Lord Preston's Secret Tutor (47 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 31
Benjamin soon realized the reason. It was because he remembered that, until Jacqueline arrived, he had been just the same.
No matter how many cicada shells there were, picking them up was not permitted—it simply wasn’t behavior befitting a child of a noble household.
“Thank you, Miss Somerset.”
Benjamin offered her a sincere bow. “Hm?” Jacqueline tilted her head in puzzlement, then smiled gently.
Leaning slightly forward, she whispered softly,
“Good thing one cicada shell was enough to protect the ship, isn’t it?”
Though that wasn’t what she meant, Benjamin nodded silently once again. He liked Jacqueline. He didn’t want to see her look disappointed.
“Yes, Miss Somerset.”
Just then, Oakley approached with an awkward expression.
Benjamin clenched his fists tightly, his face tense, and silently resolved, “If he ignores Miss Somerset one more time, I won’t hold back this time.”
I’ll knock his jaw off!
Oblivious to Benjamin’s thoughts, Oakley hesitated for a long moment before gruffly asking,
“Hey, is your governess pretty good?”
“She’s Miss Somerset.”
Benjamin straightened his shoulders proudly as he replied, puffing up as though he held something far more precious than a cicada shell.
A pragmatic little girl came over with cheeks bulging from candy.
“I’m Olivia. You can call me Ollie.”
“Nice to meet you, Ollie. I’m Benjamin.”
“Can I come play again sometime?”
“Of course, Ollie.”
Benjamin gave a solemn nod. Hearing this, the other children nearby cried out, “Me too! I want to visit too!”
Olivia then stepped closer to Benjamin as if finally getting to her real point, lowering her voice,
“Next time, can we go collect cicada shells together?”
“Of course, Ollie. Miss Somerset and I often go on explorations. You’d be welcome to join as our companion.”
“I want to be your companion too, Benjamin!”
“Let me join too!”
The children surged toward Benjamin, surrounding him in an instant. Though flustered, he grinned shyly, clearly enjoying the situation.
Jacqueline watched the scene with genuine delight in her eyes.
“The children kept begging their parents to let them visit Preston Manor again when leaving the estate. Truly, nothing unusual happened?”
Windsor’s question sounded casual, but Jacqueline—guilty as the thief who’d just stepped on her own foot—avoided his gaze with a wince.
“Well, it wasn’t anything that remarkable. I merely helped Benjamin make some friends.”
She calmly set down her teacup. A soft clink echoed faintly between them.
A faint, amused voice slipped through Jacqueline’s lips.
“Perhaps that mere cicada shell might one day protect Benjamin when he becomes the Marquess of Preston.”
At the sudden mention of cicada shells, Windsor’s brow creased slightly. He brought his whiskey glass to his lips and stared steadily at her.
Conversing with Jacqueline still felt like watching popcorn pop.
Pop, pop.
For some reason, he thought he heard the sound of kernels bursting like fireworks in a pan.
“Olivia is the Dowager Lady Chamberlain’s granddaughter. Don’t forget that the Dowager Lady Chamberlain was once called the queen of high society. Her network of connections rivals even the royal court. Olivia will make a good friend for Benjamin.”
“A cicada shell, you say.”
Windsor raised an eyebrow slightly, forming three deep lines across his forehead. Jacqueline stared at him blankly.
Even his wrinkles were sensual. Especially at night—his true nature revealed itself more vividly then, not the polite and rigid facade, but something rougher, less refined.
That’s why she couldn’t easily look away. They locked eyes without either initiating it, and the heavy silence tightened the tangle of their gazes.
Pitch-black darkness rippled. The oil lamp on the table couldn’t even clearly illuminate their faces.
Deep shadows fell across Windsor’s face. His long lashes cast a shadow beneath his eyes, and the silhouette of his nose stretched across his cheek.
The previously comfortable atmosphere tightened in an instant. It happened sometimes—moments when Windsor, who’d been conversing amicably, suddenly felt like an entirely different person.
“……”
Jacqueline unconsciously held her breath. Without realizing it, she clenched her fists, crumpling her nightgown in her palms.
The silence was sharp; the darkness, heavy.
A strange sensation trickled down her spine, raising goosebumps. Windsor’s gaze felt almost tangible—as if she were a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, unable to move.
Her heart plummeted. If she kept looking at him, she feared she’d turn to ash and vanish entirely—her very soul erased into eternal oblivion.
Her entire being trembled. Just as Jacqueline turned her head away with a fearful expression—
“Evan Knox.”
His voice spilled out the name of his former fiancé. She widened her eyes slightly and turned back to look at Windsor. The gaze she’d deliberately avoided returned of its own accord.
“What about Mr. Evan Knox?”
Windsor paused briefly. It hadn’t been intentional—the name had simply escaped his lips before he could think.
Staring into her wide green eyes, he sank into a brief reverie. Evan Knox’s carefree face surfaced in his mind.
What do I even want to say? That Evan Knox is an inexperienced fool? Or that he’s so oblivious he wouldn’t even recognize rejection as rejection?
Shaking off the uncharitable thoughts of Evan Knox that surfaced in his mind, Windsor slowly shook his head.
“Nothing at all.”
Jacqueline studied him with a puzzled look for a moment, then brought her teacup back to her lips. She pretended to sip tea, swallowing the saliva that had gathered in her mouth.
Only then did the taut atmosphere ease slightly. The tension drained softly from her stiff shoulders.
Jacqueline quietly lowered her eyes. Through this ball, broken ties had reconnected—both good and bad.
