TPOVF 09

Chapter 09

“…How noisy.”

Chester muttered, massaging his temple. No one dared to approach the Duke’s study with such rudeness.

“What is it this time?”

Chester spoke in a tone of utter exasperation.

He would immediately dismiss any indulgent servant. But Malenda was an employee hired by Maeve.

So he couldn’t dispose of the nanny as he pleased.

Moreover, she was the nanny who had come with Maeve when she entrusted Kailus to him—the one who had been caring for the child since birth.

The child was already emotionally unstable from being separated from his mother. He couldn’t very well take away the nanny as well.

That was why Chester tolerated the noisy nanny. But as a side effect, it led to impertinent behavior like today’s.

“Tell her to come in.”

When Chester signaled to Enzo with his eyes, he opened the door. As soon as the door opened, Malenda burst in and shouted.

“Your Grace! This is a disaster! A disaster!”

She had apparently run straight here from the nursery, as there were even beads of sweat on her forehead.

“Oh dear, what to do. I was truly so shocked!”

Chester looked languidly at Malenda, who was panting and shouting.

“Explain what happened.”

“Yes, yes, of course!”

Malenda beamed. She seemed delighted that the head of the household, her master, was lending an ear to her story.

Or perhaps she was excited about what she was about to say.

“It’s about the new private tutor who came today. That young lady teacher, Eure-something-or-other! I was trying to guide her, you see. Since I’m with the young master all day long.”

Not “Eure-something-or-other” but Eurenia, isn’t it.

‘Her memory is terrible.’

Chester thought as he listened to Malenda’s words with an expressionless face. Despite his cold demeanor, she prattled on.

“Before I could even open the young master’s door, she insisted on doing it herself—which I thought was suspicious—and sure enough, she caused an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Oh dear, she flung the door open so carelessly that I ended up spilling my milk!”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if anyone was hurt.”

Chester quickly scanned Malenda up and down and asked. Since the nanny appeared perfectly fine, it was highly likely that Eurenia or Kailus had been injured.

“Did you call a physician?”

“Oh, a physician…”

Malenda hesitated, rolling her eyes.

She had expected the Duke to be furious when she told him the child had spilled milk on the new tutor. But instead, he asked about a physician first.

‘What a worrywart.’

As the situation took an odd turn, Malenda pouted.

Usually, Chester never asked about Kailus. So she had thought he had no particular affection for his nephew.

But in times like this, it seemed he did care, after all—since they were blood relatives.

‘As expected of noble lords and their bloodline love.’

Malenda thought, pulling down the corners of her mouth.

“Don’t trouble yourself with worry. Aside from the new teacher getting a little wet, everyone is perfectly fine.”

Malenda waved her hand and laughed. At her boisterous laughter, Chester’s face hardened menacingly.

‘And she came to make a fuss over this?’

He had been holding back his anger all along. Kailus’s nanny was a constant source of headaches.

‘I’ve wasted my time.’

Chester turned his head away from Malenda. Engaging with her any further would only waste time.

If this woman weren’t Kailus’s nanny, he would have cast her out long ago.

Chester gestured to Enzo. Reading the Duke’s thoughts, he stepped forward.

“It seems you’ve finished your business. You can tell me the rest, Malenda.”

“Oh my? What’s this? I’m talking to the Duke right now!”

As the aide tried to escort her out, Malenda resisted.

“I’m telling you, this isn’t something I can discuss with Enzo!”

Malenda grabbed Enzo’s arm forcefully and raised her voice.

“Many tutors have come and gone, but none have caused an accident on their very first day! This tutor is a bad seed, I tell you!”

“…And?”

Chester, who had been trying to ignore Malenda and return to work, asked quietly. At his somber tone, she flinched.

“And what? You come to see the head of the household without an appointment, and what is it you want to say?”

“I, I…”

“I asked for the main point.”

Malenda swallowed dryly at the Duke’s chilling aura.

She was suddenly reminded of the rumors about his ruthless disposition.

That the head of House Valerio showed no mercy.

‘So what. His Grace can’t touch me.’

Malenda recalled Maeve Dalton, the Marchioness, who had entrusted her son to her years ago.

Just before she came here, Maeve had pressed a sum worth a carriage into her hand, asking her to take good care of Kailus.

Even afterward, the Marchioness had sent generous replies every time Malenda wrote to her.

The contents of those replies were heavy banknotes.

Marchioness Maeve Dalton firmly believed that Malenda was raising her son well.

Although Malenda resided in Duke Chester’s mansion, her employer was Marchioness Maeve.

So the Duke couldn’t lay a hand on her. He never had, and never would.

“Today, thank goodness, we managed to resolve the situation without the young master getting hurt. But there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again, is there? When I’m not around, who knows what harm the new tutor might cause the young master…”

Duke Chester merely sat still, gazing at Malenda. Unable to read his reaction, she hastily added.

“And! Young Master Kailus also said he wants the new tutor dismissed! So before another accident happens, I suggest you terminate the tutor’s contract…”

“…Kail said that?”

The Duke, who had remained silent throughout Malenda’s tirade, lifted his head. He stared directly at her and spoke.

“That’s strange.”

“Pardon? What’s…”

“According to the nanny, the new tutor got milk spilled on her today. And you’re saying she should be dismissed in case something like this happens again? And Kail wants that too?”

Duke Chester put down his pen and said.

“I don’t understand why you’re asking to dismiss the victim, Teacher Eurenia. In this situation, the one who should be dismissed is the one who made the mistake, isn’t it?”

The Duke stood up, bracing himself against the desk. As his height rose, Malenda instinctively stepped back. His sharp gaze pierced into her like a nail.

“Why would Kail want the tutor dismissed instead of the nanny? Isn’t that strange?”

“Uh…”

As the situation turned against her, Malenda’s mouth flapped open. At this rate, she was the one who would end up being dismissed.

“Th-that… I might have misheard… If His Grace could also pretend not to have heard…”

Malenda rubbed the back of her neck, stammering. At her transparent scheming, one corner of Chester’s mouth lifted.

“That won’t do.”

Duke Chester approached Malenda and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I can’t just let slide the words of the nanny in charge of my nephew.”

“Hic!”

As his grip tightened on Malenda’s plump shoulder, her body gave a small jolt.

Chester looked down at her, who was hiccuping, and spoke lowly.

“I’ll speak with the new tutor myself.”

A short while later.

In the west wing of the mansion, on the second-floor corridor.

Chester, who had come looking for Eurenia’s quarters, was met with an empty room.

The new tutor hadn’t yet unpacked her belongings, it seemed, as the untouched furniture greeted him.

‘I’ll have to come back later.’

Chester sighed softly and turned away. It seemed he would have to settle for warning Kailus’s nanny once again this time.

Though it likely wouldn’t have much effect anyway.

‘Unfortunate, but there’s no helping it.’

Chester gestured to Enzo, who was waiting in the corridor. As he was about to turn away with him, he heard a small voice from the next room catching his footsteps.

“…what if…?”

Through the crack of the open door, he heard a faint but clear voice—a boy’s voice.

At that moment. Chester remembered that the room next to the tutor’s was Kailus’s room.

When the child had first arrived, he had told butler Branson to assign him the largest, best room with the most modern furnishings.

He had forgotten since he’d never looked in on him since then.

‘So it was here.’

From the intermittent small voices, it seemed the new tutor and Kailus were having a conversation.

Chester quietly grasped the doorknob. He had no intention of interrupting the tutor and child’s time together.

“Lillian’s sickness is all my fault.”

That was, until he heard Kailus’s confession.