Chapter 19
19
I smiled innocently at him, who was grinding his teeth silently.
"Wanna come with Leubu to see the sights, mister?"
Viscount Misengke quickly turned back the way he had come. I waved my hand at his back.
'Good luck, mister. Go and fight Teramore instead of me!'
- I thought.
\\
A meeting was in full swing at the Tower of Wisdom, the base of the Dubled Council of Elders.
"The establishment of an advisory body! The Duke must be out of his mind!"
One of the elders roared in anger.
"The advisory role of the head of the family has always been the role of the Council of Elders! If an advisory body is established like this, we will become meaningless."
"The Duke has succeeded the family, and our power is not what it used to be. He has even taken away the right of the elders to freely enter and leave the estate."
"Are you going to stand by and watch, Chairman?"
The elders turned their eyes to the Chairman, who was sitting at the head of the table.
The Chairman picked up his wine glass and said calmly.
"The Duke's will is firm. Servants have no choice but to obey their master."
"What are you saying...!"
The Chairman cut off the elder's words, saying, "So." and smiled.
"We have no choice but to look forward to the day when a new master who suits our tastes will appear."
"You mean..."
"Teramore."
The Chairman turned his head to Teramore, who was standing by the wall without being able to sit in the elder's chair.
"Yes."
"The young masters are the future of this Dubled. You must teach them with all your heart. Of course."
The Chairman smiled and lowered his voice.
"So that they are of one mind with us."
"Don't worry. I have made thorough preparations."
Teramore smirked and bowed deeply.
After the meeting, a vassal belonging to the Council of Elders followed Teramore as he left the Tower of Wisdom.
"It seems you will finally be wearing the robe of an Elder of the Duke's Family."
"Don't praise an old man too much."
"The Chairman's eyes on you were extraordinary."
Teramore laughed humbly, but inside, desire wriggled like a worm.
'This is a real opportunity.'
How long had he been waiting for this moment, loyal to the Council of Elders for the past 30 years?
He had been repeatedly deprived of the opportunity to become an elder because his family was humble, but this time it was different.
He was confident that he could educate Henri and Isaac in the direction the Council of Elders wanted.
Hadn't he realized it when he was a tutor for noble children to make a living?
No matter how stupid humans are, they can learn even the most difficult sentences if they are ruled with a whip.
If he could subdue them with violence, it would not be difficult to instill the ideology of the Council of Elders in the young masters.
Besides, Henri had deep trauma.
As a result of the last test, he didn't tell anyone what had happened to him.
'Henri will be brainwashed with fists, and Isaac is simple, so I'll drive him mentally...'
The vassal rubbed his palms and flattered him to the fullest.
"Please remember me when you wear the robe of an Elder."
"Of course. How could I forget you?"
It was then.
Viscount Misengke, who was walking down the hallway, heard their conversation and burst out laughing.
"Duke Misengke."
"You're having a very funny conversation."
"Yes?"
"You're selling the bear's skin before you've even caught it."
"In terms of experience, it's Duke Teramore's turn this time."
"Have you forgotten who you gained that experience thanks to? My father gave you a position thanks to you begging while serving as a servant in my house!"
Teramore's eyes hardened, and the vassal hesitated, looking at him.
"W, what are you saying...! You're being rude. Duke Teramore is a teacher who is about the same age as Duke Misengke's father."
"I can't help it. Duke Teramore still has the habits from when he was serving me."
He said loudly, as if for others to hear, and the eyes of the Council of Elders' vassals who were passing by were focused on them.
Teramore's face flushed with shame.
"You, who barely made a living serving me, are now the young masters' teacher. It's a long life."
Viscount Misengke smiled and whispered in his ear.
"Don't covet a presumptuous position. How much do you think I know about your weaknesses?"
Then he patted Teramore on the shoulder and walked past him.
Teramore was frozen stiff as if rooted to the ground.
"I'll tear him to death!"
He muttered savagely, and the vassal was startled and swallowed hard.
"D, Duke, don't be too upset. He's just jealous because the Chairman has entrusted you with a big task."
"Jealous? No, that bastard despises me. Just like he always has!"
"Th, that's..."
"Just you wait. I'll shove a knife down his throat someday."
Teramore glared at Viscount Misengke's back and gritted his teeth.
\\
The relationship between Teramore and Viscount Misengke deteriorated further.
