Chapter 23: Kneeling Down

Everyone in the room was startled. A twelve year old kid was kneeling down on the floor, her head looking down, as if she had committed a grave sin and was here to confess.
Duke Harold Whittemore instantly stood up from his seat. No matter what, it was embarrassing to have such a young kid, female at that, doing this in front of him, especially because she was his own kid. He would not have batted an eye if it was an outsider, but she was his own blood.
With such an unexpected reaction from her husband, duchess had to get up too. Her whole body trembled with rage. What was this wench trying to prove here? She really needed to get this child some kind of poison so she could not pull a stunt like this in the future. Why was she so hell bent on ruining her perfect image in the eyes of everyone?
"Child, what are you doing?" Audrey asked clenching her teeth. The resentment in her voice was very apparent to Kim Su Won. She raised her head slightly at the right angle so that only Audrey Lazarus could see her face and curled her lips slightly upwards in a smirk. She then turned her head subtly towards the duke and his aide, with furrowed brows and reddened eyes.
"F-forgive me duke, I did not mean to offend you or my lady. It is just that…," she took a dramatic pause and bit her lips, eliciting such fatherly emotions from both the stern men in the room. Her acting was tugging the strings of the hearts of both Harold Whittemore and Isaac Laurent.
"What is it?" Duke asked in a gentle voice. Audrey looked at her husband, completely shocked. She had never heard her husband use such tender voice, even to her or her eldest daughter. How was this child doing it?
"Having gone through such a life and death situation, I have certainly understood that I have been wrong all along. Mother has been trying to prepare me for crown princess candidature but I have been running away. I have realized my mistakes and want to make amends…," she took a break again and sniffled a bit.
Even Anna could not hold back her tears. She had knelt down with her miss as soon as Kim Su Won had taken the step. As the maid, she did not have a right to stand when her master was sitting on the floor. She had no idea why her miss was being so dramatic but now it all made sense.
"And you want to study?" Duke questioned her once again, getting quite interested in what this kid had to say. He had not interacted much with her, but he had no idea there was such a mature child in the family. As she said, life and death situation might have forced her to become one.

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It was the duty of Audrey to recognize such talent. But if the child had to come begging to him, that meant his wife had failed in her duty. And he was certainly not happy with that face. Harold's face kept becoming darker as he pursued this line of thought. If the lady of the house was lagging in her duties, how could he work with peace of mind? The lands he helped maintain the imperial family, they would lose their trust in him if they knew of the discord between the legitimate family members. But he still kept his composure because he could not quarrel with his wife in front of the outsiders.
Kim Su Won knew she was reaching there already and from the tone, duke had already granted her permission in his heart. But even if she said she wanted to study herself, she would never be able to find the teachers. Why? Because in the end, the responsibility of finding those teachers would come in the hands of Audrey again. And given her own reputation, her mother could always make an excuse that no one wanted to teach her.
She had to secure a future both for herself and her little brother.
And thus, she shook her head sideways, a few droplets had already started pouring out from her eyes, making an imprint on the thick carpet. With a choked voice, she replied, "I do want to study, but I already know that no one would be interested in teaching me by their own will. If my lord orders them, they would fulfill their duty but they might resent me. And thus, I came to petition on behalf of someone else."
"Someone else?" the duke opened his eyes wide in surprise. Audrey also could not understand what was happening here. Who could it be when her two eldest kids were already getting top notch education and being taught by same teachers as the imperial family?
Kim Su Won nodded, albeit her eyes shook left and right. Her lips parted and sealed quite a few times when she finally 'gathered courage' to put forth her proposal.
"I have been looking after my half brother since I woke up. His name is Christopher and he is nine years old. He really has great talent in studies but no desire to fight for any title. I would really like to support him for he could be a great scholar from our family," she said in one breath.
Audrey Lazarus's jaw dropped, this wench was really trying to ruin all her heard work till now!

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