Leonia didn’t exactly like the classes themselves, but rather, she enjoyed the fact that she could learn something new. It was a joy she had never thought of in the other world she remembered.
Ardea was a geeky grandfather, but he was kind and smart. Cerena wasn’t.
‘The young lady resembles the Duke a lot, so you are so mature and beautiful. That’s why you have to fill in the gaps where you are lacking.’
On the first day, she ridiculed Leonia as an illegitimate child.
‘You have to work even harder to repay the Duke’s benevolence for bringing in the Miss.’
After that, she sarcastically said that she was lucky enough to have been brought in by the Duke. She even pretended to turn her head on purpose at this time and glanced at Leonia up and down.
‘It would be very difficult to shake off habits that had been stuck on your body for a long time.’
On the last day they met, the Countess disregarded her efforts by saying that no matter how much she worked hard, it wouldn’t change the fact that she was a lowborn. If Leonia had heard these words without reading between the lines, the Countess spoke so brazenly that she would mistake it for the kindness of a lady who genuinely cared for children. So Leonia was even more amazed.
‘What did you see in this woman?’
He said she wasn’t stupid and ignorant.
Puffing her cheeks, dissatisfied, Leonia blew the air out of her cheeks. If she thought about it, Cerena, as Pelloit said, wasn’t stupid and ignorant. So that’s why she has such a clever way of communicating.
But it will be over tomorrow.’
Even if the monster hunt was long, it will be just a month. After tomorrow’s etiquette class, Pelliot and the Knights of Gladigo would return within the week, and Leonia was going to tell him all about what had happened with Cerena and give her a big and beautiful ‘f*ck you’ to her face.
‘That’s how it will sound like…’
It was nonsense that could go into one ear and go out the other.
Of course, the words were still terrible to hear. The reason Leonia did not openly express her displeasure towards Cerena was because it was most effective to tell Pelliot everything that had happened, rather than to be angry by herself.
The Black Beast who ruled over everything in the north.
And she was his daughter.
‘Even if I’m just an adopted daughter…’
Leonia knows that Pelliot loved her very much. And she, too, followed and liked Pelliot as well. So she had no doubts about him punishing Cerena.
However, today, the reality of being an ‘adopted daughter’ pierced her chest, especially more than before.
Leonia grabbed the glass bottle.
‘A heart that is wounded with words does not heal easily.’
She remembered what Ardea had said.
‘Was I hurt?’
Leonia asked herself. But she didn’t know what answer to give herself.
She thought she was fine.
Her hand fumbled near her chest.
It felt like she had been stabbed deeply.
* * *
The next day.
Leonia practiced her gait to match with Cerena’s clapping. The goal of this class was to try not to drop a thin book on her head.
“Yes, you are doing well.”
Like Cerena’s praise, Leonia did a good job. Her steps along the line drawn in advance were as light as a butterfly, and the white skirt swaying along the gentle steps was literally the flapping of the wings.
She was flawlessly perfect.
“Amazing!”
Contrary to the bright smile and sweet compliments on the outside, Cerena’s inner heart was as dirty as the water squeezed out of a wet rag. Her filthy heart continued to be spiteful towards Leonia. She didn’t want to see Leonia, who was studying hard in front of her eyes.
‘How could this be…!’
When she first heard rumors that Pelliot had taken a child from an orphanage, she was subconsciously convinced that it wasn’t true.
Pelliot’s reputation was remarkable in the capital. Rumors spread that he even wrote a memorandum before going to bed in case the child was threatened.
However, the child was the bloodline of the unparalleled Voreoti. Pelliot’s one and only heir, who possessed the black color that only northern black beasts possess.
‘What kind of woman was it…!’
Cerena knew very well that she herself was beautiful. Time and time again she approached Pelliot with confidence, but what returned was cold rejection and indifference.
After that, she chose the young man of the family with the best conditions among those men she liked and married him. But when she heard the rumor that Pelliot’s illegitimate child had appeared and faced the evidence directly, her eyes were dyed bright red and her insatiable jealousy swelled.
To the woman who gave birth to that child.
To Pelliot, who would have embraced that woman.
And to the child, who had entirely received Pelliot’s tenderness she had never seen before.
“…Madam.”
“…….”
“Madam Tedross.”
Cerena, who had been in a delusion so terrible that she couldn’t even put it in her mouth, came to her senses belatedly.
“I did all ten walking exercises as Madam told me to.”
“Is that so? It wasn’t hard right?”
“Yes. It was fun.”
How disgusting the wide-eyed child’s smile was, Cerena wanted to spit on it.
“Then, shall we wrap up class here today?”
