The Lady Awaits a Broken Engagement

Chapter 6

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Right after Benjamin called Savina into his office, he simply said, “Explain yourself.”

There was no care or concern in his voice, which was exactly what she had expected. Ironically, those words helped her relax, even though Benjamin’s face was cold and stern. This was something that she knew and was used to, after all.

Feeling some of the tension leaving her body, she released the breath that she had been holding. Hearing this, Benjamin raised an eyebrow. Perhaps it had sounded more like a sigh than anything else. Taking note of the heavy scowl on his face, she found it amusing that he had come to her rescue—Melissa had not run away after all. She had actually gone to fetch Benjamin.

When the duke saw Madam Clarissa raising her hand to hit Savina, he dragged the teacher out right away. It took about an hour for him to finally summon her. In other words, this meant that he had spent an entire hour listening to Madam Clarissa’s passionate attempts to defend herself.

Savina didn’t know what that woman had said to Benjamin, but one thing was for sure: She hadn’t said anything that would benefit her former student. Unfortunately, based on Benjamin’s tone and expression, it appeared that Madam Clarissa had done a decent job of convincing him. Upon reaching this realization, she clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed her head.

If the situation had not been so dreadful, she might have laughed. The girl stood respectfully in front of the duke, who was waiting for her to explain herself.

What is this? Some kind of interrogation? She scoffed inwardly.

Naturally, it did not help her mood to know that she was at a complete disadvantage in this situation, which meant that she sounded somewhat insolent when she responded, “What is there to explain?”

Truthfully, there was nothing for her to say about this situation. If Benjamin wanted someone to beg for forgiveness, Madam Clarissa would have to be the one to do it. Steeling herself, Savina straightened her back and braced herself. However, it did not seem like her disrespectful response had managed to anger Benjamin.

“Why did you decide to fire Madam Clarissa?” he asked with a calm, even voice.

She hesitated for a moment, then carefully responded, “What did Madam Clarissa say?”

“Your teacher told me that you suddenly threw a fit about not wanting to take her lessons and that you fired her without any good reason and disrespected her.”

Ah… It appeared that Madam Clarissa had managed to come up with some absurd excuse, after all. Unfortunately, Savina’s footing in the family was so precarious that she could, in fact, be blamed for something like this.

“Do you believe what she said?” she managed.

Benjamin gazed at her evenly. “That entirely depends on the response that you will give me. After all, one should always hear out both sides of a situation before passing any judgment.”

Surprisingly, it almost sounded like Benjamin was willing to assess the situation fairly and actually listen to what his niece had to say. She clenched the fabric of her dress, her thoughts racing.

Throughout the past few years, she had never allowed herself to appear weak around Simon and Benjamin. For all she knew, what they wanted was to push her to her limits and make her suffer, so she was determined to prove them wrong. However, she knew that this attitude would not serve her well in the current situation. After all, Madam Clarissa hailed from House Basilian, which had the most influence among House Charlot’s vassal families.

Savina would probably need an explicit order from the duke in order to expel her from the manor without any further trouble, especially when considering that Simon, who had hired Madam Clarissa himself, would never entertain any of his granddaughter’s complaints.

All right, then… Biting her lower lip, Savina lifted her dress up high. Benjamin stared at her in confusion until the dress finally revealed her bright red knees.

Leaping to his feet, Benjamin yelled in shock and anger, “What in the world—”

Calmly, Savina cut him off. “She was teaching me some afternoon tea etiquette.”

It took a moment for Benjamin to fully comprehend what she meant, but when he did, he became very quiet.

“I was holding a teacup full of hot tea,” Savina continued. “Let’s see… It was about the same size as the one sitting in front of you.”

Benjamin glanced at the said teacup. A grown man would have no trouble lifting it, but it was too big for a child.

“Madam Clarissa smacked my hand with a stick because she was scolding me for my poor posture, which surprised me enough to spill the tea. And then… well, you just saw it,” she said, referring to the angry burns on her legs.

Releasing a small grunt of disbelief, Benjamin slumped back onto his chair, and then he began tapping on his lips with his right hand, as if saying, Well, this is unexpected. Fortunately, he seemed shocked by what Savina had gone through. In a way, it was a good thing that Madam Clarissa had injured her. If she hadn’t, it would have been much harder to convince Benjamin.

Furthermore, causing so much physical harm to her was something that Madam Clarissa would never recover from. Even Melissa, who had always followed Madam Clarissa’s orders, had appeared completely shocked and raced to treat the injury. Overall, nobody in their right mind would take Madam Clarissa’s side in this situation.

As if to drive this point home, Savina said, “I have heard that Madam Clarissa was supposed to be my father’s fiancée. Considering this, would you truly say that she did not mean to cause me harm?”

By the end of her sentence, Benjamin’s face had become even more somber, letting Savina know that she wouldn’t have to see Madam Clarissa for another infuriating lesson ever again.

For the longest time, Benjamin sat in silence with his eyes closed. Finally, he said, “We will have to get you another tutor.”

Savina had to fight the urge to release a huge sigh of relief. The tension left her body all at once, and she let go of the edge of her dress. Even though the burns were no longer visible, Benjamin’s gaze was still fixed on the general location of her knees.

“Dr. Eugenia is currently attending a conference with her assistants,” Benjamin continued. “But I will have her take a look at your knees as soon as she returns.”

Savina blinked in shock. Dr. Eugenia was the physician of House Charlot, who had worked for a school belonging to the Charlot Foundation as a professor until she transferred to Ebriton House at the beginning of the year. There were two types of healers: mages who used mana, and priests who used divine power. Typically, priests provided a better quality of healing since healing and death were two inherent domains of the gods. However, a priest could only pledge their allegiance to a temple, which meant most healers encountered outside of temples were mages.

Dr. Eugenia was also a mage, but her healing abilities surpassed most priests. She was the physician of House Charlot, after all. Savina was certain that healing the light burn on her legs would require absolutely no effort from Dr. Eugenia.

I suppose I won’t be left with any scars, Savina thought to herself.

“Thank you for your kindness,” she said, albeit a bit unwillingly.

Benjamin nodded sharply. “If anything like this happens again, I wish to know right away,” he requested, which was unlike him.

In a way, it was hilarious that he was concerned about her. After all, Simon and Benjamin were the ones who had made her life so miserable in the first place. She wanted to ask Benjamin if he’d react in the same manner if she told him about all of her grievances regarding Simon. It was a foolish thought to entertain. Benjamin had been a bystander ever since her arrival. There was no reason to believe that he would ever take his niece’s side.

I’m thankful that he helped me with Madam Clarissa… but I still don’t trust that man. It was true that Madam Clarissa was now officially fired, but she had no way of knowing what kind of person her new tutor would be. She only hoped that her next teacher wouldn’t hold a personal grudge against her like Madam Clarissa had.