Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“When did I say I wanted to listen to the performance piece on the necklace?”

However, before long, Charlotte’s sharp voice rang out in the room.

The startled Jaina closed the necklace again, and Charlotte, who had been observing Jaina with narrowed eyes, spoke.

“Instead of the performance piece, let me see the student’s skills first.”

“Yes, I may be lacking, but I’ll try playing once.”

Jaina placed her small hands on the keys. Soon, her clumsy hands began moving across the large keys as she started performing.

Watching Jaina, Charlotte’s eyes grew cold. Even when Jaina loudly played a few measures as a test, she remained calm and composed, so it didn’t seem like she would be too difficult to handle.

‘Unfortunate. Those blue eyes.’

The same color as the Tower Lord’s, prompting ominous speculations.

‘Ah, the Tower Lord…’

As Charlotte thought of the Tower Lord, she felt her heart race rapidly. She took a deep breath to collect herself. From the very start, she had no interest in a child’s performance.

“That’s enough.”

As Jaina stopped playing, Charlotte, her expression completely soured, continued speaking.

“I don’t wish to say this, but you lack even the basics. This isn’t a performance, but noise pollution.”

Her tone was elegant yet disdainful.

Her outward appearance was that of a refined noble lady of the capital, but the words from her beautiful mouth were outright insults.

Izren’s gaze towards her grew sharp.

‘Is that any way to speak to a ten-year-old?’

He wanted to step in right away, but he restrained himself.

Unless Jaina said otherwise, he couldn’t act due to Diamid’s orders.

“How do you feel about that… no, that foolish display?”

Even as Charlotte narrowed her eyes as if deliberately trying to hurt Jaina’s feelings, Jaina calmly replied.

“I will diligently learn from you to make up for my shortcomings.”

“Learn? Ha, at this level, it would take over ten years just to properly play, wouldn’t it?”

However, her rudeness only worsened over time, reaching an intolerable level. Unable to watch any longer, Izren swiftly turned and began glaring at her.

“Oh my, what are you doing?”

Taken aback by the demi-human’s fierce glare, Charlotte’s expression filled with shock.

The two exchanged intense, hostile stares as if they might clash at any moment.

Just as the situation seemed about to erupt, Jaina quickly opened her mouth while observing the two of them.

“Does the teacher think there is no meaning in me learning the harpsichord? I don’t necessarily need to be perfect.”

Ten years was far too long for Jaina.

It was a future that didn’t exist in her life.

Even if imperfect, Jaina desperately wanted to play that performance piece with her own hands.

“You certainly have a glib tongue. But with that lax attitude of just learning roughly, you can never properly master an instrument.”

Seeming slightly intoxicated, Charlotte forcefully sat on the chair, almost shoving Jaina aside.

Then she immediately began performing.

As her long, slender fingers moved magnificently across the keys, a beautiful melody flowed forth from the harpsichord. It was a skillful performance capable of entrancing the listener in an instant.

Jaina silently looked up at Charlotte, who was engrossed in playing the harpsichord with abandon.

When the performance ended, Charlotte raised her chin with a proud expression.

“How was my playing, student?”

“You looked truly wonderful playing the harpsichord, teacher.”

With sparkling eyes, Jaina offered a sincere compliment.

At the honest praise devoid of any affectation, Charlotte’s face twitched slightly. It was an unexpected reaction, as she had thought Jaina would be utterly deflated.

The intoxicated Charlotte abruptly stood from her seat.

“Hmph, so you have an eye for it. Anyway, if you wish to learn the harpsichord, you must obey my instructions from now on. Not that you’ll be able to keep up, even with that.”

“Understood. I will work even harder.”

“Let’s end it here for today, since it’s the first lesson.”

When Jaina obediently nodded in response, Charlotte, seeming annoyed, added one more remark before promptly leaving the room.

Once her footsteps could no longer be heard, Izren cautiously opened his mouth.

“Are you alright? A teacher like that woman…”

“Yes, I’m fine. In fact, I’m happy to have a teacher. I was at a loss over how to proceed on my own.”

Despite Charlotte’s arrogant and rude attitude, which must have hurt her feelings, Jaina’s expression seemed more joyful than usual.

Izren tilted his head, staring at Jaina’s face for a while with a puzzled look.

* * *

Even though it wasn’t a research submission period, the Magic Tower had been exceptionally busy lately.

It was because Jaina’s birthday was just a few days away.

-Jaina, when were you born?

-Come to think of it, my birthday is coming up soon.

After coincidentally learning Jaina’s birthday date through that conversation with her, Hilvenzia and Mikael didn’t let it pass. They had been bustling for days to prepare a grand birthday party.

