Chapter 25 – Somehow, Suspicious People (10)
It didn’t sound like a joke—Ash’s voice and demeanor felt genuinely sincere.
To probe his intentions, I answered playfully.
“Come on, aren’t you flattering me a bit too much?”
“No. You absolutely will. I have a good sense for these things.”
The well-mannered man gave a neat smile and looked at me with clear, steady eyes.
Somehow, even my heart felt steadier.
‘What is this? A smile that radiates 100% trust?’
Just seeing that bright smile made me feel at ease.
It isn’t easy to feel this kind of trust toward someone you barely know.
‘If this man sold heated stone mats, I’d buy ten.’
He kept smiling sweetly and saying only nice things—how was I supposed not to fall for it—
‘Huh? Wait.’
This was a familiar pattern. A wave of déjà vu hit me.
‘Saying pleasant things and buttering me up… No way. Is he the same type as me?’
Come to think of it, Ash’s behavior was a lot like my own full-power flattery.
‘No wonder he felt familiar. That silver tongue—he might be far more seasoned than I thought.’
Another flatterer like me in this ducal residence?
I never imagined I’d meet a colleague in the trade.
‘Well, this is the Ledaire estate. There must be dozens—hundreds—watching for crumbs to fall.’
I, too, was someone scheming to cozy up to the Ledaire siblings so I could fatten my own belly.
Ash might be one of the same.
‘Eclipse and Lynette really have been good to me. He’s trying to befriend the person they favor.’
Everything Ash did could be groundwork to keep his livelihood secure.
‘So this is what “office politics” looks like?’
With my lesson materials half-hiding my face, I curved my eyes into a smile and pretended to be taken in by his flattery.
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
He nodded lightly. His smile still radiated trust, no matter how many times I saw it.
‘That smile’s probably for work, too. The salaryman life is truly tear-jerking.’
The polite thing to do with such hard-won effort was to be fooled just enough.
As I responded favorably, Ash’s face brightened even more.
“So there’s no need to be formal with me. Please speak comfortably.”
Telling me not to be formal—coming from the etiquette teacher?
‘Even if it’s empty words, it still feels nice.’
Feigning modesty, I said,
“Ah, I couldn’t. Please don’t put me on too high a pedestal.”
“I don’t say these things lightly. I mean it.”
His face overflowed with sincerity—enough that I almost let myself be fooled on purpose.
“Mr. Hart, maybe you should switch from etiquette to rhetoric. I think it would suit you.”
“Maybe I should, while I’m at it.”
I giggled and played along with his flattery. The atmosphere had grown warm and friendly when—
“Elsieeee!”
“Ah, Saintess!”
Lynette suddenly appeared like a comet, stopping exactly between us.
Her quick glance swept over us and landed on Ash.
“What are you doing here, Ash? Your class ended this morning.”
“I left something in the classroom. I came to retrieve it, and happened to run into Miss Bloomhire here, so we chatted for a moment.”
I ended up half hiding behind Lynette.
Her shoulders twitched as she stood with her back to me.
“Miss Bloomhire? Is that what you call Elsie?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“N-no, not really. That’s fine. You’re addressing her properly.”
Why did it sound like Lynette’s tone had a slight edge as she questioned him…?
‘No, surely I’m imagining it.’
I tilted my head and listened again.
“You two looked awfully chummy. What were you talking about without me?”
“Miss Bloomhire said she had breakfast with His Grace, so we were talking about that.”
“Oh, I heard about that. But is that really all? You looked like you were having so much fun I wanted to join.”
“Yes. Nothing else in particular.”
“Really…?”
Before I knew it, I’d been left out of the conversation.
Peeking past Lynette’s shoulder, I felt like an audience member watching their exchange.
“I see.”
After a pause, Lynette suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Then we’ll go start our lesson. See you later, Ash.”
“Ah, I must have taken up your precious time. Please, go on in.”
“Then we’ll be going…”
Led by Lynette, I went into the classroom.
Just before the door fully closed, Ash’s words popped into my head:
“I left something behind and came to get it.”
Right—he said that.
Through the narrowing gap, I called out to Ash:
“Mr. Hart, I’ll bring you the thing you left later!”
“I’d be grateful.”
“See you then!”
Ash smiled with his eyes and waved.
Once the door shut, Lynette asked me in a slightly sulky tone:
“Teacher, are you close with Ash?”
It was hard to say we were close—we’d only met twice.
I answered honestly.
“Huh? No, not really. This is only our second time meeting, so I can’t say we’re close.”
“Really?”
Looking relieved, Lynette sat on the sofa in silence for a while.
I walked to the lectern. On it sat a ring set with a small ruby.
‘So this is what Ash left.’
I picked it up, planning to return it to him.
Then—
“…!”
The moment the ring touched my hand, I felt a tremendous power like nothing I’d sensed before.
Not just mana.
An unfamiliar force surged from the ring and wrapped around my whole body.
I knew what it was.
‘This is… holy power?’
Yes, holy power.
The same kind of energy I felt from Lynette was flowing from this ring.
“Why would Mr. Hart have something like this…”
I cut myself off and hurriedly slipped the ring into my clothes.
I’d felt Lynette’s presence behind me.
“What are you doing, Teacher?”
I quickly turned my back and made an excuse.
“Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something.”
“What were you thinking so hard about?”
Lynette tilted her head and tapped her chin with a finger, then looked at me with a teasing glint.
“Were you thinking about my brother, by any chance?”
“Wha— Saintess, you’re such a joker.”
I waved my hands and grinned.
“Alright, jokes aside—let’s start the lesson. Please take your seat.”
“What? Not him? I was sure I’d nailed it.”
Pouting, Lynette went back to her seat.
I stood at the lectern and checked today’s materials.
“Teacher Elsie, I have a question.”
Lynette spoke to me in a playful tone.
Without looking up from the papers, I answered,
“Yes, Saintess? Go ahead.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“…Pardon?”
Did I hear that right? A boyfriend?
I stared at Lynette, dumbfounded.
“Or is there someone you like? I’m really curious.”
Chin propped on her hands, Lynette smirked at me.
Then I understood.
‘So this is how teachers feel when students ask about their first loves.’
It was so sudden that my mind went blank.
After hesitating over how to answer, I said,
“I’ll answer that later. Let’s start the lesson first.”
“Aww, stingy.”
Thankfully, Lynette didn’t press me.
After a three-hour lesson that felt especially long today, I finished up and gathered my materials.
‘I should go straight to Ash.’
Ash was staying in the same annex as I was.
I could drop by his room on my way back.
‘I don’t know why he has something like this, but…’
Judging from the overwhelming holy power, the ring was probably a sacred object.
‘Although, the mana inside it is suspicious for a mere relic… Ugh, whatever. I’ll just return it quickly.’
Still puzzled about Ash, I looked back at Lynette.
She sat quietly, lost in thought.
“Good work today, Saintess. I’ll see you next Thursday.”
I was about to leave the classroom after saying goodbye when—
“Teacher, wait a moment.”
Quiet until now, Lynette called out and stopped me.
