ITDHC 05

Chapter 5

Soon, the door opened, and the financial instructor entered.

He was an old man with a noticeably bald head and glasses so thick that they made his eyes look tiny.

…For some reason, he looks like the kind of teacher who gives out tons of group projects and hands out nothing but C’s.

Elissa did not want to judge someone by their appearance, but looking at him, she had a strange feeling that he really might be that kind of teacher.

In any case, this was her first time meeting her instructor, so she had to show proper respect.

Elissa stood up and bowed politely.

“Hello. Starting today, I’ll be learning about finance from you. I look forward to learning from you.”

“I have heard much from His Grace about the young lady’s enthusiasm for learning. It is an honor for me to teach such an eager student. I look forward to working with you.”

After the brief introductions, the financial instructor immediately began the lesson.

He first gave Elissa a simple explanation of how to use an abacus, then gave her a problem.

“Then, Lady Elissa. Could you show me 326, 15, and 739?”

“Ah, yes!”

Elissa moved her fingers over the abacus as best she could, but then stopped.

She glanced subtly at Richard.

It seemed as though she was trying to determine whether her answer was correct by watching his reaction.

However, when Richard showed no particular reaction, Elissa checked the abacus again.

Richard watched her for a moment, then let out a small sigh and took hold of Elissa’s hand.

His hand was pale, long, and firm, with calluses covering it. It easily enveloped Elissa’s small hand.

Richard guided Elissa’s fingers and moved the beads of the abacus.

“15 is correct. 326 goes like this. And 739 goes like this.”

“Exactly right, Young Duke. You have clearly reviewed the material properly.”

The financial instructor praised Richard.

Elissa also smiled and silently mouthed, Thank you.

Richard stared at Elissa as she smiled, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

Only then did he realize that he was still holding her hand.

He immediately let go.

“…Pay proper attention to the lesson.”

As Richard quickly turned his head away, the tips of his ears had turned red.

I’m not helping her. I’m just reviewing the material.

That was what Richard told himself.

Elissa was not particularly quick at learning.

However, once she fully understood something, she was good at applying it properly.

Richard secretly thought highly of that ability, but he did not tell her.

“Then, that will be all for today’s lesson.”

“Thank you.”

“Now that the Young Duke has a classmate attending the same lessons, I imagine the lessons will become more interesting for him as well. I hope the two of you will learn by competing with and helping each other as both rivals and companions.”

With that, the financial instructor wrapped up the lesson and left the room.

Only Elissa and Richard remained.

Richard placed his abacus and notebook on the desk and was about to leave the room.

Elissa stopped him.

“I promised to look around the territory with Anne after class. Do you want to come with us?”

“I’m busy.”

Richard answered bluntly without even pretending to think about it, then opened the door.

“Y-Young Duke.”

Anne had arrived to look for Elissa at just that moment. When she saw Richard, she hurriedly bowed her head.

She was dressed for going outside and was holding what appeared to be an outdoor robe belonging to Elissa.

Elissa took the robe from Anne and asked Richard,

“Should I buy you some cookies?”

“Those are only for little kids.”

In other words, he was teasing Elissa for liking cookies and calling her a child.

You’re a child too!

Now that they were in this together, Elissa had hoped they could at least get along, even if they did not become particularly close.

But Richard apparently had no intention of doing that.

Elissa narrowed her eyes at Richard and replied,

“Oh, really? Then I’ll buy some and eat them right in front of you. I won’t give you even one.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Richard answered in his usual indifferent tone and left the room.

Elissa glared at the back of his head, which she found incredibly annoying, before turning around.

“Let’s go, Anne.”

Several hours after Elissa left to look around the territory, the wind grew harsh.

The clear clouds that had filled the sky were gradually becoming dark and murky. It looked like rain was coming.

Richard looked out the window before turning his attention back to the book he had been reading.

Flip. Flip.

As Richard mechanically turned the pages, a frown gradually formed between his brows.

In fact, when Richard had traveled to the territory through the mountain road, he had encountered more monsters that had recently begun to emerge with the arrival of spring than groups of bandits.

Still, the monsters had hardly ever come down as far as the residential areas.

But something was bothering him.

Very much.

He had long since forgotten what the book he was reading was even about. His mind was completely elsewhere.

Eventually, Richard closed the book and stood up.

“…She really is a nuisance.”

If monsters attacked and Elissa happened to get hurt in the process, Albert might drive her out of the family, saying, How are you supposed to have children with a body like that?

Compared to whatever other women Albert might try to match him with, Elissa was better because she had no ulterior motives toward him.

That was the only reason Richard was worried about Elissa’s safety.

