Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: Volume 10 Part 1 by Riku Nanano

Author:Riku Nanano
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 1

“Here you are at last!” our young otter-clan gondolier, Suzu, cheerfully announced, turning to us as she smoothly brought her craft to a halt before our destination. “The boat sways, so watch your step.”

Suzu had a slight build and wore her dark-brown hair plaited. I had heard that the city’s gondoliers enjoyed choosing striking designs for their clothing, and depictions of the Great Tree and countless flowers adorned her white hat and garments. Her gondola was old, splendidly carved, and lined with a red carpet.

“You must be a master with that oar,” I said. “Stopping perfectly in this narrow waterway is no mean feat.” Her handling would still have impressed me on the famous Grand Canal, but it beggared belief in the cramped confines of this side channel lined with luxury hotels. If I’d spread my arms, I might well have touched the walls on either side.

“Thank you, Allen.” The fifteen-year-old laughed bashfully, and I felt tempted to join in. I had never expected to meet an otter-clan girl so far from the eastern capital.

Behind me, a noblewoman with short scarlet hair ostentatiously cleared her throat. She said nothing, but she meant, “You have some nerve, acting like that in front of me.” I was quaking in my boots.

Lifting a leather suitcase, I stepped onto land. An orange-brick hotel towered before me. The edifice occupied prime real estate at the entrance to the Grand Canal, and heavy wooden doors testified to its long history.

“Atra, this is our stop!” I called to the child in the gondola’s stern, who was wagging her tail as she gazed delightedly into the water. Her white cloth hat and dress made for a charming ensemble. A gentle evening sea breeze passed us by, rustling her violet ribbon and long white hair.

“Lydia—”

“Of course.” The stunning, scarlet-haired young woman rose smoothly from her cushion. Lydia Leinster, my partner ever since we had enrolled in the Royal Academy, was dressed to match Atra, with the addition of an unfurled parasol. Her Highness looked every bit a daughter of one of the foremost noble houses in the kingdom.

If only she were always so well-behaved...

Lydia approached, so I offered her my right hand. She seized it with a short “Mm.”

Once on land, she closed her parasol, handed it to me, and whispered in my ear, “Wouldn’t a well-behaved lady bore you to tears?”

“D-Don’t read my expressions like that!”

“You can’t hide anything from me.”

I groaned.

“Now that’s a loving couple if I’ve ever seen one!” Suzu exclaimed, eyes sparkling. “I hope I can be like you someday.”

“W-We’re not—”

“We get along well enough,” Lydia interrupted, latching on to my left arm before I could clear up the misunderstanding. “Come along, Atra.”

The child turned to stare at us, then trotted across the gondola.

“Now, Atra, can you jump on your own?” I asked, stealthily casting a levitation spell to assist her.

“Jump!” she chirped, hopping toward us.

“Very good,” Lydia and I chorused as we both caught her hands.

Atra wagged her tail in delight and shook her whole body along with it.

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