CH 37

Only then did Livia realize how Vincent had managed to keep up with the class without falling behind once.

‘You made an effort.’

She stared at him, taken aback.

For some reason, Vincent misunderstood her expression and spoke with a downcast face.

“I wanted to make Tutor Via happy….. I’m sorry…..”

Surprised by Vincent’s dejected appearance, Livia quickly threw up her hands.

“No, no, no, it’s nothing to be sorry about, Vincent.”

“But…… you look like you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry…….”

Livia contemplated internally. What should she say?

“I’m just impressed…….”

“What?” Vincent’s eyes widened.

Livia smiled, feeling sorry that she had unnecessarily frightened the sweet child.

“I’m impressed because I didn’t expect Vincent to be so enthusiastic.”

Of course, Livia knew how much this child liked her. But deep down, she had prejudiced expectations that he wouldn’t be as passionate about the lessons, based on the Vincent from the original work that she remembered reading about.

‘I’m such a fool,’ Livia chastised herself.

Both Vincent and Cardien. Even though she knew that the current characters were different from the original, she still hastily jumped to conclusions.

It made her feel even more guilty that she had distorted their sincerity.

“I’m really glad that you put in the effort.”

“Tutor Via…..”

“But let’s promise not to push ourselves too hard during the review. We might get exhausted quickly.”

Vincent, brightening up instantly, nodded vigorously.

“Okay!”

Following his enthusiastic nod, his silver wavy hair shook. Livia had to stop herself from imagining little puppy ears poking out of the top of his head.

‘Aww…….’

‘So cute…….’

It wasn’t an empty compliment. Vincent was really, really cute. Smaller in stature than his peers, chubby white cheeks. Even his eyes and ruby-colored irises resembled a baby animal.

Even the most painstakingly crafted dolls would pale in his presence.

~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~

Vincent was trying so hard for her. Livia wondered if she could do something for him in return.

She pondered throughout the class, and by the time the class was about to end, she came to a conclusion.

“Um, Vincent.”

“Yes?”

Vincent, who was organizing the textbooks, raised his head as soon as she called, saying he would help her with his fern-like hands.

Livia barely restrained the impulse to hug him tightly and spoke.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Something I want?”

“Yeah. Or something you want to do.”

Vincent, who seemed puzzled for a moment, soon focused his eyes and started to think deeply.

Livia quietly waited until Vincent finished his contemplation. After a while, Vincent spoke carefully.

“I don’t want anything… but there is something I want to do.”

“What is it?”

When Livia quickly asked him back, Vincent hesitated as if he was cautious.

“It’s okay, you can say anything,” she reassured him.

Soon after her words of reassurance, Vincent closed his eyes tightly as if trying to muster up the courage to speak.

“I want to go to the festival with Tutor Via!”

“Huh?”

However, Livia blinked her eyes dumbfoundedly at his unexpected words.

Seeing her in that state, Vincent asked with the expression of a cat caught in the rain.

“Is it not possible…?”

And with that expression, Livia couldn’t…

“No, let’s go!” She practically shouted.

“Wow!!”

Livia realized her mistake belatedly, but Vincent was already cheering with his arms wide open.

Ah.

‘I messed up.’

* * *

Vincent was so happy that Livia couldn’t bring herself to cancel it.

As Vincent excitedly talked about what to do and see at the festival, she barely managed to respond and hold back a deep sigh.

There was only one thought in her head.

Would Cardien allow Vincent to go out with her?

No matter how much she made a deal with Cardien, she was a complete outsider. There was no way he would entrust Vincent to someone like her.

‘If he says no, Vincent will surely be disappointed.’

Thinking back to Vincent’s cheerful and cheering figure, another sigh escaped from Livia’s lips.

‘But…….’

She couldn’t recall ever seeing Vincent so excited.

So she had to give it a try.

Livia clenched her fist and gathered her determination. And she started thinking about how to persuade Cardien as she walked.

It didn’t take long for a good idea to come to mind.

* * *

Livia arrived in front of Cardien’s office and took a deep breath. Even though it was now her third visit, she still felt tense every time she came here.

