Chapter 126

 Chapter 126. Star Lecturer (1)

The carriage was heading north.

There were clearly three people on board.

A man driving the horses from the coachman’s seat, and a man and woman sitting together in the back seat.

Yet, the entire ride had been quiet.

As if no one were aboard at all.

“……”

Helena sat in the back, covered with a blanket.

Unfortunately, the seats weren’t arranged face-to-face, so we ended up sitting side by side.

And when she lay down without much caution, our hands brushed against each other.

It had felt surprisingly pleasant—like grasping a perfectly fitted, narrow hourglass.

Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed, and I hadn’t been scolded.

“We’ll be arriving at the northwestern border soon.”

“Then we must be near Riddle Town.”

Helena, as if familiar with the place, slowly closed her eyes.

“Yes, I suppose you’ve visited often.”

“It’s a town I stopped by every time I traveled to the North. It was perfect for getting the carriage serviced.”

Even within the dim interior of the carriage, her golden hair shone brightly, cascading down in abundance.

Rather than wearing a dress, she had intentionally chosen a shirt to fit more easily into the carriage.

Looking at her like this, she felt more like a twenty-year-old student than the dignified Western Grand Duke’s daughter.

“By the way, may I ask why you visit the North so frequently? I’ve always wondered.”

I knew she aimed to aggressively expand her business into the North.

But during my past life, she hadn’t come this often.

Suddenly curious about how the future had changed, I cautiously asked her, seeing her tucked under the blanket, like a student awaiting a story from her teacher.

“That’s…”

Helena stared at me for a moment.

Then, like a ripe apple, her red lips curled into a faint smile as she shook her head.

“Just… there’s a lot that’s pleasant to look at.”

Pleasant to look at, huh.

Perhaps it really was because Gehenna had stayed in the North, and talents like Sir Bennet and other master singers had gathered there.

Whatever the case, I’d better be careful not to let her seize this entire force.

No matter how much I’d helped her family, the Western Grand Duke’s house was every bit as shrewd in business as the North.

‘Just the way she climbed right into my carriage without hesitation says it all.’

Like a predator that never lets go once it sets its sights on prey.

But then, as if to overturn my suspicions, her next words were simply ones of gratitude.

She truly was happy about her elder brother’s return.

“Anyway, thank you. For today.”

“For what, exactly?”

When I feigned ignorance, the Western Grand Duke’s daughter looked out at the crimson horizon.

Then, her gaze fixed on the blazing sunset, she slowly opened her mouth.

“I’ve always hoped that my brother and father would reconcile soon.”

Quietly, she slipped off her shoes.

At last, the feet hidden until now, wrapped in brown stockings, were revealed.

“Harris was the only one who always said I was more suited to be the family head than he was. He even gave me secret tutoring sessions so I could learn faster.”

“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think the Grand Duke’s daughter would have any close family.”

When I responded with a very serious expression, she immediately pouted.

“Do I look like someone incapable of familial affection?”

“Noble families usually don’t, in my experience. Especially among siblings.”

At my remark, which was based on experience, Helena held off on replying for a moment.

Then, as if to admit I had a point, she gently pressed her stocking-covered thighs together.

“You’re right. I don’t get along with my younger brothers. They’re just greedy bastards after Father’s wealth.”

Because of her ample thighs, the brown stockings stretched thin, showing the skin beneath.

Her figure was no less striking than the Northern Grand Duke’s daughter’s.

“That’s why I hoped, more than anyone, that Father would forgive Harris.”

“You saw it yourself—how His Grace personally tied the apron for him. Everything will be fine now.”

Helena seemed truly fond of that moment, a rare and genuine smile lingering at the corners of her lips.

“Yes. Father looked satisfied too.”

She gently rested her soft cheek against her knee.

Then, from within her golden hair, she glanced at me.

“And… another talent, too.”

“Sorry…?”

I lifted my head at her quiet murmur.

