Oh! My Empress

The duke called the earl towards himself.

"Are you sure you want to declare her the winner? It will ruin the reputation of the firstborn here," he pointed towards Cecilia who was sitting there with her head hanging down.

It was a relief that she had not started crying but her performance was indeed disappointing. What was the use of employing the best teachers if she did not have any real world knowledge?

"It was not a competition, my lord. I am merely announcing that she passed my exam and that I will be teaching her personally," Isaac Laurent could not wipe off the smile on his lips. He had never been this excited to teach someone, even his own son.

"Y-You…," Duchess Audrey seethed in anger. She could not say against him, the response from everyone was the proof that her younger daughter had really turned the tables. But she could not accept the fact that this guy, Isaac Laurent, one of the most learned scholar of the kingdom, who had rejected her wish for him to teach Cecilia, was going to self appoint himself as that kid's teacher?

Why? Why could her elder daughter not get the best but that younger kid had gotten that right? This was unfair! Ivan got to have a few lessons with the earl because he was studying to be the next duke. But why Emmeline? And why not Cecilia?

"My lady, this was the promise for her passing the exam. I will oversee her education but there will be other teachers, one of them being Alex, my son. I would not be teaching young sir Christopher myself but I also cannot not keep my word. Please understand," Isaac Laurent had almost reached the tone of disrespect and disdain in his voice because of frustration.

The duchess should have known what was at the stake. If they did not fulfill the promise now, they would be incurring dissatisfaction from their servants for sure. There were a few things that duchess needed to think by herself.

"Alright, there really is nothing that we can do here. But Sir Laurent, I implore you to enroll Cecilia in your classes too. She is lacking in many ways precisely because she did not learn from the best people," Audrey rubbed her temples. She needed to rope in Cecilia in between, she could not let Emmeline be the best among her children. That was just out of question.

"If I let lady Cecilia in my lessons, would it not be unfair to lady Emmeline? There was no need of this grueling exam then. Poor girl must have gone through so much pressure. Duchess, please think about this," Isaac Laurent took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the corner of his eyes, keeping his hand on his heart as if he could feel the pain the younger kids went through last week.

Duchess Audrey clenched her jaw tightly. This man, he was just influencing the duke with his acting. How dare he!

"Wife, this really is a question of Whittemore's reputation. I think we should heed the advice from Isaac. We will get Cecilia other teachers from the imperial academy, alright? Let's just make the announcement and be done with this affair. I am tired," Duke Harold was already not happy having spent the whole day in this nonsense.

Now his wife was making things difficult here. They could always discuss this later. But she had to create a scene in front of everyone.

Audrey Lazarus just turned her head haughtily. She did not have anything else to say. Poor Cecilia! She would arrange the best of the best teachers for her daughter, even if she needed to look outside of the kingdom. Surely, there would be someone better than this lowly earl.

"Lady Emmeline Whittemore and Sir Christopher Whittemore have passed this exam. I will personally oversee their education, as promised to the lady here and their teachers will be chosen starting this week. Lady Emmeline will also be choosing her own servants and maids, so if anyone is interested, please contact her maid, miss Anna," Isaac Laurent finally announced the result. The crowd cheered for the result and then slowly dispersed.

Emmeline heaved a big sigh of relief, it was great that all her hard work of past few days had paid off. This was a big milestone in her new life. And she had already learned so much through this one experience. Now, for the first time in her two lives, she could study for herself, without any requirements of proving herself to anyone.

"Lady Emmeline," Alex came forward, wanting to congratulate Kim Su Won. Although he still had his serious frigid expression, there was still joy in his eyes.

Kim Su Won looked at the handsome face. This was the only time when she wished that her soul was twelve years old too. She could fangirl over all these hot kids without feeling like a pedophile. She shook her head pensively. Such a sad situation.

"I think you have really won the hearts of everyone. I have never seen my father this happy. He might end up taking most of your lessons himself if and when he has time," Alex said as stretched his hand out to help her stand. She had been sitting there since morning without getting up. Her body was bound to feel numb.

Kim Su Won gratefully took his hand. She would be glad to learn from Isaac himself but wasn't she supposed to choose the subjects herself? She would rather learn about the functioning of duchy and the kingdom so that she could look for ways to earn money for herself.

"Ah! Do I also get to learn swordsmanship?" she asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.