TVMGLIHLY – CH024

Chapter 24

Normally, the education of a noble lady was entrusted to a distinguished lady of high society.

But how could they possibly send Bunny, a walking time bomb, to be educated by a socialite?

The heart of all gossip was the social scene. Naturally, Bunny’s education had to be handled by someone else.

And that someone was Viscount Liden, who had personally volunteered to become Bunny’s tutor.

“A symbol of self-made success.”

That was how he was known.

And it was true—he had been born a peasant but amassed immense wealth by supplying scarce goods during the rampant sorcerer wars.

So much wealth, in fact, that he had even purchased a noble title.

It was illegal now, but ten years ago, during the war crisis, buying a title had been entirely possible.

Ironically, this made him more qualified as Bunny’s tutor.

Despite not being born a noble, he had perfected the manners, etiquette, and refinement of one.

To Angelus, who had personally arranged Bunny’s education, Liden must have seemed like the ideal teacher—someone who could mold a clueless girl from the ground up.

Of course, that assumption had been completely wrong.

Bunny never received a proper education from him. She had been toyed with instead.

Which meant…

‘He must be connected to the Grand Duchess in some way.’

Doha was certain of it.

After all, he was the one who had fed Bunny information on Ophelia’s speech, expressions, and mannerisms.

Of course, he hadn’t outright told her, “Copy Lady Ophelia exactly!”

Liden was far more cunning than that.

“No one cares about me. Will I ever have a family? Will anyone ever love me?”

“Of course, my lady. If you try, you will be rewarded someday. You simply do not know the method yet.”

“Method? Is there some special trick?”

“To earn someone’s affection, you must do what they like the most.”

“What they like most?”

“Yes. Their speech, their behavior. Think carefully—who do your noble relatives admire the most?”

“That’s obvious. Ophelia.”

“Ah, is that so?”

This was his method.

Never revealing his own intentions first.

Always waiting for Bunny to confide in him.

At first, he would only say reasonable things, avoiding the main topic.

Then, he would slowly guide the conversation exactly where he wanted it to go.

“To be honest, I don’t even know what Ophelia is like. I’ve never seen her.”

“Shall I find out for you?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course. For my one and only pupil, that much is easy. Though I can’t promise it will be of much help…”

“It will! Thank you so much!”

He always made it seem like he cared deeply for Bunny.

Until she came to her own conclusion:

“I should copy Ophelia so perfectly that no one even thinks about her anymore.”

And when Bunny grew discouraged—

“It’s not working. No… I think they hate me even more…”

Liden would push her further.

“Perhaps… it’s because you only resemble her vaguely? Maybe they feel uncomfortable because you aren’t a perfect match.”

“But how can I be more like her?”

“Well… perhaps you should start by wearing the same clothes?”

“Clothes? I don’t have any money. And I don’t even know what she used to wear… Oh! But her belongings must still be in the main palace!”

Just like that, he had led her toward theft.

And that wasn’t all.

“I saw a strange book in the main palace library.”

“A strange book?”

“Something about… changing one’s fate. But really, there’s no such thing, is there?”

“Wait, where exactly did you see that book?”

“In the main palace library, A-13, bottom shelf on the far left. I remember because I thought, ‘Why would a book like that exist in the ducal house?’”

It was Liden who had led Bunny to books about forbidden magic.

He had even planted one in the library, making sure Bunny was the one to steal it herself.

‘Even if Bunny ever realized what he was doing and tried to expose him, he already had an escape route prepared.’

He never gave her anything directly.

Even if Bunny spoke out about what had happened, no one would believe her.

Liden had never given her any orders.

From an outsider’s perspective, he must have looked like a noble and caring mentor, taking a lost slum girl under his wing.

And in return for his “dedication,” he had been promoted from a mere vassal to a personal retainer of the Grand Duchy.

And now…

‘What should I do with him?’

Doha waited patiently, pretending to be unaware—like a hunter watching its prey approach.

“Viscount Liden.”

Liden had spotted her as well.

His sharp, snake-like eyes curled as he put on a practiced, affable smile.

“Lady Ophelia, how long has it been? I never expected you to return.”

