~CHAPTER 24~
“You’ve lost some weight…”
“You’re still beautiful as ever!”
As soon as Dianu finished getting ready and said that, the maids shouted in unison.
Their tone left no room for disagreement.
Since the Spruce Palace incident, the maids had been unusually attentive to her.
Especially Cora, who would panic and summon a doctor whenever Dianu so much as frowned.
What surprised Dianu more was how quickly she had recovered and gotten back on her feet, despite being cut by a sword.
Her health really is remarkable.
Still, lying in bed for so long and being cared for inevitably caused her to lose weight.
As she gently touched her now thinner, paler cheeks, Cora carefully offered,
“Would you like me to do your makeup?”
“No, that’s fine. There’s no one I need to impress anyway.”
Cora opened her mouth as if to object but closed it again.
Dianu checked her outfit one last time and adjusted the ribbon that tied her hair.
It was her first day as the Princess’s tutor.
* * *
From the very start, it was one surprise after another.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Name.”
Dianu blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Call me by name.”
Dianu glanced sideways at Sir Loisen, who merely shrugged.
“Yes, Lady Elpenlira.”
She never thought she’d actually say the Princess’s name out loud.
But that wasn’t the only surprise.
Elpenlira didn’t complain about Sir Loisen standing guard by the study door, nor did she resist when Dianu guided her to the large desk prepared for their lessons.
…Something feels off.
After all, this was the same girl who once charged at Dianu on horseback.
Even with the Spruce Palace incident, it was hard to believe she’d suddenly become this cooperative.
Dianu kept glancing at her, but Elpenlira simply sat across from her and followed instructions.
Her posture was perfect, and without the anger and scorn she always wore like armor, Elpenlira truly looked like a princess.
With a flutter of anticipation, Dianu unfolded the paper on which she had written her lesson plan.
She had prepared it when she first moved into Oak Palace, but this was the first time she was actually showing it to someone.
“First, Your Highness—no, Lady Elpenlira—I’ll give you a short test to see how fluent you are in Arasasian. Depending on your proficiency, I’ll adjust the lesson plan accordingly. Since you’ll need to speak Arasasian beyond simple conversation, we’ll start by perfecting the basic grammar.”
At the mention of her future use of Arasasian—implying she’d someday marry into Arasas—Elpenlira slightly raised an eyebrow, but that was all.
Dianu fought to suppress the smile tugging at her lips and continued.
“As you probably know, Arasasian shares its writing system and many words with Catalosian, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Elpenlira said nothing.
“Shall we begin the test? Let’s imagine I’m a gentleman from Arasas greeting you.”
Dianu bowed slightly and spoke in fluent Arasasian.
“Princess Elpenlira of Catalos, it is an honor to meet you. You are even more beautiful than the rumors say.”
Her Arasasian was polished.
She had studied it since entering Sirene Academy and had a natural gift for languages.
She was confident she could hold her own even in the royal court of Arasas.
Elpenlira, however, was not in the same situation.
Frowning, she pondered Dianu’s words for a while before replying in a hesitant tone.
“Yes.”
Dianu waited for her to continue.
Elpenlira spoke clearly, in the most proper Catalosian accent imaginable.
“My name is Elpenlira.”
“…I am eighty years old?”
A muffled laugh escaped Sir Loisen—pffft!—before Dianu silenced him with a sharp glare.
Keeping a kind expression, Dianu gently took Elpenlira’s hand from across the desk.
To her surprise, Elpenlira didn’t pull away.
“Why don’t we start with numbers?”
Whatever her skill level, Dianu was just grateful the Princess was being cooperative.
Learning can be taught, after all.
She mentally erased her original lesson plan.
* * *
After many trials and tribulations, Dianu Ortensa was finally recognized as the Princess’s tutor, and from then on, she lived happily ever after.
…Well, not that I was expecting things to go that perfectly.
Dianu quietly raised her hand.
Elpenlira, who had been stiffly reciting a poem, frowned and opened the poetry book right in front of Dianu’s face.
“I read it properly!”
For the twelfth time that week, Dianu patiently explained,
“You can’t pronounce it the Catalosian way just because it uses the same letters.”
“Why not?”
“Because they only share the alphabet, but they’re different languages.”
Picking up the book Elpenlira had half-thrown, Dianu demonstrated the correct pronunciation.
Elpenlira gave her a disdainful look.
“As expected of a barbaric country—their words sound barbaric too.”
“Yes, I’m well aware. You’ve mentioned that five times just today…”
Sighing, Dianu closed the book.
“Shall we take a short break?”
Elpenlira jumped up as if she’d been waiting for that.
