WBWB | Chapter 1

When a 56fdd92881 strong wind 126c32ae79 blocks our 6b75020ca2 path while 117be1c79c sailing, should 371fb14dd5 we sit d3b97abf21 down and eca9ac1272 curse the 40a3a481ef wind, or 404fc6d6d2 should we 3777f8c90f hope that ae99481eec its direction 24d6230865 will eventually 42f572b65e change? 2d23985010006aff

I don’t know the answer, but what I did was straighten the sails first. So that the wind wouldn’t swallow the ship whole.fd7d5d32e8f08104

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Even if it c2a44a6fb6 meant breaking the 2c185ee4ce unspoken rule of 3704f72004 the aristocratic world.439c7e8ea3f1917c

A noble d86bc6b40f serves the 3e58bbf877 kingdom, not e87532249b works for fc0650044b money. 0d4fc163a9d1afb5

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This was the foundation ef5d32d27c of the order that 15334af245 made up the aristocratic 8e35254b34 world. Many nobles desired c9d7b28f7e positions in the 54ff528db2 royal court, and d1e70ad7a3 sometimes noblewomen taught 6d473d9e4e children of nobles ebd0a74f30 or royalty, but ae925be194 their wealth had 9e3302f496 to come from c9aa45d75f vast estates, not 8fce12bf72 occupations. Nobles who worked for 5eb9fc90e5 bread rather than honor 7e82a36032 were considered shameful beings 718b70cf77 who ate away the e405a55657 dignity of their fellow 2625e7bdb5 nobles.974d0912b4f25f08

However, even 7c2038f811 nobles would 9417874cb0 starve to 5999fe75d7 death without fb9e1906ef bread. The reason I, the 2df6c00ab9 eldest daughter of the 7747c08afb Toulouse Count family, became 59ff230e33 a tutor was simple. I had to earn 4d5bfc5aa1 money. Even if it meant bd01c7e3e2 throwing away dignity and 5148903b42 prestige, and being criticized fcbdf97e0e for breaking the unspoken eb0a10d35a rules of the aristocratic 011fa007fb world, I had no c58f308ba8 choice.43294c4255a6dfe6

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Tracing back generations, the d55cebfb4e Toulouse Count family was 03062e7f8d a venerable one, directly 553315cdcc serving His Majesty. However, as time passed, 2710bc45b8 by the time my 3f57affc23 father inherited the title, a41924898d all that remained as 9c027b8626 inheritance was a small f8d6c8761c plot of land barely 7b1b3d7d5b worthy of being called c57958cab4 an estate, a mansion, d2c68d1507 and a collection of b312a3df0f over a thousand books 51d3e22d76 passed down from my edd485edaf scholar grandfather.5e932ffea0be6008

Even so, we could have lived without worrying about food and clothing as small landowners. If only my father’s aggressive investments, worried about the slowly declining future of our family, hadn’t failed.236d9e9b987ebcab

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When I fd604336e1 was fifteen, 87c1ae1d08 my father f664f8bbec invested all 4686a18066 his assets b1b33304b4 in a 4f105bc49e trading company, 495120e002 using our 4eb5b5eea4 estate as 885b10aa20 collateral. Two years later, the 5b7ce49407 company went bankrupt. Due to its 5ab004dff5 massive scale, not 8e3b184f00 only our family f7d04367eb but also many 4c27c1b45b other nobles went ad2d94d546 bankrupt or suffered 4d3fc6afe8 similar losses.fcd5873c2ab6739a

The nobles now had to choose one of two options. Either bow their heads and enter the royal court to become salaried nobles, or be thrown out into the streets. For now, our family first sold the estate and my grandfather’s books.9a77e10ec91b5073

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But our misfortune didn’t end there. The investment failure triggered my frail father’s guilt and brought another misfortune. My father, unable to bear the shock of bankruptcy, fell ill. My mother devoted herself to caring for him, but he eventually passed away a year later, leaving behind only a mountain of debt.08d28d996f878332

