Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Teaparty, Champion of the Duel Hall (3)
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"Me? Why me?"
Words that could come from some fresh MZ generation employee who made the higher-ups quake spilled from my mouth without thinking.
Tiona, rather, looked at me with a startled face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means that since you staked the bet, Young Lady, why should I step in as your substitute?"
"Of course because you're the champion! Arthur, did you really think I would fight that woman myself?"
"Well, naturally."
"Hah!"
Tiona snorted derisively.
"Arthur, in a noble's contest, the noble themselves doesn't participate directly! Even Beatrice accepted the bet thinking she'd put forward her own champion!"
"Huh."
Beatrice flinched.
The cue she held looked unmistakably like her personal item, not something from the shop.
"Looks like she was planning to do it herself."
"What...!"
Tiona stared at Beatrice in horror.
"Belche! Have you no pride as a noble!?"
"Who's Belche? And if you have pride, shouldn't you do it yourself?"
"Hah, this is why lower— I didn't say anything! No more electricity!"
I canceled the electric spell I had been charging.
"Ahem..."
Tiona cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Beria, listen well."
"Who's Beria—"
"If you've been born with noble blood, you mustn't do manual labor yourself."
What kind of bizarre villainess logic was this?
"Because if you sweat through labor, your nobility diminishes!"
"...Pardon?"
Beatrice looked to me for help.
I had no idea why she was asking me instead of anyone else, but since she'd requested it, I decided to assist.
"What does that mean?"
Tiona's vertical rolls shook. It meant she was shaking her head side to side.
"While others all labor, only nobles refrain from it! That is the essence of nobility! If I were out in the fields weeding with sweat pouring down, I'd be indistinguishable from the village girls!"
"So... not laboring is what makes nobles special, and to preserve that specialness, you mustn't labor?"
"Exactly so!"
All sorts of questions arose. Did our Young Lady actually believe that if a noble labored, they'd lose their title?
"Heh heh, as expected, Arthur, you're quite clever!"
The fierce urge to smack her was pushed down by curiosity. Restrain yourself; it's a public place.
Beatrice cautiously opened her mouth.
"But... playing billiards isn't labor, is it?"
"It doesn't move the body?"
"...Not all body movement is labor, you know?"
"...Is that so?"
There it was, the dumb expression that made even onlookers feel their IQ dropping.
Beatrice murmured softly. For some reason, still to me instead of Tiona.
"Um... I won't badmouth Tiona anymore from now on. I'm... sorry."
"Gasp!? Belluche, what's suddenly gotten into you!? Your personality's changed!"
"Well... um... sorry, Tiona. Right, shall I teach you billiards? It's fun alone or together."
"Betty, you're not as bad as you thought!"
Cynthia whispered in my ear.
"Teacher, my head hurts so much..."
"Seeing you the same, it must be trending lately."
Glancing at the counter, the clerk had changed in the meantime.
She must have vanished the instant her shift ended—Lea Eperios.
No helping it. We'd have to come back another day.
"Arthur! It went in the hole!"
"That's not how you— Never mind, Tiona, play however you like. Wow, you're good~"
"Arthur! Billiards seem like quite the fun game!"
Beatrice pressed her temples too.
Definitely a contagious headache.
A few days later.
"I heard from somewhere that the Duke's Daughter isn't actually that wicked in personality."
"Really?"
Tiona's lips trembled as she overheard maids chatting while passing by on a walk.
"Unghi, unghihi...!"
In the spacious yet narrow A District, rumors spread easily.
"Not actually that wicked" was ambiguous as praise, but compared to strangers spreading her bad rep without meeting her, it was much better.
Somehow, completely by accident, things had sorted themselves out. Was it really okay for it to end like this?
"Arthur."
"Yes?"
"For the next tea party, make a large batch of your treats. I'll bestow them on those who please me and enjoy their reactions."
"No."
"Why not!?"
"Young Lady, even if I were a cook, I couldn't suddenly prepare large quantities."
