# 32
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Tidian tried his best to understand his older brother, whom he respected.
But no matter how much he thought, he could not guess why Matthias hid Elinor and the child.
Eleanor is kind, beautiful, and even smart!
Why would he hide her in the ward like his grandfather did with his mistress, away from his grandmother?
Whatever the circumstances of the adults, it was unacceptable.
Furthermore, the child had to have a name before he was a year old to undergo the blessing ceremony.
“Is Elinor a commoner?”
She didn't mention her last name, so maybe it was her.
But Elinor was smart enough to look past the family issue.
Her explanations were clear and easy to understand.
Tidian wished she had been his teacher instead of Wiert.
“My brother is so cruel.”
A real man should take responsibility for his wife and child.
“This is cowardly.”
For the first time in his life, a feeling of disappointment towards his brother began to take root in Tidian's heart.
After he finished packing his bag, Tidian closed the door to his room and walked down the hall.
But in the distance he saw a familiar figure.
'Teacher Wirt.'
Tidian quickly hid.
There was no reason to hide, but his body moved automatically.
Recently, the atmosphere in classes has been very bad.
The more well Tidian performed his duties, the more annoyed Waert seemed.
Since he couldn't reprimand him for submitting his homework, he would find other excuses to use the stick.
He accused him of misbehaving towards the teacher, or not arranging his clothes before coming to class.
Most of them were silly reasons.
Tidian crossed his legs.
He didn't want to face Wirt.
It was better to hide here until the teacher passed.
As he listened quietly, he heard an angry voice.
“Annoying Winston!”
Wirt was angry.
“How did Elinor find out I was here?”
'Eleanor?'
Tidian's eyes widened.
Elinor said clearly.
He heard nothing wrong.
But how does the teacher know Elinor?
Elinor is kept in the ward because of his brother.
Wiert passed by where Tidian hid.
He could now continue on his way.
But, for some reason, he couldn't move his feet.
It was an unsettling feeling that his teacher, who had always been cruel to him, knew Elinor.
It was also worrying that he was angry for an unknown reason.
After thinking for a while, instead of heading to the secret passage in the training ground, Tidian began to secretly follow Wiret.
He arrived at Wirt's private office.
Tidian pressed his body against the door and looked through the keyhole.
“I have to leave before I get found out.”
Wirt was packing his bags.
The room was a mess.
Usually it was full of papers, but today it was exceptionally chaotic.
"I was crazy. How could you have thought of deceiving the Grand Duke's family?"
'Deception?'
“Now that I think about it, I wasn't supposed to stay hidden. If that person hadn't filled my head with fantasies.”
Tidian's heart beats fast.
He didn't know what was happening, but he felt like he shouldn't ignore it.
'Should I summon people?'
But what if the teacher disappears in the meantime?
He was packing his bags as if he were about to disappear immediately.
Tidian swallowed.
He is now an uncle to a cute boy.
Since he became an uncle, he must appear appropriate for it.
Tidian straightened and raised his body.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Wirt, who had been packing quickly, was surprised.
He threw a large suitcase under the desk and said:
“Who's there?”
“I am, Master.”
“Young master?”
“I have a question about yesterday's lesson. Can I come in?”
What an inconvenience, coming right now.
Wirt frowned.
As he continued to pack his luggage,
“I'm busy now. Come back later.”
"When later? Will you be here later?"
"What?"
“Where are you going, Master? Why are you packing your bags all of a sudden?”
Wiert opened the door violently.
Tidian was standing in front of the door, holding his hands tightly.
Wirt looked around right and left.
When he realized that Tidian was alone in the hallway, he sighed.
“How long have you been here?”
“I was the one who asked first.”
Tidian said stubbornly.
“Where are you going? Why are you packing your bags all of a sudden?”
“…I have a place to go for a little while. I’ll be back soon.”
“Then I will ask the servants to prepare a carriage.”
Does this boy know anything?
Waert stared at Tidian.
"I'll take care of it myf. If you're free, why don't you study?"
“Then I will study in your room, Master.”
"What?"
“I said I have something I don’t understand. I will study with you, and when you leave, I will leave with you.”
Wirt stroked the hair hanging over his forehead.
He was in a hurry, and everything was bothering him.
‘They will not believe the words of a child... but it is especially the younger brother whom the Duke loves the most.’
After looking at the trembling Tidian for a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Good."
“If you want to, I have no choice. Come in.”
He stepped aside to let Tidian enter.
“Ah…”
Tidian made a confused sound.
He seemed surprised at the ease with which he entered.
Tidian entered the room slowly.
Wirt followed him with his eyes and reached for the bookshelf.
“Master, but really, ah?!”
Tidian quickly caught his breath.
Wirt sprinkled a strange-smelling black powder on him.
Tidian quickly tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late, as he had inhaled the black powder.
Tidian's vision became blurry.
“Get some rest.”
No, I have to protect my nephew...
Tidian lost consciousness and fell unconscious.
With a sigh, he closed the office door again.
* * *
At that moment.
Elinor, who was confined to the ward, was preparing to go out.
‘The day Tidian doesn’t come is my chance.’
She had completed all the preparations.
Thanks to Tidian, who diligently brought her everything she needed.
She had studied the layout of the palace and determined where to take the carriage outside the building.
More importantly, she caused chaos inside the palace to distract people's attention from her.
['Hello, Gilbert. I heard that you work for Grand Duke Hilliard's family recently. How dare you impersonate me after you were expelled from the academy for plagiarizing one of your colleagues’ thesis?’]
She wrote a hidden message in Tidian's homework that she did daily.
‘Thanks to the handwriting on the study papers, I discovered this.’
The crooked handwriting was strangely familiar.
The person was her senior classmate in fourth year, who had stolen her thesis in the past.
[‘Usually, freshmen, right? They learn through the help of adults. How will you deal with social life like this?’]
When his handwriting revealed his theft, he tried to threaten Elinor.
But Elinor was not to be fooled by such cheap tricks.
She filed his complaint, and Gilbert received expulsion from the academy.
It was the worst disgrace a student at the academy could receive.
‘He said he would come looking for me by tomorrow, so he would like to run away today.’
But Hilliard's fiefdom is not an easy area to enter and exit.
Because of the feudal contamination problem, security was tight.
Not everyone can get out easily, and this will make the anxious Gilbert try to escape in a reckless manner.
It was clear that Hilliard's knights, when they discovered his sudden disappearance, would declare a state of emergency and get busy.