Immediately, accusations from the other tutors burst out upon Viscount Cates.
âPlease refrain from such frivolous remarks, Viscount!â
âWhy are you doing this? Can you take responsibility for that?â
âStop.â
All noise stopped at my cold warning.
I glanced at the Viscount.
She inhaled and continued.
âThe Lord cannot concentrate in class for more than 30 minutes, and sometimes sitting quietly in a chair is considered torture. Still, I felt that he was very eager, so I thought he was born with a lack of attention. But the premise was wrong from the beginning. He wasnât trying to keep up, he was desperately trying to pretend he couldnât keep up.â
I heard someone sniff loudly, but I only looked in that direction and continued to ignore it.
âIt was only recently that I became convincedâ¦â¦ He asked if he could finish the class early for the time being if he made a noticeable difference. Itâs a secret that others have come to know.â
âDid he tell you why?â
âHe said he has to watch out for some precious person to him so that they wonât be in danger. He didnât tell me who it was.â
Precious person?
Without realizing it, I glared at Aedis. He had a look on his face that asked if he needed a reason.
Iâm pretty sure itâs not Aedis in the part where âso they wonât be in danger.â
Viscount Catesâ class starts after lunch.
At that time I enjoy dessert and tea time.
And used to go for light walks.
Wellâ¦.
Letâs think about who Regenâs precious person is later.
What if Viscount Catesâ claims were true?
Why did Regen pretend that the class was difficult?
â¦â¦ I couldnât help but think of a certain man at once.
Gilbert always kept Regen in check.
If he had known that Regen had tremendous potential and was even brilliant, it would have bothered him several times more than it does now.
Of course, even in ãEsmeraldaâs Crescent Moonã, it was described how the male lead had excellent situation-judging ability and his brain rotated quickly, as if he was a man who chewed the magic tower alone.
However, it was an ability gained by rolling around his head and taking heart aches, and then awakening saying that it is impossible to lose everything like this.
Thatâs why I also didnât take it seriously that Regen put on a puzzled expression every time he looked at his homework.
I thought it was just because it was hard to concentrate.
Even in the novel, it was said that before awakening, he was nothing but an ordinary boy.
I rolled my eyes.
At that moment, my eyes met the old baron who was in charge of Regenâs history class.
The baron had been staring at my head since before.
It was clearly the head, not the face. I tilted my head, wondering if it was something he should look at with such a piercing focus although my husband decorated it with all his heart.
âBaron? Do you have anything to say to me?â
âThat isâ¦â¦â
The baron suddenly trembled as if doused in cold water.
It was due to the fact that Aedis was staring at him with sharp eyes, overshadowing his hidden presence.
âOh, no. Please forgive my disrespect, Your Grace.â
The baron had a very complicated face.
But I sent the baron and other tutors away without asking, because my feelings were more complex than those of the baron. And lay face down on the table.
âThere are still many things I donât know about Regen.â
âIt has been less than half a year since the wife came here. So, of course.â Aedis said frankly.
After all, no matter how young he was, he was a person like me, and it would be impossible to grasp everything in a short time.
Maybe itâs also because Iâve never been close with children.
âWhy did Regen do that?â
âI think you should ask the question again, Eve. You shouldnât ask why, you should ask why he started making it obvious. I donât think he woke up and his brain suddenly improved. If he had changed in such an instant, thereâs no way the wife wouldnât have felt uncomfortable.â
âHuhâ¦â¦â
My limp body lifted lightly.
Aedis sat me on his lap and asked.
âEve, what do you think Regen thinks of Gilbert?â
âHis only blood in the world?â
âRegen knows. How much Gilbert hates himself. However, in the meantime, it must have been nothing more than pretending not to know anything voluntarily or by force from his father.â
ââ¦..â
âWhen Gilbert first resorted to violence, Regen asked me not to interfere. He said he could handle it. In fact, Gilbert behaved much more violently in the capital without Regen. But the brainwashing has been cleared up, and Gilbert has gone so far as to blatantly target the wife, so I donât feel the need to put up with it any longer. So it must have been obvious enough for the tutor to notice.â
ââ¦â¦â
âI know that it will eventually reach the wife, whether it is late or early.â
I covered the nape of my neck with both hands.
Aedisâs breath occasionally brushed against my neck that was not covered, as bitter as it was sweet.
