“So, if I leave everything to you, I can make the prince into what I want?”
“Absolutely, just trust me. But… I need something in return, right?”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“My lifelong dream is to become a professor at the Royal Academy. The duke was supposed to write me a recommendation, but as you know…”
“Oh, you want my recommendation?”
“It would be great if it had the Winston Duke’s seal on it.”
“Hmmm… I’ll try, but the seal is currently with the prince.”
“Are you saying you can’t guarantee it?”
“Not at the moment, no. But I’ll make it happen someday.”
It’s not confirmed yet, is it? Still, seeing that look on his face as if he thought his proposal would be accepted, really annoyed me. So I decided to drop a bait.
“To be honest, I didn’t want to say this, but… someone else offered me this kind of deal before you.”
“What…! Who are you talking about?”
“I can’t say who it is. But listen, my lady, don’t feel too safe as the guardian. Guardians can change at any time. Someone significant has their eye on that position. Who knows? I might take that person’s offer and recommend someone else as the guardian for the prince instead of you.”
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“How could I threaten you? I’m just stating the reality. But nothing is certain yet. If you give me more than that person does, then what I mentioned won’t happen.”
Hestia’s shoulders shook slightly.
That must be pretty insulting. After all, she was hearing words that were almost like a threat.
‘But what can a mere baroness do? From what I see, she hasn’t even adjusted to the duke’s household yet and has enemies all around.’
“Alright… then can I hear what the other person offered you?”
Of course.
Seeing Hestia step back without saying a word, Baker couldn’t help but smirk inside.
He took out a letter and recounted what he had promised yesterday.
“And I’ve also received a recommendation from a famous scholar.”
“Weren’t you looking for a recommendation from the duke’s family?”
“A scholar’s recommendation is also enough for me to become a professor. But I want the first start to be perfect, so I need the Winston seal. This scholar is famous, but his name isn’t as grand as the duke’s.”
“Hmmm… a scholar, huh. Would a recommendation from Melvin Waynes work?”
He widened his eyes in surprise.
He couldn’t believe it and asked in a shaky voice, “…Melvin Waynes? You mean that renowned scholar Melvin Waynes?”
“Yes, he’s currently teaching my younger siblings in the Byron territory. I used to learn from him, so if I ask, he’ll gladly write me a recommendation.”
The unexpected connection left him speechless.
Melvin Waynes was the top scholar who had turned the empire upside down during his prime and had a significant influence on the royal family.
Getting a recommendation from him could be even rarer than one from the Winston family. With that, He could basically get a free pass to become a professor.
He might even be able to set up his own classes right away without going through a probation period.
“But it seems like you’re more interested in someone else’s offer…”
“No, no! What are you talking about? I just said I received such an offer.”
He grabbed Hestia in a panic.
“Are you really able to get a recommendation from Melvin Waynes?”
“It’ll be ready in a week.”
Seeing Hestia’s confident expression, He felt beyond excited.
“Will you join hands with me?”
“Of course! I can write up the contract right now!”
As Baker excitedly pulled out paper and a quill from his bag, Hestia subtly said,
“I’m curious about who that person was that made the first offer.”
Baker paused while writing the contract.
When he looked up, Hestia was propping her chin up, narrowing her eyes with a smile.
“Well, that’s a bit…”
“I should at least know the name of someone who threatens my position, right? If you don’t want to, then let’s forget about the recommendation and you’ll just go with that person…”
“Count Humphrey!”
Hestia, who was about to stand up, stopped and turned to him.
He realized he’d let it slip it out but there was no going back now.
“…Can you tell me more about that?”
As Hestia took control of the situation in an instant, Baker sensed that something was off but couldn’t help but open his mouth because she was holding such a tempting bait.
It was truly unavoidable.
━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━
“Cough, cough! Cough, cough!”
“Father! Are you okay?”
An old man with white hair was shaking and coughing harshly. When he spat out blood mixed with phlegm, his son’s face turned pale.
“I’m sorry, Gallian. If I’m going to die, I wish I could go peacefully, but I’m putting you through so much.”
“Don’t say that, Father. You need to live a long, long time.”
“Well… I’d rather be at peace.”
Gallian couldn’t find the words to say as he looked at his father’s frail state and hung his head.
His father, Lightner, wasn’t always this weak.
In the past, he looked much younger than his peers, taking good care of his health to the point where he didn’t fall behind the younger folks.
