“This way.”
There was a building behind the main house where my Grandfather lived. Passing through the outside corridor, this building was where the heirs of the direct line received their lessons. It was the training center.
Mr. Cerberus walked at my pace, slightly bending over so I could hear him better while guiding me.
As expected, it’s strange. Butler Cerberus is Uncle’s person, after all.
“Although different teachers handle different subjects, the person I am about to introduce will manage your overall learning process, Miss. Of course, they also teach many subjects themselves.”
Why is he being so kind to me?
Even though I looked at him with wary eyes, he kept smiling broadly.
He even started talking about things I hadn’t asked.
“Something big happened early this morning. That’s why, even if you get reliable information from someone you trust, you should never invest recklessly… cough, cough.”
Then, as if he realized he said too much, he trailed off.
‘Ah, I see.’
The head of the Ink Company had embezzled funds and fled overseas today.
I thought he would dismiss my words as meaningless chatter from a child, but it seems he sold his shares. His instincts are better than I thought.
I felt relieved thinking that I wouldn’t have to deal with that miser, Jacob the butler, anymore.
‘When someone gives you valuable information about money, even temporarily, they feel like a benefactor!’
I chuckled to myself inwardly.
Eventually, these feelings would fade with time. Until then, I decided to accept Mr. Cerberus’s goodwill graciously.
‘As long as he doesn’t cross any lines, the butler might grant me some favors, right?’
It wouldn’t hurt to be friendly with someone who has power in the Count’s family~
I smiled brightly and followed Mr. Cerberus.
When we entered the training center, a middle-aged woman with her hair neatly tied back stood there. She was tall, almost as tall as Mr. Cerberus.
“This is Baroness Hovant, the person I mentioned on the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Berry Quartz Travel. Please call me Madam Freya.”
“Ah, hello.”
I bowed my head as I did when greeting adults in Bonwell Village.
Madam Freya looked at me sternly.
“It seems the first thing you need to learn is proper greetings. I’ve heard about you. They say you cried without greeting the Count properly when you saw him.”
Ouch. She’s starting off by criticizing a past mistake without warning.
Mr. Cerberus, sensing my discomfort, gently tried to placate Madam Freya.
“Madam, it’s the young lady’s first day, so please don’t be too harsh…”
“It’s my job.”
Yikes. Mr. Cerberus’s lips snapped shut as if they had been glued together.
Madam Freya then spoke to me.
“Follow me. We’re heading to the place where you’ll be taking lessons with your relatives.”
“O-Okay…”
“Speak clearly. No mumbling. Answer with a firm tone.”
“Yes.”
Oh…
I felt more suffocated than when I was summoned by my Grandfather to the Grand Master office. I followed Madam with drooping shoulders.
***
As Madam Freya opened the door, the classroom scene unfolded.
There was a blackboard and a podium at the front, with six wide desks and bookshelves arranged in two rows of three, facing the front.
Except for the two desks in the front row, all were occupied by children.
They were my cousins, except for my uncle’s eldest son, Kane, who was at the academy.
All four of their eyes simultaneously turned towards me.
“What are you doing?”
Madam Freya, upon entering the classroom, asked when she noticed me covering the top of my head with both hands by the door.
– Shoosh!
– Ew, what is that smell?
– Did the lowest-ranked one wash their hair with spoiled milk?
– Rotten strawberries… How funny.
I awkwardly smiled and lowered my hands.
“My head was itchy.”
It didn’t seem like anything would fall from above yet.
I heard a snicker from the back of the room.
It was Calypso, the only son of my aunt, Marian, who was sitting by the window in the back row.
He was ten years old, a year older than the twins. His slightly tousled brown hair and rebellious dark brown eyes stood out.
His slouched posture and sullen expression conveyed his displeasure with the situation.
When our eyes met, Calypso clapped his hands together and released a flattened paper ball onto the desk.
‘Idiot.’
Calypso mouthed at me.
As I wondered what to do about his foul temper, Madam Freya introduced me to my cousins.
“Everyone, please pay attention. This is Miss Berry Quartz Travel, who will be attending class with you from today. She is the daughter of Young Master Reytan. She is seven years old, making her the youngest member of the Travel family.”
“Hi! Nice to meet you!”
“I’ll teach you proper greetings later.”
At my cheerful greeting, Calypso snorted, and the twins turned their gazes elsewhere, feigning disinterest. The only one who responded to my greeting was Ciel, sitting next to Calypso.
