The lord of Arya, Count Wheeler, had one concern.
It was his son, Vincent Wheeler. Vincent was a troublemaker that no one could stop him. He hated studying, so he would run away from class every day, and he liked to play pranks and embarrass the employees. He overturned a bucket of water, made their clothes wet, tripped them over with his feet, and threw a snake doll to the maids, several times a day. It was unbelievable that he was the son of a benevolent lord, a friendly aristocrat, and the esteemed Count Wheeler.
The Count felt it was necessary to correct his son’s bad temper. So, people who were known to be strict, he called in the etiquette teacher, but they all gave up education because of Vincent’s behavior. Rumors of him spread throughout the kingdom, and no one applied as a teacher.
Even though the price was doubled compared to other places!
“If my wife had been alive, It wouldn’t have left like this…. uhh.”
The Count had a hard time confronting his son because his son and his dead wife looked overlapping, and he couldn’t even scold him harshly because of his soft heart. All he can do is sigh every day as he hears of the accident his son has committed.
But today was a little different.
“Count, there is someone who is applying as a master’s etiquette teacher.”
It was because the aide gave me one piece of good news.
The Count jumped up from his place in surprise.
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes, It’s true. But there is a problem.”
“What is that…?”
“It is said that the applicant is a commoner and has no surname….”
To say that there is no last name means he’s an orphan. The absence of parents was considered a weakness in the interview. Where would you use an anxious person who can’t even know the origins of his/her birth?
‘Let’s see… 18 year old man? You’re from the Empire, did you come all the way here?’
The Count said as he glanced at the document handed to him by his aide. He handed the papers like tossing them to the aide and then shouted.
“What does that have to do with it! If he promises to be the teacher for that naughty son, I don’t care!”
“He said he had never taught etiquette to anyone. Still, he seems to have learned from a pretty good teacher.”
“All right, all right. I don’t need the information anymore. Isn’t it his ability, not the place of origin, that matters? I’ll see him first and decide.”
“All right, he will be waiting in the parlor right now.”
The two went straight to the drawing room.
Having said that, the Count opened the door and entered the room. And in an instant it became stiff. Is this man really a commoner? The man exuded an unusual atmosphere. His sitting posture, the shape of his hand holding a teacup, the way he drank tea, everything he was doing was exactly the same as what was described in the etiquette book.
A strange sense of intimidation emanated from the man’s expressionless face. He had a clear face at a glance, but rather than saying he was handsome, the first thing that came to mind was the expression that he was standing. This is because the cool energy was oozing out from every nook and cranny like the wind in the middle of winter.
Obviously, the clothes he wore were cheap and poor quality suits that commoners would normally wear, but he looked like expensive custom suits due to the dignity felt from men. The Count, who made eye contact with the man, felt as if he had been stabbed with a needle. So, even before he was greeted, he went out with his aide as if running away.
With his back to the door, the Count whispered to his assistant.
“Is that man really a commoner? Isn’t he a nobleman?”
“I thought the same thing when I first saw him, but… He’s definitely a commoner. You can tell by looking at the ID he submitted along with the documents here. Lord, it is not right to judge people by their appearance.”
“No, but that’s too… Anyway, okay. You are right. Let me try to go back in.”
The two opened the door again and entered the drawing room. The man who was sitting on the sofa got up from his seat and bowed politely to the Count. The Count sat across from him and glanced at the figure of the man.
‘Red eyes… It would be rare to see such a vivid red iris. I heard that the Duke of Emers had eyes like that. Perhaps this man, the Duke of Emers bloodline…’
The Count burst into laughter inwardly. I wonder why the Duke’s son had come to Arya? Compared to the Empire, there is no way to come to this small and insignificant land. Besides, he had an interview to become an etiquette teacher?
Nonsense!
‘Red eyes are peculiar, but they are not completely absent. He must have been born with such eyes by chance.’
The Count had never seen the Duke of Emers. No people from this small kingdom ever visited the empire except for the emperor’s 32nd Christmas. Moreover, the Count did not belong to the delegation that carried the emperor’s gift. Had he been there, he might have noticed that the man in front of him looked exactly like Duke Emers.
The Count cleared his throat and said.
“Great, are you, or you, the person who applied for Vincent’s etiquette teacher? Indeed, you have a good posture to apply for the position.”
“Thank you.”
“What is your name?”
The aide standing behind him corrected it.
“It’s his name.”
“I know. What’s your full name!”
“Isley Em… ”
“… What?”
“My mistake.”
The man shook his head and smiled broadly.
“It’s just Isley. There is no last name.
As a bright smile spread across his face, the man’s impression changed in an instant.
The chill that surrounded him disappeared, and a warm and bright atmosphere wafted out. It felt like a string that had been pulled tight was loosened. It was then that the Count was able to converse with Isley at ease.
“Right…. Isley.”
Isley asked curiously.
“Isn’t it all on the documents I gave you?”
