CH 23

What an abomination… How rude…

My sister not only could not answer the name of the King of the neighboring country, but she thought His Majesty the King of Albania didn’t have a name.

How could she come to such a conclusion?

In all likelihood, she couldn’t even remember the name of His Majesty the King of Ezersta, let alone the neighboring kingdom.

This is beyond disrespect.

It’s definitely on the level of being accused of bad parenting.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry! I know that my sister’s disrespectful behavior is unforgivable. Truly—”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. Just because I can’t believe that she is your sister doesn’t make you any less valuable.”

During the apology I made for Miri’s comment, Alfred held up one hand and said no.

I appreciate your generosity, but this is too much for my family.

I haven’t even digested the matter of Leinhardt-sama, and the thought of Mirim gives me a headache.

“But Count and Countess Arzel. What kind of education have you given Miri? Even a sheepdog has more discipline than that.”

…Miri is finally being evaluated as less than a dog.

Normally I would deny it, but I have already lost the will to do so.

However, His Highness Alfred is not angry with Miri.

Rather, I think he is saying that he cannot forgive our parents for causing her to become the way she is.

“Well, that’s, uh… The Marquis of Aston, an authority on pedagogy, taught that a child brought up without inhibitions grows up to be a good child with a relaxed personality…”

“We gave Charlotte a very crammed education, and she excelled academically, but we got the impression that Miri lacked interest. We tried to give her a lot of autonomy.”

In thoughtful, frightened tones, the parents explain how my sister came to be like this.

The Marquis of Aston is certainly the country’s leading pedagogue, and all three of his sons graduated from the Royal Academy with first class honors and hold important positions in the country, but it doesn’t sound like they were given the same kind of education that Miri had.

“Do you think this is the result of listening to Professor Aston’s educational theory? Don’t make me laugh. I heard that he creates an environment where his children are free to pursue their academic interests and learn as they wish. He never said anything about letting wild animals run free, unless I am mistaken in the translation of the books I have read.”

“”Ugh…””

“You didn’t just listen to half-truths because you were tired of educating her, did you?”

It seems that His Highness Alfred has read the Marquis of Aston’s books.

I thought it was strange too, but after hearing what His Highness said, it made sense to me.

The Marquis of Aston, who is an authority on pedagogy, would never say that we should just leave them there and do nothing…

“It seems, Count Arzel, that you are largely responsible for what happened to Miri. It’s going to take a lot to turn her back into a real human being. Wouldn’t that be a problem for the monastery?”

“Y-Yes. I mean, I can’t deny that…”

“At this rate, Charlotte will be adopted by one of our dukes, and we’ll have to assume that you don’t want anything to do with her either. We don’t know what would have happened to Charlotte at your whim.”

“Eh, I can’t have that…! You’re kidding, right? Haha… If that happens, it’s the end of our family…”

My father is laughing with a pale face, but I can tell from the look on His Highness Alfred’s face that he is not joking.

Leaving this house and being adopted by another family, even if only in name… I’m sure my parents would like to avoid that.

They would only consider their daughter’s marriage based on whether it would benefit the Arzel family or not…

It seems that the marriage will not go off without a hitch.