“Master Bruno, I’ve heard that two tutors who taught at the Genova mansion have been dismissed.”

“Do you know why they were dismissed?”

Bruno asked, his face brightening with interest.

“It seems they were selected based on academics, but both the first and second were given warnings from the start. However, it appears those warnings weren’t satisfactory.”

“What kind of warnings were given?”

“Well… It was something about giving plenty of time to think, but there was a common point when they were dismissed. It’s said that the lessons were immediately stopped when comments about the life of a noble lady were made.”

“The life of a noble lady? Aha! Hahahahaha!!”

Bruno burst into laughter.

“Ha… I can’t believe those words were true. Good. Well done.”

Bruno nodded to his subordinate and immediately ordered him to withdraw.

“Select a few good-looking men from those who are well-educated. Choose those with desires, so they’re easy to use.”

“Yes, understood.”

*

“Lucy. Today, the Marchioness Orsini is coming to our home. How about we solve some history quizzes while playing with Benjamin?”

“I’d love to!! Then before we start the quiz, I want to make flower rings with Benjamin!”

Lucy jumped and hugged Eriel.

“Then shall we tie your hair in a ponytail since we’re going outside today?”

When Eriel asked, Lucy nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes, yes!”

Later, the Marchioness and Benjamin came to visit the mansion.

Eriel welcomed the guests who came to the mansion and led Benjamin and the Marchioness to Lucy’s playroom, where they chatted for a while.

“Benjamin! How about we go out to the field and make flower rings instead of staying in the playroom?”

Unlike Lucy’s joyful suggestion, Benjamin didn’t look particularly pleased.

Certainly, being a boy, he didn’t seem interested in things like flower rings.

“Elisha would love it if we give it to her later!”

However, as soon as Elisha was mentioned, Benjamin’s face turned red, and he nodded to Lucy’s suggestion.

“…Do you think Elisha would like it?”

“Of course! You can make it and give it to Elisha, or make it together when you’re with her! Oh, I can make flower crowns too, not just rings! My mom taught me!”

Eriel smiled awkwardly as Lucy boasted as if it was something extraordinary.

The Marchioness, watching from the side, looked at Lucy with envy.

“The Duchess must be so happy. I wish my second child had been a daughter too.”

“But two sons are cute and handsome too.”

“They’re always sword fighting at home. Plus, they fight so often that I deliberately didn’t bring the younger one today.”

The Marchioness shook her head, implying that having two boys was a bit challenging.

“…By any chance, do you employ separate tutors for your first and second sons?”

When Eriel asked the Marchioness, she nodded.

“Yes. After all, learning as an heir is different, so it didn’t fit. …Are you thinking of hiring a tutor?”

The Marchioness seemed eager to discuss the tutor issue, so Eriel wasn’t sure how she would react to the change in Lucy’s tutor employment story.

Eriel nodded calmly and met the Marchioness’s eyes.

“Yes… Lucy has shown a high curiosity for academics, so she said it would be good to have a tutor.”

“Oh my, is that so? Wanting to hire a tutor. She’s indeed extraordinary when it comes to learning.”

“Actually, not hiring a tutor from a young age was my strong will. I didn’t know it would cause such a stir in social circles.”

Eriel gave a short laugh, and the Marchioness slowly nodded.

“When I heard that you hadn’t hired one, I understood to a certain extent, if I may say so. And after coming here and listening to the young lady, I became even more certain.”

The Marchioness’s eyes, which were looking at the children, now held a bitter sadness as if recalling the past.

“I suppose when you hire a tutor, the warmth of teaching how to make flower rings and reading books every evening that the Duchess taught will disappear, leaving only the life of a noble lady.”

Eriel’s lips parted slightly at the Marchioness’s unexpected words.

No one in the social circles had empathized with Eriel’s actions. Everyone used to wrap it up with plausible words, but the Marchioness was the first to truly understand Eriel’s path.

“When His Majesty the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, all parents of young ladies of that age would have wanted to raise their daughters to be the Crown Princess. My parents were no exception. It was… harsh. At such a young age. I think my parents taught me imperial etiquette with fire in their eyes.”

Eriel also recalled the past at the Marchioness’s words.

The childhood when she couldn’t eat well or laugh freely. The days when she tried hard to become the best trophy.

“Oh, we also invited a few tutors who had briefly taught the Duchess to our home.”

“My, so we were raised under the same teachers.”

“It wasn’t just me. If it was said that you had learned from someone, that tutor would rise to stardom from that day on.”

Eriel blinked at this unknown fact.

“I see. I had no idea.”

“That’s why I think the fact that you didn’t hire a tutor spread widely in social circles. Everyone tried to learn from the tutors who had taught the Duchess, but then you didn’t hire any tutors…”

Eriel nodded with a bitter smile. She could somewhat understand the sense of betrayal in social circles.

