HEMCP 51

CHAPTER  51……………………………………………

 You Can’t Be My Personal Teacher! (1)

Enrique tilted his posture slightly and gave a crooked smile.

It was a smile meant to be funny, but it carried a subtle edge of irritation.

“Why? Kaishen Malot can do it, but I can’t?”

“Well…”

I started to speak but stopped mid-sentence.

Why does he always ask why Kaishen can, but he can’t?

Something about it felt off. It seemed as though I had an inexplicable favoritism toward Kaishen over Enrique.

Of course, that wasn’t true.

There were countless legitimate reasons why I refused to call Enrique by his first name. Surely he knew them—so why throw a tantrum?

“…”

I looked at him with a gaze that carried many meanings. Enrique’s sharp eyes narrowed even further.

“Don’t just stare at me, speak. Teacher. Am I really not allowed?”

“…Yes. For now, it’s because you’re the crown prince.”

Who knows if he’ll suddenly accuse me of blasphemy again and try to strike me down.

Enrique tapped the desk with his fingers and muttered.

“You said that in here, there’s only a student and a teacher, not a crown prince and a countess…”

What?

“When did I ever say that for you to quote me now?”

“You really are good at empty words, Teacher…”

“….”

I was speechless.

When I had said that, he had just scoffed. Yet now… if I didn’t call him by name, I’d be reduced to a teacher who only speaks empty words.

And Enrique knew well enough that I was carefully guarding against becoming such a person.

‘Caught me.’

“…Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh and pressed my palm to my forehead.

“So you weren’t listening with one ear while letting the other hear nothing. Truly impressive memory.”

“Whose words are you talking about?”

“I thought Your Highness was ignoring me completely.”

“That wouldn’t be the case.”

In the end, I raised my hand first.

“Understood. Then is that all you want, Your Highness?”

It wasn’t a particularly difficult request.

I exhaled lightly and looked at Enrique. He slowly opened and closed his eyes, pressing further.

“Not Your Highness.”

“….”

Sometimes he was just so troublesome.

“Fine. Enrique, Your Highness. I will not yield on addressing you properly. You understand, right?”

When I finished speaking and looked at him with a ‘Is that enough?’ expression, Enrique grinned childishly.

It wasn’t cold or ominous, just a fairly natural smile.

“You call Logan by his name, so why am I always addressed so formally? I’ve always wondered.”

…So this had been a long-standing grudge, huh?

“You should have said something sooner.”

“Logan was a student I taught before, so I yielded.”

“When have you ever been so yielding?”

Enrique completely ignored my remark and narrowed his eyes.

“But Kaishen Malot is different, isn’t he? A student who started learning later than me, and he dares?”

“….”

Looking closer, he was all bulk but still acted like a child.

I smirked, packed my bag, and finally stood up properly.

“Alright. Class is over for today, Your Highness.”

“By name.”

“…Enrique, Your Highness. Do I have to attach your title to every sentence I say?”

“Again.”

This was maddening.

“Fine. Enrique. Enrique. I get it, really.”

If I stayed any longer, I’d spend the whole day just calling his name.

“Well then, I’ll really be going now.”

“Alright. Be careful on your way.”

I left Enrique with a satisfied expression behind me and quickly opened the door.

Just before stepping out:

“Oh, right.”

I remembered something I almost forgot to mention.

“You haven’t forgotten the upcoming exam, have you?”

“Exam?”

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, Enrique tilted his head at me.

“Yes. The midterm exam. You must take it. There’s no skipping it.”

To prevent possible complaints in advance, Enrique tilted his head further in disbelief.

“Who said I wouldn’t take it?”

“…As long as you have the will to take it, that’s a relief.”

Good, no complaints.

Then Enrique flashed a sinister smile and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

A sign and symbol of ominous events I knew well.

“Ah. Then for a reward.”

I shivered reflexively.

“I—No. That’s not allowed.”

“You think I’m joking?”

“Well…”

Last time, he snapped his fingers just like that and dragged me to the training yard saying I should strengthen my body.

This time, he didn’t make me run until I collapsed, but any physical exertion from him was still terrifying.

After recalling that memory, I slowly opened and closed my eyes before responding.

“You know what that means.”

“But isn’t it natural that a student would need motivation at the right moment?”

Enrique’s gaze softened as he stared at me.

“Ah…”

Really, why is he like this?

“…Go ahead, say it.”

Let’s see what he wants this time.

I stopped at the doorway with a resigned expression. Enrique slowly got up and approached me.