And then I 83a539ea17 realized.5cc422b133b9dd3b

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‘I’m the only one.’d96b758a3a7b347a

The only 70d0d2dfe0 person who 2ad441cbd7 could save 03b499f171 the Toulouse 8937102c6e family was 119a2e6bac me, the 51c3a3f384 eldest daughter.86ef925d1f9be65d

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I persuaded my d456b86fc1 family to sell 56570907a4 the mansion, a 36fe13b5f5 money-eating monster. We could no longer bc635161cc afford its upkeep. With the money we 87c1459555 raised, I moved my 7358672778 family to Franc, the 249db467fc capital city. I thought 46bef42fd9 there would 07d7ed8507 be jobs 22c7f0c914 in Franc, 1b9de1d002 where the 3f895e8e8f royal palace 9d887050ec was located.a22cecb5b0480451

But how should I 0f6b5471cd start working?f00b08bdb219446c

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Fortunately, my grandfather be45dd45bc had left me 599a5917f7 an intangible legacy. The knowledge from 4513f62b33 his library. While he was alive, 4b06ff8e4e I had learned much 1ea9de1b83 from him, a renowned 2757969bf7 poet and scholar.140408f764fc5b76

His network fe197ef553 of connections da218b161c also greatly 4ed1c1cbf9 helped me ebbbf13846 in finding 4b4d2332de a live-in 74f3b22dd4 tutor position. I wrote a letter 665982e73d explaining my situation to b7d659a816 a noblewoman who had c0560f0f65 been acquainted with my a22271ad33 grandfather, and I was e7b9a95aee able to become a 85fa0129a8 tutor for her granddaughter.5a5ca2f982f523aa

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However, the position of a tutor was very delicate. I wanted to find fulfillment in teaching the child, but the Viscountess, my employer, looked down on me for working for money despite being of the same class, and the servants were wary of my presence. I didn’t belong anywhere and felt alienated.37c2654ccd447945

That atmosphere also extended to the Viscount’s second daughter, whom I was teaching. At first, she acted like a tyrant in the study. However, after Christmas, when she learned that I was close enough to the Marchioness, her grandmother, to exchange letters, her attitude changed completely. The Marchioness used to give her granddaughters jeweled rings, pearl necklaces, and other gifts during the winter festivals.8dff229101d791ca

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I strived to fill my first student’s head with as much knowledge and culture as I knew, hoping it would help her not only in social circles but also in enriching her life.d59d950f001719f6

Three years flew beab06955d by in an 7e654a9279 instant, and she 7a16c61a7e successfully debuted in ab9ea6621a society at the f7731c3259 age of eighteen. Whether it was thanks 573169739c to my education, her ba01ddc215 lovely appearance, or the 51f9e70338 dance lessons she devoted df868ab1f0 herself to before her 4d2746ed3b debut, I wasn’t sure, d04a09a757 but she married the 0816e00080 eldest son of a 79a7ec7e10 better family than her c5c1738493 older sister.bac3eebbf62b2780

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The satisfied 995c2fc64f Viscountess, finally b9aaeb3edb regretting not 18f2897384 having met 6448a287d3 me sooner, 0b6fdc98e1 introduced me 8f6a9d876a to my 25dc02fe00 next employer.f6a5c17efc8cbb7a

“The Duchess of Ventadour’s son?”ce0f75fe2978d5c1

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This time, it was a position to teach the Duchess’s son.39b7db45106f43a7

‘But wouldn’t a Duke’s son be able to get a better tutor than me?’23f8700df16caf94

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Completely ignorant of royal affairs, I initially thought the job was simply to educate the Duke’s son. However, I later learned that the Duchess of Ventadour was not the Duke’s wife, but His Majesty’s maîtresse-en-titre, his only official bb962f14cb mistress. dbe1df39743ea0ae

