71 - Side Story: Leonardo's Perspective - The Festival of Shame and Its Aftermath, 2
The tutor who was supposed to come once every two days finally showed up four days after the Recollection Festival. It did not follow the employment contract at all, but it did follow the report from Alf. That woman who called herself a tutor really had not been doing any work at all.
Kaya, led into the living room by Bart, changed her expression the moment she saw my face. Confusion, a guilty look, and finally a fawning smile.
...It was all written on her face. Why did I not notice this?
The answer was simple. I had been looking for a tutor I could entrust Tina to as quickly as possible, and I trusted the credentials. Teachers each have their own personalities, and sometimes they do not get along with students. I had overlooked such a simple thing.
...Well, in Kaya's case, it was a problem that came before even the teacher's personality.
Hiding my inner irritation, I escorted Kaya to a chair. People like this sometimes run away easily when cornered. To prevent that, first and foremost, getting them to sit down was crucial. Once seated, even just standing up requires extra motion. If Kaya suddenly tried to flee, it would be easy to restrain her.
"Leonardo-sama, are you not at the fortress today? How long has it been since we last met at the residence like this?"
"The other day I imposed on you to take care of Tina, so I wanted to have a proper talk with you... I have been waiting for you."
"My."
Her cheeks flushed and heat gathered in Kaya's eyes. My words had become polite precisely because I was suppressing my anger, but it seemed Kaya did not pick up on that.
"...Come to think of it, I was also waiting for you two days ago, but you did not come. Were you feeling unwell?"
"Ah, yes. I was a little under the weather, so I could not come here. If I had known Leonardo-sama was waiting for me, I would have rushed over even if I had to force myself..."
"Is that so. Since there was no prior notice, I was worried something might have happened."
Strike the bell and it sings. I had waited for Kaya two days ago as well when there was a scheduled lesson, but she had not visited the residence. Since I already felt that something was off about Kaya, I had people investigate immediately, but Kaya had been drinking from the night before and, of all things, had stayed the night in some man's room. During the time when Tina's lesson should have been, there was even a report that suspicious sounds of intimate activity could be heard from the man's room.
...Not even as a tutor, but as an adult, that is questionable behavior.
I had never heard of a tutor who did not show up for work as contracted and indulged in debauchery until noon. There were many things I thought about this woman Kaya who called herself a tutor, but I had no choice but to deal with them one by one. She was that much of a problem person.
"I would like to talk about the night of the Recollection Festival... I received a report that my little sister returned to the residence alone. I would like to hear your explanation about that."
"Tina-chan went off somewhere on her own."
Kaya furrowed her brows slightly and made a troubled face. She was exaggerating her expression, but there was also a trace of genuine confusion mixed in. Considering that it did not match Tina's testimony, the reason for her confusion was probably something like, "I have to cover this up well."
"I was holding Tina-chan's hand tightly during the rites, but when the rites ended, the plaza got all chaotic, did it not? For just a moment, I let go of her hand... and I lost sight of Tina-chan in the crowd. I am terribly sorry for taking my eyes off precious Tina-chan."
She concluded by saying she had searched for her all night, and the corners of Kaya's mouth lifted. She might have meant it as a smile, but since her true nature had already been reported to me, I felt no charm in it at all. No, even without reports of her true nature, I had never found Kaya's smile charming. From the very beginning, I had only seen Kaya as Tina's tutor.
...Alf said she was a woman after me.
To me, she was not even a "woman." The role I sought was a tutor. I wanted someone who would be a good teacher and a good counselor for Tina. The reason I wanted a woman was simply because Tina was a girl. I thought it would be better to assign a female teacher rather than a male one. That was all.
...And yet.
It was such an obvious lie. If you lost sight of a child in your care, you would naturally ask the knights or soldiers standing on street corners. Whether just to ask if they had seen her, or to request a search. And of course, I had received no report that Kaya had done any such thing on the night of the Recollection Festival.
Since she had lost a child entrusted to her, if she had really searched all night, she should have naturally contacted the residence as well.
...Far from contacting us, she did not even come to the residence for four days afterward.
I wanted to point that out, but I swallowed the words that rose to my throat so she would keep talking more freely.
