GDT | Chapter 1.2

Duchess Ireunoa quietly nodded at Yurkia, who shouted with his eyes squeezed shut. Is she actually listening to me? Is it true that if you’re desperate enough, anything can come true?

Yurkia, feeling a bit relieved, gulped down the honey water he hadn’t even been given, but then she handed him a letter.

“Read this.”

“This is…”

“It’s a message from His Majesty the Emperor.”

With a bright smile, Yurkia’s soul left his body. A message from His Majesty at a time like this—

“It says, whatever I ask, you must comply. It’s an order from His Majesty to you, Teacher.”

No way. Yurkia took out the letter with trembling hands. Since it was a message from the Emperor, he handled the paper with extreme care, and just as she said, that’s exactly what was written.

“This can’t be…”

“So you’ll have to come with me to the Northern Region. Don’t worry. I’ll tell you who you’ll be teaching.”

Duchess Ireunoa carefully took the letter from Yurkia’s hands, as if she was worried he’d accidentally tear it, and put it away.

“The person you’ll be teaching is Ruberteo Diberche Remcharnoa.”

“…What?”

How many bombs was he going to get hit with today? Yurkia asked in a daze. Remcharnoa? If it’s Remcharnoa—

“A member of the Imperial family, that name…”

“They call him an illegitimate child. His Majesty’s unknown ‘sin.’”

Clatter!

Yurkia shot to his feet with a loud noise. I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t hear anything! He desperately covered his ears and backed away, but Duchess Ireunoa just looked at the fallen teacup and spoke.

“It’s too late now that you’ve heard. You know you can’t go back to before you heard this, right?”

“I—I’ll bash my head with a rock! How could you tell me something like this…”

“Weren’t you curious?”

You asked who you’d be teaching. Her calm words made Yurkia want to explode, and he pounded his chest with his hand. No. This really can’t be happening.

“How can you expect me to take care of him? How could I—”

“What’s the problem? You took care of the Princess too.”

“This is different! His Majesty’s hidden… hidden…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence and started gasping for breath. Duchess Ireunoa slowly stood up and came over, handing him a handkerchief. S-sorry… Yurkia mumbled, covering his mouth with her handkerchief and gagging a little.

“It’s only natural you’d be shocked. No one knows this. Not even the Imperial family. Except for His Majesty, no one knows. Oh, maybe the Princess knows.”

“…I don’t understand. Why would you bring someone so well hidden out into the open…”

“…His Majesty wants to wash away his sin and present him openly to the people.”

She gently patted Yurkia’s shoulder, who was still pale but no longer gagging. It was her way of telling him to calm down and listen.

“His Majesty loved Ruberteo’s mother. But the moment she carried the Emperor’s child, she knew she couldn’t withstand the world’s gaze. Nor the assassins’ eyes on a child born of an illegitimate line.”

So, according to her, Ruberteo’s mother left with the child. It was a mother’s choice for her child, so who could blame her, but…

“That was a bit… reckless.”

“Very reckless. She ran away with the Imperial bloodline. His Majesty tried to find her, but even after thirteen years, he couldn’t. The child was in the Northern Region.”

The Northern Region… Yurkia looked at her in shock, and Duchess Ireunoa nodded.

“I found him. Living in the mountains with wolves.”

“Whoa…”

“He didn’t know manners, or even how to speak. His Majesty was reciting imperial studies at eleven, you know.”

“So… what you want from me is…”

“That’s right.”

Duchess Ireunoa straightened her posture and stared at Yurkia. He couldn’t avoid her steady gaze and stood there frozen like a statue, swallowing hard.

“He is His Majesty’s blood. He will one day lead this Empire. So, until his coming-of-age ceremony, your job, Teacher Yurkia, is to turn him into a perfect Crown Prince.”

At her words, Yurkia just stood there, not answering. She tilted her head slightly and called him gently. Teacher Yurkia? Are you alright? Even with her kind question, he didn’t respond at all.

She hadn’t expected this either. She knew he was faint-hearted, but she never imagined he’d faint on his feet after hearing about the future Crown Prince. She really hadn’t seen that coming.

***

Back to the present, inside the carriage heading to the Northern Region—

‘Haa….’

After that conversation with Madam Ireunoa two months ago, the very woman sitting before him now, Yurkia had to spend his days busily wrapping up his life in the Empire—packing up his house, finishing his remaining classes.

He still felt guilty about lying that he was going abroad, but there was no other way. The one waiting for him was Madam Ireunoa, the mistress of the Northern Region, and, on top of that, the future Crown Prince he was to teach.

Just as he was about to sigh again, Madam Ireunoa closed the book she’d been reading and spoke up.

“We’ll be arriving soon. It’s over there.”