Ooh, we should focus on the conversation now.
âIt sounds like Regen looked after Gilbert.â
âAfter all, itâs his child. As I said, Regen is not normal. It doesnât mean theyâre the same, though.â
Aedis blinked as I pulled back.
He continued explaining with a bewildered look.
âEven if the wife is not in a hurry, Regen will come first. After removing Gilbert from the list of priorities, he seems to have both a sense of duty to protect the wife and a desire to be praised.â
Come to think of it, Regen made it clear that I needed protection because I was weaker than Aedis or Madame Theresa. He acted like he would never compromise on that part.
âI donât know if itâs good or bad to be treated like the weakest by Regen.â
âBut the wife is not just being treated as the weakest by Regen?â
Hey, donât hit me with words, okay.
***
While I was paying attention to Regen, the weather was getting colder.
In the north, the four seasons have no meaning at all, but autumn was coming to an end anyway.
My birthday was approaching day by day.
That morning, a letter arrived from my parents early in the morning.
I had written in a letter sent the other day that I was going to dismiss Gilbert, so it was a fairly quick reply.
My parents were very happy with the decision and informed me that they were going to visit the North for my birthday.
However, it was difficult to make time long enough to travel, so they hired magicians from the magic tower to use space movement magic.
Because the distance from the capital to the north was far, they would have to use space movement magic at least five times.
Aside from the fact that it will cost them a lot, theyâll probably suffer from motion sickness for a few days.
I finished reading the letter with tender and warm feelings.
On the last line, instead of saying that Mother would like to see me soon, she wrote a message of encouragement.
âMonica and the daughter of the Morgoz family set off ahead of time, but I think they will arrive soon. She wanted to see you a lot, so welcome her warmly.â
âPft!â
When I suddenly tried to spit out the tea, the butler was startled.
âYour Grace?â
It was an emergency.
And Mother, what do you mean Monica?!
Since when we were close enough to call each other by nameâ¦â¦ ï¼
My mother even urged me to warmly welcome her.
My mother, Diana Morgana, was notorious for being cold-blooded, so she wasnât one to say this idly.
I donât know how often Monica went in and out of the mansion while I was away.
âYou have to close the gateâ¦â¦ â
âYes?â
I took a deep breath.
âUnplannedâ¦â¦ No, because I expected a guest who I didnât want to come to curse, no, congratulate me on my birthday.â
The butler looked down at me as I said something that I would not normally have said.
âYour Grace, how about increasing the size of the party to celebrate Your Graceâs birthday? Invite not only northern retainers but also central nobles. Wouldnât it be better to invite the royal family?â
It was an unprecedented offer that did not fit the position of the butler, so when I stared at him, he coughed.
âIt was a proposal from the Master.â
What.
It was as shocking as when I heard Aedis say I was frugal.
I havenât attended a social party since becoming Grand Duchess.
So, if he cared, itâs not impossible to understandâ¦â¦ The emphasis was on having Aedis act as my partner.
When I entered the ballroom with Aedis in the capital, the reaction of the nobles was consistent.
They looked at Aedis like the devil from hell.
I wondered if Aedis will receive that kind of gaze again.
Also on my birthday.
Although my husbandâs attitude was happy, I didnât want him to have to go through such an unpleasant experience again, so I found an excuse.
âBut now, isnât it too late to scale up?â
âThere were a lot of people who would want to forfeit. We have a good budget.â
âPlease donât make me a bad employer. No, do you have more money than that?â
Do you want to invite the royal family and the central nobles?
The butler and I looked at each other and tilted our heads.
âYour Grace, didnât you budget it for 10 billion marks?â
What?
10 billion?
Iâve never heard of this?!
âWhat nonsense, cough cough!â
I shouted and beat my chest.
âThe one I approved was 10 million marks?!â
How many zeros did you suddenly multiply?
It was on a scale comparable to that of the emperorâs birthday party, which was held throughout the full moon.
Recently, the financial condition of the imperial family is not good, so maybe more.
âBut exactly 10 billion marks were stated.â
âWho manipulated the paperworkâ¦â¦ Of course it would be Aedis.â
I should have known when he told me I was frugal.
It was an amount that I couldnât even afford to spend with my normal habits, so he had the illusion that I had been living frugally.