༺ Prelude to Becoming a Professor (2) ༻
“…… ”
I gazed at the Brutein’s azure sky while I calmed my mind, since the sky is one of the few things I can observe without worrying about symmetry. When my mind was put at ease I grabbed the documents I had thrown away.
The Alfred family and Brutein had a lot of bad blood between them since their establishment.
This is probably another key setting written by the author because aside from the Imperial family, only the Alfred family had the power to contend with Brutein.
No matter how you look at this, it’s too obvious.
‘Yuriel Wayne Dayna Alfred….’
The second daughter of the Alfred family.
And my memories about her….
‘It’s not as bad as I thought…’
Ferzen’s only significant memory of her was about the talks of marriage between the two.
The Alfred Family.
They can be said to be comparable to Brutein, but they have entirely different foundations.
Well, rather than saying that the foundations are different….
The disparity was stark, as if you’re comparing them to manure.
The Alfred family was obsessed with power, and used every means possible in order to achieve it.
If Brutein is a statue made of pure gold, then the Alfred is a statue made with filth mixed with gold.
The prestige they boasted was nothing but garbage in front of Brutein.
To put it a little more simply….
A crying girl stops crying when she sees a bandit as she will freeze in fear, but the same outcome also transpires when she sees a Prince.
Truthfully, the best flattery possible that someone can give the Alfred family is to compare them to Brutein.
So the thing the elders in the Alfred family desired the most was prestige.
Because of this, even Ferzen, someone who had never shown himself in the aristocratic society, noticed that something was suspicious about his talks of engagement with Yuriel.
Naturally, the previous Head of Brutein, and Ferzen’s father canceled this engagement, and Ferzen also told this to Yuriel….
– Do you seriously believe that just because the filthy sludge water flows in the sea, that repulsive thing is part of the clean ocean?
After uttering this, he simply turned his back and walked away.
Ferzen knew already that an engagement between the Brutein and Alfred Households would never work out, but Yuriel didn’t know that.
Therefore, even though it was their first meeting, she expressed herself with enough respect and proper conduct.
After Ferzen’s episode with his older brother, he always maintained a certain distance when interacting with people, but not knowing this, Yuriel tried to get closer to Ferzen, and he showed her enough courtesy in his own way.
‘Compared to Lizzy… this situation is not entirely hopeless, but because of the Alfred Family, I must remain vigilant.’
In those documents, there is also a mention of a political marriage between the Claudia Family’s eldest son and the Alfred family.
Since this is only an unconfirmed rumor, I can’t validate the authenticity of this information, but…
‘There is also the possibility that the Alfred family will become the backbone of the Claudia family.’
After reading all of those documents, I got up.
A tangled plot line… No, calling it tangled would be an understatement.
How can I prevent them from becoming some sort of stepping stone for Ciel Midford?
As I returned to my room, these questions constantly hovered in my mind.
“I wouldn’t have minded if you ate your breakfast without me.”
“I didn’t have a say on this…”
I could feel the corners of my mouth slowly rising at the sight of Euphemia waiting for me.
“Let’s eat.”
While I was holding the knife and fork, I saw Euphemia picking up a spoon with her left hand, therefore I too grabbed a spoon with my right hand, and ate a spoonful of soup.
‘Really… I’m getting tired of this.’
Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Even if I wanted to somehow fix this condition, I don’t think it would be possible since even in the 21st century, mental illnesses were judged to be nigh incurable.
Although there were some drugs used in treatments for some mental conditions, I don’t have access to these things here.
And I don’t have any experience in dealing with such problems, as Seo-jin didn’t have a mental illness.
But since Ferzen has managed to live like this for 24 years, then maybe I can find a way forward.
The habit of making use of Ferzen’s poor eyesight and deliberately failing to focus when looking at people.
The skill of being able to write with perfect symmetry, and being able to strain his clothes to perfection.
If I discarded these habits and skills cultivated by Ferzen, then my situation will only get worse.
If he tried to expand the fence that Ferzen had prepared after struggling like crazy, the situation would only get worse.
“Eh… When are we going back to Louerg?”
“Hum? have I not informed you?”
Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever talked to Euphemia about my plans for the future.
“The capital huh… Are you taking me with you?”
I nodded at her question, since this body would never let her stay away from me.
Since the Brutein family owns a couple of estates in the capital, there should be no problems with living there.
But I think it would be prudent to take a couple of maids with me if possible, the elderly ones of course.
Because if they are of similar age, they might develop a bond with Euphemia.
