Translator: Nox

Chapter 19

I’ll Save My Dad

I’ll Save My Dad, Episode 20

Episode 20

“This way, please.”

Behind the Main House where my grandfather lived, past an outdoor corridor, stood another building. It was the Education Hall, where the heirs of the direct line received their lessons.

Mr. Servair adjusted his pace to match mine, leaning down slightly so I could hear him better as he led the way.

It’s definitely strange. Servair is the eldest uncle’s man.

“The tutors vary depending on the subject, but the person I am about to introduce will manage your overall curriculum, My Lady. Of course, she also teaches many of the core subjects herself.”

Why is he being so kind to me?

Even though I was looking at him with blatant suspicion, his beaming expression didn’t falter.

He even started rambling about things I hadn’t even asked.

“There was quite a stir early this morning. This is why one shouldn’t invest recklessly, even if the information comes from a reliable acquaintance…. Ahem.”

He caught himself and let the end of his sentence trail off.

‘Aha.’

So today was the day the CEO of the ink company fled abroad after embezzling the funds.

I thought he’d dismiss it as the meaningless babble of a child, but it seems he actually sold his stocks. He has better instincts than I expected.

Knowing I’d never have to see that stingy Butler Jacob again made me feel much lighter.

‘Naturally, anyone who gives you profitable financial advice feels like a savior for a while!’

I smirked to myself.

That feeling will fade over time anyway. Until then, I decided to graciously accept Mr. Servair’s kindness.

‘As long as I don’t cross the line, the head butler should be willing to do me a few favors, right?’

There’s nothing wrong with being on good terms with someone who holds power within the Count’s estate.

I gave a bright smile and followed Mr. Servair.

As we entered the Education Hall, a middle-aged woman stood there, her hair tied back so tightly not a single stray strand escaped.

She was nearly as tall as Mr. Servair.

“This is the Boltman Baroness. The lady I mentioned on our way here.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Berry Quartz Travel. Please address me as Madam Phrea.”

“Oh, hello.”

I bowed my head politely, just as I used to greet adults in Bonwell Village.

The Madam regarded me with a strict gaze.

“We shall have to start with your etiquette. I heard the report. I was told you burst into tears upon seeing the Count without even offering a greeting.”

Ugh. A savage critique of my past mistakes right out of the gate.

Mr. Servair, sensing my mood, tried to soothe Madam Phrea.

“Madam, it is the young lady’s first day, so perhaps not too harshly….”

“I am simply doing my job.”

Eek. Mr. Servair’s lips snapped shut as if they’d been glued together.

Madam Phrea turned to me.

“Follow me. I will take you to the classroom where you will study with your relatives.”

“Okay….”

“Respond with clear pronunciation. Do not slur your words; speak with certainty.”

“Yes.”

Ugh….

Somehow, this felt more suffocating than when I was summoned to the Head Commander’s Office to see Grandfather. I followed behind the Madam with my shoulders slumped.

---

When Madam Phrea opened the door, the classroom came into view.

A blackboard and a podium stood at the front, with six wide desks and bookshelves arranged in two columns and three rows facing the front.

Except for the two desks in the very front row, children were already seated.

They were my relatives around my age, excluding the eldest uncle’s firstborn, Kane, who was away at the Academy.

Four pairs of eyes swiveled toward me simultaneously.

“……What are you doing?”

Madam Phrea, having entered the classroom, turned back to find me standing at the door, covering the crown of my head with both hands.

— Splash!

— Gross. What is that smell?

— Looks like the bottom-feeder washed her hair with rotten milk.

— Spoiled strawberries…. How funny.

I lowered my hands with an awkward smile.

“My head was just a bit itchy.”

I guess it’s not time for things to fall from above the door yet.

A snicker of ridicule reached my ears.

It was Calips, Aunt Marian’s only son, sitting by the window in the back row.

He was ten years old, one year older than the twins.

He had slightly messy chestnut hair and sharp, rebellious brown eyes.

From his slouching posture to his grumpy expression, he radiated an aura that said he hated everything about this situation.

When Calips made eye contact with me, he clapped his hands together and then pulled them apart. A flattened paper ball dropped onto his desk with a thud.

‘Dummy.’

Calips mouthed the word at me.

While I was pondering how to handle that nasty temper of his, Madam Phrea introduced me to the relatives.

“Attention, please. This is Lady Berry Quartz Travel, who will be joining your lessons starting today. She is the daughter of Master Raytan. As she is seven years old, she is the youngest member of the Travel family.”

“Hi! Nice to meet you!”

