100 - New Tutor
By going to the Menhishumi Church in autumn, I became able to read a little. In Japanese terms, it was about the level of being able to read picture books written entirely in hiragana, but being able to read characters was genuinely happy. I carried my writing board around the whole residence, so I became able to write and memorize the names of the furniture and supplies kept in the residence. Next, I want to learn how to write documents and become able to read storybooks too.
...Well, that is something for spring, though.
Writing sentences and reading longer texts fall under Basic Knowledge 2, taught at the Menhishumi Church. In the Basic Knowledge 1 lessons I took, I only learned basic letters, wrote them, and got the hang of reading words and simple sentences used in daily life. I still cannot handle letters fluently.
That said, since I could now read letters after all, Alf gave me a book for small children. It is a book at a level I can barely manage to read even now, and it is quite educational. For the parts I absolutely could not read, I would catch an adult in the residence and have them teach me, which solved it right away. I felt a bit bad interrupting them during work, but I could not beat boredom.
...The tutor Leonardo-san said he would find... when is he going to find one, I wonder?
Anyone in the residence I asked could answer my question, but basically they were all stationed at the residence for work. Not just Tabitha and Bart, but Leonardo and the Silver-White Knight were staying at the residence as guards for the valuable books. I felt bad going to ask them repeatedly during work because there were parts I could not read. In the end, I would save up the parts I did not understand and go ask during mealtimes or break times, so my reading progress was far too slow.
...The tutor... still not here?
I thought so, but probably the residence could not take in new people right now. The Silver-White Knight was staying to guard the valuable books. It would be best not to let in people whose identities were uncertain. There was already the precedent of the previous bad tutor (Kaya) causing a theft incident.
...Should I go to the Menhishumi Church even in the cold?
The classrooms at the Menhishumi Church were overflowing with children coming from nearby farming villages, but the library probably was not. If I could borrow Nils, I thought self-study in the library would be possible.
...Let me talk to Leonardo-san about it.
While I was thinking about that, we had a visitor for the first time in a while. As expected, I could not exactly cling to Leonardo in front of a guest, so I hugged the ugly cat cushion that had become half of Kokumaro's bed and retreated from the living room. Kokumaro also followed me out of the living room with his short legs, toddling along.
"...Huh? Where did Tina go?"
I was eavesdropping from the opposite door, planning to cling to Leonardo again after the guest left, but I heard them calling for me inside. Apparently, I did not need to have the consideration to leave the room.
...Who could it be?
Maybe Nils or Mirshe had come to visit. Thinking that, I returned to the living room, and behind Leonardo was an unfamiliar woman with good posture. The woman, whose brown hair was tightly and intricately braided up, had a somewhat stern face, but when she caught sight of the puppy coming into the living room after me, the corners of her eyes seemed to soften just a little.
...Ah, she is a good person.
I thought so instinctively. This woman was a good person who liked dogs. Of course, since it is intuition, it could be wrong. But my first impression was good. Completely different from Kaya, whom I had found off-putting at first glance.
"This is Ms. Hermine Hartmann. If Tina is amenable, I would like her to work as a tutor for you."
Introduced that way, Hermine gave a graceful bow.
"I am Hermine. Tina-san. I can teach you language and foreign languages, but your brother has requested that I primarily serve as an instructor in manners and etiquette."
Hermine smiled elegantly, and I could not help but be captivated. It would be rude to even compare her to Kaya, but they were completely different. If this woman's bearing and demeanor were anything to go by, it would be worth paying a price to learn from her.
"Um... I am Tina. Hermine-sensei."
Faced with Hermine, whose beautiful mannerisms were so captivating, I wanted to respond as gracefully as possible, but it was far too hastily learned. I could manage to be somewhat well-behaved, but I had never learned the etiquette of this world, and I was still unaccustomed to speaking. My usual lisping and stumbling felt strangely embarrassing in front of Hermine.
"Hermine-sensei is... gonna be my tutor?"
"If you had a tutor, Tina could have her read the words and sentences you do not understand without holding back, right? There are plenty of adults in the residence now, but there are few people who can attend to Tina."
Leonardo said he wanted to hire her if we seemed compatible. My impression was that she was a person with beautiful manners, and although she had a somewhat strict atmosphere, I was already more than half sold on her. If someone like this was going to teach me manners and study as my tutor, frankly, it was reassuring. I thought so, but there was one thing that concerned me.
