<Chapter 5>

Scratch, scratch.

The quiet office was filled with the sound of a brush pen gliding across paper.

Duke Chester Valerio, the head of House Valerio, scanned the documents with a sharp gaze.

As the head of one of the Empire’s most prestigious ducal houses, a high noble of true standing, there was always a mountain of work awaiting him.

Chester’s schedule was managed down to the minute. There was simply no room to waste time on something like a private tutor.

And yet, Chester personally met with Kailas’s tutor.

Every single time.

It was because of the heartfelt request of his sister-in-law, Marchioness Mave Dalton.

“Please take good care of Kail, Chet.”

…Chet, huh.

Chester chuckled softly as he remembered the woman he had just met, cheeky and bold.

Only family called Chester Valerio by the nickname “Chet.”

And yet the new tutor, meeting him for the very first time, had blurted it out with a bright smile.

Even added that it sounded cute.

She looked him straight in the eye, the Duke Valerio, and chirped on as if he were some neighborhood uncle.

Her manners were perfectly polite, but there was something undeniably bold about her.

Maybe it was because she was so young.

This tutor looked far younger than any of the previous ones they had hired. Her résumé confirmed it. She was four years his junior.

‘Without experience, she’ll struggle even more.’

Chester’s nephew was no ordinary child.

There had been countless tutors who’d waved the white flag before even half a day had passed.

So, uncharacteristically, Chester had offered this new tutor a word of encouragement.

Told her to hang in there.

But for some reason, she didn’t seem too pleased. She looked at him like he’d said something inappropriate.

She even seemed taken aback when he told her to just teach the bare minimum manners.

He didn’t understand.

Most people would be thrilled to be told they only had to do the bare minimum.

What a strange woman.

‘Well, I’m sure she’ll manage.’

Chester let out a soft laugh.

She’d met his meddling with an icy stare, but he wasn’t particularly offended.

Once she actually met Kailas, she’d understand exactly what his earlier warning meant.

And when that time came, she’d be doing her best to keep her distance, just like he’d advised.

Kailas Valerio was a difficult child.

According to the nanny’s reports, he was a picky eater and threw tantrums often.

And he went through tutors like tissues. They’d hired so many by now, it was pointless to even try keeping count.

‘Let’s see how long this one lasts.’

Still, the girl had shown some grit.

Chester finally looked away from the document he’d been staring at. His eyes had been fixed there for a while, but none of it was sinking in.

‘If that kid drives this one away too… I’m done.’

He put his pen down and crossed his arms.

Though he had taken the child in for his sister-in-law’s sake, even he was getting tired of cleaning up after the boy.

He’d already gone through more than ten tutors. Surely, that was more than enough effort.

Chester sighed and closed the file.

Erasing the image of the tutor’s warm smile from his mind, he reached over and pressed the call bell.

* * *

“This way, please.”

A young man with pale green hair led Yurenia to the second floor of the mansion. As they walked down the long corridor, he spoke.

“Young Master’s room is at the very end here.”

“The nursery’s quite deep inside the house.”

“The nursery…?”

“I mean the Young Master’s room.”

“Ah. Yes, well, I suppose it is.”

He looked like he had a lot he wanted to say.

Yurenia studied the duke’s aide as they walked.

Enzo Paisley was slender and lean and hardly spoke a word. He hadn’t said a single thing during their entire walk here until now.

But Yurenia had caught the subtle twitches of his lips.

Right after they’d left the office.

When they passed Branson in the lobby.

And now, as they stood in the corridor near the nursery.

Like a man whose tongue was itching to talk, Enzo kept opening and closing his mouth. You could practically see the struggle to hold back whatever he wanted to say.

He probably thought he’d kept his expression perfectly neutral.

“The room at the very end is the Young Master’s. Yours is right next to it on the left. The servants should’ve already brought your luggage over. The basics are all there, but if you need anything else, please speak to me or the butler.”

“Thank you, Mr. Enzo.”

“Please, just call me Enzo, Miss.”

“Then Enzo it is. You can call me Yurenia too.”

