Chapter 32
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Ruena Has Become Even Stranger (2)
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An unexpected opportunity.
Receiving private lessons from top-tier instructors alongside Ruena at the Eliad Grand Duke's residence.
A luxury that the third son of a mere count's family could never dream of dreaming of,
I was riding for free, simply because I was sitting next to Ruena.
'This is... connections? Thanks to having a good friend?'
I glanced at Ruena beside me and felt a swell of pride from all those years.
No doubt about it—she was the number one investment in my life.
Not a single thing I'd poured into her felt wasted anymore.
My hard-earned pocket money,
Our family's precious food supplies,
The time and effort I'd lavished on her.
What I'd once seen as losses had returned as even greater gains.
I looked down at the textbook.
Every single character seemed to translate directly into money.
No, not just money.
A sweet future,
A foothold to survive,
And the power of House Noir.
All of it would soon be mine.
So this lesson right now was an unparalleled opportunity and stroke of luck for me.
'I'll make it all mine.'
My schedule had suddenly filled to the brim,
And my head felt like it might explode from all the things I'd never learned before...
But still—
Honestly, I'd been a bit worried, but it turned out to be far more learnable than I'd thought.
The more time passed, the more I could clearly feel myself changing.
Things invisible to my eyes started becoming visible,
And words that hadn't registered in my ears began to make sense one by one.
Art,
Swordsmanship,
History and philosophy.
Things that had been utterly foreign before were gradually becoming mine, turning into assets that would reshape my future.
Money really could buy anything, it seemed.
Except for one thing.
'Even with the Eliad family's wealth, they can't increase my magic power...'
Everything else had improved somewhat, but magic lessons were at a standstill.
I figured it was all said when the tutor, who'd been patiently teaching me,
Finally let out a long sigh.
That was as good as saying giving up was faster than teaching.
Well, I hadn't expected much anyway.
It was a shame, but I'd learned so much more besides.
The Eliads really were the Eliads.
As I marveled at that,
I also freshly realized the bitterness of the world.
'This is why kids from rich families all get treated like geniuses.'
Of course, our House Noir
Was no slouch of a family itself...
But compared to the Eliads, it was like a candle to the sun.
From the size of the mansion and territory,
To the number of servants and the income they generated,
Even the everyday items we used—everything was worlds apart.
So comparing the level of our tutors was laughable.
'Well... House Noir's education is a bit different from the start...'
Suddenly, I recalled the first rhetoric lesson I'd had at the Eliad mansion.
I'd just been rambling, but the tutor was astonished by my eloquence and let out a gasp of admiration.
Along with some flattery about how, at my age, this level of silver tongue was innate talent.
'Well... I've been practicing opening my mouth at home ever since I started talking...'
I hadn't realized it as a kid, but now I knew for sure.
House Noir's education was vastly different from ordinary noble families.
Stealth, infiltration, lockpicking, rhetoric, espionage, and so on.
While others honed visible strengths,
We mastered powers that stayed hidden from the world.
'Father dreamed of escaping count status forever, so why did he only teach us that stuff...?'
At times like this, even Father seemed quintessentially Noir.
In any case—
Thanks to having such a good childhood friend,
I'd secured a spot in ordinary noble society, not lurking in the shadows.
So I owed Ruena my thanks and had to suck up every last drop of sweetness.
...Or so I'd thought,
But the culprit herself started sabotaging things.
While we were deep in the lesson, she'd poke my side,
Or sneak her pen over to doodle nonsense in the corner of my textbook.
Every time, my hard-built focus crumbled.
"What is it?"
"......"
No answer even when I asked why.
Try to refocus, and she'd slyly poke me again.
"What are you doing?"
"......"
"If there's nothing, focus on the lesson."
She just stared at me blankly.
'Why won't she even say yes or no?'
I shot Ruena a glare out of frustration,
But she stared right back with a perfectly innocent face.
That inexplicable silence grated on my nerves even more.
'What the hell does she want...?'
Feeling the tutor's increasingly sharp gaze, I gripped my pen again.
But even focusing on the book, I could feel her staring.
Persistently, to the point where it felt like my right cheek might get drilled through.
