A Proper Master-Disciple Relationship
Malena, who had never once initiated a conversation before, was the first to speak.
“I heard the young master is preparing to become independent.”
Odeliana stopped reading and lifted her head. She glanced at the woman sitting with a prim posture that didn’t quite match her imposing build.
“That’s right.”
“They say you’ll be going with him, my lady.”
“Of course. If my brother says he won’t take me, I plan to cling to his trouser leg and beg in the most pathetic way possible.”
“I see.”
Malena had never been particularly talkative. Judging that her taciturn nature meant the conversation would end there, Odeliana lowered her gaze back to her book. But Malena threw out another topic.
“You’ve stopped monitoring me.”
“……”
“For a while, you had that boy watching me.”
“I quit. There’s no need for it anymore.”
“Why?”
“I can’t spend my whole life doubting whether you’re suitable for me or not. It’s already been a month. That’s more than enough time for an evaluation period.”
Malena had simply performed her duties in the annex with diligence. She had done nothing to arouse suspicion or cause irritation. Of course, it was possible her behavior was calculated because she knew she was being watched, but after the incident with Herman, Odeliana had completely dropped her guard toward her.
“You gave me a reason to trust you. That’s all. There’s no longer any need to suspect you.”
She was the one who had thrown her entire body in front of a kick to protect her. After she had proven her intentions through action, what was the point of continuing to question her motives?
“How’s your body? I heard you sprained your wrist.”
“I’m fine. The only thing uncomfortable is how everyone keeps over-accommodating me because they know I injured my hand.”
“And the bruises?”
“The ointment you gave me made them disappear completely after three days.”
“It’s a good thing your body is sturdier than most. Anyone else would have suffered far worse from injuries like that.”
“Yes. That’s why I stepped in. If someone with a body as frail as yours had taken that brutal attack, you wouldn’t have survived.”
Malena had rushed in without the slightest hesitation and shielded Odeliana. Even while enduring Herman’s kicks, the stubborn expression on her face—showing no regret for her choice—had been seared clearly into Odeliana’s memory.
After that day, she had decided to stop keeping her distance from Malena.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just… thinking about that moment. Your actions were quite admirable.”
“……”
“And now you’re the one initiating conversation with me. It seems you’ve grown interested in me as well. Are you finally done drawing lines between us?”
“How could I possibly draw a line with my own master?”
For someone who claimed that, she had drawn a very firm line indeed.
This was practically the first time Odeliana and Malena had engaged in anything resembling a personal conversation. That was why the current situation—Malena prying into all sorts of things—felt quite novel.
“Alright then, back to the main topic. Once I become independent, I’ll finally leave this wretched house. Originally, I planned to take only Mathias with me when I branched off, but since you’re the one bringing up independence first, does that mean you intend to follow me?”
“I’m still considering it.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. I thought you’d say you were quitting immediately and staying here.”
“It suits me better than I expected. The pay is higher than mercenary work, and the labor is easier on the body.”
“The other children all complain that they don’t want to serve under me.”
To be precise, the servants of the annex had personally witnessed Odeliana ripping Adela’s mouth open, so they were simply terrified. Being crammed into a shabby building worse than the servants’ quarters in this luxurious mansion was already miserable enough. The fear that displeasing their master might make them the second victim to have their mouth torn open caused them to shrink back, which in turn made their expressions gloomy and their bodies grow thin and haggard.
“That’s why you don’t make them attend to you directly.”
“What’s the point of forcing people who don’t want to do it?”
“It’s not that you’re being considerate of them?”
“……”
“I know you deliberately only assign them chores that don’t require facing you directly because they’re all afraid to serve you personally.”
“What nonsense. They say I’m blatantly favoring Mathias and discriminating against them.”
“Oh, is that so?”
It was a half-hearted reply. The way she snorted as if it wasn’t even funny was quite insolent. Strangely, however, Odeliana didn’t feel offended.
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Just that, in my opinion, you’re not as vicious as the rumors claim. Take it with a grain of salt. It’s only my thoughts.”
“Are you trying to score points with me right now?”
“Score points? I’ve already earned a high score without making any such effort. Why would I need to do something so pointless?”
“Where does all that confidence come from?”
“Because I believe I’m the person who works the hardest in this mansion.”
