Mabel tilted her head innocently.
"What? You don't know? It's about Oscar doing something at six years old."
Franz didn't believe Mabel. It was surely just a child's exaggeration. At that age, they tend to inflate things by using the largest number they know.
'I'm surprised she can say the name of that theory correctly, but it must be a coincidence.'
Franz chuckled, thinking it was just a coincidence.
"Your Majesty, even if you dislike studying picture books, you shouldn't lie. The worst thing is being both foolish and malicious."
"It's not a lie. Oscar really did it when he was six. And I'm neither foolish nor malicious."
Franz was so flabbergasted that he didn't even notice Mabel had reverted to a more casual tone.
"That theory can only be understood once you reach the upper division of the Academy, and you need to be quite intelligent."
"Then Oscar must be a genius, right?"
As Mabel insisted, Franz, at a loss for words, silently opened the picture book. He suddenly felt ridiculous for arguing with a child.
"Alright, let's start the lesson. Look here, Your Majesty."
"Pictures are boring. They're not fun. I want to learn something with words. Can I read history books?"
Mabel's attitude annoyed Franz.
"I heard you haven't even learned the alphabet yet. How can you read history books?"
"Alphabet? I can memorize them all after seeing them once!"
Franz was speechless. How could this royal family have pampered the emperor to the point where he could make such absurd claims? This was why he disliked the children of the royal family and high-ranking nobles.
'They act like they can do anything they want!'
Born into a humble family and feeling inferior to the children of high-ranking families, Franz's face turned red with anger.
"How can you memorize all the letters after seeing them once?"
"What will you do if I can memorize them?"
Mabel looked at Franz with innocent eyes. He naturally thought Mabel was exaggerating. He had already heard from the emperor's advisor about the emperor's educational status. The emperor couldn't read a single word.
'He's had plenty of opportunities to learn.'
If he attended regular meetings, he would naturally be exposed to documents, yet he couldn't read? The evidence clearly showed that Mabel was exaggerating.
"Hmm, alright. If Your Majesty can memorize all the letters after seeing them once, I'll grant you one wish."
Mabel clapped her hands happily. Franz nodded, a slight smile on his face. There's always a give and take. He had a different goal in mind.
"But if you can't, Your Majesty will have to grant me one wish."
Mabel answered without a moment's hesitation. Franz, confident of his victory, didn't notice the glint in Mabel's eyes as she bowed her head.
"Alright, how much time do you need?"
"I'll give you one minute."
At that moment, Franz thought he had won. He didn't realize Mabel's eyes were twinkling. Exactly one minute later, Mabel handed the paper to Franz with a bored expression.
"Here, I wrote them all."
"Yeah. Where should I write them?"
Franz was still confident that Mabel couldn't have memorized them. But when he saw the letters written in a crooked hand, he was speechless.
"The sample you wrote, you keep."
Mabel was right. The sample paper he had was hidden in his hand, so Mabel couldn't have seen it.
'Well, a genius is a genius.'
Franz acknowledged his defeat cleanly. It would be ugly if he argued.
"Ahem. So, what is your wish, Your Majesty?"
"Hmm, what should I wish for?"
Mabel smiled and pondered. Franz didn't take her wish seriously.
'Probably a doll or some pretty jewelry.'
Though it would lighten his pockets, he had no choice. After some thought, Mabel suddenly stood up and walked to the door.
Calling the name of the guard, he immediately came in. Mabel tiptoed and whispered something in the boy's ear.
The boy left and returned shortly with a piece of paper. Mabel waved the paper and showed it to Franz.
Mabel looked at Franz with innocent eyes. He naturally thought Mabel was exaggerating. He had already heard from the emperor's advisor about the emperor's educational status. The emperor couldn't read a single word.
'He's had plenty of opportunities to learn.'
If he attended regular meetings, he would naturally be exposed to documents, yet he couldn't read? The evidence clearly showed that Mabel was exaggerating.
As Mabel waved the paper and wrote her name next to it, surprisingly, the blank paper began to reveal text.
"Welcome to being my slave, Teacher."
Mabel smiled brightly. Franz gasped, his breath catching. It was a smile like an angel, despite the fraudulent contract.
I hummed a tune. I unexpectedly got an incredible talent. I was going to study quietly, but Franz provoked me and offered to grant a wish, so I'm not at fault.
