✩ Chapter 10 ✩
A few days later—
That morning,
Noah rested his chin on one hand as he stared blankly at Rachel, who was passionately teaching at the front of the classroom.
After watching her for the past few days,
he had come to one conclusion.
Rachel was a very strange person.
It was strange that she kept trying to help him even though every other teacher had given up on him.
And it was even stranger that she never stopped smiling while doing it.
Honestly,
most people would have given up on him by now.
But Rachel never did.
It was as if the word giving up didn’t exist in her dictionary.
And it wasn’t just him.
Even when Roka or Eckard behaved rudely or caused trouble,
she never gave up on them either.
Instead,
she welcomed every problem as if it were another chance to teach them.
Hmph.
That’s one thing… but escaping is another.
No matter how hard Rachel tried to earn his trust,
that had nothing to do with his plan.
His goal was to escape from the academy
and return to his grandfather’s estate,
where he had hidden his precious belongings.
He was willing to do anything to make that happen.
I need to convince Brother too.
He left the toys Grandfather gave him there.
I’ll tell him we should go back and get them.
His older brother, Theo,
surely wanted to return to their grandfather’s house as well.
If he could convince Theo,
escaping would become much easier.
Noah glanced toward the seat two rows away.
Theo was absentmindedly spinning a quill between his fingers while staring out the window.
I need a chance to talk to him so we can make a plan.
After the big incident the other day,
Rachel had quietly made sure that Noah and Theo were never left alone together.
Whenever they talked,
another student or a teacher was always nearby.
She’s definitely doing it on purpose.
At first,
he wasn’t completely sure.
But after about a week,
he became certain.
It had all been carefully planned.
Tonight… I’ll go talk to him.
Theo’s room was right next to his.
If everyone was asleep,
he could climb through the window without getting caught.
Noah bit his lip.
No matter what,
he was going to meet his brother alone.
That night,
Noah quietly opened the window.
Carefully,
he began climbing along the outside wall.
His room was on the third floor.
If he fell,
he could be seriously hurt.
But that didn’t matter to him.
Meeting Theo was more important.
He needed to talk to him first.
“Brother!”
Noah knocked on Theo’s window.
Theo was already fast asleep.
Growing impatient,
Noah knocked harder.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Slowly,
Theo sat up.
“Hey!”
The moment he saw his younger brother hanging outside the window,
Theo’s eyes widened in shock.
He rushed over,
opened the window,
and quickly helped Noah climb inside.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What if you had fallen?!”
Noah proudly lifted his chin.
“See?”
“I’m not even afraid of something like this.”
“That’s why escaping to Grandfather’s house is possible.”
“What?”
“Let’s go back to Grandfather’s house.”
“Let’s leave this place.”
“…Ah.”
“I’m not going.”
Noah had risked his life to get here.
But Theo’s answer was completely unexpected.
“Why?!”
“You hate it here too!”
“I do…”
“But it’s also kind of fun.”
“What’s fun about this place?!”
Theo was absolutely no help.
Noah ground his teeth.
“Then why do you want to stay here?”
Theo grinned.
“Isn’t it interesting?”
“Every day feels interesting now.”
He smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He really wasn’t helping at all.
“You should stop resisting and just accept it.”
“This place might be more fun than you think.”
“To be honest… I even like Teacher Rachel a little.”
Theo finished speaking casually.
Noah let out a long sigh.
Without Theo’s help,
escaping would be much harder.
It seemed he would have to postpone his plan for now.
“Everyone worked hard today.”
Rachel stretched both of her arms as she finally spoke.
She had spent the entire day helping the students study,
and her posture had been terrible.
Her shoulders were completely stiff.
I really miss the acupuncture clinic…
Back in twenty-first-century Korea,
she used to visit one so often at the beginning of every school term that it felt like her second home.
“Still…”
“It was a peaceful day.”
“It certainly was.”
This academy was always full of accidents.
Today,
Roka and Eckard had gotten into another fight.
Chase had run away to the mountain behind the academy.
Kana had accidentally set part of the garden on fire.
By Swan Knight Academy’s standards,
that counted as a very quiet day.
“Then everyone should get some rest.”
After Rachel dismissed them,
Henry and Colo politely bowed before leaving the headmaster’s office.
Rachel continued stretching.
She still had one more task left.
Parent meetings always make me nervous.
Well…
Technically,
she was meeting the students’ older brother.
But it was close enough.
Tonight,
after everyone had gone to sleep,
she had arranged a private meeting with Crown Prince Lucas.
She had deliberately chosen a late hour.
If Theo and Noah found out that every detail of their school life was being reported to their older brother,
they probably wouldn’t be very happy.
Rachel looked through the notes she had prepared.
They contained everything about Theo’s and Noah’s progress.
How they had improved…
And what kind of trouble they had caused.
After organizing all the documents,
she stood up.
Just then,
there was a knock at the door.
Rachel quickly straightened her clothes and walked over.
“Yes, come in.”
As expected,
Lucas appeared through the slightly opened door.
Rachel greeted him politely before inviting him inside.
“Have you been well?”
“I’ve been doing well, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for asking.”
There had actually been plenty of headaches at the academy,
but she decided not to mention them.
“It must have been a long journey.”
“Please, have a seat.”
“I will.”
Rachel politely gestured toward the sofa.
Lucas sat down without hesitation.
Even that simple movement carried an air of natural elegance.
Rachel stared for a moment in admiration,
then quickly came back to her senses.
“Then…”
“I’ll begin by explaining Theo’s and Noah’s school life and academic progress.”
Although she regularly sent him letters,
Lucas wanted to know even more.
Rachel carefully showed him the documents she had prepared
and began explaining everything in detail.
Both boys had very strong personalities.
Naturally,
they had also caused quite a few problems.
She wished she could praise them without reservation,
but that simply wasn’t possible.
“They’re showing some problematic behavior right now, but I believe they can absolutely improve.”
If I give up on these children…
Who will help them?
Filled with determination,
Rachel spoke confidently.
As she looked at him with bright, determined eyes,
Lucas slowly lifted his gaze from the papers
and looked directly at her.
“Is there… something you’d like to say, Your Highness?”
Being stared at so intensely by someone as handsome as Lucas
made Rachel’s heart skip a beat.
She spoke quietly.
Lucas rested his chin on one hand before answering.
“No.”
“I’ve heard everything I needed.”
Lucas found Rachel fascinating.
She never gave up,
even after constantly being troubled by the children.
And there was something about her clear, cheerful voice that caught his attention.
Perhaps…
Her smile was even more beautiful than her voice.
As the thought crossed his mind,
Lucas quietly watched the woman sitting before him.
Rachel Swan…
You’re quite interesting.
Lucas met her bright blue eyes.
The moment their eyes met,
Rachel smiled warmly.
For some reason,
that smile seemed to draw him in.
I never thought she was beautiful before.
Until now,
he had never once thought Rachel Swan was beautiful.
But today,
seeing her shine so brightly,
he couldn’t help thinking that she was truly attractive.
Perhaps it’s because she’s different from everyone else.
There were countless beautiful women in the Imperial Palace.
Each possessed her own charm.
Each took pride in her beauty.
None of them wore plain dresses.
None of them had rough hands.
But Rachel Swan was different.
Someone as lively as her…
Someone so completely free of pretense…
Was incredibly rare.
No…
It would be more accurate to say
there was no one else like her.
Rachel was different.
Very different.
That was why
Lucas simply couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Why is His Highness staring at me like that?”
