TNDOBM 07

Chapter 07

As a result, Rien was hired as Cecilia’s etiquette teacher.

And finally, the day of the first lesson arrived.

Cecilia, sitting upright at her desk like any other student, raised her hand toward Rien, who was holding a textbook.

“Teacher, I have a question before we start the lesson.”

“S-Seon… I mean, just Rien is fine.”

“Alright, Rien. By any chance, do you have a sun allergy?”

Cecilia asked, staring coldly at the robe he had forcibly thrown over what appeared to be a neat outfit underneath.

During the interview, Cecilia had even entertained delusions about him possibly being a clone, but she was soon forced to acknowledge that the person before her was indeed Rien.

After all, he had conducted the interview so flawlessly, only to step outside and fumble through his palm-sized briefcase to pull out a robe and put it on.

*’Seriously, even engineering students eventually give up their checkered shirts, but why can’t he let go of that robe?’*

She recalled her university classmates who, despite all sorts of persuasion, could never part with their checkered shirts and hoodies, and she felt a wave of exasperation.

Oblivious to her burning desire to tear that rag to shreds right then and there, he answered with a rather bright smile.

“No.”

“Then is it a disease where you die if you take the robe off?”

“No, not that either.”

“Then can’t you take it off while indoors? It looks stuffy.”

She thought she had phrased it as delicately as possible, so as not to scare him.

But Rien, gripping the hem of his robe tightly, hesitated before answering.

“C-Can I… not take the robe off? I’m embarrassed to show my face…”

Cecilia couldn’t comprehend, even 1ng worth, what there was to be embarrassed about with a face that would be praised far and wide, but she couldn’t exactly force him to undress.

Suppressing her impulse, Cecilia spoke a little more gently.

“Then could you at least push back your hood during the lesson? A teacher hiding their face excessively can make a student feel uneasy.”

It was a request purely for the sake of her own eyes, but Rien seemed to take her nonsense quite seriously.

“I didn’t realize… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cecilia didn’t correct his misunderstanding.

After all, her startled reaction had ultimately made him push his hood back slightly.

Beneath his long eyelashes, jewel-like violet eyes were revealed. And how well they suited the faint blush rising on his cheeks, as if he truly were embarrassed.

*’My eyes are blessed.’*

Isn’t this the kind of welfare a student rightfully deserves?

She had no way of knowing if he wore a robe at the Academy too, but if he didn’t, she could confidently guarantee that his lecture attendance and satisfaction rates would have been 100%.

Finally satisfied, Cecilia openly admired—no, observed him.

Rien, unable to properly meet her direct gaze, fumbled for a moment before gripping the textbook tightly.

“Th-Then, shall we start the lesson now?”

“Aw, but it’s the first day, do we have to jump straight into the lesson?”

Despite having already opened the textbook, Cecilia raised one hand and asked mischievously.

“Oh, then what would you like to do on the first day…”

“Tell me about your first love, Teacher!”

Isn’t this just the kind of first question you ask a handsome student-teacher?

She had also planned to subtly figure out Rien’s ideal type.

But his eyes widened, then began to shake violently.

“I…”

His gaze dropped sorrowfully, his lips pressed tightly together, and even the corners of his eyes reddened.

As the bitterness spread like spilling ink, Cecilia sighed inwardly.

*’I was thinking of something like a fleeting crush or unrequited love from his Academy days.’*

It seemed there was a tragic someone he remembered, someone that made him sad just thinking about them.

*’Ah, a male lead with a deep, true love is really divisive.’*

She was firmly on the ‘dislike’ side. But she decided to overlook her potential partner’s past deep love.

After all, she wasn’t going to spend her whole life with him here, and that meant he could potentially become *her* future deep love.

Realizing she had inadvertently stepped on a landmine, Cecilia hastily changed the subject.

“On second thought, I think it’s best we start the lesson right away! Should I open my book?”

“…Yes.”

Rien, fumblingly pulling his robe back over his head, finally began the lesson.

“Um, before that, may I ask one question? The reason you need to go to the capital is to receive His Majesty the Emperor’s approval for your qualification as a Saintess, correct?”

“That’s right.”

Even though it wasn’t official yet, it was common knowledge, even to the street urchins, that the eldest daughter of the Weberdin family was practically a ‘Saintess’ already.

So it wasn’t strange that he had deduced her purpose for going to the capital.

“That being the case, could you teach me the basics before we get into etiquette?”

“Basics… like what?”

