Viscountess Gracia sank down in the chair with a soulless face. Perhaps because her pride was hurt, she struggled once more.
“How can a child learn to be so naughty…! Did they teach you at the orphanage that if you want something, you can harass the priests?”
“I can’t help it if I want to survive. Wouldn’t it be better than building up your pride by tormenting children?”
She immediately shut her mouth at my sarcasm. It took a moment for her blood pressure to subside, and she finally began the class as if nothing had happened.
What was surprising was that the class was fine. Yeah, if her personality is anything like that, she should have some of her abilities.
What I learned on the first day was nonverbal greeting.
Before saying ‘hello’ to each other, nobles need to make eye contact in advance to figure out whether we can say hello, who will speak first, or if we will just pass by without seeing each other. People live complicated lives.
Barely after class ended, the maid came to greet me.
“Miss, the Duke is calling you.”
“Yes! Madam Gracia, goodbye. See you again!”
Gracia looked like she was possessed by a fox. What’s wrong, I wonder. I plan to remain quiet until I learn enough from her.
The office, at which I finally arrived.
The Duke raised his head. His undulating blue eyes are still scary, but at least they’re better than Gracia’s disdainful gaze. To the extent it’s nice to see it again.
“You’re here, Sol. The class went nicely, didn’t it?”
“Yes. Madam Gracia taught me ways of greeting.”
“There is no need to report them one by one.”
Really, don’t raise any children, you.
“More than that. I’m talking about why I called you.”
“Yes!”
Is this about the gift?
“…Why are you smiling? Is it because of yesterday?”
“Ehehe, did it show on my face like that?”
“Yeah.”
Oh my, it’s all visible on my face. I guess I was really excited.
But since I was discharged, I have never received a convenience store mobile gift certificate, let alone a birthday present. I’ll be happy even if I get just one candy.
At that time, the Duke’s words blew my smile away.
“I’m telling you to stop acting like an adult and be like a kid.”
“…Yes?”
“That’s what we talked about yesterday.”
Then I remembered. The Duke said so. ‘It would be troublesome if there was even a rumor that I raised a dragon that turned into a human.’
…Did you call me because of that topic?
He didn’t notice the change in my expression because he was looking at the documents in turn.
“It might be difficult to immediately throw away the life skills you learned at the orphanage. Instead, you might be able to cover them with etiquette. The purpose of education is to socialize people uniformly.”
“…”
“That’s it. Go back and rest.”
“…Is this the end?”
“Is there anything else? That’s all I have time for today. If you have any questions, ask someone else.”
The Duke cut the story like a knife.
Ah, right. Gift? It must have been lip service. I just gave it as a free gift in the first place, but if I want something in return, I’m a thief. I’m not disappointed if it’s just to this extent. I’m an adult. I’m…
At that time, I remembered what Gracia said earlier.
‘You have no intention of mixing in’.
This is something I often heard when I was ostracized at the factory.
Back then, on summer days, people who went out to buy ice cream often left out their share. What is that ice cream? Those things are so childish. That’s what I thought in my head.
…But. As a child and an adult, it’s very sad to have your small expectations betrayed.
On a dying summer day, the long-awaited bite of ice cream. A small gift I was looking forward to after six years in someone else’s house, not knowing when I would die.
… When leaving the office.
Somehow, it felt like the tears I had held back that summer day were being pushed out from within my heart. Why am I really like this these days…
***
“Um, Master. I have something to report to you. Is that fine?”
The maid, Linda, stuck her head out through the crack in the office door. Latigre frowned. He told them not to disturb him as much as possible because he was going to be busy.
“Is it urgent.”
“It’s not a big deal, but we can’t solve it…”
“If you decided it wasn’t a big deal, why bother—”
“M-Miss Sol is crying in secret!”
Latigre’s pen stopped on the paper. The problem wasn’t taken seriously.
“…Is that urgent.”
“I remember Master asking me to let you know if there are any changes in Miss Sol’s personal life.”
“Changes in personal life include things like meeting an assassin, falling from a horse, or becoming pregnant after a speed violation.”
(i’m not really sure about the last thing, why would he talk about a 10yo being pregnant…)
“But there’s something strange about Miss Sol crying.”
“Even children who act like adults often end up crying. Close the door.”
The story ended with a command Linda looked at Latigre anxiously for some reason, but eventually couldn’t stand his cold gaze and closed the door.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. Was she interrupting his work, saying that a 10-year-old crying was a problem?
‘She acts like she has an adult in her stomach, yet she seems to be a child.’
Babies cry only when necessary. Feed them, put them to sleep, and clean up their poop. If that were the case, Latigre was willing to call a nanny to look after the children.
But when the children started talking, Latigre ordered the servants to leave them alone, even if anyone was crying. They have to control their emotions themselves.
‘That maid has only worked here for a few years. So I guess she doesn’t know.’
