~Chapter 23~
Ruby gasped when she saw Calix’s injury.
“Are you okay, Calix?”
“It hurts, Sis.”
Thankfully, Calix stopped crying when Ruby came closer. She gently patted his head, then turned her gaze to the tutor.
Her eyes had turned sharp.
“What exactly happened here?”
But the tutor answered calmly, as if nothing was wrong.
“I simply gave educational discipline to a child who wouldn’t listen.”
“Educational discipline?”
Ruby’s eyes moved to the cane lying nearby — it was quite thick.
The woman must have been holding it in the opposite hand from where Ruby had seen it earlier. If Ruby had noticed it before, she never would have let this tutor into Calix’s room.
“What did Calix do from the very beginning to deserve this?”
“He found my lesson boring and wouldn’t sit properly. I only want to teach children who can take lessons seriously.”
“So you hit him for that reason?”
“Is it wrong to discipline a student who’s not ready to learn?”
“Is hitting a child really what you call education? Couldn’t you have disciplined him with words instead?”
The tutor frowned, clearly displeased.
“Do you know how many outstanding students I’ve trained? They all beg to be taught by me. Yet you react like this over one small act of discipline? How disappointing.”
“So you’ve done this same thing to other children as well?”
“Always with the parents’ permission.”
Ruby wondered if Duke Lux had known about this when he hired the woman. Her anger flared.
“We don’t accept that kind of discipline here.”
“That’s not for you to decide, young lady. Don’t interfere with my teaching.”
“I already told you — I have the rights of a guardian. So leave. Now.”
“My, my… do you understand how foolish that would be?”
The tutor crossed her arms and looked down at Ruby.
“With just one word from me, no other tutor will ever step into this mansion to teach him again.”
But Ruby didn’t care how much influence this woman claimed to have.
“Go ahead. Tell whoever you want. You must be eager to announce to the world that you beat children. I wonder how many parents would actually want that?”
“More than you’d think.”
It seemed corporal punishment was common in this world. Ruby knew that some parents believed in hitting children, and some thought it was necessary for discipline — but she didn’t agree.
“Maybe so. But one of those children won’t be my brother.”
She turned back to Calix.
“I’m sorry, Calix. I should have realized sooner.”
It seemed Calix hadn’t refused the lesson just to be difficult — he had seen the cane and reacted. Ruby regretted assuming he was just being stubborn.
“Sis, does this mean I can’t have swordsmanship lessons anymore?”
Even through his tears, that’s what he worried about. Apparently, the tutor had used swordsmanship as a threat to make him comply.
“No one’s going to teach me now, right?”
Even at his age, Calix understood what her words meant.
“That’s right,” the tutor said confidently. “With an attitude like his, no one will teach him. If he refuses my lesson, he’ll get no swordsmanship or any other lessons at all.”
But her threats didn’t work on Ruby.
“There’s no way you’re the only teacher in the world. We’ll find someone better than you in no time. Now get out.”
Ruby pointed at the door.
The woman shook with rage and glared at her.
“You’ll regret this, young lady.”
She grabbed her cane and shawl, then slammed the door behind her.
“Sis… What’s going to happen to me now?” Calix’s eyes welled with tears again.
Ruby pulled him into her arms.
“You’ll still be strong without sword lessons. You can become strong on your own. But if you really want to learn, I’ll find someone to teach you — I promise.”
“I’m sorry, Sis.”
“What for? You’ve done nothing wrong. And don’t feel ashamed, either.”
“But if I’d just listened…”
It was rare for Calix to regret his actions — the tutor’s insults must have hurt him deeply.
“It’s okay. Next time, let’s sit properly so you don’t get scolded. But if anyone ever tries to hit or punish you unfairly, tell me right away.”
“Okay, Sis.”
Finally, his tears stopped.
Ruby immediately asked a maid to fetch the doctor.
When the doctor saw the swelling — already red and beginning to bleed — he was shocked.
“My goodness. A tutor did this to a child?”
“Please treat Calix, Doctor. I have somewhere to go.”
“Sis, where are you going?” Calix asked nervously.
Ruby patted his head and stood up from his bedside.
“I’m going to protect you.”
He didn’t fully understand, but the fact that it was for him made him nod.
“Don’t argue with the doctor. Let him treat you, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ruby stroked his head one last time and left the room, her expression hard. She went straight to Duke Lux’s study.
Knock, knock, knock.
Her knock was sharper than usual. Without the Duke’s permission to enter, Balt opened the door.
“My lady, isn’t this your lesson time? What brings you here?”
He looked at Ruby in surprise — she was clearly furious.
Ruby didn’t answer and walked in, stopping in front of Duke Lux’s desk.
“Grandfather, is it true you gave the tutor full authority over Calix’s education?”
“I did,” he said without looking up from his papers.
Ruby clenched her teeth.
“Did you also give her Calix’s weaknesses so she could use sword lessons as a threat to control him?”
“I gave her tips, not weaknesses.”
His calm attitude made her angrier.
“So you also allowed her to use that excuse to hit him?”
Only then did Duke Lux look at her, silent.
Ruby couldn’t hold back.
“Grandfather, I don’t know if that’s how education usually works here. Maybe some parents hit their children, maybe some teachers hit students with bad attitudes. But I don’t want my siblings to go through that. Our parents never once hit Calix, even when he misbehaved. They never shouted, either — they always stayed calm and disciplined him with words.”
Sometimes she had thought Calix and Sasha went too far, and she had raised her hand to punish them — but her parents always stopped her. They told her children shouldn’t be hit and that even if they were young, they had to explain things until they understood.
Back then, Ruby hadn’t understood. But now she did.
“I will never let my siblings be taught by a teacher like that. Even if you forbid Calix from having sword lessons, I will not let him grow up being beaten in the name of education.”
The Duke stayed silent, making Ruby nervous.
Maybe he thought she was being foolish, throwing away the chance to have the best tutor.
But his answer was completely unexpected.
“Do as you wish.”