At her words, Yurkia cracked open the window and peeked outside. The cold was enough to freeze his face, but when he saw the massive mansion coming into view, his jaw dropped.

“Your quarters will be in the annex, so you don’t have to feel pressured.”

“The annex… Don’t tell me it’s that mansion that’s almost as big as the main building?”

“Oh my, it is. What will you do?”

She looked at him with a teasing smile, as if asking if he was going to faint again. Yurkia sniffed and quietly closed the window. This is too much. I should’ve just jumped out earlier.

After passing through the wide-open main gate, the carriage finally stopped. Yurkia got out first and then helped Madam Ireunoa down.

“Welcome to the Ireunoa estate, Teacher Yurkia.”

Seeing the long line of people bowing deeply, Yurkia swallowed hard and clutched his precious luggage.

I’ve really come. I’ve come all the way here. There’s no turning back now.

Listening to Madam Ireunoa’s explanations as they headed to the annex, he couldn’t stop fidgeting with his sweaty hands—rubbing his thighs, twisting the handle of his bag.

He was making a fuss without even realizing it himself. Noticing this but choosing to let it slide for his sake, Madam Ireunoa finally stopped in front of a room deep inside the annex.

“This is the room.”

“…Pardon?”

“This is where he stays. But first, there are a few things you need to be careful about before you go in.”

Since they’d been alone since entering the annex, she spoke comfortably. Yurkia blinked for a moment, then, sensing her expectant gaze, hurriedly pulled out a notebook and a stubby pencil from his pocket.

“First, you should address him as ‘young master.’ He can only go outside with my permission. Meals will be left by a maid at the door at set times.”

Watching Yurkia scribble furiously, Madam Ireunoa continued, and just as he flipped to a new page, she added,

“And lastly, don’t get attached.”

“…Excuse me?”

“He’s someone who will become the Crown Prince and rise to great heights. Teacher Yurkia, that’s a place you can’t go.”

In other words, don’t get attached and start dreaming impossible dreams. Yurkia hesitated at her words, then pushed up his slipping glasses and replied,

“I’ve never… had such dreams, nor will I. So don’t worry.”

“…That’s a relief, then. Let’s go in.”

With a smile that said she believed him, Madam Ireunoa opened the door. A cold draft swept in, and there, standing by the open window, was a boy.

“Young master, you’ve opened the window again.”

As if used to this, Madam Ireunoa picked up a blanket from the side, draped it gently over the boy’s shoulders, and stepped back. Just a brief touch. That was all.

“I’ve brought your new teacher.”

She spoke carefully, and at her words, the boy turned his head.

“Ah…”

Snow.

Pure white snow falling from the sky. The boy, as pale as the snow, looked at Yurkia with half-dead eyes. Meeting that gaze, Yurkia carefully approached, knelt on one knee, and placed a hand over his heart.

“It’s nice to meet you, Young Master Ruberteo. My name is Yurkia.”

A gentle, radiant smile. Later, the boy would say this was his first impression of the one-and-only Yurkia.

Back in the present, Yurkia glanced at the boy’s tightly closed lips, then turned to Madam Ireunoa.

“…Madam, may I have a moment alone to speak with the young master?”

“…Alone, you mean?”

“Yes. Usually, lessons start with a greeting.”

She looked down at Yurkia, who smiled lightly, then soon smiled herself and stepped back.

“Let’s do that. From now on, your guidance takes priority. If you need help, just pull the bell cord.”

“Thank you.”

Once Madam Ireunoa left, Yurkia finally felt like he could breathe and let out a deep sigh of relief. Her gaze always felt like it pierced right through to the core of a person—definitely not comfortable.

While he was patting his chest, Ruberteo, now with the blanket over his shoulders, was staring out the window again.

“It snowed a lot, didn’t it?”

Instead of closing the window, Yurkia sat down next to him and asked. Ruberteo didn’t answer.

Up close, Yurkia could see the boy’s eyes—an odd mix of green and blue under those snowy lashes. It was because of these eyes. The moment he saw them, all thoughts of turning back vanished.

He wanted to see those eyes smile.

“Can I be honest? I don’t really like snow.”

So Yurkia kept talking, even though there was no reply.

“I’ve never told anyone why. Actually, when I was really little, I slipped and fell while walking on a snowy road. I was even younger than you are now, young master.”

He scratched his cheek, embarrassed, and continued.

“I fell so hard I got soaked all over… even my underwear. My mom scolded me like crazy. She said, ‘I knew this would happen, you run around more than the dogs on the street.’”

Ever since then, my butt hurts whenever I see snow. Sitting down, Yurkia lifted his right hip and patted it, laughing.

He kept telling silly stories like that. All of them were about Yurkia, and Ruberteo just kept looking out the window.

“And hot cocoa in the cold winter is really delicious. It’s so good, you could drink just that and feel full.”