Chapter 10: This Isn’t Jealousy
A month had passed since Elika arrived at the Duke’s mansion.
After teaching her the basics, Jacqueline said she had nothing more to offer and stepped back.
Instead, she suggested to the elderly lady of the house that Elika be given free access to the mansion’s library.
Elika, who had never seen a library before, was overjoyed and practically bounced with excitement.
She started with the beginner books Jacqueline recommended and quickly moved on to advanced academic texts within a few days.
She wanted help with things she didn’t understand, but Jacqueline couldn’t keep up with her anymore.
Elika had hoped the Duke might help, but he never did.
Even though her writing had improved a lot, he still only asked her to write diary entries, skimmed through them briefly, and told her to leave.
There were no more spelling or grammar mistakes for him to point out.
“School won’t start until fall. I need someone to teach me properly before then.”
Jacqueline made the bold suggestion of hiring a tutor for Elika, even though she was just a maid.
It was an unreasonable request, but she trusted the old lady’s kindness.
“The sponsor is the Duke. It’s his decision,” the old lady replied, dodging the responsibility.
“With all due respect, the Duke doesn’t even like that Elika reads academic texts,” Jacqueline pushed back.
The old lady sighed. “I tried not to get involved, but…”
* * *
“…A tutor?”
Charon raised his eyebrow.
“She’s not even a noble child. Isn’t that too much? She’ll go to school in the fall anyway.”
Charon had always been cautious about Elika learning too much.
It was his order that removed academic books from the mansion library, replacing them with light novels.
Only the librarian, sworn to secrecy, knew this.
“You want her to waste her talent reading silly romance stories?”
The clever old lady saw through everything.
“If hiring a tutor is too much for you, why don’t you teach her yourself? You’re her sponsor, yet you barely care for her.
If you keep acting like this, I’ll take the sponsorship under my own name.”
Though he had ruled over millions as Duke since a young age, Charon still couldn’t go against his grandmother.
Even though his soul was that of a 33-year-old war hero trapped in an 18-year-old body.
“…Fine,” he agreed reluctantly.
“But I’ll choose the tutor myself. After all, I’m her sponsor.”
* * *
On a lazy afternoon, a carriage arrived at the Blancet Duke’s estate.
Out stepped a woman with gray hair and black eyes, guided into the parlor by the butler.
Waiting there were Charon, the butlers, and Elika.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Izantine,” Charon greeted her.
Hyler, who had transformed into a woman, forced a smile while holding back the urge to punch Charon in the face.
“It’s an honor to be called, Your Grace,” Hyler said sweetly, though he muttered telepathically, “You’ll pay for making me do this.”
Charon ignored it and gestured toward Elika.
“That’s Elika.”
“Hello, teacher! I look forward to learning from you!”
Thanks to etiquette lessons from Jacqueline, Elika bowed perfectly.
“Nice to meet you, Elika. You’re such a lovely girl!”
Elika blushed and lowered her head shyly.
* * *
Charon only allowed Elika to study after finishing all her maid duties.
“He’s trying to give her as little study time as possible. Obvious.”
But once Hyler actually started teaching her, he realized:
No matter how little time she had or how much Charon interfered, Elika was growing at an incredible pace.
If Charon knew, he’d be shocked. But Hyler was more fascinated than concerned.
“I’m curious how this girl will turn out.”
“Teacher… there’s something that bothers me.”
Elika suddenly spoke as they were wrapping up a lesson.
Despite only knowing her for half a day, Hyler could already tell—Elika easily opened her heart when shown the slightest kindness.
“Tell me.”
“Well… the more I learn, the more I realize the things my father did to me were wrong…”
She lowered her head.
“Are you angry at him?”
“That’s part of it, but the real reason I feel upset is because… I still don’t think it was a big deal.”
In his past life, Hyler had once investigated Elika as a colleague of Debian.
He knew something was deeply missing from her personality, something that couldn’t be easily fixed.
“I don’t want to be treated like that, and I know it’s wrong to treat others that way.