‘Hoo-ha.’

Livia took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door.

Click.

But before she even knocked, the door suddenly swung open wide.

“Ah, Tutor.”

The one who opened the door and came out was Winston. He had a pleased expression when he spotted her.

“Hello, Butler.”

“I assume you’ve finished your class.”

She nodded in response to Winston’s words. Then he smiled warmly and turned his body.

“Please come in. His Grace is expecting you.”

“Oh, thank you…….”

Maybe it’s because of her mood, but Winston seemed particularly kind today.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t liked her before, but for some reason, he kept smiling at her excessively. It went beyond just having a favorable opinion of her….

“Your Grace, I’m coming in.”

“Come in.”

“If you’ll excuse me, then.”

Feeling strange, Livia quickly bid farewell to Winston and entered the room. Until the moment the door closed, Winston looked at her with a warm smile.

“You came.”

At the sudden voice, Livia snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. And as soon as she saw the owner of the voice, she realized that something was different about him.

Somehow… he looked more relaxed than usual, right?

Of course, he wasn’t usually tightly dressed, but he seemed to maintain a neat appearance as if staying ready to be seen by someone, even though it was a bit casual.

However, the Cardien in front of her today had slightly disheveled hair, loosely rolled-up shirt sleeves, and a few unbuttoned buttons.

And above all, the biggest change was.

‘His complexion.’

~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~

He always looked tired, but today he seemed less so.

His pale complexion seemed to have regained a tiny bit of color, and the circles under his eyes had lightened a little.

Livia could guess the reason.

‘He must have slept well last night.’

She had been worried that he couldn’t get enough sleep because he didn’t have time to rest properly when she returned quickly without being able to observe him closely.

She was so glad. Livia was staring at Cardien with a smile on her face.

“Being my fan, I take it you can’t take your eyes off my face?”

“……eh?”

Hearing his words, Livia stiffened, momentarily surprised.

Cardien looked at her with a blank stare and added, “Tutor told me that you were a fan of mine.”

“……Ah, yes, I did…….”

She did, but that’s not the right thing to say now. It was difficult to control her expression.

But for some reason, Cardien kept staring at her silently.

“……?”

However, as if it were a misunderstanding, he soon turned his head and casually said, “Report.”

“Ah.”

Right.

She had been so focused on his condition that she forgot the purpose of this meeting.

“Are you not reporting?”

“Ah, yes.”

Livia belatedly remembered the reason for this face-to-face meeting and hurriedly presented what she had prepared. Livia handed him a piece of paper with numerous red circles drawn on it.

Cardien looked at it with a questioning gaze.

“This is Master Vincent’s test paper,” she explained.

“…….”

He lifted the test paper nonchalantly and looked at it.

“He got everything right.”

His comment seemed indifferent, but Livia vigorously nodded.

“Yes, Chapter 5 of Basic Magical Studies and the concept of magical manipulation might be a little difficult for a typical 10-year-old to understand.”

Cardien nodded lightly.

Taking his reaction as a positive, Livia explained further.

“But as you can see, young Master Vincent scored perfect marks on the test. Not just this time, but every test.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Vincent is a genius?” Cardien muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

But Livia shook her head.

“Of course, he’s gifted, but this isn’t the result of talent alone. It’s the result of hard work.”

“…….”

“I heard that even after classes were over, he engaged in self-study to fully understand the material. He must have put in late-night efforts to grasp so much in just one day.”

“……I suppose so,” Cardien murmured softly.

Livia lit up with excitement.

Now was the time! The perfect moment!

“So, considering all his hard work, I believe he might need some rest,” Livia said, beginning to make her move. 

“Rest,” Cardien repeated expressionlessly. 

“Yes, and Master Vincent has said he would like to attend the upcoming festival,” Livia added while sneakily gauging his reaction. “I thought it would be a good idea to take a break and attend the festival, if your Grace would allow it.”

“…….You mean the tutor and Vincent?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin.

He looked down at Vincent’s test paper again, lost in thought. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, Cardien lifted his head and looked at Livia.

She stared back at him with a nervous expression.

Soon his lips parted.