — The Teachers of the Protagonists Want to Quit
0. Prologue
Spring had finally arrived.
White sunlight poured down, and the scent of fully bloomed roses was so thick it felt like even time might choke and stop—such was the beauty of the Rosanaacht Ducal Estate.
Yet the duchess, Lucien Rosanaacht, who should have been smiling as if holding all the sweetness of the world in her arms, wore an expression as dark as someone who had just witnessed the end of days.
Her pale blue eyes trembled faintly.
“Again…?”
“Yes. But at least it’s only three today. Young Lord Münster and Lady Arche didn’t come. What shall we do?”
The two scariest ones hadn’t come, but the fact that the loudest ones had didn’t provide much comfort.
“Do we even have options?”
“His Grace said that in his absence, we are to follow your orders absolutely, my lady. I will do as you wish.”
The loyal butler’s eyes shone with the eagerness of a man ready to sprinkle salt and cast out those uninvited pests the moment she gave the word.
Still unused to such fervent loyalty, Lucien let out a small sigh—small enough that it wouldn’t be heard.
This is all karma. Karma…
Among those uninvited guests, at least one possessed a status too noble to be chased away.
“Prepare seats for them… early.”
The butler bowed with a regretful expression and left to prepare refreshments instead of salt.
Lucien finished signing the twenty-seventh reply she had been busily writing.
Then she scribbled a few words on another card and tucked it into her favorite deep-blue envelope.
“Nella, send out all the replies, and have someone deliver this one directly to His Grace. And there’s one more errand.”
“Just say the word, my lady.”
“Send a message to the Tower. Ask them to come retrieve their Tower Master.”
“And the Imperial Palace and the Temple?”
“Forget them. They’ve probably already sent someone.”
Lucien smiled serenely, but her two fists clenched tight as she stood.
These little foals—honestly, isn’t it time they stopped coming…?!
This was the eleventh time her troublesome former students had chosen to barge—no, visit—specifically while her husband was gone.
** * * * **
“Teacher Lucien!!!”
The moment the door opened, a light brown-haired head launched straight at Lucien.
She staggered, and from the sofa, where he had been drinking tea as if it were his own home, a silver-haired boy flicked a finger.
The girl who had thrown herself into Lucien’s arms was dragged back by an invisible force.
“Noël, I told you not to use magic in here.”
“It’s for your safety, Teacher. Look at her—how old is she to still come running in like a child?”
The boy speaking was the next Tower Master—a genius mage, despite how he looked.
“You know what people in the Tower are like, don’t you? I can’t hold them back anymore. When are you coming to visit again?”
The genius complained about the one thing he apparently couldn’t do.
Across from him, a golden-haired girl gently bent his finger.
“Ack! Are you insane?! Let go!”
“What safety are you talking about when you wave your fingers like that?”
“Teacher! She’s abusing her authority again! Please say something!”
“Do you want me to show you what abuse of authority looks like? Want to take a tour of the prison for insulting a royal?”
The girl with red eyes—the color only members of the Imperial Family possessed—glared and threatened him.
Then she turned to Lucien with a sweet smile.
“Teacher, the head of the Flora Merchant Guild developed a new product. You’ll love it. You’ll come to the demonstration, right?”
“Isn’t that the magical tool that filters dirty water? Teacher, you know you’re addicted to that stuff. You should really drink—”
“Did you just call my investment project ‘dirty water’?”
Her name was Estelle.
Her shell was that of an Imperial Princess… but her insides seemed like they belonged to someone from another world.
“Teacher, I missed you. I ranked first in the year again—did you hear?”
“That’s with Cordelia tying with you again! Honestly, those two are total cheats—”
“Can you let go before you talk?!”
“It’s not cheating! I just picked a different elective this time! You promised you’d visit if I ranked first by my own strength! When will you come?”
The brown-haired girl who had practically tackled Lucien the moment she walked in was Beatrice.
She was the Saint of the Grand Temple.
Since she had returned to the past, solving exam questions must have been like closing her eyes and breathing.
No wonder Estelle called it cheating.
This time, it seemed she’d chosen an unfamiliar subject just to keep her promise.
“You won’t even accept invitations from the Imperial Palace—so when will you visit the Temple? And why won’t you answer me? I told His Majesty exactly what you said!”
Because I have nothing left to teach you.
If what she “told His Majesty” meant offering Lucien the position of royal tutor, Lucien fully intended to never, ever reply.
She would break her own fingers before writing a yes.
“Hey, you three keeping quiet is the best help you can give. What good could come from a duchess getting tangled with the Temple or the Imperial Family?”
Too late—she was already tangled.
Lucien thought quietly.
“And the Tower is fine? The Tower Master is rotten to the core.”
“You talking about me?”
“Oh, and Cordelia told me to pass this on. She’s busy with something new, so she couldn’t come, but she’s sending a gift.”
Lucien accepted an envelope from Beatrice.
Inside were neatly organized dossiers—personal information and dirty secrets of certain individuals she recognized all too well.
At the bottom was a stylish note:
I hope this helps, Teacher.
Next to it was the insignia of the information guild that had recently been gaining notoriety in the shadows.
Don’t send me something this murderous.
She hurriedly shoved the documents back into the envelope before anyone saw.
She heard that Cordelia had also returned to the past.
A person with future knowledge running an information guild was… terrifying.
And she’s good with a sword, too.
Lucien refused to imagine what kind of things a still-enrolled Academy student had done to achieve all this.
“Klein looks like he’s dying from all the successor lessons. Please reply to his letter.”
“A dying guy still has time to look at dresses… Oh.”
“What? Say that again.”
“She’s going to come at me with a sword again. Damn.”
“What did you say?!”
Her ears felt like they would bleed.
Then the door to the parlor burst open. All eyes turned toward it.
“Lucien.”
“Chester? How are you already—”
Lucien couldn’t finish her sentence. Her husband strode forward and hugged her tightly from behind.
“I missed you.”
“It hasn’t even been three hours since you left. And the kids are watching—”
He ignored her and spoke loudly enough for the others to hear.
“I heard from Münster. The Saint and the Tower Master disappeared at the same time.”
It wasn’t hard for her to guess the unspoken meaning.
Judging by the horrified expressions of the kids, they understood too.
“That bastard ratted us out because he couldn’t come?!”
“Did I raise a tiger cub…?”
Estelle rubbed the back of her head, still stinging. Lucien agreed wholeheartedly.
Among them, Klein was the youngest, but also the cleverest.
“How did Klein know? Wait—then he already—”
“That traitor!!”
“If you’re fine with it, I’d like to ban them from entering.”
Chester enclosed Lucien in his arms, as if she’d run away, and glared coldly at the uninvited guests who kept barging into the newlywed couple’s home.
Lucien stared out the window at the beautiful scenery and wondered where exactly this entire mess had begun.
Don’t cry. Even if I leave the Academy, we can always meet again.
…As always, it was a disaster she had brought upon herself. She should just die.
She bit the tongue she should have sewn shut long ago.
Just then, she saw people crossing the garden outside.
One in white temple garb, four in dark robes, two in imperial administrative attire.
The Temple, the Tower, and the Palace—each had sent people.
Based on past experience, once they entered, chaos would be inevitable.
Lucien shut her eyes tight.
“Estelle, Noël, Beatrice.”
Red, purple, and green—three sets of colorful eyes turned toward her at once.
Lucien smiled calmly at her adorable little foals.
“Get out.”
She had already quit. She just wanted to go home early.
