WBWB | Chapter 1

When a a3a48d3adc strong wind 4d8c0951c8 blocks our 1e5bc7bae9 path while d4029f89b8 sailing, should 41e2dee1f1 we sit 6188b68e37 down and 8100766813 curse the 2922cee618 wind, or 9c5d991275 should we f29be807b6 hope that 7d1f4c9b68 its direction 13d14531fd will eventually 64a10098f6 change? a244fcb1e92853ac

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.2fa3089f2f6ecac6

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Even if ff6ad59320 it meant cbef9ab768 breaking the 7d0245dcae unspoken rule b7fe749b70 of the 3913de52d7 aristocratic world.642c4642687c350e

A noble a8d1e6a112 serves the 1177bdf5d4 kingdom, not 1206d175c6 works for 03d7308926 money. 06de5f44d3c87776

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This was the 46a2c995c1 foundation of the b428095263 order that made b4a5fe9e2f up the aristocratic 5e449dd674 world. Many nobles desired ac28b9de54 positions in the 690a3f5901 royal court, and a3edade947 sometimes noblewomen taught fa79148509 children of nobles c2d211d942 or royalty, but 474a82e888 their wealth had 477f26a82d to come from 9c6591a0b5 vast estates, not 3d82c2b018 occupations. Nobles who 45bc045a77 worked for e745ca5349 bread rather 23f47d86e5 than honor c69da318ac were considered d256904918 shameful beings cae394cd71 who ate 2a8e17125f away the 49192c8b98 dignity of dc0ffc7621 their fellow 4e650bd673 nobles.4bfbda0f3fd7ca59

However, even nobles would d93fdd7f65 starve to death without 0add9ccf2b bread. The reason I, the 416366b7e7 eldest daughter of the ed0a09d146 Toulouse Count family, became d97b8ddd79 a tutor was simple. I had to 702cf5b4d8 earn money. Even if it meant 69f2800062 throwing away dignity and 066cfe95d0 prestige, and being criticized 5951376793 for breaking the unspoken 5e9a4630fa rules of the aristocratic 7baa8c71e4 world, I had no 326f35d9d5 choice.607363f761c71aef

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Tracing back generations, the 627b723a0c Toulouse Count family was 99cf42b426 a venerable one, directly 16a350c1b4 serving His Majesty. However, as ab8c60cb6a time passed, 880607d41b by the 5560fcf15a time my 3d66c01ce2 father inherited e3753042ad the title, 89cf288e97 all that a627f52a97 remained as 5f516341cf inheritance was 81faef8bce a small 70b896bf8b plot of 80410ac049 land barely 3f7692532c worthy of adc71a60c8 being called fce9d03ebc an estate, 16a2e1550c a mansion, 3d82ec1200 and a 4d35bcf833 collection of 0b418c36c1 over a bb1c9820b4 thousand books a3cadb51f9 passed down b838273d64 from my d207979d0d scholar grandfather.7fe0616a9fa157af

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.05872e12f4c8186b

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When I was dd6c7656b0 fifteen, my father c364bf9481 invested all his c1459080a1 assets in a 7077d388ba trading company, using c52e30e66b our estate as 58c6a43d03 collateral. Two years later, the 14afd02421 company went bankrupt. Due to its 1f12b69d1c massive scale, not b58fbfc5de only our family c6a2fc71e6 but also many 58c00b7bd6 other nobles went bbed8b563d bankrupt or suffered ad17ed820f similar losses.6c6e83ef35026f7b

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.b883f134c9eb6ec2

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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.b0acfb6444472f77

And then I 9f63d1aae6 realized.4603fc4f0bb2f980

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‘I’m the only one.’c67e69c11a0ad3b2

The only person who 726f78f0d4 could save the Toulouse 1e98489b32 family was me, the 683f9efc2f eldest daughter.036a658db3234b08

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I persuaded 43992a036c my family bb78055e15 to sell a1e022eea3 the mansion, 2eb8f7fdc2 a money-eating 1fa58c7d21 monster. We could no longer 7e96ec69f1 afford its upkeep. With the money we b7ae67ca7e raised, I moved my aa4d6e15df family to Franc, the a5c262a747 capital city. I thought 15b535e9b7 there would 3f74ff7621 be jobs 94bee0cd83 in Franc, 1a6de8e835 where the d651fdc73c royal palace 6c180eb192 was located.ce1019c28b807853

