Chapter 59

To put it briefly, my attempt to directly persuade Heishar failed.

When we were alone, the etiquette I demonstrated in front of Heishar was perfect. With a bit of self-praise, it was at a level where I could immediately enter an etiquette competition.

Heishar watched my movements with a serious face and then clapped.

“Indeed, excellent.”

“Right? So about that, you don’t need to teach me etiquette.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. This is my livelihood. Isn’t one’s occupation important?”

If it’s about making a living, there’s nothing I can do.

I nodded, caught up in Heishar’s eloquence, before coming to my senses. His benign appearance made everything he said sound plausible.

‘He’s a nobleman, though.’

And according to Sen, he seemed to be from a long-established family. Even though he was just a viscount, someone from such a family wouldn’t starve if they couldn’t work as an etiquette teacher.

Recalling his words as he lowered his eyebrows made me feel sick.

“If I can’t do this lesson, I won’t get paid, and if I don’t get paid, I’ll be in trouble, and if I’m in trouble, the servants of our family will also…”

It was all lies.

I was fooled because Heishar made such a desolate expression. Knowing the truth now, I gritted my teeth and went to find the room where the man was staying.

‘Sen said it was here.’

The scene of an empty room was revealed through the door I flung open.

Empty shelves and a clean bed. The clothes rack next to the bed was also empty.

“There’s no one here?”

“Who are you looking for?” Tristan, who suddenly appeared behind me, asked. His red hair, tied in a ponytail dangled.

If it had been Lucas who asked, I would have answered right away, but with Tristan, it was different. I struggled with whether to tell the truth, then answered obediently.

“Teacher Heishar.”

“That’s the name of the teacher who’s supposed to teach you ball etiquette.”

Omitting honorifics, Tristan followed me in looking around the room.

“Hmm. So this must be that person’s room?”

“Yes, at least it should be.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? This place seems… rather desolate for someone to be staying here.”

“I’m certain this is it.”

It was exactly as Tristan said.

Sen had said that Heishar asked for the smallest guest room, saying he wasn’t like a typical nobleman. When I heard that, I thought he must naturally be frugal.

But seeing the room where he was supposedly staying, suspicion began to sprout.

‘This is practically an empty room.’

There are basic items that are necessary when someone is staying somewhere. Things like clothes or daily necessities. But there was none of that here.

Tristan voiced exactly what I had been thinking.

“Little one. Your teacher’s room looks just like someone about to flee in the night.”

“You think so too?”

“It’s obvious.”

My opinion wasn’t different from Tristan’s. Above all, this room felt completely unlived in.

Even if he hadn’t been here long, could it really be like this?

“Tristan. Actually, there’s something concerning about the teacher. I can’t explain it, but.”

“You wouldn’t say that without reason, so there must be something.”

Tristan, who had been standing with his arms crossed, flicked his finger. Following his gesture, I stood on tiptoe and put my ear close to his face.

Tristan’s whispering voice became secretive.

“You don’t like this new etiquette teacher guy?”

“Rather than not liking him, I’d say he makes me uneasy.”

“Want me to drive him away?”

Tristan’s eyes sharpened like a cat that had spotted prey.

I recalled Tristan’s history of causing trouble.

If he were to drive someone away, I figured it wouldn’t be by ordinary means.

It would be problematic if he drove him away like that professor whose hair caught fire. Though not entirely reliable, I had no better options at the moment.

Better than leaving it alone and having bigger problems later, perhaps.

“…Burning is not okay.”

“Are you crazy? As if I’d burn a person. I’ll just scare him, okay?”

Is it really okay to entrust this to him?

Should I take back what I said even now? Tristan patted my back, asking me to leave it to him.

I couldn’t tell him that his reassurance made me more worried.

“Do you know how many teachers I’ve driven out of the academy?”

“Tristan, that’s not something to be proud of.”

“Anyway, you need me right now, don’t you? Am I wrong?”

“Yes. But is there no price?”

I was concerned about him helping me find the spirit the other day, too. I hope he’s not accumulating all these favors to demand something later?

If that’s the case, it would be better not to accept his help.

“Price… I do have something I want.”

Just as I thought.

Hearing it’s not free, my suspicion subsided a bit. I asked with a somewhat lighter expression.

“What’s the price?”

“Nothing much, just something I want to hear from you, little one.”

Well, that’s easy.

He must have been impressed when I praised him as a genius before. If Tristan wanted, I could use my merchant abilities to shower him with praise for an hour.

I extended my pinky finger to Tristan.