"Then I'll assign people to help!"
"And for starters, I'm not a cook."
"True, back home, butlers and cooks were separate."
"Of course I'm not a butler either. Home tutor. Home tutor."
"Hmph..."
Was there really need to pout that much?
"Didn't we do a close reading of Homelieu's Sosersashi just this morning? Is that a butler's job?"
"Well, no, but... fine. If not a butler, then..."
Tiona began counting on her fingers.
"Attends to my needs, makes delicious things, forces me to study, stays by my side until I sleep at night... Tell me the title for someone who does all that!"
"...As far as I know, no such position exists."
"Then we'll create one!"
A sigh escaped me.
"Besides, when you enter the Academy next year, I can't go with you anyway..."
"What are you talking about?"
Her tone was subtly different from usual, so I looked over. Tiona was genuinely puzzled.
"Why would I go to the Academy?"
Come to think of it, had I ever mentioned it even once?
'No... I haven't.'
No matter how I searched my memories, I'd never explicitly told Tiona about the Academy. It was too obvious to me, I was busy correcting her antics, and had no spare time for future talk.
"My role as home tutor is to assist your enrollment in the Academy next year. That's the contract I made with His Grace the Duke."
"...What do you mean?"
Tiona blankly asked again.
"So... it means I have to enroll in the Academy next year? That's Father's will?"
"Yes."
I'd worried if I needed to explain what the Academy was from scratch, but apparently not.
Unlike my worries, it seemed to wrap up neatly.
But then.
Tears welled up in Tiona's eyes.
"Sniff..."
"Ah, Young Lady?"
"Sniff, sob...! Whimper...! Waaah, waaaaaah...!!"
Tears welled up.
Tears welled up, welled up, welled up—burst!
"WAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Hic, waaah, hiiiiccccccccc!!! "
"Young Lady, wait, why suddenly—"
People in the spacious yet narrow A District stared our way, whispering among themselves.
"Alright, calm down for now—"
"WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
No sign of calming at all.
I hoisted the sobbing Tiona, weeping as if the world had ended, onto my back and ran home.
The sensation of my back growing damp and stinging at the same time hit me.
Back home, I tossed Tiona onto the bed, covered her with a blanket, rushed to the kitchen, and returned.
"Hic... sniffle, sniff... waaah..."
"Hot chocolate. Have some."
"Hiiic... sniiiifle..."
As Tiona took the cup, she glared at me with reddened eyes, as if asking if she thought this would fix her mood.
"Hoo... hoo... slurp... gulp, phew... sniffle... hoo... hoo... slurp... gulp... phew..."
How could someone have onomatopoeia so vividly?
"...Sniffle."
But it seemed her mood really had been quite bad.
Even sipping the hot chocolate, Tiona still wore a sulky expression.
'This is serious.'
I didn't say things like "Feeling better now?" and just waited silently. On the usual chair where I waited until she fell asleep at night.
Finally, somewhat calmed, Tiona sniffled and called me.
"Arthur..."
Unlike usual, it was a frail voice.
Revealing how deeply troubled and anxious her heart was.
But the words that followed were filled with massive logical leaps.
"Does Father... intend to completely abandon me?"
"...Pardon?"
For some reason, I had a premonition.
A headache was coming.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well..."
Tiona sniffled.
Like a tragic heroine.
"If I go to the Academy... I'll have to clean and do laundry myself..."
"...?"
"It's basically saying I have no qualification as a noble."
"..."
So.
This mess happened because of that whole noble = no labor nonsense?
"First off... Noble children enrolling in the Academy don't need to do housework themselves."
"Huh? Really?"
"They bring servants. If you enroll, Young Lady, Isabelle and Croa who serve you here now would come along."
"What! That's how it was?"
Tiona made her signature "ahem!" face and sniffled.
"But aside from that..."
I grabbed Tiona's head from both sides.
For some reason, I felt enormously wronged.
"Ah, Arthur?"
"Today's special lesson is experiential learning."