Chapter 13 – Lessons, Secrets, and New Promises
Just as I’d hoped, Wendel rescued me from the storybook nightmare.
We went outside for a walk through the east wing gardens together.
“Unfair! This is cheating! How could you steal Lady Annelia away like that?”
“M-Miel, calm down. The young lady clearly wanted to go with Sir Wendel.”
Of course, Miel had nearly chewed her handkerchief to pieces in frustration,
but she couldn’t beat my stubborn insistence.
“Annelia needs a walk! My tummy’s too full from all the bread!”
Which, honestly, wasn’t entirely a lie.
For some reason, I’d been eating nothing but bread these past few weeks.
Bread with fish on top, bread with candied fruit, bread in every shape and flavor imaginable.
Still, the bread here really is the best.
Fancy dishes still made me uneasy, but the bread—
the bread I loved.
And lately, the kitchen seemed to be experimenting with new recipes,
each loaf tastier than the last.
“…Bread is the best,” I mumbled to myself.
“It seems the meals suit your taste,” Wendel said, adjusting his hold on me.
“Yes! The head chef and Mrs. Marenes are both so nice!”
“I see.”
Since I’d officially become Duchess Sharon Abner’s ward,
Wendel had been even more formal and polite around me than before.
“Did you really miss me that much?” he asked suddenly.
I blinked up at him.
“Yes! You weren’t around yesterday, or the day before, or even the day before that.”
“His Grace had business around the territory,” he replied. “I was traveling with him.”
“Oh…”
An awkward silence followed.
By now, winter had completely disappeared from the gardens.
Fresh buds and early blooms filled the air with warmth and color.
Then, out of nowhere, Wendel muttered, “You know, Miel and I are only four years apart.”
I blinked.
“Huh?”
He cleared his throat and avoided my eyes.
“Miel is eighteen. I’m twenty-two.”
“Uh… okay?”
He looked at me again, almost shy.
“…You call her ‘big sister.’”
I blinked twice.
“Yeah?”
“Then why,” he said under his breath, “do you call me ‘uncle’?”
***
Later that evening—
“Oh my, Sir Wendel!” Miel giggled, pulling the blanket up to my chin.
“So what are you going to have her call you now?”
I frowned, deep in thought.
“I’m still thinking. But I don’t like ‘uncle’ anymore…”
“Of course not! You’re far too handsome for that title,” Miel teased.
“Then… how about ‘Samchon’? It means uncle, but the nice kind!”
“Oooh.”
Soya’s eyes sparkled.
“Uncle Wendel! I like that!”
“Right?” I said proudly. “It sounds perfect, doesn’t it?”
Miel nodded dramatically.
“Yes, yes! You’re so clever, Lady Annelia. Sometimes you don’t seem like you’re only four years old.”
“Hehe…”
That comment made my stomach twist nervously,
so I quickly looked up at the ceiling.
Soya tucked my arms gently under the blanket.
“By the way, my lady—while you were out walking earlier, the butler stopped by.”
“The butler?”
“Yes. He said you’ll be moving to the main building soon.
Once they find a teacher, you’ll start taking lessons, too.”
“Lessons?”
My eyes sparkled.
“I get to study?”
Soya smiled sympathetically.
“I thought you’d be upset. You’ll have less time to play.”
“No way, I’m excited!”
Both maids froze, staring at me in surprise as I sat up in bed.
“Will I be learning magic theory? Or alchemy? Do we start with the basics?”
Duchess Sharon already knew I was… unusual.
But that didn’t mean I could show everything.
If I revealed the magic circles I perfected in my past life now,
they’d accuse me of using forbidden or dark magic in an instant.
I was wondering when they’d assign me a teacher, anyway.
Whatever happened, I needed to start slow—learn first, then show results.
Who will they send, I wonder? A professor from the Academy? Someone from the Mage Tower?
Excitement bubbled up, and I kept rambling.
“Normally, you start with basic equations, then applied formulas, and after that—”
I stopped.
The silence in the room felt… heavy.
Both Miel and Soya were staring at me as if I’d just started levitating.
“M-My lady… you know magic theory?”
“And where did you even hear the word ‘alchemy’?”
I froze and clutched the blanket tightly.
Then, as always in moments like this, I used my go-to excuse.
“…At the orphanage.”
Miel wobbled like she might faint.
“W-wait a minute.”
She spoke quickly, eyes wide.
“I heard rumors—down in the southwest of the duchy, they say there’s a genius child.”
“…”
“They said she’s only four, but she can recite magical and alchemical texts by heart—”
Her gaze slowly turned toward me.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“…”
“It is! You’re the genius child!”
Miel jumped to her feet, practically glowing.
“I knew something was special about you! That’s why the Duchess took you in!”
Soya’s eyes widened.
“M-My lady, can you read already?”
I hesitated, then nodded.
“H-how much can you read? Even… difficult words?”
“Um… at the orphanage, I read to the younger kids every day.”
Miel collapsed onto the edge of the bed.
“So that’s why you looked so bored this morning during the poop storybook…”
“Now it all makes sense…” Soya murmured.
Both of them looked heartbroken.
“My lady! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“R-right! A child who knows magic theory shouldn’t have to read about, um… poop…”
Seeing the guilt on their faces, I quickly shook my head.
“No! I like storybooks!”
“My lady…”
“I really do! I like playing with you both.”
Soya, who always made the dolls talk in fairy voices.
Miel, who’d brought armfuls of books just to make me smile.
Sure, it could be tiring—but deep down, it wasn’t so bad.
“Storybooks can teach lessons too!” I added earnestly.
“…”
“They say the children who start with picture books grow up to read the hardest ones later.”
“R-right,” Soya said awkwardly.
I reached out my short arms and hugged them both tightly.
“I like you, sisters.”
They both froze.
Miel’s eyes went round; Soya just stared.
But I didn’t let go. I squeezed even harder.
They don’t know how important they are to me.
In a big, echoing mansion full of strangers,
kindness like theirs was rare.
A child like me—an outsider—wasn’t supposed to be treated with warmth.
“The blankets always smell nice, the room’s big, and you give me food every day…”
Their affection showed in every tiny action.
So I need to be good to them while I can.
Because someday, I might lose this place—lose them.
In my past life, when everything fell apart, I had no one.
No allies, no friends.
I’d spent all my time shut away, focused on research,
while someone like Hiana had charmed everyone around her.
***
“Wow, Nanny! This is beautiful! What would I do without you?”
She’d kiss her nanny’s cheek without hesitation.
“Cory, Celine, Maya—thank you so much! I adore this dress! You three are my wings!”
Always sweet. Always adored.
I could never be that affectionate, I thought.
But I could at least try a little.
With a bright smile, I looked up at my two maids.
“So let’s keep playing together, okay?”
Miel blinked, then nodded with a grin.
“Of course! I, Miel, will always play with you! I’ll read a hundred—no, a thousand—storybooks!”
“M-me too, my lady,” Soya added softly.
I beamed, truly happy.
So happy, in fact, that I didn’t notice
the serious glance they exchanged over my shoulder.
