CSTB Chapter 49

Chapter 49 

‘He’s probably never been with a woman before…’

In the original story, Jonathan died at a young age.

So Jonathan had probably never even properly held a woman’s hand, let alone dated one.

‘But if even a man like him found someone he truly loved, he’d change, wouldn’t he?’

That was how it went in the original. But if he kept his position as Noah’s loyal right hand, things might play out differently.

Unless something unusual happened, he’d eventually marry too—but imagining what kind of man he’d be then was difficult.

After getting lost in such pointless thoughts for a moment, Roze straightened her expression and smiled prettily.

“Your Majesty is much busier. And… it feels a little embarrassing to learn directly from you.”

“There is no shame in learning.”

“Still, it’s a bit much.”

“If you truly insist… very well.”

Somehow, she had managed to persuade Jonathan, though this wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

“Then shall we begin right now?”

“…Huh? Right now?”

She hadn’t even prepared herself mentally yet. But Jonathan, saying he happened to have free time now, sat himself down in the seat Christina should have been using.

Then he immediately brought out paper and pen, making her write, interpret, and running tests on her.

“You said you’d teach me to write, so why are you making me read this whole book?”

“You already know the alphabet, a good number of words, and you don’t seem to lack basic grammar. What you’re missing is the ability to construct sentences. For that, you need to read a lot and write a lot. There’s no other solution.”

He handed her several children’s storybooks, the kind with large, easy-to-read letters, and made her read and write from them.

Without a break, Roze was stuck for two straight hours under Jonathan’s iron grip, forced to stare at those books.

In her past life, she had spent even longer hours studying for exams, though she had no idea how she managed to endure it back then. Whatever the case, now it felt like her brain was going to cramp from trying to study again.

“That’s enough for today.”

“Uuugh…”

The moment Jonathan finished speaking, Roze collapsed against her chair as though about to fall over, making a strange groan.

A surprise Spartan-style lesson with no warning at all.

She bitterly regretted not just learning from Noah instead, embarrassment be damned.

It was unbearably exhausting—but still, there were some gains.

In her desperate attempts to dodge more studying, she had asked him all sorts of questions, which ended up yielding information.

Roze stared intently at Jonathan as he tidied the table.

‘Jonathan’s life must not have been easy either.’

She now understood why Jonathan had guarded his loyalty to Noah with his very life—there was a reason behind it.

Noah hadn’t just saved Jonathan. He had also saved Jonathan’s family, who had crossed the sea relying solely on him.

Roze, having read the original, already knew Jonathan didn’t have a father. But apparently, he had lost him when he was very young.

‘No… it’s really his mother who must have suffered more.’

She had once wondered, when reading the original, why Jonathan’s family had come to the Empire, knowing how cold and harsh Imperial society was toward outsiders.

‘But then again, there are crazy men everywhere.’

Apparently, there had been men harassing his widowed mother, thinking they could take advantage of a woman living alone.

And it wasn’t just that—they had even targeted young Jonathan and his younger sisters.

So his mother had fled with her children to the Empire.

Whatever else the Empire lacked, at least its deep reverence for God made its people adhere more strictly to basic morality.

Even so, they were ostracized. But then, thanks to Noah, Jonathan was granted the title of Baron and allowed to serve in the Imperial court. His mother must have been overjoyed.

In the original story, Jonathan died defending his loyalty. Thinking about what might have happened to his mother afterward weighed heavily on Roze’s heart.

‘Aah… my shoulders feel even heavier now…’

The burden on her heart grew several times heavier.

“Before the next lesson, read and write out Chapter 1 of today’s storybook, and memorize the sentences we studied.”

“Whaaat…?”

While she had been lost in thought, Jonathan heartlessly threw homework at her.

‘Teacher, aren’t you being too cruel?!’

She really should have learned from Noah instead.

For a moment, frustration welled up inside her—but it quickly subsided.

‘But this way, I’ll improve faster.’

Logic told her that much.

And besides—

‘Jonathan really is handsome.’

The sunlight filtering through the branches glinted across Jonathan’s face, making him so handsome she almost forgot to be angry.

He might have been overshadowed by Noah, but Jonathan was definitely breathtaking too.

‘That angel was handsome as well…’

Come to think of it, all the young men she had met here were ridiculously good-looking.

Even that mysterious Count Caliphon had been shockingly handsome.

‘What is with that man anyway?’

Roze’s thoughts stopped there.

She couldn’t help but keep coming back to it.

Ever since Aria had recognized her, she had told Tuxedo and Oliver to keep an eye out and report immediately if they noticed anything suspicious.

Most of all, she had ordered them to report every single time Count Caliphon appeared.

If she wanted to keep Noah completely safe, she had to uncover that suspicious count’s true identity first.

“Hey, Jonathan.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know Count Caliphon?”

Among all the characters in the novel, Jonathan was the only one who genuinely cared for Noah without ulterior motives.

If there was someone who could be a threat to Noah, Jonathan might know.

“If you’re asking whether I recognize such a person’s existence, then yes. But if you’re asking whether I know him personally, then no.”

So Jonathan knew nothing.

“You don’t know him either…”

“He appeared among the nobles about two months ago. Nothing remarkable stood out, so I paid him little attention.”

According to him, Count Caliphon had only shown up two months ago.

That timing made Roze’s nerves prickle—it was exactly when she had transmigrated.

As she frowned in thought—

[Boss, there you are.]

“Oh, Tuxedo. What is it? I don’t have beef for you now, I told you to come in the morning.”

From the bushes, Tuxedo suddenly appeared.

[That’s not it… Boss! Did you finally find a mate?]

“No, I didn’t! Is that why you came here?!”

As he winked at Jonathan and looked him up and down, she snapped, thinking he was spouting nonsense again—but it wasn’t that.

[No. I came because of Count Caliphon. You told me before to let you know if I saw him again, remember?]

Tuxedo reported that Count Caliphon had appeared again.

He was in the garden, speaking privately with Duke Raymond.

“Then you should’ve listened to what they were saying!”

[Huh? I was only told to let you know if I saw them, Boss.]

Well—true, that was all she had ordered at the time, since she could just run over herself. But the situation had changed. She couldn’t blame him.

‘If Duke Raymond is meeting that man again, then there’s definitely something going on this time!’

Christina wasn’t here, and now Count Caliphon was with Duke Raymond again.

Her heart raced with anxiety—it drove her mad not being able to run over immediately.

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s eyes went wider than she’d ever seen, astonished by the sight of Roze conversing with a cat.

“You can… talk with cats?”

His question snapped her back to the present. After a moment’s hesitation, Roze made up her mind.

“Jonathan!”

“Yes.”

“You’ll have to help me!”

“Help you with what? I really should return to work.”

“Work isn’t the problem right now!”

“Then what is?”

Would he even believe her if she told him? Anyone else might—but Jonathan? Probably not.

“We need to find out right now what Duke Raymond and Count Caliphon are talking about!”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the only way to keep Noah—and you—alive!”

“We’re going to die?”

There was no time to waste on pointless back-and-forth.

“You might. Even if Noah survives, you won’t!”

“Me?”

“Yes! I know the future.”

“…What?”

“I’m a beastkin cat, remember? I can see the future!”

Roze had no choice but to gamble here.