Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 37

To the Teacher, From Vanessa – Episode 37 (37/146)

Gideon was sitting on the first floor.

His light-colored eyes, which had been scanning the documents on the table, turned and met their gazes directly.

…Should I go back upstairs?

But having already made eye contact with Gideon, turning back felt like admitting defeat.

Vanessa avoided his gaze and walked over, sitting diagonally across from him rather than directly in front. She then tore open the thick pink envelope.

Lina’s letter was filled with anger from the very beginning. As Vanessa read, she could almost hear Lina’s furious voice.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

To Vanessa Roa-z.

Vanessa, how are you doing?

The cold wind is starting to blow, so I’m worried. You seem perfectly fine in your letters, but you’re very good at pretending to be okay.

Don’t be upset if my letters have been infrequent. After working from morning till night, my whole body is stiff, and I collapse as soon as I get home.

It’s really awful here.

What comes to mind when you think of a business? Don’t you imagine people negotiating and discussing deals with clients?

Cool people sitting around a table, right?

But that’s not something a lowly intern like me gets to do. What I do is organize documents and check if they meet the required format.

Why is that damn format so important? Why is the way documents are bound so important! Isn’t the content of the documents what really matters?

Today, they tell me to do it one way, and tomorrow someone else comes and gets angry, asking why I did it that way. Does that even make sense?

I was genuinely curious, so I asked if some of the completely useless rules could be eliminated, and they glared at me, saying they’ve been in place for a long time, so I should just follow them.

Of course, they would say that. When they were first created, there must have been a reason.

But so much time has passed that no one even knows the reason anymore! Shouldn’t someone question it?

Surely, the Delina family’s businesses don’t have such pointless rules, do they?

Even if they do, when I inherit all of the Delina family’s businesses, I’m going to get rid of all these inefficient rules.

I’m going to kick them all out!

If I ever say, ‘How dare an employee submit such a messed-up document to me,’ show me this letter. Remind me of Lina Delina, the intern!

I wanted to send you something to eat, but I’m worried it might be a burden, so I can’t.

You tend to skip meals when you’re worried about something. Did you know that?

I doubt it; the person who knows you the least is you!

Always drink warm water. Be careful not to catch a cold! Write to me right away if anything happens.

There are several Delina family businesses in the Tanamir region, so they might be able to help.

No, write to me even if nothing happens. Okay?

With love,

From Lina Delina.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa suppressed a laugh. Lina doing menial tasks? That Lina Delina!

Vanessa decided to keep this letter as Lina had requested. She would have to read it aloud to her even decades from now.

The next letter was from Chevati, and it was very short. Chevati seemed to be living a very fulfilling life.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

To Vanessa.

Vanessa, how are you doing?

Your last letter seemed a bit down, so I hope you’re in a better mood in this reply.

I’m not worried about Lina and Evan at all, but strangely, I’m very worried about Vanessa. You’re more like a sibling to me than my own brother.

Did you resend the letter to the Teacher? You were so worried before you left, saying you might have written too coldly. Vanessa’s Teacher cares about her very much, so don’t worry.

I’m doing really well! I’m learning so much.

I thought I had learned a lot at the academy, but it’s difficult to apply it in practice.

The person who’s teaching me is very famous in this field, but they’re not strict.

However, they’re not the type to kindly point out mistakes multiple times. I have to put in a lot of effort to avoid making any mistakes.

My career path has always been clear, but coming here feels like I’ve completely committed to magical engineering.

I hope Vanessa is enjoying her internship too. But always be careful to avoid danger. If there’s anything dangerous, be sure to send Evan!

With much affection for Vanessa,

Chevati Milo Dotiga.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa neatly folded the rustling letter again. Just then, a low, soft voice echoed in her ears.

“You have many letters.”

“Yes?”

Vanessa was startled and looked up. She hadn’t noticed, but it seemed Gideon had been watching her for some time.

His gaze came down directly.

“Are they from friends?”

Vanessa hesitated for a moment. She was confused whether ‘Gid’ was asking, or ‘the Commander of the Special Forces.’ To Vanessa, the two felt quite different.

“Yes, they’re from friends.”

“Miss Lina and Miss Chevati, perhaps?”

At those words, Vanessa felt strangely angry. This question wasn’t asked by the Commander of the Special Forces, but by ‘Gid.’

Always hiding things.

He hadn’t lied, but she felt hurt that he was concealing part of the truth. Did he think she would try to take advantage of him if she knew his background?

She had simply enjoyed Nimrod’s vacation and the distance of Pydom, all spent with him.

“How does the Commander know that?”

Vanessa was taken aback by her own slightly cold tone.

Gideon tilted his head slightly, looked at Vanessa, and then turned his gaze back to the documents.

Silence fell over the table for a moment.

Silence has a rather unsettling power, and Vanessa felt slightly sorry for him.

Gideon was simply distinguishing between public and private matters. Should she have held back? But she didn’t want to.

A sigh escaped her lips. What was with this childish tantrum?

Vanessa pursed her lips and gathered her letters. Tired of the silence, she wanted to leave for her room upstairs as soon as possible.