As the head butler of the powerful Winston family in the south, maintaining himself was just expected.
But five years ago, he suddenly collapsed one day and had to quit his job.
And as his limbs stiffened, it became difficult for him to take care of himself, so someone had to take care of him.
Lightner had only one family member—his son Gallian.
He lost his wife in an accident a long time ago.
At first, they hired a caretaker, but for some reason, all the caretakers they hired didn’t last long.
Some caretakers even abused Lightner secretly, so in the end, Gallian had to take care of his father himself.
Lightner was heartbroken that not only he but also his son had to give up their position in the duke’s household.
Luckily, they had some savings set aside for Gallian’s wedding, and since he had earned a decent salary over the years, they could manage without money worries for a few years.
But there was a problem: the rare and expensive medicinal herbs needed to alleviate Lightner’s mysterious illness.
Just having money didn’t guarantee that he could get them.
Fortunately, the duke’s household had been sponsoring them and providing various conveniences.
‘But the sponsorship has stopped.’
It stopped from the time the duke and duchess passed away.
When he first heard about the accident, he was shocked.
“I want to see the duke before I die. Is the duke doing well these days?”
“…Yes, Father. The duke is doing well. I heard he’s been busy lately.”
“Okay, I shouldn’t bother him while he’s busy. As long as he’s well, that’s all that matters.”
And Gallian still hadn’t told Lightner the truth.
He was worried that if his father heard the news of the duke and duchess’s deaths, it would be a huge shock for him given his poor health.
‘But the bigger problem is, where am I going to get Father’s medicine now?’
Money wasn’t the issue; the medicine was just too rare to be easily found.
It had already been two weeks since his father last took any.
He rushed to make sure they were saving the remaining medicine.
Because of using less medicine than usual, the effectiveness has diminished, and Lightner’s health has been deteriorating little by little.
Now, he was at the point where he was coughing up blood multiple times a day and couldn’t move his lower body.
If this continues, his father might pass away by tomorrow.
He had sent letters to Albert several times, but no reply came back.
So this time would probably be the same.
Gallian made up his mind and hurriedly started packing his things.
“Father, I’m going to visit the duke’s household for a bit.”
“Huh…? The duke’s household?”
Lightner, who was dozing off, opened his eyes with difficulty.
“Yes, it won’t take even a day. I’ll let Mrs. Susan next door know, so don’t worry too much. She’ll take care of you.”
“Alright, go ahead. You should send my regards to the duke.”
“…Yes, I’ll go now.”
After confirming his father was asleep, Galleon quickly asked the neighbor to look after him for a bit, then hurriedly caught a wagon.
━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━
“I heard you dismissed Baker as the tutor.”
Hestia paused in her work and looked up. Albert was standing there.
Without much thought, she lowered her head and continued her task.
“I didn’t dismiss him, he’s just on leave. Something came up in his family. He won’t be able to teach until it’s resolved.”
Hestia finished signing the last document and leaned back in her chair, looking up at Albert.
“Where did this dismissal rumor come from? Did you think I fired him just because he suddenly stopped showing up?”
“I… heard you spoke with him yesterday and misunderstood. My apologies.”
“Well, it’s understandable. If he talked to me and then suddenly didn’t show up, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. Apology accepted.”
Albert awkwardly smiled and placed some new documents on her desk.
He always thought she was so tough.
‘She never complains, no matter how exhausting things get.’
And on top of that, she was really detail-oriented. Nothing ever got her stamp of approval on the first go.
Even the project Count Humphrey was pushing got shot down.
Was she being too cautious or just not good at judging business deals?
Either way, this young guardian didn’t seem to know how to collaborate with others.
“Do you have something else to say?”
Hestia asked, not looking up from her papers while Albert stood there, hanging around.
“Watching you work got me curious about something.”
“Curious?”
“Yeah. Our duchy makes enough from its current businesses, but we sometimes invest in promising opportunities for bigger profits. Yet, it seems like you’ve turned down every investment or business proposal so far.”
“Did Count Humphrey say something to you?”
“Of course not. It’s just that you’ve rejected not only the count but others too, so I was wondering. Are you not interested in investing?”
“Who said I’m not interested in investments?” Hestia suddenly asked.
Albert was taken aback. “Huh?”
Without responding, Hestia rummaged through her drawer and pulled out a document. She handed it to him without looking up from her desk.
“This is…”