"...So, have you been searching for Tina all over for these four days?"
I knew there was no way that was true. When I offered a nice-sounding action as an example, Kaya immediately jumped on it.
"Yes, of course. Losing sight of Tina-chan whom I was entrusted with was my fault. Naturally."
...That face says, "Now I have an excuse for not showing up at the residence two days ago!"
From the way her smile deepened, I felt like I could see right through Kaya. Kaya's lips spat out convenient lies glibly, but her face was not made to hide them. The occasional twitch in her cheek was proof of that.
...Not looking carefully at this face was my original mistake.
I had no interest in Kaya herself, trusted the label of "tutor," and neglected to check her character. Because of that, I ended up hurting Tina.
She claimed she searched the riverside just in case, looked even into the gutters for Tina, and searched the back alleys where security was worse than usual during the festival, but could not find Tina anywhere. Since Tina had returned to the residence that same day, of course no matter how much she searched dangerous places, she would not find her. She said all these fine-sounding words about "searching for a lost child tirelessly without regard for her own safety." In reality, she joined the banquet that started in the plaza and drank until midnight. After midnight, she changed locations and drank at a tavern. Just when one might think she finally went home toward dawn, she went up to some man's room, and there was a rough report of what went on inside until she left around the time the sun set again. Alf had investigated without leaving a single gap, proving that Kaya's words were complete nonsense.
"...If you will pardon me, but for someone who claims to have been searching for a child for four days... I think you look rather well-dressed."
I could no longer stay silent and interjected a bit. I wanted to believe that even euphemistically saying "rather well-dressed" was being rational. For a female child's tutor, her clothing was terribly flashy and vulgar. Not only was the color scheme loud, but the dress designed to boldly expose her chest made her not-very-ample bosom look more comical than alluring.
...Is that a hickey on her chest?
It seemed she had enjoyed herself with someone again today. The red mark I spotted on her chest stirred an unbearable disgust in me. I wanted no part in being targeted by such a licentious woman, but what I regretted most was having entrusted my dear little sister to her, even if I had not known.
"I could not bear to be discourteous when meeting Leonardo-sama, so I hastily at least cleaned myself up."
...She came here to meet me, not as Tina's tutor to the residence, I thought.
I wondered what was going on inside this woman's head. Thoroughly exasperated, everything became unimportant, and I stared blankly at Kaya. So this was what it meant to be too stunned to speak, I realized.
"That hair ornament seems different..."
When Kaya had shown her face at the fortress a few days before the festival, she was wearing a silver hair ornament she claimed Tina had given her. Since I had seriously deliberated when buying it, thinking it would look lovely against Tina's black hair, I had felt a bit disappointed inside thinking she had given it away to someone else, but it was nothing of the sort. The hair ornament had simply been taken without Tina's knowledge. There was no need for me to be disappointed.
"What about the hair ornament you said Tina gave you?"
You were bragging about it, I pointed out. I did not tell her to show it to me. Alf had already confirmed that the hair ornament Kaya claimed to have received from Tina was not in her possession.
"...It is a token from my friend. I have it carefully stored in my room."
Losing it would be a disaster, she said with a smile, and I could only manage a dry laugh. I wanted to shout, "Is your room a pawnshop?" No, I would point it out. Bart, who had guided Kaya to the room, was scheduled to head straight to Alf at the fortress afterward. Kaya did not seem to have heard it, but Alf's footsteps were approaching right outside the door.
"By the way, I have received a report that several hair ornaments have gone missing from Tina's room."
"Are you referring to the things Tina-chan gave me?"
"...I have also received a report that those hair ornaments were found at a pawnshop."
Having said this much, Kaya finally seemed to realize something was wrong. Her smile stiffened, and her gaze began to dart around.
"How I handle things I have received is my own business. Tina-chan's hair ornaments are so childish... They do not suit me, do they? I accepted them happily to humor the child, but --"
"The hair ornament you showed me was indeed one I gave to Tina. But it seems you have touched something else you should not have."
"Huh?"