Her long blonde hair shimmered brightly.
“Nice to meet you, Berry. I’m Ciel, and I’m thirteen years old. My father is Hevant Cornelian Travel, the eldest son of Grandfather.”
She was one of the few kind members of the direct family.
I waved happily at Ciel.
But Madam Freya quickly reprimanded me.
“Now, you may choose where you would like to sit. The furniture has been adjusted to fit your size. You can sit at either of the two desks in the front row.”
“Yes, I’ll sit by the window!”
“Very well.”
Without much thought, I walked towards the desk by the window. As I passed by, the twins, who were sitting in the back row, avoided my gaze.
‘Are they avoiding me because of the frog incident yesterday?’
Heh. I couldn’t miss this opportunity.
I sat down and turned around to greet the twins brightly.
“Hello! We meet again after yesterday!”
“Eek.”
But the twins’ reactions were quite peculiar.
Harty shrank back in fear, and Marty looked at me with a frightened face and asked accusingly.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You did that this morning.”
“This morning?”
I wondered if they had encountered a frog while on a walk, but I didn’t think that alone would scare them so much.
“…What?”
“It was you…!”
“What exactly did I do?”
“Well, you…!”
“Alright, settle down. Class is starting.”
Marty slammed the desk in frustration but had no choice but to close his mouth at Madam Freya’s announcement of the class starting.
I was curious too. What had I supposedly done this morning?
***
However, I wasn’t the one feeling frustrated right now.
Ten minutes into the lesson, Madam Freya’s expression started to harden.
“What kind of lessons did you receive from your previous teachers?”
“Teachers? I didn’t have any teachers!”
“…Did you learn math or foreign languages?”
“Oh, right. Uncle Peter taught me numbers.”
“You learned numbers? So you were studying after all. How did you take those lessons?”
“When the same shape appears, you keep playing the numbers in sequence! When the number 10 comes up, even if it’s paired with a person card—”
“Wait, wait. A card… shape?”
“Yes! There are red and black colors too! And heart shapes, diamond shapes—”
“That’s enough. Stop.”
Madam Freya adjusted her glasses, as if trying to regain her composure after being thrown off.
“Do you know the history of the Hayshal Empire? What is the symbol of the Travel Count family?”
“…Money?”
“……..”
After that, Madam continued asking a few more questions of basic knowledge, like how many letters there are in the alphabet or which direction the sun rises from.
“It seems you don’t know anything. Miss Berry, you will have to stay after class and complete the assignments I give you before you can leave.”
…I should have gotten at least two of those right.
“Idiot.”
Calypso whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
***
After all the lessons were over, Madam Freya placed a stack of papers on my desk.
“It would be best if you started with the basics. Write each letter of the alphabet 100 times and submit it to Butler Cerberus before you can leave. I’m being generous because it’s your first day.”
“Wasting paper…”
“There is no waste when it comes to learning. Once you’re done, hand it in to Butler Cerberus.”
“Okaaay…”
“Respond briefly.”
“Yes.”
Madam Freya, clearly displeased, left the classroom, leaving me alone. It hadn’t even been a few hours since I had submitted my apology letter to my Dad, and now I had to practice writing.
“Nothing is more boring than repeating what you already know a hundred times.”
I glanced around the empty classroom. As soon as the lesson ended, Calypso had been the first to run out, leaving his books scattered on his desk without tidying up.
He had called me an idiot twice, hadn’t he?
‘Let’s see just how smart he is.’
I walked over to Calypso’s desk and checked his workbook.
“Oh-ho. Calypso is bad at math.”
It wasn’t a theory book, but a workbook. There were signs that the earlier problems had been graded, but as he went further into the book, the number of correct answers dwindled. He must have gotten frustrated and quit solving the problems.
The last page showed a rain pattern. After that, the book looked as clean as if it were brand new.
I glanced over at my own desk. The papers Madam had given me were common ones you could find anywhere in the Travel Count’s mansion.
‘Should I give it a try?’
I felt a sudden curiosity. The solutions to the problems started popping up in my head, and I wanted to confirm if I was right.
I went back to my desk, grabbed some paper and a pen, and held the pen with my left hand.
“If I write with my left hand, no one will recognize my handwriting.”
Although I had used my right hand to pretend I couldn’t write properly in front of Madam, I was actually left-handed.
Humming, I twirled the pen lightly in my hand.
“Alright, let’s give this a try~”