Dianu watched her pace restlessly around the study, her mood mixed.
It had been a week since they started lessons.
Elpenlira was cooperative enough—she didn’t ignore Dianu, skip class, or run away mid-lesson.
But one thing was clear: she had absolutely no talent for languages.
After spending an entire day explaining how adjectives come before nouns in Arasasian, Dianu finally cornered Countess Ornin to ask,
‘Madam, forgive the bold question… but is Her Highness simply not gifted academically?’
‘…She’s just always been so passionate about other things that she’s neglected that side a little.’
“My child is smart; she just doesn’t try hard enough.” That excuse seemed to transcend all eras and borders.
Clearing away the stack of papers filled with Elpenlira’s handwriting, Dianu sighed.
Surely the sister of an emperor as intelligent as His Majesty couldn’t be lacking in intellect—so it must be a matter of teaching method.
While Dianu was silently questioning her competence as a tutor, Elpenlira sat by the open window, gazing outside.
Resting her arms on the sill and softly humming a tune, she looked like a painting.
Dianu found herself staring blankly at the beautiful sight.
When the Emperor’s face appeared in that frame, both women were startled.
“Brother?!”
Elpenlira sprang up, still unaware she had used a familiar form of address.
Standing outside the window, the Emperor looked into the study and inclined his head to Dianu.
“It’s been a while, Lady Ortensa.”
Dianu curtsied deeply.
Elpenlira frowned, glancing between her brother and Dianu.
“Who are you here to see?”
“Both my sister and her tutor. I wanted to see how the lessons were going.”
“You’ll be disappointed then. I doubt I’ll ever be fluent in Arasasian.”
Despite her sulky tone, the Emperor’s smile didn’t fade.
Just being able to talk with her face-to-face must make him happy.
With that thought, Dianu decided it didn’t matter if Elpenlira never mastered Arasasian adjectives.
“Lady Ortensa, I’d like to speak with you. If it won’t interrupt the lesson, could you spare a moment?”
Elpenlira gave a curious look, and the Emperor added,
“It’s regarding the incident at Spruce Palace.”
The air in the study instantly grew heavy.
Since Dianu’s recovery, no one had mentioned the day she was stabbed protecting the Princess.
Dianu reassured Elpenlira with a brief glance and left the room.
Not wanting to keep the Emperor waiting, she quickened her steps toward the rear garden.
He lingered by the window, exchanging a few words with his sister before approaching Dianu.
She quickly bowed.
“Dianu Ortensa greets Your Majesty.”
The Emperor calmly offered his arm—a gesture to escort her.
“Shall we take a walk?”
After a brief hesitation, Dianu accepted his arm.
She tried to minimize contact, but that proved impossible while linked at the elbow, so she gave up and relaxed.
The garden behind Oak Palace was deserted.
No gardeners, no maids, no attendants in sight.
She realized he must have ordered them away in advance.
At first, she focused only on walking carefully, afraid she might stumble, but soon her eyes were drawn to the sunlight and the beautiful trees and flowers around them.
The flutter of birds taking off from the branches and the clear, cloudless sky made her heart light.
Noticing her slower pace, the Emperor also slowed down.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Dianu turned toward him—and froze.
Their eyes met. His green gaze fixed on her, filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite name.
Carefully, she withdrew her arm from his and rubbed her flushed cheeks.
“Is there something on my face?”
“You look a little thinner. Are the lessons tiring you?”
“Ah, no. It’s just from being bedridden too long…”
The Emperor’s expression darkened.
Dianu quickly waved her hands.
“But I’m completely fine now! The doctor said my recovery was astonishing.”
“…I’m glad to hear that.”
“And the scar you were worried about—it’s hardly noticeable anymore.”
He nodded solemnly.
A polite silence settled between them again.
This time, he was the one to speak first.
“Aren’t you curious about what happened to the culprit?”
“Ah… I’ve been so busy with Her Highness’s lessons that I haven’t had the chance. I heard he was caught, though.”
That much, Cora had whispered to her.
Before her memories could fade, Dianu had already reported everything she saw and heard at Spruce Palace to the Emperor in detail.
Since then, she had tried not to dwell on it.
She already knew too much.
Knowledge was only power for those who could protect themselves.
The Emperor, she thought, had probably wrestled with similar thoughts these past few days.
“I was worried that explaining too much might only burden you further. But if there’s one person who deserves to understand what your actions meant that day, it’s you, Lady Ortensa.”
He guided her toward a bench.
Dianu quietly took his hand and sat down.
Then the Emperor began to tell her what had happened after the attack on Elpenlira and Dianu.