There was no longer any need to let her sit comfortably, so I dropped the polite tone. If I were dealing with a tutor, I would need to treat her with courtesy, but facing a thief, there was no room for manners. The fact that I was not beating her unconscious as a thief was about the minimum level of treating her like a woman.
"If you had been satisfied with just the silver hair ornament, it would have been irritating but just plain theft, a light punishment at most, a fine, or even at the worst, three years in prison."
Tina, thinking it would be useless to consult me, had approached Alf instead. I had never asked Alf about his personal circumstances, but even if he wore black armor, I could somehow sense the difference in our births. Alf, who was born and raised in noble society, said to be filled with nothing but snakes and demons, knew how to handle both snakes and demons. I did not think Tina knew that when she consulted Alf, but there was no one more reliable to consult when it came to eliminating a person.
"It seems a certain noble left something behind in Tina's room. A thoroughly tasteless ornament, just like the one you are wearing now, made of gold-worked thorns with a ruby rose, and various other jewels and whatnot plastered all over it."
Having explained this far, Kaya seemed to understand. That she had fallen into someone's trap. Kaya hastily grabbed the hair ornament and threw it to the floor. Even if she discarded the evidence now, it would not help her at all. I myself had seen Kaya wearing the hair ornament as if it were her own, and then throwing it away. I, who was entrusted with Grenore Fortress and the entire city.
"...It is not to my taste, but it seems that noble really treasured his belongings. It appears arrangements were made so that if they were stolen and put up for sale at a pawnshop or secondhand goods dealer, word would reach him immediately."
The bait Alf had prepared, knowing that if she liked valuable things she would definitely go for it, was an ornament that was the very embodiment of vanity. It was studded with gaudy large jewels, the kind that satisfied vanity but revealed poor taste. It was an ornament priced far beyond what a child like Tina should have owned, but Kaya, who seemed to have greed but no thinking head, did not notice the unnaturalness. She smoothly took the ornament from Tina's room and carried it to a pawnshop. And before Alf even placed the ornament in Tina's room, all the pawnshops and secondhand goods dealers in the city had already been contacted and given a list. If items on the list were brought in, they were to report it. Few merchants would sell out a customer even to a Black Knight, but when a noble was involved, the story changed. If a noble had it in for you, you could not do business at all.
"This is a misunderstanding! Someone is trying to... that's right! Tina-chan is trying to frame me! That child hated me from the start! That creepy child who barely speaks!"
That was probably Kaya's true feelings. As Tina had said, Kaya had decided from the beginning that Tina could not speak properly and looked down on her. No matter how she was treated, Tina could not tell an adult. She was truly a person unworthy of calling herself a teacher.
"Tina is a child who does not say unnecessary things, but she has no reason to be called creepy by a woman who rattles off lies like you do."
By the way, what happened to the wallet I entrusted to you? I asked about the whereabouts of the wallet that had still not been returned. It was a wallet I had entrusted to her for Tina's sake. Naturally, it should have been returned together with Tina.
"Ha! Demanding the return of a wallet you handed over entirely to a woman, what a cheap --"
Had she given up playing coy? Kaya arched her modest chest and dropped all pretense. The words were spat out as if thrown away, but they stirred no particular feeling in me.
"I did not say I wanted it back. Well, I did like it, so I would be happy if it came back..."
The wallet I had entrusted to her for buying nice things for Tina only served its purpose once, paying for a single glass of juice at the first tavern. At that time, Kaya was supposed to be babysitting, at least in name, so I had no objection to her using my wallet to pay at that establishment. But I had no intention of funding her participation in a banquet while neglecting Tina, or her subsequent spree at the tavern afterward.
"As for the contents of the wallet, I sold the right to judge you to the noble in question, so you do not need to worry about repayment."
"...Huh?"
"Did you not hear me? I sold the right to judge you to the noble who owns the ornament you brought to the pawnshop. Good for you. Now you do not have to pay a fine or spend three years in prison in this city."
Instead, there was no telling what kind of treatment she would receive from that noble. From my perspective, even if he was a noble, it was Alf doing it, so I did not think it would be that terrible. But for someone who did not know what kind of person Alf was and was only told "a noble," the words "handed over to a noble" would only inspire terror for a commoner. And especially to someone she had already picked a fight with.