But… it doesn’t really hurt. Not when it happens to me or anyone else.”
She nervously fidgeted with her pencil, then looked up.
“Is it because I’m used to it? Or… am I just a bad person?”
If Charon knew her nature, he’d say she was just a future villain.
“…There’s no need to feel pain over it.
Some people feel things with their heart, others understand things with their mind.
One isn’t better than the other. They’re just different.”
He patted her head gently.
Charon called her a villainess, but to Hyler, she was just a child.
A child who reminded him of the little sister he lost.
“You’re smart, so even if you lack some feelings, you can make up for it.
Or maybe your feelings aren’t missing—they’re just buried deep inside, like an iceberg under the cold sea.”
Elika looked up at him.
Her eyes sparkled brightly even though it was nearly midnight.
“Then… I’m not a bad kid?”
“Of course not.”
“Then… then…”
She finally asked the question she truly wanted to.
“Does the Duke… not hate me?”
* * *
Since Charon had agreed to receive Elika’s writing through her “tutor,” Hyler went to the Duke’s study after their lesson.
“You won’t even read it yourself? That’s cold.
The girl even asked me if you hated her.”
Still in the form of “Izantine,” Hyler complained.
“What did you say?”
Charon barely reacted while reading Elika’s letter, filled with detailed stories about her day.
“I told her I can’t speak for someone else’s feelings.”
“You could’ve just said you hated her.”
“I know you have your reasons for keeping distance, but don’t be so cold—”
“It’s not because of what I did. It’s because of what she did.”
“Well, there’s that too.”
Hyler knew the logic was flawed, but didn’t argue.
“…But what exactly did you do for her to write that she likes you?”
Charon tapped the part of the letter where Elika wrote, “I really like Miss Izantine.”
“She means the teacher, not me, obviously.”
Hyler tried to act innocent, but Charon’s sharp gaze made him panic.
“I only acted kindly as her teacher.
Just a little kindness and she instantly opened up.”
“‘Opened up’?”
“Yeah, kids who’ve never been loved are like that.”
“…”
Charon didn’t know why, but he felt irritated.
“Are you jealous?”
Hyler teased, then shut up when Charon glared daggers at him.
“J-just kidding! Well, it’s late, I’ll be off…”
Hyler quickly slipped away, still feeling the heat of Charon’s angry stare.
* * *
Hidden behind flower bushes, reading during lunch break became Elika’s favorite moment of peace.
Marie would grumble about it but always followed her, often dozing off with a romance novel in hand.
Surrounded by flowers and sunlight, with her sleeping friend nearby, Elika lost herself in the world of books.
She just wanted those moments to last forever.
“Does she not know that spot is clearly visible from my office window?”
Watching her from above, Charon muttered to himself.
“…She’s distracting.”
Just as he moved to draw the curtain and block the view—
A boy approached her.
* * *
“Hey, Elika. Can we talk?”
Herbert Leverot.
Red hair, blue eyes, a friendly smile, and a strong build.
A talented 15-year-old noble boy and the youngest knight of the Duke’s household.
“Yes, sir. What brings you here?”
Her violet eyes looked up at him, and his cheeks reddened slightly.
“Not here… Can we talk privately for a moment?”
“Must be something important. But I can’t leave Marie here alone…”
Just as she was about to speak—
“Sir Herbert, His Grace is calling for you,” said a butler.
“…His Grace? Me?”
“Yes, to the office.”
Of all the staff in the mansion, why would the Duke call a junior knight?
Though confused, Herbert had no choice but to go.
He glanced regretfully at Elika as he walked off.
“And you two,” the butler turned to Elika and Marie.
“Do you think it’s proper to lounge around in the master’s garden?
That spot can be seen clearly from His Grace’s third-floor office.”
“Wait—his office?”
Elika looked up toward the third floor and caught a glimpse of red velvet curtains hurriedly being drawn.
“…The Duke?”
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but a flash of his lake-blue eyes shimmered behind the curtain.
