‘If this task succeeds, I’ll be able to return to the Tower of Honor. Please, I must get my thesis back before this year ends.’

‘The copyright income from the theater isn’t enough to treat my sick wife. I have elderly parents to take care of and a young daughter who hasn’t even taken her first steps yet.’

So this task had to succeed no matter what.

Knowing each other’s circumstances, the two exchanged encouraging glances as they headed to the third floor where the children’s rooms were located.

“I am Jepetto, a scholar from the Tower of Honor. I’m also called Professor Jepetto. From today, I’ll be teaching humanities to the young lord.”

Kardiel’s morning schedule was a humanities lesson with Jepetto, a scholar from the Tower of Honor.

Sitting upright in his seat, Kardiel’s expressionless gaze focused on Jepetto’s strict and stern face.

“Before we begin the lesson, I’d like to say something and ask for your understanding. Please remember that I’m here as a teacher, not as an employee of the young lord. Therefore, once the lesson starts, I will treat you simply as a student.”

“I understand.”

“Very well. Then let me explain how the lesson will proceed.”

The end of the brief orientation was a test to assess Kardiel’s academic level.

The dozens of pages of test papers took several hours just to complete.

But each question was clear and excellent without any ambiguity.

There were questions he couldn’t solve due to lack of knowledge, but none that made him tilt his head in confusion.

That’s why Kardiel could accept his score, even if it was somewhat… no.

Even if it was very unsatisfactory.

Accept it, that is.

“Well, your score is B+. It seems you have a lot to learn.”

“I will… strive to improve.”

However, Jepetto looked quite pleased.

He patted Kardiel’s shoulder, who was biting his lip in frustration at receiving an unsatisfactory score.

“You don’t need to be too disappointed or discouraged. Actually, these were questions at the level of the Academy entrance exam.”

“…”

“If you received this score on the entrance exam, it would be an excellent level. You’re only fifteen, after all.”

In other words, he had unknowingly taken the Academy’s entrance exam.

Kardiel finally understood why the scholars of the Tower of Honor were called eccentrics. They were completely arbitrary.

Meanwhile, Chersion was having an enjoyable first lesson.

“Fa, Sol#, La, Do#!”

“Oh! Then how about this?”

Dong.

“La#, Re#, Mi, Fa, Si!”

“Ohhh!”

“Hehehe.”

Chersion said it was his first time learning music.

To the child who showed interest with sparkling eyes, Ernestine decided to teach the basic solfege first.

And surprisingly, Chersion learned the solfege faster than anyone Ernestine knew.

He could name the notes immediately just by pressing the keys, even though he had only heard the sound once.

Even in different octaves!

And so, Ernestine’s playful side was activated.

She tried pressing several keys at once. That was the beginning.

“Young master, you’re a genius…”

Chersion correctly named the keys pressed randomly, regardless of minor or major chords.

Genuinely impressed, Ernestine suddenly switched to teacher mode, her eyes shining with the desire to nurture a protégé.

Unfortunately.

That elation was short-lived.

Chersion was only good at naming notes and memorizing sheet music.

He struggled quite a bit when it came to creating beautiful melodies or writing lyrics.

“If it’s too difficult, you could try recalling past memories. Your happiest moment, your saddest moment. Or even your most memorable experience…”

That advice was certainly a mistake.

Chersion’s face immediately crumpled into tears, and in the end, he couldn’t write a single line of lyrics until the end of the lesson.

And so.

Looking at the empty score sheet that remained incomplete, Ernestine had to swallow a bitter taste.

“Well, let’s take composing slowly then. You said you wanted to learn the violin, right? Shall we focus on performance today? First, let’s start with the basic posture…”

At that time.

The exhausted Baroness Baden was slumped in her chair.

She didn’t even have the energy to drink a glass of water.

‘What kind of girl…’

After lecturing Euphemina on etiquette all morning, this was the conclusion Baroness Baden reached.

‘How can that lady be so stubborn with such a blank face?’

