The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life
[Sneak Into Class!]
Translated by: ME
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*Knock, knock.* I rapped on Brian's door.
「Pardon me for interrupting your studies.」
After Rosa called out and waited for a response from inside, we entered the room.
Before me was Brian's tutor, Countess Daphne.
Normally, it seems tutors often change depending on the specialized subject, but she is apparently a woman deeply knowledgeable in academics, and my brother, who is learning the basics, is taught all the necessary subjects by her.
They say she is excellent but very strict.
*Gulp.* Magnolia swallowed and made a deep curtsy. It was the lady's courtesy Rosa had taught her.
「It's nice to meet you, Counteth Daphne. I am Magnolia, the first daughter of the Gilmore Marthionate. I apologize for disturbing you during your lessonth.」
「If I promise to be very quiet, may I pleathe stay near my brother?」
I stared intently at her, with her gray hair pulled tightly into a bun and her sharp, light blue eyes.
I was playing the part of a lonely little girl who missed her often-absent parents and wanted to be near her brother.
...Her presence is... her intensity is something else (wry smile). And Magnolia's perpetually clumsy speech (wry smile).
「......」
As Countess Daphne stared fixedly at Magnolia, Rosa interjected apologetically.
「My deepest apologies, Madam. The young lady absolutely insisted on being near her brother... I thought it might be impolite, but I decided to inquire.」
The picture I presented was that of a young lady, who had become surprisingly well-behaved since waking up, being unusually clingy (?) towards her brother and fussing, leading to this impulsive charge into his lesson.
Countess Daphne thought for a moment, let out a small sigh, and said,
「...If you can remain quiet, I don't mind.」
Once the Countess gave her approval, his maids efficiently set up a small desk and chair for me.
While I wanted to sigh with relief, I instead smiled, gave a slight curtsy to show my gratitude, and quickly took my seat.
(So they *did* have a small chair...)
As someone who had to use a step stool every time to climb onto the large chair in my own room, I felt a certain way about the small, probably unused desk and chair in Brian's room.
「Thank you very much.」
Hiding my mixed feelings, I thanked her with a smile.
Yes! Infiltration successful, for now.
During my tea parties with my brother, I'd always hear him complain about his private lessons.
Frankly, the fact that he *had* things to do, and that he got to touch civilization and culture, made Magnolia intensely jealous. I had been simulating various ways I might be able to participate.
They say 'Fortune favors the bold,' but another great person said 'Haste makes waste,' and on top of that, 'More haste, less speed.'
And yet another said 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'
Part of me wanted to just throw caution to the wind and jump in.
But unfortunately, Magnolia, age three, stands in what seems to be a very high-risk position.
In this case, I decided to listen to the voice in my heart—or rather, the opinion of the former 33-year-old Magnolia—which said it would be wiser to 'test the water before jumping in.'
After all, I didn't think telling Rosa or my family would get me a tutor, and if by some chance I did get one, I'd be in trouble if they demanded some outrageous compensation in return.
After much thought, I concluded that asking for permission to join beforehand would likely be denied, so settling on the simple result of using a child's privilege (fussing) to charge in seemed best.
Alright, here I go! Off to the world of the very basics of another world's learning!!
The first lesson was poetry.
Now that I think about it, I recall old Europe had things like verse poetry too~. What kind of verse was Goethe good at?—I hurriedly pulled my straying thoughts back and glanced at Brian.
...My brother's eyes were dead.
(Hang in there, kid!)
Today seemed to be about simple quatrains. I'd never actually seen a quatrain in my previous life, so I sneaked a look at the textbook to see what they were like.
In Japan, elegant people also compose poems (haiku and tanka, but still) on occasion. I guess nobles compose poems in their daily lives too?
Thinking such thoughts, recalling bits and pieces of classical literature from my previous life's lessons, I listened to the Countess's lecture.
The sound of Brian's pen moving, the Countess's explanatory voice.
The rustle of the maids' clothes as they moved.
The chirping of small birds gathered in the treetops under the clear sky.
I sat quietly looking ahead, or peeked at my brother's textbook. Seeing Magnolia occasionally glance at her brother with concern, Brian's maids felt warmly amused, Rosa sighed with relief that I wasn't causing a disturbance, and Countess Daphne was secretly impressed.
After a while, a slate for killing time was placed before me.
Though a little surprised, Magnolia bowed her head deeply to the Countess.
(Ooh~! I've never seen one before! I heard they used them in Japan long ago too...)
For little kids, drawing pads are a staple.
But in this world, paper isn't distributed cheaply enough to be used for doodles. Hence, the reusable slate makes its appearance.
In my previous life, even in Magnolia's parents' generation, only a minority would have seen or used a slate.