With a sigh, I shot her a sidelong glare.
'If you can't focus, I'll be the one on the Grand Duke's bad side.'
Sure, I was already pretty chewed up from before,
But if word of this got to him, this spot might vanish.
The moment I opened my mouth to tell Ruena to focus, the tutor's firm voice cut in.
"Focus."
"Ah, yes. Sorry."
Even after that day, the inexplicable sabotage continued.
Whispering something in my ear,
Fiddling with the back of my hand holding down my notebook,
Poking me periodically—I wondered if she was even listening to the lesson.
What I gained from all that—
Was supreme focus that wouldn't waver no matter the distraction.
You sabotage away.
I'll keep doing my thing.
That was the virtue of protecting free lessons.
I gritted my teeth and locked in my concentration.
Whether her pen crept over,
Or the corner of my textbook filled with weird doodles,
Or the hand that had been touching my skin waved in front of my eyes—
I tried my best not to care.
The result—
I acquired the ability to calmly attend lessons no matter what happened around me.
Even if a bee buzzed in my face,
Or someone collapsed nearby,
Or whoever was next to me sulked openly,
I became the perfect model student who didn't let a single word slip by.
Thus—
With my focus solely on the tutor's voice and the textbook,
I fortified my shield to protect the free lessons.
"......"
Until suddenly, something shattered beside me.
The class halted at the crisp crack.
The tutor and I turned to the source at once.
"Ah..."
Pieces of what had been a pen lay scattered on her textbook.
Ink splattered across the desk and book,
Black droplets staining her clothes and the floor.
Ruena just let out a short sigh and sat still.
"What are you doing."
"...Celen."
I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hand first.
Then checked if she'd hurt herself.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Good, that's what matters."
After cleaning her hand, I tidied up bit by bit.
Having looked after her for so long, my body moved on autopilot.
'Annoying... but this builds up favors.'
Her future was erratic,
So the more compensation I could rack up for seeing it, the better.
Besides, Ruena was the next Grand Duke of Eliad.
Stockpiling points now would multiply into sweet pots of honey later.
"Celen."
"Yeah?"
"...Thanks."
"No big deal. It's obvious."
I flashed a bright smile.
'Yeah. Keep being grateful. You'll pay it back several times over later.'
However,
After that day...
Ruena started needing even more attention.
She'd had her moments before, like cream on her lips,
Or clumsily brushing crumbs off her clothes,
Small ways to build favors...
'What's going on? Why has she been needing so much more hands-on help lately?'
It was definitely two or three times more than before.
Maybe because I was coming to the Eliad mansion early every morning for lessons.
"Ruena, you dropped your handkerchief."
"Can't find your textbook? Let's share mine for now."
"Why'd you break another pen? Give me your hand."
"...What am I supposed to do if you bring Buddy's feed instead of your supplies."
No matter how much I thought about it, the instances were spiking.
And now...
I was waiting for her, who showed no signs of getting up.
I quietly asked the maid beside me.
"Is Ruena still sleeping?"
"Yes, she is. Young Master Celen."
"......Is she always like this?"
"Lady Ruena has always been weak in the mornings."
I sidelong-glanced at the maid's expression,
But as expected of an Eliad Grand Duke's maid, not a flicker.
With a sigh, I probed gently.
"How did she make it to morning lessons before?"
"We woke her by force."
"Can't you do that now?"
"We've already failed five times."
Suspicious, but no proof.
Her voice was even, her face unchanged.
I sighed and stared at Ruena's door.
If the maid was telling the truth—
How was she going to run the Eliad family with this much morning sleepiness?
"Haa..."
"Young Master Celen."
"Yes?"
"If it's not too much trouble, could you wake the lady for us?"
"......Me?"
My mind blanked for a moment.
Even if I came and went from her room every day,
Wasn't going into another house's lady's bedroom to wake her crossing a line?
"No, even so, that's a bit... It's not proper, and if the Grand Duke hears I went in—"
"The Grand Duke has already given his permission."
"......Pardon?"
That doting... No,
The Grand Duke of Eliad
Had okayed me coming and going from his sleeping daughter's room?
I just blinked, wondering if I'd misheard.