Father, I Won’t Do Anything

* * *

“A letter from Jaina?”

Rosian, who had been reading the letter with a pleased expression, startled and looked up.

“How did you know?”

Rosian checked to see if the sender’s name was visible in the direction facing Elia. But it wasn’t.

“Well…”

It’s written all over your face.

Whenever you make that expression, it can only be about her.

“Rosian, what do you like about Jaina?”

“Everything, really.”

“But if you must specify.”

At Elia’s question, Rosian became lost in thought for a moment.

Her glossy nape was adorable, her soft, pale cheeks were adorable, her expressionless yet cute features were lovely…

But if he had to put it into words…

“She has eyes like a winter lake…”

He would always skip poetry lessons, saying they were boring, yet it seemed he had picked up some phrases after all.

Elia smiled as she watched Rosian excitedly open his mouth.

“A winter lake is frozen solid, isn’t it? Jaina is also quite unruffled. Always composed, like an old soul… But you know, with a frozen lake, you can’t see what’s inside. But Jaina is clear. That’s what fascinates me. So I want to keep gazing into her.”

A bright smile bloomed on Rosian’s face as he thought of Jaina.

* * *

“This is a lively piece, but the student is playing it too grimly.”

Listening to Jaina’s performance, Charlotte tilted her head as she spoke.

“I understand the player’s demeanor is grim, but that’s going too far… No, the atmosphere is one issue, but there’s a bigger problem.”

Looking displeased, Charlotte sat beside Jaina with a scrunched expression.

“You’re playing too slowly. Let me show you how I would play what the student just did.”

Charlotte grabbed Jaina’s hands and forcefully pounded the keys.

“Ugh…”

Even as Jaina’s brow furrowed in pain, Charlotte paid no heed.

And her torment didn’t end there.

Perhaps because she had chased Izren out, claiming he was a disturbance, the intensity of her harassment was even worse today.

“If this is how it’s going to be, why even have the sheet music? What the student is doing now is composition, composition.”

Charlotte grabbed Jaina’s small hands and forcibly stretched them apart.

“Why are your hands so slow?”

Compared to Charlotte’s, Jaina’s hands were barely half the length, which was the biggest obstacle to her playing.

The shorter and smaller the fingers, the harder it was to nimbly move across the keys.

But Jaina, being only ten years old, was still growing. It was only natural for her hands to be smaller than Charlotte’s. Yet Charlotte berated Jaina’s hands regardless.

“Then should I play pieces more suited for a child?”

“Be quiet. It’s because you’re so lax that your skills aren’t improving.”

Holding a cane she had prepared, Charlotte made Jaina spread her palms wide.

Then she began mercilessly striking Jaina’s tiny palms.

Smack!

Smack! Smack!

With the adult woman’s forceful blows, long red welts instantly appeared on Jaina’s palms.

While Jaina usually didn’t show much expression, she was now visibly contorted in pain, unable to endure.

“The student’s biggest problem is a lack of perseverance. No perseverance. That’s why your skills don’t improve despite learning from such an excellent teacher.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Charlotte shook her head disdainfully and clicked her tongue.

“Tsk tsk, this is the issue with homeschooling. I heard you live alone, so you must be an orphan? Since Tower Lord Diamid took pity on you, you should be more diligent. What are you doing?”

“…”

When Jaina remained silent, Charlotte became more emboldened and continued.

“It’s not just your harpsichord skills that are problematic, but your entire lifestyle is a mess. That servant knight outside also seems quite troubled. Is everyone around you like this?”

Just as the Izren standing outside the door was about to barge in, unable to ignore Charlotte’s insults, Jaina suddenly spoke up.

“Your words are too harsh.”

The usually quiet Jaina had abruptly opened her mouth.

“You can say whatever you wish to me, but the person outside is the Tower Lord’s servant knight. Are you disrespecting the Tower Lord’s judgment, teacher?”

“Ah, so he was a mere servant knight? Is that why there’s a demi-human in the Magic Tower? Then what about the student? What is your relationship to the Tower Lord? For the Tower Lord to have sent his disciple to find a teacher for you, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary connection.”

It was the instinctive sense of someone falling in love.

That the Tower Lord had found a harpsichord teacher.

And that the recipient was a child with the same hair and eye color as the Tower Lord.

‘If she were an ordinary child, would the Tower Lord have made her a disciple?’

The moment she saw Jaina, Charlotte immediately realized this child must be the Tower Lord’s daughter. While her appearance didn’t closely resemble his, her aura and the feeling she gave off were similar.

“What is your reason for being in the Magic Tower if you’re not even a magician?”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and brought her face close to Jaina’s.

At that moment, Izren’s voice came from outside the door.