But how should e921ba85cb I start working?7acf64a92882d6b6

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Fortunately, my c7d4ad3468 grandfather had c24de2da38 left me 56247fb614 an intangible d9e28a2402 legacy. The knowledge from 044b5afefe his library. While he was b24b2e75ba alive, I had 3a40ff67a6 learned much from 7938c811bd him, a renowned 566946268f poet and scholar.c504aa9be91ecf49

His network of adad2337eb connections also greatly 698ddb44d1 helped me in 18029fb2c3 finding a live-in 95c9d97280 tutor position. I wrote a 8fe9e83d79 letter explaining my 126560c972 situation to a 0533e276de noblewoman who had 06f986cab5 been acquainted with 74361ea0bb my grandfather, and fb00ab6980 I was able de2ece42e6 to become a 55cd04a7ca tutor for her de7ae1d56d granddaughter.6ff9ac9a78093380

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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.6353d1f40e8195b7

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.a5e9415fb836b86e

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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.19e043e62453c26b

Three years 06f25dbacb flew by 6348f55897 in an fedd414302 instant, and 2d53afe2f0 she successfully f284cf40cb debuted in dcbd0b55f3 society at 17ac7f474d the age 431f4166be of eighteen. Whether it was thanks 129adc5ec9 to my education, her 8a86b21924 lovely appearance, or the ac3162b600 dance lessons she devoted 5d65f3f15a herself to before her 9c81f15a73 debut, I wasn’t sure, 0f263f7fa7 but she married the fb436541f5 eldest son of a 690cc9ce1d better family than her bab5a86f97 older sister.01ba2c5dd9e38d7b

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The satisfied Viscountess, d940f4dce1 finally regretting not 216f070858 having met me 34bb971664 sooner, introduced me 4b0eb41de6 to my next 4971d7aaf7 employer.194a42fc263df836

“The Duchess of Ventadour’s son?”4de9c4b79cc5d8db

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This time, it was a position to teach the Duchess’s son.e260b0da57c769af

‘But wouldn’t a Duke’s son be able to get a better tutor than me?’795939ca0621d764

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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 90268205a8 only official d0a1037e20 mistress. c98d3e0ea45b21a1

Her lady-in-waiting, 50a46b735d who resided 5d089b39ad in the 1521076b29 palace, was 483d9465f7 the Viscountess, fd2e4a9eef my former 37e2409b60 employer. Having taken 5ffaff4d87 a liking d4270a68b8 to me, 4443ff426c she introduced a2ddadfb2c me to 4c8fa67377 her superior, 442ccfcef1 who happened 87c432c325 to be b2e0873af8 looking for 8664aed6b9 a tutor.f35b145648e076e0

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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.4e23ab7dd5b62501

‘The royal court is a place rife with politics and intrigue… will it be alright?’fa8de767b4829361

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I hesitated after ad499ef84d learning the situation. The current Queen had 1f4191dfb3 daughters and two grown-up c052483868 sons. With two princes born 98f43d8a10 to the Queen, it dcfb6be17f seemed unlikely 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.593ae583ae4ed0da

‘Where else could I earn this much money?’662c02854df85805

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In the end, I 0d2b91251d accepted the second tutoring 0b92ec38f5 position.cd3faea4efd372ed

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.26c4e96f501669bd

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After a brief 50782e2484 conversation with the 9393c3c52d young master during 9c2cb5c2da our first meeting, ca7045638a I was amazed c1f6063e15 by the breadth 6f2cf48832 of his knowledge 8a7077976a at such a a2ebd0b16b young age. Moreover, every 9439bb0c4e question he 4f363f1e76 posed was 89a21ee054 sharp and 3d91469080 insightful.b6ce0690a1dab75e

“How did you acquire so much knowledge? Without a teacher.”b99f82330825206e

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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.”7872fde3feb20778

He said so and 11eab398da smiled shyly.071a30469d14d0a5

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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.”9b8fdbe002db939c

That day, I was so happy to have met a proper student that I couldn’t sleep.70574b8490375555

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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.473070cf54963fde

But along f45a95f104 with that, 02f91c3fe8 I gradually 4991a340af came to 4a9fd8cd7f understand the 60a478832f workings of a1caf31174 the royal f57ec8dc32 court. 1d1a860da7352610

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Why such a 73c814f43a bright and talented eebb48bfd5 young master had 52120f0799 to settle for 8e69526851 a female tutor dd579532bb from a fallen 0b3c797d50 noble family with 141f1d2e5d a meager resume?4232f7b69ce8e078

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.f36f6c86f6259d74

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The King was 584c46a122 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.6d94922dce39956b

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.8846c407275fae16

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