CH 13

“This is hard…”

Reading a book in the garden accompanied by a simple feast, Irina let out a deep sigh. 

The book was too difficult for her to read.

There were too many words she did not recognise and the author’s name was so unnecessarily long that it confused her throughout the book.

Since the name was so long, Irina had counted how long it was out of curiosity to find that it was 20 characters long. 

She found it hard to believe that this was an actual person’s name. 

‘Was the author’s name originally this long?’

Sighing, Irina closed the book she had taken from the duke’s study shut. 

A few months ago, Viscountess Alphington had encouraged Irina to drop by the duke’s study and look around any time she was free since there were many good books kept there. 

But Irina did not think the same. 

All the books were too difficult, there were no pictures in them and they only used words that were hard to read. 

‘If I knew this was going to happen, I would have read more textbooks before starting on these books.’

The moment she finished studying the characters in the textbook, she kept up the momentum and read all the fairytales that Viscountess Alphington had brought for her. 

“What? Is it supposed to be this easy?’

She was filled with confidence. 

But Irina had no more new books to read.

All that came to mind at the time was the viscountess’ suggestion. 

“Our lessons are going to get tough now. But I recommend you stop by the Duke of Winfried’s study whenever you have time.”

“Can I enter the library as is?”

“His grace has granted you special permission.”

The viscountess gave a wide smile.

“There are a lot of really good books here.”

Now that she had finished studying the textbooks and reading all those fairytales. She had nothing to be afraid of anymore. 

Recalling the viscountess’ suggestion, she had entered the library. 

“… What on earth?”

She only got discouraged. 

The duke’s books all had small fonts, were packed with information and did not contain a single picture.

They were completely different from the textbook and the fairy tales she had read. 

“T-this…”

Just as Irina was about to leave because she was disheartened, a book on art caught her eyes. 

To start, the book had a picture. 

It used a large font size for its letters. 

It was for those two reasons, Irina started reading books about art history.

‘It is hard but…’

She could not understand everything that was written. She could not understand half the text and could barely read the other half. 

Still, it was fun when she could read the lines. 

Some artists had a particular motif whenever they painted. A particular painter would draw this image and had made that sculpture while living that kind of life. 

As she read all those stories, she would ponder why the artist would draw the painting the way they did and her curiosity would be satisfied the more she read.

But that would all end today. 

The book she read today was the last in the study Irina could read. 

The rest of the books there were just long texts and numbers without any pictures or anything of the sort. 

‘In a few days’ time, the viscountess will bring more books.’

She would never touch any other book in the study.

Irina had resolved herself as such before eating the rest of the sandwiches she had brought today. 

She drank all the milk she had been saving since a few days ago when she received her large potatoes along with her sandwiches.

“… Phew, that made me full.”

Placing the empty milk bottle and book into the basket next to her, Irina leaned her head against the tree and looked up at the sky. 

It had been a while since she left the slums and arrived in the Winfried estate. 

When she first arrived, it had been the start of spring but now summer was fast approaching. 

That also meant that Irina had only been slacking for months without doing anything. 

‘Is it really alright for me to have not done an iota of work?’

For no particular reason, Irina patted her own head.

The new hires in the Winfried estate refused her help. 

Even if she were to ask Delphia and Leo for work, they would say that they didn’t have any for her and ask her to just rest.

The Viscountess of Alphington, whom she had gotten quite close to, would only respond the same way.

Rather, whenever she was bored, she would ask the viscountess to teach her something new before immediately running away with a big smile. 

‘It’s not that I’m bored…’

Irina twirled a strand of hair around her finger before yanking on it. 

Her eyes naturally narrowed.

At first, she had been swamped with the things to learn and master that she could not spare thought for much else.

But now that she got used to the lessons, she was starting to feel anxious again.

She felt like she had to do something. 

She thought she needed to show them how useful she was. 

It felt like she had to help.

That way she wouldn’t get kicked out of here. 

“…..”

Irina buried her face between her knees. 

The duke and the people here kept assuring her that it was fine for her not to do anything. That it was enough for her to just rest. 

In any case, even if they wanted to kick her out, they were good people so they would only make her leave slowly over some time. 

So, the worst case scenario Irina was imagining would never happen. 

But, still…

She felt uneasy for no good reason.

Irina bit her lips tightly.

“Hm?”

When she heard something coming from the distance, Irina looked up and noticed strangers entering the estate.

“Who are they…”

One after the other, the strangers were carrying boxes in their arms. 

When she returned to the mansion, Irina spotted Aaron by the entrance who were directing the porters to a particular area in the estate.

“Butler Aaron.”

“Young miss.”

Aaron, who had his hair tied up in a ponytail with a long ribbon, greeted Irina. 

He was holding a piece of paper with something written on it. 

“Who are those people?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?”

Aaron answered her question with another one.

“Those people are here for you, young miss.”

“For me?”

