CHAPTER 18…………………………………….
“Teacher… I’m afraid you might call me… that.”
Eurenia bent down toward the tiny voice that seemed to shrink with fear.
“What did you say?”
When she brought her ear close to Kylarus’s mouth, the child whispered again.
“Illiterate… stupid… a fool….”
What?
Eurenia’s face crumpled instantly.
For a moment, memories of what the child had said when they first met flashed through her mind.
“Everyone hated me. Only listening to the nurse. To me….”
Words the child could barely voice aloud at the time.
“I was called….”
Illiterate, stupid, a fool.
That was it.
Eurenia swallowed hard. She was surprised that the child still didn’t know letters.
But that wasn’t the source of her dismay.
The duke would not know that Kylarus had not learned to read.
Naturally.
In noble families, learning to read was as taken for granted as a child learning to walk.
Usually, a nurse would read storybooks aloud, and children would pick up reading naturally.
By the age of two or three, they were familiar with their mother tongue, and tutors would then teach them foreign languages.
By seven, it was common to be fluent in two or three languages.
So the duke would have naturally assumed that his nephew could handle not only his native language but also foreign languages.
But Kylarus’s environment was not typical.
His mother, Duchess Dalton, left his upbringing entirely to the nurse, who abused him. And it was only when Kylarus turned seven that he learned the truth.
Eurenia had overlooked this part.
Her breath caught, and she pressed her lips together tightly. Her hands gripping the sofa tensed involuntarily.
“…Teacher?”
When Eurenia remained frozen, the child’s trembling voice came again.
Kylarus was shivering.
Perhaps worried that the teacher had learned his secret and would be disgusted.
“Kylar…”
Eurenia snapped back to her senses and hugged him tightly.
She couldn’t bring herself to utter words like “illiterate,” “stupid,” or “fool.”
If she could, she would erase those words from Kylarus’s mind and his memory forever.
“I…”
Her throat tightened as she tried to soothe the child. She stroked Kylarus’s frail back with trembling hands and steadied her voice.
“I’ll teach you everything.”
“…”
“How to spell, how to write your name… and…”
Eurenia frowned, her heart aching, making it hard to speak.
“And, Kylar has done nothing wrong. It’s the people who said those cruel things who are at fault.”
“But the nurse said I’m ignorant. Being ignorant is shameful. I’m a shameful child…”
“That’s their fault.”
Eurenia spoke firmly, clenching her jaw.
She was angry.
Truly, immensely angry.
“I’ll have to have a serious talk about punishing the duke and the nurse.”
The nurse, Malenda, not only failed to give the love the child deserved but ruined Kylarus’s precious childhood entirely.
But Malenda’s influence ended there. She could no longer harm the child.
Now, Eurenia herself was by Kylarus’s side.
He would grow into a fine young man.
In the original story, Kylarus—adult Kylarus Valerio—was skilled in writing.
He was competent in ducal duties and well-informed.
He lacked nothing.
His intellect and extensive knowledge often overwhelmed other nobles in the council with just a few words.
His handwriting was exceptionally beautiful. In the original, the heroine Emilia even caressed letters he sent her.
What Eurenia hadn’t realized was that behind that beautiful handwriting lay deep, ink-black pain.
How hard he must have worked to learn writing on his own.
Secretly, striving to write perfectly more than anyone else, she thought, he must have struggled alone.
Eurenia did not want Kylarus to bear such miserable memories.
He would grow up happy. Unlike in the original, unlike how she had lived in her previous life, he would not have to endure, suppress, and painfully endure everything alone.
“I’m your teacher here to teach you, Kylar. So anything you don’t know, I’ll teach you. How to write your name, how to read storybooks…”
At those words, the child in her arms lifted his head slightly.
Seeing that look, full of hope, Eurenia gently held Kylarus’s soft hand and continued.
“I’ll even teach you how to write letters to your mother.”
“To Mom?”
“Yes. You’ll learn to write and send her a letter saying that you’re doing well. How about that?”
Kylarus’s eyes sparkled at the suggestion.
“Great!”
The child smiled brightly, as if he had never known dark pain.
That evening, Chester returned to the ducal residence, rubbing his tired face.
It had been an unusually long day.
He had attended court at dawn and then the noble council meeting.
The meeting had been scheduled to end quickly, but Marquis Elberin insisted on raising taxes for his domain, prolonging it.
I’m exhausted.
He strode across the room toward the dressing room connected to his bedroom. With the help of a servant, he removed his jacket and vest and asked Enzo:
“Anything unusual at the estate?”
“…No.”
Enzo stood with his hands behind his back, fidgeting and hesitating.
Chester, now in comfortable indoor clothes, glared sharply.
“Was there or wasn’t there? Speak clearly.”
“There was nothing you need worry about. Only that the tutor said she wished to meet you, Duke.”
“The teacher?”
Chester, adjusting his soft shirt, turned to Enzo. After a brief glance at his aide, he said casually:
“Have her come.”
“Here? To the bedroom?”
“Enzo.”
“Yes, understood.”
He lowered his voice, and Enzo quickly shut his mouth and left.
Chester clicked his tongue softly.
How fussy.
This room was called a bedroom, but it was essentially a large living space with a small office, dressing room, and bathroom.
Yet Enzo made such a fuss, as if inviting someone secretly.
Chester sat comfortably on the sofa. Soon, Enzo returned with the tutor.
“Duke, did you call for me?”
Eurenia greeted respectfully, and Chester gestured for her to sit. As soon as she sat, he got straight to the point.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Oh, yes. This morning, a dress arrived from the wardrobe. Thank you. I’ll wear it well.”
“Not a big deal.”
Chester spoke gruffly, though he didn’t particularly seek thanks, feeling a strange tickle on his nose.
“I’ll get you a few more dresses, so speak freely.”
Clang!
Before he could finish, Enzo, standing nearby, dropped a teaspoon, looking bewildered—as if he had overheard something he shouldn’t.
“Whoa… huh… what’s this?”
“Why?”
Enzo hesitated like a broken carriage when Chester asked. He fumbled on the floor, finally picked up the teaspoon, and straightened up.
“Ah, nothing. Please, continue your conversation.”
“What?”
Before Chester could ask more, Enzo left with the other servants.
Left alone, Eurenia and Chester stared blankly at where they had disappeared.