Since the key part of my plan to get Euphemia on my side is to be the only person close to her, she would have no other choice but to rely on me.
‘Come to think of it, there is one mansion of considerable size.’
If she spends some time alone, in a new place, full of maids she doesn’t know, wouldn’t she warm up to me a little?
The matters of the Claudia and Alfred family aren’t something I can deal with right now, therefore I should focus on Euphemia while I have time, to make sure my plan won’t have any unexpected variables.
“We will depart in three days.”
For those ‘invited’ to become teachers at the Imperial academy, they are required to present themselves in the Director’s office by February 3rd, therefore departing in three days should be just right.
“Every time I hear something from you… it’s just a notification of your plans.”
“If there is something you desire, do tell me, and I shall fulfill your wish. However, you will not be returning to Louerg anytime soon.”
“Are you trying to negotiate with me?”
“A discussion between A and E can’t be called negotiation.”
“If you just need someone to relieve your lust, then why does it matter if I’m around you… Or do you think that embracing another woman would damage the prestige of your precious Brutein family?”
Euphemia closed her mouth as soon as she realized the gravity of the words she uttered.
I think she can clearly see where this is going.
“It seems to me, Euphemia, that last night’s events have unleashed your lust.”
“Hrkk…Cough …”
“Looks like you don’t have the knack for changing the subject, huh…”
As if to vent her frustrations, Euphemia starts to eat her food in a brutish manner.
“It seems some etiquette manner are forgotten in your low-”
I reflexively closed my mouth, because had I continued to talk, I would have insulted her again, so I opted to finish my breakfast in silence.
* * * * *
“…… ”
Euphemia, who was reading a book in bed to pass the time, rubbed her tired eyes and looked out of the window.
It was quite torturous to read things that I could not even understand properly, but I refuse to just stay still like a tree.
“Euphemia.”
“What….”
A solemn voice.
Turning my head towards his voice, Ferzen, who was sitting at the desk, held a single sheet of paper for me.
“…… ”
If he tells me to get something.
I’m expected to go to him.
It won’t matter if he stands up and comes to me and hands it over on his own.
However, contrary to her feelings, Euphemia got up from the bed and took the paper Ferzen was holding for her.
“If you manage to solve all three problems, I will grant you one request that can’t be denied. As you don’t seem to be doing anything of importance, this should motivate you a little.”
“Louerg….”
“If you manage to solve it, you can go.”
“What?”
Euphemia was a little surprised by Ferzen’s words, but she was not naïve to think that she could solve this problem easily after he promised she could have anything she wished for.
—–
[Find the conditions under which the following two things are true]
「 6+8 = 14 」
「 6+8 = 2 」
—–
“You have until we reach the capital to solve this.”
“What is this….”
“Sigh, I just gave it to you and you’re already asking me the answer? You do not require advanced knowledge in order to solve these problems. But if you aren’t up for the task, then quit. Give up.”
“Ah, I didn’t say I would give up.”
Euphemia hurriedly hid the paper in fear of Ferzen changing his mind and taking it from her.
“Have fun with this problem as I leave for some business. You are free to use paper and ink as you like. However, if you make a mess of this place you will clean it.”
After speaking, Ferzen left the room.
Euphemia hesitated, but eventually, she carefully sat down in the chair where Ferzen was, put the sheet of paper on the desk, and grabbed a pen.
“Huh… … ”
Even if I could solve this all by myself, I thought that maybe he would change his mind, but it’s okay.
Because while the man was many things, he was no liar.
And just imagine what kind of expression that arrogant man would make if she indeed solved those problems, gave Euphemia a bout of motivation.
“…… ”
Soon, the night arrived.
Euphemia, who was laying in the bed, blinked her eyes as she tossed and turned.
I’ve tried every mathematical approach I know, but I still haven’t been able to even solve question 1 yet.
I wonder if the mathematical approach is truly the right one, but looking back on Ferzen’s words that i can use the paper and ink freely, i don’t think that is the case.
It takes about a week to travel from Brutein to Ernes, the capital.
This means that she only had 10 days left, so Euphemia was getting a little impatient and thus decided to cheat a little.
In any case, I just have to know the answers to these three questions anyway.
Shake-
She reached out her hand, trying to check if he was awake, but there was no response.
Euphemia, convinced that Ferzen had indeed fallen asleep, whispered in his ear in a quiet tone.
….What is the answer to those questions?
It is widely known that inebriated state and choking have been effective tools for interrogating people since time immemorial.
As she had nothing to lose, this could be a good idea.
…… the answer to the problem.
…… give me the answer to the problem.
