Chapter 32

Judy jumped up and ran to the door, and Duke Dehsin shuddered and stood up.

– Your Highness… Are you all right?

– Does it look like?

– ...No.

It was the first time that Darwin, who did not tremble even in front of the Emperor, was so nervous that Ben could hardly contain his laughter.

'It seems that any parent cannot be calm before meeting with their child's tutor.'

– Greetings to everyone, my name is James Griffith and today I will conduct a trial class, – James, who entered the living room, immediately politely greeted and respectfully bowed his head.

– Welcome. Have a seat.

Esther stared intently at James, who came in and sat down on the sofa, not missing a second.

He was quite young and looked about 20 years old. His appearance was bright, but at the same time reflected stubbornness.

– Thank you for the invitation. After graduating from the Academy, I, in total, was a tutor for six wards, – as soon as he sat down on the sofa, James immediately got down to business.

He listed the names of his students, and they turned out to be outstanding children whose names even Duke Dehsin had heard.

– I know Sister Sera. She continues to take the first places in the Academy.

– Yes.

One of the names was familiar to Judy. James nodded casually, as if it was nothing.

Darwin was very pleased with James:

– Excellent. Then, first of all, you will get to know my children.

Esther, who was waiting quietly, immediately greeted James:

– Good morning. I'm Esther, the youngest.

– We're twins. I'm Judy, and this is Dennis.

James looked at each of them intently.

The moment Esther met his gaze with his brown eyes, she felt that she was captured by his eyes.

– Today I will show you a simple lesson. If you like him, we can talk about the contract again.

– Good. Let's go right now.

Everyone got up from their seats and headed for the stairs. There was a room on the second floor that Duke Dehsin had ordered to be prepared as a classroom.

There was a large blackboard on the wall, a round table and several chairs stood nearby. There was even a large space where you could learn ballroom dancing.

The room was clean and very large.

Esther, Judy, Dennis and Duke Dehsin sat down at a round table.

James put his bag on the table prepared for him and started to prepare for the lesson, but stopped when he saw the Duke sitting.

– Grand Duke, will you... study too?

– Yes. How can I appreciate your work if I don't see it?

– ...yes, of course.

Darwin looked at James as if he would kill him if he made even a small mistake.

No matter how hard James tried to ignore it, he kept catching Duke Dehsin's eye.

When Ben saw James palms start to shake, he patted him on the shoulder:

– The Duke will just be watching, so don't wind yourself up and relax.

But it wasn't comforting at all. No matter what Ben said, James was embarrassed to teach a lesson in front of the Grand Duke.

His self-confidence disappeared and James, sweat broke out on his forehead, swallowed a viscous saliva:

– Then... let's get started.

The lesson that James had prepared was a lesson in the basics of the history of the Empire. And all because he was told in advance to start with the basics of any subject.

James decided to explain as simply as possible what might seem difficult. He asked Esther a few questions and the lesson went its own way.

– The story begins in dark times, when all kinds of disasters were happening in the world.

Esther knew this well, because it was told in the boring lessons of the temple.

– ... All possible kinds of disasters mixed up and destroyed all the countries on the continent. However, under the protection of the Goddess Espitos, the Saint and His Majesty, the First Emperor, banished the Darkness, and those who survived in this dark era founded the Austin Empire.

The story of the Goddess and Saint could not be thrown out of the history of the Austin Empire.

There were even scholars who claimed that the First Emperor was a Paladin worshipping a Saint. It was for this reason that the power was abnormally concentrated in the temple.

– Next time I will tell you about the four Great Families.

It was new and interesting to hear the story from a different point of view, even if you already know all this.

Esther and Dennis' eyes glittered with a thirst for knowledge.

– If you're not in a hurry... then maybe you can tell me more?

The excited James suddenly forgot about his excitement and enthusiastically continued the lesson. He asked questions and discussed them with the children.

Duke Dehsin, who had been with them since the beginning of the lesson, looked contentedly at his children enjoying the lesson, and then quietly left the room.

*****

After class.

James received a very high rating from the children and they immediately decided to sign a contract with him.

– Okay, here's your contract, – the contract was under Ben's jurisdiction, so now Ben and James were sitting face to face in the room and, over tea, exchanging documents. – I made it up as we discussed the other day, but if you don't trust me, you can read it and only then sign it.

– Good. By the way... does His Highness love his children very much?

– Yes, he is.

– I've never heard of it, – James was curious about it because Duke Dehsin, whom he saw for the first time, was very different from the rumors.