Viscount Misengke kept Teramore in check as I had planned. He repeatedly interfered with Henri and Isaac's classes so that he would not gain the Chairman's trust.
"We cannot entrust the future of Dubled to an unqualified teacher!"
"Please reconsider the selection!"
"A new teacher who is suitable for the position...!"
Those who were shouting in front of the gate were also nobles who had been swept up in Viscount Misengke's public opinion campaign.
I smiled as I watched the protest.
'Good, good.'
As expected of a man who was nominated for the Council of Elders at a young age. No one can follow him in dirty tricks.
'Now that the attention is focused, Teramore won't be able to touch Henri easily.'
Keep fighting each other like this and replace Henri and Isaac's teacher.
Heehee, the maids smiled as if I was cute when they saw me smiling.
"Why is our baby in such a good mood today?"
At those words, Uni, one of the maids who took care of me, said with a triumphant face.
"You know I bought a new toy today!"
"Oh my, you saw that I brought a new toy."
"You'll like the rocking horse I bought better."
"No, it's the three-thousand-piece puzzle I bought."
The maids growled at each other and then looked at me at the same time.
"You like the rocking horse better, right?"
"The puzzle is much more fun, right?"
I, who was burdened by the glaring eyes, stopped them, saying, "Both are good..." but the fight did not end.
"Okay. Let's show you and get an evaluation from the baby!"
"Let's do it. I'm confident. I'll give you my eyeballs if I lose."
"Oh my, I'll juggle with my eyeballs.The maids, who laughed savagely, suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go, baby."" and opened the door.
I followed them with a look that transcended worldly affairs, haha.
'I'll have to pretend to have fun again today.'
- Thinking.
I went down the stairs with the maids to go to the first floor where the toys were. But Isaac was coming up from the opposite side.
"Hi!"
When I greeted him, Isaac pretended to know me, saying, "It's the little one." He had books and notes in his hand, as if class had just ended.
"Where going?"
"Training grounds. To get training."
"Annie?"
"My brother failed the test, so he's retaking it."
Isaac said that and added triumphantly.
"I got everything right."
Isaac is also an excellent talent, but his physical abilities are superior, and Henri's brain is superior.
But it was strange that Henri had not passed the test that Isaac had passed.
I blinked and hardened at the thought that suddenly came to mind.
'Could it be...!'
I hurriedly ran down the stairs.
I heard the maids calling "Baby! Baby!" in a flustered voice from behind, but I ran without thinking.
I hurried through the courtyard and ran down the hallway to the public library.
Bang!
When I kicked open the door, Teramore, who was startled, looked at me.
I looked at Henri, who was bowing behind him.
Henri, who met my eyes, turned his head away and covered his red cheeks. Because of that, there were many hideous scars on the bottom of his open shirt collar.
Judging from the fact that the bruises had turned yellow, there must have been violence from the first day of class.
'I was naive.'
I thought Teramore was abusing Henri to become an Elder.
I thought he was trying to brainwash Henri with violence to raise him as a successor who suited the tastes of the Council of Elders.
If his goal was to become an Elder, I thought he wouldn't be able to touch Henri because he would be watching his surroundings in the current situation.
But it wasn't.
'He just thought of Henri as a toy.'
He was feeling joy by venting his inferiority complex from being from a humble family on the child of a noble lord.
"Ahem."
Teramore coughed and said.
"You must not enter without permission during class."
"This not class. Henri hit. (This is not class. He hit Henri.)"
How could hitting a child be a class?
Teramore was briefly flustered that the scene of violence had been discovered, but he soon smiled.
It was a look that said, "What can a child do?"
"You're saying terrible things. How dare I hit the young master? The scars on the young master's body are from sword training yesterday."
"I saw. Hand up."
"I never raised my hand, but even if that happened, it's not violence."
He smirked and continued.
"It was caressed with love."
The moment he was spouting nonsense, I quickly picked up the fountain pen that was on the desk.
And.
"Aaaagh!I poke Teramore's back of the hand with the sharp pen tip.
Henri's eyes widened at what happened in an instant.
Teramore collapsed to the floor, holding his wrist with blood dripping down.
"What are you doing!"
The old man, who had gone crazy, shouted.
I approached him and whispered in a voice that Henri couldn't hear.
"What is it? It's caressed with love, you son of a bitch."
- I said.
