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Then I heard a loud laughter from around me. The vassals were struggling to hold back their laughter.
Some looked at the distant mountains, while others took a deep breath.
Someone from between them walked next to me.
It was Durias whom I recently met in front of a restaurant. Covering his mouth with his gloved hand, he organized his expression and met my eyes. His golden eyes gleamed with playfulness.
“Well, I think the lady is going to take her words back right away.”
“I’m not!”
“Then that’s good.”
Durias smiled and pretended to be relieved, saying he was happy.
Cade, who had been walking down the hallway holding me for a while, stopped on the spot. Before I knew it, we arrived in front of my room on the same floor.
As he dropped me off from his arms, Cade looked at me and lightly pushed my forehead back without hurting me.
Oh.
“I don’t know what’s in this little head. You don’t have to pay it back, so try to figure out where to spend the next pocket money.”
I opened my eyes.
Does this mean that you will give me pocket money again?
* * *
“Rodaria! Irene is back!”
As I excitedly opened the door and entered, Rosaria was talking with a stranger.
Who is it?
Rosaria, who was talking in a serious mood, greeted me warmly and beckoned to come to her.
I quickly ran to Rosaria’s side.
“Miss Irene, did you have fun?”
“Yes. I came with Daddy.”
While diligently answering Rosaria’s question, I looked at the woman sitting opposite her.
“I guess this is the Miss Irene I will be teaching in the future.”
“Yes. Miss Irene, say hello. This is teacher Kasana, who will conduct basic education in the future.”
Teacher?
I looked at Kasana with curious eyes. With a calm impression, she pulled out a piece of paper that looked to be a planner.
I haven’t learned how to write, so I couldn’t read it yet, but it looked similar to one because it was divided into several sections.
“I’m studying?”
“Yes. Are you looking forward to it? Master Seth and Master Arban are also taking classes. Now Miss Irene can also take one.”
I was immediately interested in the idea of doing the same thing as Seth and Arban.
“What are we studying?”
“We will proceed with simple interactive education.”
“Like my brothers?”
“The young lady has a different class from the two young masters. This is a special instruction from the Lord.”
I was disappointed that I couldn’t attend class with the two of them, but I lifted my head at the words of Cade’s special instructions.
Kasana put down the teacup and started her explanation.
“As tradition goes, successors should take succession classes through the same process without exception, but since the young lady is still young, we decided that the classes the two masters are taking are difficult. It’s a little… violent.”
What kind of class do you take to tag it as violent?
When I thought of Arban, who last time entered and jumped through the window like it was nothing, I roughly guessed what class he was taking.
“I think that part was bothering him, because the Lord has asked us to revise the whole course of the class.”
It was fortunate. It would be difficult if I had to go to the forest and pull an entire tree by hand.
Kasana seemed relieved when I showed a positive attitude.
She looked like she was thinking about what to do if I begged that I wanted to take the same classes as my brothers.
“If all your questions are answered, I’ll go back for today. Classes start at 2pm every day, so please take good care of me Lady Rosaria.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Irene. Feel free to call me Kasa.”
Kasana got up from her seat. Having missed the timing to greet her, I hurriedly stretched out my arm and grabbed her finger.
“Kasa bye bye. Oh, no. It’s goodbye.”
“Oh my, Miss Irene is really polite.”
Kasana, caught by my fingers, glanced back at me, smirking. It seemed like she didn’t know I would run and hold her hand.
“I’m going to study hard. Evewy day.”
“Yes. I look forward to a fun class tomorrow.”
Kasana left the room with a faint smile on her face.
* * *
Under the darkened sky.
Shadows wearing black hoods appeared in front of the mansion. Overwhelming pheromones were overflowing around them. In a second, people could feel a sense of threat just by their own existence.
They did not show any signs of exhaustion even though they came all the way from the border without resting once.
“We finally arrived.”
“Hey, coming back from the wasteland feels like coming back home?”
The man who spoke vigorously took a breath. The familiar air awakened the senses that had been forgotten.
“I know you feel special, but don’t be frivolous. From now on, I will let you know the precautions you have to take.”
The man standing in the front gave a warning and pulled out a piece of paper with the word ‘Caution’ from his pocket.
It was sent in advance by Rosaria.
Things in red stars were marked as top priority. He began to read aloud from the first line one after another, carefully scanning the notes.
“First. When in front of Miss Irene, hide the pheromone as much as possible.”
Then, each one of their pheromones, which had been fluttering uncontrollably in all directions, became silent as everyone was holding their breath.
“Second, don’t take your eyes off from her and escort the Lady as if you were hunting for prey.”
“I’m confident in that.”
“By the way, I don’t understand the concept of escort. Can someone explain?”
They were absurdly strong beings from the moment they hatched from their eggs, far from being a target for protection or being escorted by others, even the words that came out of their mouths were too awkward to pronounce.
There was silence for a moment, and someone spoke in an unsure voice.
“…If there’s someone who bothers her while we are watching, we drag them out and take care of it? That’s how you usually deal with things coming near our prey.”
“Huh? That’s what I understood as well. I guess that’s roughly right?”
A noisy atmosphere was born. Awkward conversations came and went. The man who gave a pathetic glance at the gatekeepers read the remaining cautions.
“Third, in case of unavoidable circumstances, defense should be prioritized over attack.”
“Okay.”
“Fourth, Miss Irene is weak, so be extremely careful like handling cotton wool. Lastly…”
Three stars were drawn, saying it was the most important thing. While thinking it was childish, he mechanically read the last warning.
“Do not show up unless it is an emergency.”
Already infamous as the gatekeepers of the South at the border, if it was known that they had gathered for a banquet, whatever their intentions, it would have been an issue with other clans.
When the precautions were over, the hooded men quickly disappeared on the spot.
It was only two days after Cade’s return order was issued.
* * *
Today was the first day of class with Kasana.
I drew a picture in my sketchbook, waiting for the time to come with excitement. While waiting for class I drew colorful clouds and a big house, and at two o’clock on the dot, a knock sounded.
Knock. Knock.
Rosaria, who was preparing light refreshments for class, approached.
“The teacher must have come, Miss Irene!”
“I’m going!”
“Then should we open it for her so the teacher doesn’t have to wait?”
“Yes!”
The crayons that had been put down in a hurry rolled on the floor. I jumped up from lying on the rugged floor. Then ran to the door and shouted.
“I’m here!”
When I reached the front door and grabbed the doorknob, I saw Kasana through the cracks in the door. Holding a book for class, she was dressed in a light suit like yesterday with her light red hair tied up.
I smiled brightly, took Kasana’s hand and led her inside.
“I was waiting for Kasa!”
“I see. Shall we put what we were doing to one side?”
“Yes!”
The toys that were scattered on the floor were brought to their original places one by one. Kasana, who was watching me do it, gave me a light compliment.
“You’re good at organizing things.”
“Did I do a good job?”
“Yes. I’ll put a compliment sticker on it.”
Kasana pulled out a piece of paper in the form of a grape, and one green caterpillar sticker was pasted on the blank space.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, so she handed me the paper.
“From now on, this is Miss Irene’s.”
“Mine?”
“Yes. Irene will take care of it from now on. Please let me know when everything is filled. I will give you a present.”
“Wow!”
Suddenly, a picture of grapes appeared as a gift package. Besides, I’m taking care of this myself!
I quickly grabbed the paper and ran to the treasure chest where snacks were kept. It was filled with not only snacks, but also items that I usually cherish.
I will keep it here.
I folded the paper in quarters, put it in the box, and carefully closed the lid.
“Is that where you keep your precious things, Miss Irene?”
“Yes. It’s Irene’s treasuwy.”