"You... what have you done..."
Kaya paled for just a moment, then immediately returned to her normal complexion. She looked off in a random direction and licked her lips, so she probably arrived at the deluded idea that she could seduce her way out with a bit of charm.
...Alf has a better face than most women, after all. A woman like Kaya could do nothing to him.
Even without that, Alf had grown tired of beautiful women due to his birth. Kaya herself lacked the physical appeal that stirred a man's appetite, like big breasts or a large backside. And for that matter, her face was average and her makeup was heavy.
"...Now, your escort is here."
To hand Kaya over to those waiting outside the door, I signaled for the door to be opened. At the same time, Kaya began to shed tears, turning toward the door with a pitiful look. She seemed to have immediately started working to curry favor, but when she realized that the ones entering through the door were only Black Knights including Alf, she openly twisted her mouth. Her face said she would put on an act of a pitiful woman crying for a noble, but for knights, not even a single tear was worth wasting.
"...Did something happen?"
After seeing Kaya being escorted away by the knights, I closed the front door and Tina peeked her face out from around the corner of the hallway. I had told her to stay on the third floor since I had business even if Kaya came, but she seemed to have come down to the first floor at some point. When I beckoned, Tina thought for a moment before coming closer.
"What do you want to do about Kaya, Tina?"
Realizing I had not asked, I picked Tina up and asked. Tina, who obediently let herself be lifted, answered without any sign of deliberation this time.
"As long ash she's not my teacher anymore, that's fine."
"...Is that enough?"
"Yesh."
She had been subjected to the terrible treatment of being abandoned in the nighttime streets, but it seemed Tina's desired punishment was merely dismissal. Since there was the clear crime of theft, it could not be resolved with just dismissal, but I should at least convey Tina's wishes to Alf.
"Can I ashk one more queshion?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"What wath that noble's hair ornamento?"
Tina frowned, saying she had no idea such a thing was in her room. I could see she was starting to worry that if bringing it to a pawnshop was a crime, she might have been charged even just for touching it unknowingly.
"You do not need to worry about the noble's hair ornament, Tina. You were the one who consulted Alf in the first place, were you not?"
After consulting Alf about her complaints regarding Kaya, Tina also consulted him about the missing hair ornaments. With a loss occurring immediately after a new tutor started coming to the residence, there was no need to wonder about the culprit. If it was theft, not loss, then Alf deliberately planted an overly ornate hair ornament in Tina's accessory box, thinking they should put out bait that would make her want to steal again.
"...And Kaya took the bait, took it out, and brought it to a pawnshop, it seems."
"That's shome shneaky shtuff..."
When I explained the whole chain of events, Tina sighed in exasperation. Then she started tilting her head repeatedly in puzzlement.
"Did you not notice the hair ornaments were missing, Tina?"
"The ribbon Aurelia gave me and the cute ones I keep in my own shtorage."
What Tina meant by "my own storage" was "in the attic." Kaya probably never imagined that the sister of the residence's master used the attic as her private room. That assumption was why the most valuable ribbon among Tina's hair ornaments had remained safe.
"If the ribbon Aurelia gave me had been shtolen, I wouldn't forgive that, no way."
Tina pinched my cheek as she said she would absolutely make me cry too, holding me equally responsible. My cheek did not have the softness or roundness of Tina's, so it was probably not easy to pinch. Her small fingers moved several times trying to grab my cheek, but she gave up and instead pulled on my stubble. It was surprisingly painful.
"Next time you pick a tutor, pleathe be more careful about who you shoose."
"I will be careful. Or rather, next time I will consult you first. There is no point in hiring a teacher who cannot get along with you."
"Pleathe do that."
Tina nodded with satisfaction, looking so cute that since my hands were full, I leaned my cheek against her. I had wanted to rub my cheek against her little head, but Tina, who had both hands free, flatly rejected me with full force.
[Author's Note]
Kaya's breast size that Leonardo keeps saying "no no" to was decided by a Twitter diagnosis (for real).
Kaya Messner's hair color is red, hair type is wavy, hairstyle is long, eye color is green, bust is average, height is average.