Everyone must have believed that Eriel’s successful marriage and her actions would become a model for social circles.

But after he left for war, she began to cling to her child and completely withdrew from social circles, so their sense of betrayal must have been considerable.

“Actually, when I heard that news, I thought you might not want to give your child the same education as in the past.”

Eriel nodded, looking at Lucy’s back as she walked ahead.

“That’s right. I wanted her to live Lucy’s life rather than the life of a noble lady.”

The flowing golden hair suddenly turned back.

Eriel made a questioning gesture with her eyes as she met Lucy’s gaze, and Lucy ran to Eriel.

“…Mom, I’m going to the bathroom for a moment!”

“Hm? Let’s go together.”

As Eriel extended her arm to Lucy, Lucy shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll go with Bella. Wait here in the garden! Okay?”

Saying that, Lucy whispered to Eriel that it might take a little longer.

She showed an embarrassed face saying her stomach hurt, so Eriel quickly nodded.

*

“Add these files to the tutor list and replace them with the ones I’m giving you now.”

At Bruno’s order, a woman in the maid uniform of the Genova mansion hesitantly received the files.

“Will you pay me once I do this?”

Bruno took out a money pouch and threw it to the maid at her words.

“I’ll give you the rest of the promised amount if you do the job well to the end.”

The maid who pocketed the pouch nodded and entered the mansion through the back door.

It was a moment when everyone, including the young lady and the madam, had gone out for an outing, and the servants were relaxed.

The maid, who patted her apron, firmly pressed the money pouch inside with her hand.

“Lizzy!”

The butler standing on the second floor called the maid, Lizzy.

“You were in charge of the madam’s bedroom today because Bella temporarily went out as the young lady’s maid, right? Hurry up and get to work!”

The butler, thinking she was slacking off, quickly gave the order.

Lizzy, who calmed her startled heart, nodded and moved to the Duchess’s bedroom.

It was a job she had deliberately switched with Bella, even giving her a silver coin.

It had to succeed no matter what. Lizzy checked the pouch once more with her fingertips and looked around.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

As she opened the door with a creak, there was no sign of anyone inside.

Lizzy carefully walked in and looked down at the tutor list placed in the center of the Duchess’s bedroom.

First, she put the file Bruno gave her at the very front, and replaced several files with other files containing false information.

After completing the mission and putting the real files in her bosom, it had now become a perfect crime.

Lizzy naturally started dusting the sofa next to the table with a duster.

As she was calming her pounding heart, it was the moment she let out a sigh of relief, “Phew-“.

“Wow. Lizzy switched them.”

A familiar voice strongly hit Lizzy’s ears.

Lizzy, startled, slowly turned her head back to see the blonde, very small and pretty… young lady standing there.

And behind her was Bella, the maid who had participated in Lizzy’s crime!

“Y-Young lady…”

Lucy picked up the fake file on the table.

Lucy, with a calm attitude, smiled and flipped through the files one by one.

“Did Uncle Bruno tell you to do this?”

The clear voice, like glass beads, stuck in Lizzy’s ears.

It was a voice a bit detached from the reality she was experiencing now.

She didn’t get angry, nor did she mock or quickly call the butler. She was just asking Lizzy.

“…Hm? Why, is it difficult to answer?”

She had to answer well. If she said Bruno did it, her younger siblings in her hometown would surely all die.

At this point, when she had already been caught by the young lady, she couldn’t save her own life, so shouldn’t she at least save her siblings?

“…No, it’s not.”

“Ah~ It’s not? Then who could have made Lizzy do such a bad thing?”

“Well…”

“Well? But you need to speak well.”

The young lady, who had been looking at the fake files, put them down and met Lizzy’s eyes.

In the green eyes, the same as the madam’s, there was an indescribable light that Lizzy had never seen while serving the madam.

“…Pardon?”

“The ones who can do something to Lizzy’s family in her hometown… are not just the person who made Lizzy do this bad thing. You haven’t forgotten that this is the Genova mansion, have you, Lizzy?”

A more wicked smile spread across Lucy’s face, which had been smiling consistently.

It was hard to believe it was a 7-year-old’s threat.

“Y-Young lady, please forgive me. Please.”

Lizzy, who understood the young lady’s words, immediately knelt down.

“You want forgiveness?”

“Yes, yes. Please, really forgive me. I’ll never do this again. If you say so, I’ll leave the mansion right away. Please.”

“No. That won’t do. Instead, I’d like you to become a traitor again.”

“Pardon?”

The gaze moving like a beautiful statue looked down at Lizzy, who was kneeling.

“Go to Bruno and tell him you’ve resolved the matter well.”