"...Given Leonyaldo-san's luck with women, is she really gonna be okay?"
I lowered my voice and ended up asking my honest concern. Considering the past stories about Leonardo that I had heard recently, I just could not trust this. What if she seemed like a good person but was actually hiding a nature worse than Kaya's? That would be a sight too horrible to bear.
"This time, I chose her based on Alf's recommendation. I will be away for over a month during winter, you see."
It seemed he had arranged for a tutor as my guardian during the month and a half Leonardo would be away, when I would be home alone. Tabitha and Bart were ultimately servants, so it appeared they would not be treated as my guardians. Taking that into account, Alf had recommended someone he thought would be fine to leave me with for a month and a half.
...Come to think of it, did I not mention that I had thought about maybe going on the trip with him, just a little?
I had thought about going on the trip just a little, but since he had made preparations for my staying behind, I had better follow the original plan and stay home. I was still dragging some homesickness along, but I could not stay a spoiled child forever. If I did not recover soon, both Leonardo and I would have trouble.
...Besides, this time it is Alf-san's introduction, right?
If it was Alf's introduction, I could feel more at ease than if Leonardo had chosen and brought someone himself. I had never heard of Alf having bad luck with women, and depending on the situation, I was certain he was more reliable than Leonardo.
...But if I am going to be living with her for a month and a half, I need to properly check what kind of person she is.
At minimum, the month and a half Leonardo would be away. If we got along, apparently she would live in the residence as my tutor long-term. That month and a half while Leonardo was away would be a trial period for both of us.
"I understand about staying home... but is it really okay to bring a new person into the residence?"
The Silver-White Knight was stationed at the residence to guard the valuable books, so was it really alright to bring in a new person? When I voiced that concern, he assured me with a stamp of approval that he had already consulted Siegwald. It seemed that matters concerning the residence's security were nothing for me to worry about.
After I brought up several questions and concerns to Leonardo and they were resolved, I faced Hermine again and greeted her properly. When I bowed my head and said I looked forward to working with her, the first thing Hermine taught me was the proper way to whisper secrets like a lady.
...Yeah, right. That was not a conversation to have right in front of her, was it.
Mainly, the conversation about my unease regarding Hermine's character stemming from Leonardo's luck with women was not something to have right in front of her. Still, she did not seem particularly put out, so maybe despite her nervous-seeming face, she was actually quite bold by nature.
In order for us to get to know each other, lessons began right away. Of course, Hermine's lessons were completely different from Kaya's lessons, which could not even be called lessons. Things like practicing writing beautiful feminine letters, learning decorative feminine calligraphy, rich in things beyond just knowledge. Realizing right from the first greeting that I was not good at speaking, Hermine incorporated reading-aloud lessons. What I was made to read was not picture books or stories, but a collection of poetry. Apparently ladies needed this kind of sensibility too, and Hermine had found it searching in the study.
...This poetry collection is definitely a genre that neither I nor Leonardo-san would ever read, huh.
I wondered why something like that was in the study, but the lord's residence changed masters each time the master of Fort Grenore changed. Maybe it was collected by the previous master, or sent as a thank-you gift from the Menhishumi Church.
"Next, let us practice how to address servants."
After I had read the poems many times, Tabitha brought tea, probably thinking my throat must be dry. I thanked her as usual, but then Hermine started saying this. That it was not the way a young lady of the main family should speak.
"...Thank you, Tabitha."
Calling someone older than me without an honorific gave me so much internal resistance that it took a long time to actually do it. Apparently I did not even need to thank her in the first place, but I absolutely could not comply with that. However, regarding removing the '-san' from names, I had been told about it even on my first day at the residence, so I only thought that the day had finally come for it to be corrected. I still felt resistance, though.
"Sensei, I have a question."
If I did not need to use '-san' for servants, then what about a tutor? I asked honestly what I thought, and was told it was up to my judgment. In terms of being employed, she was the same as a servant, but as a teacher, she was in a superior position. Hermine's blue eyes fixed steadily on mine, and I could tell she was waiting to see what answer I would give. The trial period went both ways. Just as I was watching whether Hermine was a trustworthy person, Hermine was also gauging whether I was worth teaching. Something like that.
"...Since I am the one being taught, I will call you Hermine-sensei."
