Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-One: Two Supervisors
“I sincerely apologize, Lady Karen. My shortcomings as an educator caused you discomfort. I will ensure that the children’s education is even more thorough so that nothing like this happens again, and please rest assured that there is not a single other child harboring complaints.”
Karen sipped the chamomile tea Harald had poured for her in the parlor and tilted her head at him as he bowed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, sincerely—”
“I’m not questioning the sincerity of your apology. I mean—Are you sure Lena is the only child who’s unhappy about being brought here?”
“I beg your pardon? Yes, that is correct.”
“And there aren’t any who simply keep their complaints to themselves?”
“Of course not. They could have no reason to be dissatisfied. I should add, to be clear, that I arrive at this conclusion not because of any strong faith I hold in you, Lady Karen, but because any objective view of the situation would reach the same conclusion.”
“Faith…”
Karen’s expression grew somewhat complicated. Harald continued without missing a beat:
“Anyone can see that the treatment they receive here is extraordinary. It is even better than what I received when I first arrived. The children without magical power who have made it here are so afraid of being expelled that they are extremely careful not to do anything that might displease you, Lady Karen.”
The faces of the children surrounding Lena had been hard, sharp, filled with anger—too severe for children simply scolding a smaller child. The atmosphere had been strange. Michael aside, that is.
“—And it seems that fear eventually turned into strong hostility toward Lena.”
If Karen lost her enthusiasm for this endeavor, they would be left destitute in an instant. That was why they could not forgive Lena—young as she was—for reviling Karen.
The children had no way of knowing that Karen not only did not care about such insults at all, but was actually astonished that no one besides Lena was dissatisfied with their circumstances.
“Lena is from the Bell Viscounty, if I recall correctly?”
“As expected of you, Lady Karen, to remember even the origins of insignificant children. Yes, she is from the Bell Viscounty, and Michael happened to know her.”
“Was she forcibly separated from her family?”
When it came to the orphanage children from the Ehlertt capital, Karen had prioritized their own wishes. That had been possible because the director, August, was a decent man.
For the children from other territories whom Karen had gathered through negotiations with nobles, not a single one of their wishes would have been honored. It was precisely because they were in such circumstances that Karen had moved to take them in.
And among them, Karen had suspected from Lena’s behavior that there might even have been parents who had been ordered by their lord to abandon their magicless child.
“No, that was not the case.”
Harald dismissed Karen’s guess.
“Lena is apparently the child of a servant family in the household of Viscount Bell. It seems she was cherished at birth and for some time after her lack of magical power was confirmed. However, when another child was born and found to have magical power—and with the upheaval surrounding Horst—her parents gradually began to resent her. Or so Michael told me.”
“Did you know about this as well, Ottilie?”
Karen turned to Ottilie, who stood behind the sofa.
Ottilie shook her head.
“No… I was outside the manor almost constantly, so I am not well acquainted with the servants’ children. Michael was rarely permitted to leave the manor, so he spent a great deal of time indoors and was familiar with what went on inside.”
“…I see.”
Karen nodded solemnly as the weight of the story settled over her.
Michael himself treated commoner children without distinction and never made them feel his status—though a less flattering description would be that he seemed like a comedian desperately trying to make people laugh every second of every day. Children not yet accustomed to his station occasionally fell into silent battles with themselves over whether they were allowed to laugh. Mark, meanwhile, had already grown accustomed to it and often scolded Michael.
Seeing how cheerful Michael was, Karen assumed that even though he had not been allowed outside, he probably had not suffered as much as one might think, and she regained her composure.
“In other words, Lena herself should be aware that she was abandoned.”
Harald said it gravely.
“She can’t accept it.”
Karen sighed with pity. Harald nodded.
“That appears to be the case. She understood the situation and vented her resentment on you, Lady Karen.”
Harald showed no sign of sympathy as a dark, sharp-edged smile appeared on his face.
“Why not send her back to her parents, just as she wishes? After all, she had the nerve to call the very person who offered her protection and mercy, Lady Karen, a kidnapper. She has no right to complain.”
These were the words of someone who empathized with the children more than anyone. Surely this was the collective feeling shared by most of the children.
Unlike the children, however, Harald was Karen’s disciple. He had probably already guessed how Karen felt.
“You already know what I’m going to say to that suggestion without my having to tell you, don’t you, Harald?”
At Karen’s words, Harald fell into a sullen silence—and of course, he had long since realized that Karen had no intention of abandoning Lena. He was visibly displeased. Karen reached out toward his head, and Harald gave a sharp intake of breath and stepped back.
“I—I nearly got treated like a child…!”
The way he offered opinions that didn’t align with Karen’s and pouted to show his displeasure—his manner was far more familiar now than it had once been, to a degree that seemed to exceed the bounds of a master-and-disciple relationship. Karen said nothing about it and lowered her hand with a smile, her target having escaped.
“Managing the children’s emotional wellbeing isn’t suited to you, Harald, so I’ll leave that to Lily. Education and work, please continue to manage those as before. Work together with Lily to look after the children.”
“…Understood. I doubt our views will align, but Ms. Lily is your benefactor, Lady Karen. In that case, I shall endure any amount of unreasonableness.”
“Well, if you really can’t come to an agreement, just come and talk to me.”
Karen spoke lightly to Harald, who was bracing himself with the air of someone facing execution, then glanced toward the back of the annex, where the children were. This was supposed to be working hours for children. But Lena had refused to work and shut herself in her room. Lily had gone to check on her.
“I thought there would be more resistance than this…”
“If you have not been troubled overmuch, surely that is a good thing, is it not?”
Harald looked puzzled at the shadow in Karen’s expression. Karen gave a wry smile at a reason he most certainly would never have guessed.
“There should have been more children like Lena. That would be the normal thing. Because if children with magical power were treated this way, there would be far more who acted like Lena. The fact that they don’t is what’s sad to me.”
Harald was still blinking in bewilderment even after Karen’s explanation. His expression made it plain that the meaning hadn’t quite sunk in. Perhaps it was because he was one of those without magical power himself—or perhaps precisely because of that—that he couldn’t quite follow.
“…Things that make you sad, Lady Karen, should not come to pass.”
After a long silence, Harald said it quietly.
“I will work together with Lily toward the realization of your ideals.”
Karen nodded, took another sip of chamomile tea, and held her appraisal mirror to the cup. Even after being sipped, the tea’s quality had not deteriorated much, and its fever-reducing effect was still present.
“If you’ve become capable of brewing chamomile tea this good, Harald, then I can entrust the education and work related to alchemy to you completely.”
“…I am deeply honored by your words, Lady Karen.”
With that, Harald lowered his glistening eyes and gave a beautiful bow.
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