Richard put on his outdoor robe and stepped onto the balcony.

Then he focused his mind.

The wind slowly gathered around Richard, wrapping itself around his body before lifting him into the air.

As he gradually rose farther from the ground, the cold wind entered his lungs and filled his entire body.

It felt as though he had become one with the wind, and the sensation was pleasant.

He rose until he was about halfway up the height of the castle.

Richard was about to head toward the shopping district when he hurriedly looked around the castle.

No one’s here.

Fortunately, no one was watching him.

Albert absolutely hated it when Richard used flight magic.

Flight magic required an extremely high level of concentration, and if he lost focus even for a moment, he could fall to his death.

But during the year since Richard had come to the ducal family, he had secretly practiced flight magic while avoiding Albert’s watchful eyes.

Thanks to that, he was now quite skilled at using it.

After checking once again that there was no one around, Richard headed toward the shopping district of the territory.

“I’ll take this too.”

At a grocery store in the village square, Elissa was buying various ingredients for making cookies and other sweets.

One of the businesses Elissa planned to start after her divorce was a pastry shop.

However, Albert and Richard, the owners of Rubellin Castle, did not eat sweets at all.

As a result, the castle had no ingredients for making cookies or other confectioneries.

So Elissa decided to stock up while she had the chance.

After finishing her purchases, Elissa left the shop with a satisfied expression.

She had only bought ingredients, yet she already felt as though she had taken the first step toward starting her business.

Anne and a servant carrying the purchases followed behind her.

But unlike earlier, the sky had grown considerably darker.

It looked as though rain was about to fall.

The servants waiting beside the carriage spoke with worried expressions.

“Young Madam, the weather seems rather strange. It looks like the rain will start pouring soon. Wouldn’t it be better to return for today?”

“Spring rain in the north is much colder than the spring rain in the south, where you grew up, Madam.”

“I see. Then we should hurry back. Let’s go.”

Elissa had already bought most of the things she wanted anyway.

She climbed into the carriage with Anne.

The carriage carrying Elissa and the others left through the western gate of the village.

Rubellin Castle was originally located north of the village, so taking the northern gate would have been faster.

However, that gate had been under repair recently, and passage was being restricted, so they had to take the western gate instead.

After traveling a little farther beyond the western gate, the carriage left the well-maintained road and began rolling over gravel.

The impact made the carriage jolt.

Just when Elissa thought the jolting had become worse, she heard a panicked voice from outside.

“M-Monster! A monster has appeared!”

At the same time, the carriage came to a sudden stop.

The force nearly sent Elissa tumbling from her seat.

But the situation outside was a much bigger problem.

A monster?

Just as Elissa was about to look outside, a servant opened the small window leading to the coachman’s seat and shouted into the carriage.

“Madam! Get down and curl up on the floor!”

Elissa and Anne were both bewildered, but they immediately followed the servant’s instructions and crouched on the floor.

Outside, they could hear men shouting and the rough sounds of weapons striking something.

Soon, the noise grew even louder, as though more people had joined the fight.

It seemed that the knights of Rubellin and the people passing by were joining forces to fight the monster.

“…It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”

Elissa whispered as she hugged the frightened Anne.

She was also trying to reassure herself.

The two girls waited anxiously for the situation outside to end.

But just when they had finally managed to calm themselves—

BOOM!

An unknown, powerful force knocked the carriage onto its side.

“Eek!”

Elissa and Anne were thrown backward along with the tilting carriage.

Their bodies slammed against the carriage wall, sending pain through them and leaving Elissa momentarily dizzy.

Elissa barely managed to stay conscious as she looked around.

The carriage had fallen onto its side, leaving Elissa and Anne pressed against the windows on the left side.

But that side was blocked by the ground, so there was no way for them to escape through the window.

Elissa looked toward the window on the opposite side.

“……!”

There, a gigantic monster shaped like a centipede was staring down at Elissa and Anne, saliva dripping from its mouth.

The moment their eyes met, Elissa felt a terrifying fear unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Goosebumps covered her body, and she began to tremble violently.

“M-Madam…”

Terrified, Anne hugged Elissa tightly as tears welled up in her eyes.

What happened to the Rubellin knights? What about the servants?

Elissa hugged Anne as well and stared at the centipede.

Even though she was trembling in fear, she refused to look away from the monster’s eyes.

I don’t want to die like this…!

The centipede raised its head, preparing to smash through the window and reach Elissa and Anne.

Anticipating the impact that was about to come, Elissa curled up and squeezed her eyes shut.

Then—

A powerful gust of wind slammed into the centipede, driving it back.

And immediately afterward, a familiar voice rang out.

“Your opponent is me.”