Today marks exactly one week since I entered the world of the novel.
For the first few days, I stayed tense, worried that Renzard might come back to pick another fight, but thankfully, he never returned.
‘Ah, peace at last.’
I decided to take my time planning for the future and simply enjoy this luxurious life for now.
Cool breeze drifted through the slightly opened window, warm sunlight poured in, and I had delicious snacks and entertaining books.
Well… I still hadn’t actually opened any of the books yet.
‘Alright, time to read!’
I stuffed a palm-sized cookie into my mouth in one bite and dusted the crumbs off my hands.
Then I placed the prettiest-looking book I’d picked onto my lap and opened it.
“Hmm… I have no idea what this says.”
Usually, when people transmigrate into novels, aren’t they naturally able to read the language?
But the question quickly vanished once I remembered how Roxina had been treated in this house.
Even though she was still only four years old, a noble daughter of the empire being completely illiterate was strange.
Which probably meant no one had ever bothered teaching Roxina how to read in the first place.
“Seriously…”
No matter how neglected she was, how could they leave a perfectly healthy child without even basic education?
I guessed I should at least be grateful she knew how to speak.
During the week I’d spent in this room, I learned that the only person who personally cared for Roxina was the maid named Anne.
Because of that, adapting to life as “Roxina” wasn’t difficult.
But outside of that, there was practically nothing I could do.
For one thing, the people in the mansion didn’t seem pleased whenever Roxina left her room—probably because Renzard watched her like a hawk.
That was why even meals were always brought to my room.
Anne pitied me for it, but she didn’t seem capable of changing the situation either.
This wouldn’t do.
If I was thinking long-term, I needed to expand my range of activity starting now.
After all, I needed to get into Heinox’s good graces.
After thinking things through for a week, I reached one conclusion:
I needed to survive by making use of the knowledge I had from the original story.
Most of the information I knew was from much later in the novel, so the actual events were still far away.
But it was better to prepare now.
And the first step was obvious:
I needed to learn how to read.
“Hmm…”
Now that the busy Duke had finally returned to the estate, this was the perfect timing to ask for education.
Yeah.
No matter how little interest he had in his daughter, surely he wouldn’t object to her learning how to read.
But before asking, there was one problem.
‘If I go meet the Duke like this, I’ll probably run into Renzard again.’
It was a small issue, but for the past week it had been the biggest restriction on my actions.
Still, if I wanted to properly survive here, I’d have to face it eventually.
“Alright!”
“Miss?”
Seeing me suddenly clench my fist in determination, Anne looked puzzled.
“Do you need something…?”
“Take me to the Duke.”
“P-Pardon?”
I even stretched out my arms impatiently toward the hesitant Anne.
“Hurry.”
* * *
“That person is…”
“Isn’t that Lady Roxina?”
“What is the young lady doing here…?”
According to Anne, Roxina rarely left her room not only because of Renzard’s hostility, but also because her body had always been weak.
Maybe that was why the servants tilted their heads in confusion at my sudden appearance.
“But right now…”
“Is she being carried?”
Yes.
At the moment, I was being carried in Anne’s arms.
I had boldly insisted on it earlier, but now that so many eyes were staring at me, embarrassment suddenly overwhelmed me, and I buried my face into Anne’s chest.
I had assumed that because the family ignored Roxina, the servants would too.
After all, in the novel Roxina had described the mansion as a lonely place.
I hadn’t met many people since staying inside my room, but I thought Anne was only kind because she naturally had a gentle personality.
‘Why is everyone paying so much attention to me…?’
The countless gazes refused to leave, and I grew increasingly ashamed of confidently demanding to be carried.
“P-Put me down now…”
“Huh? But we’re almost there.”
“Quickly…”
When Anne crouched down to lower me, I hurriedly planted my feet on the floor.
‘Yeah, this was a mistake.’
Maybe entering a child’s body had made my mind childish too.
“Get it together!”
As a warning to myself, I raised both hands and smacked my cheeks.
Smack!
“Miss!”
Anne gasped in shock at my sudden action.
“Why would you do that?!”
I must have hit myself harder than intended because my cheeks stung painfully.
I hadn’t meant to use that much force.
Being in a child’s body made controlling my strength difficult.
“Owowow…”
As I rubbed my burning cheeks, Anne placed her hands gently over them.
“This is all because the Duke never comes to see you… sniff!”
‘Huh?’
