Although there were two interviewees for the home tutor position, I had to hire three people.

What does this mean?

The Baroness of Baden, whom I thought had simply come to show off, was also a candidate for the home tutor position that the Baron of Baden had brought.

No, not even a candidate. She shoved a contract at me with self-written conditions and a finalized employment decision.

‘This is just forced selling.’

It’s not even funny.

How could someone come to be a teacher with just a single resume and no letters of recommendation?

At that point, I became curious about how great the Baroness of Baden’s knowledge must be for her to volunteer to teach my children.

However, the moment I saw the contract, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

‘Euphie’s chaperone, you say.’

Euphemina is currently fourteen years old.

In high society, where debutantes usually make their debut at sixteen, the average age to start formal etiquette education is fifteen.

However, I couldn’t simply reject it as being too early, as great noble families like dukedoms appoint chaperones at an even earlier age to teach the manners of a noble lady.

The reason for this difference in education starting times among nobles of different ranks is that finding a chaperone is extremely difficult.

It’s not common to find someone who is well-versed in both noble etiquette and royal protocol, and who is willing to accept the condition of living with a noble young lady for at least a year.

‘While serving as someone’s chaperone, one can’t attend social gatherings or manage their own household affairs.’

That’s why recently, the trend has been to seek chaperones from among well-educated ladies of the gentry class rather than nobles.

Even then, schedules are often so backed up that it’s not uncommon for some to have their debutante ball after turning 17.

Given these circumstances, there’s a saying in high society that ‘if a noble lady volunteers to be a chaperone, one should express gratitude by handing over a mine.’

Of course, rejection is not an option in such cases.

If it had been a proposal from a noble lady other than the Baroness of Baden, I would have been poring over the map of the duchy, pondering which mine to offer.

And I would have been planning to fill the chaperone’s room with new furniture.

However, it was only natural that I couldn’t swallow the Baron and Baroness’s proposal, which clearly hid dark intentions, no matter how sweet it appeared.

‘So, you’re saying you’ll stick by Euphie’s side until she turns 16 and has her debutante ball?’

And, implying that you’ll monitor me for two years.

‘What are you planning to do during that time?’

I was planning to refuse, of course.

Rumors might spread that I, as a stepmother, mistreat the children, or that chasing away all the previous tutors might be a ploy to usurp the duchy.

Such baseless rumors might circulate, but they don’t matter.

After all, everything will be proven once Kardiel inherits the title of Duke in three years.

The problem is…….

“So, it seems you’ll be living under the same roof with the Baroness of Baden for a while.”

“Oh, ho ho. Is that so, Count Alperon?”

……Lord Joseph’s reaction like that.

He, who had been warmly welcoming the Baroness of Baden, only narrowed his eyes in a smile after meeting my gaze.

“……”

It meant I should allow it.

‘I really don’t want to.’

I’m quite self-serving, aren’t I?

After having benefited from Lord Joseph’s prophecies until now, when faced with something I dislike, I found myself wishing he were a fraud.

Although I felt conflicted, we had made an alliance pact to trust each other, so I had no choice.

But even if I were to allow it, I needed to take my own precautions.

“Before that, there’s one thing I’d like to request. Although you are cousins, since you’re coming as a chaperone, I hope you’ll separate personal and professional matters, at least in front of the children.”

I meant don’t act arrogant just because you’re older, whether in front of me or my children.

“Ho ho. Don’t worry, Duchess. As someone who is to teach proper etiquette, how could I behave in a way that doesn’t set a good example for the young lords and lady?”

“Well then, let’s prepare so that you can attend to the young lady as soon as possible. Have a room ready for you to move in as early as tomorrow.”

“There’s no need to go to great lengths. I won’t have much luggage anyway, so just having the room cleaned once it’s decided will be fine. Ho ho.”

“Well, cleaning can be done quickly, so you could even move in tonight if you’d like.”

Having received my confirmation, the Baron and Baroness of Baden excitedly exchanged smiles.