The standard was the 'magic drawing board' made using magnetic iron powder, reusable semi-permanently if not broken. Needless to say, by Magnolia's time, that was the norm.
There were all sorts of premium versions... deluxe sets with stencil-like sheets that let you trace popular characters and came with magnets, to small, cheap ones sold at hundred-yen shops for killing time on outings.
Gently, Magnolia stroked the slate she was seeing for the first time, then slowly slid the chalk across it, testing how it felt to write.
You couldn't call the lines beautiful, but the sensation of writing something after so long made the corners of my mouth relax involuntarily.
While drawing a flower in a childlike manner (?), I watched my brother's struggling form out of the corner of my eye and mentally worked on the assignment alongside him. I spelled words out small with my finger (since writing them would give me away) and listened to the explanations.
Reading the assigned poem aloud.
Next was copying. I watched with bated breath as Brian's clumsy, slow hand crawled across his notebook.
The Countess's critique and commentary.
Her calm, deep voice, steeped in experience, made you feel the depth of both her experience and her character.
She repeated the important parts twice, and pointed *tap tap* at the relevant section in Brian's textbook to make it clear.
(Ah, so that's today's keyword...)
I copied it onto my slate so I wouldn't forget. In my previous life, this is where I'd use a highlighter.
Brian glanced over and blinked.
「Magnolia, can you write letters?」
(Oh nooooo! This is bad!!)
I felt like freezing solid with a *thud!* and took a deep breath.
An unpleasant sweat trickled down my back.
「...N-No... I was just... copying the part of the book the Counteth pointed at... earlier. ...Ith it wrong?」
(I let my guard down and wrote it! Stupid, stupid, you fool!)
Well, it's basically the alphabet~. In Japan, we learn romaji from third grade. And these days, they learn English from elementary school too.
My second foreign language in university was German, so if I see the letters, I can write them~. I made excuses in my heart, though to whom—maybe to myself.
「It's impressive that you can write it just from seeing it,」 Countess Daphne said, peering at the slate. I felt she was casually checking the spelling...
「...Thank you,」 I said, smiling (sweating).
Trying not to let my agitation show, Magnolia was careful not to move her eyes much and smiled vaguely. Just smiling.
Brother! I wish you'd focus a bit more on your own work (taking my frustration out on him & pleading)!
After a while, a short break was called.
It seemed the desk-work lessons were divided into roughly one-hour segments to match Brian's limited attention span.
Indeed, it's proven even in another world (Earth) that varying activities is more efficient than continuing the same thing indefinitely.
The second lesson was arithmetic.
It was very simple addition and subtraction.
Needless to say, the calculation answers were the same, even the symbols were identical to Japan's, so aside from learning the numerals, there was nothing special to do.
Hmm. Magnolia groaned inwardly.
(I mean, even the symbols are the same... Why? Isn't it unnatural how many things match up so closely?)
As usual, I stole glances at the textbook and memorized the shapes of the numbers. I was hazy on the larger Greek numerals too. Being careful not to write them by mistake, I drew doodles on my slate.
Brian was solving problems, earnestly counting on his fingers or glaring at the ceiling.
The gritty feeling from that strange sense of unease was somewhat soothed by the sight of the child trying his best.
I had wondered if, because he's a boy, he might be good at arithmetic (a stereotypical assumption), but it seemed he wasn't particularly good at it, just like with the poetry earlier.
...Yeah. That figures.
Kids who are pretty bad at studies are usually weak in all subjects, with some minor variations and exceptions.
The smart girls weren't just good at humanities; they were good at math, chemistry, and physics too.
Heck, in my previous life, there was even a term 'Rikejo' (science girls).
Similarly, the boys with good grades weren't just good at sciences; needless to say, they were good at Japanese, English, and social studies too. That's the truth.
And while Brian was desperately copying down the Countess's words as she explained various concepts and ways of thinking...
Sadly, probably hardly any of it would remain in his head by the next day.
Brian seems to be the type who just copies the blackboard verbatim.
...I feel like I can see how this is going to go.
To be blunt, grades aren't that relevant once you enter society.
But whether you can put in proper effort, whether you think quickly, your ability to select and discard information, whether you have the ability to decipher things even if slowly—those *are* relevant.
He seems not only not keen on using his head much but also not the efficient type.
He strikes me as the type who might mess up if he doesn't have a very capable agent (?) managing the territory for him.
Fun times fly by.
The third lesson seemed to be dance, and I would have liked to watch that for future reference too, but Rosa, perhaps thinking it was time, announced our departure. ...Pushing my luck too much would ruin future chances, so I obediently complied.
Magnolia also expressed her thanks in her characteristic halting speech.