It seemed she’d misunderstood something enormously.
Specifically, she apparently thought I’d slapped myself because I wanted the Duke’s attention.
“No, Anne, it’s not like that. I was just—”
I tried explaining the ridiculous misunderstanding, but Anne clearly had no intention of listening.
“You’re only saying that so I won’t worry! Ahh, what am I supposed to do with our sweet young lady?”
“No, seriously, that’s not—”
“What exactly are you doing in front of my office?”
“D-Duke…!”
It was the first time I’d heard his voice in a week.
Turning around, I saw Heinox standing there with his usual indifferent expression.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“W-Well…”
Overwhelmed by the pressure radiating from him, Anne could barely open her mouth.
Anyone passing by would think Heinox had sentenced her to death.
‘Can’t be helped.’
I had no choice but to ask him directly.
Who knew when I’d get another chance to see him otherwise?
‘What should I call him?’
In the original story, the adult Roxina called Heinox “Father.”
But there was no mention of how she addressed him as a child, so I wasn’t sure.
‘Whatever. I’ll just do what I want.’
“Duke.”
Heinox didn’t answer, only raising one eyebrow.
In the original novel, he left for the battlefield immediately after the Duchess died.
Maybe hearing his daughter speak felt unfamiliar to him.
After a brief pause, Heinox tilted his chin slightly as if telling me to continue.
“Please give me a teacher!”
“A teacher?”
The corner of Heinox’s lips lifted with amusement as he casually glanced around.
“There are too many eyes watching.”
At his words, the servants who had been observing us hurriedly looked away.
“Come inside.”
With a solemn expression, I followed Heinox into his office.
“Roxina Tanzeric.”
“Huh? Y-Yes!”
I’d been standing near the door admiring the office when Heinox called my name, startling me.
Seated at the head of the room, he gestured toward the sofa beside him.
“Sit there.”
“Uh…”
When I only stared at the sofa instead of moving, Heinox frowned slightly.
“What are you doing?”
“W-Well…”
The sofa was absurdly tall.
It looked custom-made for Heinox’s massive frame, which meant climbing onto it alone was impossible for a four-year-old child.
“Hmm.”
Apparently realizing this himself, Heinox hummed briefly before speaking as though it were no big deal.
“If you can’t climb up, you may stand while speaking.”
‘This jerk…’
His daughter was struggling, and instead of helping, he was just observing.
The conversation probably wouldn’t last long anyway, so I could have simply stayed standing.
But somehow it felt like I’d lose if I did that.
“No. I can climb up myself.”
Several minutes later, after multiple attempts, I finally managed to scramble onto the sofa.
Sitting triumphantly atop the soft cushion, I proudly puffed out my chest at Heinox.
But Heinox merely stared silently, as though lost in thought.
“Duke?”
“Ah, yes.”
Only then did he return his attention to me.
“You want a teacher?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t read.”
At my answer, Heinox suddenly fell silent.
…Did he seriously not know?
No way. Even if he ignored his daughter, surely—
“You can’t read?”
Yep.
Apparently there really were parents who didn’t know whether their child was illiterate.
I clicked my tongue internally at Heinox’s indifference.
The situation was worse than I thought.
“So you can’t even write your own name?”
“Nope.”
Obviously.
“Hmm…”
Only now did Heinox seem to realize how serious this was as he placed a hand against his chin.
“Who is your personal maid?”
“Anne. But it’s not Anne’s fault.”
And that was true.
At least during the week since I’d transmigrated into this novel, Anne had treated me well.
Contrary to my expectations of being neglected like an abandoned noble child, she brought my meals on time and braided my hair every morning.
“She’s not at fault? If your personal maid leaves her master ignorant and illiterate until the age of five, then what is her fault?”
I’m four, not five.
Watching Heinox fail to even remember his daughter’s age, I sighed inwardly.
This situation was more severe than expected.
He genuinely didn’t seem aware that the person truly responsible for this neglect was himself.
The responsibility for a child’s education belonged to the father, not the maid.
I wondered if he even understood what being a father meant.
But since I myself had never truly had a father, I decided to keep quiet about that part.
“What could Anne even do?”
Anne was technically a lower noble herself, so she probably knew basic reading and etiquette.
But teaching me personally was another matter.
A servant educating their master without permission could easily be seen as overstepping.
“I see.”
‘Exactly. Now acknowledge your mistake and assign me a tutor already.’