“……I will instruct you on proper greeting etiquette later.”

Calips snorted at my energetic greeting, while the twins looked away, pretending to be busy. Only Ciel, who sat next to Calips, acknowledged me.

Her long blonde hair shimmered brilliantly.

“Nice to meet you, Berry. I’m Ciel, and I’m thirteen. My father is Hevant Cornelian Travel, the Count’s eldest son.”

She was a rare kind soul among the direct line. I waved at Ciel, delighted.

Though I was immediately reprimanded by Madam Phrea.

“Now, you may choose your seat. The furniture has been adjusted to your size. You may sit at either of the two desks in the front row.”

“Okay. I’ll take the window seat!”

“Very well.”

Without much hesitation, I walked toward the desk by the window. On the way, I made eye contact with the twins in the back row, but they both hurriedly avoided my gaze.

‘Are they avoiding me because of the frog incident yesterday?’

Hehe. Then I can’t let this momentum go to waste.

I sat down, turned around, and gave the twins a bright, innocent greeting.

“Hi! See you again after yesterday!”

“Eek!”

But the twins’ reaction was unusual.

Hati recoiled in horror, and Mati questioned me with a terrified face.

“It was you, wasn’t it? The one who did that this morning.”

“……This morning?”

I wondered if they’d encountered a frog while on a walk, but I didn’t think they’d be that scared of one.

“…Did what?”

“It was you…!”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I mean, you…!”

“Now, quiet down. We shall begin the lesson.”

Mati slammed his desk in frustration, but he had no choice but to shut his mouth at Madam Phrea’s announcement.

I’m curious too. What exactly did I supposedly do this morning?

---

However, I wasn’t the one feeling frustrated right now.

Less than ten minutes into the lesson, Madam Phrea’s expression began to harden.

“What kind of lessons did you receive from your previous tutor?”

“Tutor? I didn’t have one!”

“……Have you studied mathematics or foreign languages?”

“Oh, right. Mr. Peter taught me numbers—.”

“You learned numbers? So you have been studying. How were the lessons conducted?”

“When the same shapes come out, you play the numbers in a row! Even if a number 10 and a face card are together—”

“Wait, wait. Cards…… shapes……?”

“Yes! There are red ones and black ones! And hearts and diamonds and—”

“Stop. That is enough.”

Madam Phrea pushed up her glasses. She seemed to be trying to pull herself together after the shock.

“Do you know the history of the Heysel Empire? What is the symbol of the Count Travel family?”

“……Money?”

“…….”

After that, the Madam asked a few more common-sense questions, like the number of letters in the alphabet or which direction the sun rises from.

“You know absolutely nothing. Lady Berry, you will remain after class and complete the assignments I give you before you may return home.”

……Maybe I should have answered at least two correctly.

“Dummy.”

Calips whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

---

Once all the lessons were over, Madam Phrea placed a stack of papers on my desk.

“It is best to start with the basics. Write each letter of the alphabet a hundred times, submit them to Head Butler Servair, and then you may leave. I am being lenient since it is your first day.”

“What a waste of paper….”

“There is no such thing as waste in learning. Once you are finished, submit it to Mr. Servair.”

“Okay….”

“Keep your answers brief.”

“Yes.”

Madam Phrea left me alone in the empty classroom, making her disapproval clear. It hadn’t even been a few hours since I submitted my apology letter to Dad, and now I had to practice my letters—.

“There’s nothing more boring than repeating things you already know a hundred times.”

I looked around the empty classroom. Calips had been the first to bolt as soon as class ended, but he’d left without tidying up, so the books he’d been using were still sitting on his desk.

He called me a dummy twice, didn’t he?

‘Let’s see just how smart he really is.’

I walked over to Calips’s seat and checked his textbook.

“Oho. Calips is bad at math.”

It wasn’t a theory book but a workbook. There were marks from grading at the beginning.

As he got more and more questions wrong further in, it seemed he’d given up out of frustration.

The last page was covered in ‘rain’—crosses for wrong answers. Everything after that was as clean as a new book.

I glanced back at my seat. The paper the Madam had given me was the common type found anywhere in the Count’s estate.

‘Should I try solving them?’

I felt a sudden surge of curiosity. The methods to solve the problems were popping into my head, and I wanted to see if they were actually correct.

I brought the paper and pen from my desk and picked up the pen with my left hand.

“If I write with my left hand, no one will recognize my handwriting.”

I had used my right hand in front of the Madam to pretend I couldn’t write well, but I was actually left-handed.

I hummed a tune and lightly twirled the pen.

“Now, shall we solve these~?”