“It’s alright. Every child learns at a different pace. Starting now is just fine.”
Istasha comforted me with a gentle smile. For a moment, she seemed to shine with a heavenly glow.
‘…Is she an angel?’
Maybe it was because Calisto had recommended her, but she really did seem like a good person. I felt relieved.
‘I think I can safely entrust Melin to her.’
Istasha began explaining her teaching methods.
“Let’s start with a simple assessment for our first lesson. I need to see the student’s learning capacity to tailor the lessons properly.”
Her approach suited me well.
‘Tailored pacing is just what Melin needs right now.’
In truth, before the tutor arrived, I had made some effort to teach Melin myself.
Even though a tutor was coming, I figured it would be good for her to do a little prep work.
‘Unnie, can we just play with dolls instead?’
‘Unnie, I’m so sleepy…’
“Yaaaawn… I wanna raise a cat.”
Yeah, forget prep work.
Melin’s threadbare attention span constantly tested the limits of my patience.
‘I didn’t realize the “dumb but cute” trait extended this far… Wow.’
So I had keenly felt the need for a professional—and waited eagerly for today.
I smiled and said to Istasha:
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
Meanwhile…
Lennox had slowly started getting used to his peaceful life.
Despite his young age, his sincerity earned the kindness of all the servants.
Even the wariness from kids his age had melted away like snow.
It was unexpected.
He had thought the peer exclusion would take a long time to wear off—if ever.
Once a group labels someone as an outsider, that rarely changes.
Not that Lennox had ever planned to change it. That kind of thing didn’t suit his nature.
But since that one moment of apology, no one had bothered him again.
He knocked on the office door, and a voice from within called him in.
“You called for me, young marquess?”
“Lenn, starting today, you’ll have a private tutor.”
“……”
Lennox’s face stiffened in confusion. Calisto noticed and added:
“Ah, by ‘tutor,’ I mean a teacher who’ll help you learn basic etiquette and general knowledge.”
“Why are you assigning one to me?”
“If you don’t want it, you don’t have to do it.”
Lennox fell silent for a moment.
That wasn’t what he meant—he was just caught off guard.
“But taking some basic lessons could be helpful in life, Lenn.”
Calisto encouraged him gently.
Eventually, Lennox nodded.
“…Alright.”
Even if it felt a bit unnatural, he had always quietly admired knowledge when living in the slums.
Back then, learning was a privilege reserved only for those with power.
He had never imagined that chance would come to him.
Who would the tutor be?
Lennox unconsciously thought of Rose, and just before leaving the office, asked:
“May I ask who the tutor is?”
“Let’s see…”
Calisto pulled a letter from his desk.
“It’s Lady Istasha Rowen.”
“…I see.”
“Despite her age, she has ample tutoring experience. Her family is highly regarded in academic circles. I think she’ll be a good influence on you.”
“Thank you.”
Though he felt a twinge of disappointment at the name, Lennox didn’t show it and left the room.
On the way back to his room—
He heard familiar voices from the kitchen and instinctively stopped.
–Hey, you don’t think Lenn will tell on us, right?
–I think he’s softened a bit, thanks to how nice we’ve been.
–Good, that’s a relief. I was worried for a second.
The conversation beyond the door was clearly about him.
After confirming he was alone in the hallway, Lennox stepped closer to the door. The voices became clearer.
“But seriously, does the young lord know we bullied that kid?”
“That red-haired lady told him, so maybe he suspects.”
“Ugh, if we hadn’t run into that masked lady back then, we’d have been in big trouble.”
So that was why the boys had suddenly stopped bothering him.
“Still, that woman was creepy, right? With that cat mask and witchy vibe?”
“Her eye color was weird but pretty. Like melted gold. I’ve never seen eyes like that before.”
Lennox had already guessed that someone—Rose—had witnessed the bullying.
‘There’s no way Calisto knows what was happening to me.’
Which meant… all this had happened because of Rose’s lie.
Even though they only spoke briefly, Lennox had no doubt that she was the type to lie without hesitation.
‘Why did she help me…?’
Though his business was done, he stood there like a statue, unable to shake the lingering question.
A month had passed since Istasha was hired as a tutor.
Not only had Melin’s odd intonation improved, she’d memorized the basic alphabet. I was amazed.
‘Cal’s recommendations are always spot-on.’
For just five lessons, this was impressive progress. Istasha seemed like a magician.
She was so capable and reliable that I felt compelled to thank her.
When I did, she fluttered her eyelashes and gave a gentle smile.
“Melin follows along so well, there’s not much left for me to teach.”
And she was humble too!
‘Is there such a thing as a perfect teacher?’
After trying to teach Melin myself, I knew it wasn’t easy.
The original novel had clearly described the heroine with the trait “dumb but cute”—and now I fully understood.
Now I knew why Calisto sent Istasha.
‘But… why do I feel so uneasy?’
Following my instincts, I changed course from my office to Melin’s room.
“Melin, how was class today?”
“It was great.”
She smiled brightly while playing with her doll.
But soon she went quiet again, dazedly fiddling with it.
This was how she always was after her lessons these days.
‘Maybe she’s just tired from concentrating hard?’
That’s what I told myself for the past two weeks. But now… something felt off.
Melin, who used to be lively and loud, had become too calm. Strangely so.
As I watched her in silence, Melin suddenly asked:
“Unnie, do you like me?”
“…Of course I do.”
We weren’t affectionate as sisters, but as a person, I did genuinely like her.
Her innocence somehow made my jaded heart feel a bit cleaner.
“I like you too, unnie.”
She smiled radiantly.
But… why did her smile look so sad?
After our talk, I left her room.
The unease I’d been feeling only grew stronger after seeing Melin.
“Something’s definitely not right…”
“What is, milady?”
“Melin hasn’t asked me to play with her in forever.”
I had gone to her room today expecting she’d beg to play together, as usual.
“Agathe, nothing strange has happened to Melin while I was gone, has it?”
“Nothing unusual, milady.”
There had to be something.
“Even the smallest change is fine. Just tell me.”
Agathe hesitated, then slowly replied:
“Well… she does study a lot more now.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
She nodded with certainty.
‘Then maybe nothing’s really going on…’
Whenever I was in my office, Agathe stayed with Melin as her bodyguard. She saw almost everything.
Except—
There was one time Agathe wasn’t around.
Private lessons.
During class, Istasha had requested that Agathe not be present.
She said having a guard nearby might make the child feel pressured.
I understood, having felt similar stress as a child when my parents hovered.
But still—
‘Something’s definitely going on during those lessons.’
And I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
