“I apologize for my selfish request causing you trouble, Count Northcourt,” Prince Keith said, then he turned to me. “Let’s get started with our study session right away, Patience.”
After greetings were quickly exchanged, we headed to the children’s room. Ralph was good at classical literature, so I appointed him my assistant for today. I wasn’t sure how good Hugo was with the subject, so I designated him my second assistant for now.
“Prince Keith and Samuel will be singing songs in Dehn,” I announced. I handed them both some of the song books to look through, then I began playing a song and singing it. “Come on, you two must sing as well.”
Ralph and Hugo, who were peeking from behind, also joined in and sang. After singing the same song a few times, we moved on to another.
“I believe you should have a partial understanding of the narrative of the songs,” I said.
Prince Keith and Samuel both nodded.
“I still don’t see how this will make us better at studying classical literature,” Prince Keith added, sounding skeptical.
On the other hand, something seemed to have clicked for Samuel. He began reading through his classical literature textbook.
“I see. Dehn is similar to classical Emperado. Teach me more songs, Patience.”
I continued having them sing, teaching them several difficult words along the way. Despite Prince Keith’s intense hatred of classical literature, practicing these songs didn’t seem to bother him too much.
“The songs aren’t bad, but I’d like to study the language itself,” Prince Keith said.
That’s a tall order. I’ve only just started learning Dehn myself.
“If you’re all right with basic greetings, I can bring out my textbook.”
From there, our study session became a beginner seminar on Dehn.
“I am Prince Keith,” the second prince said in Dehn.
“I am Samuel,” my cousin responded, also in Dehn.
Ralph and Hugo both joined in, and they all seemed to be having fun. By that point, enough time had passed that it was almost time for tea.
I wonder if Eva made us those pancakes.
“Why don’t we take a break,” I suggested.
Samuel had been resistant toward studying at first, but now he seemed to be enjoying studying Dehn with Prince Keith and his friends.
“It’s been that long already?” Samuel remarked.
We all headed downstairs to the drawing room.
“Oh, those are pancakes!” Prince Keith exclaimed. The drawing room was fully prepared to host tea time. “Ralph, Hugo, you both need to try these! They’re really delicious!”
Neither Ralph nor Hugo ever touched the sugar-crusted cakes served in the salon, but since Prince Keith recommended the pancakes to them, they each took a bite.
“This is really delicious,” Ralph raved.
Samuel loved all kinds of sweet treats, so he happily ate his pancakes as well. They had been served with whipped cream and strawberries, which all disappeared in a blink of an eye. I was a bit concerned, but Samuel had slimmed down some since enrolling in the academy and joining the riding club. He wasn’t necessarily skinny, but he was no longer overweight, so I thought it was fine that he had a healthy appetite.
I’ve always been a shotacon who’s soft on kids!
While we were having tea, Aunt Lilianna popped into the drawing room to check in on us. Prince Keith took that opportunity to thank his hostess.
“You not only let us intrude on your home, but you also served us these delicious pancakes. I’m truly grateful.”
I’m glad he liked them! I’m sure Aunt Lilianna will be able to relax now. As the mistress of this household, she takes her job as a hostess seriously.
“What would you like to do now?” I asked Prince Keith and Samuel. “I think the technique of how you could study is clear now. I believe all that is left is for you to both implement this new method into your own studying.”
Prince Keith thought for a moment before responding.
“My dislike for classical literature has definitely lessened, but I don’t know if it’s enough to get me to accelerate the subject. If I could just pass classical literature, I could skip ahead to being a third-year student. Could you keep teaching me for a bit longer?”
Can’t Ralph just tutor you? I thought, glancing over at Ralph, but he averted his gaze. Ah. I guess he’s already tried countless times.
“I wish to keep learning from you as well,” Samuel said. “I’d also like some help with math.”
Now Samuel wants more studying time too? I keep losing time with my angels.
“Perhaps you are suited to being a teacher, Lady Patience,” Ralph remarked.
Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Ralph.
“Countess Northcourt, would it be all right if we were to stop by again next Saturday?” Prince Keith asked.
Hey, that’s not fair! Of course she’s going to say yes!
“Why, of course you may,” Aunt Lilianna replied. “You are welcome to visit whenever you’d like.”
Good grief. So my next Saturday is gone too. I’m so sad. If I’m going to be stuck with them, then I’m going to start cracking the whip!
“In that case, let’s keep going for just one more hour and study some grammar!” I said with a smile. You all got in the way of my precious time with my dear angels, so you’d better study until you can pass the class!
“You’re scaring me a bit, Patience,” Prince Keith remarked.
Yeah, you should be scared! Welcome to hell!
I made Prince Keith read aloud from the classical literature textbook. At first, he seemed extremely reluctant, but at a certain point it seemed like something clicked for him.
“Oh, so classical literature is just written in classical Lawrencian?” Prince Keith remarked. “It’s a little different from modern Lawrencian, and Dehn is definitely more similar to it, but it’s all based on the same language.”
That’s exactly it! It can’t be that hard, because both Patience and Nassius were able to read it without issue when they were young! You just didn’t get it because your initial dislike of the subject made you resist learning it!
“That is right. All you need to do is memorize some rules of grammar and sentence structure, found in the textbook, that differ from modern Lawrencian,” I explained. “Once you know the grammar, you can increase your comprehension by simply reading more classical works.”
Samuel was a genius when it came to understanding things aurally, so reading the classical literature textbook out loud helped him comprehend the text better, which seemed to surprise him.