I Couldn’t Stop my Childhood Friend from Turning Into a Villain

Unnie did me a favor the very next day, and in a way I didn’t expect.

“Lu, Lucy……. I was going to ask someone else, but…….”

“Dioletta.”

I could tell she was as flustered as I was and started to stammer out an excuse.

But her words were cut off by the Duchess’s voice, cold enough to chill the room.

“Ensure that you address her correctly. She’s a marquis now.”

“Oh, yes. My apologies.”

The Duchess’s correction flustered unnie, and she admitted her error.

Oh, she shouldn’t have.

“It’s only when you two are alone that you call her by her first name.”

“Yes.”

She nodded again.

I really don’t mind…….

“The Marquis of Seywint.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, the Duchess’s attention shifted from unnie to me.

I quickly straightened my back and summoned the etiquette I’d learned as a child from the back of my head.

“Dioletta has told me all about it. I came to you of my own accord, thinking I might be able to teach you without having to look far.”

“Yes…….”

So you came of your own accord. Why did you do that…….

“Of course, I’m sure you have the basic knowledge, Marquis, so I’ll just teach you about practice, as you asked.”

“T, thank you…….”

Honestly, it was an indescribable favor that the Duchess of Marsen herself came to help me and not someone else.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t uncomfortable, and right now I am half grateful and half uncomfortable.

“In case you didn’t know, I was trained as an heir to the Duke of Hendilton before marrying into the Duchy of Marsen, so I’m as knowledgeable in this area as anyone.”

“Yes…….”

As the Duchess of Marsen had said, she was a former Duchess of Hendilton, one of only two duchies in the Empire.

But why did she become the Duchess of Marsen, a person who had even taken a succession class?

The question popped into my head, but I didn’t blurt it out, deciding instead that I should just let it go.

“But I know the Duchess is very busy, so may I ask why…… are you taking the trouble to take on my education?”

The reason I had asked Dioletta, who would have been in the succession’s class long before me, to look for a tutor for me instead of asking her directly was because we were both representatives of our respective families.

No matter how close we were, we both had to put the interests of our families above our own.

In the meantime, the Duchess, the mainstay of the Marsen family, volunteered to take charge of my education.

Given the long-standing ties between the families, this was not unreasonable, but I felt it was necessary to question her intentions.

Also, the Duchess was the one who had so persecuted Liel, so it seemed puzzling that she would offer me her help.

Sensing my mixed feelings, the Duchess gave me a wry smile.

“Don’t be so wary, my dear. I don’t know about anything else, but you know I have no ill will toward the Marquis.”

The Duchess was being more frank than necessary. She was good at managing her facial expressions, but she made no attempt to hide her dislike of Liel.

“But that’s no reason for you to want to help me.”

“…….”

The Duchess’s smile deepened at my words, and at the same time, Dioletta’s eyes flickered between me and the Duchess with concern.

“If I had to give you a reason, there would be…… two. One is that I’m worried that if I leave the Marquis of Seywint to you as it is, the Marquis’ status will fall to the bottom when Dioletta becomes the head of the family. If a family with which you’ve had such a long association falters, it will inevitably affect the Duchess no less.”

“…….”

Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.

My gaze dropped to the floor at her words, which were more poignant than I expected.

“Mother.”

Unnie took the Duchess’s arm, her eyes filled with sympathy for me.

I was grateful for her willingness to take my side in this.

“Hear me out. And the other thing, I honestly didn’t want to say it because it hurt my pride too much, but…….”

Having said that, the Duchess’ face was as calm as someone who had never known shame.

I swallowed hard and waited for the Duchess to continue.

“The Marquis is sharper than I expected, so I can’t help it. The truth is, when I first married into the Duchy of Marsen, I went through a lot of trouble. Both within the manor and without.”

The Duchess had suffered hardships?

She certainly doesn’t look like someone who would take it lying down.