“Jaina, is the teacher bullying you again? Should I come in?”

“How dare an ignorant demi-human…”

Just as Charlotte was about to lash out at Izren-

Darkness crept across the floor and latched onto her ankles.

Startled by the unfamiliar sensation clinging to her dress, Charlotte immediately stood up.

“Agh! What is this!”

Thump!

With a terrified expression, she looked down at the darkness before falling to the floor.

Jaina impassively gazed down at Charlotte, as if regarding a mere pebble on the road.

“It seems the teacher is unwell, so you should go rest.”

Rising from her seat, Jaina opened the door and called out to Izren standing outside.

“Izren, I’m sorry, but could you please escort the teacher back to her room? She doesn’t seem well.”

“Of course.”

As Izren approached and grabbed her arm, Charlotte shook off his hand and shouted.

“What was that, what did you just do!”

“I didn’t do anything? From the way you’re seeing things, it seems you’re quite unwell, teacher.”

“Jaina, don’t think I’ll let this go! I’ll report directly to Tower Lord Diamid that you used magic. And if you play like that again next time, I’ll really give you a harsh punishment. Be prepared!”

As Jaina tried to push Charlotte out, Izren was startled and grabbed Jaina’s hand.

He had noticed the red welts on the back of her hand.

“Jaina…”

Realizing Izren had seen her injury, Jaina quickly hid her hand behind her back.

“I’m alright. It will fade soon.”

“I’ll tell the Tower Lord.”

“While I hesitate to say this, I am a being who can’t cause any disturbance. So I ask that you keep this a secret.”

Jaina looked up at Izren with meaningful eyes.

“I don’t know why the Tower Lord assigned you to me, but I don’t wish to trouble the Tower Lord’s heart.”

As Jaina spoke in her usual calm tone, Izren eventually nodded his head.

But it wasn’t a nod of affirmation. It was a nod of firm realization.

He now seemed to understand the reason Izren had been assigned to Jaina’s side, the reason he had been lingering around her under various pretexts.

After escorting Charlotte to her room, Izren immediately headed to Diamid’s chamber.

[There seems to be some issue between the harpsichord teacher and the young lady, but the young lady keeps trying to hide it.]

Upon hearing Izren’s words, Diamid softly asked in return.

[Tell me more details.]

[The teacher used the lesson as an excuse to bar me from entering, so I don’t know the specifics, but…]

Izren recounted to Diamid everything Charlotte had done, without omission.

* * *

“Tower Lord. You summoned me? No, perhaps I should say it’s an honor to meet you for the first time?”

With an excited look, Charlotte swished her dress and smiled coyly.

“Ah, no, this won’t do.”

For some reason, her own reflection in the mirror displeased her today.

Charlotte pursed her lips as she gazed at the mirror.

“Miss, you look absolutely beautiful to me.”

“What does it matter if I look beautiful to you? I need to please the Tower Lord. This is too noisy, come here and fix my hair again.”

Charlotte let out a deep sigh.

‘Finally, the Tower Lord has summoned me.’

When she first heard about finding a harpsichord teacher, she had felt both elated and puzzled.

The Magic Tower was no place for a child. Moreover, from what she knew, the Tower Lord was unmarried.

An ominous premonition had flashed through her mind, but Charlotte had shaken her head, trying to dispel the unease. An opportunity like this was unlikely to come again.

Considering her credentials and reputation in high society, it would have been better to become a noble lady’s tutor. But Charlotte chose the uncertain path.

All because of one person.

‘The Tower Lord.’

Diamid was an unsociable man who remained secluded in the remote Magic Tower, distant from the Empire.

However, Charlotte had once had the chance to see him up close long ago. And she had instantly fallen for his beautiful appearance – her first love since the age of thirteen.

To realize that first love, Charlotte had defied opposition and come to the Magic Tower, where she encountered the rumored ‘child of the Magic Tower’. While their appearances differed, her instincts told her this child was the Tower Lord’s daughter based on her aura and eye color.

She had gathered information about Jaina from the maids and magicians while coming and going from the Magic Tower.

While not a great help compared to her efforts, there was one thing she could confirm.

‘It’s clear she hasn’t received the Tower Lord’s recognition.’

Otherwise, there would be no way for a father and daughter to have so little interaction.

It also made no sense for the Magic Tower’s people to be unaware of Jaina’s identity.

Having concluded that Jaina was an illegitimate child, Charlotte decided to use her as a stepping stone to approach Diamid.

‘I’ll give birth to a son resembling him.’

And as soon as she gained Diamid’s heart, she planned to dispose of that unsightly child.

Then, the opportunity she had longed for arrived.

Finally, she could meet the Tower Lord alone, without Jaina present.