What nonsense! I immediately said in a warning voice, “Young Master, what are you saying? You need to learn so you can deal with Duke Orchid.”
“What does Duke Orchid have to do with me, and why do you keep bringing it up?”
Ardion didn’t seem to understand that I was educating him. So I sat on his bed since it would take too long to explain while standing.
He moved aside, startled. “Don’t come here. Ah, are you going to drain my mana like you said earlier?”
“That’s not it. And I don’t plan on completely draining your mana. I’m just going to teach you how to hide your mana so that Duke Orchid won’t find out.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it’ll be safer for you.”
“Why are you concerned about my safety?”
“Well, I’m responsible for educating you. Of course, like I said before, I also want to receive something from you.”
“So, you’re doing this all because you want something from me?”
“Well, that’s partially true, but not all just for that. Wouldn’t it be good for you to make at least a few good memories here?”
“Good memories?”
I shrugged. “Well, as you’ve witnessed earlier, Duke Orchid won’t treat you well, but it won’t be too bad since you’re from the imperial family.”
“The imperial family...” He lowered his head, his expression gloomy. For some reason, he seemed to have lost his composure because of the term imperial family.
When I called him prince, he lost his composure as well.
Ardion seemed to want to deny the fact that he was a member of the imperial family. However, if he didn’t acknowledge his identity, he would become twisted like how he was in the original story. I had to block that possibility as early as possible.
I quickly explained, “Uh... so you deserve to be treated better here! That’s why I am going to be that person for you.”
Seeing that he remained the same, I continued to console him. “Anyway, you deserve to be treated like a normal person, and I’ll make sure you make some good memories here. I’ll educate you well too.”
I smiled brightly. Anyway, since it had come to this, I had to do my best for him.
He looked closely at me, showing a tenacity that didn’t suit a child like him. “And you’ll take what you need from me?”
“Well, if you don’t want to give it to me, you don’t have to. I said you could just give it to me if you wanted. I won’t ask for it.”
My heart ached as I said those words, but I couldn’t help it. To be honest, pretending to be cool would only hurt me. But in this situation, I felt embarrassed to ask for mana.
I really felt like I was being selfish for planning to use him.
No, aren’t I already using him?
I shook my head. “Young Master, if you think about it, you’ll also benefit. You will receive proper treatment and education here.”
His face was still stern.
I continued, “Which means you’ll be using me too.”
Ardion’s expression changed subtly as he looked away. After a moment, he raised his head. “So, you’re smart enough to teach me?”
“Ah...” I was speechless for a moment.
I wasn’t smart.
Ardion was still young and had been washing with cold water, so he had the right to wash with hot water now.
I returned with a bucket of hot water, placed it in front of Ardion’s bathroom, and knocked on the door. “Young Master, there’s hot water in front of the door, so be sure to use it. I’m going now.”
As soon as I left the room, Derol raised his head from my pocket and said, “Master, I think you’re busier than before.”
Wiping my forehead, I replied, “But there aren’t many days left before l leave this place.”
Derol already knew my plan. I told him about it whenever I was bored. At least he was more trustworthy than people. He was the best for me, and I cared a lot for him.
Benji was there too, but I trusted Derol more than humans. Maybe it was because we shared the same mana and the fact that we had experienced similar situations and suffered a lot.
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, it’s good that the day I leave this place isn’t far away.”
Anyway, I felt at ease thinking that way.
❋ ❋ ❋
I left Ardion’s room and went to the place where the new linen was stored. There, as I was carrying a new blanket, I ran into Benji.
“Laila, I heard you’re not going to be a maid anymore. That’s...”
“I’m going to take care of the young master’s blanket first.”
“Oh, you’re supposed to be in charge of his education, right?”
“Yeah. How’s your job these days?”
“Work is just fine. By the way, the math and history books you wanted...” Benji fiddled with her hands hesitantly.
“What’s wrong? Couldn’t find any?”
“The thing is, I went to the post office yesterday and received a letter. My younger brother said he’s going to the academy and took all the books.”
My expression stiffened.
Benji grabbed my hand and said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, Laila. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have asked you to clean for me...”
I shook my head and smiled. “It’s okay, You didn’t know either.”
At that moment, I heard Benji’s name being called. It seemed some maids were calling for her.
“Laila, I’ll go first. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
I nodded. Benji waved and went to where the other maids were.
I had asked Benji for a reason. She had studied at the academy before coming here.
I had just hoped to have useful notes to refer to just in case...
Since there were many things I didn’t know, I felt the need to look at new books to be able to teach.
At that moment, Derol squeaked, saying, “Master, what happens if we don’t get books for him?”
“I think I should go to the library since I need to go there for books about mana anyway...”
Strangely enough, the former Duke Orchid used to like collecting books, and his library had quite a diverse collection, with many rare books.
But now, the library had been practically abandoned.