Chapter 32
“Wasn’t it a given that his mother wasn’t around?!”
└ [Maybe she did pass away, but today’s a memorial day or something? Like a ritual?]
└ [Oh no ㅠㅠ Is she coming back as, like… ashes or something..?]
Is that what this is?
If so, I need to approach this carefully.
I tried asking as tactfully as possible, so as not to touch a nerve.
“What’s special about today that she’s coming?”
“Hmm? In her letter, she just said she’s coming to see how I’m doing.”
She’s alive and well?!
└ [Wait, she’s actually alive? LOL]
└ [Yesss, she’s not dead!]
└ [Rose said she passed away, so I thought she was…]
That was just gossip in social circles…
I nearly made the grave mistake of treating the duchess as deceased while still in the duke’s estate.
Good thing I found out now.
‘But then why didn’t I ever see her before the regression?’
I used to attend every social gathering, got sick of seeing the same noble faces again and again.
└ [Maybe she’s about to die soon ㅠㅠ]
From treating her like she’s dead to now saying she’s dying—seriously.
But… it’s not a bad point. If the duchess is in good health, it’s odd that she’s never appeared in society.
‘Maybe she lives separately because she’s unwell and needs rest…’
I had a lot of questions, but I couldn’t exactly ask Damian to explain his family affairs.
I’d look into that later. Right now, I needed to deal with Damian in front of me.
“So what does your mother coming have to do with skipping class?”
“I have to go out and greet her, don’t I?”
“You can just go out when she arrives.”
“I don’t know what time she’s coming.”
Was he planning to wait by the gate the whole time?
└ [He just doesn’t want to study LOL]
…Let’s just say he’s being a devoted son.
Anyway, I now knew the duchess was mobile and had a good relationship with her son.
‘I just recently failed at winning over a parent…’
What if there’s another parent to win over, not just Duke Valent?
‘One more parent to target!’
Since Damian was about to enter the academy, as a parent, she’d want to see that her son was studying hard.
“She’s coming to check on how you’re doing, so instead of waiting, wouldn’t she like it better if you just attended class like usual?”
“Hmm. I guess that makes sense.”
Damian seemed convinced and sat back down, and the tutor let out a deep breath of relief.
We exchanged a silent look of camaraderie—fellow survivors barely hanging on.
“This massive mansion… still not used to it.”
The silver-haired woman who stepped down from the carriage muttered as she gazed up at the newly built duke’s estate.
Her name was Hestina Linward.
Although she was Damian Valent’s mother, she had a different last name, because she was no longer married to Duke Valent.
It wasn’t due to anything bad that they ended their marriage.
‘When we got married, we were just hoping for a quiet family life…’
The Duke of Valent had originally been from a smaller baronial family, even below her own Linward countship.
As the second daughter of a count, Hestina had no need to be overly picky about family status.
So when a decent man came along—who seemed earnest, was around the right age, and… honestly had a face she liked—she charged ahead and married him quickly.
‘Who would’ve thought that man would go from head of the Imperial Knights to becoming a duke?’
When she heard he might be granted a title after the war, she had a lot to think about.
It was a great honor, but it meant her own status would change dramatically, bringing heavy restrictions not just on herself, but on those around her.
That’s why she chose divorce.
It was mutual, so there were no hard feelings or scandal.
‘Damian did shed a few tears when he heard we’d be living apart…’
But since the new estate hadn’t been completed yet, they’d lived together in the old house, moving between homes, and he seemed to adjust well.
Now that he was receiving intensive lessons ahead of the academy, Hestina had decided to visit.
“I thought he’d be waiting for me at the gate.”
“Master Damian is in the annex. Shall I take you there?”
“Yes. I need to see my dear son’s face first.”
Hestina followed the butler to the annex where Damian was having his lesson.
What she saw there was completely unexpected.
“Oh my.”
Her son was sitting properly at a desk, diligently attending class—a completely unfamiliar sight!
They say children grow in the blink of an eye.