Why were so many people here for her? 

Quickly understanding what was going on based on Irina’s question, Aaron cleared his throat.

“You will understand once you see the room adjacent to your bedroom, young miss. Then, you will find the answer to your question.”

Leaving Irina to ponder on her own for a while, Aaron immediately said his goodbyes and left.

In the meantime, streams of people continued to carry things into the estate. 

What on earth were they doing?

With that question in mind, she swung the door next to her bedroom wide open. To come face to face with the Duke of Winfried.

He had been in the middle of relaying his commands to the men there but when he noticed Irina, he smiled. 

“Miss Irina.”

Hm?

Irina could only stand there, blinking. The Duke of Winfried normally addressed her as Lady Leonid. 

But, suddenly, he was addressing her like everyone else.

“You came right on time.”

“… What was going on?”

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Irina entered the room. The room adjacent to her bedroom, which had always been empty, was now cluttered with things. 

New carpets laid on the ground, along with desks, bookshelves and even books…

Books?

Widening her eyes, Irina picked up a book that had yet to be slotted into a bookshelf. 

It was another book about art, something she had been reading more of recently. 

“I didn’t think there were books in my study that would be suitable for you to read, Miss Irina.”

As he received the documents handed to him by a plainly-dressed man, he continued.

“I have prepared a study for you. All the books had been bought in a hurry but… Do you want to have a look first to see what you think?”

“No way, are these the books that the viscountess said were coming for me?”

When Irina asked him with a book in her hand, Rogan nodded and smiled. 

“Correct. Now, have a look at them and tell me what you think. The viscountess and I had chosen our picks but you would know what you like best, Miss Irina.”

Nodding at the duke’s words, Irina immediately flipped open the book in her hand. 

“…..!”

Before quickly closing it. 

There were people dying from the very first page…!

What? What was going on? Why were there people dying in the very first scene?

Irina sneaked another peek before slamming the book shut again. 

Furthermore, the person that died looked exactly like the main character of this book. 

A large hand reached out to the book from the corner of her eyes before taking it from her hands. Flutter, he quickly flipped through the book.

“It’s a novel that has been getting popular these days. Viscountess Alphington had read it once and told me that it was alright which was why I bought it as well.”

“Is it fiction?”

“Yes, it is fiction.”

Winfried said with a smile while returning the book into Irina’s hands. 

“I thought fiction would be much more interesting to read than books about the history of art or music. They are easier to read too.”

“Really?”

Irina flipped the book open again to the first page. Just as she thought, she did not like the fact that people were already dying from the first page but as she got through a couple more chapters, she found the story exhilarating. 

The person who should have died had returned to life right at the cusp of death.

“I think so too.”

Irina smiled giddily before nodding. 

Books about art or music made her head hurt. 

But she thought she could easily read this without getting a headache. 

“Are there many other books like this one?”

“There are many.”

Winfried nodded. 

“I had intentionally asked Viscountess Alphington and the bookstore to bring you lots of fictional stories and fairytales.”

They were all books that were easy for her to read without any words that were difficult to understand. 

Irina’s expression brightened. 

Before it soon darkened.

“Uhm, thank you very much for buying me books but–”

Irina bit her lips.

“I wonder if I am too undeserving of your kind gift.”

Books were expensive. 

Every book needed someone to personally organise all the pages, weave them tightly with thread and wrap them in a tan leather cover. 

And the duke had not just gotten one or two of such books but had gotten a whole room of them with accompanying furniture. 

This gift was too much for someone who had done nothing for him in return.

“What do you mean undeserving?”

Irina lifted her head to look at him when she heard the words he had uttered nonchalantly. 

“I’ve heard much from the Viscountess of Alphington. I heard you’ve been working hard.”

“Ah.”

“So, you haven’t been?”

“No! I’ve worked very hard.”

It was true. She tried to memorise as much she could and followed what the viscountess told her to the tee. 

Even when she was alone in her room, she would try to maintain the same posture the viscountess had taught her to uphold. 

If she could not recall something or came across something she did not know, she must ask the viscountess or the other people in the estate for help.

As a result, Irina was now able to walk with her once shrugging shoulders wide open. Her back no longer hurt because she was not always cleaning anymore. 

Now, even if she were to walk with a book balanced on her head, the book would never shake. 

She still had the habit of lowering her head or resting her elbows on the table when she ate but hadn’t she gotten compliments by the viscountess on her improvements just yesterday? 

And being able to read and write was so much more fun than Irina had first thought to the point she could no longer put books down. 

If she had not been that interested, would she have forced herself to read difficult books on unfamiliar topics like art and philosophy?

“I worked really hard…”

Irina blushed. 

Still, she wanted him to know that he had been working hard. 

She had been worried that she would get kicked out just moments ago so where did these feelings spout from? 

“I know.”

Raising her head at his voice, she found the corners of his lips raised–he was smiling.
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