At first, she believed without a doubt that such a girl with an innocent face and a pretty smile with prominent tear moles would be quite easy to handle.

Moreover, at fourteen, there were still two years left until the minimum age for a debutante, so there would be no problem taking the lessons at a leisurely pace.

She had planned to slowly cook and season her, making her completely dependent emotionally.

But.

It all started when she tried to correct Lady Euphemina’s posture.

In an instant, Euphemina’s face contorted fiercely, and she began to scream like a beast.

Startled, Baroness Baden stumbled backward and fell on her bottom.

Even then, she couldn’t understand what was happening.

‘What did I do wrong?’

Of course, it’s true that Baroness Baden had entered the Daiern Duke’s mansion with ulterior motives.

But that doesn’t mean she had any intention of neglecting the etiquette education of the lady she was responsible for as a chaperone.

If her manners were a mess, it would be the chaperone, herself, who would be pointed at.

But.

She had merely placed her hand lightly on Euphemina’s back to suggest that she should straighten her shoulders a bit more.

She wasn’t rough. Really, she just, lightly, barely touched her!

“Why are you acting like this, my lady!”

“You, madam! You touched me first! Suddenly!”

“Are, are you glaring at me like that over such a trivial matter?”

But no matter what method she tried or how she attempted to persuade, she couldn’t calm Lady Euphemina, whose eyes were even glinting with murderous intent.

She even went so far as to grab nearby objects and brandish them.

‘And why, of all things, a sharp candlestick!’

It seemed that if one approached too closely, they might actually be stabbed to death.

Really. Since when did the lady have such an aggressive side?

Lady Euphemina only calmed down after the servants called for her nursemaid.

Only then did the Baroness Baden remember that Euphemina terribly disliked being touched by others.

‘Looking at her like this, she really seems just like a foolish girl.’

After quite some time had passed, Euphemina returned to her usual demure self as if she had never raged.

Even so, to Baroness Baden, Lady Euphemina now appeared as nothing but a fearsome being who could turn into a beast at any moment.

With her pale pink curls and amber eyes, she was indeed a beautiful girl like a doll, but…

‘I’m scared of this mansion… Everyone here is terrifying.’

It felt as if half of her lifespan had already been shaved off.

‘I’m worried.’

No matter how much Lord Joseph said he would monitor the tutors, and that I had nothing to worry about.

‘It’s not as easy as he says.’

Isn’t that obvious? Lord Joseph may know the future, but I don’t.

And it’s not like Lord Joseph tells me everything in detail either.

Come to think of it, that’s right. Of course, we haven’t had the time or space for long conversations until now.

‘From now on, I must ask him clearly.’

Anyway, I found it difficult to keep still all day due to anxiety.

Needless to say, Baroness Baden is as good as one body with Baron Baden.

The two tutors were introduced as individuals who had already been bought by them long ago.

If I were to engage in some wishful thinking…

‘When I interviewed them, both Teacher Jepetto and Teacher Ernestine seemed like decent enough people.’

Of course, I haven’t personally experienced them.

My intuition is just intuition. Never objectively verified.

So even during the interviews, I might have seen what I wanted to see and thought what I wanted to believe.

If I consider it coldly, only the fact that they are in league with Baron Baden remains.

All day long, I sat in my office, plagued by anxiety about them doing bad things to my children or instilling bad thoughts in them.

I couldn’t focus on any work, making it impossible to process social invitations or rejection letters to marriage proposals as scheduled.

And so, finally, the evening came when all the lessons were over.

“Kardiel, you’re late.”

As I was pacing anxiously in front of Kardiel’s room, the person I had been waiting for finally appeared.

“Stepmother, I believe there’s still some time left before dinner.”

Before answering, I strode up to Kardiel and examined his hands, arms, shoulders, and so on.

I was checking to see if he had been physically punished. But…

“…It hurts when you grip so tightly, Stepmother.”

“What?”

Seeing Kardiel furrow his brow and complain of pain, I ended up raising my voice sharply.