Chapter 22
22
Vincent's eyes widened at my words.
Soon, he shook his head vigorously and shouted.
"No!"
"Really? Then what is it? Ah~ I think I know now."
This time, Vincent's eyes were filled with anticipation.
I wiggled my finger and pointed to the blanket.
"Did you change the color of the blanket?"
"Uu!"
Vincent pouted and protested silently at my deliberate wrong guesses.
I giggled at his adorable expression.
'I think he's relaxed a bit now.'
I felt like I would become a really bad adult if I teased him any more, so I gave Vincent the answer he wanted.
"The room is cleaner and tidier than usual, Young master? It's so shiny that it's dazzling."
Vincent's shoulders rose.
I glanced at him and stroked my chin.
"Who cleaned so well? Could it be a maid..."
I was pretending until the end when I was surprised by a tug on my sleeve and looked down.
Vincent blushed slightly and said shyly.
"It was me."
"Huh?"
"I wanted to look good to you, Teacher... I tried hard."
Vincent's gaze turned downwards, as if he was very embarrassed.
I stared blankly at Vincent and thought.
Vincent, you...
'You're too cute...'
I was momentarily flustered, but Vincent was so lovely for honestly saying that he wanted to look good to me that I said with a soft smile.
"Is that so? I'm happy."
"Really...?"
"Of course. You tried to get along with me, didn't you?"
"Y-yes!"
Vincent shouted with a bright red face.
I felt relieved that he seemed to have opened his heart.
I took the clinging Vincent to the desk.
The desk was also neatly organized.
"Okay, since today is the first lesson, I'm going to see how good you are, Young master. First, these problems—"
It was then.
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
I raised my head at Vincent's call and was inwardly surprised.
It was because Vincent was looking at me with a more serious expression than ever before.
'What is it?'
Soon, Vincent slowly parted his lips.
"Teacher..."
"......?"
"What do you think of me?"
Huh?
No, what is he talking about?
I was so flustered that I couldn't say anything for a while.
I blinked blankly at the words that were difficult for anyone to understand at once.
Then, sadness gradually spread across Vincent's face.
No, no.
"What do you mean? What do I think? Of course, I think well of you."
"Then why..."
"Why...?"
"Why do you keep calling me Young master?"
"Huh?"
I blinked blankly at the unexpected words.
'Was I?'
I reflected on my past memories.
Certainly...
'I think I was friendly and then formal when I came to my senses.'
It seems that it was mainly when there were other people or in public places.
'Was he confused because my attitude kept changing?'
I nodded.
Vincent is still young, so it was understandable.
'It's my fault.'
Okay, let's make my attitude clear from now on.
I bowed to Vincent.
"I'm sorry for confusing you, Young master."
Then I raised my head, but, huh?
"Sniff..."
"......?!"
Vincent's eyes were filled with tears.
'Oh, no.'
What is going on all of a sudden?
I looked at Vincent, who looked like he was about to burst into tears, with confused eyes and hurriedly spoke.
"I, Young m—"
"......I don't like it."
"Huh?"
Vincent muttered something incomprehensible and grabbed my sleeve tightly.
Then, he looked at me with tearful, trembling eyes and struggled to say each word.
"I don't like it when you call me that, Teacher."
"Uh..."
Only then did I realize why Vincent was so desperate.
'Could it be that he's upset because I called him Young master?'
Moreover, my formal attitude seems to have hurt Vincent.
'I didn't know Vincent liked me that much.'
I was only thinking about not causing confusion, so I couldn't consider Vincent's feelings.
'Vincent likes me more than I thought.'
I forced myself to hold back my tears and looked at Vincent, who was clinging to me.
'Looking at him like this, he's just an ordinary child.'
I still can't believe that this child will later become a parricide who kills his own father.
'But...'
That's still in the future.
And now that I'm here, Vincent's future might change.
'Hoo.'
Thinking about it that way, I suddenly felt that this relationship was heavier than I thought. But...
'I didn't start lightly from the beginning either.'
I'm the one who's most sincere about this relationship.
This is a matter of life and death in many ways.
'And...'
At first, Vincent was just a means to approach Khadien, but now he means something special to me.
I want Vincent to escape from the darkness of the past and grow into a respectable adult.
So.
"I'm sorry for hurting you."
Vincent slowly raised his head at my words.
'Let's go all the way.'
"Vincent."
Vincent's eyes widened at my words.
Soon, he smiled brightly and nodded.
"It's okay."
I couldn't help but smile at the sight.
However, there was something I had to make clear.
I met Vincent's eyes and said with a serious expression.
"But Vincent, let's only call each other that when it's just the two of us."
Vincent blinked at my words and asked back.
"Why?"
"Well, because some people might not like seeing us like this."
In any case, Vincent and I are a tutor and a student.
Some people might not like seeing the two of us being so casual.
For example.
'Winston.'
If the conservative Winston saw this, he might doubt my qualifications as a tutor.
'I don't want to create a situation where there's room for gossip.'
Did Vincent understand my situation well?
Vincent seemed to be thinking for a while before nodding.
"Okay."
"That's a relief..."
"But there's a condition!"
I've heard the word 'condition' a lot today.
I never expected Vincent to say such a thing, so I sweated and asked with a forced smile.
"What is it?"
"Via Teacher!"
"Yes?"
"I'm going to call you Via Teacher when it's just the two of us."
I blinked.
Vincent didn't know it, but 'Via' is my nickname.
But no one had called me by my nickname since I was a child.
I was momentarily stunned by the nickname I hadn't heard in a long time, but I barely regained my senses and asked back.
"Is there a reason why you want to call me that?"
Then, Vincent blushed shyly and replied.
"Because Teacher is special."
"......"
"I don't want to call you Teacher the same way as everyone else."
Vincent's eyes were filled with pure affection as he looked up at me.
I felt strange for some reason and was silent for a moment before smiling faintly and nodding.
"Okay."
"Really?"
Then, Vincent asked back with a noticeably brighter expression, as if he had been nervous.
I nodded.
"Yes, but we're only calling each other that when it's just the two of us."
"Yes!"
Vincent shouted loudly and hummed while shaking his legs.
Is he that happy?
"Via Teacher."
"Yes."
"Hehe, Via Teacher."
"Yes, Vincent."
After that, Vincent called me by my nickname, and I answered quietly each time.
* * *
'His level is higher than I thought.'
I thought as I graded the problems Vincent had solved.
'As far as I know, he's only attended class a handful of times.'
Nevertheless, Vincent solved problems at the level of his peers and even higher-level problems without hesitation.
'He still lacks a bit of application, but he's excellent for his age.'
I smiled contentedly.
Then, I said to Vincent, who was waiting for the results with a nervous expression.
"You did well. I'm surprised you did better than I thought."
"R-really?"
Vincent asked with an excited face.
I nodded.
"Hehe..."
Vincent giggled, as if he was very happy.
I was looking at Vincent with a proud expression when.
Knock knock.
A maid opened the door with a knock and came in with a tray.
"I have prepared tea and cookies."
The fragrant tea and sweet cookie smell gently dissolved the atmosphere that had been heightened by the lesson.
I couldn't take my eyes off the cookies placed in front of me.
That's because,
'......I'm hungry.'
Come to think of it, I haven't eaten properly since last night.
Besides, I've been running around busily since morning, so it was no wonder my stomach was protesting.
'But I don't want to interrupt the flow of the lesson.'
Vincent's concentration is at its highest right now.
I was conflicted when suddenly a delicious-looking cookie was held out in front of me.
I blinked and looked at Vincent, who was handing me the cookie.
"Via Teacher, ah~"
