﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 11 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
"What?! Why did you come here?!" Bellesac sprung up from lying on the sofa and screamed.
This tiny pup was growling like a mad dog. It seems quite sudden but I have no intention of answering.
"....Firentia?"
If the room wasn't quiet, I wouldn't be able to hear a voice so soft and would have missed it.
It was Laranne, who was looking at me while sitting on the floor near Bellesac.
"Ah."
It was awkward that I paused for a moment without knowing it. It's been a long time since I've seen Laranne.
Laranne, a flower that was so fragile and delicate that I never would have thought she came from the same womb as Bellesac.
As soon as she reached adulthood, she was married off to a man with a large age gap through the arrangement of the Empress.
People said it was a successful business marriage.
Although the nobleman was old, he was a hero who fought valiantly in the war, and he will soon inherit the title of his father.
No one knew how quickly a flower would wither alone in her husband's estate far away from Lombardy, whom is right under the Emperor.
It turned out that the husband was not a person who was attached to his family enough to take care of his young wife, and the servants of the house disregarded Laranne as a pretext for this.
When Laranne asked for help from her family, it was already after Vieze made a business deal with her stepson.
The answer that came back from her trusted parents was just a letter containing, 'Do better!.'
So Laranne dried up and soon returned to the dirt. At such a young age.
Laranne, who cried after the wedding, saying that she did not want to leave Lombardy, was the last image I seen of her.
"Are you taking classes starting today?"
Although she was five years older than me, her image of holding a large doll tightly was like that of a young lady from a noble family who grew up looking only at beautiful things.
"Yes, I came to take classes from now on." I nodded and answered Laranne.
Bellesac groaned, looking quite upset because I answered Laranne's question and ignored his.
"Lies!"
He stepped up and acted as though he was going to do something to me, but all he did was walk away and bark like a dog.
"Liar! Someone like you is taking classes now?"
This made it clear. It seemed Bellesac still hadn't had enough of the beating.
Do I have to wait for him who only learns bad things from adults, to spout more insults?
"What do you mean by like you?" I asked, provocating him.
"Someone like you! A low—"
"Shall I tell Grandfather on you?"
When the word 'Grandfather' came up, Bellesac froze and shut up.
"Last time, Grandfather told you not to look for me and say things like I'm lowly. Are you going against him now?"
I heard it from my father. Grandpa called Bellesac separately and scolded him.
"Bellesac." With a smiling face, I deliberately approached him.
"There are so many books here, aren't there?"
"Uh...." Looking around, Bellesac seemed to be frightened by the books scattered here and there.
Yes, it's only a book but it will become a weapon when it's held in my hand.
I struck a final blow on Bellesac.
"Shall I go and talk to Grandpa now?"
"No...."
This little guy retreated as he frowned and nearly stumbled when he turned around and stomped back to the place where he was lying before.
Oh, and of course, since he couldn't beat me, he didn't forget to kick the innocent doll nearby.
Indeed, how far will you go with that personality?
Still, I sighed, thinking that I was fortunate that I had defeated the puppy I was trying to tackle.
This time, it was Gillieu and Mairon sitting side by side by the window.
The two were 11-years-old this year and the twin sons of Aunt Shannanet, the eldest sister of my father.
"Yes?"
Why are you looking at me like that? It's embarrassing.
Actually, of all my cousins, these two were the least conscious of me.
Since they are identical twins, they always fall into their own world, so they have no interest in the world around them.
If my cousins other than Laranne ignored me, these kids were completely indifferent.
It's a level of indifference to the extent of them just passing by and not even glancing my way when I was being bullied by Bellesac and Astalieu.
Moreover, there has been no news at all since Shannanet's divorce and the two left with their father for the Schultz family.
No more using Lombardy's surname, and even becoming Gillieu Schultz and Mairon Schultz.
Their handsome appearances and early Knighthood seemed to make them quite famous in the social world, but it was a different world for me, who was busy working.
"Firentia."
The two spoke at the same time, having their breaths on the rise.
"They said you hit Bellesac?"
"And you had won?"
But something was a little weird. The faces of Gillieu and Mairon, who always had a look of indifference, seemed to be alive.
Besides, the two were smiling, though faintly.
What are these guys doing? It's scary.
I sat on a large couch near the window, across from Bellesac, who's groaning as he retreated away from me.
