TPCM 11🔐

TPCM 11. My Previous Life’s Occupation There’s no way I could even lie and call this atmosphere “pleasant.” Things were fine up until after lunch. That’s 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 smile—but 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. Children’s quarrels aren’t uncommon—and honestly, they’re too much trouble to deal with, so I stopped paying attention halfway. Surely they wouldn’t resort to fists… probably. “Um… should we stop them?” “If it’s just a shouting match, there’s 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 don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to lately, Rufus?” Apparently, Rufus isn’t very good at studying. He says he can’t even write neatly, but he seems to enjoy learning every day regardless. It seems he’s been talking with Father, and he’ll be going to the knight school next to the regular academy. I haven’t told anyone yet, but I plan to attend the knight school as well. The truth is, in my previous life—I was a police officer. I held ranks in both kendo and aikido. I’ve forgotten most of the arrest techniques, but I even won the national high school kendo championship once. I don’t remember exactly what dan I held in aikido, but it was high enough. I’d practiced both since childhood. I’ve seen corpses plenty of times as part of the job, and I was so good at interrogations that people called me a demon—so honestly, this is the perfect profession for me. I secretly train at night with Rufus. He was horrified at first—like he was seeing a monster—but recently he’s 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 “sword training” of Leon, who’s 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 there’s no magic involved. “If you hate it that much, then go home and never come back! Go on, leave right now!” “The only thing I hate is Rudevulck! You’re in Arnim—so stop acting like you own the place, you idiot! You’re the one who should disappear!” Totally unrelated, but back in college I was in the Japanese Culture Club. This world doesn’t have much that resembles Japanese architecture or crafts, which I find a real shame. Someday, I’ll build something myself. “Lady Marie! Should we stop them now!?” While my thoughts were completely off on a tangent about traditional Japanese design, Rufus’s slightly panicked voice brought me back to reality. When I looked over—the two were grabbing each other by the collar. Rufus is well-trained; he never acts without my command. Excellent boy. I don’t mind a fistfight, but we can’t have our ducal guest’s 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 he’s still part of the ducal household. If anything disrespectful happens again, it’ll be a serious issue—especially if he gets injured. “Oops” wouldn’t 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. “Stop it, both of you! You’re scaring me!” It’s my crying chick act. No tears come out, of course—it’s just pretend crying. But it’s incredibly effective. Both of them immediately rushed over to apologize. “You’re not going to fight anymore, right? You’re friends now?” 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 wasn’t crying at all. Since Rufus was walking beside me, I doubt they noticed—but Rufus definitely did, and he was suppressing laughter. In a small voice he whispered, “You weren’t scared at all, were you… pffft.” When we returned to the mansion, the atmosphere inside was the complete opposite—bright 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 Leon’s shoulder, too. Louis and the Duke, on the other hand, sat with a noticeable space between them—as if there were a gulf not just of distance, but of emotion. “My lovely little lady, are you tired?” Before I knew it, I’d dozed off leaning against Mother. My stomach was full, and her gentle hands were so soothing. “Marie ate quite a lot at lunch today, and she’s not used to having guests, so it’s understandable.” “Oh my, she ate more than just salad?” “Yes. She worked so hard with her tiny mouth—it was adorable. I wish Father and Mother could’ve seen how cute and determined she looked.” They were speaking softly—not directly to me, but carefully, as if I were too delicate to understand. At this point, I really wish they’d realize I can hold a perfectly normal conversation. “I’m sorry… it’s rude of me to fall asleep in front of our guest.” I forced my eyes open just enough to apologize to the Duke. He smiled gently, his catlike eyes—so much like Louis’s—narrowing 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 he’s holding back laughter. “Please, think nothing of it, Lady Maria. I only have two sons—Louis and an older boy—so I envy those with a little lady in the house. Such presence! She’s so small, yet already so lovely.” My parents smiled gracefully, clearly pleased by the compliment. “So Louis has an older brother, then?” At my question, Louis’s face immediately soured, but he nodded. Perhaps they don’t get along? I didn’t see his brother at Louis’s birthday party either. This family might be a bit complicated. “His name is Lua. He turned ten this year, so he’s two years older than Lady Maria. He’s an exceptional firstborn—I’ve been hoping to introduce him to you someday.” 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. “I look forward to meeting him someday. But from my perspective, Lord Louis himself is a very charming young gentleman. I’ve enjoyed our conversations greatly, and I’m truly glad to have made such a wonderful friend. I believe he has great potential.” “Oh… truly? That’s wonderful to hear. Please continue to be good friends with him.” Louis’s eyes widened, and his face turned bright red as he shyly scratched his head and looked down. The Duke’s expression couldn’t have been more delighted. And my parents? Absolutely glowing with pride—practically saying “See how amazing our daughter is?” with their smug faces.