Escape from the evil lady (GL)
Chapter 83 - 33. The Maid’s Dream

Chapter 83: Chapter 33. The Maid’s Dream

Selina de Loon glanced at the clock hanging in front of the dining room entrance and frowned slightly.

«This boy is late today...» she couldn’t help but think when it was already a few minutes after the scheduled start time for their dinner together. This was the first time this had happened. Usually, Jeremy always arrived at the dining room on time or even did it in advance, so as not to inadvertently incur the Duchess’s displeasure.

But what happened today?

While the woman was thinking about this, the butler standing next to her asked uncertainly:

— Your Grace... Are you really going to wait for my lord?

Selina couldn’t help but grimace at these words.

«Wait? Me?»

Since she had never had to do anything like this before, a strange expression appeared on the Duchess’ face. Selina wasn’t used to waiting for anyone, and this situation was stressing her out.

Butler Philipps, on the other hand, had a confused expression on his face.

«How can my lord keep her Ladyship waiting? What exactly is he so busy with?»

In his opinion, which the old man couldn’t say out loud, it was all blatant disrespect. Despite the busy schedule of the northern Duchess, she still specifically set aside time to have dinner with her husband. So how could this brat disregard Her Ladyship’s generosity so much...?!

Selina de Loon, meanwhile, continued to stare intently at her watch. As time passed, there was absolute silence in the dining room, and no approaching footsteps could be heard.

«Unless something happened... It looks like this kid found something more important to do today than come here.»

For some reason, this thought made her furrow her brows. At that moment, one of the servants cautiously approached Selina:

— Your Grace, my Lord’s food has already cooled down... Should we reheat it?

At that moment, the Duchess shot him a sharp look that made the servant flinch. The next moment, the woman slowly opened her mouth.

«That won’t be necessary,» Selina said coldly, «I’ll have dinner without him tonight.»

With these words, the Duchess of the North, without waiting for her husband any longer, began to eat. The butler and the servants looked at each other uncertainly, because the atmosphere in the dining room was so cold, as if they were locked in an ice chamber.

***

Despite the fact that it was extremely inconvenient for a simple maid to accept such an offer from her master, Jeremy still insisted on escorting her. At least that way he would feel more at ease.

The wing of the castle where the servants lived was not that far from here, so the guy decided that it would not take long.

When they reached the modest room where Runny’s maid lived, Jeremy’s gaze involuntarily caught on something. Apart from the simple furniture and the few personal belongings of the maid, there were also some unusual items.

Jeremy noticed that there were several battered books scattered on the girl’s bed, as well as a couple of scribbled notebooks. From the covers of the books, he immediately guessed what they were dedicated to. And this caused him genuine surprise.

— You... Are you learning to read and write? — The young man asked with genuine surprise.

It seemed so unusual to Jeremy for the simple reason that Runny was an ordinary commoner. In this world, people of the lower class hardly cared about their education, because they simply did not need it. In any case, they would have to do nothing but hard work for the rest of their lives, with little to do with anything highly developed.

Thus, most commoners did not even have basic knowledge such as spelling or reading. The situation began to change only relatively recently, when schools for the children of commoners began to appear in the villages. But, I must say, they were still not very popular.

The young lord’s question caught the maid off guard, and she replied with some embarrassment:

— Y-yes, my lord...

— These books, — Jeremy picked up one of them to take a closer look, — are about spelling and arithmetic. That means that in order to study them, you should already be able to read, right?

At that moment, despite all her previous uncertainty, Runnie nodded eagerly for the first time.

— That’s right. My father worked as a teacher at the village school, so I already know something.

— Really? — Jeremy interjected.

— My father also taught me when I was a child, so I can read a little. However... — The maid hesitated, — he died before he could teach me everything else, so I’ve been learning on my own ever since.

«Wow!»

The baron’s youngest son was genuinely delighted. Many aristocratic children disliked studying and sometimes tried their best to avoid it. However, here a girl from a simple family was really passionate about gaining knowledge. Despite the fact that this process should have been difficult for a commoner, Runny continued to do it, despite all the difficulties.

Based on this, Jeremy couldn’t help but ask:

— But why are you doing this?

For a commoner, getting an education was far from the top priority. Therefore, the guy sincerely wanted to know about this reason.

After hesitating for a moment, Runny replied sheepishly:

— My father worked as a teacher all his life and was very proud of his work. Therefore... I would like to continue his work. In the future, I also dream of becoming a teacher and teaching village children.

Hearing about this, Jeremy Seibel couldn’t help but smile.

— This... a wonderful dream.

This was said with all sincerity.

— T-thank you, my lord... — The girl looked visibly embarrassed by his praise.

Meanwhile, the Prince of the North suddenly thought of something.

— If you really want to master literacy, then it will be extremely difficult to do it alone... — He said uncertainly.

— Yes, I know, but I will try my best!

After thinking for a while, Jeremy decided to propose to the girl:

— Maybe you would like to study with me?

— Wh-what...?

— I just have some free time before starting work. We could meet in the library several times a week, where I could help you and explain new material,— he continued, — Wouldn’t that help speed up your learning process?

— what? Really? — The maid blinked frantically, as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

Jeremy just smiled.

— Considering how much you’ve already been able to learn on your own, I think you have the ability. However, without a mentor, it will be difficult for you to test this knowledge in practice. What do you think about it?

— My Lord... Do you really want to teach me? — she asked, confused.

— Of course, — he grinned, — otherwise would I have suggested it?

Although it was a completely unexpected initiative, which Jeremy did not expect from himself, but after hearing about the touching dream of this maid, the guy simply could not stay away. After all, even though he hadn’t had any teaching experience before, Jeremy figured it wouldn’t be that difficult. Moreover, thanks to getting at least some education at the baron’s estate, he had all the necessary knowledge for this.

— My Lord, I am... I am very grateful to you! — Runnie’s eyes instantly became moist: — I never dreamed of such an honor — to study with you!

While the maid continued to thank him profusely, Jeremy only chuckled softly as he watched her.

Meanwhile, the restless thought that had been involuntarily lurking in the back of the guy’s mind all this time finally dawned on him. At that moment, he remembered one important thing that he had managed to completely forget about.

The Prince of the North wanted to slap himself on the head.

«What about our dinner with the Duchess...?!»