‘Is he acting all mature now just because he’s about to enter the academy?’
This was the same Damian who used to sneak out of reading time and be found up in a tree.
Had that much time passed, enough for her to miss his growth?
Regret and guilt crept in for not visiting more and for not cherishing more of his early childhood.
“Hmm?”
Watching through the window from the hallway, Hestina noticed a small head beside her son.
The child was dressed like a boy, so she thought it might be a friend—but it was actually Damian’s old clothing.
‘That means the child is living here too…’
Looking closer…
“Why would you count how many apples and potatoes are in one basket? You can just check when you eat. I don’t understand this kind of math.”
“Think of them not as apples, but as soldiers. If Damian went into battle with a certain number of men, and suddenly there were more—”
“Then it’s a spy…”
“Yes. So how many spies do you have to root out?”
At the girl’s explanation, Damian became absorbed in solving the problem.
And yet… wasn’t she the one who hired the tutor?
“…Did I hire two tutors or something?”
└ [Phew, thought we were headed into Assassin Arc Part 4 for a second there]
We were talking about spies! Where’d assassins come from?
They always scold people for bringing up assassins too often, but the ones who mention them the most are the comment fairies…
└ [It’s not a tangent, it’s career advice]
└ [To be a good assassin bard you have to start training young]
Tempting… but let’s stay focused.
Also, some of the fairies had started a totally different conversation.
└ [Divorce? In this era?]
└ [Divorce seems common in rofans, most of them start with it]
└ [But if anyone even hints at breaking up, the ML gets obsessive and they end up together forever]
‘Speaking of marriage… did the duchess just arrive?’
Damian was still buried in his book, calculating how many spies there were, so I casually looked up at the hallway window.
The tutor followed my gaze, then bowed politely.
“I found it! Four potato spies!”
“Very good. That’s it for today’s lesson.”
Perfect timing.
Maybe she’d timed her visit to match the end of class. Damian nearly skipped for nothing.
“Damian. I think your mother is here.”
“Huh? Mother!”
Damian’s face lit up, and he rushed to the door, throwing himself into the duchess’s arms.
He always tried to act tough at the estate, but in front of his mother, he was still just a kid.
As I watched our student’s heartwarming reunion and began tidying up the remaining materials, I noticed the tutor giving me a slightly sad look.
└ [Rose is all alone ㅠㅠ]
└ [Please, can our girl have decent parents too ㅜㅜ]
‘Well… all I have are bad memories of parents.’
I never really thought I needed parents.
I just wanted minimal protection—since it’s hard surviving alone in a child’s body.
└ [Can’t the tutor adopt her?]
└ [He likes her and she’s smart. Seems like a good match.]
└ [That’s giving “grad student life route” energy…]
└ [NOOO, not the grad student ending!!!!]
Seriously, what’s with this grad student thing? Is that worse than being an assassin?
└ [Grad students go to jail if they mess up.]
└ [Please bust me out of this academic prison.]
Amid the incomprehensible chatter of the fairies—
After hugging her son, the duchess’s gaze finally turned to me.
“I don’t recognize you. Who are you?”
“She’s my subordinate, number one!” Damian chimed in.
That didn’t really explain anything, so I introduced myself properly.
“Hello! I’m Rose. I used to live at the Zelton Orphanage, and Duke Valent let me stay here.”
“With him?”
She tilted her head in disbelief.
“He’s not exactly the kind of man kids usually follow.”
True.
Not just kids—plenty of grown nobles actively avoid him out of fear. No need to elaborate.
Still, I had my reasons for following him.
“I asked him if I could be his ward… and he agreed to let me stay for now.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m five.”
The duchess narrowed her eyes at my answer.
She gave me a look, like she was weighing and measuring me. I nervously waited to hear what she’d say.
“…For five years old… you’re way too smart.”
└ [?? Suspicious. Is she an assassin?]
└ [No way Rose talks like a five-year-old. Just roll with it—it’s fiction LOL]
