IWMHWD 16

<Chapter 16> Master and Disciple

November 16, 2023

When she was little, her hobby was sneaking into her father’s study to steal a book and read it in her mother’s room.

Whenever her father found out she was reading, he would explode in anger. So she always had to hide in a dark corner to read in secret.

‘Poor child.’

Every time, her sickly mother would look at young Cordelia and mutter things she didn’t understand.

‘Why am I pitiful?’

‘Because you won’t be able to have what you want.’

‘But I don’t want anything.’

Then her mother would stroke her head and say,

‘You’re a greedy child, Cordelia. My daughter. Once you grow up, do you really think you’ll be satisfied with just one book? It’s human nature to grow curious, to want to know more, to eventually want to see it all for yourself.’

‘Huh?’

‘Poor thing. Your father will definitely hold you back. It would’ve been better if you had been born somewhere else, not from my womb.’

‘But I love you best, Mom.’

Whenever she said that, her mother would hug her tightly. It was one of the few beautiful memories Cordelia had.

Her mother’s face gradually faded.

Her deeply sunken consciousness began to rise to the surface.

A familiar ceiling came into view.

As she blinked, Emily, sitting beside her, brightened and said,
“You’re finally awake?”

“…Mm-hmm.”

“Sniffle—You really almost died. The physician said if we had been just a little later…”

Emily burst into tears mid-sentence. Her eyes were already red.

“The—The Marchioness kept saying it wasn’t a big deal, but you haven’t even opened your eyes for four days…”

“Four days? I was out for four days?”

“Yes. Thankfully, the master summoned every physician nearby and demanded they save you.”

“Huh? Craig did that?”

She blinked in confusion at the mention of Craig. She remembered his panicked face right before she passed out.

“Yes. The atmosphere was so tense the physicians were trembling during the examination. And then he had it out with the Marchioness…”

Speak of the devil—just as Emily was speaking, Leonard burst through the door, as if he knew she’d woken up.

Emily quickly stepped aside as Leonard entered.

He stood by her bed and stared silently at Cordelia for a long time.

Eventually, she spoke first.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you stupid?”

“…Excuse me?”

“You have a peanut allergy, but you just eat something without checking if it has peanuts in it? Is your head just decoration?”

“That’s the first thing you say to me after I almost died?”

Typical of him—scolding her instead of offering comfort. Oddly though, his sharp words didn’t upset her. Cordelia simply laughed lightly.

“But I didn’t die, did I?”

“Didn’t die? Didn’t die, she says.”

Leonard let out a hollow laugh, completely exasperated.

“…I’ve never seen anyone as foolish as you.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll take that.”

“You pick up and eat anything like a stray dog.”

“But it was the Marchioness who offered it to me. How could I refuse?”

“What, you don’t have a mouth? A tongue? Why didn’t you say no? What if it wasn’t peanuts but poison? Would you just smile and eat it anyway?”

“Geez, if it were poison, I obviously wouldn’t eat it. I’m not that stupid.”

Cordelia pouted. Leonard shook his head with a sigh.

“Stupid or not… whatever. We’re cleaning up this place anyway. So stop smiling and bowing to that woman.”

“When did I ever smile at her? Wait, cleaning up? What do you mean?”

“This estate. Now that you’re somewhat recovered, it’s time to get rid of the filth.”

Leonard’s face turned colder than ever. He crossed his arms and stared out the window.

Apparently, “filth” included Helena. Cordelia felt too afraid to ask what he planned to do with her.

“Oh, and special training starts tomorrow.”

“What? All of a sudden? I just woke up!”

“So what? What if you eat peanuts again and die?”

He spoke curtly and turned to leave the room. Cordelia reached out and grabbed the hem of his robe.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“The letter.”

With a strange look on his face, he handed her a crumpled letter from his coat. Cordelia gripped it tightly, unable to take her eyes off it for a long time.

Then Leonard said offhandedly,
“Tuition.”

“…What?”

“You said your brother needed tuition. The money—”

“It was all a lie.”

Without flinching, she tore the letter into shreds. Leonard was taken aback.

“What are you doing?”

“I should’ve torn it up a long time ago. It just gave her an excuse.”

Cordelia gritted her teeth as she ripped the letter into dust.

“Tuition? Ha. That kid? Dennis couldn’t even write his name properly until he was ten. I’d sooner believe a passing dog could write better.”

“You mean… it was just a way to get money?”