'Contrary to rumors that he mercilessly kills even babies, happiness shines in the eyes of his children.'

Ben told James that if he worked here, he would be surprised every day and handed over the contract already signed by Duke Dehsin:

– If there are no problems with the contract, then sign it here. The money is ready.

There was a jewelry box prepared in advance under the table.

– Oh, about the amount we were talking about, you don't need to double it.

– Let's figure it out. Since the Duke's sons can join the lesson with Esther, His Highness thought it would be a good idea to be generous.

– Ah ... well, – during the conversation, James did not dare to look Ben in the eye. And then, as if deciding something, he looked at him and slowly spoke:

– Actually, I've heard a lot about you. Many professors say that, since the foundation of the Academy, there has been no one so talented in finance, – James looked at Ben with respect.

Ben was embarrassed and patted James on the shoulder:

– Ha-ha, this is all an exaggeration. From now on, we'll see each other more often, hopefully we'll get along.

– Yes. Please take care of me.

– I'll do everything I can, – despite the fact that Ben was smiling, he didn't like the younger ones who admired him. – And please don't be hard on Miss. She has a lot of emotional wounds.

– I get it.

Ben and James confidently shook hands and exchanged contracts signed by both parties.

*****

– Great, it's finally over! Judy, who had just finished a three-week short-term fencing camp, shouted.

He was so excited that he couldn't hide his smile.

It's only been three weeks, but Judy's appearance has undergone some changes. The boy has lost weight and his physique has changed for the better.

He also grew by a few centimeters, so he felt much older than before he arrived at the camp.

The butler who came for Judy was very pleased with the appearance of the young Gentleman.

– You've done a good job, young Master.

– Did something special happen at home? Is Esther well?

– Of course. Did the training go well?

– Yes! I have achieved a lot. Did you hear that I took first place in the last exam? – Judy continued to be proud that his classes were quite interesting.

He kept repeating the same thing to himself, even though it sometimes seemed to him that he was straining the muscles of his body very much.

– Fine. Then, it's time to go home.

– No, I have to go somewhere else, – Judy shook his head.

The eyes of the boy, who said that he definitely needed to go somewhere, burned with a dangerous fire.

He refused to go home and went to an abandoned village.

It was a village that had been rebuilt in the past, but it was again destroyed by bad people because it was cut off from the rest of the world. Judy chose one of the many abandoned houses and headed for it.

The boy stopped at the door of the destroyed house and, putting his fists on his hips, kicked the door with force:

– Hey, Sebastian! Come out!! – With a loud cry, Sebastian's name came out of Judy's lips.

It was in this house that Sebastian and his gang often gathered. The boy learned this information from one of the students studying in the same group with him.

Even though Sebastian was stupid, he had a lot of followers as he was the eldest son of the Duke's family.

Judy came here to catch Sebastian.

The boys, who were chattering excitedly inside, froze when they saw Judy.

– ...come on!

After a short silence, a big noise arose. Everyone fled in fright, hiding from Judy.

Judy had already seen all the children inside, but Sebastian was not among them.

– Did you manage to escape? – the boy asked with irritation, heading to one of the rooms.

In his hand was a wooden sword that he had brought with him beforehand. When he dragged it on the ground, it made an intimidating sound.

Unfortunately, the boy who was closest to the door didn't have time to escape and was now trembling.

Judy stood in front of him and just asked:

– Do you know where Sebastian is?

– I, I do not know, – the boy's words seemed to be a lie, because his gaze was very much running.

–You know that, don't you?

– …

– Do you want me to count to three?

– …

– One.

– I really don't know…

– Two.

– He's not here. Ah!

– Three…

– H-he, he went there!!! – Pointing in the right direction, the boy covered his face with his hands, in case Judy really decided to hit him.

But when Judy heard the answer he needed, he did not beat this boy, but went in the indicated direction:

– You don't seem very loyal.

Fortunately, those words weren't lies, because Judy noticed Sebastian.

In fact, Sebastian's body was quite large and could not be hidden anywhere. He hid between two walls, but it was very clearly visible because his belly was sticking out anyway.

Seeing this, Judy laughed:

– I found it.

Satisfied, Judy ran forward and hit the protruding belly with a wooden sword.

With a grunt, Sebastian jumped forward. His hands were shaking and his palms were sweating.

– Sebastian, what are you doing here?

Sebastian looked like he was going to cry.

Avoiding Judy's dark gaze, Sebastian bowed his head:

– I, I was just resting…