Chapter 4
āNo, Iām not going to shake my tail feathers in front of those who think birds are cute. Iāve maintained my pride.ā
“Nothing. Then, Iāll be counting on you from now on.”
That was the end of it.
“Louis, you can go play. Thereās no nanny, so just play until I return.”
As Asius lowered the child to the floor and turned to leave, I grabbed his sleeve, reluctant to let him go.
“Why are you doing that?”
I suddenly noticed the strange chill in the room. The usual people weren’t here.
“You said thereās no nanny? What about a maid or caretaker?”
“As I said earlier, the child has an allergy to carnivorous creatures. When it gets severe, he can hardly breathe. Everyone except those with his bloodline reacts the same way.”
“But… why not just get a herbivore? Like me.”
I said it out of confusion, but Asius rolled his eyes with a suspicious look.
“I tried, but… it didnāt work.”
“It didnāt work?”
“I could barely find one, but whenever they were near, theyād faint. The situation was the same as I mentioned earlier. So, is that enough?”
“So, Iām the first herbivore in this house, both as a tutor and in general?”
“Yeah, you should feel honored.”
Wait, isnāt it the other way around? Shouldnāt they feel honored for getting such a rare person like me? It felt like they were saying, “A humble person has come to this esteemed place,” which didnāt make any sense.
“I guess I should feel honored then…”
“Well, go on. Just play with him. He likes being alone, so thereās no need to worry.”
“Excuse me? Excuse me, Mr. Black Panther?”
As if he already knew what I was going to say, Asius quickly left the room after setting his son on the floor.
Sigh “Is it really okay to let a beast-person grow up like this?”
I cursed Asius as he left, but I knew cursing wouldnāt help. I shouldāve said it to his face instead of behind his back. Eventually, I shifted my attention to the child I would be tutoring.
The child had a head that was unusually large for his body. His black hair and eyes were intense, almost too bright and yellow.
As soon as I caught his gaze, the child stared at me.
“Birdie!”
“Itās Swallow, young master.”
He said it in a playful tone, but his face showed another emotion, one I couldnāt quite pin down.
“Birdie!”
“You should say ‘bird’. Have you never seen a swallow before?”
“Birdie.”
“My dear young master, are you still struggling with pronunciation? Shall we start practicing?”
Since I wasnāt sure where to start teaching, I smiled brightly. However, the child furrowed his brows.
“No. I speak well.”
“…Just a moment ago you…”
“I wanted to call you cute!”
The child smiled brightly again and pointed at me.
“Am I cute?”
Without hesitation, the child nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes! Youāre the cutest bird Iāve ever seen.”
“How sweetā¦”
This is the joy of taking care of a child. That purity. That innocence!
But then, the child spoke again, and I couldnāt help but frown.
“Iāve never seen a bird before! Are all birds cute?”
Strangely, the young masterās behavior reminded me so much of his father. It was like watching the same personality reflected in him.
“First time, huh? Haha. I see…”
“Yeah! Hey, birdie.”
Asking him to call me “teacher” seemed like too much of a stretch.
“Yes.”
I nodded with the gentlest smile I could muster.
“Can I try eating it?”
“…No. You promised your father.”
At my words, the child looked very disappointed. I had thought he was just playing around, but his face was full of sincerity.
“Sigh… Alright. Iāll be good. Iāll try not to eat it.”
Though he said that, the childās mouth was already dripping with saliva, clearly struggling to resist the temptation.
āNo, this is definitely not happening.ā
If Iām not careful, I might end up inside that cute little mouth. I quickly shook myself out of that thought and looked at the young panther.
His age was barely five in human terms.
It was clear that, despite exuding the strong scent of a carnivorous animal, he still thought and behaved like a child.
Especially when he was eyeing my neck like that.
“Are you a good child, young master?”
“Yes! Iām very good. My aunt said that good children who listen well are loved.”
What a great aunt. She taught him well.
At least, the young master didnāt show any hostility toward me like his father did. Unlike his father, Louis kept smiling at me.
āIs he really this well-behaved?ā
He was certainly different from what I had expected from a noble child.
“So, what should we do now?”
“What do you usually do, young master?”
“I just stay in my room.”
“Hmm.”
It wasnāt unusual for nobles to have personal tutors. Many nobles preferred their children not to associate with people they deemed beneath them, so personal tutors were common.
There were cases where they attended beast-person academies, but that was mostly to show off how well they had grown as beast-people. Most education took place at home.
āI wasnāt unprepared, but…ā
The educator certification process was also part of the beast-person academyās curriculum, though only a handful of people took it. I was one of those few.
āLetās assess the childās current state first…ā
I looked around, trying to see what the child usually does or what he might be interested in. But the room had nothing for the child to play with.
āDid they clean up for safety?ā
The only things in the room were a bunch of books neatly lined up on the shelf.
“Shall we read a book, young master?”
For a brief moment, I saw the childās eyes flicker.
āDoes he not like reading? If he doesnāt like that… what does he enjoy doing?ā
He may have succeeded in human transformation, but he was still quite young.
My expression became more serious as I thought about it. The child seemed to notice, and he awkwardly looked away before quickly picking a book from the shelf.
“Yeah! You read it to me, Swallow!”
“Can you read the letters?”
“Ah, I can!”
“You can? Then, young master, would you like to read it? Knowing how much you can read will be important for our future lessons.”
But the child just hugged the book to his chest without doing anything.
I walked over to the nearby sofa and patted the seat.
“Donāt you want to try?”
“I… Iām not sure…”
Then, as if making up his mind, the child opened the book and stared at the letters.
“I can read!”
“Books are better read aloud.”
But the child just silently scanned the letters with his eyes.
ā…Could it be… he canāt read?ā
“Young master.”
“Yeah!”
“The book is upside down.”
“Ah!”
When I said that, the child immediately flipped the book over.
It seemed like he really couldnāt read. Despite having a father and an aunt, why hadnāt anyone taught him such simple things? Was there something special about this familyās situation?
“This is about…”
“Whatās it about?”
“Umm… itās… a fun story! If youāre curious, read it, Swallow!”
The child, speaking in a slightly off pronunciation, clearly didnāt know how to read. The book was titled “99 Techniques of Torture.” Why was such a book in this room?