Most of them are young people using this room, and I liked the fact that it was a low-rise chair that I wouldn't have to climb.
At that time, Gillieu spoke to me, tapping the windowsill.
"Come here and sit down."
"What?"
"Sit down with us." Mairon said.
The two boy's golden hair shone brighter in the sunlight coming from outside.
I looked back at them for a moment and said.
"If you want to sit with me, you two should come over here then."
I could see their golden eyes moving together at the same time.
"Don't expect me to come and just go along with you." I said so and turned my head away.
I don't remember them being mean to me, but it was because I was currently in a bad mood. It felt like I was asking for a fight.
Lombardy's children are very proud. So, Gillieu and Mairon will definitely become angry like Bellesac soon...
Flop!
The sofa where I was sitting shook a little.
"What, what are you—?"
Suddenly, two people came to my side and sat down interrupting my words. They sat on both sides of me.
"If we want to sit down with Firentia, we should come here ourselves, right?"
"So we are here now, Tia."
"Yes, yes, let's call her Tia."
"Yes, let's do that!"
They're laughing after exchanging words like doing a comic skit.
I really don't know what they're thinking.
I shrugged. They wanted to sit together with me so I just couldn't ask them to sit somewhere else.
It was when I gave up halfway that the door opened and Clerivan entered.
"Everyone is here. Then I'll start the lessons."
Huh? Just like this?
I looked around in embarrassment. However, everyone except me has no changes on their expressions.
But there are no books and no pen?
At that time, the paper and writing tools placed on one side of the room caught my eye.
Does it mean to take it if necessary?
However, the other cousins were only looking at Clerivan empty-handed.
Let's watch first.
I hugged the cushion and looked at Clerivan standing in front of the board.
"From today, we will learn about commerce, one of the important businesses of the Lombardy family."
Oh, it's commerce! It's gonna be interesting.
That's how the full-scale class began. But not before long, I was flustered again.
"......Commerce means—"
Behind Clerivan's voice, there was a sound that lingered like background music.
"Zzzz-Zzzz..HhhGhh..Pppheww.."
It was Bellesac's snoring sounds with his body spread across the sofa.
It's not that loud, but there's no way Clerivan couldn't hear him.
He doesn't even try to wake him up and continued on with the lessons as if he's invisible.
At that fleeting moment, he glanced at me and smirked. I felt goosebumps on my skin.
An instructor who could have scolded and forced us to listen to the class is rather polite.
Clerivan didn't intend to do those things in the first place.
Leave the others to sleep without waking them up. Not reprimanding the others for not listening to the lessons.
However, their actions will be reported once class is over.
I felt Mairon, who was sitting next to me, lost interest in class and opened a book.
At that time, I could see Clerivan giving a short glance towards him.
He's only watching us but I quickly fixed my posture. I started showing 'I'm super focus right now!' with my whole body.
I open my eyes wide, and sometimes my head nods.
At first, it was acting, but afterward, I took the class with great concentration without knowing it.
It may be a boring lecture for young children, but it was an interesting class, listening to Clerivan's profound knowledge of commerce.
"Alright. Today's class is pretty good."
I forgot about the passage of time being very concentrated on the lessons. It's over so I was feeling a bit of regret.
On the other hand, the then sleeping Bellesac suddenly woke up and wiping his saliva.
You only wake up when you hear that the class is over?
"I have special homework for you all today."
"Homework?"
Laranne, who had just gotten up with a doll, asked back in surprise.
As if homework wasn't common, Bellesac as well as the twins were surprised.
"The deadline is until the next class."
Clerivan, with a strange smile, came out with something behind the board.
Thud.
When he put it down on the floor, a rather heavy sound rang inside the classroom.
"A log?"
What Clerivan took out was a thick log with the top and bottom cut off.
Originally, it was a fairly large tree, but the circumference of it was just as tall as an adult, and it was literally a log, reaching up to Clerivan's knees.
"This is a log from a Bubo tree. It grows quickly. It's hard and lighter than others, so it is widely used on the Empire for a variety of purposes."
"What do I do with that?" Bellesac asked bluntly.
But Bellesac wasn't the only one surprised by Clerivan's sudden behavior. Both Laranne and the twins were staring at the log in front of them.
Maybe my facial expression isn't that different either.
Clerivan looked at us and smiled. Then he said in a refreshing tone.
"You can sell this until the next class."
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January 07, 2021
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