3 - Another Grueling Day for the Aristocratic Kindergarten Teacher
“Eppna, Teacher!”
A body well-honed by royal guard training slowly stiffened. Maylin's brother, Yohan, stared blankly at his empty hands.
“Teacher, is my brother getting scolded because of me?”
Chwap. Maylin stuck to Ephna's right leg like a glutinous rice cake. Ephna almost melted at the sight of her upturned, sparkling eyes.
Barely holding onto her sanity, Ephna rose from her chair and crouched down to Maylin's eye level.
“That's not it at all. I was telling your brother how well you're doing in kindergarten, okay?”
“Really?”
Scolding? How could a mere kindergarten teacher dare to scold the Emperor and the captain of the royal guard from the Grand Temple?
“Really, I was.”
She could feel the gazes of the two men on her back.
She barely managed to hide the cold sweat trickling down her neck. Just then, the door opened a bit further, and two more small feet came striding in.
“Hey! You can't just barge in like tha— Your Majesty!”
Maxion, who had entered with a slightly irritable air, stopped short. The child's gaze was fixed on his brother, the Emperor.
“Maxion. What kind of attitude is that towards a classmate?”
A sharp rebuke followed immediately. Maxion hesitantly approached Ephna.
This time, he stuck to her left leg like glue. As if the teacher's leg was a sturdy shield.
“I'm sorry, Your Majesty…”
“Whatcha doing, Maxion? Are you getting scolded?”
Maylin asked with an innocent smile, perhaps too innocent. The tense atmosphere in the consultation room melted away in an instant, to the point where it was awkward to continue the consultation.
Ephna stroked the heads of the two children and said,
“I think we'll end the consultation here for today. The children seem tired of waiting. Ah, Your Majesty, I have something to say to you separately. Would you mind sparing a moment?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than four pairs of eyes turned to her simultaneously.
Had she ever been the center of attention like this in her life? She awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth.
Maylin's brother took care of the two children and was the first to rise.
“Then, we'll see you again next time, Teacher.”
“Teacher, goodbye. C'mon, Maxion. Let's go.”
Maylin, bending at the waist like a folder, dragged Maxion and trotted out of the consultation room.
With the three of them gone, only Ephna and the Emperor remained.
“You said you had something to say.”
The firmly built man rose from his chair. It was only now that she realized how tall the Emperor was.
Broad shoulders and the solid muscles beneath them. Everything about him was enough to intimidate most people.
The problem was that Ephna herself was intimidated.
“Ah, yes. Well…”
She hadn't even finished speaking when the man strode towards her. It didn't take long for him to stand before her with his long legs.
“Wait, that's too close—”
This is really close!
Right in front of her eyes was a chest encased in a suit. The subtle woody scent that had been lingering all along suddenly intensified.
Without realizing it, she reached out and touched his chest.
“Gasp…!”
I, I touched the Emperor's chest.
She lifted her head with a creak, like a rusty robot.
“……”
“……”
A presumptuous and shameless hand that dared to grope the Emperor's chest. North stared intently at it, and his eyes met Ephna's.
North raised an eyebrow slightly.
'Ah, I'm doomed.'
My second life. I'm going to die for daring to defy the Emperor and even fondling his chest.
She swallowed hard. Ephna squeezed her eyes shut.
“Why are you closing your eyes?”
“Yes, yes…?”
His voice was utterly calm. As if he really didn't know why she was doing that, North lowered his sharply raised eyelids and stared intently at Ephna.
At his words, she squinted open the eyes she had closed. The Emperor was looking down at her right in front of her. She could see his tanned arm stretched high above her head.
“It doesn't seem like the kindergarten is that old, though.”
He was propping up a precariously wobbling shelf with one hand.
A book on the shelf brushed her face and fell to the floor with a thud.
“Oh my!”
“Are you hurt?”
“Ah, no, no!”
“It seems the shelf has come loose.”
Ah. The shelf. Yes, that's right. He was worried I'd get hurt by the falling shelf.
'I thought he was going to chop off my head.'
But she felt sorry for having such a gruesome thought, as he calmly moved away after fixing the shelf.
“It would be good to fix the shelf. I can send someone if you want.”
“No, no! It's alright. I'll fix it up nicely so it's not dangerous.”
“Alright. Then what was it you wanted to say?”
She hadn't expected him to get straight to the point like this. Her heart was still beating a little fast from the shock.