“Understood, Miss Yurenia. Then, if you’ll excuse me—”

“Wait a moment.”

Just as Enzo was about to leave, Yurenia stopped him.

“Why is it so quiet here?”

“Sorry?”

Enzo blinked in surprise at her question. Yurenia stepped a little closer.

“Normally, houses with a seven-year-old boy are lively to the point of chaos. But here… it’s quiet as a monastery.”

“Is that… so?”

“Yes. What kind of child is the Young Master?”

“Well, that’s a bit sudden…”

Enzo blinked rapidly at her persistent questions.

‘He’s not going to give anything up easily, huh.’

Not that she was surprised. If he were the type to spill things carelessly, he wouldn’t be the duke’s aide.

‘But if I’m going to win over Kailas, I need information.’

In the original novel, there wasn’t much about the male lead’s childhood.

After Kailas’s father died from a chronic illness, his mother abandoned him without so much as an explanation, dumping him at the duke’s estate. He was left alone in a massive mansion with no one he knew.

A few years later—

His younger sister, suffering from the same illness as their father, passed away, sending the household into ruin. From then on, Kailas’s childhood was bleak and desolate.

‘At the very least, this is before the ducal family fell apart.’

So the timing wasn’t bad.

Yurenia clasped her hands and spoke earnestly.

“I’ve only been told the Young Master’s name and age. I really need to tailor the lessons to fit his temperament. Please, help me understand.”

Emphasizing that it was a reasonable request, she watched as Enzo bit down on his lip.

“The truth is, the Young Master…”

“Oh my, Enzo?”

Just as he began to speak, after what looked like an internal war—

“What brings you all the way down here, sir?”

A middle-aged woman appeared out of nowhere, slipping between the two.

She turned her back to Yurenia and addressed Enzo.

“Do you need something from the Young Master? Really, anything involving him should be left to me, Marlenda.”

“I was just showing the new tutor to her room.”

“Oh, really?”

The warm-looking woman turned her eyes to Yurenia. Her smile was gentle and inviting.

“How lovely. I’m Marlenda Margot, the Young Master’s nanny. Just call me Marlenda.”

“I’m Yurenia d’Aubigné. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marlenda. Please feel free to call me Yurenia.”

“Of course. Well then, I’ll take it from here. You’re a busy man, so go on now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With Marlenda waving her hands, Enzo gave a polite bow and vanished.

It seemed the nanny held the real authority over the young master’s affairs in this household.

“Since we’ll both be looking after the Young Master, let’s get along well.”

“Absolutely, Marlenda.”

Yurenia smiled brightly. Losing the aide didn’t bother her much. She had just met someone even better, the nanny.

The nanny was the one who stayed with the child twenty-four hours a day.

“Marlenda, is that for the Young Master?”

Yurenia pointed to the cup Marlenda was holding, speaking sweetly. The mug was filled with a white liquid.

“That’s right, it’s milk. Kids need to eat well to grow strong. Come along. I’ll introduce you to the Young Master.”

Marlenda spoke with practiced ease and turned toward the nursery. Yurenia followed by her side.

‘Finally, I’m going to meet Kailas.’

The male lead, at seven years old.

It was hard to imagine the child version of Kailas based solely on the novel’s cover art.

The grown man radiated raw masculinity, so what was he like at age seven?

How would that even translate?

“You know, I’m saying this because you remind me of a daughter—”

As they walked toward the nursery, Marlenda began speaking again. Her smile was kind, but her tone turned just a touch more serious.

“You’d better be prepared. The Young Master is no ordinary rascal.”

“Boys that age are usually pretty mischievous.”

Yurenia responded with a smile. The way Marlenda spoke so freely, even with someone she’d just met, suggested she was quite the talker.

“Don’t take my words lightly. No one else here will listen to a young lady like you, after all.”

Young lady?

Just a moment ago she’d said Yurenia was like a daughter, and now she was calling her “young lady”?

Despite knowing full well that Yurenia was the tutor, her tone carried a subtle hint of condescension. Even the way she spoke had begun to slip into informal speech.

It didn’t sit right.
 

<To be continued>

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