Quickly after the Duchess of Marsen returned house, so did Dioletta. However Liel didn’t return, he stayed at our manor.

I had one query right here.

“Why did you come again?”

I requested as I sat down in my chair to complete the remainder of my research. He was organizing the books and papers I had left behind.

“Huh?”

He requested, stopping to place a e book again on the shelf.

What do you imply by ‘Huh?’?

I puzzled why he’d gone to the academy for a day after which come proper again, when it might be arduous sufficient to maintain up with the remainder of his lessons.

“I’m actually fantastic now, so go and end the remainder of your lessons, I don’t need you to fall behind.”

I put down my e book and turned critical. I didn’t need Liel to waste any extra of his time with me.

In response, Liel’s eyes rolled to the opposite aspect.

“I……. I can’t full my credit this semester as a result of I don’t have sufficient class days.”

“What?”

“So I’ll have to start out subsequent semester.”

I used to be speechless for a second.

He was saying it casually, prefer it was no massive deal, however to me, it was an enormous deal.

“I’m sorry…….”

The guilt I’d been attempting so arduous to maintain at bay reared its ugly head.

I washed my face dry in frustration with myself. Once I realized the reality, I couldn’t convey myself to raise my face.

“I didn’t let you know as a result of I didn’t need you to really feel sorry for me…….”

As if to consolation me, Liel leaned nearer and murmured. I lowered my hand that coated my face and realized that Liel was kneeling proper below me.

Why are you sitting on the ground once more?

I remembered what number of nights Liel had spent on the ground due to me.

My throat tightened.

“I informed you earlier than, don’t be sorry. I did it as a result of I needed to.”

“It’s not what I need.”

Liel reached for my hand, which was resting on my lap. Naturally, my eyes fell on Liel’s wrist, which hadn’t but gained weight.

Maybe I might by no means be capable of relieve my debt to him, even after that wrist regained its unique form.

I all of a sudden had a way of foreboding.

“If…… Lucy, in the event you have been in my footwear, I’m certain you’ll have made a selection not not like mine.”

Liel, who had been quietly holding my hand for some time, stated the plain. After all I might.

However there was one factor Liel had missed.

In all of the years I’ve identified him, he’s by no means damaged down. I used to be the one who broke down.

And in consequence, I grabbed his ankle, the one factor that retains him going. Nobody else, however me.

As a substitute of telling Liel what I used to be considering, I bit my lip.

I didn’t wish to make him really feel any extra uncomfortable.

Completed, I ended pursing my lips and smiled brightly.

“Yeah, after all I might have accomplished the identical factor, what are you speaking about!”

I shook Liel’s hand, which was nonetheless holding mine, and he appeared up at me with anxious eyes, and I might inform he was visibly relieved.

Okay, that was it.

I spotted that if our relationship was going to work, I couldn’t simply depend on Liel for help.

⁂

Whereas I used to be receiving classes from the Duchess, Liel wandered off to do his personal factor.

Largely, I believe he’s out coaching, however he’s been transferring round so much, so I’m undecided precisely the place he’s going.

In line with Liel, typically he goes to the palace, and typically he goes to the coaching grounds of different knights.

When he talked about going to the palace, I all of a sudden thought he was fairly superior.

Alongside the best way, he typically helps knights he met on extermination missions to take care of demons hiding within the empire, however is that one thing he’s allowed to do?

Once I requested him if it was okay since he was nonetheless a pupil, he laughed and tried to play it off as if it didn’t matter now.

Within the first place, the demons that infiltrated the empire weren’t a lot totally different from regular animals and crops. In the event that they didn’t change a lot in look, that meant they have been weak.

Even the academy appeared to take this into consideration, sometimes assigning college students to scout the empire.

Liel tried to reassure me by pointing this out.

Then what else can I say…….

“I see you’re distracted, so I suppose you’re accomplished?”

“Sure? Sure!”

I replied confidently, having accomplished what the Duchess had requested and misplaced myself in my ideas.

“…….”

My mouth went dry as she flipped by the pages of my lined paper.

The considered these icy eyes boring into me if I made a mistake made me nervous. Fortunately, I’ve by no means been reprimanded.

I hoped to maintain this peace at some point of her lesson.

“You’re nonetheless making little errors, however you’ve accomplished a great job.”

Phew, I saved the peace once more right now.

“At this charge, we should always be capable of end this month.”

I’m wondering if I can actually do this.

Surprisingly, the Duchess appeared to consider in my probabilities greater than I did. I didn’t anticipate her to be so beneficiant.