"That would be best. People find it difficult to listen to the words of someone they see as beneath them. I judge Tina-san's decision as the correct one for a learner."
Hermine's blue eyes narrowed just slightly. Perhaps she was satisfied with my answer and smiling.
...Was I on the verge of being turned down as someone not worth teaching if I answered wrong? Possibly.
As expected of a tutor who came through Alf's introduction. She was strict, not half-baked.
"I believe your attitude of respecting everyone is a virtue. However, there are times when you must treat servants as servants. If you can make the distinction by situation, it would be fine to call servants with '-san' only within the residence."
Asked by Hermine if I could make such situational distinctions, I shook my head slightly. I did not think I was capable of such a clever feat.
It was something that was bound to be corrected someday. It just happened to be today, that was all.
Originally, Hermine was supposed to use the guest room on the second floor for her stay, but the residence currently had many male guests using the second floor. When Hermine showed reluctance about that, an extra room on the third floor was assigned to her on short notice. The third floor was completely family space, but I had no objection to letting Hermine in. With Kaya's lessons, I had hated even letting Kaya into my room and had used the living room instead, yet here I was.
...Why is Hermine-sensei fine, I wonder?
Basically, I think of myself as the type who is shy around strangers. And yet, I felt nothing about someone I had only met today, someone I felt was a bit strict, entering my living space. I could not help but find that strange.
As dinnertime approached, I went downstairs. Leonardo, who had ended up bringing his work into the living room entirely because of me, was running his eyes over some documents with Kokumaro at his feet.
"...How was Ms. Hartmann?"
"Hartmann... who was that again?"
When I asked back, unable to remember immediately, he told me Hermine's surname was Hartmann. Apparently, Leonardo had been asked beforehand by Hermine not to address her by her given name. When I asked if I had done something rude, it seemed to be due to Hermine's disposition. Hermine, whom Alf deemed even Leonardo with his terrible luck with women could associate with normally, was a man-hating spinster. Alf's judgment was that as long as she was not someone who showed romantic interest in Leonardo, there would be no problem in associating with her as a friend or acquaintance.
...Ah, yeah. That is probably it.
Once it was explained, I could only say it made sense. From the perspective of women after Leonardo, I (his little sister) was nothing but an obstacle, but from the perspective of a tutor with no interest in Leonardo, I was just a student. Unlike Kaya, she did not have aggressive feelings like seeing me as an obstacle, so I probably did not feel averse to Hermine either.
"So, what did you think of Ms. Hartmann?"
"She corrected me, saying I do not need '-san' for servants."
"...I see."
"I feel like she is a little strict... but I like her."
I did think it was something to have me address elders without honorifics, but it was also necessary. Hermine was probably the kind of person who would properly teach and advise you about things that needed to be said, even if they were hard to say. I thought she was a person with that kind of strictness and sincerity.
"What part did you like about her?"
"I told her about the allowance Leo-san gave me for the first time."
"...Allowance? You mean when you bought me a wallet?"
"Yes, deshu. I told her Leo-san gave me a gold coin as allowance... and she said she wants to talk to Leo-san about it later."
"...So that is what this is about."
Leonardo, head in his hands, apparently had already been summoned by Hermine. When I mentioned to Hermine that it might be too much money to give a child, it seemed Hermine and I were of like mind regarding money sense. Apparently, she was going to give Leonardo a piece of her mind about giving a gold coin to a child being too much.
...She seems like the type who, if she thinks something is wrong, will properly voice her opinion even to her employer, does not she, Hermine-san.
"I like her, Hermine-sensei."
"If Tina likes her, that is good enough. I will go get scolded quietly then."
To Leonardo, who shrugged his shoulders, I gave him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up. Leonardo was simple like that, getting his mood better from just this. And my spirits also felt a little lifted.
...I am going to learn properly from Hermine-sensei how to discipline Leonardo-san.
The fact that I was thinking such a thing was, of course, a secret.
Celebrating reaching 100 chapters. Well, it is not really a celebration or anything. Chapter 4 has been in a leisurely mode for a long time. Chapter 4 alone is about to reach 50 chapters.
As a 100-chapter commemoration, I will take about a week off from updates. (Some commemoration.) I want to check the accumulated typos and misspellings, and fix my sleep schedule which has shifted completely and is threatening my health.
I will fix typos and misspellings another day. Next update is on the 16th.
I have fixed the typos and misspellings I found.