“Ah, I just asked one more time. Wouldn’t it be better to hear the name face-to-face?”
“It is.”
The Count asked if he would like to test the etiquette, and the man readily agreed. Isley showed the two of them the perfect etiquette. No matter how amazing his skills were, his assistants and even the Count were amazed. Finally, the Count smiled contentedly as he saw Isley moving his knife and fork as he explained the dining etiquette one by one. He liked Isley very much. It was because he was very talented, polite, and he seemed like a really good person. A bright smile like a child, a handsome face, and an unknown dignity were good factors to elicit the likes of others.
The Count wanted to know more about Isley. So he proposed to walk in the garden together. Isley nodded in acceptance, and the two walked out of the dining room and into the garden. The aide who had to deal with the remaining paperwork was absent.
In winter, the garden was dotted with low-saturation greens and browns. Flowers wither, some trees lose their leaves and look desolate. The scenery was not familiar to Isley, who lived in a mansion where roses were blooming splendidly throughout the four seasons. He looked around the garden, then looked away as if his interest had disappeared. Isley and the Count began to talk as they walked side by side.
The Count smiled broadly when he realized that the person next to him was about a head taller.
“I didn’t know when you were sitting, but you are so tall! How much?”
“It will probably be in the late 180 centimeters or 190 or so. I don’t know for sure.”
“Oh, that’s great…. Are all the people of the Empire as big as you?”
“It’s not that big, but there seem to be a lot of people who are usually around 180.”
“I often heard that people there are taller on average than here. I found out today that it was true.”
The Count removed his eyes from the man’s face and scanned his broad shoulders and stout-looking arms.
“You’re in good shape either. Even if you became a knight, it would be worth it.”
“Thank you.”
“I think everyone around me told you to do things that use your body, but have you never thought of becoming a knight?”
Instead of replying, Isley smiled a little. The Count interpreted it arbitrarily.
“Yeah, I see. I guess it’s scholarly style. You didn’t like that? They say you are from the Empire, how did you get here?”
“That…”
Then a scream was heard from somewhere.
“No! You can’t do that!”
It was a woman’s voice.
Isley and the Count turned their heads towards the source of the sound. There, a boy with brittle blonde hair and green eyes with a playful smile was running towards them, followed by a middle-aged woman in a maid’s suit. A live fish was fluttering in the iron barrel that the child held.
“Eat this!”
The boy shouted and threw fish at the two of them, and the Count squeaked without even thinking about his face.
But Isley took the Count and simply avoided the fishy waterfall. The flapping fish could not reach the two and fell to the floor. Isley grabbed the back of the boy who was about to lose his balance and fell as he tried to run away and lifted him up. The boy floundered on his feet, dangling in the air.
Isley looked at the child with a puzzled expression on his face.
“Who is this.”
The Count, who had escaped from Isley’s arms, let out a sigh.
“He’s my son, Vincent….”
He looked at Vincent with a sad face, then turned his head.
“This kid is that… Are you the son of the Lord?”
“Yeah! I am Vincent Wheeler! Let go of this hand now, you idiot!”
Hah…
“I told you I didn’t need an etiquette teacher! Get him out!”
The Count broke out in a cold sweat.
‘Where else did you know this news? … .’
Vincent bored his hired tutor and kicked him out, but he also made him give up and go back. So, when applicants appeared, he tended to hold tight rules for joining. But to no avail. It was because Vincent came to know this news somehow every time. It looked like he had rushed to kick the applicant’s ass today, just like the last time.
Vincent turns to Isley, stupid, stupid, asshole, red-eyed bunny, go away right now… He began to spit out stellar insults.
The Count exclaimed in amazement.
“Vincent! Stop it! please…! What do you do when you say something like that?”
The mournful pleas and shouts did not work for Vincent. The Count sighed and rubbed his forehead.
‘What if Mr. Isley ran away like everyone else?’
He looked at Isley with concern.
Instead of running away, Isley looked down at the child expressionlessly. Still, when the cold eyes were added to the terrifying face, the viewer had no choice but to catch their breath. Vincent shrugged his body with his frightened face.
“Huh…! Do you think I’d be scared of you looking at me like that?”
“Therefore… young master?”
Isley whispered softly with a creepy smile.
“It’s noisy.”
Kids are really quick. It is frighteningly quick to know whether or not it is okay to flirt with a certain opponent. Vincent thought he shouldn’t touch Isley now. The child swallowed his saliva and nodded slowly.
The maid and the Count’s mouths opened wide when they saw this.
No, that ‘Vincent’ curled up?
It was a sight like a miracle. He stopped a troublemaker who no one could stop with a single word.
‘I still liked him, but I couldn’t miss it even more!’
The Count quickly grabbed Isley’s left hand.
“I will hire you right now! Come here tomorrow!”
“Huh? Really? Then it’s good for me.”
Isley smiled brightly.