They must be thinking of crawling into Daiern as soon as possible to monitor me and my children.

From their conversation, it seems they’ve already packed their bags and are just waiting to move in.

Hah, is this right?

Although I still had doubts about my decision, that cryptic Lord Joseph just kept smiling at me comfortably. I must ask him the reason later.

“I’ll have a guest room prepared for you on the 4th floor. However, it won’t be ready that quickly. We need to replace the furniture and bedding. Besides, we have many visitors today, so it’s quite hectic.”

“That’s right. I saw earlier that the main hall was in quite a mess.”

“Let’s not talk about that. I’m already getting a headache trying to figure out how to organize it all.”

I said this, but in truth, I hadn’t expected the visit of the marriage proposal delegations to be helpful to me in this way.

According to what the servant reported, by the time the Baron of Baden visited, the main hall was so full that nothing more could be placed there.

So the butler had to close the doors, saying they couldn’t accept any more marriage proposal delegations.

‘This is why I like the butler.’

Anyway, having seen the situation with their own eyes while coming up to my office, the Baroness of Baden wouldn’t be able to insist on moving in immediately, even if she was desperate to do so.

I can’t express how fortunate this is.

“I’ll have the other two teachers’ accommodations prepared in the guest rooms on the first floor. Those are always kept clean, so I can show you to the rooms right away. Ah, it will be difficult to use the main hall for now. Though it may be inconvenient, I’d appreciate if you could use the corridor at the back of the mansion for the time being.”

“There won’t be any inconvenience.”

“Please don’t worry about us, Duchess.”

The two newly hired home tutors expressed their gratitude.

The two, who had assumed they would be hired, had brought large luggage bags.

Fortunately I decided to hire them, otherwise they would have had to leave carrying those bags again.

By the way, the tutors brought by the Baron of Baden seemed unexpectedly quite decent.

Both were men from the gentry class – one was a scholar with surprisingly good skills, and the other was a renowned musician in the imperial capital’s social circles.

When conversing with them and observing their eyes, they appeared to be quite benevolent people.

Of course, one cannot judge a person solely based on their appearance or a few exchanged words.

In any case, the moment they try anything foolish with the children, I’ll hand them over to the guards.

“And Lord Joseph…”

“I would also like to move in if there’s a spare room. It’s been so difficult to find a mansion in the capital that I’ve been staying at hotels until now.”

So he’s been staying at hotels.

Come to think of it, I heard earlier that Lord Joseph had started a hotel business.

I wondered how inconvenient it must have been for him to go to such lengths.

“It will take some time to bring in new furniture and bedding, but we should be able to prepare a suitable room for you as well, Lord Joseph.”

“As long as the room is ready, I can just bring my light luggage from the hotel.”

“Then, teachers, please rest for today. I will arrange an opportunity to introduce you to the children soon.”

And so, four new members were added to the usually quiet Daiern mansion.

The end of a busy day was tea time with the children after dinner.

As always, I sat in the family room on the second floor, talking with the children.

“Then Mother, does this mean we now have five teachers?”

Chersion asked with sparkling eyes, quickly swallowing the cookie that filled his mouth.

“That’s right. Professor Rosier will still be with us, and Lord Joseph and the Baroness of Baden will move in within this week.”

“What about the other teachers? They’re on the first floor, right?”

Only then could I tell the children about the new home tutors.

“Yes, I’ll introduce them tomorrow, but let me tell you about them in advance…”

One was a scholar named Jephet.

He was a scholar from the Tower of Honor, also called the ‘Library of Sages’.

The Tower of Honor is a top-tier academic and research institution that only allows entry to a select few scholars considered the best on the continent.

It’s quite famous that even most geniuses become dullards there.

That’s why people respectfully call the Tower of Honor scholars ‘sages’.

For reference, scholars who have once put their names on the tower receive treatment equivalent to that of a count throughout the continent, regardless of their background.

If they ever leave the tower, they can easily obtain a central government position in the empire.

I’m not sure why such a person chose to work with the Baron of Baden, though.