The Northern Duke’s Eldest Son’s Tutor

One day, my memories suddenly returned.
To be precise, memories of my past life.
There wasn’t anything particularly important about them.
Just that in my past life, I was a man, living an ordinary life, until I was suddenly hit by a truck and died.
But perhaps because these memories returned when I was young.
From then on, I gradually began acting more like a boy.
Not completely like a boy, not only wearing pants and such, but I acted somewhat masculine.
“Mom, I want to eat meat.”
“What nonsense are you talking about, Sofia?”
“I said I want meat!?”
“You little brat! You need to eat vegetables too, not just meat. How can a person only want to eat meat?!”
“Eeek!!”
Actually, rather than acting like a man, I think I was just acting like a child back then.
As if my mind had become childish along with my young body.
“And last time, you nearly broke Evande next door’s arm!!”
“No! He was running around and blocking my path, that’s why!!”
“You’ve been raising your voice at your mother lately?!”
“No…”
“What did I say I’d do if you yell at me like that again?”
“……”
“What did I say I would do?”
“You said you’d send me to a boarding school.”
“That’s right, I should send you, shouldn’t I?”
“Ah, wait!!”
“Honey~ Please send her to the boarding school we applied for before.”
“No, Mom!?”
….
If I hadn’t yelled at my mother then, I wouldn’t have had to go to boarding school and study like a model student.
And I wouldn’t have had to spend my adolescence, which could have been the most fun time of my life, like that.
According to my parents’ plan, I was sent to boarding school.
Not just any school, but a famous elite boarding school that educated the elite.
I still don’t know how my mom and dad were able to send me to an elite boarding school back then.
What’s certain is that if I hadn’t attended there, my life would have been very different in many ways.
Because that boarding school was not only very famous, but graduating from it practically made it very easy to find employment.
Although it’s a world where magic exists, only a minority of people can use magic.
Of course, I wasn’t included in that minority.
However, graduating from that boarding school was proof that you excelled in some area.
I’m not sure what area I excelled in to successfully graduate.
If I hadn’t attended that boarding school, I wouldn’t have even attempted to find a good job like I have now.
“Hmm… You graduated from Ellethia Boarding School… And you also worked as an adventurer to some extent?”
“Yes! I graduated from boarding school at 16 and built up some achievements as an adventurer for two years!”
And now I’m in a job interview.
Not for a huge corporation, but for a duke’s family.
In the Dextrin Empire, the country where I live.
The Eristirol family, which rules Eresthirol in the north, the highest region in the empire.
Before coming to this interview, I had been enjoying life as an adventurer, traveling around the capital and provinces.
After spending several years at boarding school, I felt too confined, so I became an adventurer, which has been two years now, and I had reached Gold rank.
Gold rank wasn’t extremely high, but it put me in the top 30% of adventurers.
I began to get a little tired of that life of hunting monsters and completing requests.
After all, I didn’t have a proper home, moving between decent inns, and having to travel to different provinces whenever I received a request.
Then coincidentally, I heard that they were looking for a tutor in Eresthirol in the north.
And only female tutors.
Though I was a man in my past life, and my identity still fluctuates a bit, I was probably someone with a slightly higher masculine ratio.
But when an opportunity like this presents itself, you have to take advantage of it.
And now.
“Hmm… Top grades at boarding school. Not bad combat records as an adventurer. Appearance as well..”
“?”
Ah, since it’s a tutor position that involves being seen by others, are they also considering appearance?
But that wasn’t a problem for me at all.
I’m pretty!
It might sound like self-praise, but I really was beautiful.
I’m only 18, not yet an adult, but despite that, I was incredibly beautiful.
If I had a face like this in my past life, I would probably have been called a god-given face, an idol born once in a thousand years, a national beauty.
The man conducting the interview examined my face carefully.
Well, he wouldn’t be able to criticize my face anyway.
Except perhaps for being a bit young.
Anyway, I was wearing a coat because it was cold, so he couldn’t see my figure.
No matter what, evaluating my figure would be too much.
“…Please wait a moment.”
The interviewer left me in the interview room and went outside.
What’s going on?
Is this some kind of test?
Probably not.
Surely it won’t be like in movies where water suddenly rises from the floor and I have to escape?
I waited in my chair as the interviewer had told me to.
About 5 minutes passed?
The door opened behind me and the interviewer came in.
