Chapter 4

If memory was contained in the body, what kind of being remembered two lives?

“Miss Margaret! Please come here.”

Estella turned her head when she heard someone calling her from behind. Gail, who took care of kitchen work and all the chores, was gesturing at her.

Despite feeling puzzled, Estella obediently went to her.

“What’s going on?”

“I picked some apricots from the tree in the garden. They’re perfectly ripe.”

With that, Gail lifted the cloth covering her basket. Just as she said, the basket was filled with plump, ripe apricots.

Estella was slightly impressed.

“They’re big.”

“The fruit trees in the garden are very healthy. The problem is that the masters and servants only think of us as landscapers.”

Gail then whispered into Estella’s ear, “Eat this and cheer up. I’m impressed that such a young lady is handling those active kids so well. Didn’t you say that this was your first time working as a governess?”

Estella smiled awkwardly. She couldn’t tell Gail that she had seven years of experience teaching children that age.

Estella let out a barely audible sigh.

It had almost been a month since she’d found herself in this absurd situation.

Estella had lived faithfully to the circumstances allotted to her until she was twenty-two.

Her life story would earn her praise for her diligence. But at this point, she felt that pity should also be added to the list.

Growing up, she’d received a thorough education befitting an upper-class woman.

When Estella was young, House Montiel had been wealthy enough to take care of their children’s education. However, their fortune, which had been declining, collapsed without a trace, and Estella’s education became a means for her to make a living.

Her father’s gambling had also become the spark that led to her breakup with her fiancé. It had truly been an unfortunate life.

However, she realized that this world had been created by someone’s imagination, and in it, she was merely a supporting character who would die in vain. How absurd.

On the other hand, after recalling her past life, she was also experiencing discomfort she hadn’t been aware of before.

Compared to modern times, the clothes were stuffier here, the food was tasteless, mobile devices were nowhere to be seen, and her past friends were lost to her...

She had come to terms with countless other losses during the past few weeks.

Even so, Estella tried to accept the situation in a positive light.

When she thought about it, there weren’t any negative aspects in this life. It was true that she’d avoided eternal rest thanks to this life.

Despite having to live as an unfamiliar version of herself, Estella adapted quite well to her life in House Bertha.

She had no reason to experience confusion about her new self because everyone around her called her “teacher,” just as before.

In some ways, she was spending her days more efficiently than before she had remembered her past life.

Not offending the boss was one of the virtues of an employee, and since she was already fully aware of the conflict that existed in House Bertha, she could avoid causing any trouble.

As Estella’s peaceful daily life continued, she did a good job avoiding the male lead, the vicious murderer.

Fortunately, Diego also seemed to assume that running into his half-siblings would ruin his day.

Because both sides were reluctant to run into each other, they ignored one another. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to avoid him like this for the rest of her life.

“Miss Margaret, take this. I washed them well, so please take some for Lady Cecilia.”

Estella had been wrinkling her nose with an awkward expression on her face when she was offered the fruit. As she took the basket, she asked something that suddenly occurred to her.

“What about Master Cedric?”

“Oh, he won’t eat these even if you offer them to him. He only likes sugary things,” Gail said, laughing out loud.

Cedric was a picky eater. He wouldn’t touch anything that tasted even slightly sour.

Thanks to the goodwill she encountered on the way, she would be able to enter the classroom carrying a snack basket.

Estella gave her thanks and walked toward the classroom.

Even in a completely different world, commuting to work was never fun.

* * *

Cedric immediately showed interest in the basket. He could tell right away that it contained food.

“What’s this? Did you bring this for me?”

As soon as Estella entered, Cedric rushed to her and questioned her.

Just as Estella had adapted to her new teaching environment, Cedric had also adapted to her.

During their uncomfortable first meeting, she’d thought they would never become close. But for a troublemaker, he listened to his teacher well.

“It’s for Lady Cecilia.”

As she said that, Estella set the basket down on her desk.

Cedric paid no heed and pulled away the cloth that was covering the basket to reveal the plump apricots inside.

Estella thought Cedric would lose interest and leave, but he picked one up.

“Why are you giving these only to Cecilia? Do you not see me?”

“I mean, you threw a tantrum two days ago because you didn’t want to eat strawberries, so the madam— No, don’t swallow the seed!”

Estella reacted with bewilderment, but she quickly stopped and reflexively slapped Cedric’s back.