But Helena shook her head, saying it was nothing.

“No, just… thank you. Really.”

She calmly tucked her forward-falling hair behind her ear.

Her pale white neck was faintly revealed.

“What a desirable talent you have—being able to move people just the way they need to be moved.”

“Talent? I didn’t do anything special.”

I turned my gaze toward the crimson horizon she had been staring at.

Then I spoke flatly, my voice devoid of any amusement.

“The eldest son already had everything it took to persuade his father.”

He vowed to open stores under the Yekaterina name in every city on the continent.

To spread the power of cuisine.

All of that came from his own mind.

“I merely gave him a push on the back, so he could muster the courage to speak with the Western Grand Duke.”

If anything, I was the one who benefited.

Because on the day I helped Harris write his script…

He promised to open the first ‘fine dining restaurant’ under his brand in Old Luton.

If circumstances allowed, I even planned to help him establish a culinary school in the future.

Of course, that kind of reputation would only come once stores under the Yekaterina imperial name spread throughout the Empire and found success.

“A push on the back… Sounds like something a secretary would say.”

“Yes. I suppose it does.”

The blanket covering Helena’s shoulders slipped slightly.

Then, resting her chin on the back of her hand, she asked me,

“If you go this far and become a baron, what do you plan to do next?”

“I’m not sure.”

This time, I took a moment before answering.

I was steadily building up my wealth through the Erian Foundation.

And once I became a baron, I’d also obtain the honor of a noble house name.

They say that even if most fifth-rank noble families go bankrupt, they can still live comfortably for three generations.

To amass that kind of wealth, the first thing I needed was...

“I plan to collect the back pay I’m owed.”

I intended to take some money from the Northern Grand Duke’s household.

From the very offspring I had once been bound to by a filthy fate.

This life, I would make them pay dearly for what I gave in the last.

“So you’re saying you’ve already got a source of funds—then, what do you plan to do with it?”

At the mention of money, Helena looked intrigued, as if she were hearing about a first love.

Her blue eyes shimmered like moonlight over a lake’s surface.

“I’ll have to rebuild the family. Purchase land, construct a new mansion.”

Somehow, we had both ended up half-reclining side by side as we talked.

She seemed to enjoy this kind of topic, raising her index finger.

“That’s nice and all, but shouldn’t your first priority be building the educational facility under the Erian Foundation, the one you’re cooperating on with the Emperor?”

She asked a very important question.

It was something I needed to deal with as soon as I got back.

“You’re right. It’s the core asset that will raise the foundation’s value.”

I answered while mapping things out in my head.

Then, a sudden thought struck me.

‘Wait… how does Helena even know about that?’

That conversation had definitely happened in the VIP seats of the academy’s courtyard.

While I was still mulling over the oddity in my mind,

Helena, as if it were her own business, was already consulting with me—

as the next Western Grand Duke, with the eyes of a thoughtful homemaker.

“First, you’ll need to bring in a star lecturer with symbolic value.”

I quietly looked at her, impressed at how well we clicked when it came to business.

Then, she nodded as if she already had something in mind.

“I do have someone in mind. I’ve even picked out the location to meet them.”

“What…? Already?”

Helena looked surprised that I had thought that far ahead, especially having just come from the West by carriage.

Her sharp, feminine eyes widened like a feline predator’s.

“I see… and who is it?”

She sounded a bit disappointed.

It seemed like she’d intended to recommend someone from her side.

Her expression looked faintly regretful, as if she’d missed a chance to earn my favor.

“He’s a retired instructor.”

Someone who had grown sick of the job he’d done his entire life.

Someone who had run away—just like me.

“Do you know the name Tom Reed?”

Tom Reed.

The best crash-course instructor, who had trained numerous Sword Experts and even a single Swordmaster during the war.

This time, I planned to bring him back.

“Tom Reed…? Isn’t he the one who caused a scene at the Imperial Armistice Celebration Party and got kicked out…?”