‘You never expected me to return?’

He might as well have said,

“I thought you’d be locked away in the western tower forever. What a shame you’re here playing Ophelia instead.”

‘Well, of course you’d think that. You were the one who sent Bunny to the tower, after all.’

Instead of snapping at his veiled jab, Doha feigned ignorance and returned his smile—as radiant as sunlight.

“I’m happy to see you too, Viscount.”

“I was worried after hearing about your hardships, but it’s a relief to see you looking well. You’re as adorable as ever, my lady.”

Translation:

“Even after all that trouble, you still managed to take Ophelia’s place. I thought there might be something special about you, but I see you’re just as stupid as ever.”

Through his gaze, Doha could tell just how much Liden looked down on Bunny.

‘Of course he does.’

Bunny had always been easy to manipulate. All it took was a few well-placed words, and she would sway like a balloon at a festival, completely at the mercy of the wind.

It was only natural. A grown man had deliberately set out to use a ten-year-old child.

So when rumors spread that Bunny had saved a life, or that she had driven out Ophelia’s personal maids and even the Head Maid—

He must have laughed it off, chalking it up to luck, a coincidence.

After all, he had already succeeded in using Bunny once before.

From his perspective, educating Bunny properly would have been the smarter, long-term choice.

If he had won her trust and shaped her into a fake noble, he could have continued to manipulate her.

‘He’s the kind of man who profited off war. A cunning strategist.’

And yet, he had chosen to frame Bunny instead of using her.

Which meant…

‘Someone with real power, not fake power, must have given the order.’

There was no way a commoner-born man like him had risen to the rank of retainer through sheer merit.

He must have aligned himself with the right people.

‘And I already know you’re going to pull the same tricks for the Grand Duchess.’

That was why Doha had never reported him after the forbidden magic incident.

It would have been useless.

Instead, she had acted oblivious, showing no signs of suspicion or wariness.

“Since you’re here, does that mean you’ll be teaching me again this time?”

“Would I be inadequate for the task?”

“No, I was hoping you would.”

Truly.

“Did you know, Viscount?”

“What is it, my lady?”

“The moment I arrived at the main palace, the very first thing I did… was look up your birthday.”

Thanks to his promotion—the reward for framing Bunny and sending her to the tower—his name had been officially listed among the retainers.

Including his birth year and exact time of birth.

“My birthday, you say?”

“You’ve done so much for me. I wanted to make sure I got you a gift.”

“Haha, should I be looking forward to it?”

“Yes, you should. Definitely.”

Doha’s brilliant smile was brighter than ever.

Like a poisonous mushroom in full bloom.

* * *

“Young Lady, do you know what this character means?”

「豊 (풍년 풍).」 “bountiful harvest” or “abundance.”

Doha looked at the character Viscount Liden was pointing to and pretended to hesitate.

“Hmm… It’s too difficult for me to understand.”

“This is the character for a bountiful harvest. If you look closely, it resembles a bowl with food placed on top.”

This world had two writing systems:

The Common Script, used by nobles and commoners alike, was a scientific and easily learnable writing system.

Meanwhile, the Buke Script was an ancient script, reserved solely for the nobility.

What had started as a way to reinforce noble privilege had eventually turned into an exclusive language of the elite.

“And this character?”

Liden pointed to another simple character—or rather, a Buke character.

「天 (하늘 천).」”sky” or “heaven.”

“Does it mean ‘river’?”

“Oh, very close! But unfortunately, it means ‘sky’ instead.”

How on earth was that close?

Liden actually believed Doha didn’t know the answer.

‘Of course, he would think that. After all, he’s never properly taught Bunny anything.’

Under the pretense that learning the basics first was more important, he had never actually taught her to read.

Instead, he would always bring books written in Buke Script, knowing full well that Bunny couldn’t read them.

But here was the problem.

The Common Script was basically Hangul.

And the Buke Script? Chinese characters.

Bunny might not have known them, but Doha knew them inside and out.

“For now, you should wait until you’re more familiar with recognizing characters before trying to read them on your own. So today, I’ll read the text aloud for you.”

And just like that, he laid the groundwork for another one of his lies.