She couldn’t tell what storms those rekindled connections might bring. After all, life was unpredictable beyond the next moment.
After all, no one could have foreseen that I’d become a penniless noble lady overnight.
Just then—
Plop, thud.
“Hm?”
Lost in thought, Jacqueline slowly lifted her head at the unfamiliar sound penetrating her ears. Raindrops had already begun tapping against the window.
The faint, sporadic sound quickly grew into a loud, rhythmic patter. She murmured softly, thinking the rain sounded like music,
“Thank goodness it’s raining after the ball ended. We almost ruined Benjamin’s birthday.”
At her relieved muttering, Windsor cast a dismissive glance.
“Wasn’t it Miss Somerset who saved the ball from being ruined?”
“Hm?”
“I mean your piano performance.”
“Oh….”
Only then did Jacqueline understand what he meant. She lowered her head quietly, her long eyelashes casting a shadow across her cheeks.
A faint smile curved her lips.
“I’m truly glad we didn’t ruin Benjamin’s birthday.”
The next moment, she rose from her seat, holding the oil lamp in one hand as she looked down at Windsor.
“I think I’ll retire now. What about you, Lord Preston?”
“I’ll take my leave as well.”
Windsor slowly rose to his feet. A vague sense of regret flickered in him, though he couldn’t tell what exactly he was reluctant about.
They exited the drawing room one after another and walked side by side down the hallway.
The dark corridor seemed endless, and the lamp in her hand barely illuminated a foot ahead.
Though Jacqueline wasn’t hurrying, Windsor matched her pace perfectly.
A brusque kindness.
Watching him, Jacqueline realized kindness came in different forms. Some were as warm and gentle as early summer sunlight, consistent from start to finish, while others melted into you like early spring sunlight—gentle yet tinged with coolness.
Windsor, of course, was the latter. Just as she unconsciously tugged at the corners of her lips into a smile—
Flash!
“!”
Everything brightened in an instant. Jacqueline’s eyes widened abruptly. The light that had illuminated the world vanished as suddenly as it appeared, like an abrupt birth followed by immediate extinction.
The corridor sank once again into deep darkness. She barely swallowed a scream, silently pressing a hand to her chest.
Windsor, standing a step ahead, turned to look at her. Expressionless, he silently met her gaze as if asking why she’d suddenly stopped walking.
“It’s nothing.”
Jacqueline lifted her chin slightly and stepped forward again. At that moment—
Boom! Crash!
Thunder shook heaven and earth—a deafening roar as if to burst eardrums. She instinctively shrieked.
“Kyaa—hup!”
Windsor quickly covered her mouth.
With trembling hands, Jacqueline lifted the oil lamp close to his face. Windsor, brows faintly furrowed, leaned back just enough to match the lamp’s approach.
But she persisted, pushing the lamp closer. Windsor withdrew his hand from her lips.
The soft sensation of her lips lingered stubbornly on his palm—as if he’d clasped pudding in his hand:
soft and warm.
Flustered, Windsor spoke even more gruffly to hide it.
“This isn’t a good hour to scream.”
“……Hah.”
Hearing his familiar voice, Jacqueline finally let out a sigh of relief. Yet the lamp hovering near his face still refused to retreat.
“Lord Preston?”
“I’ll escort you to your room.”
“Um… thank you.”
Jacqueline nodded awkwardly. The moment Windsor turned his back, thunder roared again.
Boom! Crash!
Lightning flashed, illuminating everything briefly before plunging them back into darkness.
“!”
Trembling like someone seized by a fit, Jacqueline hurriedly pressed close to the man’s side. Rain poured down as if the sky had ripped open.
Windsor glanced down at the tug on his robe. Even in the darkness, her pale fingers gripping his garment were starkly visible—desperate and pleading.
His eyes shifted toward Jacqueline. She stared straight ahead, shoulders tensed, her expression resolute—as if ready to confront anything that might leap out.
“……”
Yet despite that, the fingers clutching his robe trembled weakly. Letting out a soft chuckle, he took a step forward.
Afraid he might leave her behind, Jacqueline quickly matched his pace. Occasionally, she’d eye him suspiciously and shine the lamp directly onto his face.
“Lord Preston?”
Each time, she called his name—as if afraid he might turn out to be someone other than Windsor Preston.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Whenever Jacqueline cast him a tense look, she’d sigh in relief only after hearing his familiar voice above her.
Windsor found her amusing—or perhaps pitiable. He even wondered what could possibly frighten her so; after all, it was just thunder.
But at that very moment—
“Ah!”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
4 Comments
Chapter Comments (78)
HAHAHAAHAHAAH why is this so funny 🤣 🤣🤣🤣 lmao her being afraid of thunder & angry at windsor i can just imagine the funnyy memes once the manhua chapters come out 🤣🤣🤣
I love Jacqueline soo much, and I also love that Windsor is afraid of making her angry
I love Jacqueline’s character sooo much! The author described her very well
Inline Comments (1267)
“I told you, I need to go see Benjamin.”
hahaha funny, I’m independent but you need to guide me
Are you coming or not?
Hahahaha it’s funny, I’m mad but still I need you.
At that moment, a detached voice came from behind them.
Hahahahahaha!!!! The truth saw the light!!!! Sometimes I’m not sure if she is kidding or really think she is a good painter.
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TehShy
One birthday to remember. Benjamin received the gift he really wanted. Made new friends.
Jane
I think he really find her cute and endearing. She’s Preston’s fairy
ahlam lam
this chapter is so funny XD I feel butterflies in my stomach
Ashiel_26
Huhu She’s afraid of thunder (;ŏ﹏ŏ)