Especially Mikael seemed unusually tense.

“Don’t… have any expectations…”

“About what?”

“A bi-birthday present…”

Mikael averted Jaina’s gaze as he spoke in fragments.

“Huh?”

“I-I mean… don’t compare it to… what the Tower Lord gave you… No, I mean don’t whine if you don’t get a present!”

Having vented his frustration at Jaina, Mikael swiftly turned away.

“I don’t need any presents… And why did the Tower Lord suddenly…?”

“The Tower Lord gave you a room, an instrument, even assigned you a personal maid.”

“Was that a birthday gift? I thought he was just being considerate so I could learn the instrument well… And sir Mikael, you arranged for the teacher.”

“Well, it was still given to you. And… the instrument teacher was only possible thanks to the Tower Lord’s name…”

Was he frustrated at being unable to give her a special gift?

“So that’s why you’ve been so down?”

Jaina couldn’t help but giggle. Seeing this, Mikael blurted out in vexation.

“Wh-when was I down?!”

“Sir Mikael, what matters most for a gift is the thought behind it. If I gave you a small, insignificant birthday present, would you mock me?”

“…You’re going to give me a birthday present?”

The previously sullen look on Mikael’s face opened up like a dog perking its ears.

Finding his expression inwardly adorable, Jaina shyly lowered her gaze.

“Since I don’t have much, it will surely pale in comparison to your gift. You may not be satisfied.”

“That won’t happen!”

Jaina looked up at Mikael. At her gaze, Mikael’s brow twitched nervously.

“Wh-what is it?”

“I heard this is the busiest time of the year for magicians.”

Having overheard the magicians talking at the dining hall, Jaina felt concerned for Mikael. He was so busy he had no free time, yet he was still making time for her birthday.

Jaina was deeply grateful for his thoughtfulness.

“I…”

“Hey, don’t say it!”

“Uwuaah!”

Mikael pinched and stretched Jaina’s soft, pale cheeks like mochi rice cakes.

“You’re rude! So rude and even more rude!”

“Uwuvu!”

Rude? What did that mean?

As Jaina made a puzzled expression with her scrunched-up face, Mikael chuckled and released her cheeks, perhaps finding it comically adorable.

“Your ugly face.”

“Isn’t it natural for me to resemble you since we’re cousins?”

So she was saying her ugliness came from resembling him.

Of course, Jaina and Mikael didn’t actually look much alike.

Mikael was a handsome young man as vibrant as a summer rose, while Jaina had a cute, gentle appearance.

However, instead of pointing that out, Mikael focused on her form of address. He seemed quite eager to be called ‘brother’.

“Hey, I told you to call me brother last time too. Are you really not going to call me brother?”

“The term ‘brother’ feels awkward to me.”

“Turtles are in the sea.”

At Mikael’s nonsensical remark, Jaina furrowed her brow as she replied.

“You’re not trying to be funny, are you?”

“You foolish idiot!”

Mikael’s face flushed red. As he covered his face with one hand, fidgeting restlessly, Jaina smiled wryly at the sight.

“Uh…”

‘Has she ever smiled that brightly before?’

Just as Mikael was about to retort about being mocked, seeing Jaina’s radiant smile left him stunned, missing the timing to get angry.

And not far away.

Hilvenzia, observing the dazed Mikael, raised a hand to her lips.

‘The day has come when the great Mikael Bellafanian becomes a fool.’ (tl/n: most likely this means to be a sister’s fool. In Korean fool for X / X’s fool – when someone adores another person so much and dotes over them, usually a child, to the point of doing foolish things and turning off common sense if it would make X happy)

Well, it wasn’t like she was any different, though.

In fact, she too had yet to choose Jaina’s birthday gift.

The Tower Lord had provided Jaina with everything she needed under the pretext of instrument lessons.

‘I wonder what the Tower Lord is thinking?’

She didn’t know what had happened between the two of them, but Diamid’s actions seemed excessive just for the sake of instrument lessons, going so far as to break the long-standing rules of the Magic Tower for a child he had previously ignored.

Whichever way one looked at it, there seemed to be a definite change in him.

‘Speaking of which… what should I get that she would like?’

Gazing at Jaina with a warm look, Hilvenzia soon let out a sigh.

* * *

‘I want to learn how to play the song A.’

When a student says that, most teachers would start by teaching song A. Focusing directly on performance rather than theory or skills tended to better motivate students. And if that student was still a beginner lacking much familiarity with the instrument, they would be guided step-by-step through the easier parts first to become accustomed to it.

However, such common sense didn’t apply in Charlotte’s harpsichord class.

“As long as I am the teacher, my instructions are absolute.”