This time, Helena furrowed her smooth brow, as if she couldn’t agree so easily.

As though she had been there herself.

“That’s right. You could say he was the first man in the Empire to flip a table in front of His Majesty.”

“If you use someone like that under a direct imperial order, you’ll end up on the Emperor’s blacklist.”

The Western Grand Duke’s daughter looked at me with concern.

There had never been a time in the past when she’d gazed at me with such eyes.

It seemed I now appeared in her view as someone with utility—as someone worth using.

“Well, the His Majesty I know would think differently.”

In response to her gaze, I shut my sharp eyes firmly, as if answering her in kind.

“How many people do you think have openly defied the Emperor and lived to tell the tale?”

“None, of course.”

Helena replied instinctively, then quickly realized the true meaning of my words.

To her, I spoke again in a composed voice.

“Sir Tom wasn’t heavily punished even after doing such a thing at a formal event. At most, it was a one-week suspension.”

“But I heard he was dismissed from his position as an instructor.”

At her question, I let out a quiet chuckle.

Then, pointing to the faint lights of the city slowly appearing beyond the horizon, I replied,

“He wasn’t dismissed. He stepped down of his own accord.”

Thinking of the man I’d soon meet, I added,

“No… actually, you could say he ran away.”

Helena turned to gaze at the city, just as I did.

Then, exhaling briefly, she opened her mouth.

“I wonder why.”

“Probably guilt.”

As someone who had been a cadet knight myself, I knew a fair bit about him.

Why he stepped down from the position of star instructor.

“All of Sir Tom’s most renowned disciples died in battle.”

“……”

All the students he’d trained had died.

At that chilling answer, the inside of the carriage fell utterly silent.

“Then isn’t that too dangerous? What kind of parent would want a teacher whose students all ended up dead?”

I shook my head at her words.

Then, tapping my temple lightly with my finger, I answered.

“Well, that’s exactly why I think he’s even more incredible.”

For the next ten years, there would be no war.

No—there hadn’t been even a sign of war after those ten years, either.

The Empire would continue to ride a wave of peaceful prosperity.

And in such times, the fact that someone could still train students to devote themselves to the nation—

Perhaps, at this point in time, he was the best instructor alive.

“A mindset that prioritizes the nation over one’s own life. That means he taught the very foundation of chivalry, and taught it well.”

“……”

Though Helena acknowledged my point, she closed her eyes—perhaps thinking it was far too cold-hearted.

And of course, she would react that way.

The Western Grand Duke’s daughter was a businesswoman, not a knight.

After all, what use was wealth if you didn’t live to spend it? Why give up your life?

“Don’t worry. There’s hardly any reason for war anymore. Besides…”

“Besides?”

As Helena repeatedly pressed for more—

The carriage came to a stop.

“If he’s already experienced something like that, he probably won’t ask his students to throw their lives away for the country anymore.”

On the contrary, he would teach them in a more refined way.

In a way suited for this era of peace.

So that none of them would ever meet a pointless death.

“It looks like we’ve arrived. I’ll go get us a room at the hotel.”

I got off first and gave her a courteous bow.

Then I headed toward the main entrance, saying I’d check in first.

“Please rest in the room next to mine, Lady Helena. I’ll go meet with Sir Tom.”

“Do you even know where he is?”

She tilted her head slightly and glanced around the now-dimly lit city.

In response, I pointed to the sign of the largest tavern in town.

“Yes, I know one of his regular spots.”

“……”

As I entered the hotel lobby, Helena was left alone in the carriage.

She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together tightly.

“This isn’t how it was supposed to go.”

As if things weren’t unfolding according to plan.

“I don’t like this.”

Helena quietly stepped down from the carriage.

Then, brushing off her perfectly fitted, taut dress shirt, she followed me into the hotel.

“I don’t get why he lives so damn earnestly.”

When she herself used to do nothing but work—at least until she opened her eyes to something else.

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