Ch. 11š
TPCM 11. My Previous Lifeās Occupation Thereās no way I could even lie and call this atmosphere āpleasant.ā Things were fine up until after lunch. Thatās when the two of them started fighting. When Leon reached out to touch my hair, Louis smacked his hand away. It made a pretty sharp sound. After that, Louis started barking complaints at Leon nonstop, and at first Leon handled it with his usual pasted-on smileābut halfway through, his gaze turned sharp as a knife and his expression went cold as ice. He snapped that Louis was being annoying. Meanwhile, our little chick was nervously having Rufus pour her another cup of tea. Childrenās quarrels arenāt uncommonāand honestly, theyāre too much trouble to deal with, so I stopped paying attention halfway. Surely they wouldnāt resort to fistsā¦ probably. āUmā¦ should we stop them?ā āIf itās just a shouting match, thereās no need. In situations like this, whoever intervenes just gets caught in the crossfire and ends up getting yelled at for no reason. Better to let sleeping gods lie. Anyway, why donāt you tell me what youāve been up to lately, Rufus?ā Apparently, Rufus isnāt very good at studying. He says he canāt even write neatly, but he seems to enjoy learning every day regardless. It seems heās been talking with Father, and heāll be going to the knight school next to the regular academy. I havenāt told anyone yet, but I plan to attend the knight school as well. The truth is, in my previous lifeāI was a police officer. I held ranks in both kendo and aikido. Iāve forgotten most of the arrest techniques, but I even won the national high school kendo championship once. I donāt remember exactly what dan I held in aikido, but it was high enough. Iād practiced both since childhood. Iāve seen corpses plenty of times as part of the job, and I was so good at interrogations that people called me a demonāso honestly, this is the perfect profession for me. I secretly train at night with Rufus. He was horrified at firstālike he was seeing a monsterābut recently heās started calling me a god and training with zeal. Of course, I made him stop calling me that immediately. Honestly, compared to my kendo experience, the so-called āsword trainingā of Leon, whoās supposedly a sword prodigy, looks like a beginner swinging a stick for fun. This world barely has any concept of fundamentals. Even my kendo basics are basically a cheat here since thereās no magic involved. āIf you hate it that much, then go home and never come back! Go on, leave right now!ā āThe only thing I hate is Rudevulck! Youāre in Arnimāso stop acting like you own the place, you idiot! Youāre the one who should disappear!ā Totally unrelated, but back in college I was in the Japanese Culture Club. This world doesnāt have much that resembles Japanese architecture or crafts, which I find a real shame. Someday, Iāll build something myself. āLady Marie! Should we stop them now!?ā While my thoughts were completely off on a tangent about traditional Japanese design, Rufusās slightly panicked voice brought me back to reality. When I looked overāthe two were grabbing each other by the collar. Rufus is well-trained; he never acts without my command. Excellent boy. I donāt mind a fistfight, but we canāt have our ducal guestās clothes getting wrinkled or him leaving with bruises. Our family already had to insist several times before they even agreed to visit, despite being the lower-ranking house. Leon may not be officially adopted, but heās still part of the ducal household. If anything disrespectful happens again, itāll be a serious issueāespecially if he gets injured. āOopsā wouldnāt cover it. I gave Rufus a look telling him to leave it to me, then dramatically covered my face with my hands, scraped the chair back with a loud clatter, and stood up. Through the gap between my fingers, I could see both boys freeze and look my way. Good. āStop it, both of you! Youāre scaring me!ā Itās my crying chick act. No tears come out, of courseāitās just pretend crying. But itās incredibly effective. Both of them immediately rushed over to apologize. āYouāre not going to fight anymore, right? Youāre friends now?ā After confirming that they shook hands with strained smiles, I bowed my head and started walking toward the mansion so no one would see that I wasnāt crying at all. Since Rufus was walking beside me, I doubt they noticedābut Rufus definitely did, and he was suppressing laughter. In a small voice he whispered, āYou werenāt scared at all, were youā¦ pffft.ā When we returned to the mansion, the atmosphere inside was the complete oppositeābright and cheerful. Father, ever the sociable type, was clearly in his element. His guest was a good listener, and Father was having the time of his life bragging about the family. I sat beside Mother, Leon beside Father, and Louis beside Duke Sheik. Mother kept patting my head and shoulder affectionately. Father had his arm around Leonās shoulder, too. Louis and the Duke, on the other hand, sat with a noticeable space between themāas if there were a gulf not just of distance, but of emotion. āMy lovely little lady, are you tired?ā Before I knew it, Iād dozed off leaning against Mother. My stomach was full, and her gentle hands were so soothing. āMarie ate quite a lot at lunch today, and sheās not used to having guests, so itās understandable.ā āOh my, she ate more than just salad?ā āYes. She worked so hard with her tiny mouthāit was adorable. I wish Father and Mother couldāve seen how cute and determined she looked.ā They were speaking softlyānot directly to me, but carefully, as if I were too delicate to understand. At this point, I really wish theyād realize I can hold a perfectly normal conversation. āIām sorryā¦ itās rude of me to fall asleep in front of our guest.ā I forced my eyes open just enough to apologize to the Duke. He smiled gently, his catlike eyesāso much like Louisāsānarrowing kindly. Like his son, he had red hair, but his eyes were a deep blue. Louis was staring at me and blushing for some reason. Maybe he saw my sleeping face? Or maybe I made a weird expression and heās holding back laughter. āPlease, think nothing of it, Lady Maria. I only have two sonsāLouis and an older boyāso I envy those with a little lady in the house. Such presence! Sheās so small, yet already so lovely.ā My parents smiled gracefully, clearly pleased by the compliment. āSo Louis has an older brother, then?ā At my question, Louisās face immediately soured, but he nodded. Perhaps they donāt get along? I didnāt see his brother at Louisās birthday party either. This family might be a bit complicated. āHis name is Lua. He turned ten this year, so heās two years older than Lady Maria. Heās an exceptional firstbornāIāve been hoping to introduce him to you someday.ā Ah, I see. So Louis ended up rebelling after being compared to his perfect older brother. He looked spoiled, but maybe his parents were just indifferent. Poor kid. I silently sent him my condolences. āI look forward to meeting him someday. But from my perspective, Lord Louis himself is a very charming young gentleman. Iāve enjoyed our conversations greatly, and Iām truly glad to have made such a wonderful friend. I believe he has great potential.ā āOhā¦ truly? Thatās wonderful to hear. Please continue to be good friends with him.ā Louisās eyes widened, and his face turned bright red as he shyly scratched his head and looked down. The Dukeās expression couldnāt have been more delighted. And my parents? Absolutely glowing with prideāpractically saying āSee how amazing our daughter is?ā with their smug faces.
October 7, 2025
