Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76
It’s all over. My sister isn’t the forgiving type.
As I gasped for breath, my vision swimming with dizziness, a pale face framed by violet hair entered my field of view.
“It’s hot—take your time coming up.”
“Ha… ha… I’m sorry for making you wait, sister. I promised to be punctual, but…”
“I’m not angry just because you’re late. I’m generous with my students.”
Her response was unexpected. More than that, the warmth in her gaze made Enrique flinch with surprise, and he quickly lowered his head.
‘Something’s strange.’
To the boy, his sister had always been like a viper—shooting him fierce, piercing looks. Unable to hide her displeasure, she had forced Enrique to bristle like a hedgehog, constantly on guard.
But lately, he found himself increasingly confused about who Deborah Simour really was. During lessons, the way she looked at him sometimes felt tender. She was far more difficult to understand than poetry with its contradictory verses.
‘I mustn’t let my guard down.’
If he retracted his spines, she might bite all the harder. Yet despite this unease, Enrique found himself visiting the Library where his sister spent her time each week, as if to confirm something. It wasn’t merely because he had developed a keen interest in mathematics.
“Come here.”
Sister tapped the seat beside her.
As he carefully sat down, she rang the bell and instructed a servant to bring refreshments and pastries.
“It’s terribly hot today, isn’t it?”
Her voice, surprisingly gentle, tickled his ears. Feeling even more unsettled, Enrique touched the condensation-beaded cup and lowered his silver-tinted, thick lashes.
“Enrique.”
“Yes?”
“After you drink this, go rest inside. Studying hard on a hot day like this will give you heat exhaustion.”
‘Go rest?’
Her sudden dismissal made his heart sink.
“I apologize for being late…”
“Wait.”
She interrupted him, her voice suddenly urgent.
“I meant you should rest because you look unwell. But since you’re so eager to learn, let’s review what we’ve already covered today.”
Sister opened the textbook. Her handwriting had such a distinctive, angular quality that anyone could tell she had written it herself. Among all the tutors he’d met, she was the only one who created her own teaching materials.
‘Does she really intend to nurture me as her prized student?’
After all, he had never gotten a single problem wrong that she’d given him.
‘But sister doesn’t seem particularly interested in my quiz scores.’
The Nanny would scold him with sharp eyes whenever his rankings and grades dropped, saying he wasn’t meeting the master’s expectations. But sister was the opposite.
“The problems must have been tricky, yet you always persevere and solve them all.”
She always emphasized the process, and encouraged him by saying that attempting difficult and new things was itself remarkable.
“Oh, c-cute.”
“Yes?”
“Y-your handwriting is cute. So round. Ha… ha…”
Though she sometimes said strange things that confused him, oddly enough, his tension gradually eased. Enrique relaxed his rigid shoulders and listened intently to her voice.
“You need to add here. And when you substitute the numbers…”
During lessons, sister’s voice was particularly soft. The cadence was just right, almost like a lullaby. Since they were reviewing material he already knew, Enrique found himself listening only to her gentle tone, and soon his head began to nod drowsily.
‘Ugh… I’m getting sleepy…’
As I listened to her soft voice, my eyelids grew heavier by the moment. From the long violet hair that fluttered like a curtain before my eyes wafted a pleasant fragrance that made my body languorous and drowsy.
The sensitive boy’s instincts dimly sensed that the person before me was no viper, that I could lower my guard. Though my mind absolutely refused to acknowledge it.
‘No, I can’t let this happen.’
I pinched my thigh urgently. But the nightmares of sinking into swamps had robbed me of sleep, and now an overwhelming drowsiness poured forth like a collapsing dam, beyond my control.
My vision began to fade to white. I fell asleep in the Library, bathed in the warm sunlight streaming through the window.
While dreaming an unusually tender dream.
* * *
‘Is he actually sleeping?’
Today, Enrique was showing behavior unlike himself. He always arrived punctually, sharp as a blade, yet now he came late with disheveled hair, and he’d suddenly fallen asleep during the lesson.
‘Why?’
The fact that Enrique, who always maintained an upright posture and focused intently, suddenly collapsed meant either his wariness toward me had diminished, or he was exhausted. One of the two.
‘I’d prefer the former, but looking at Enrique’s condition today, it seems like the latter.’
