Guide to the Education and Training of Girls with Mentally Abnormalities

Chapter 22 Three People Together

Edmund wiped the sweat from his brow.

For a dance idiot like him, having to keep up with Edith's energetic dance moves for several songs on the dance floor, maintaining graceful movements and poise under the watchful eyes of everyone, and trying to match Edith's expansive and dramatic movements when she got excited, was no easy task.

of course.

Compared to personally wrestling and fighting for one's life in the mud and blood of the underground city.

Edmund would certainly prefer to drink fine wine, sing songs, dance with beautiful girls, and then boast about his countless adventure stories over drinks.

Edith said she was going to find her maid who was feeding the "white pigs" right after she finished dancing, and skipped off to the banquet area, leaving Edmund behind.

Just then, a waiter carrying a tray of drinks walked by.

He was just about to take a drink from the waiter's tray when a figure appeared silently in front of him.

"It's an honor, Miss Alicia, to see you again." Edmund picked up two wine glasses from the tray. "Would you like a glass?"

The girl looked at the young man before her; his long, straight black hair flowed smoothly down his chest and back, making him appear noble and elegant.

She didn't take the drink Edmund offered, but stared intently at the young man before her, as if she could infuse her soul into his body through her gaze.

Edmund stood there, holding two wine glasses, silently waiting like a statue for Alicia to finish her scrutiny.

"It's so good to see you again, sir." The girl's face was gentle and calm, but her words were like a calm sea that concealed turbulent waves.

"I thought you weren't coming."

"I..." Edmund began, but was interrupted by Alicia.

"Integrity is the foundation of an adventurer's character. Is that what you're saying?" Alicia smiled at Edmund, the curve of her lips making her jade-like, cool face resemble a white magnolia with dew, noble yet full of life, making Edmund think of the phrase "a beautiful, smiling face."

"That's right, Miss Alicia."

"But shouldn't an honest person not leave without saying goodbye...? I've been looking for you. Why did you leave without saying goodbye back then?"

Alicia tilted her head and pursed her lips, taking small steps toward Edmund.

"Before you leave, won't you even listen to what I have to say?"

"Did I do something to upset you, Mr. Clemens? You yourself said that I was the best student you ever taught, the one who learned the fastest. As a teacher, shouldn't you like excellent students?"

Alicia took another step forward, placing her clenched left hand on her chest as if to calm her heart, which was about to burst forth.

"Or is it that you have some kind of prejudice against me, or my family, and that being with me is a disgusting thing, which is why you chose to leave without saying goodbye?"

Edmund straightened his bow tie.

"If my teaching service has not met your expectations, I apologize. If you have any complaints about the teaching service, you can take the contract to the Adventurers' Guild to file a complaint."

"They will specifically seek me out, and then choose a time that is convenient for both of us, to resolve our dispute... well, or rather, the misunderstanding, before the Holy Light and the law in the Vatican's arbitration tribunal."

"If you feel that my presence has caused you any inappropriate emotional fluctuations, I will apologize and leave. However, if you are going to accuse me of 'disrespecting the Enfield family' or 'discriminating against the eldest daughter of the Enfield family,' I absolutely cannot accept that."

"By the Holy Light, I have never had such thoughts about you."

Alicia's lips were slightly pursed, glistening softly in the banquet hall lights.

"Regardless, I will absolutely live up to my professional ethics and integrity regarding the part of the contract that 'mentors Alicia and Eyarn until they pass the beginner adventurer exam and obtain their qualification certificates'."

After saying this, he drank the blood-red wine in his glass, bowed to Alicia, and was about to return the two glasses, one empty and one full, to the waiter.

Alicia took the drink from Edmund before the waiter could reach it.

She rubbed the slender stem of the glass between her fingers, the cool, smooth touch only intensifying her anxiety, as if Edmund before her could slip through her fingers as easily as the smooth glass.

"Sir, I just don't understand."

"not understand?"

When faced with unspeakable desires or thoughts, people often choose to project their thoughts in another form: either by going to the opposite extreme or by reversing the roles of subject and object.

Just as Alicia knew her feelings for Edmund, she still asked the question, word by word.

"Didn't you have any thoughts about me in the past?"

"Exactly the opposite of what you think."

Edmund looked directly into Alicia's eyes.

"I have more thoughts about you than I have ever known anyone before."

"I hope you can study what I teach you well and become the best student, so as not to disappoint your hard work; I hope you can be safe and sound in your future adventures, and even if you can't become a legendary adventurer, I hope you won't suffer from any hidden illnesses, whether mental or physical, like others, in that dark dungeon."

"I hope you can realize your true dreams in the future, after all, you are still young..." Edmund said eloquently.

Not hearing the answer she wanted to hear, Alicia's lips moved, but she hesitated and slowly lowered her gaze.

"The invitation from the gentleman is the only one that I personally wrote and put in the envelope." She swirled the remaining red wine in her glass, the jewel-like liquid rolling in the crystal glass with each swirl, her tone like a shy young girl coaxing someone she was close to, or perhaps complaining about the other person's lack of understanding.

Alicia looked up.

"I heard that after Eamin and I graduated, you had new students?" The girl unconsciously emphasized the word "graduation".

"right."

Edmund's tone was casual and indifferent.

"Strictly speaking, she is not just my student."

"Not just your students?" The girl's voice sounded somewhat stiff, and even her gentle smile changed.

"It just so happens that I brought her along today." Edmund thought to himself that Edith should have brought Esther, who was full, back from the banquet hall by now. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Esther being led by Willow, carefully wiping her mouth with a napkin.

He didn't pay much attention to where Edith went, he just nodded his chin in the direction of the two of them.

"Look, there she is."

Alicia was just about to look in the direction Edmund was pointing.

"Edmund, I've been looking for you for ages! So this is where you are."

The girl who suddenly appeared grabbed Edmund's arm.

She noticed Alicia next to the young man, her energetic face beaming with a radiant smile.

"Hey, big sister."

"Long time no see, how have you been lately?"

"Let me introduce you, this is Edmund Clemens, my current butler and mentor."