My Sister the Heroine, and I the Villainess - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I am Christina Noir . I am a genius .

I was able to run freely around the mansion since I was a year old, at three I had mastered speaking, at five I had read every book in our library, at the still young age of seven, I portrayed the most perfect lady at a ball and shocked all of society . I am a genius and completely flawless girl .

And now, I am nine years old .

In the two years that passed since I was seven, I have gained even more knowledge, as I have an ability to absorb that you might expect from a genius . I learned during moments of every day, I learned from Mariwa’s lessons, and then I spend time with my sister, the archangel, in order to replenish my heart . The days that went by were ever flowing with possibilities to grow even more .

Since then, I have had several opportunities to appear in public and conduct myself in a way that was worthy of praise . My reputation was nearly set in stone at this point . Who was the girl that society whispered about, saying she was the most promising? It would be no exaggeration to say that it was me . I was the talented, genius girl whose future looked the brightest .

In the past few years, the rest of the world has started to see my genius . This truth that slowly started to spread had definitely satisfied my self-esteem, and more than that, there was one wonderful result that was about to come to fruition . And it was more wonderful than all of my growth in the past two years .

“…Hmmm, very well then . I will acknowledge that my lady’s etiquette and manners have finally crossed a certain threshold . ”

“…!”

So were the words that I heard after two years of etiquette lessons and a simple test . I was so pleased that I nearly pumped my fist in the air .

The happiness threatened to rob me of my self-control, but I knew that, had I so much as clenched my own fist, Mariwa’s bony hand would have dropped over my head . So I had to settle for keeping my excitement hidden .

Yes .

I had grown to such an extent that I was able to receive such words from the cold-blooded, devil brute known as Mariwa .

Barely noticing my joy, Mariwa sat with her back straight like she had for the last two years and continued to talk in a calm voice .

“You have grown, my lady . Your ape-like, tomboy actions have become much milder now . You could probably wear the skin of a cat without looking too suspicious . There is almost no difference in your nature, which is like an unruly horse, but it is doubtful that anyone could peel that layer off . And so I give you a passing mark . ”

“Fu fu fu . It is no trouble to me, Miss Toinette . ”

I hold back my need for a boisterous laugh and just smile pleasantly . Her words did seem to imply a lot of other things, but I was still happy . Generally speaking, Mariwa never gave me any praise at all . And while she did not pat me on the head now, I was greatly moved by the few words of praise she had bestowed on me .

“I am the woman of talent who will carry the House of Noir, after all . The one who will one day shine so radiantly in society . It should be most expected that I can carry myself to this level!”

It was a rule that I must speak like a lady during my etiquette lessons . By now, it was very rare for me to break this rule and have her fist come down on my head . That was proof that I was making progress on this strict road to ladyhood .

I was proud in a graceful manner that a lady should be, and then I noticed something .

“…ah . ”

Now that it had been determined that I had acquired the necessary manners and etiquette, did this mean that Mariwa’s role here had come to an end?

“…”

I couldn’t help but fall silent as I pondered on this .

Mariwa was a private teacher who had been hired to teach me etiquette . If that role was no longer needed, then she would of course, no longer have to visit the mansion .

Mariwa would be gone .

That could not happen .

It was such an obvious future, and yet thoughts of rejecting it immediately entered my mind .

Because I was still… Well… That was it!

I had still not brought Mariwa to her knees!

“That is well . Now, if you have learned to smooth over your outward appearance, the next thing to do is polish yourself from within . You will be studying the liberal arts next . ”

“…Hmmm?”

My genius mind had been working furiously to find a solution, but Mariwa’s words made me pause in confusion .

“…Are we not finished with lessons of etiquette?”

“You seem to have misunderstood something? I told you . Everything you have learned until now has been nothing more than an emergency improvisation to polish your outward appearance . From now on, we will attempt to make you a lady on the inside as well . And the first step to that is the liberal arts . ”

My dilemma had been immediately solved . The road to being a lady was not easy, and it seemed to be far from finished .

That was fine, but now another question entered my head .

“Will you also be teaching me the liberal arts, Mariwa?”

Liberal arts . It was the study of the trivium and quadrivium . It originated as a ‘study that gave people freedom,’ and it was thought that attaining knowledge from them would give you a general education .

I had no issue with learning such things . Indeed, it was only normal for those of nobility to learn them . In fact, the Royal Academy which allows students to enroll at the age of fourteen also used the liberal arts as a central part of the student’s education .

And so my misgivings had nothing to do with what I would be taught .

“It’s Miss Toinette, my lady . ”

“Wait, you just said that I had completed my exterior etiquette training, would that not mean that such things don’t matter anymore?”

“… . Hmmm . Well, that is right . We can ignore that for now then . ”

Surprisingly, she accepted my argument easily . Mariwa looked very obstinate, but she could be quite flexible sometimes . If you have an argument with a sound reason, then it was possible to refute her .

Leaving all that aside, I wanted an answer from Mariwa .

“Let me ask you again . Are you to teach me the liberal arts as well?”

“Yes . To learn the liberal arts is to gain a basic education . If an educated woman is considered a lady, then the liberal arts are part of the same category as etiquette . So why should it be considered odd for me to teach you?”

I was a genius, so I knew immediately that it was indeed something rather odd . But I didn’t press the issue . I ask the other thing that was bothering me .

“…You are going to teach all of the subjects, by yourself?”

“Yes . ”

“… . Huh? Why?”

Who could have blamed me for being shocked at Mariwa’s nonchalant nod?

This was something quite unbelievable under normal circumstances .

If one was going to learn all of the subjects, you would, of course, have a professional teacher teach each one . It may be possible for one person to give the child an introduction to each subject, but the student, in this case, was a genius . My ability to absorb knowledge at a rapid speed was not normal, it would require an especially good teacher to be able to keep up with me .

And yet she said that she would teach each subject herself, I could not make sense of this decision at all . Mariwa would take on the burden of seven people . Why not hire seven people like a normal person?

But there was not one speck of uncertainty on Mariwa’s face .

“There is no need to worry, my lady . ”

Her cold eyes did not waver, they looked only at the truth . The mouth which swallowed the unreasonable, smoothly spun the next words .

“It is fundamental that as long as I am here as your teacher, that I help you acquire knowledge of all seven subjects until you reach the age of fourteen and enter the Royal Academy . By then, I would have crafted you into such a student that you will proudly proceed down the abyss of philosophy and the higher learnings . ”

“Uh, yes . ”

It was not like me to nod so sincerely . But that was the level of intensity that I felt from Mariwa’s spirit .

Mariwa . What was she?

It was really something that I should have wondered about a long time ago .