Guide to the Education and Training of Girls with Mentally Abnormalities

Chapter 24 Oath

Alicia had no recollection of Edmund ever having such a person in his life.

Ever since she met Edmund, she remembered that Edmund always kept to himself.

Even in the background check before Edmund was allowed to teach him, the knight of the family wrote in the investigation report that he was "single, without a partner, and without relatives".

So, where did this guy come from?

It can't possibly grow out of the soil, can it?

Esther looked at Alicia and waved as if to say "hello".

But then I thought of Edmund's request.

We still owe him a life.

You're supposed to be a good child who keeps quiet and doesn't say anything, and then do nothing at all, just stand there blankly...

She stood there blinking, facing Alicia and staring at each other.

Alicia felt extremely uncomfortable under that innocent, yet unsettling, gaze.

Esther's clear, untainted gaze was like a mirror, laying bare all the dark fantasies she harbored about Edmund, her resentment at the loss, her guilt and jealousy towards her sister, and other such thoughts.

"And who is this?" She suppressed her unease, maintaining a gentle and elegant demeanor, and looked at Edmund for an explanation.

Noticing Alicia's gaze on him, Edmund smiled. He glanced at Esther, bowed in greeting, and then, with a quick movement, silently wiped the cream from the greedy cat's mouth.

It would be quite inappropriate to have cream on one's face during a formal introduction among nobles.

Since he was determined to play this charade to the end and make everyone believe in his relationship with Esther.

Naturally, every detail should be impeccable.

After silently grumbling about Willow's inaction, Edmund spoke slowly.

"Excuse my intrusion, Miss Alicia, but please allow me to introduce you to Esther Hernandez, the young woman before you with snow-white hair and eyes as clear and blue as a lake."

Alicia didn't miss Edmund's subtle movements; she was so focused that she didn't even notice Edith's eyes brightening and dimming, or her lips pursing and relaxing.

Compared to the intricate entanglement between her sister and Edmund.

Alicia is now more interested in Esti.

She glanced at Edmund's polite and friendly demeanor, then at the girl before her with long, silver-white hair, a pristine white dress, a cool and aloof air, yet with a somewhat adorable gaze.

Edmund delivered his prepared speech fluently and skillfully.

A thrilling adventure, a promise and a commitment from an old friend, and a journey filled with hardships…

Edith, who least wanted to hear this story, crossed her arms, seemingly unsure whether she was being a straight man or simply making a sarcastic remark.

"If it weren't for this guy, I think Edmund would have gone off to pursue his own life."

"Pursue your own life?" Alicia asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Hmm." Edith glanced at her sister, who she had already labeled a 'loser' in her mind. "If it weren't for this burden, even if Edmund stopped taking risks, a seasoned adventurer as excellent as him wouldn't be too bad off anywhere in the Holy Kingdom."

"Even if we go to the capital, we should be able to make a name for ourselves. Why stay in Karenbel, a city that is neither prosperous nor warm, and has no special features other than adventure?"

In her embellishments, Esther is portrayed as a burden thrown to Edmund by her father, while Edmund is depicted as someone bound by an oath, forced to give up his bright future.

Is it cumbersome?

Is it a burden?

Esther felt as if she were back on the night she first met Edmund.

I am not some fallen nobleman.

It has no value that would make others want to take advantage of it.

Mr. Ming told me to stay home and not be discovered by anyone, but I still messed it up.

Mr. Mingming is working very hard to teach me.

But even now, I can't recognize many characters.

Edith always muttered "white pig" when she saw me, but I couldn't find a reason to refute it.

I'm just an idiot.

Perhaps I should share the fate of the withered leaves in the soil, turning into nutrients for the flowers and plants that deserve to enjoy spring.

I am sorry.

The story's 'protagonist' lowered her head in grievance. The girl, engrossed in telling the story and carried away by her own triumph, did not notice the increasingly sharp gaze of the young man beside her. The usually kind older sister, unusually, put aside her intention to remind her younger sister and chose to watch from the sidelines.

"sorry…"

The faint murmur was like the first drop of water falling into a calm lake, and the ripples that spread out were a sign that a sudden rain was coming.

Even the most oblivious person should have noticed the unusual atmosphere.

Edith followed Alicia's gaze and saw Edmund's expressionless face.

Having dealt with "Edmund" countless times in simulations, she knew this.

It’s over.

Edmund was angry.

And it's the most severe kind.

Edith.

"How Esther is to me is my private matter, but her presence by my side is a vow made under the witness of the Holy Light."

"Even the most respected bishops in the capital city do not dare to say that they are qualified to interfere with the oath of witnessing the Holy Light."

"And you, it seems, have no right to judge me or Esther beside me."

Edmund pulled Esther, who kept her head down as if she were about to drop small pearls, to his side.

The timid cat trembled beside its owner, a large hand stroking its furry head.

"I never consider anyone a burden."

"No adventurer would consider their life-and-death companions as a burden."

"Unless that person is willing to accept that others treat him the way they treat others, leaving him to fend for himself in a dark dungeon like a burden."

Companions who share life and death...

But in the simulation, my companion is the one who shares life and death with you.

The defiant girl bit her lip, refusing to lower her head or look away as if she were arguing.

Alicia watched the group quietly from the side, her gaze constantly shifting between Edith and Edmund's faces.

According to Edith's temperament.

Can she endure this injustice?

But the current situation suggests that the story between Edith and Edmund is not as simple as she thought: just because she knows Edmund, she can be so tolerant of him—given Edith's personality, shouldn't it be "I'll allow you to do things for me because I'm happy"?

Edmund looked at Edith with a serious expression.

"Miss Edith, I would like to express my gratitude to you and Miss Willow for your care over the years. Your generous kindness and very low rent allowed me to still have a warm place to live even when the landlord changed. I am also grateful for your appreciation of my abilities in the past. But if such treatment is obtained by selling my dignity."

"I'd rather freeze to death on the street."

"I'm sorry... that's not what I meant." Edith lowered her proud head for the first time. "But... she's really stupid."

"That's none of your business."

"sorry."

“Even if she were the dumbest student I’ve ever met, I wouldn’t throw her away as a burden—you must understand, she didn’t have a loyal maid following her when she left home like you did, but…” Edmund’s tone softened. “If anyone says the same thing to you in the future, I will defend you as I defended Esther, Miss Edith.”

So who was your best student in the past?

Edmund?

Alicia's sigh disappeared silently into the clamor of the banquet, like morning mist.

Estée nestled blankly beside the young man who was arguing with Edith over her being a "fake noblewoman," the warmth of his palm still lingering in her hair.

Edith sat dejectedly to the side; the phrase "protect you as you would protect Esther" made her feel like a queen whose throne had been usurped.

Each of the girls harbored her own secrets, much like the ever-changing dance music at the banquet.