Chapter 46
Erica bit her inner lip.
She hadn’t exchanged many words, but she could already feel it.
‘Does the teacher not like me?’
The woman’s unfriendly attitude made her heart shrink naturally.
At the Acliff Ducal residence, she had only ever met people who liked her, so perhaps she’d gotten used to that.
‘I met way more people who hated me at the Marquisate of Blanche…’
It had been a while since she’d faced such cold treatment, and it made her feel unfamiliar.
No—truthfully, she never wanted to get used to it again, and now that she had to face it once more, she felt utterly drained.
If she didn’t consciously manage it, her expression would instantly cloud over with gloom. So Erica bit down hard on the soft flesh inside her mouth.
‘Stay strong, stay strong.’
The girl kept silently cheering herself on.
Eventually, Felix explained the guest to Erica.
“You may have already heard from Sebastian, but let me introduce her formally. This is the woman who might become your teacher. She’ll teach you how to behave and live as a noblewoman, as well as everything about the Duchy of Acliff. To be precise, she’s a candidate. She said she’d decide after meeting you today.”
“Oh… I see. Yes, Father.”
At Felix’s words, the woman let out a big sigh. Erica was startled by the rude gesture.
“Brother, must you speak so stiffly? Is that all our relationship is?”
Felix frowned slightly at the woman’s rebuke and shot her a sidelong glance.
Then, seeing Erica’s confusion, he added an explanation.
“Ahem. She is, privately, my sister.”
Erica’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
“Then…”
The woman snapped her folding fan shut and curved her lips in a bright smile.
In that moment, the icy air that had surrounded her melted away.
It was truly astonishing.
Erica’s mouth parted unconsciously. As if she couldn’t believe it, her eyes darted back and forth between Felix and the woman who was to become her teacher.
Seeing Erica’s expression, the woman introduced herself again.
“That’s right. I’m Sebastian’s aunt. You can call me Loren. So let’s speak casually, shall we?”
“Y-Yes. Of course.”
Erica nodded as if hypnotized.
The face behind the fan was strikingly beautiful.
Erica stared at her, forgetting all notions of politeness.
Loren’s beauty stood out all over again.
Apart from their cool expressions and similar eyes, she didn’t resemble Felix or Sebastian at all in appearance.
While the father and son had black hair and red eyes, she had blonde hair and orange eyes.
As Erica’s gaze lingered on her, Loren frowned slightly and spoke in a displeased tone.
“It seems I’ll have quite a lot to teach you. Though today isn’t your official first lesson, if I were to give you the first—staring at someone’s face like that is considered very rude.”
“S-Sorry!”
Erica quickly snapped out of it.
Even she realized she had been staring too intensely, so she promptly apologized.
“You looked like your father and Sebastian… no, I think it was because you’re so beautiful that I lost my senses.”
“…What?”
With another snap, Loren’s fan opened again and began fluttering rapidly in front of her face.
“Oh my. Just look at you.”
A faint, exasperated voice escaped her lips.
It sounded slightly higher-pitched, too.
Erica instinctively hunched her shoulders.
It felt like she had already made a blunder during their first meeting, which weighed heavily on her.
‘What should I do…’
She was filled with regret.
This wasn’t just a teacher. Loren was Felix’s sister and Sebastian’s aunt.
To the Acliff family, she was a close relative, and to Erica, practically an in-law.
And to such a person, she had shown nothing but a dazed, clueless side.
Erica lowered her eyes and intertwined her fingers.
If only she could turn back time and start this meeting all over again.
Then she could have acted more maturely and made a good impression on Loren.
‘What if she says I’m unteachable?’
And what if Felix and Sebastian then decided she lacked any promise and ended up disappointed in her? The worry filled her so much that she couldn’t help biting her lip.
“Tsk. Loren.”
Felix clicked his tongue harshly and gave his sister a cold glare before speaking in a blunt tone.
“Enough already. If you think she’s cute, just say so. There’s no need to tease her like that.”
“Oh, come on, Brother.”
Loren pouted.
“Then do something about that noisy fan of yours. I get that you’re thrilled someone called you beautiful, but really. Tsk.”
Loren’s fluttering fan came to a halt.
As she closed it with a coy expression, Felix asked in a slightly irritated tone:
“So? What will you do? Are you going to teach her or not? You said you’d decide after seeing her, which is why I arranged this whole meeting. Don’t waste any more time—just decide.”
“Ugh, you’re still so impatient.”
“And you’re not?”
While the siblings bickered, Erica still hadn’t relaxed.
Her small body remained rigid, and Loren let out a soft sigh when she noticed it out of the corner of her eye.
“You’ve probably guessed, but I’m a very difficult person. I take after my brother—my personality isn’t the best.”
Erica didn’t know what to say to that, so she just pressed her lips tightly together.
Loren didn’t seem to expect an answer anyway, because she continued right away.
“That also means I won’t go easy on you just because you’re young.”
Erica’s eyes grew wide.
“Then that means…!”
“Yes. I’ll be your teacher.”
Erica nodded firmly at Loren’s clear answer.
“Thank you, Lady Loren. I’ll do my best so you won’t be disappointed.”
At Erica’s spirited reply, Loren chuckled softly.
Unlike her previous blank expression, her demeanor now seemed far more approachable.
“You’ve got energy. We’ll see soon enough if it’s all talk or not.”
But apparently, even that tone was too cold for Felix, because he clicked his tongue again.
“Ugh, that temper of yours.”
It was a loud complaint clearly aimed at his sister.
But Loren ignored it completely, as if it hadn’t even reached her ears.
Erica was secretly amazed at her attitude.
It was the first time she’d seen anyone dismiss Felix so casually.
‘In a way, she’s kind of amazing!’
The look in Erica’s eyes as she stared at Loren sparkled with a completely new kind of admiration.
At first, she had been simply scary—but now, things had changed.
‘She’s so cool!’
If possible, Erica wanted to grow up to be a confident woman like her.
Loren gave Erica a glance, then picked up her lukewarm teacup with an elegant motion.
After taking a sip, she spoke again.
“We’ll begin your first lesson next weekend. By then, I should have finished moving in.”
“Ah, yes! Understood, Lady Loren.”
* * *
For a while, wagons filled with luggage arrived constantly at the Acliff Ducal estate.
That was because Loren had brought a considerable number of belongings and people with her.
Erica had recently learned that Loren originally lived in a mansion on a nearby estate.
She had married young, but divorced due to her husband’s faults.
However, she hadn’t returned to her family estate—the Acliff Ducal residence—because she didn’t want to breathe the same air as her brother, Felix. Instead, she settled down in a nearby territory.
For an ordinary person, it would’ve been reasonable to travel back and forth by carriage on lesson days. But Loren chose to just move into the ducal estate altogether.
So, for a few days, the Acliff residence became unusually lively.
In some ways, it was even more chaotic than when Erica had first arrived.
But among all the bustle, one person stood out the most.
“Who is that woman?”
Erica muttered to herself, unable to take her eyes off the young woman who had been by Loren’s side the entire time.
