âI thought you wanted to steal one, young Master?â
âThat⊠That is impossible.â
âHmm. Why is one of my candies missing?â
Sera intentionally frowned as she looked at the desk while she carefully pushed away a caramel with her hand concealed behind her back.
âOh, that⊠there it is.â
Edwardâs pitiful quarry, that single caramel that had previously landed in front of him, far away from the rest of the caramels.
Sera smiled refreshingly at Edward. She then slowly grabbed the caramel in front of Edward.
Edwardâs eyes fixated at the caramel leaving his side as if it was his lover leaving him on a train.
The right moment had arrived.
âYoung Master!â
Seraâs unexpected call made Edward jump and looked at her.
Edwardâs brown eyes widen.
âIf you want oneâŠâ
Sera picked up the caramel that was closest to her.
Sera picked up the caramel with her slender fingers and peel off the colourful wrapper slowly like a turtle.
Edwardâs hands were already eagerly stretched out in front of him. The sweet smell of the caramel reached the tip of his nose, and Sera dropped the sweet honey-coloured caramel onto his hand.
She spoke with a sweet voice, âYou will have to tell me why you donât want to study.â
It was at that moment, when the notoriously stubborn Edward Bennett, aged 7, was defeated by only a piece of Caramel.
Edward chewed the sticky caramel inside his mouth more than ten times. Each bite caused the caramel to stick onto his teeth, but the following sweetness spread all over his mouth and made him ecstatic. Sera nodded continuously as he became a willing participant to the conversation.
âMy mom and dad keep telling me everyday that I have to study hard because I will become the Marquis one day. My mom will read me a book even when I am eating. I have to study very hard or she will nag and nag all day.â
âYou must have had a very hard time.â
Sera nodded as she wiped Edwardâs mouth with her handkerchief.
âSo, I donât want to study anymore because it is boring. The tutors my mom brought me last time made me write the same lines again and again. My mom said I have to be good at it to become a Marquis, but it is all so boring.â
Edward put the last caramel into his mouth. He had already eaten five pieces of caramels and there were only rustling remains of candy wrappers left on the desk.
Sera smiled at Edward, who was chewing with his small mouth like a hamster. She gathered all the candy wrappers and put them in her bag, she then started to organize the desk as if she was about to leave.
âOh, and this class is so boring that I can eat even more caramel in classâŠ.â
Sera looked at Edward and got up from the sofa. She quietly moves away from the sofa and walks slowly toward the door. It was then Edward noticed what she was doing.
Surely enough, just as she tried to turn the door knob, an urgent voice spoke out.
âWhat⊠what the⊠Are you leaving?â
Edward didnât expect her to leave suddenly, he stuttered and looked confused.
âYouâre not going to study and you said the class is boring. Then I have to go.â
Sera shrugged as she explained what was obvious.
âBut donât you still have to make me study?â
âI donât think so.â
He gave a puzzled look to Sera.
âI donât care if you donât want to do it or not. Studying is something you can do well when you want to.â
âWhat?â
Edward opened his mouth and hung on to study, and she was the first person to leave after hearing his story.
âBye then, young Master.â
Sera once again grabbed the doorknob. âHold on⊠please wait!â
âAre you really leaving?â Edward asked her embarrassedly one more time.
âWhy do you ask, young Master?â
âCan I still eat a lot of caramel in your class?â
âGotcha!â
She was sure she had achieved her goal. That was how reverse psychology worked. People wanted to do something more when they were told not to do it, touched it more when they were told not to touch it, and eat something more when they were told not to eat it.
âLikewise, you will want to study when you are told that you do not need to do so.â
She turned her head away for a moment so that her face could not be seen; she couldnât help but to grin from ear to ear. But that was only for a brief moment. When she turned her head back to face Edward again, she would need to look like a friendly and generous teacher, and to do so, she had to press her lips together to stop herself from grinning.
âOf course, young Master.â
Sera turned her head and looked at Edward while whispering in a soft voice. Her clear blue eyes were glistening with joy.
âDo you wish to study with me?â
Sera reached out her hand to Edward. Edward jumped off the sofa and ran to Sera.
For some reasons, he felt that he must hold her hand.
Sera smiled affectionately at Edward, held his hand tightly and opened the door with all her might.
Marchioness Leticia, who had her ear on the door, suddenly stepped back in surprise. What caught her attention was a sight she had never seen or expected.
Edward was holding Seraâs hand! She blinked in disbelief.
âOur Edward is having a good relationship with a tutor?â
âThe young Master has something to say.â
âWhat? What did you just say?â
Leticia looked at Edward unbelievably.
She was dumbstruck and wondered if she was dreaming.
âI want to study with Miss Sera.â
It was barely 20 minutes as Sera requested. It was at that precise moment, she had completely gained trust of Marchioness Leticia Bennett.