Since it wasn’t exactly wrong, Odeliana had no choice but to agree. Then, suddenly, the absurdity of the situation struck her. Their relationship had usually consisted of no more than a few words exchanged at best—what on earth had possessed Malena to suddenly become so chatty?
“Why are you acting like this today? What do you want?”
“Nothing in particular. I simply felt the need to converse with you more frequently. Let’s call it my own evaluation period.”
“What?”
“I’m determining whether you’re a master worth following after I wrap up my life here.”
What was this complete reversal of roles?
When a dumbfounded expression appeared on Odeliana’s face, Malena smiled and rose from her seat.
“Then please rest.”
With that, she strode out without another word. Left alone, Odeliana sat there in a daze for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.
“That one’s trying to climb right on top of my head.”
Yet instead of feeling offended or annoyed, she only found it amusing. Well, from the beginning, the girl had been excessively honest. She had valued that honesty highly.
Odeliana smiled faintly and returned her attention to her book, thinking that if Malena ever begged to be taken along, she might at least consider it.
* * *
After the conversation about independence, there was no further word from Blair.
Similarly, Herman, who had caused that uproar, remained quiet. Odeliana had worried he might try to retaliate by using that day’s events against Mathias or Malena, but whether because he was too busy as the family heir or because his heart wasn’t as narrow as she feared, he stayed silent.
She had no idea what schemes Herman might be plotting behind the scenes after acting like he would do anything to prevent Mathias from becoming a knight, but fortunately, the knight examination registration had gone smoothly, and the date of the exam was now only a month away.
“I’m realizing it anew… but you really learn incredibly fast.”
The knight examination had been created to increase the insufficient number of regular knights by giving talented commoners a chance to become one. In reality, however, it was an impenetrable wall for most commoners.
The regular knights selected through the exam were, among commoners, from the capitalist class—those who were somewhat “educated.” Even they, however, could only hope to pass by stuffing an enormous amount of money into their superiors’ pockets.
Since the first evaluation criterion was how accurately one had memorized the knight’s manual, most commoners who couldn’t even read were blocked from the very beginning. This had been the part Odeliana worried about most when she first decided to make Mathias a knight.
But her concerns had been unfounded.
“Did you already know how to read?”
At Odeliana’s question, Mathias paused for a moment before answering.
“No. I could only read certain words.”
“Yet you’re learning this quickly?”
“It’s not that difficult.”
At this age, Mathias should normally have been illiterate. Like most other lowly children, he had been unable to read or write.
In his previous life, he had been directly appointed as a knight by Aidas Lashua—who served as Joslyn’s guard knight and commander of the Second Knights Division—and only learned to read and write much later through rigorous education. Even then, it had taken a long time because of his perpetually bored expression.
But the current Mathias seemed like a genius of the century, far beyond mere intelligence. She had been worried because he kept staring at her face instead of the book while studying, but the moment she taught him something, he understood it immediately and could even apply it further.
Don’t tell me he was pretending to be illiterate in his previous life? Is this even a realistically possible learning speed…?
While his astonishing learning ability was something to be grateful for, Odeliana found herself feeling strangely unsettled by Mathias, who sat there with an innocent face, listening attentively to her every word.
I thought I was the one closest to him, the one who knew the most about him…
Seeing sides of him that differed from his previous life felt truly… exhilarating, like a explorer discovering a new continent. Thanks to that, teaching him had become genuinely enjoyable. The way he looked at her with sparkling eyes—unlike in his previous life—made him seem like an eager student, and it was adorable. Seeing how quick-witted he was made her feel proud, as if she were a mother looking at her own child, even though she hadn’t given birth to him.
“This really does feel like a proper master-disciple relationship. Doesn’t it, Master?”
“…It does.”
In their previous life, she had only taught him how to stain his hands with blood. Their relationship could hardly be called a normal master-disciple bond. He had simply been an uncontrollable beast that his lord had foisted upon her, and she had been nothing more than his watcher and tamer, never knowing where he might leap next.
This current situation, with a book between them, was the very model of an exemplary master-disciple relationship. Being called “Master” by him made her feel somewhat proud for once.
This time, I’ll take proper responsibility and raise him into a fine man.
Yes. She would raise him to be even more splendid than the already remarkable person he had been in his previous life.
A faint smile spread across Odeliana’s lips. The feeling of finally having a proper master-disciple relationship was far more pleasant than she had expected.