Just then, Gideon picked up a piece of paper next to him and tore off the edge.

Vanessa watched him for a moment, unsure of what he was doing.

He took a pen in his right hand and wrote in his still perfect, flawless handwriting. Then, he handed the note to Vanessa.

「I’m sorry. After we became close, I couldn’t bring myself to say it, fearing it would make you uncomfortable.」

Vanessa glared at him for a moment, then checked to see if the upstairs was quiet. Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone.

So, she scribbled a reply right below.

「It’s not because I thought I might ask you for something, is it? Duke Valder.」

Gideon, having received the note again, glanced at Vanessa, who had raised her eyebrows, and then smiled.

It was a low, warm smile, and Vanessa felt her cheeks flush slightly. He really had a handsome face.

「What would you ask for? Then I’ll promise. I’ll grant you any wish.」

「Anyway, I’m really sorry. I thought I should tell you slowly after we met a few more times, but I didn’t expect to meet you like this. I was really taken aback as soon as I saw you.」

Vanessa looked down at the note with a sulky expression. Taken aback, my foot. He hadn’t even changed his expression.

Still, he had extended a hand in apology first, and she knew he was waiting for her forgiveness.

Having experienced a lot on the way here, Vanessa’s anger had already subsided to some extent. Gideon had been considerate of her and was responsible for her safety.

So, Vanessa decided to offer thanks instead of forgiveness.

As Vanessa wrote a long note, Gideon tore off more paper from the side and handed it to her.

「I’ll think about forgiveness a bit more. I was a little hurt, you know.」

「Anyway, I wanted to say thank you, but I just remembered. Thank you for the gift you gave me on St. Barando’s birthday. I used it well in the spring.」

「I was going to give you something too, but since you’re a Duke, I won’t.」

Gideon smiled slightly, his eyes crinkling. Vanessa almost smiled back without realizing it, barely managing to hold the corners of her mouth. She gathered her letters and stood up.

Gideon didn’t get up from his seat, as he still had a lot of work to do. Instead, he handed her a piece of paper. It was the one with the promise to grant a wish.

Vanessa took it with a dumbfounded expression. What kind of wish would I even make?

But Gideon was still wearing a faint smile, so Vanessa gave an ambiguous nod and went upstairs.

I’ll definitely use that wish-granting note later. I’ll use it to torment him. Jenienne would love it.

Vanessa carefully put the note away, firm in her resolve.

Then, she spread a few blankets next to Dalois, who was already fast asleep, and curled up to lie down.

The Special Forces members and students, who woke up late the next day, finally set off again around noon. The villagers saw them off, tucking small snacks into their arms.

But their pleasant departure was short-lived, as they encountered heavy rain and eventually had to call for a carriage.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Pydom would have entered winter, but as they approached Morea, located at the westernmost edge, it became hotter, and now, entering the rainy season, clear days became rare.

Everyone was huddled together in the large carriage, dozing off, but Vanessa was intrigued, studying the magic circles engraved on the floor and ceiling of the carriage.

Wow, they’re dispersing the power like this to allow magic to flow throughout the whole thing.

Gideon watched Vanessa lifting the cloth on the floor and analyzing the magic circles, and smiled silently.

“You seem very interested in magic circles.”

“Yes?”

Vanessa was startled when Gideon suddenly spoke to her.

Since exchanging notes, her resentment towards him had vanished, and Vanessa no longer kept her distance from Gideon as she had before.

However, she was still wary of having intimate conversations with Gideon. She was worried someone might suspect they knew each other.

But now that he was directly managing Vanessa, it wasn’t that strange to talk to him.

Vanessa glanced at her friends, who were sound asleep and sprawled out, and whispered.

“I just find anything related to magic interesting. Maybe it’s because I thought it would never be relevant to me.”

“Many people find the details of magic circles boring, so that’s excellent.”

At the gentle words, Vanessa’s ears turned red, and she mumbled.

“Actually, I’ve only taken basic classes. I might get bored soon too.”

Gideon chuckled briefly at the honest answer and took something out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“You probably only learned the standard methods at the academy, but in urgent situations, we use this ‘Var’ [a magical pen used for drawing quick magic circles].”

Vanessa carefully examined the Var she had received, turning it this way and that. It looked like a white pen, but there was a small stone embedded at the end.

“Ink mixed with fairy dust flows out through the tip, and it has a higher viscosity than the ink usually used to draw magic circles. It can be easily drawn on the floor, making it easy to use anywhere.”

Gideon took the Var back and wrote a small character on the back of Vanessa’s hand. The character for ‘excellent’ in Edirnean [the local language] shimmered in gold.

Vanessa grinned.

“Currently, Major Andalus and Lieutenant Hisop of the Special Forces carry them.”

The rest are a mess when it comes to magic circles… Gideon muttered. Anna opened her eyes wide next to him, but Gideon cleanly ignored her.

“When do you usually use magic circles?”

“We seem to use them a lot when creating barriers. Large-scale barriers are slow to manifest, so it’s better to use magic circles.”

“Wow.”

As Vanessa quietly admired, Gideon gave a faint smile. Vanessa suddenly became curious. It was only natural, but…