Chapter 42

“Godmother, are you here?”

In the late afternoon.

After taking harp lessons from the musician introduced by Godmother, I stopped by the library.

“Vanora?”

I happened to run into Godmother, who was reading a book.

“I will come back later if you’re busy in here…”

“It’s the key I gave you to use, so make yourself at home.”

“Ah, can I borrow some books then? Tomorrow, Godmother will teach me about the relationship between noble families, so I want to prepare myself…”

I glanced at Godmother as she sat at the square table in the library and was writing some documents.

‘Is she writing a letter to her family in the estate?’

There was no other family member of Maquil in this large mansion, so I had one idea or another about it.

I then picked up a book. There were only two materials I needed for the study.

‘Uh? This book… It didn’t even exist in our house.’

Looking through the bookshelf, I was distracted by the book’s title at the bottom. ‘The Planetary Theory of Nariose’ was a rare book related to astronomy.

‘I have some free time at night, so I can read one, right?’

I glanced at Godmother on the table behind me for nothing. And a little later, I leaned down silently and pulled out the book.

But…

“Hmm?”

On the side of the book, a white triangle was sticking out like a corner of a piece of paper. I opened and checked the part because I thought one of the pages was folded. Then an old piece of paper fell to the floor.

“Drawing?”

“!”

It was a drawing sketched with charcoal. It was so well drawn that I could recognize the figure on it was Madam Maquil when she looked young.

‘Then, who is the girl next to the godmother?’

“Godmother, this drawing came out of the book. Shall I put it back?”

“…I didn’t know this would be there. I’ve been looking for it  for a long time.”

I picked up the fallen paper and showed it to the godmother. My behavior could be criticized by her, but she didn’t scold me at all.

“Thank you for finding it.”

I looked at my godmother’s grim expression as she looked at the drawing and turned around while saying I needed to put the book back.

“…”

But then.

One thing was catching godmother’s eyes while looking at me, who turned around. Looking closely at my hand holding the book, she could see my hand full of calluses.

“Did you get calluses because of the strings of the harp?”

“Ah, it’s my first time playing it…”

Godmother, who examined my hand full of calluses, narrowed her brows and said,

“Don’t you know that if you overdo it on the first day, you’ll only have a setback in your next schedule? Why are you being so stubborn? You should have taken a break.”

Hearing her tone, it looked like I was being scolded. So I used the sentence that came to my mind immediately as an excuse.

“Ah, that… It was the first time someone created such an educational environment for me, so I was delighted.”

“…!”

“And I wanted to work hard. I’m sorry, Godmother.”

“You’re sorry? What—”

“But this is only the way for me to repay it. I don’t know if the debt I owe to Godmother and Sir Ronwe is this heavy.”

I laid down the four books I was going to take away on the table. Then I put my hands neatly on my belly and took a proper posture.

“I don’t know why Godmother fulfilled Sir Ronwe’s will. I’m sorry if you might be doing this when it’s something you don’t want to do…”

“…”

“I guess that’s why I was too greedy to show good results.”

A lie mixed with the truth will be only a natural statement. As such, more than half of what I said now was true. It was the first time I received such an education, so I really did my best.

“…”

However, godmother widened her eyes when she heard my remarks and remained silent for a while.

“Godmother?”

“Get out.”

The next thing she told me was to go back to my room when I had already picked out all the books. I obediently followed her order, judging that there was nothing good about being annoying to her. However, as I opened the door and was about to leave the library, her last words rang behind my back.

“Don’t say sorry so easily in the future.”

I replied that I would keep it in mind.

* * *

A few days later.

Vanora faithfully followed the classes Iva Maquil taught today. As her explanation contained metaphors that were easy to understand and she showed the most perfect sample, Vanora could quickly learn it even when looking sideways. On top of that, Iva couldn’t help but be amazed by the class’s progress.

“Do you like books? At this rate, I think you will be the most shining person in the salon right now.”

“I’m flattered.”

Many nobles’ children couldn’t even turn a page of philosophical books properly, and it was the same for any literature.

‘I have nothing to teach her.’

Is it because her expectations were too low from the beginning?

Therefore, Vanora’s achievement came as a shock to her. She originally thought of Vanora as a child and wanted to teach her step by step. Far from walking, Vanora even sprinted in progress, and for a moment, she even wondered if Vanora was a genius.

“…”

But that can’t be true.

Madam Maquil immediately looked at the girl sitting there with her sunken eyes.

‘Looking at her quietly, she looked rather like a slow-witted person. Still, her knowledge and etiquette are in a higher level even for the grown-up noble.’

Her vision showed Vanora contemplating hard to complete her assignment.

‘Because she’s lonely with no place to lean on, she made the books as her friends.’

There’s no way Vanora knew that Madam Maquil thought that way.

Vanora said energetically that she would soon find the answer to her assignment.  

“It’s enjoyable to memorize the book because Godmother personally taught it to me.”

Vanora smiled at Madam Maquil as she tried to flatter her, but Madam Maquil’s expression remained in shadow.

‘I don’t like children very much, do I?’