“Um, things like the relationship between the temple and the imperial family. I know about it, but I’d like to hear it from a neutral perspective as well.”

*’Actually, I’m asking because I don’t really know.’*

She only knew that the temple and the imperial family weren’t on good terms; she was completely ignorant about this ‘approval’ issue.

This would be common knowledge for ‘Cecilia,’ who was born into the Weberdin family and lived as a Weberdin, but to Rien, her excuse seemed plausible enough.

Rien began speaking calmly.

“Then I’ll explain the history of the Empire first. You know that in the past, the Empire was a society where church and state were unified. To be precise, the deity’s representative ruled the Empire.”

She had learned while researching this world that the founding myth stated the god directly established and ruled the country.

*’And Melanie proudly said the Weberdin family was the one that served that god for all that time.’*

“As time passed, the divine right and imperial authority naturally separated, but due to that history, they have yet to escape their adversarial relationship even now.”

Cecilia readily nodded.

With the traditionalist temple wielding power comparable to the imperial household, it was only natural they wouldn’t get along.

“Both groups needed a means to check each other. One of those means is the ‘blessing’ and ‘approval’ of their successors.”

That’s why, Rien added, the appointment of a Saintess required the Emperor’s approval, and the designation of a Crown Prince required the Pope’s blessing.

So this was likely the reason Knox had to specifically go up to the capital.

*’I don’t know why the Emperor would summon a Saintess to the capital directly, but…’*

What was certain was that her trip to the capital would be quite perilous.

After all, the imperial faction was concentrated in the capital.

*’The Weberdin family, the mainstay of the temple, and a Saintess candidate on top of that—they’ll be a thorn in their side.’*

Just imagining the people who would watch her with sharp eyes, filled with checks and contempt, was enough to drain her energy.

*’I hate it. I really do.’*

Feeling no motivation whatsoever, Cecilia slumped her shoulders wearily.

It was the hundred and forty-fifth time she’d had this thought, but truly, she desperately, desperately wanted to go home.

—

After the first lesson ended.

Rien returned to the mansion and crossed the empty hallway.

*Thump, thump.*

Inside the quiet mansion, devoid of even servants or signs of life.

Only the sound of his footsteps echoed hollowly.

He stopped at a small room at the end of the hall.

Rien plopped down onto the worn-out sofa, the only thing that showed any signs of life.

Then he stared silently at the fireplace, where flames were burning despite the season.

“I… I told you not to follow me.”

“……”

The moment Rien finished speaking, the flames surged up, and a figure emerged from within.

It was a young man with long, sunset-colored hair tied neatly back.

“My apologies. You weren’t responding to any calls. I thought you might have thrown away the communication orb.”

The man, after a slight bow, glanced at the orb sitting perfectly intact on the desk and replied.

“…I forgot.”

As Rien mumbled his answer, the stoic man’s face showed a crack.

“May I ask how long you plan to keep up that concept… or rather, that appearance?”

“Is… is it strange?”

“Yes. A little, no, it’s extremely repulsive.”

The man, Hiltain, expressed his disgust without reservation.

If Rien were to actually stop acting and revert to his true form, there was no doubt that some part of Hiltain’s body, for his insolence, would be severed.

But it was worth the risk, because his superior’s acting was that repulsive.

Unfortunately, however, his superior seemed to have no intention of stopping his unfunny act.

“Ah, no.”

“…Yes?”

“I have no choice if I want to stay by that person’s side.”

*’Fuck.’*

Hiltain barely swallowed a harsh curse.

Did his superior know that the added muttering was even more disgusting?

*’What kind of pathetic innocent act is he trying to pull?’*

A lion would do a better impression of a herbivore.

Hiltain recalled the moment he first met his superior.

*[Get lost.]*

That was all the man had said, after reading for a long time, surrounded by a veritable wall of high-ranking mages.

The faces of those high-ranking mages, who had traveled to pay their respects to the new Magic Tower Lord, flushed bright red.

*[No matter if you are the Magic Tower Lord, this attitude is…!]*

*[I hate inefficient things.]*

The only emotion contained in that terrifyingly sculpted face was sheer boredom. Yet, the moment his gaze fell upon them, everyone was forced to shut their mouths.

A chilling killing intent, as if their necks would be severed at any moment.

Even the high-ranking mages, who had always been the strong ones, were nothing but prey before him.

*[For instance, if I have to say something twice.]*

So, watching the man elegantly dress down his demand for them to leave without making him repeat himself, Hiltain realized.

That surviving under his superior would be terribly arduous.