“Then the deal is made. Let’s promise.”

“Why are you holding out your finger?”

“It’s a promise pose. We hook our fingers together and shake like this.”

“If that’s what it is.”

Tristan intertwined his finger with mine and shook it. I wondered if Tristan could really succeed.

‘I need preliminary information.’

I decided to move separately from Tristan.

***

Strategy begins with knowing your enemy. Learning from my previous hasty approach that failed, I started with an investigation.

There wasn’t much information about the etiquette teacher, who was an outsider. Sen was the one who knew more than others.

Sen, who was familiar with all the mansion’s rumors, spoke quite in detail.

“Mr. Heishar is a very famous person. In the field of etiquette, there’s no one who doesn’t know him.”

“I’m hearing this for the first time.”

“I know, right? He’s really famous, but even I only learned about it recently.”

“How is that possible?”

I got similar answers from others, too. The peculiar thing was that everyone had only heard of his reputation recently.

‘This doesn’t seem credible at all.’

Logically thinking, if he were famous, I should have heard of him before. This made it seem like a person who didn’t exist suddenly appeared.

“So Sen, you don’t know anything else about the teacher?”

“I’d like to help you, but why don’t you ask him directly?”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“Since the Grand Duke personally sought him out, he must be exceptional.”

That point was also one of the suspicious aspects. The Grand Duke I knew valued stability over hiring someone just because they were famous.

‘He’s definitely not an insider.’

Moreover, the fact that he, who was certainly an outsider, met me in the library was also significant.

I organized what I had learned so far and relayed it to Tristan.

Tristan, who said he had been doing some research in the morning, was a mess. After listening to my story completely, he stroked his chin and spoke carefully.

“As you said, it’s different from Father’s usual way.”

“Tristan, have you found out or prepared anything?”

Tristan took out a crumpled piece of paper from his chest.

“This is that teacher’s resume, taken from Father’s office.”

I was worried he might use magic to attack Heishar outright, but this approach was unexpected. I looked at Tristan with fresh eyes and unfolded the paper.

[Name: Heishar.

Birthplace: Lute region.

Special notes: Despite being from a long-established family, not very well-known. Famous for teaching etiquette well.]

“Is this all?”

I checked the back page just in case, but that was all that was written. How could one even prove that he teaches etiquette well with this?

Tristan folded the document I had finished reading and threw it into a spatial pocket.

“It’s true that he’s not qualified enough to teach you. As you said, something’s off.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to set a fire.”

“What?”

“I said I’m going to set fire to where that so-called teacher is.”

I almost lost my balance from shock. This was no different from burning the professor’s hair.

I tried to dissuade him from doing something we couldn’t handle the aftermath of.

“That doesn’t seem right. Think about what you’re saying.”

“I have thought about it.”

Tristan rambled on about having a plan, even for setting fires.

“Think about it. Would you want to work in a place where you almost died?”

Except when he lost control during a magical explosion, he could control the intensity and direction of fire. Tristan confidently said he just needed to prepare so the man wouldn’t get hurt.

‘Is it okay if no one gets hurt?’

I thought it was nonsense, but as I listened, I was persuaded.

“You can set a fire without hurting anyone?”

“Of course.”

“And you’ve thought thoroughly about the aftermath and such?”

“Do you think I’m like my brother?”

Your brother is much more meticulous than you. Instead of revealing my true thoughts, I quickly answered.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

Tristan didn’t hide his joy at my permission.

I couldn’t just leave someone with so many suspicious points. Even with my judgment honed over many years, he was not an ordinary person.

Just his reaction when I skillfully demonstrated etiquette showed that.

“Aren’t you surprised that I already know etiquette?”

“If the Grand Princess has learned in advance, that’s possible.”

“You’re satisfied with just saying I learned in advance?”

“Yes.”

A person famous for teaching etiquette well doesn’t know the level of an average student? Even setting aside that I’m six years old, the etiquette I displayed was not at a common level.

‘Even if he knows I’m the Imperial Princess.’

In my opinion, Heishar, my new etiquette teacher, had never taught etiquette to anyone before.

And that contradicted the stories I had heard about him.

‘He’s hiding something.’

Whatever his reason for becoming my etiquette teacher, I was convinced it wasn’t for a good purpose.

If by chance, he was a case like Luke.

“Tristan, if it seems dangerous, you must get out.”

“That’s easy.”

Lucas’s words about his father having many enemies came to mind. I hoped that Tristan, who had stepped forward to help me, wouldn’t get caught up in something ominous.