Chapter 199 Cordelia The Female Educator's Lesson
"You were worried about me that much, Sara! Maybe you...?"
"Not at all, not in the least, I wasn't worried about you. I just didn't like the way Grandfather spoke, that's all. Don't get any strange misconceptions."
"Do you dislike me that much?"
"There's nothing about Adam that's likable, you know?"
"Is it my face?"
Then Chloe let out an exasperated sigh.
"Seriously, as my own brother, you're really cruel. You can brag about your face in front of Mister Thomas, but honestly, it's only your thick skin that's impressive. Compared to Chris or Scott, you're not even a decent face in Grandchester. Get that through your head, will you?"
Chloe had no mercy in her evaluation of her own brother.
"Chloe, shouldn't you stop there so Adam doesn't cry?"
"Sara, don't spoil Adam. He might start hiding behind Mother's dress next."
'Ugh, that's gross and creepy.'
Sara subtly distanced herself from Adam. Christopher, who saw this, approached Adam calmly and warned him.
"Thanks to Sara, you're barely holding on by a thread, but if you don't do anything, you'll definitely be disowned in 6 months."
"Hey Chris... were you always such a guy? You have no mercy even for your own siblings."
Scott was shocked to see Christopher, who had awakened to reality, and couldn't hide his surprise.
"After all, I thought he were a little more mature, but it turns out he's totally hopeless."
"I see."
Scott had been watching the situation unfold, so he understood what was going on.
"It's more important to think of a realistic solution. Mister Thomas, what's the problem with Adam?"
"There's only one problem. To put it bluntly, he hasn't laid the groundwork at all."
"Is there a particular subject he's struggling with?"
"Umm... he's bad at everything, so it's hard to pinpoint..."
As Thomas was holding his head, the door quietly opened and Cordelia the female educator entered the room.
"Oh, it's quite lively today."
"Miss Cordelia, you're here."
It was no surprise that Cordelia the female educator, who was in charge of accounting textbooks, was familiar with Sara's face, having seen it repeatedly. Now, she could interact naturally with both Sara and Sophia's faces, even though she hadn't revealed her true identity yet. But she didn't seem to mind.
"It seems like that gentleman is having some trouble."
Cordelia the female educator gazed at Adam and smiled elegantly.
"Mister Thomas, did you administer that test? May I see his answers?"
Cordelia the female educator took Adam's answer sheet and looked at it, smiling faintly.
"Ah, Miss Cordelia, I'm sorry. This isn't something to be shown to a lady..."
"Mister Thomas is way too nervous. It's normal for little gentlemen to be interested in things like this. It's just part of growing up. Among my students, there are some who do even more extreme pranks."
Cordelia, the female educator, maintained a calm and collected attitude, like a mother who had discovered her child's mischief.
"It seems that Sir Adam's problem lies in the foundation of the Avalon language. In other words, reading and writing. There are some small mistakes, but I don't see any major flaws in the math fundamentals. He's doing well on calculation problems, but when it comes to written questions, he suddenly starts giving wrong answers. It's quite amusing to see him get caught up in tricky questions, and as the one who created the problems, I'm delighted."
Cordelia laughed with a cheerful "hehehe".
"Sir Adam, I have something I really want to say, but please forgive me if it's impolite?"
"What is it? Go ahead."
Cordelia looked Adam straight in the eye and laughed with a "heehee".
"I'm so happy it took me 3 days to come up with this problem! I'm thrilled that you got caught up in it."
"Hmph. I'm not happy at all."
"Then I win this round! I'm looking forward to the next challenge."
"No way. I'll definitely win next time!"
"Hehehe. I'm a tough opponent, you know."
'Ah, Adam is weak when provoked, just like that.'
Sara somehow sensed a common trait between Adam and herself, and felt a bit disappointed.
"So, what about this kind of problem? Would you like to give it a try together?"
Cordelia started writing a math problem on the blackboard. Of course, it was tailored to Adam's level.
"This one's easy!"
As expected, Adam answered smoothly.
Next, Cordelia wrote another problem on the board, one that looked similar to the previous one but required a different solution.
"How about this?"
With complete confidence, Adam wrote down a wrong answer on his slate and held it up. Cordelia laughed again, her eyes twinkling.
"Let's hear from Mr. Scott too, shall we?"
Scott, who was called upon, stood in front of the blackboard and began explaining.
"Adam, read this part of the problem carefully. It requires a different solution from before."
"Yes. As expected, Mr. Scott is very knowledgeable."
"This is because Miss Cordelia is being sneaky with her question."
"Of course. I'm doing my best to trick you all!"
Then, Chloe whispered from the side.
"I got tricked too..."
