Chapter 9
Colin stopped in his tracks when he saw Carl waiting for him at the front gate.
“……Master Carl is still staying at the mansion.”
The butler added the explanation almost defensively. Colin simply nodded quietly.
Carl watched the scene with a scowl.
‘What’s going on? The atmosphere feels… different?’
It was a cold, indifferent gaze he had never seen before.
Carl, who had only seen Colin smiling and cheerful until now, swallowed hard without realizing it.
However, Colin quickly returned to his usual smile and approached.
“Long time no see, Master.”
‘Of course…!’
In an instant, Carl relaxed. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.
“Ahem. So, you’ve accepted the guardianship position?”
“Yes.”
A self-satisfied lecture followed.
“Alright, but the public perception isn’t very good. People might think a common-born viscount is trying to seduce an innocent young lady.”
“…….”
“I know you wouldn’t do something so reckless! But still, the age gap isn’t that big, and moreover, your origin, as people talk about it…”
“Can’t change that.”
Colin interrupted him.
“I’m well aware of it.”
“That’s right! So… I have a proposal.”
The butler standing behind Colin squeezed his eyes shut. Carl didn’t care and continued.
“How about my wife and I continue staying at the mansion to help you? You’re probably inexperienced as a guardian anyway.”
“…….”
“It’ll be reassuring to have relatives around! And you know how vicious gossip in the social circles can be, right?”
“……Yes. I know that better than anyone.”
“Exactly! I knew you’d understand. Then…”
Colin simply nodded.
Carl, thinking this was acceptance, was about to pat Colin on the back as usual when Colin stopped him.
“Worried, are you?”
Colin blocked Carl’s hand.
“Afraid the kid who used to get whipped under you might have other thoughts?”
“……What?”
Colin quietly ordered the butler who had been standing nearby.
“Load all their belongings onto the carriage.”
“Yes, sir.”
The butler bowed, and the hesitant servants began moving.
“What—!”
Carl’s face went pale. Even as he watched them head up to their rooms, he couldn’t create a scene for the sake of his pride.
“Don’t worry about the age gap. I’m not of noble birth, so arriving early in the morning isn’t a problem.”
“……!”
Colin leaned forward, hands clasped behind his back, and whispered into Carl’s ear.
“You did well at Ackerman’s, didn’t you? Did you have dealings with the Viscountess of Brondor? Trying to make those ‘social circle rumors’ true?”
“……!”
It had been Carl Edmon who had instructed to bring in the ambiguous items from Ackerman, and he had casually leaked that information to the lonely viscountess at night. But there was no proof.
Carl responded brazenly.
“What nonsense…! Such an unpleasant accusation! How did I raise you?”
“Hmm.” Colin furrowed his brow.
“Raised… you say. Well, indeed, the late Count Edmon did raise me.”
Seizing the moment, Carl shouted:
“You’re making a fuss because I treated you strictly as a child! That was normal! Your older brother…!”
“I know. He was a bit… unusual. He believed he could educate commoners to become like nobles.”
“That’s right! Everything was for you to become a proper person. When you came under me, you were so useless, always collapsing…”
“I remember that. Making me climb the chimney bare-handed with a fire at the bottom.”
“…….”
“And if I didn’t reach the top in time, you whipped my back until it bled.”
Colin spoke matter-of-factly.
“You said it then, didn’t you? That inefficient commoners didn’t deserve food, that it was more efficient this way…”
He lowered his eyes and smiled, as if recalling a cherished memory.
“I’m grateful. It made me think a lot about efficiency.”
“You’re letting old grudges affect you…? Snap out of it! You’re a noble now!”
“Yes. I’ve become a noble, in the end.”
Colin’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
At the bottom of the stairs appeared a silver-haired woman descending with a neutral expression.
“Title, skills, etiquette… all can be overcome with education. But unfortunately, not all nobles are born competent.”
Like you, it seemed to say.
Her gaze no longer met Carl’s, yet it conveyed the message:
“Then wouldn’t it be more efficient to give that position to someone else?”
Ara found the perfect word to describe the situation:
False listing.
‘Author, you mad! You said he was kind…!’
The day she signed the guardianship contract, Ara was flustered by Colin’s changed demeanor, but there was no turning back.