“Ack!” A thick seed fell into Estella’s hand.

With a stunned look, Cedric turned his head to look at Estella and said, “Did you just hit me...?”

“If you don’t know how to eat an apricot, you should’ve asked first. Why did you swallow that hard seed? Ugh, I can’t take my eyes off you even for a moment.”

“Are you scolding me...?”

“Well, does it seem like I’m complimenting you right now?”

Waving the seed that Cedric had just spat out, Estella reprimanded him with a stern look on her face.

When she had first applied for the governess position, she had been quite nervous. But now that she had some experience teaching them, the young masters seemed just like any other children. She couldn’t help but recall the kids in her class who’d cried after peeing their pants, so treating these two as her masters was quite hard for her.

With a shocked look, Cedric mumbled, “I can’t believe it. It must be the end of the world...” He returned to his seat.

Estella shrugged and turned her gaze to Cecilia.

“My lady, don’t eat the seed, just eat the fleshy part,” Estella said in a soft tone as she placed a napkin under Cecilia’s chin.

Estella smiled happily as she watched Cecilia’s white cheeks move diligently. With her lustrous silver hair and round face, Cecilia looked absolutely adorable.

“Cecilia.”

Cedric rested his cheek on the back of his hand and called out to Cecilia in an indifferent tone. Cecilia tilted her head.

“Yeah?” she said.

“Do you see how your older brother has nothing in his mouth?”

“Yeah!”

Without any hesitation on her part, Cecilia nodded her head up and down.

She then greedily grabbed the apricots with both her hands. It was evident that she didn’t want anyone to take even a single one.

Cedric grumbled under his breath about the world coming to an end yet again with utmost seriousness.

Suppressing her laughter, Estella wiped Cecilia’s wet hands. It was time to start class.

“All right, let’s begin. First of all, turn to the page we went over yesterday—”

“Cedric, my son, are you in here?”

At that moment, a sweet voice filtered in from the door.

As soon as Estella noticed Duchess Anna, she hurriedly put her hands together.

Lifting her chin, the duchess asked as she walked in, “Were you in the middle of your class?”

“Yes, I was just about to start.”

“So it seems.”

As the duchess said that, she glanced at the book in Cedric’s hand. Then she turned her eyes to Cecilia, whose shoulders drooped.

“Why is Cecilia here?”

“Oh... Lady Cecilia seemed bored. She doesn’t interrupt the class, so I let her sit in,” Estella answered with a nervous look on her face.

She usually taught one person at a time, but because Cecilia had insisted she wanted to be with Estella, she sat in the room while Estella taught Cedric.

Because Estella took such good care of her, Cecilia had grown quite attached. Tutors and servants alike tended to pay more attention to those who had the potential to become the family’s successor.

However, the greater issue was that few were patient enough to listen to Cecilia’s slurred speech. The same was true of her own mother, Anna.

With cold eyes, the duchess glanced back at Cecilia.

“Cecilia, the butler said you started studying math. Have you learned addition?”

“Uhh... Noo...”

“Can’t you even speak properly?”

Anna furrowed her brows.

Estella read the gleam of contempt in the duchess’s eyes. Cecilia was so intimidated that she couldn’t even answer properly. She hurriedly stood in front of Cecilia to shield her.

The duchess asked in a displeased tone, “Miss Margaret, could you explain to me why Cecilia’s progress is so slow?”

“I’m sorry, Madam, but Lady Cecilia is not yet ready to learn numbers.”

“Are you saying my child is developmentally delayed?”

Her voice became higher and sharper the more questions she asked.

It seemed Estella’s honesty had gotten on the duchess’s nerves. As the current mistress of Duke Bertha, Anna had a reputation for her fiery temper.

Estella’s face also took on a slightly anxious look.

She doubted whether the duchess even remembered her name. To the duchess, it was evident that being “Miss Margaret” carried just about the same weight as being “Miss Rington,” the governess who had been kicked out three months ago.

Estella didn’t mind being kicked out, but she couldn’t bear to leave the children to fend for themselves.

“I’m not saying that, but...”

“Why not? You’re right. Cecilia is developmentally delayed.”

Estella almost covered her face with both her hands when she heard a child’s voice blurt that out next to her.

The person who had just spoken was none other than Cecilia’s own brother, Cedric.