She tried her best to hide her feelings, and with her smile she concealed her inner heart. Leonia, as she had learned, grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed her knees to greet her politely. Fortunately, the moment the child bowed to her was the moment Cerena could barely breathe.
‘She is doing it again.’
After her greeting, Leonia raised her head and sarcastically said inwardly.
She noticed on the first day of the class that Cerena would reveal her feelings for a moment whenever she bowed her head. Cerena’s smile as she received the child’s greeting was more grim than the skin of a bare snake. It was terrifying.
However, Leonia tried her best to contain her emotions, telling herself that this will be over today.
She vowed to tell everything to the Mister when he returned.
“You must always remember what I’ve said.”
Cerena placed a hand on one of Leonia’s arms and stared at her with a worried look. Leonia’s eyes widened in amazement at the sudden touch.
“Just one mistake you make could affect the Duke badly.”
Leonia wondered if she would still listen to Cerena’s godly and horrific suicide attempt today. For some reason she never just went out without saying a word just once. If she didn’t say a word, it was as if a thorn would sprout from her mouth.
On the other hand, she wanted to applaud that persistence.
“The Miss is learning very well.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Madam.”
“So you should be more mindful of your position.”
The black eyes fluttered for an instant.
“…Position?”
Cerena, unaware of this, slowly nodded her head and said ‘yes’. There was a golden gleam in the child’s eyes, while the air in the room became so much less so that she didn’t even notice the chill.
“You should always be grateful to the Duke for allowing you to live such a luxurious life. It is all thanks to the Duke that the Miss is able to do all of this.”
If it weren’t for the Duke.
“Thanks to that, I was able to meet Miss.”
If it weren’t for the Duke.
“So, you need to work harder than now, Miss, so that you do not become any more of a nuisance to the Duke.”
“Countess Tedros.”
Leonia, who had been listening to her silently, raised her lips quietly.
“Your words will always be engraved in my heart.”
The tiny hands rested on the pure white dress covered in lace. She pressed her palms against her chest, by applying strength, she could hear the pounding heartbeat.
“I always listen carefully to what you say.”
“Thank you for recognizing my sincerity.”
“So, do not come here again.”
“Yes, of course…”
Cerena, who was reflexively trying to answer yes, flinched. The Lady’s eyes looked at the Miss far below her, with eyes that slowly hardened. Leonia, who was standing nicely, as she had learned in the etiquette class, gave her a light smile.
“There is no need for a person who can’t understand one’s position properly and continues to act the fool in the Duchy of Voreoti.”
Along with Leonia who turned, the hem of her skirt quickly turned.
“I’m not going to send you off. I will tell the employees in advance, so you can go out alone.”
Pavo and the maid Connie, who were waiting outside, approached Leonia, who had left the room alone.
“Milady!”
“Is the class over?”
Connie and Pavo greeted Leonia with friendly smiles. But the two soon saw Leonia’s eyes and stopped on the spot. The golden light in the child’s black eyes gleamed eerily.
“Miss, what’s wrong?”
Pavo hid Connie, who was not used to the beast’s fang, behind him and looked at Leonia. The child must have been quite agitated, and her chest was heaving up and down for a long time, taking a deep breath.
Only after calming down did Leonia open her mouth.
“…Countess Tedros will leave alone.”
Pavo realized that Leonia was angry with something and had subconsciously activated the beast’s fangs. And the trigger must have been Countess Tedros, who was alone in that room.
“All right. May I carry you?”
Pavo bent down on one knee and Leonia reached up as he took her into his arms. The ambient temperature of her child, still with a golden glow in her eyes, was as cold as ice. Pavo didn’t show it much, but smiled as friendly as usual.
Fortunately for him, he had encountered Pelliot’s fangs a few times, so Leonia’s weaker fangs were tolerable.
“I want to go for a walk.”
“Are you upset?”
Leonia nodded her head without saying a word.
“Then, then I’ll bring your coat!”
While Connie sensed something strange about her, she hurried to the room, Leonia came down to the entrance hall on the first floor in Pavo’s arms. Just in time, Connie also brought a warm winter cloak and fur boots.
‘It’s coming back.’
Phew. Pavo looked into the child’s eyes and was relieved. The golden eyes were turning black again. The fangs, which were triggered by sudden agitation, calmed down, and quickly sank. Connie, who had been overwhelmed by the force of the fangs, was now dressing the clothes next to Leonia.
‘If it had been fully activated.’
It was when Pavo’s shoulders trembled as the imagination alone was terrifying.
“Please, please wait!”
Cerena, who rushed down the stairs, yelled.