Her lady-in-waiting, f88452bf96 who resided 137aa89822 in the 6009971c79 palace, was 292840f1b8 the Viscountess, db128c666c my former 707c03fb66 employer. Having taken a liking 293fb57a78 to me, she introduced 36b767dc50 me to her superior, 189c41e63a who happened to be 8f87433618 looking for a tutor.96eb400eb506b378

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Themaîtresse-en-titre, although a mistress, held a position right below the Queen, and her children could be officially recognized as “the King’s children.” However, since they were not born to the official Queen, they were referred to as “the Duchess’s son” or “young master” publicly. As someone simply looking for another tutoring position, I had taken on a student in a rather complex position.0adba19ed0b28210

‘The royal court is a place rife with politics and intrigue… will it be alright?’48b01320b1ff7b85

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I hesitated after 3de5e1372c learning the situation. The current Queen 15c8c1b1d1 had daughters and 5092741f67 two grown-up sons. With two aca32155cd princes born efeb97486d to the 59ed2264e2 Queen, it 131967f02d seemed unlikely c68fbba9f0 that themaîtresse-en-titre‘s son would be caught up in a succession dispute. More than anything, the position offered excellent compensation, enough to make the risks worthwhile.9f0606509e01753e

‘Where else could I earn this much money?’fe2dfae248a07070

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In the end, I 520795544d accepted the second tutoring dafce6de97 position.1de7a70ef5448ced

The student I was assigned was named Mael. The young master, just thirteen years old, had inherited the Duchess of Ventadour’s appearance, with curly blond hair, eyes like lapis lazuli, and beautiful features. He was also incredibly polite, far exceeding my first student.599de0d82388de92

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After a brief 017554d7a1 conversation with the 7ffeb3a0a5 young master during 2918b4a5bb our first meeting, fccd714a0f I was amazed a87632bb5d by the breadth c8b1c93752 of his knowledge 2e4de5ee1f at such a a76452f47c young age. Moreover, every question d8aa780198 he posed was afeb586b84 sharp and insightful.2d855dd9a77c291a

“How did you acquire so much knowledge? Without a teacher.”85b377cbd8305a7b

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“I had a lot of time. Even if I stayed in the royal library for days, no one looked for me.”a4965a9f91fbafa3

He said so 4702204369 and smiled shyly.ad2291706fe9af3f

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“I’m glad to have met you, teacher. There have been many books I couldn’t understand even after reading them. Please teach me a lot.”039aafc5c16552eb

That day, I was so happy to have met a proper student that I couldn’t sleep.cee1d0e56eb6f17b

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From then on, I resided in the royal palace and poured all the knowledge I possessed into Young Master Mael’s head. Having him as a student brought me great satisfaction and joy, beyond the financial rewards.0935cfcee9990f5a

But along 5419f46967 with that, 86fbee7add I gradually 2e42662e00 came to f667b313a3 understand the 89059baf1f workings of 414d775fab the royal a785190dfc court. 044c790767a7c4fa

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Why such a cde63849fd bright and talented 9275addf40 young master had 7b7b8852ad to settle for 886311c057 a female tutor 7fd2b9b8f8 from a fallen 54580c48d7 noble family with 566534010a a meager resume?63e2429588eb5154

The Duchess of Ventadour had been the King’s most favored mistress for over a decade, but she wasn’t his only lover. Moreover, the royal court was dominated by the Queen’s faction, who had the Crown Prince as their son, and the Queen openly regarded the Duchess of Ventadour as a thorn in her side.5fd07d19eb881d67

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The King was fd175f12fb aging, and themaîtresse-en-titre‘s power would vanish like morning frost the moment he was gone. The Crown Prince could ascend to the throne as soon as tomorrow, and no noble would stand against the Queen to support the Duchess of Ventadour.ce8899cb30d055b1

The fact that Young Master Mael was excessively intelligent was also a problem. Anyone who conversed with him, even briefly, could recognize his brilliance. If Master Mael had been the Queen’s firstborn son, his intelligence wouldn’t have been an issue.9fac7097ae5409a7

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