Iva Maquil’s attitude has always been like this. No matter how high achievement Vanora made, she never gave a big smile to her. She would only say, “Well done.” Vanora, who knew about it, felt the pressure inside because her godmother had always maintained a stern expression as if to keep the distance between them.

And a little later.

According to Maquil’s education policy, which says that one class needs less concentration if you do it all day long, Vanora began to practice harp. Since the harp lessons were entrusted to the expert, Madam Maquil diligently began other tasks in the meantime.

“The side of the annex was also very badly damaged. It’s only been a few years since I’ve been away.”

Madam Maquil lived on the estate far from the capital for a while. As a result, her mansion in the capital was somewhat neglected. Although it had been urgently cleaned for Vanora’s education, there were still parts to be repaired.

“The house without people living in it tends to get ruined quickly.”

Madam Maquil took notes of the places that needed to be fixed as she looked around her mansion. After that, she carefully checked the work of her mansion in detail, such as whether there was a lack of firewood used for cooking and whether Vanora’s room was in good condition.

“That’s what I need to know. Tell this to the cook.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The sun outside had already gone down when she finished going around her mansion and doing all the chores.

‘The harp has stopped.’

It’s almost time for Vanora’s class to end. When she thought so, the musician and a little lady came out of the music room.

“Today’s lesson is over, so go back to your room and rest.”

“Yes, Godmother,” Vanora Celcius said with a polite attitude that didn’t suit her age.

Less than a week after being educated, Vanora’s standing position has already changed.

‘She’s watching me with her eyes and fixing her own posture.’

There’s a saying that if you teach one, the wise disciple will learn about ten. 

Madam Maquil tried to hide her smile, but she couldn’t help liking how Vanora looked at her.

“At this rate, we won’t be running out of time until your debutante.”

“It’s all thanks to Godmother’s good teaching.”

Now that all of Vanora’s schedule was over, the two headed to the second floor in their own rooms until dinner started.

“Godmother, by any chance, if I do well in the exam I’m taking at the end of this week, will you please grant me a request?”

“What kind of request is it?”

“You said that I can study effectively only if I take a break. So, can you give me a day without classes once every 10 days? I want to go out and see my friend.”

“You’ll be tired if you do that.”

“I’ll make sure there is no setback in learning, so please…”

After a light chatter, the two arrived at the stair. They stood side by side and climbed the stairs. A creaking sound resounded with every step they took.

“If Lady Vanora says so…”

But then.

Suddenly, there was the sound of something breaking, and Madam Maquil stumbled loudly.

“!”

The old wooden stairs were broken, and she lost her balance. Madam Maquil reached for the railing to support her body momentarily. Still, the distance was too far; to make matters worse, her dress caught her foot, and her body tilted backward.

It was indeed a shocking moment. The sound that followed was the sound of someone falling down the stairs. Hearing the loud noise, the servants ran there. In addition, the servants swallowed their breath when they arrived there.

“…”

If you suddenly fall down the stairs where you step with confidence, you will feel dizzy because of the falling. Madam Maquil felt that way and widened her eyes. She blinked and saw the ceiling of the mansion.

“…”

But somehow, she didn’t feel any pain as she fell. At the same time, when she realized hands were holding her tightly on her waistline, Iva Maquil turned hurriedly with a surprised face.

“Lady Vanora!”

Vanora was crushed there.

* * *

What did I do with my small body that is hard to control? I wrapped up the fallen godmother.  

‘It hurts!’

I was also shocked by accident, then felt the tingling pain in my back and the back of my head. Fortunately, we didn’t fall from a high place, and I’m still young, so there seemed to be no injuries outside.

It didn’t fall from a high place, and Panora was young, so there seemed to be no injuries.

“What is this!”

“!”

“Didn’t you get hurt for nothing when we fell together? If you hadn’t held me back, neither of us would have been hurt!”

But before I could even recover, godmother’s scolding fell. It was only after hearing her voice that I realized my own mistake.

‘Ah! She still had the perception that I was weak. Originally, with my own strength, I couldn’t pull it off…’

Io’s power is not easy to use because of the price, and since I have lived as a weakling for the past 21 years, it is bound to show this side of me.

“Lady Vanora.”

Does godmother still have anything to scold for my mistake?

When my name was called, I, who was sitting down, turned my head quickly. Then her wrinkled hands touched my cheeks.

“Godmother…?”

“Your once-in-a-lifetime debutante is just around the corner. At such an important moment, I can only think of how embarrassing it would have been if you had broken your leg bone…!”

Again, she began to scold me for my careless behavior. However, when it came to my godmother’s words which I had been obediently accepting, it was unfair this time. Because this happened so suddenly.

“I-I’m sorry. My body moved first, so I didn’t think about it.”

No matter how much you grew up and changed, your nature as a person would eventually become rotten.

“Uh?”

Blood belatedly burst out from my nose as the impact of my head that had been hit. As I thought this resulted from my acting stupidly, I felt a bit embarrassed. So I covered my nose and tried to laugh out loud.

“…!”

But I couldn’t smile any longer because of the scenery in front of me. Godmother, who always had a stiff expression like the person in the portrait, was about to cry while looking at my face.