My mother said that five is too young an age to start school, but I can get private tutoring in the meantime. I’m supposed to meet potential tutors today, a small list narrowed down by my mother.

“This one smells.” She turned away around twenty with this excuse. “That one looks shabby.” Another thirty or so. “This one seems shifty.” Another few.

All in all, I’d say that, of around a hundred, seventy or eighty were turned away with these kinds of reasons. The remaining were interviewed properly, by my mother and the Head Maid and Butler, Shana and Linus. Of them, five passed the interview.

Honestly, my mother is so hard-working it’s a real question how she ended up with the Nova from the novel for a child.

I’d say so far I’m doing a great job straying from the original plot. After all, my family didn’t release the majority of the staff because of my trauma, I’m on the fast-track to magic school instead of the Royal Academy, where the majority of the novel’s events take place, and according to Selka, my mother very skillfully avoided the topic of marriage with the lady Kalista Foliage… even though that happens in the book too.

Anyway, the first tutor, a gentleman with long, flowy hair that puts most women’s to shame, stands in front of me. He bows and says, “Greetings, Young Miss Allandis. This humble one is Dorian Mannes.”

I curtsey. “Greetings, Earl Mannes.” I know I asked my parents to let me meet them first, but what am I even supposed to ask?

Luckily, my mother is here with me. “Earl Mannes, what do you think qualifies you to teach my daughter?”

He answers without hesitation. “I graduated top of the class from the Royal Academy, and I, with photographic memory, have read all of the books that the Royal Academy has access to. Whatever information the Young Miss might wish to know, I will be able to provide.”

“Are you teaching anyone else as of now?”

“My other students have already started school. Therefore the Young Miss would be my only student, should I have the honor of teaching her.”

“What is your goal for my daughter?”

“I wish to teach her all common knowledge as well as everything that is within my scope of knowledge, including historical facts, mathematics, reading, writing, and analytics.”

“Very good. We will let you know soon on the results.”

“Thank you.” He stands and my mother shakes his hand.

I stand as he turns toward me. “One last question, Earl.”

“What would that be, Young Miss Allandis?”

“Why do you wish to teach me, and not, for instance, the son of the House of Duke Mariott?”

He smiles as he replies. “Speaking politically, the House of Duke Allandis holds the most power next to the royal family, and as such, being acquainted with this house is very beneficial. Moreover, the Duke Allandis is known to never treat his people unfairly. However, more so than the position of the Young Miss’s teacher, this one just wished to be acquainted with the fair young lady who bought my friend a meal.” He bows. “Then, I shall take my leave.”

Stunned, I stare at the door.

“Nova?” My mother pulls my hand into hers and I slowly look at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Mama…” I glance back to the door. “When I bought food for a young girl at the market, I used disguising magic on myself and the guards.”

“You mean to say he saw through your disguise?”

“He’s not as simple as he seems.”

My mother crosses her arms. “But Nova, when did you learn disguising magic? I thought I told you not to experiment without a proper teacher.”

“I saw it in a book.”

“And why did you use it?”

“I went out with just a few guards. I thought I should take some precautions since the kidnapping happened.”

“And you didn’t ask either your father or me?”

“I asked for Papa’s permission to go out.”

She sighs and holds her head. “Alright, Mama can’t keep you from doing whatever you want, so just be careful, ok?”

I hang my head. “Okay.”