WBWB | Chapter 9

Come to think of it, she had vomited during their first meal together.

‘Why does she have such a gloomy expression? She can smile, too.’

He also disliked the tutor’s somber expression. When she was playing with his adopted daughter earlier, she had a bright smile, which looked much better than now.

But people only smile when they have a reason to. Baldr didn’t realize that he himself was the biggest reason for the tutor’s gloomy expression. He had only summoned her here to praise her.

“…”

As he sat on his chair, chin resting on his hand which was placed on the armrest, and remained silent for a long time, the tutor’s body seemed to shrink further and further.

“How did you do it?” 

Baldr asked.

“Pardon?”

“How did you teach my adopted daughter?”

It was a question meant as a compliment, but the tutor’s face paled.

“Did Lady Ana do something wrong?”

“That’s not it…”

The tutor had completely misunderstood the situation.

‘Doesn’t she know how well she taught the child? After seeing what she was like before?’

Baldr felt the need to explain the situation further.

“Three tutors have come and gone before you. Some of them claimed Ana had an intellectual disability or a learning disorder that prevented her from reading. But you managed to teach Ana to write in just a few months. Although she makes a lot of spelling mistakes.”

“…”

“And you taught her history as well. You’ve far exceeded my expectations. How did you do it?”

Baldr was eager to know her methods. 

Had she used some kind of magic? 

Was this the secret to how she became a prince’s tutor at such a young age, even if he was illegitimate?

“I didn’t do anything special.”

The tutor, who had been pondering his question with a thoughtful expression, straightened her hunched back.

“I simply became her friend.”

And for the first time, she spoke clearly and confidently, without a trace of fear.

“The young lady is very bright. However, she’s been very timid. I apologize for speaking out of turn as an outsider, but there’s hardly anyone in this mansion who shows her any attention. She’s been very lonely. And the previous tutors probably pressured her, trying to achieve results in a short period of time. Because that’s what Your Grace desired.”

Baldr suddenly saw her in a new light.

“But studying, as Your Grace knows from experience, is not something you can easily force on someone who doesn’t want to do it. It requires genuine interest to make progress. Why would she want to study while feeling lonely and sad, especially when being pushed by strangers? She retreated into a shell of grief, and the previous tutors probably saw what they wanted to see.”

Her demeanor was so dignified that it commanded respect.

“Instead of studying, I spent time getting to know her. And I waited for her to open up to me. It took some time, but she did. Everyone needs someone to rely on and love, like air and water.”

‘What is she talking about?’

Although Baldr did not agree with her values, he listened silently for the time being.

“And once her heart opened, she naturally followed my lessons. The lessons I taught were ordinary and any other tutor could have done the same.”

In any case, her approach had transformed his adopted daughter, and he was quite pleased with her confidence. He thought her eyes, filled with conviction, sparkled brightly.

‘She looks much better with her back straight. And without that previous servility, she’s much improved.’

Her oval-shaped jawline, her shining eyes, a mix of green and brown… now that he looked closely, her neck was long, like a graceful deer. The change in her demeanor and posture convinced Baldr.

‘This is the one.’

This woman right in front of him.

“What was your name again?”

“Jeanne de Toulouse.”

“Jeanne de Toulouse. I would like to officially appoint you as my adopted daughter’s tutor.”

The tutor’s already large eyes widened further at those words, and her lips parted slightly.

“Am I not already her tutor?”

“You were ‘temporary’.”

He shrugged.

“Temporary?”

“If you had failed to carry out your job properly, I was considering assigning you to the fortress construction. As I mentioned before, we’re short on manpower. Even if it’s the delicate hand of a woman who’s never held a pickaxe before, it’s still better than having no hands at all, wouldn’t you agree?”

At his words, Jeanne’s eyes widened, and she began to tremble as if she were cold, even though winter hadn’t even arrived yet.

“Then, what if Lady…”

“It’s fortunate that Ana opened up to you quickly. Don’t you think so?”

He shrugged. 

In fact, he had meant it as a joke. 

Why would he send someone who could read and write to work in the construction? 

There were plenty of other tasks he could assign her. Baldr was a man who knew how to utilize talented people effectively. But what was a joke to a cat could be a life-or-death attack to a mouse.

“…”

Seeing the woman shrink back at his words, Baldr realized his simple joke hadn’t landed well.

‘She has the heart of a mouse.’

“Since it hasn’t happened, don’t dwell on it. In any case, I hold you in high regard. It seems you were not made the royal tutor without reason. I want you to teach my adopted daughter everything she needs to know as a Duke’s daughter until she comes of age, including education, etiquette, and refinement. In return, I will pay you ten ducats per month.”

A ducat was a high-purity gold coin issued in his duchy. He didn’t know how much she had been paid as a royal tutor, but ten gold coins is by no means a small amount. Could an ordinary tutor be able to touch that amount of money after working for thirty years?

 As he spoke, he secretly hoped the tutor in front of him would be overjoyed, perhaps even jumping for joy, at this unexpected fortune.

“…”

However, the tutor’s reaction was unexpectedly subtle, contrary to his expectations. Jeanne’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she quickly furrowed her beautiful brow, closed her mouth, and tilted her head. Her tilting continued for so long that Baldr, finally irritated, asked,

“Why? Is the amount too small? Less than what you received at the royal palace?”

“No, no! It’s more than enough! Much more!”

Jeanne shook her head vehemently and denied it.

“But… please forgive my foolish question. This is my first time being exiled, so while I’m immensely grateful that you trust me and offer such generous compensation, how can I even use this money?”

“What?”

“Well, I’m an exile, am I not? I cannot step outside this mansion without your permission. So, how can I possibly use this money… I simply cannot fathom it with my limited understanding…”

At the tutor’s plea, he crossed his arms.

“Furthermore, Your Grace, I don’t have the means to keep such a large sum of money safe. While it’s said that more money is always better, money that cannot be managed properly is like a double-edged sword, bringing misfortune to its owner. Please consider what might happen if I were to keep my wages in my room.”

‘She has a point…’

What might happen if everyone knew there were gold coins lying around in the tutor’s room… he shrugged.

‘This is the first time I’ve hired an exile, especially a political prisoner, as a tutor.’

He had momentarily forgotten about the tutor’s special circumstances. The woman in front of him was, after all, was a political prisoner, and therefore, her every move was controlled.

Assumptions that it might never happen were always dangerous. The young prince Mael had claimed in his letter that the woman was falsely accused, but was that really true?

‘What if she’s truly a member of the Enlightenment faction trying to overthrow the monarchy?’

Appearances could be deceiving. Perhaps there really was a secret faction trying to place the illegitimate prince on the throne, and this woman was part of it. In that case, it wasn’t entirely impossible that she might escape here and rejoin them.

‘Even so, I can’t lose the tutor I worked so hard to get.’

For whatever reason, he had no intention of letting this rare and highly skilled individual step outside the mansion. However, he also had no plans to exploit her with unpaid labor like the other exiles—at the very least, he would pay her wages.