Chap 4

Only then did I realize that I was dealing with someone completely different from myself.

But I had already ranted enough, and I thought all that remained was to be dragged away by his servant and beaten.

But then he firmly said,

"I never abandoned Melria. She ran away, and though I set people to find her, they couldn't. I didn't know you existed."

He showed me mother's silk ribbon. He said that the bouquet of Lorisha flowers tied with that ribbon was delivered, and he tracked the sender to find me here.

That ribbon, the only luxury item my mother owned, was a gift he had given her.

He said,

"Melria wanted me to take you in."

(This is a time separator.)

The Earl took me to his villa. He said a girl's room with pink furniture against white walls was mine. I was just stunned.

A few days later, a home tutor came. An unmarried middleaged woman with a lot of brown hair skillfully tied up.

"I'm Julia."

I asked quite haughtily to appear unimpressed on our first meeting.

"You're a home tutor?"

"Yes. You seem to know exactly what that is, Roar ma'am."

"What's a home tutor?"

She looked at me with a subtle expression, then spoke in surprise.

"That's a good question! What kind of person do you want a home tutor to be, Roar ma'am? Is there something you want to learn?"

"Urazil. I asked first."

As I mumbled, her eyes hardened. But she strived to keep a calm face and asked,

"Ura... zil? What does that mean?"

I opened my eyes wide.

"Urazil is Urazil, what does it mean? Come to think of it, that's strange. What kind of teacher doesn't know Urazil? Then you probably don't know plague either?"

"...."

She quietly closed the door and left, and I laughed in triumph.

She was utterly defeated by such a mild word.

I found out through her that I didn't know the true meaning of many vulgar words I used, but I didn't care.

Swearing is a way to show how bad I am. 'I can't stand her!' is the reaction swearing aims for. Just as Teacher Julia did just now.

So, words like 'Urazil' or 'plague' have no real meaning.

Shortly after, Teacher Julia returned with a large book. She slammed it down on the desk and said,

"This is the imperial language dictionary compiled by the Tagar Royal Family. Shall we look up 'Urazil' here?"

What is she talking about?

"A dictionary is a book that collects the precise meanings of words. Can you read?"

"Of course."

My mother did not leave me that ignorant. I must know how to read so as not to be cheated when settling accounts at the pharmacy.

"But did His Majesty the Emperor write all this?"

"He didn't do it himself. Scholars from the Imperial household wrote it. They are in the academy. Do you know the Imperial Academy?"

As I shook my head vigorously, she spoke nonchalantly, flipping through the dictionary.

"Let's look up 'Urazil' first."

I unwittingly followed where her fingertips pointed, bowing my head.

She explained that the words in the dictionary were listed in a specific order.

"Here it is. Urazil. Hmm, a light curse wishing something terrible on someone, like being dragged off to prison. Did Lord Roar wish me to go to prison?"

I shook my head vigorously in surprise.

"No, I just wished you would leave the room, not go to prison for no reason. That's really wrong!"

Julia, the teacher, opened her eyes wide at my bewildered self and said,

"So, Lord Roar disagrees with the scholars of the Imperial Academy?"

"Yes, it's different!"

I affirmed vigorously at first. I didn't want Julia, the teacher, to believe something I didn't do.

"They just say anything…"

"Hmm. The academy wouldn't be such a strange place… Do you want to look here?"

She brought another book and spread out a large organizational chart.

"Here at the top is His Majesty, and below is the Empress's palace, then the princes and princesses' palaces… The academy is under the direct control of the administrative body here."

She also explained about the Count. The Count was a great man called 'the Empire's third lion.'

That title meant the protector of the Tagar royal family, symbolized by the lion crest, meaning that His Majesty trusted him absolutely.

The first lion was a duke who controlled several powerful knight orders, and the second lion had died long ago, but His Majesty cherished him and left his place empty.

Tenyearold Lorisha Roar was simply fooled.

(This is a time separator.)

Perhaps the few months I spent at the Count's villa were the most peaceful time in my life.

But that was as much happiness as a bastard could enjoy.

One afternoon, playing in the garden with Julia, a carriage arrived.

But what alighted from the carriage was not the Count but a beautiful redhaired lady.

"Countess!"

Julia's surprised voice seemed not to reach her.

She asked me with cold eyes,

"Are you the flower?"