The Teachers of the Protagonists Want to Quit — Chapter 27
15. This House Is Strange Somehow (1)
‘They should have arrived by now.’
Small, delicate, fragile.
So easy to break that he had to focus with every bit of concentration he possessed just to make sure he didn’t apply the slightest force.
He had held his breath as much as possible, but that only made the sound of his pounding heartbeat louder and more troublesome.
“Sometimes I feel sorry. If not for that prophecy, you wouldn’t have had to go through such things. That diligence of yours could have been used elsewhere…”
The emperor’s voice drifted farther and farther away.
The long rays of sunlight fell onto the marble floor, slicing into window-shaped pieces.
‘Golden…’
The sunlight that had broken and fallen over Lucien had also been golden.
The warmth and weight he’d felt in his arms resurfaced vividly, and Chester flexed his empty hands for no reason.
‘Was I insane for a moment?’
For someone who had lived moving on duty and responsibility, making decisions between life and death, even he couldn’t understand that sudden impulse.
Perhaps it was because of that momentary peace.
The power that had surged in together with her pain as he absorbed it.
The sensation of the swirling impurities devouring his body suddenly halting.
That suffocating peace—he’d wanted to remain submerged in it forever.
“I wonder if you know how considerate I always am toward you.”
Considerate? What nonsense.
“I am always grateful, Your Majesty.”
Such things were virtues shown by people like her.
Not the emperor. Not him.
Lucien had taken it purely as kindness, but if he had truly been considerate of her, he should have called a nearby guard or knight to carry her.
Not risk tying her reputation to Rosanacht and inviting disgrace.
“Then don’t stop proving it.”
“……”
It’s almost over.
Chester shook off his thoughts and lifted his head.
“The only thing you must do—and the only thing you can do—is that.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
What he had to do was set.
Just as he had done for the past ten years, he would continue doing so.
But among the things he did today, was any of it something he had to do?
The first thing Chester did after returning from the imperial palace was summon his personal physician.
The ducal physician came running, flustered, to check the duke’s condition.
Hearing he had gone to the palace, his worry intensified.
“Sir Morris, go on a short trip for me.”
“A trip? All of a sudden—what are you… More importantly, are you all right? Every time you return from the imperial palace you come back half-beaten—”
“Enough. Go to the Filonia viscountcy.”
Morris had naturally become Chester’s physician after taking over for his father, who retired after serving the previous duke.
Unlike his father, who used to joke, ‘I have nothing to do because my patient never gets sick,’ Morris was always busy thanks to an employer who constantly risked his life.
Naturally, he wasn’t the type to welcome business trips—
“I will pack immediately!”
—except he was.
‘Outside! I get to go outside! Outside!’
Unlike in his childhood, when he used to follow his father, the current ducal manor was strangely gloomy and chilly, enough to dampen even someone as lively as Morris.
‘Trips are the best!’
“But what happened so suddenly? You’re acting strange today. You went to the palace and you’re still perfectly fine. Normally you’d be shut inside smoking cigars or—”
“You don’t need a mouth to administer treatment.”
Understood. Morris mimed zipping his lips shut.
“Lady Filonia injured her ankle. Go treat her.”
“Don’t they have their own doctor?”
“Do I need to explain why I’m sending you?”
Morris shrugged. He knew better than anyone.
“Why send a high-class professional like me for that? Lady Filonia—ohhh, you mean the one who confessed to Your Grace, and you hesitated until she dumped you?”
“……”
“Don’t look at me like that. Who told you to waste heaven’s blessing like that?”
A complete misunderstanding—so tangled he didn’t even know where to begin.
No, perhaps leaving it alone would be better.
Instead of arguing with his tactless doctor, Chester pulled out something wrapped in a handkerchief and tossed it at him.
“What’s this?”
“Analyze the ingredients on your way back.”
Morris unfolded the handkerchief. A capsule pill lay inside.
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
He quickly realized the pill was related to that Filonia girl, but he wisely kept the thought to himself.
His employer clearly hadn’t gotten over the heartbreak yet.
To Lady Lucien Filonia.
Lucien received the invitation from the Arché ducal household two days after the overly energetic personal physician had instantly healed her ankle.
He was an extremely valuable magical healer, the type whose fee could buy a townhouse or two.
‘To send someone like that just to fix my ankle?’
Thanks to him, her ankle was so perfectly healed she barely remembered she had been injured.
…Thus, we would like to invite you to a dinner.
We hope it will be a comfortable time where we can speak honestly.
But seeing the invitation made her briefly regret letting him heal her at all.
“So basically they want you in an uncomfortable atmosphere to spill everything you know. No weddings or funerals that day?”
Teacher #1 advised.
“If I had one, I wouldn’t be thinking this hard.”
“Then make one. You can’t kill anyone, so find someone to marry. Wait—how about you?”
“Rejected. Nonsense. What if I pretend to be sick?”
Teacher #2 suggested.
“I hate feigning illness.”
Teacher #3 clicked her tongue and rolled up her sleeves.
“Then it won’t be fake. Let’s break your ankle again.”
“Are you insane!?”
Lucien, overwhelmed by the tear-jerking camaraderie, shook her head furiously.
“Lucien, are you really going? It was already bad enough the emperor kept calling you, but now the Arché duke too? Just tell them to call you at Noctua instead.”
Eila spoke from beside her, her eyes full of worry.
“There’s… something I’m curious about. And I’m not really in a position to refuse…”
If the invitation had gone to the school, she could have refused as a teacher.
But this one went to her home.
‘If I refuse, my life will get complicated.’
Noctua’s name, authority, and magical contract protected teachers’ status and safety, but not their social reputation.
If word reached her family, it would be a disaster.
Seeing Lucien’s expression, Eila gave a resigned sigh.
“Fine. It can’t be helped. But don’t try to do anything. If you get too involved, it never ends well.”
Especially with your class being what it is. Eila muttered.
Lucien knew. She was the one suffering from them every day.
“I’m just going to check something. I hate getting tangled in students’ family issues too.”
Her colleagues scoffed.
“Yeah right. You’re probably going to take the side of that so-called villainess in your class.”
The Arché duchy had a deep relationship with the temple, judging by the religious decorations throughout the mansion.
Silent, respectful servants who made no unnecessary noise. A solemn atmosphere. A beautiful estate and the even more picturesque family that lived in it.
Honestly, if not for her job, Lucien would never have set foot in a place like this.
‘Well, it’s not like I would’ve ever had a private audience with the emperor or a grand duke either.’
If they had met outside the context of parent and teacher, she might have considered it an honor.
The dinner—prepared personally by the duchess—held just enough formality not to burden a Noctua instructor or an unmarried viscount’s daughter.
And in that supposedly “comfortable atmosphere,” the first thing Lucien heard was:
“What do you think is wrong with that child?”
“Don’t worry. We know she’s a problem. Speak freely.”
“……”
She felt like she might choke.
She had sensed something off from the moment she received the invitation, and again when she arrived at the mansion.
Now she was certain what the strangeness was.
‘Neither the duke nor the duchess has spoken Cordelia’s name.’
All the parents Lucien had met—at Noctua or in society—usually called their children by name or said “our child,” “my son,” “my daughter.”
These two, however, avoided the name entirely, saying only “that child,” “the first daughter,” as if they didn’t even want to mention her.
And they did so with the child present.
Yes. Shockingly, both Cordelia and her sister Cozette were sitting at this “comfortable” dinner, and all this was said directly in front of Cordelia.
Even Lucien felt embarrassed for her.