…… Say it.
…… you hateful bastard
“Ah… … ”
And when she let her emotions get the better of her.
The tone of her voice seemed to become relatively high, so Euphemia held her chest, as her heart started to beat faster, and tried to pretend she was sleeping.
Fortunately, he still seemed deep in slumber…..
“This was such a pathetic and childish idea…. that I can’t even laugh at it.”
Euphemia forgot how to even breathe as she looked at those ominous red eyes that seemed to light up amidst the darkness of the night.
“But…!”
One might find this situation a little tragic or funny, but it’s not normal for a person to wake up from such a deep slumber just because of a few words and with eyes as sharp as a sword, almost as if he was expecting to be attacked.
In the first place, she didn’t actually expect that Ferzen would answer her questions right away.
Perhaps if she hadn’t been greedy and not cursed him in his sleep….
But it was actually possible that the man had been just pretending to be asleep the whole time too….
“…… Breathe out.”
Ferzen uttered those words to Euphemia, who had a surprised expression on her face, before quickly being replaced by shame as she was caught in her little act, but he just continued to comfort her in a gentle tone.
“Gasp, gasp…… ”
Euphemia barely let out her breath that seemed to be stuck in her throat.
“Problem 1 doesn’t need to be approached mathematically.”
From the perspective of Ferzen, who obviously knew the answer, the problem was rather simple, so he deliberately tipped her about the means of how to approach the first problem, using non-mathematical methods.
After returning from my business, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my plan was working rather well when I saw those papers scattered around the office, so when Euphemia played her little stunt, I decided to humor her a little…
“Now that I gave you a tip, lie down and sleep.”
No matter how you look at it, it seems that for now, the carrot is being very efficient, therefore there’s no need for the stick yet.
“I, I never asked you to help me…… ”
“It’s okay, now go back to sleep.”
Perhaps this was the correct approach as Euphemia lay down with a little smile of her own.
However, a little punishment for waking me up was necessary, so I put my hand on her navel while I thought about what would be the appropriate course of action.
“Huh!? Why….”
From Euphemia’s point of view, the act of Ferzen stoking her navel was imprinted as a prelude to sexual intercourse, so she tried to wriggle her way out of this situation….
“Ah~”
Due to her conditioning, the stimulation she was receiving from Ferzen’s touch began gently heating her core, but she couldn’t move as he tightly embraced her.
And so, Euphemia realized that this was, in fact, an act of punishment from Ferzen.
‘This is humiliating.’
Actually, it’s not even a joke this time.
Because I was telling the truth.
“Ha, Ha, don’t…. Ah~”
The act of letting someone touch your stomach can also be interpreted as a clear sign of submission.
And Euphemia had a feeling that this was exactly Ferzen’s aim, so as a sign of resistance she tried to pinch his arms that were holding her tightly, but all she got from this was even more ‘torture’, as Ferzen increased his teasing.
‘I hate this…’
And with time, Ferzen’s gentle teasing became synonymous with a lullaby and her eyelids gradually felt heavy.
He is not even hiding that he is trying to tame me….
Of course, she had no intention of going along with his plan, so Euphemia closed her eyes and controlled her breathing in order to pretend to be asleep.
So that she could deceive Ferzen, and in turn, make him stop teasing her.
“…… ”
However, it didn’t take long for Euphemia to truly fall asleep even before Ferzen’s hand stopped his gentle caressing.
Okay this is probably gonna be a big one too, so here’s the thing as I said on the TS note of ch 10, this novel’s writing style is kinda different. How you ask? Well aside from those aristocratic slangs and formal style, the author plays a little with the POVs, as some of you have noted by now.
I’m not a expert in writing or anything like that, but to explain the pov switches, lets say we have:
1-The Characters(Ferzen/Euphemia)
2-The character’s inner monologues and thoughts
3- Omniscient Narrator
There will be times (Ch 16 is the winner until now) that the POV of the chapter is mixed between lets say Ferzen, Euphemia and the narrator, so we gonna have times when Ferzen is having a monologue in one paragraph>then Euphemia says one line of dialog> The Omniscient Narrator takes the pov>Then we go to Some inner monologue from Euphemia, and we have herPOV>Then it switches back to Ferzen and the shit starts again….
Sounds complicated? well imagine for poor old me having to deal with that in a goddamn snu snu chapter. Anyway I know this shit is messy, but I always try to translate to the best of my abilities while still maintaining the unique writing the Author went with!!
*PS lets play a little game, put in the comments here or on the discord server what u think is the answer for Ferzen’s little problem.