His heavy, imposing footsteps were still there, but they no longer felt entirely terrifying.

Not that I wasn’t a little tense.

‘…You’re the student and I’m the teacher. What if that flashes in my head?’

It wasn’t exactly that either.

“Teacher.”

At his voice, I held my breath and looked up.

Through the dark shadow of his face, his red eyes glimmered sharply.

“…Yes.”

I tightened my grip on the door handle.

…Alright. Come on!

Then his lips parted slowly, whispering to me:

“If you do well on the midterm, grant me one wish.”

“…Pardon?”

A wish?

I froze for a moment.

What is this, some kind of reward like at an elementary English academy?

After blinking at each other about five times, I slowly asked him again.

“A wish?”

“Yes.”

“…A wish?”

Enrique repeated the words emphatically, as if explaining patiently to a slow-witted elder.

“Grant me a wish. Just one.”

“….”

I slowly nodded.

“…Alright. Fine.”

A wish, huh.

“As long as it’s not a wish for me to quit being your tutor, I’ll grant anything.”

That must be it.

Then Enrique asked again, seeking confirmation.

“You won’t go back on that, right?”

“Of course not.”

I would never break a promise to Enrique after earning his trust.

But.

“Your Highness. I mean, Enrique, Your Highness. By ‘do well,’ you mean, of course, a perfect score, right?”

Could you really get a perfect score on your first exam?

At my provocation, Enrique let out a thin laugh.

“I never considered anything else.”

Huh. Confident, are we?

“Hmm…”

Well, considering his recent academic achievements, some confidence was justified.

“Good. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

But my exams wouldn’t exactly be easy.

I bowed slightly to Enrique, left the room, and closed the door behind me.

“…Hmph.”

Only then did a question arise.

Except for asking me to stop being his tutor, what other “wish” could Enrique possibly have?

Morning light filtered through the windows of the crown prince’s bedroom.

“…”

Enrique woke up drenched in sweat.

There was a smell of blood.

The cause wasn’t far off. He looked down at his hands; the rough, jagged hands were covered with deep cuts on every joint.

“…Haah.”

Enrique wiped his face with his bloody hands. The lukewarm, sticky scent clung to his skin.

The room was a total mess. Furniture was broken, curtains torn, decorations smashed.

“Dietrich.”

Alone in the room, Enrique called softly. The door opened as if on cue.

“…Your Highness.”

Dietrich stepped inside the chaotic room. He had likely been waiting outside since the sounds of destruction began.

Carefully, he spoke:

“You had a seizure after quite some time.”

“Yes. I had a nightmare.”

Enrique murmured quietly, staring at his still-empty hands, soaked in blood.

He often had nightmares that triggered violent episodes.

The royal physician diagnosed it as a seizure-type sleepwalking condition, an intensified form of mania.

The nightmares always featured his swordsmanship teacher, Ken Epsilon.

Ken had taught Enrique how to hold a sword gently, guiding him with care.

He would sit Enrique on his lap and teach him the names of every flower and insect in the world.

And then, that gentle expression would suddenly turn cruel.

He would raise a hand against Enrique, swing a sword, and curse him.

If Enrique couldn’t endure the pain and grabbed Ken’s arm, the situation changed.

He would realize how emaciated and frail that once seemingly invincible arm actually was.

“….”

Unable to escape from these memories, it was as if they constricted him.

After the nightmare, the room was always in ruins.

He had already destroyed everything around him—or at least, his mind boiled with noise before settling momentarily.

Enrique slowly lifted his head and asked Dietrich softly:

“Did I kill anyone today?”

“No. None.”

Dietrich Carlson answered immediately and bowed deeply.

“I see.”

That was a relief.

Enrique skillfully tore his clothes to wrap the wounds on his hands.

Then, in the next moment, he froze mid-motion.

“….”

Relief?

Had he even cared about that?

These days, Enrique felt unfamiliar to himself.

It had become pronounced since the day he had accidentally dozed off while talking to Liliane on the anniversary of Ken Epsilon’s death.

He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he didn’t want to disappoint her…

Even checking for traces of magic or medicine revealed nothing.

Liliane Crimson’s gentle face didn’t suggest such schemes anyway.

But that day, it felt like he had forgotten something important…

No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t come to mind.

What was shocking was that he could simply remove Liliane from the equation, but he didn’t want to.

Rather…

“…”

Enrique clenched his heart in his fist, swallowing feelings he could reveal to no one, and lifted his head.

“Step back.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Though the feelings were difficult to confront directly, they were starting to breathe vividly in Enrique’s chest.