The source of the enchanted slave contract was none other than the Mitelon auction house. As a place where all sorts of crimes are rampant, it had everything, and it worked perfectly. In reality, it was more like a lifetime employment contract.
"Teacher is good at math, so... how about accounting?"
"Yes, I'll arrange that."
"Pay well. You like money, don't you?"
I didn't want to exploit him for free labor. The guild had been saying they needed more accounting staff, so it was a good arrangement. During the week, he would be my teacher, and on weekends, he would work at the guild. In exchange, he would be well-paid. After settling the matter with Franz, I confidently picked up a pen. Now that I had a teacher, it wasn't strange that I could write.
I wrote the letter, getting lost in the act of writing. The handwriting was messy compared to when Oscar helped, but it was readable, so it should be fine.
The recipient of my glorious first official letter was none other than Enrique. Now that the no-entry order was lifted, I wanted him to come and play. Not long after sending the letter to Enrique, Oscar came running in from his training.
"Mabel, how, how can you do that?"
I tilted my head, then suddenly realized. He must have heard that I wrote a letter to Enrique.
"I can write now. I don't need Oscar's help anymore!"
"Thank you for all your help."
Oscar must have been secretly annoyed by writing and reading letters for me, despite always doing it with a smile. I thanked him sincerely, but Oscar's face contorted.
Then he ran out of the room! Left behind, I stood awkwardly.
Larima and Xavier, passing by, commented.
"Your Majesty was in the wrong."
"Exactly. It's entirely Your Majesty's fault."
I pouted and grabbed their clothes.
"Did I do something wrong? Tell me..."
It was the first time Oscar had said he hated me, which was quite shocking. He had never said such a thing before... My lips drooped in sadness. Larima and Xavier, seeing my distress, abandoned their work and stuck to my side to explain.
"Alright, I'll explain this once, so listen carefully."
I adopted a model student mode and prepared to listen seriously.
"There are two reasons why His Highness was upset."
I tilted my head at Larima's words, and Xavier chimed in.
"His Highness Oscar liked reading and writing letters for you, but now he can't do that anymore, which makes him sad."
"For Your Majesty, it's not a hassle."
Come to think of it, Oscar always smiled while writing my letters. I thought he was just a kind and gentle older brother, but that wasn't the case, was it? Larima explained the second reason.
"The second reason is that the first letter you wrote yourself was to Lord Enrique."
"The first letter you write has special meaning."
Actually, the first letter I wrote was probably when Gustav found the fake documents during the mine acquisition. But that wasn't important. The priority was to mend Oscar's feelings. In the evening, after Oscar's training, I brought snacks to his room.
I knocked and entered, but Oscar wasn't in sight. Looking around the room, I found a steaming teacup and the balcony door open, with the curtains fluttering.
Oscar must be more upset with me than I thought. I returned to the room and seriously considered a solution.
"How can I make him feel better?"
After some thought, Xavier suggested.
"What about a meaningful gift, like the first letter?"
Xavier and I racked our brains but couldn't come up with an amazing gift. *** The carriage smoothly rolled down the street. I sighed, looking out the window.
'I couldn't think of anything.'
A gift to make Oscar feel better. After pondering in my room, I decided to go to Ricavelli Street the next day with my guards. Larima, excited about the outing, chattered.
"Since we're out, shall we visit a dress shop, Your Majesty? There's a new one, and they say the dresses are beautiful!"
We arrived at Ricavelli Street and wandered around various shops. Following Xavier's advice, I tried to find a meaningful gift, but it wasn't easy.
"I don't know. What does Oscar like?"
"Whatever Your Majesty gives, he will like it!"
"I want to give him something he really likes."
As we wandered the streets fruitlessly, a familiar sound caught my ear.
A thud. Clearly, someone was being hit.
'This street isn't usually walked by commoners.'
Perhaps it was a quarrel among servants? I headed in the direction of the sound, with my guards following without knowing where I was going. We soon reached the source of the sound. Thud. Another thud made me frown.
'That's a sound I never like to hear.'
A sound I was too familiar with from being hit often. It was so terrible I wanted to block my ears. The sound came from an alley between two shops.
I hushed Larima and tiptoed toward the alley. The face I saw there was all too familiar.
"Useless. Can't even do that one thing properly?!"
It was Duke Javier, and in front of him, with a swollen face...