New World, New Life: I Became A Bigshot In The Ancient World
Chapter 113: BEYOND THE BOOKSHELF

Chapter 113: BEYOND THE BOOKSHELF

Vasily left the drawing room still in disbelief.

It was all because of what happened back in that room.

Earlier...

"Hello, I’m AE." Aristia said.

She looked up at Vasily, expecting a reaction. However, she received none. Vasily stared forward with a blank gaze like a malfunctioning machine.

"Eh..."

[Did I break her?] Aristia thought nervously.

She waved her hands in front of Vasily’s face. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"

Vasily snapped out of the daze she was in, her face pale and white.

"You... w-what did you say?" She asked.

But Aristia’s face was still normal. She really hadn’t misheard.

"Lord help me." Vasily muttered, snapping out of her thoughts.

Another of Aristia’s word flashed through her mind.

’I have decided to start a school for commoner children; commoner boys and girls’.

Vasily recalled Aristia’s words about opening a school for commoners. The little princess was actually AE? It was unbelievable! Then... she really could open the school.

She looked up when she heard footsteps.

"Your Imperial Highness," she curtsied in greeting when Catherine came to a stop in front of her.

"You look to be in shock, Vasily." Catherine offered, "Care to join me for some tea in the garden?"

"Ah, yes." Vasily nodded and they walked to the garden together.

There was a moment of silence in the garden as the two noblewomen sat down in the round table with steaming cups of tea placed in front of them and a teapot in the middle.

"Tia told you?" Catherine was the first to break the silence. She could tell from the look on Vasily’s face. She already had an inkling it would happen when Aristia decided to attend the history lesson in her training clothes.

Vasily’s head snapped up from staring at her cup of tea on the table in shock.

"You are aware?" She asked.

"I am her mother." Catherine replied in an obvious tone, stirring the tea in her teacup.

She sighed and stopped stirring her tea. "Since Tia told you about that, it means she trusts you. It’s not all about being family. I trust you understand what I am saying. Do not speak a word about anything she told you." Catherine had come to understand her daughter’s personality as they had gotten closer again.

"I would never do so even if you hadn’t said so." Vasily replied.

Catherine started. "Tia has changed drastically. She is... different from other children. She is unique, and thinks and behaves differently. You can say that she’s peculiar... but in a good way. The things she does and says, the way she reasons, her words, her ideas, they never fail to leave me surprised. But I cherish her deeply beyond words and I wouldn’t ask for anything else. I am very proud of her and will always support her. Her achievements make her happy— It is plain for me to see— and I wouldn’t want anything or anyone to spoil that."

The atmosphere was tense.

Catherine stared directly into Vasily’s eyes, then continued.

"Which is why I am telling you to not reveal word about this, Vasily. I do not want my daughter to be harmed or hurt in the slightest." Catherine finished.

Vasily listened attentively. She had always known the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess loved their children. Every noble knew of this fact. But truly witnessing the intensity...

She also knew that the Grand Duchess was right; Aristia really was a peculiar child. She wasn’t at all like the other noble children she had met. She thought in a way above her age, and she had achieved a lot more than other children her age.

Silence took over again. But the tense atmosphere faded.

"She plans to open a school... for commoners." Vasily revealed after some thought.

She thought that Catherine was Aristia’s mother, and since she already knew about her daughter being AE and the owner of The Vanilla Courtyard, it wouldn’t be wrong to tell her.

"Oh? I haven’t heard of this." Catherine raised her brows, passing Vasily a meaningful look.

"Oh, she is not yet sure when as she said it would be sometime in the future. She... only told me because sh wanted me to be the teacher." Vasily added when she noticed Catherine’s reaction.

The woman looked at her like she wondered why her daughter hadn’t told her but had told the tutor instead.

"Mm." Catherine hummed in thought.

A school for commoners. She could imagine the wave of sensation that would cause.

After the tea time discussion with Catherine, Vasily left the Grand Duke’s mansion.

Catherine turned around and walked back into the mansion, heading to her husband’s study.

***

After her classes in the late afternoon, Aristia was called by her parents to the study.

She sat down on the couch opposite her parents with Alaric beside her. A plate of freshly baked cookies and two cups of tea were on the table in front of them. The amount of times they drank tea was alarming to her.

She handed a cookie to Alaric and helped herself to it and then she looked up at her parents, wondering what was the matter.

"Tia, I heard from Vasily that you are planning to build a school." Catherine started.

Aristia paused, then she smiled. "She is not wrong. But that plan is set in the future." She explained.

"So, I heard." Catherine said.

"I will have to talk to Fedor about this." Wilson spoke up. Fedor was the king, after all, and something as controversial as a school for commoners was not a light decision.

Nowadays, they didn’t object much to their daughter’s actions.

"I want you all to come with me to the restaurant. I want to show you something." Aristia said to her parents and brother.

"Oh?" Her parents exchanged glances, then looked back at her.

After that discussion, Aristia and her family headed to The Vanilla Courtyard.

They headed up the stairs and straight up the glass lift to the last floor where her office was on.

Her office was very clean as she and Owen were usually here most of the time after their classes, even though it was mostly Owen.

"Mama, Papa and Al. As I said earlier, I want to show you something."

Her parents nodded, looking at her curiously to go on.

She walked to the bookshelf.

Her fingers trailed the books on the shelf and stopped at a book that looked very boring and not very noticeable. It didn’t stand out at all.

She pulled it backward as if to collect it.

Suddenly, the wall behind the bookshelf opened, revealing a hidden space that looked like a miniature parlour.

"Come on," Aristia gestured, stepping into the space.

Wilson, Catherine and Alaric followed after her and walked into the place intrigued by the unexpected discovery.

There were several sofas placed in the center of the room surrounding a small table. There was also a fireplace that was unlit. There were three more doors in the place leading to other areas.

One of them was a bedroom, the other was a kitchen and the third was a storeroom.

"I wanna go to that room!" Alaric shouted.

Aristia followed his pointed finger.

Oh, that’s the bedroom. Wanna see it?" She asked rhetorically, going to open the door.

The bedroom was well arranged with a comfortable bed, a bedside table, and a simple wardrobe stocked with neatly folded bedsheets and duvets arranged in them. However, there were no clothes hanging in the wardrobe yet.

There was a door in the corner of the bedroom that led to the bathroom. The bathroom was simple, with a normal sized bathtub and bathing supplies neatly arranged.

The second door if you left the bedroom revealed a modest kitchen, and was equipped with essential utensils. There weren’t many ingredients, just a few that had a long shelf life and wouldn’t spoil easily. Adeline had arrived earlier that morning with Owen to clean the space.

The third door led to a storeroom, where cleaning equipment was neatly organized.

"That’s my rest area," Aristia explained as they returned to the office. "This floor is my private space— no workers or guests are allowed here."

"This is an amazing arrangement," Wilson said, speaking for the first time since they arrived.

His daughter had created a comfortable place for herself. With such arrangement here, he wouldn’t be worried about whether she could get enough rest or not.

He patted Aristia on the head proudly, and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you, Papa." She replied, unashamedly appreciating the praise.

After sometime in Aristia’s office, the family of four returned to the first floor, where the restaurant was bustling with commoners, nobles and aristocrats.

Aristia and her family chose a table and sat down. Soon after, a server came to take their orders.

The family enjoyed their meal in silence, only exchanging brief conversations in between.

After finishing their hearty meal, they returned to the mansion to retire for the night.

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