「Counteth Daphne, I apologize for dithturbing you while you are busy. Thank you very much for allowing me to be a bother.」
I had managed to learn a few new words, and it was good to learn about this world's poetry and things I didn't know. Above all, being able to touch upon cultural matters gave me an immense sense of satisfaction.
I also said goodbye and thanked my brother.
The Countess, who had been watching Magnolia for a while, spoke quietly.
「...Young lady, do you have a slate of your own?」
「No?」 I shook my head.
The Countess let out a small sigh, nodded, and then handed the slate, which Rosa had returned to her, back to Magnolia.
「Please, take this.」
「...Is that alright? I am not your pupil, Madam.」
When I spoke hesitantly, Countess Daphne gave a small nod.
「This is a fixture of the Marquisate's household. I only use it during lessons for detailed explanations; there are several spares in the storeroom. ...The junior apprentice servants use these when they are learning to read, so no one will complain if the young lady has one.」
「I thee! Thank you very much!!」
I was so happy for the Countess's consideration that a genuine smile escaped.
I think it's the first time I've properly smiled since coming here.
Paper, while available, is somewhat expensive, and no one would give me any no matter who I asked, so I had given up.
Then, as if saying 'and this too,' she handed me a thin wooden card that seemed to be a chart of letters and numbers.
「And thith is...」
「I give these out to the neighborhood children and such, so please don't hesitate to take it.」
「Really, thank you so much!」
Seeing my un-ladylike—flushed cheeks and beaming smile—Countess Daphne gave a wry smile. It was because she thought it was the first childlike expression she had seen on me.
「You are welcome to come again anytime. You were very quiet, and it seems your brother sits more properly when his little sister is with him.」 She glanced towards the great hall where Brian had presumably gone for his next lesson and let out another small sigh.
「Yeth!」
I bowed my head, and as I returned to my room, I gently stroked the wooden card and slate. Rosa watched Magnolia's behavior intently.
Come to think of it, the Countess had been scrutinizing me with her gaze from the very beginning. Perhaps she sensed and perceived something from my clothing and atmosphere.
An unrelated adult... it's the first time since coming to this world.
I received genuine, heartfelt consideration.
The fact that someone I'd only interacted with for a short while showed me such great consideration, while trying not to make me feel obligated, made Magnolia exceptionally happy.
My mind is an adult's, but that doesn't mean I enjoy being ostracized.
Sometimes, in the pitch-black bed or the room at dawn, alone, the hurt feelings catch up to me, and it's not just my body that has become a child's.
Suddenly finding myself a child in an unfamiliar place, treated as non-existent by the parents I was born to in this world. Looked down upon by my brother... The maids are kind enough in their own way, but Rosa, who should be my closest confidante—whether acting on someone's orders or by her own design, I don't know—seems to be interacting with me while holding something back.
A world full of hostility, whether active or passive.
......If my parents had been loving, I might have chosen to live my life over from scratch as a child in this world.
If my brother had been considerate, I might have found a foothold and resolved to try harder.
If Rosa, who is essentially raising me, were a truly supportive adult at heart, I might have been able to smile and feel hopeful for the future in this world.
I mustn't make excuses and blame others for my own inability.
I'll do my best within the scope of what I can do.
...But.
The fact that Magnolia, physically only three years old, has no one to rely on in an unknown world is, when you think about it, incredibly terrifying.
I'm only forcibly suppressing the lament and complaints towards the overflowing injustice with the understanding, resignation, and slight pride that comes from having an adult's mind inside.
Precisely because I'm afraid, I can't afford to stand still. Crying won't solve anything. I can't even spare the time to surrender myself to the anger at these absurdities.
「...Rosa.」
I quietly held out the slate. Accepting it, Rosa looked at me quietly, her eyes wide.
「Young lady...?」
「Hath no one told you not to give thuch things to me? I do not wish for you to be reprimanded.」
Rosa gazed at Magnolia, whose eyes were calm like still water, then tightly clenched her fingers in front of her chest and slowly shook her head.
How no substitute was ever offered, no matter how many times I asked for paper.
How I wouldn't have even been taught manners if I hadn't asked.
How, if I didn't initiate contact, I had no interaction with anyone except the three maids.
How, if I looked sullen, I was only scolded for not 'smiling'.
...It's like they're raising a doll.
It's hard to believe Rosa is acting on her own judgment. Either she's acting on someone's orders, or she's interpreting their wishes.
Given that my parents are neglecting me, if she were treating me poorly with malice, I feel she is too kind-hearted for that.
「...No. No, nothing of the sort. The Countess has kindly given you the character chart, so please use it for your studies.」
Rosa smiled a fleeting smile and nodded firmly, as if to say it was alright.
It seems that Magnolia, a child with an adult's mind, can't help but be cautious.
She will gradually take her first steps into this new world from now on, but the road ahead seems quite long indeed.
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