Observing the dark circles under Enrique’s eyes and his pallid, sickly complexion, I swallowed a sigh. What could possibly exhaust a child this young to the point of collapse?
‘His maturity for his age is becoming increasingly concerning.’
That lonely expression from the Rose Garden last time came to mind, unsettling me.
Perhaps I saw Yoon Do-hee in Enrique’s hunched silhouette, burdened with invisible weight. That prematurely aged appearance reminded me of my former self.
I was always told I was mature and well-behaved. I frequently gave up my share to my older and younger siblings because I hated seeing my mother’s disappointed expression about our lack of money.
My grandmother often said I was quiet and obedient, requiring no effort to manage. Of course, I was neither as brilliant nor as adorable as Enrique.
‘Anyway, he’s sleeping soundly.’
I quietly observed Enrique sleeping peacefully.
He slept with soft snoring sounds until the sunset painted the window, but then suddenly Enrique jolted upright, startling me.
“Gasp!”
Enrique gasped for breath. As a piece of paper stuck to his mouth fell away, I saw his eyes filled with bewilderment. The boy looked at me with sleep completely vanished from his face.
“I, I didn’t mean to fall asleep, I don’t know why I suddenly did, I’m sorry…”
“I’m a generous teacher who doesn’t get angry. Don’t worry.”
But Enrique seemed so shocked at having slept soundly during the lesson that he wasn’t listening to me at all.
“You accepted me as your student, you teach me every week, you even make problem sets, and I’m late, I sleep, I disappoint you.”
Enrique’s large eyes glistened with tears. His strictness toward his own mistakes, proportional to his maturity beyond his years, amplified the uncomfortable feeling I’d been experiencing.
“Why are you saying such things?”
I gently gripped Enrique’s shoulders as he spiraled into panic.
“I’m not disappointed in you at all. To be honest, I thought you looked incredibly cute sleeping and snoring away.”
I offered him a handkerchief, pointing to his lips where saliva had dried, and Enrique’s pale cheeks flushed red as an apple.
‘Oops, he hates being called cute.’
Thinking he was being treated like a child, Enrique shot up from his seat.
‘But he is a child, isn’t he?’
I quickly caught Enrique before he could bolt and tucked him under my arm.
“Fine, I take it back! You’re not cute!”
“Let go!”
“Instead, I’ll say you’re cool. Our Enrique is the coolest in the world, even sleeping without a care, drooling away.”
“No, stop teasing me!”
I chuckled at the sight of Enrique flailing his limbs and finally released him. His exhausted face had been drooping, but now he seemed to have regained some energy.
From just a little teasing, Enrique’s earlobes and the nape of his neck had turned red as apples. I followed behind the boy, who was huffing roughly through his nose, and continued speaking to him.
“Enrique, are you angry?”
“….”
“I wasn’t teasing you. It’s just that you looked incredibly impressive.”
“Liar!”
“Hmm. Are you saying that your master, who is like the heavens themselves, would lie?”
“Ugh.”
I gently stroked the boy’s tousled hair and repeated how impressive he was several times over.
“Your older brothers are national treasures just by their faces alone, so you’ll grow up to be impressive too. You’ll probably become far more handsome than I am.”
Enrique puffed out his pale cheeks and pouted his lips. Still, he didn’t shake off my hand stroking his head the way he used to.
“Young Master!”
Enrique, who had been resting his head with a sullen cat-like expression, flinched at the sharp voice echoing from afar and stepped back. A middle-aged woman with a stern expression approached where Enrique and I were standing.
“Who are you?”
“I am Madam Caryl, the nanny of the Young Master. It is an honor to meet you, Miss Deborah Simour.”
Enrique, who had been pouting, transformed into a properly mannered expression upon meeting the woman.
“The Young Master has caused you trouble by staying so late, Miss. We shall take our leave now.”
“Wait. Who said he caused trouble? Don’t jump to conclusions without knowing the full story. Watch your words.”
My cold retort caused a flash of bewilderment to cross the middle-aged woman’s face.
“I’m the one who kept Enrique here. Enjoy your dinner, Enrique.”
“….”
“See you again, little brother.”
Enrique, whose large eyes blinked slowly with a hint of surprise, bowed politely to me and then walked toward the Annex Building following the Nanny.
‘Hmm.’
The uneasy feeling I’d been sensing since earlier grew stronger. I had a strange premonition that I couldn’t simply let this pass.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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