Of course, it’s not only the young maid who has to learn the rules of this house. Sol, that kid should learn too.
‘She’s such an adult kid… but he cries quite often.’
He heard she cried even in the carriage.
However, he did his duty to his adopted daughter. She was adopted into the best home next to the Imperial Palace and given a teacher. Isn’t that enough?
Latigre took up his pen again. He had a lot to do.
‘The next meeting is with Marquis Gothel. Recently he signed a wine contract with the Leipram Monastery. There will definitely be Leipram wine served at the banquet, so I should prepare Flogel wild boar jamon as a gift. Meanwhile, I checked to see what the monastery had in mind for signing the contract with the marquis…’
The moment he thought about that, Latigre’s pen stopped.
Gift.
Things to keep in mind when accepting an invitation from someone else. This is something that must be given on occasions such as marriage, passing an exam, or giving birth.
And above all—
If you receive something, you must repay it.
In the corner of the office desk, he belatedly noticed the gift box he received from his stepdaughter yesterday.
***
“Siberia, jokbal, starter point, cheese crust pizza, lazing off. Jjolmyeon topped with two soft-boiled eggs and three coats of sesame oil….”
I locked myself in the closet and muttered non-stop. This is the ‘how to calm down anger’ I learned at the orphanage.
Instead of swearing directly, say words that sound similar. In the meantime, take turns mentioning your favorite foods.
If you swear as you swear and think about your favorite food, oh my! Before you knew it, your attention was diverted elsewhere.
…in a way, that is like a pseudo-prayer.
If children fight loudly in the narrow environment of an orphanage, it will become uncomfortable in the future. So, the director suggested that we vent our anger by doing this first, and then order something to eat and share it to relieve our anger.
It was quite effective in orphanages. If you talk like that, you will find yourself making fun of yourself. There is a downside to being embarrassed when other people see it, but…
Linda didn’t see me, did she?
There’s no sign of movement outside, just in case. I continued what I was doing.
“Bar rice cake and cheese pizza added to ramen-tteokbokki… Adding clams and half a Cheongyang pepper to the marbled soybean paste stew, bubbling, bubbling… Hicc…”
Anger gradually turned into other emotions. I’m not hungry, but I want to eat a lot.
Is there no pizza in this world? It would be nice to have some risotto. Then there will be rice, so I can cook and eat it. I’m good at cooking pot rice. Ah, but there is no gas range.
My thoughts spin and spin. The last thing that came to mind was that when I was ostracized at the factory, I was the only one who couldn’t eat…
“Ice cream…”
“Are you not satisfied with sorbet.”
“Hiiik!”
Outside the closet door, I heard the voice of someone I really didn’t want to hear.
It’s Duke Schlager!
“D-Duke?”
“Did you cry it all.”
“…I’m not crying, not now.”
“You seem like an adult, but you cry a lot.”
“I apologize.”
“…For what.”
If you just hear that word, it’s a prelude to a symphony of bullshit, ‘What kind of good job that you did that made you cry? Huh? Do you know what you did wrong? Are you showing off that you’re crying?’
But there was almost no pitch in the Duke’s tone. To get a look at his expression, I swiped my face with my sleeve again and opened the closet door.
Duke Schlager was standing in front of me. I wiped away all my tears, yet his eyes scanned the corners of my eyes and the tip of my nose to see if any traces of crying remained, and I heard a clicking sound.
“It looks like you cried quite a bit.”
“That… you must be busy, I apologize.”
“I don’t know if you cried in front of my room as if you were protesting, but there’s no reason to be sorry.”
“…”
“Or have you ever been scolded for crying?”
I have. A few times at the factory.
During the convenience store part-time job incident, I was told in front of the police, ‘Speak properly. Do you think I’m the one giving you advice?’
…I didn’t really have to answer. It seems the Duke already got the answer from my expression.
“It’s common for children to cry unreasonably. I guess there are many people who think they can correct them by scolding them.”
“…”
I cried when I was an adult, though? If you’re going to think about correcting more than that, start by correcting your personality, you bummer of a Duke Schlager.
What were you thinking when you gave birth to three children? Although obviously, the author made him do it.
Anyway, I, who had unintentionally become the fourth child, was now trying to return to being a good child.
“It’s fine now. I won’t cry anymore.”
But the Duke kept standing in front of the closet, so I couldn’t get out. Why don’t you get out of the way?
“Duke?”
“I asked you why you cried.”
“Ah, t-that.”
Even if I die, I can’t tell him that I cried out of disappointment because of the gift! It’s so childish!
…No, wait. I have to look like a child, right?
So would it be better to confess that I cried because of the gift?
No, wait. Basically, children don’t like to look like children. A real child would protect their pride and not bring up the gift!
How do I look like a real child? While I was thinking about it, the Duke opened his mouth.
“Did you cry because of the gift?”
“…Yes?”
He hit the nail on the head.
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