I appeared on the Duchess suspiciously, and one nook of her mouth tilted upward, as if she was one thing amusing.

Her smile is as scary and delightful as ever.

⁂

Lucy, exhausted, slumped over the desk.

‘Good focus, however quick consideration span.’

Looking at her purple hair, Delphina left Lucy alone, gathered her issues, and left the workplace.

“You completed early right now, huh?”

Dioletta, standing along with her again to the wall, greeted Delphina as she opened the door. She appeared like she’d been ready for sophistication to finish.

“Didn’t you go to Depend Brossen’s celebration?”

Depend Brossen threw an enormous celebration yearly on his birthday. He was a horrible organizer, and the celebration normally lasted late into the evening.

“The Depend wasn’t feeling properly right now, so it ended sooner than I anticipated. I thought of going again to the ducal residence, however I assumed you would possibly nonetheless be in school, so I got here right here.”

She needed to return along with her mom.

As a lot as Delphina was terribly protecting of Dioletta, she was equally protecting of her mom.

Delphina was particularly susceptible to this type of personalised consideration from Dioletta.

“Is that so?”

The muscular tissues in Delfina’s face relaxed at Dioletta’s attentiveness, and he or she took the initiative.

Rapidly, Dioletta adopted at her aspect.

“It seems to be like our lessons will likely be over this month.”

Delphina stated, taking her parasol from the butler.

“That quickly?”

Dioletta, who had been watching Delphina from afar as she unfolded the parasol, requested in shock. Delphina nodded nonchalantly.

“As you stated, she has a fairly good head on her shoulders.”

“……Mom, Lucy can be…….”

In actual fact, Delphina hadn’t believed Dioletta when she stated that Lucy’s extraordinary till they began class.

Dioletta herself spoke as if she wasn’t certain, and in Delphina’s reminiscence, Lucy was a tomboy who cherished to play.

However after educating Lucy for over two months, she realized one thing. Lucy Seywint was, to place it mildly, in Anise and Diego’s league.

“I might outline her as a genius.”

She might memorize issues after seeing them a few times {that a} regular individual must see ten occasions, and he or she might retain recollections for lengthy intervals of time if she needed to.

However there was a particular draw back. Her quick consideration span and a scarcity of flexibility with regards to downside fixing.

Utilizing the Academy’s exams for instance, this meant that she was unlikely to have the ability to clear up questions that modified relying on the intent of the examiner.

To be trustworthy, Delphina hadn’t thought she would go the Academy entrance examination when Lucy had taken it previously.

So when Liel requested her to comply with him to the academy, she secretly laughed at him.

However Lucy defied Delphina’s expectations and was accepted into the academy.

Different nobles had been finding out for greater than seven years, sometimes failing exams, and getting center to excessive grades.

She thought it was only a fluke…….

“However Lucy didn’t appear to understand it.”

“I suppose so, because the Marquis has solely ever been round children such as you and…… Liel.”

With Dioletta, who had at all times obtained high-quality classes, and Liel, who was extremely motivated to enhance, round, Lucy would naturally assume that she belonged to the mediocre axis in comparison with them.

“Shouldn’t she know …… by now?”

Not that it might make any distinction.

“Dioletta, you haven’t forgotten that the Marquis Anise died of overwork, have you ever?”

“What? Sure, after all…….”

“Effectively, if I have been to let you know that to a woman who thinks she didn’t get to inherit the home as a result of she was unqualified in so some ways, properly…… I’d really feel extremely responsible if I have been her.”

Delphina’s expression was chilling as she stated this, and Dioletta set free a sigh as she realized what she had stated.

“Ah…….”

Dioletta’s judgment was typically blurred when it got here to Lucy and Liel.

It at all times bothered Delphina, as if she have been seeing a mirrored image of her personal ignorance.

She felt sorry for her youthful brother, who was ostracized by the household for being an illegitimate youngster, so she took care of him and finally misplaced her place as the top of the household.

Delphina did the subsequent neatest thing and married the Duke of Marsen and gave delivery to Dioletta.

Dioletta, making her debut in society, will need to have heard about Delphina’s previous from others.

However, the good-natured Dioletta by no means misplaced her mood in entrance of Delphina.

She wished she hadn’t been so kind-hearted.

Delphina remembered that Marquis Anise had typically stated that she hoped Lucy wouldn’t be like her.

What she meant by that, she was reminded each time she checked out Dioletta.

[T/N: Ooooh the Duchess has this kind of back story]