While Selene was lost in a mild panic, Alaric cleared his throat, "Well, I have a lot of work to do, so I shall take my leave." He started to walk in the direction of the door.
Realizing that she had nothing else to do, Selene followed him. A few minutes of silence passed before Alaric stopped and turned, looking at her quizzically.
"Is there something you need, Young Miss?" he asked politely.
She regarded him hopefully. "Can you teach me how to use magic?"
Alaric blinked, speechless for a moment, before he shook his head. "I don't have the time, Lady Selene. There's a mountain of paperwork that demands my attention," he replied.
Selene cocked her head to one side, curiosity aroused. "What kind of work?"
"I have to balance the books for the household. Nothing you'd find particularly interesting," he said, hoping gently to dismiss her.
Coming up with an idea, Selene said, "I want to help."
Alaric suppressed a laugh, firmly declining. "You're far too young to understand how to do it."
Too young? She snorted to herself, If only he knew.
Alaric smiled and turned to walk away, assuming that was the end of it. Yet he soon realized Selene was still trailing close behind. Reaching his office, he tried to shut the door, but she kept it open with surprising strength. The result was a small struggle in which Selene managed to push the door wide open, causing Alaric to stumble backward and land on the floor.
He jumped to his feet, face red. "Show me your attributes!" he exclaimed.
Selene looked at him confused. "Attributes?" She turned to her status screen, but no such section came up; in fact, there was barely anything on the screen at all. Just as she was about to ask him what he meant, a new "Attributes" section popped into her interface. She froze, staring hard at the numbers coming up.
Alaric leaned over her shoulder. In an instant, his look of curiosity changed to one of shock. He straightened up, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, then put them back on again and rechecked what was on the screen. Selene looked at her attributes, trying to see what had him so surprised.
Strength: 89
Defense: 72
Speed: 95
Dexterity: 75
Knowledge: 215.
In her mind, she thought, my knowledge attribute is impressive but my other attributes stinks. I have to work on them soon.
"Do you really know how to manage finances?" Alaric asked after a long pause.
"Yes," she confidently said.
Alaric hesitated, then reluctantly allowed her to help. He handed her a spare desk, along with stacks of disorganized papers, a quill, and ink. Selene frowned as she sifted through the chaos of receipts and records from the Ravencroft family's mithril ore mines. It was a mess. So to make sense of it, she organized everything first, sorting documents and balancing numbers until she felt ready to begin.
Five hours later, Selene stretched, exhausted but pleased. Alaric noticed her standing and walked over to inspect her work. He picked up a paper and peered at it closely, his brows furrowing together.
"What is this?" he asked, pointing at the income statement she had drafted.
She handed some of the sorted papers to Alaric and explained her methodology, showing him how she had set everything in an income statement and balance sheet. Alaric's eyes widened in amazement as he looked at her work, handling the income statement as if it were a piece of rare treasure.
Selene was dumbfounded by the way he was acting.
Alaric turned to her with a look of wonder in his voice. "Will you teach me how to do this?
She cocked her head to one side, deliberating. "Only if you promise to teach me magic."
In less than a heartbeat, he agreed. "It's a deal. Now, show me exactly what you did here."
She described her methods in great detail, walking him step by step through the process. He was a quick learner, nodding and muttering now and then, "Remarkable. Just remarkable." With a content smile, she exited the office.
Outside, Selene let out a sigh then, realizing she had forgotten to have lunch and was now famished. A check around her to make sure nobody was watching, and opening her shop interface, she ordered a packet of potato chips, headed for her room, and ate discreetly.
The next morning, Selene found herself once again behind her spare desk in Alaric's office, her eye twitching in mild irritation. Seated before her were none other than Duke Magnus and Alaric himself, both looking expectantly at her. She had planned to spend her day exploring and shopping for new items in her store interface, but breakfast had barely ended when the duke and Alaric dragged her here to teach them more about income statements and balance sheets.
Sighing, Selene pulled an accounting book and a finance book from her bag, which she'd originally intended to give Alaric to help him study. Now, however, they were going to serve as the teaching materials for two grown men. She sighed again and began her lecture, explaining the fundamentals of accounting principles. Thankfully, the two were quick learners, and after about three hours, they were wrapping up.
Just as Magnus and Alaric were about to leave, Selene sprang up on her chair, a fierce look on her face. "Wait! Are you seriously leaving without paying me for my time? No one's leaving until I get paid," she demanded, crossing her arms. She then froze, Why did I say that? Am I trying to get myself killed?
Magnus and Alaric exchanged bewildered glances before Magnus finally opened a blue vortex and pulled out a hefty bag of coins, tossing it toward Selene. She caught it, and an interface popped up, announcing that she had obtained 15 large coins. Her eyes widened in shock, this was far more money than I had expected.
Seeing her momentarily stunned, the two men tried to slip out, but Selene grabbed the hem of Alaric's jacket.
He froze, then turned slowly, forcing a strained smile. "Is there something else, young miss?"
Selene's expression turned darker. "You promised to teach me magic. Remember?"
Alaric's smile faltered. "Ah, yes, about that... I really don't have the time right now, young miss. I have many duties that need attending to."
She didn't budge, her grasp tight. "I don't care. You promised me, and I am not letting you go until you teach me something," she said firmly.
"Lady Selene," Alaric tried again, tugging slightly on his jacket, "perhaps we can-ah, reach a compromise?"
"No compromises," she said stubbornly, clinging tightly.
After many tugs that failed to free him, Alaric let out a disappointed sigh and began attempting to squirm his way out of his jacket. But in his attempts to make a quick run for it, Selene grasped his pants with both hands, refusing to let him get away.
Alaric began pleading, "Lady Selene, please! There must be something else I can do!"
"No! Magic lesson, now!" she cried, holding firm.
Magnus, standing a few steps away, did his best to contain his laughter, watching the scene unfold with undisguised amusement.
Suddenly, Selene burst into tears. She sank to her knees, overcome. "I can't take this anymore!" she sobbed. "My private teacher is a psychopath, I beat up my combat coach, and now I can't even get someone to teach me magic for my cursed class. What am I supposed to do? I don't want to die again!
The words had sent the men speechless for a moment. Alaric quickly bent down, attempting to comfort her. "Lady Selene, no one's going to—"
She cut him off in a desperate whisper, "They're going to kill me!"
Upon uttering those words, Magnus straightened up, instantly on high alert. Stepping forward, Magnus swooped down and picked Selene up, tossing her over his shoulder wordlessly. "Alaric, follow me to my office," he instructed, striding out of the room as he did so, taking Selene with him.
Alaric haphazardly pulled his pants back up and threw his jacket back on, only to rush after Magnus as he strode down the corridor. There was barely time for Selene to protest as they whisked her along the hallways and into the private study of the duke.
Once inside, Magnus set her gently down and shut the windows at once, pulling the curtains in. Alaric moved swiftly to shut the door, banging it tight so that they were well and truly locked within.
"Should we call the Duchess too?" Alaric asked, his brow furrowing.
Magnus snorted, waving the suggestion off. "No."
With that, he turned his full attention back to Selene, who had stopped crying and was watching them with wide, confused eyes.
Magnus kneeled beside her, his voice soft. "Have you calmed down?"
She nodded, wiping her eyes.
"Good." He leaned closer, his gaze serious. "Now, tell me—who wants to kill you?"
Selene froze and then began to panic. Damn it, Selene!! You had to blab and expose that. Now how am I gonna get out of this?