I looked at the Duchess, unable to hide my surprise. In my demeanor, the Duchess smiled again.

This time, it wasn’t a sneer, but a laugh that seemed a little wistful.

“Marquis Anise helped me a lot back then, and I’m purely trying to repay the favor.”

At the mention of my grandmother’s name, I had no choice but to believe the Duchess. My grandmother would have been worthy of it.

I decided to put aside my suspicions about the Duchess.

Even if she harbored ulterior motives, I could play it cool.

“Enough of the personal talk. One last thing: I apologize for the way I just spoke to the Marquis.”

The Duchess’s manner of apologizing to me was polite. So I felt like I was receiving a sincere apology from her.

But I decided not to accept the apology.

“No. Madam just answered my question …… and revealed a bit of your past unwillingly, so I’ll pretend I’ve received an apology for it.”

As I shook my head, the Duchess’s eyes sparkled with her characteristic languid gaze.

Immediately, the Duchess of Marsen smiled and said.

“I thank you for your kindness, and before we go to class, I must warn you that I will leave all personal feelings concerning Liel out of the equation while we are in class, so please do the same, Marquis.”

“Yes, I will.”

This is what I was hoping for.

The Duchess, who was looking down at me with an adult gaze as I nodded in agreement, suddenly folded the fan she was holding in a snap.

At the same time, the door to her office opened.

I naturally turned my head to look at the open door, and there stood the servant the Duchess had brought with her, holding a stack of papers high enough to cover her face.

‘…… I’ll have to try that later.’

The way their harmony clicked together was so cool, I wanted to try it.

“This is a copy of my Duke’s ledger, and I’ve changed all the amounts that were originally entered for confidentiality. You can practice with this and then fill in the Marquis’ ledger.”

“What? Yes…….”

In this case, it seems the amount is too much to be called practice. No, it is too much to be called practice.

A cold sweat broke out on my back as I faced the stack of papers.

“When you’re done with this, we’ll move on to another exercise.”

When do you think this will be over……?

I looked at the Duchess with an unsure glance, but she only smirked and didn’t say anything.

Only Dioletta looked at me with pity in her eyes.

⁂

The Duchess’ lessons were intense. Of course, it was also the right way to learn in a short period of time.

So, as beneficial as it was, it was also exhausting.

Near the end of the lesson, the Duchess’s lecturing voice was cut off.

Quickly recognizing that it signaled the end of the class, I slumped into my chair with a sigh.

“I think we’re done for the day.”

I heard the sound of the Duchess of Marsen’s fan up ahead. I scrambled to my feet and thanked her.

“Ah, thank you for your help.”

The Duchess acknowledged my greeting with a slight bow of her head. It wasn’t until she turned toward the door to her office that I realized Liel had been watching us.

I watched with bated breath as the Duchess passed by Liel’s side, just in case.

I thought I heard them whisper something, but it was only for a moment, and I didn’t see any change in Liel’s expression, so I assumed it was all right.

Then, when the Duchess was completely out of sight, Liel turned to me and said.

“Lucy, you don’t have to be so nervous whenever I’m with her.”

His eyes swept across the table covered in papers.

“We’re likely to come across each other frequently going forward, but then you’ll be too tired.”

“That’s why I’m more nervous.”

I replied, pressing my hands together over my racing heart. Before I knew it, unnie was at my side, patting me on the shoulder.

“I’m sure everything will be fine between me and her.”

Liel’s voice was filled with a strange confidence that I couldn’t quite place.

“So don’t worry about me, this is a great opportunity for you, so take advantage of it.”

I nodded in response to his encouraging words. At the same time, I heard unnie’s voice next to me.

“When did these little kids get so mature…….”

Before I knew it, she was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. I was impressed by Liel every time, so unnie must be thinking about how proud she was of her little brother.

I hadn’t graduated from the academy yet, but I was sure from looking at Liel and unnie.

That nothing like the original would ever happen to them.