“I told you. To my father, I’m just a money tree.”

She stared down at the shredded paper with contempt.

“And this isn’t the first letter like that. My father started sending them regularly two months after I got married.”

At first, she thought they were letters asking how she was doing. But they were always about money. That realization made her feel anger, pity, and finally shame. Her life felt pitiful and tragic.

“I ignored all of them. I never said a word about them to the Marchioness.”

“Why?”

He asked with genuine curiosity. Cordelia gave a weak chuckle.

“I’m already being looked down on. I didn’t want to seem even more pathetic by talking about money. I didn’t want to degrade myself any further.”

“…”

“It would’ve made it look like I was really sold off for money. Which, to be honest… is kind of true.”

Cordelia let out a bitter laugh.

A breeze flowed through the slightly open window, ruffling her hair.

Leonard instinctively reached out to her, then froze. Strangely, in that moment, it felt like she might disappear right before his eyes.

“Oh, right. Thank you.”

“…For what?”

“For what you did at the dinner. It felt… good, having someone get angry for my sake. I’m the only one who’s ever fought for me.”

“Hmph.”

Leonard turned his head abruptly and flicked his fingers. Cordelia lay back on the bed and let out a big yawn.

“Why am I so sleepy… Master, later… homework… exam…”

She trailed off mid-sentence and fell asleep. Leonard looked at her peaceful sleeping face for a while, then quietly left the room.

* * *

“Sir Leonard, how is Lady Cordelia? Is she awake?”

As soon as he stepped out, Baron Langshaw rushed over from the windowsill, fussing. Leonard ignored the question and spoke directly.

“Summon Veluche.”

“What? That mad dog—I mean, that man?”

Baron reacted as if struck by lightning at the name.

“Wouldn’t that draw too much attention? Maximilian still doesn’t know I’m here, but if Veluche comes to Abrams Castle—”

“Whether sooner or later, Maximilian will learn I’m here. I’m not going to cower forever just because of that.”

“If you need a loyal hand, wouldn’t it be better to summon Sir Mervan?”

“That stiff-necked knight showing up in this remote region for no reason? Maximilian would get suspicious right away. But Veluche? He’s a wild dog. People won’t think twice.”

“But if he comes here…”

Knowing Veluche Ingrion’s personality better than anyone, Baron couldn’t finish his sentence. If something set him off, he would cause chaos without hesitation.

Still, Leonard was firm in his decision. He scanned the long corridor coldly.

“This damned estate needs to be cleaned up fast. Too many pests keep crawling out of their holes.”

“…Sigh. Understood.”

“And—”

Leonard paused. Baron held his breath.

“Find out more about the Vasquez family.”

“Vasquez? Why? Do you still suspect Lady Cordelia has a link to Maximilian?”

Baron’s expression turned serious. Leonard started to respond but shook his head.

“No, it’s not that. Just… get me everything. Current head, estate, blood relatives—all of it.”

“Yes, understood.”

As always, Baron bowed obediently and disappeared.

* * *

After that day, the estate became unnaturally quiet.

Not only Helena, but even Lily and Arnold had vanished from Cordelia’s sight.

When Cordelia asked Emily about it, the maid smirked and said,
“That day, the master exploded in fury and gave a terrifying warning.”

“A warning? What kind of warning?”

“He said if anyone touched you again, he’d cut off their head and hang it on the castle gate. The cook who put peanuts in your soup—his head was actually put on display.”

“Oh…”

Cordelia was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude toward Leonard. Maybe he really did care as her teacher.

“Wrong. Again.”

“Like this?”

“Again.”

“Th—this way?”

“Again.”

“…”

“Again.”

All the gratitude vanished in an instant.

No exaggeration—she trained in magic nonstop from morning to night.

Spending over ten hours a day with him, she reached the point where she could tell what Leonard meant just from his gaze or slight movements of his lips.

“Like this…”

“Don’t just do it like that—think. Use your brain.”

“I know, I know, but my body won’t listen!”

“Stop just talking and do it.”

“Alright, alright! Just be quiet already!”

Leonard stared at her with a strange expression, but Cordelia was too focused on magic to notice.

After more than two weeks of relentless training, she finally succeeded in creating a tiny magical flame.

“Gasp! Look! Look, Master! Quickly, look!”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“This—this is right, isn’t it? I did it! I really did it, didn’t I?”

“Mm.”

While Cordelia jumped for joy, Leonard remained utterly unimpressed.