Before they knew it, Chloe and Adam, as well as the other kids except Sara, had started enjoying solving the quiz-like problems that Miss Cordelia the female educator kept coming up with. As expected, Scott and Christopher never got them wrong, but Blaze sometimes got caught off guard by the tricky questions.
Adam and Chloe have started to carefully read the problem statements whenever they make mistakes, and their correct answer rates have been increasing. The teachers, including Thomas, Rebecca, and Jane, were amazed by Cordelia's teaching techniques.
However, as they surpassed an hour, they started to get tired and their concentration began to dwindle, so Cordelia suggested a break to Thomas and the others.
When they left the classroom, herbal tea was prepared on the shared space table.
"Good job on your hard work. Today, I blended a focus-enhancing tea for you."
"Pancakes are also prepared, with plenty of honey, of course!"
The maids, with bright smiles, welcomed the children. As Maiden's Tower employed many young maids who aspired to be office maids, they made an effort to efficiently support the children's studies and work.
Herbal tea was served at just the right time, along with light snacks and occasionally, warm towels.
"Sara, this place feels really comfortable."
Adam gazed at the young maids.
"Adam, if you do something rude, I'll peel off your scalp!"
Cordelia scolded Sara.
"Miss Sara, you must not say such things."
"I apologize. I made an unladylike remark."
"Hehe. Please don't get me wrong. There's no need for Miss Sara to compromise her ladylike demeanor for the sake of that scoundrel of a gentleman. If Sir Adam were to behave improperly, it would be best to take action without hesitation. There's no need to go out of our way to warn him."
Cordelia smiled with a cool expression.
"Well, is that so?"
"But, Miss Sara, gentlemen chasing after flowers is almost instinctual. It's not very ladylike to scold them excessively. From now on, my opinion may differ from Miss Rebecca's, who will be a mother..."
Cordelia glanced at Rebecca.
"I'm hesitant to discuss such matters in front of these young gentlemen..."
Rebecca, however, began to speak, including Thomas and the other young men in their teens.
"To be honest, I think it's unavoidable to some extent. After all, if we didn't have the impulse to love flowers, our descendants would eventually disappear, wouldn't they?"
"Hehe. In that sense, we humans are also animals, aren't we?"
The men looked uncomfortable and started to fidget when the women spoke like this.
"But, I believe humans are rational creatures. No matter how strongly their desires drive them, men shouldn't force themselves on women. The gentlemen present here are nobles or those of similar standing. In other words, they are the socially powerful ones. As the mistress of this tower, I have a duty to protect the women who work here."
Sara declared firmly.
'I would protect the maidens, or the maids, either!'
"Yes, Miss Sara. That's quite a noble determination you have. The maidens and the servants will be at ease, I'm sure. However, if he doesn't take action, please be lenient and overlook it to some extent."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"A gentleman's impulses are close to animal instincts. If they can control their actions with reason, then please forgive their fantasies."
Just then, Chloe cut into the conversation with a curious expression.
"We often get scolded by our mother for talking like this, but Sara and the others are fine with it, aren't they?"
"We don't usually do this."
"It's because Adam is here that we can have this kind of conversation."
"I can't deny that."
Sara and Chloe exchanged glances and chuckled.
"Sara said it's a duty to protect women, but it's not just women who need protection, right? It's the nobility's duty to protect the weak, just as Miss Jane said."
"Yeah, I think what Miss Jane said is right."
Jane, Chloe's governess, who was mentioned, smiled.
"When I chat with the young ladies at tea parties, I hear all sorts of gossip. There are plenty of stories about young ladies trapping their favorite young men and creating fait accompli. It's not like Mister Thomas is an exception, is it?"
Chloe spoke freely, without reserve. Jane tried to stop Chloe, but Thomas replied with a refreshing smile.
"That might be true."
"That's right, even among guys or girls, that kind of thing can become a problem. That's why we nobles always have to think 'that kind of thing might happen' and protect the people who need protecting, right?"
'I'm totally convinced. I never thought I'd be taught by Chloe!'
"That's definitely true."
"But this one thing is absolutely certain."
"What is it?"
"Adam is guilty."
At that moment, Adam spat out a huge amount of tea.
"I won't touch on the specific details, but as his sister, I was really embarrassed, and I don't want him to do it again. If he does it again, it'll become a rumor among the ladies of high society, I think."
"Oh, you..."
"Got a problem?"
"No, none at all."
Adam had completely surrendered to Chloe.
'I see. So that's tougher than being bald. Chloe's really strong, huh?'
Suddenly, Thomas looked serious and began to talk to Sara.
"There's something I'd like to tell the young ladies. Sometimes, a man's impulses can overcome his reason. Maybe women can be like that too. Especially when they have strong feelings, even saints or wise people can stray from the path. Please never try to test your charm on someone carelessly, okay?"
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