TPOVF 18
by MartinChapter 18
“I was afraid Teacher would call me that, too……”
Yurenia bent down toward the small voice that sounded like it was crawling into the floor.
“Call you what?”
When she brought her ear close to Kylerus’s lips, the child whispered once more.
“Illiterate…… stupid and an idiot……”
What?
Yurenia’s face crumpled instantly.
In a flash, the words she had heard when she first met the child came back to her mind.
‘Everyone hated me. Listening only to the nanny. To me……’
The story the child had been unable to bring himself to speak out loud.
‘I said I was……’
Illiterate, stupid, and an idiot.
That was it.
Yurenia swallowed hard. It was shocking that the child still didn’t know how to read and write.
However, that wasn’t the reason for her dismay.
The Duke likely didn’t know that Kylerus had never learned his letters.
It was only natural.
In noble families, learning to read and write was as natural a progression as a child taking their first steps.
Usually, children naturally learned their letters while their nannies read them picture books.
After becoming familiar with their native language from the age of two or three, tutors were hired to teach them foreign languages.
By age seven, it was standard to be fluent in two or three foreign languages.
That’s why the Duke must have taken it for granted that his nephew could speak not only his native tongue, but foreign languages as well.
However, Kylerus’s environment had been anything but ordinary.
His mother, the Marchioness Dalton, had left the child’s upbringing entirely to the nanny, and the nanny had abused him. And that fact had only been discovered after the child turned seven.
Yurenia had missed this part.
Her breath hitched, and she pressed her lips together tightly. Her hands, resting on the sofa, unconsciously clenched tightly.
“……Teacher?”
When Yurenia remained frozen and still, the child’s voice called out.
Kylerus was trembling.
Terrified that his teacher might have become disgusted with him after learning his secret.
“Kyle……”
Yurenia suddenly snapped out of it and pulled the child into a warm, tight embrace.
She couldn’t bring herself to utter words like “illiterate,” “stupid,” or “idiot.”
If she could, she wanted to erase those words from Kylerus’s vocabulary and mind forever.
“I will……”
Yurenia’s throat choked up as she tried to soothe the child. She stroked Kylerus’s thin back with trembling hands and cleared her throat.
“I will teach you everything.”
“……”
“How to spell, and how to write Kyle’s name, too. And……”
Yurenia grimaced. Her heart ached so much that the words wouldn’t come out easily.
“And Kyle did nothing wrong. The people who said those mean words are the bad ones.”
“But the nanny said I was ignorant. She said being ignorant is embarrassing. That I’m an embarrassing child……”
“They were the ones in the wrong.”
Yurenia spoke firmly, setting her chin determinately.
She was angry.
She was so, so furious.
‘I need to have a serious talk with the Duke about the nanny’s punishment.’
The nanny, Malenda, had not only withheld the love the child deserved, but had completely ruined his precious childhood.
However, that was as far as Malenda’s influence reached. She could no longer inflict any harm on the child.
Because now, Yurenia herself was by Kylerus’s side.
He would grow into a fine young man.
In the original story, the adult Kylerus Valerio wrote exceptionally well.
Whether it came to managing his duties as a Duke or his breadth of knowledge, he lacked nothing.
Lacked? Far from it.
He was brilliant and erudite, often overwhelming the nobles in the House of Lords with just a few words.
His handwriting, in particular, was exceptionally beautiful. In the original novel, there was even a scene where the female lead, Emilia, stroked a letter he had sent.
Yurenia had never realized that behind his beautiful handwriting lay a dark, ink-like pain.
How hard must he have strived to learn how to write all on his own?
It made her heart ache to think of him secretly trying harder than anyone else to write perfectly, hidden away from everyone’s sight.
Yurenia did not want to leave Kylerus with miserable memories.
Kylerus would grow up happy. Unlike the original story, and unlike her past life, she would not let him endure, bottle up his feelings, and struggle to survive all alone again.
“I’m the teacher who came to teach Kyle. So, I will teach you everything you don’t know. How to write your name, and how to read picture books, too.”
At those words, the child buried in Yurenia’s arms raised his head timidly.
Meeting his questioning gaze tenderly, she held Kylerus’s soft hand and continued.
“And I’ll also teach you how to write a letter to your mother.”
“To Mom?”
“Yes. We’ll learn your letters so you can write a letter saying that Kyle is doing well. How about that?”
At Yurenia’s proposal, Kylerus’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“I’d like that!”
The child beamed brightly, as if he had never been downcast in the first place. As if he had never experienced such dark pain.
Returning to the ducal residence that evening, Chester wiped his tired face with his hand.
It had been an unusually long day.
Starting with an appearance in court at the crack of dawn, followed by the House of Lords meeting.
The meeting was originally scheduled to end quickly.
However, the Marquis of Elverin insisted on raising the domain’s tax revenue, causing the meeting to drag on.
‘Exhausting.’
Striding across the room with long strides, he headed toward the dressing room connected to the bedroom. As he took off his jacket and vest with the help of a servant, he asked Enzo.
“Was there anything unusual at the residence?”
“……No, sir.”
Enzo, standing with his hands behind his back, rolled his eyes this way and that, hesitating.
Chester, who was changing into comfortable indoor clothes, glared at him with sharp eyes.
“Was there or wasn’t there? Speak clearly.”
“There was nothing in particular for you to worry about, sir. However, the tutor mentioned she wanted to see you, Your Grace.”
“The teacher?”
Chester, who was changing into a soft shirt, turned his head to look at Enzo. He gave his aide a brief glance before speaking nonchalantly.
“Tell her to come in.”
“Pardon? Here, sir? To your bedroom?”
“Enzo.”
“Yes, right away.”
When Chester called his name in a low voice, Enzo immediately shut his mouth and disappeared.
Chester clicked his tongue softly.
‘Making a fuss over nothing.’
Although called a bedroom, this was a large suite featuring a drawing room, a small office, a dressing room, and even an attached bathroom.
Yet Enzo was making a fuss for no reason.
As if he were extending a secret invitation.
Having changed into indoor wear, Chester sat comfortably on the sofa in the drawing room. Before long, the tutor entered together with Enzo.
“Your Grace, did you call for me?”
Chester gestured toward a seat for Yurenia, who was greeting him politely. As soon as she sat down on the sofa, he got straight to the point.
“I heard you were looking for me?”
“Ah, yes. The dresses arrived from the boutique this morning. Thank you. I’ll wear them well.”
“It’s nothing major.”
At Yurenia’s gentle greeting, Chester replied grumpily.
He hadn’t particularly expected thanks, but for some reason, the bridge of his nose felt itchy.
“I’ll get you as many dresses as you need, so speak freely.”
Clang!
No sooner had Chester finished speaking than Enzo, standing nearby, dropped his teaspoon. He wore a thoroughly bewildered expression, looking as though he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“Oh…… huh…… well, now.”
“What is it?”
Enzo, who had been creaking like a broken carriage, froze at Chester’s question.
Fumbling around on the floor, he managed to pick up the teaspoon before snapping upright.
“N-Nothing at all, sir. Please continue your conversation comfortably.”
“What?”
Before Chester could ask further, Enzo led the servants out of the room.
Left alone out of the blue, Yurenia and Chester stared blankly at the spot where they had vanished.
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