20 soldiers were recalled from the construction work for building a new village for the incoming refugees, while Earl Terejia's personal troops would replace them, and Eliza would lead her domain's soldiers to Fort Jugfena.
Before the soldiers returned, Ratoka was returned to the mansion. Ratoka felt a lump in his chest at having to separate from Paulo, Calvin, and the other soldiers.
Just like before, Ratoka had the room in the farthest back of the mansion, although this time he wasn't confined like last time. The chains would no longer be used on him.
When he returned, Bellway who he knew slightly immediately took him to meet two adults.
One of them was Mrs. Marshan, who was introduced to him as the current governess and who would begin giving him a proper education. The other person was a tall, slender man, who was to begin teaching him the rapier. It seems that usually they teach Eliza as well.
Although his time in the barracks had given Ratoka the foundation of what he needed for basic physical fitness, his studying and swordsmanship skills hadn't kept up.
Although he wasn't throwing up like the time right after he entered the barracks, due to Ratoka's mental fatigue and impatience with his learning not going well, combined with him wondering why he was being forced to learn all this, three weeks after he returned to the mansion, Ratoka was already sick of life there.
Unlike at the barracks, Ratoka got to sleep in a soft bed, and received three good meals a day that were prepared for him. Even so, Ratoka felt that the barracks were better.
At the very least, he was able to talk with Paulo and Calvin there every day. He was also allowed to be called Ratoka there.
Now, he's being swamped with work by the lessons given to him from his two teachers, so he barely gets to go out from his room, so he's feeling lonely and fatigued every day. It was only natural and couldn't be helped that Ratoka would feel this way.
Even so, his teachers would keep telling him "Eliza completed these lessons successfully with hard work and effort," and feeling like he was being challenged, Ratoka kept working on his lessons.
He believed what his two teachers were telling him since Calvin had also told him the same thing, that Eliza had started out knowing nothing just like she did, and that she completed everything successfully through only her own efforts. Anyways, basically Ratoka's pride did not allow him to give up on things that she was capable of doing.
Ratoka was also recognizing that nobles needed to work hard on learning many things, and he was realizing that his previous view that "nobles live a good life and play around happily every day" may have been mistaken.
That's why, Ratoka chased after Eliza. He wants to be able to do the things she can, and say "that was so simple, I didn't even need to put in any effort."
"Well then, Elise-sama, today I shall be giving a lecture on nobility and the law."
"……I'll be in your care."
At first, he was taught polite speech and etiquette, along with how to read and write words, and now he's finally being taught subject matters, one month after he returned to the mansion.
On top of the desk in front of him, Ratoka saw a rectangular object that he's never seen before, and he touched it nervously.
"Is this what's called a book?"
The rectangular object had many papers bundled inside it, filled with the characters that he had been learning, there was nothing other than the characters he was learning on the papers.
There were no blank spaces, and no matter where he looked, even though he recognized the characters, he didn't understand the meanings of the words at all. He had no idea what this book was about at all.
"Do you understand the contents?"
"……No."
"Of course. If you could read that all by yourself, there would be no need for lectures."
Mrs. Marshan always had a perfect smile on, and her eyes felt slightly soothing. Although the amount he had to learn still made him feel a little melancholy inside, Ratoka happily listened to Mrs. Marshan beginning to teach him about the book's contents.
He didn't have the free time to talk to anyone else out of classes, nor could he talk without permission even in the classroom, and he had to learn proper etiquette and language, Ratoka felt like he was almost drowning in his suffocation.
He really, really wanted to be able to meet with Elise. Her gentle, calming stories had become of central importance in Ratoka's heart.
While learning from Mrs. Marshan's lectures, his views on nobles were getting more and more shaken – especially his view on Eliza, which he had once thought impossible to change.
Arxia is a country that is ruled by law. Religion and law are inextricably intertwined in this country, it has been like this since its establishment.
"Law" is considered so important, that its administrators and executors are the nobles. Law is supposed to bring about order, leading to a healthy society and people. Nobles are those that protect the law and order, that's why "nobles" exist.
The first shrine priestess, Kusha Fema, spread the "law" that she obtained from the gods, and was the founder of modern society. Later, her descendant St. Ahar created the guardian of the law, the Ar Xia church, along with the country Arxia that lives by the church's Sacred Code of laws.
Meaning, the current Arxia Kingdom is governed by "law" above all else. And, the "country's" administrators are the nobles.
Ratoka thought back to Eliza's words that night again. "The nobility aren't regular people, they're the gears that move this country……"
Even the sister with the dawn-colored eyes had affirmed those things to him before. Although, she had said that the nobles had forgotten their duties to this country, drowning themselves in pleasure.
But, if what she said was true, why were Eliza and him still learning all these things.
The absolute views on nobles that the young sister had planted deep within Ratoka, were collapsing and loudly crumbling on itself within Ratoka, each time he had his lessons and learned more from his book.