“If this is also a gift for the madam, please leave it over there. I will make sure to deliver it to the madam along with the marriage proposal you brought.”

“That’s not what I meant… Oh, my goodness.”

The elderly butler of the Daiern family was quite a straightforward person.

It was useless even if someone from the marriage proposal party tried to cling on with some petty tricks.

Even his attitude towards the nobles showed no signs of backing down.

In particular, the butler strictly checked the time and prevented any specific proposal party from staying in the mansion for more than a set time.

This was important to process the endlessly lined-up procession as quickly as possible.

The problem was that even with such measures, there seemed to be no sign of the line diminishing…

By now, the sun that had risen high in the sky was starting to tilt.

The old butler swallowed a sigh of worry as he looked at the main hall, which had already become a mountain range of proposal gifts.

This much was not going to be sorted out in just a day or two.

“It seems I’ve come at a busy time.”

Just as another group of proposal parties was leaving the mansion, a low, soft voice entered the mansion’s entrance with light steps.

The butler, who naturally thought this would be another proposal party, soon found his eyes widening in surprise.

A handsome man with silver-white hair as if pearl powder had been sprinkled, ruby-like red eyes forming a gentle expression as his gaze softened.

To the butler, this was the second time seeing him today.

Yet, his heart-stopping beauty still seemed impossible to get used to.

For a man, and even for an old person like himself to see, it was enough to make one faint.

“I am Count Joseph Obreim Alperon. I had an appointment with the Duchess of Daiern today. May I wait in the reception room?”

The butler, who had been dazed, soon came to his senses at those words and looked puzzled.

There was indeed a scheduled visitor appointment. But it wasn’t Count Alperon…

“Isn’t today the day the Duchess is meeting the newly hired tutor?”

“That is correct.”

He had been told that the tutor Baron Baden said he would find was coming.

“Yes. I am one of those tutors. I’ve already spoken verbally with the Duchess regarding employment. So please deliver this.”

The count said this while pulling out a silver envelope from inside his coat.

The letter, sealed tightly with red wax bearing a seal that looked similar to but not quite like scales, was quite thick.

“It’s my resume and letter of recommendation.”

The butler ended up accepting the letter reflexively as Count Alperon flashed a beautiful smile.

“Will you deliver it for me?”

“…Understood. Please wait.”

Since it was said that there had been prior communication, there was no choice.

The butler had no choice but to take the count’s letter and climb the stairs.

Knock knock.

“Madam, it seems the tutor has arrived.”

Even after entering the study and delivering the news, Lieselotte did not take her eyes off the book she was reading.

Her expression did not hide her feeling of fatigue at all.

“I expected it, but it’s earlier than I thought. Baron Baden is quite impatient. Tell them I’m busy now and have them wait in the reception room for now.”

“Here, they also brought a resume and letter of recommendation. But madam, I didn’t know Count Alperon was among the tutors Baron Baden found.”

“Lord Joseph?”

“The person who has arrived now is Count Alperon.”

“…?”

Hearing those words, Lieselotte immediately took her eyes off the book and stood up.

Her lavender eyes were widened in surprise.

Soon after snatching the envelope from the butler, she burst into laughter.

After finally calming my burst of laughter, I first wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corners of my eyes.

“Please call Lord Joseph to my study. And bring out some refreshments as well.”

“Right now, madam? Are you sure we don’t need to make him wait a bit longer?”

“It’s fine. He’s not the tutor introduced by Baron Baden.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is!”

The worried face of the old butler quickly relaxed into comfortable wrinkles.

Even after the butler left, I spent a good while examining Lord Joseph’s resume and letters of recommendation.

‘He really is an extraordinary person.’

At this point, I began to think that whether Lord Joseph was a prophet or not wasn’t such an important issue anymore.

No, didn’t he say he was a returner rather than a prophet?

In any case, I focused on the fact that he was far more capable and skilled than I had anticipated.

‘To think he’d come so perfectly qualified as a tutor in just a month.’

Where should I start explaining?

Right, from the funeral. Lord Joseph, who said he would prove himself to be a trustworthy person to me.

I certainly can’t deny the fact that thanks to his advice that day, it was easier to deal with my brother and Baron Baden.

In particular, he had said this about Baron Baden:

He was also the one who told me what would happen if I refused.

Moreover, he even told me how to turn this crisis to my advantage.

It’s easy to say, but finding such a person is naturally difficult.

In the meantime, the constraint of a month-long confinement period in the mansion is quite fatal.

As if reading my mind, Lord Joseph spoke in a gentle voice.

To be honest, when I first heard those words, I thought he was joking.

Isn’t that right?

To guide the heir of a ducal family, one needs not only scholarly knowledge at the level of high nobility, including the empire’s history, laws, and etiquette, but also artistic accomplishments.

Although Lord Joseph is of noble birth, he’s still a foreigner who just came to the imperial capital a few days ago.

Of course, everything about the empire would be unfamiliar to him, especially in terms of history and culture, he would be almost completely ignorant.

To have such a person as my son’s tutor, unless one was captivated by that face, it was an impossible notion.

However, to this point of mine, Lord Joseph laughed softly and answered leisurely.

I didn’t even bother to ask ‘how?’ regarding the method.

Because I was certain it would be impossible.

Knock knock.

“Madam. I have brought Count Alperon.”

“Show him in.”

At that moment, Lord Joseph arrived with the sound of knocking.

I rose from my desk chair and moved to the tea table to greet the guest.

Soon, Lord Joseph, guided by the butler, entered and naturally kissed the tips of my fingers while greeting me.

“It’s been a while, Duchess Daiern. I hope you’ve been well this past month?”

“It was a bit stuffy, but as you can see, I’m healthy. It seems you’ve been quite busy in the imperial capital’s social circles, Lord Joseph.”

“Ahaha.”

His face, which had been dry at the funeral, now bore the heart-damaging smile I had seen when we first met.

Honestly, if I had seen that face 10 years ago, I think my heart would have fluttered.

First, I offered him a seat. While we exchanged light greetings, the refreshments I had ordered were served.

“How did you manage it?”

After sending the servants out of the study, I asked, placing the resume and letters of recommendation he had brought on the tea table.

“Prestigious noble families of the empire, the principal of the Imperial Academy, even a scholar from the Tower of Honor… It couldn’t have been easy to get these recommendations.”

Having experienced the imperial capital’s social circles for over a decade, I know well the families and individuals who wrote these recommendations.

I also know that they are people who are never swayed by material things, frustratingly upright.

To receive such glowing recommendations from such people, being merely competent is not enough.

One would need to be at the level of a scholar capable of entering the Tower of Honor.

“Rest assured, I didn’t forge the recommendations.”

“…I don’t believe I said anything of the sort.”

“But the Duchess’s expression is full of enough distrust towards me.”

That man is quite perceptive.

Since I was going to ask anyway, I decided not to deny it further.

“Well. I was under the impression that Lord Joseph had only been staying in the imperial capital for about a month.”

Frankly expressing my doubt, I deliberately half-opened my fan to cover my mouth.

“Yet, for a foreigner like Lord Joseph to have acquired such a high level of scholarship that even nobles born in the empire would take decades to accumulate, it’s understandable that it doesn’t quite add up.”

At this, the red eyes fixed on me narrowed slightly, forming an endearing curve.