‘If I break this contract unilaterally, I die. I tried to sign to survive and might still die…!’
The fortunate part was that his personality was intimidating, but he was fully capable of being a guardian.
For example, upon arriving at the mansion, Colin immediately sent Carl and Zaila away.
‘Does he still like Lumière…?’
She couldn’t forget Lumière leaving, following her parents, in a hurry.
Moreover, Colin handled accumulated problems with the efficiency of a veteran guardian.
“……From what I see, you lack common sense, young lady.”
He even took it upon himself to address Arachné’s education issues.
‘Of course! I’m not a resident here…!’
Without argument, a new desk was brought into the Edmon mansion’s office.
The walnut oval desk was large enough for several people to sit around. Books began piling up on top.
Etiquette, business, mathematics, philosophy, sociology…
Ara glared at the false listing across the desk while grumbling.
The culprit, noticing her gaze, spoke casually:
“……Do you have something to say?”
“No. You didn’t see anything.”
Colin had been flipping through newspapers for over an hour.
“I wondered if you had questions because your gaze was so sharp.”
‘Questions? More like twist your hips with all that leg crossing!’
While silently cheering for his femur health in a wrong way, the newspapers were tossed onto the desk.
‘Deliaten, Lydia’s Spear, The Walker…’
Page after page stacked neatly.
The first thing Colin did for Arachné’s education was have all newspapers from the empire delivered to the mansion.
‘No way he reads all of these every morning…’
At first, Ara doubted.
But from the next day after becoming guardian, Colin arrived at the Edmon mansion early and devoured every paper.
“……You read all of them? Not just flipping pages?”
“Instead of thinking that way, focusing on studying will be more helpful.”
‘Annoying.’
This was the state since the guardianship contract.
Decoding Colin’s words so far roughly went like this:
“You can’t speak like that in high society.”
▶ Why do you talk like that?
“I will carefully consider what you said. If conditions are met, we’ll proceed.”
▶ Conditions won’t be met; we won’t proceed.
“We may not like every part of each other, but I hope you will try.”
▶ I also don’t like some things about you.
Still, Colin treated Ara politely.
Though he mentioned “subordinate,” he didn’t do anything harmful to her.
‘Well, the contract’s purpose was to “protect” me anyway…’
Yet instinctively, she could sense it:
An arrogant gaze. A completely different aura from before.
This was clearly wrong.
‘On the surface, nothing looks different.’
Regardless of hidden meaning, his words weren’t out of place socially and were impeccably polite.
‘No wonder people in the original thought he was born noble… there was a reason.’
Ara sighed deeply. In front of her lay a blank sheet of paper.
‘I didn’t mean for him to see me writing cards…’
Upon hearing the guardianship news, a giant lilac bouquet from Herawin arrived, with a congratulatory card.
She was writing a reply as a matter of etiquette, only to be caught by Colin.
“What on earth…? Did you write this, young lady?”
And social etiquette became part of Arachné’s education.
‘Shouldn’t I be studying instead of trying to erase death flags…?’
While huffing, Colin suddenly appeared right behind her.
“Where are you confused?”
“…….”
“If you can’t answer, it’s more efficient to ask quickly.”
He wasn’t just standing there. Mumbling almost inaudibly, he pulled a chair.
A sharp scent wafted.
‘…This is not a situation to fully relax my guard.’
Her eyes kept wandering. His appearance remained as she first saw him in the greenhouse.
‘At least he dressed properly today.’
His hair was loose as usual, but the vest over his shirt hugged his body tightly, emphasizing his physique.
The flashy paisley vest had to be tailored to fit properly.
‘I said it was too flashy at first… but apparently it’s the trend among young people.’
Colin was the trend.
Not that she wanted to know, but talkative servants inevitably fed her information.
Other facts she learned in the past few days:
“You already call out all the servants’ names individually?”
Colin had a remarkably sharp memory.
“All inheritance documents for the young lady have been processed. Soon, the guardian can take over guild operations.”
He handled everything efficiently: Edmon Guild, the mansion, and preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony in three months.
“Viscount Oliver? He seemed to be napping…”
Even after all that, he still had time to nap.
‘Suspicious!’
The more she observed him, the more anxious she became.
At that moment, Ara suddenly remembered something and spoke.