And holding his hand was a boy.
The boy looked timid, but his appearance was anything but.
Pure white hair and blue eyes… more precisely, bright and clear sky-blue eyes.
And above all, a face that would make girls his age go crazy if he were to play with them right now.
Hmm… He looked exactly like how I imagined a duke would look like…
“Huh?”
Wait a minute, they’re looking for a tutor in Eristirol in the north.
The interview is being held at the northern duke’s castle.
….
Was I actually an incredible fool?
Anyone could see that this was a position for a tutor to the northern duke’s son.
It seemed like an overwhelming and dangerous position.
Isn’t this the kind of job where one wrong word could get your head cut off?
“This is the eldest son of the Eristirol family… Young Master Kyle.”
Kyle Eristirol.
The eldest son of the Northern Duke’s family.
But why are they suddenly showing me the eldest son?
“…Young Master, what do you think about this lady becoming your tutor? She has good experience and skills.”
After introducing the eldest son to me, the interviewer asked the eldest son about me.
Ah, I see.
Since they’re looking for a tutor for the eldest son, naturally they’re asking for his permission.
If he doesn’t like me, I’ll be rejected, and if he does, I’ll be accepted.
From what I remember, the eldest son wasn’t that young.
I think when I saw him in the newspaper… he was about 12 years old?
But he looked somewhat small for his age.
To be precise, he was hunching his body.
“..It’s fine..”
Such a tiny voice.
The voice of a child whose voice hadn’t changed yet.
That voice approved of me becoming his tutor.
And the interviewer sent the eldest son back and began the contract with me.
“First, there are a few things you need to know.”
“Yes?”
“You need to know a few things about the Young Master, and you need to sign a confidentiality agreement about it.”
“Uh….”
What kind of information would require a confidentiality contract?
Could it be that the Young Master is violent, or a psychopath who kills servants?
“Please listen first. After hearing it, you are free to decline the tutor position.”
“Yes..”
If there’s no issue with just listening, then it’s fine.
If they were going to force me to take the job after listening, I would have run away immediately.
“The Young Master… was almost assaulted by a male servant a year ago.”
“What?”
Did I hear that wrong, or did the interviewer just say something strange?
A male servant?
The eldest son?
“Excuse me. A male servant?”
“Yes, specifically, the Young Master’s personal servant tried to assault him. Fortunately, thanks to a maid who happened to enter, he wasn’t completely harmed, but…”
….
This was completely different from what I had imagined.
The story wasn’t about the eldest son causing trouble, but about him being the victim.
That’s why they told me this.
The news that the eldest son of Duke Eristirol almost suffered such an incident cannot spread.
That’s why they asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement.
And because of this situation with the eldest son, they gave me the right to choose.
“After that, he became afraid of men, except for a few male servants who had known the family head since childhood.”
“Ah…”
So that’s why they were only looking for female tutors.
Yes, of course, it’s the kind of story that would leave trauma.
A personal servant, specifically a man bigger than himself, tried to assault him—how could that not be frightening?
“That’s why we’re looking for a female tutor who can also serve as a maid. We’re not forcing you. Sofia, after hearing this story, are you still willing to become our Young Master’s tutor?”
The interviewer’s question.
If I said no here, it would end right there.
But I didn’t particularly want to refuse.
The eldest son wasn’t the perpetrator, so I had no reason to be afraid.
Rather, I easily got a good job like this.
And they would obviously pay well.
Why not?
Since I’m a tutor, as long as I do my job well, I won’t be fired for years and can eat, sleep, and live in this nice castle?
Compared to traveling back and forth as an adventurer for two years, this was the best.
It’s cold outside, but the inside of the castle is extremely warm too.
“I’ll do it. Become the tutor.”
“Then we will proceed with the confidentiality agreement regarding what we just discussed.”
The interviewer brought a table and began to cast magic on it.
In some strange language I couldn’t understand.
He said something incomprehensible, and a paper with a distinctive green border appeared on the table.
“Please sign. Then the contract will be established.”
I read the contract first.
You should always read contracts carefully.
It was a contract with no issues whatsoever upon reading.
The content was simply: “Does the second party agree to remain silent about the incident involving the eldest son of Duke Eristirol?”
I signed with the pen that was next to me.
And as soon as I finished signing, the paper suddenly burst into green flames and burned away.