“Ahem.”
Ephna cleared her throat and cautiously opened her mouth.
“I am sorry to be so presumptuous, but…”
“Presumptuous?”
Ah, was this a historical drama?
“I hesitate to say this, but I have something to say regarding titles.”
“What do you mean by titles?”
“Well, between Your Majesty and me…”
She was at a loss for words.
How could she say, 'Don't speak informally to teachers at kindergarten'? She didn't know how to put it in a roundabout way.
“Well, um…”
Actually, it had been bothering her since earlier. Of course, it would be natural for this man, who was the Emperor, to speak down to her.
But she couldn't let it go. Her dignity as a teacher. An equal relationship with the guardian.
She clenched her fist hidden by her skirt. Her eyes, filled with determination, looked up at North.
“Your Majesty, would you please repeat after me?”
“What…”
“Come on, Teacher.”
Say it. 'Teacher.' It's not difficult.
It was the kindest invitation she had ever given. But alas, there was no response.
He was just staring at her, as if trying to gauge the situation. His brow seemed to furrow slightly.
'Could he be angry?'
Her knees were trembling, but she couldn't stop here.
“Try calling me Teacher. Me.”
“…Te, acher.”
It seemed that her firm urging had had an effect.
North answered in a daze. Even as he spoke, he had a look on his face that said he couldn't understand why he was repeating after her.
But it was always too late after you realized it. The push and pull was over the moment he repeated her words.
'Ah, refreshing.'
A bright smile spread across Ephna's face. The sound of her clapping her hands towards North was cheerful.
“Well done. From now on, please call me that at kindergarten.”
To think that she would end up lecturing the Emperor like a five-year-old. It really was something you had to live a long time, or rather, die once, to see.
He was still just blinking. Now was the time. There would be no opportunity like this to persuade him.
“Also, I know it is presumptuous of me to say this to Your Majesty, but…”
Ephna's eyes glanced upwards, as if testing the waters. You don't seem to be thinking of killing me for insulting the imperial family, do you?
“At kindergarten, we emphasize mutual respect between guardians and teachers. Therefore, I would like to ask that you speak respectfully to each other, at least within the kindergarten.”
Don't speak informally. She had said this in a very roundabout way.
From 'Teacher' to honorifics, she had conveyed the things that had been bothering her throughout the consultation, circling around them several times.
“After all, the children are watching.”
“Mutual respect, you say.”
“Yes.”
North now fully understood Ephna's intentions.
He cast a nonchalant glance out the window before turning back to face Ephna. It was finally time to hear his answer.
“Ha.”
That was strange. 'Ha' wasn't an answer, it was a scoff.
His brow, which had been smooth until now, furrowed in a subtle way. The blatant scoff made her teeth chatter.
'I shouldn't have done it. I should have just let him speak down to me as much as he wanted!'
No sooner had she regretted it than the man raised his arm.
Ephna's body trembled slightly, as if in fear. She took a step back and unconsciously covered her head. Instinctively.
“Mutual respect…”
He wasn't going to hit me?
She cautiously opened her eyes. Contrary to her expectations, the Emperor was pressing his brow as if he was thinking about something.
'There's no one to hit me anymore…'
How long was she going to flinch at the sight of a raised arm, thinking she was going to be hit? Ephna smiled, covering her trembling arm as if nothing was wrong.
“Yes, that's right! Because the children! Are watching. You know the saying, 'Children are a mirror of their parents'?”
Had she emphasized the children too much? She might have seemed a bit transparent.
He stared intently at her. Then, a sigh-like answer flowed out.
“I see…”
“I see?”
“…I understand.”
“Great.”
Hearing the answer end neatly with 'I understand' was so satisfying.
“Is that all you have to say to me?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes!”
Ephna nodded in surprise. She hadn't expected him to adapt so quickly.
It was she who was flustered by the sudden honorifics. The man was so natural that you wouldn't think he was someone who had been awkward with honorifics until just now.
He brushed off his crumpled sleeve. As she created distance, the man approached.
“Eep!”
Her somewhat confident attitude was gone, and Ephna shrank back again.
In an instant, he was right in front of her. He raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
“Then now it's my turn to say something.”
“Wh, wh, what do you mean…”
“Don't tremble. You mustn't be afraid. Not in a place where the children are watching, Teacher.”
He was throwing her own words back at her. The man's tanned hand slowly approached Ephna's ear.
