Chapter 4: Your Highness

The guy sitting behind Professor Taylor's desk was definitely him: Vernon Lin, the very same cold and heartless bastard whom Richard urged her to stay away from less than a day ago.

Everything about him was ridiculously strange: the way he leaned back in the chair, as if he owned the entire room; the way he stared at Amelie so boldly, as if assessing whether she was worth his time or not. However, the cold glare of his sharp, brown eyes didn't just serve to evaluate the girl; no, it aimed to intimidate, insult, and perhaps even diminish her—to reduce her to a level far below his own.

Seeing how Amelie was reluctant to talk, Vernon let out an exhausted sigh, then spent a few moments tapping his long fingers on the wooden surface of the desk, and finally gestured for the girl to come closer and take a seat on the chair next to his.

It was the first time Amelie Devold had been treated in such a disrespectful way, and although she found his behavior offensive, she had no choice but to comply with his tactless command.

"You're twenty minutes late. I agreed to do this because your father offered me good money, however, if you disrespect my personal time like this again, I'll make sure you'll have to pay for it yourself."

'And what is that supposed to mean?'

Amelie rounded her already big eyes at him but Vernon had already averted his gaze and was now immersed in going over some tables that appeared on his laptop screen.

"I heard about your disability. Don't expect me to care or treat you differently, though, if you are required to speak, you will have to speak, however difficult it might be for you."

This person's audacity was unbelievable. While Amelie never asked for any kind of special treatment from anyone, especially from those she didn't really care about, Vernon Lin was being plain rude, and it truly hurt her pride.

She gathered all her courage and tried to answer as confidently as she could,

"Al-alright."

Ugh, she failed.

The guy made an effort to suppress his scoff with a light cough, then moved his laptop over to Amelie's side, and tapped his finger on the screen.

"These are the tasks that Professor Taylor asked me to go over with you. Take a look at them and tell me what exactly you find so difficult to comprehend."

Now even his low voice began to irritate her. He was despicable. And he was laughing at her.

Amelie made a mocking grimace, then shifted her eyes to the laptop screen and started frantically going over the lines of symbols, numbers, and texts in a futile attempt to understand what exactly she was looking at. She was not stupid. Thanks to her father, who was the epitome of a programming genius in her eyes, she had a pretty good grasp of mathematics and could even write simple problem-solving programs. However, she was lazy enough to let her potential go to waste, especially since the role that awaited her in the distant future did not require her to be as proficient as Mr. Devold.

Not able to focus and still battling the emotions stirred up by Vernon's rude remarks, Amelie leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"Do you really have to be so rude to the person who pays you?"

Vernon, clearly taken aback by that seemingly reasonable question, could not help but scoff.

"It is your father who pays me, not you. Furthermore, I am not your babysitter or your friend. I was asked to tutor you, and that is precisely what I intend to do. If you desire additional "princess" treatment, perhaps you should request your father to compensate me accordingly. Your. Highness."

He purposefully emphasized the last two words to inflict even more mental damage on poor Amelie, who was at a loss, shocked by both his audacity and insensitivity.

"I don't have to tolerate any of this. Even if this is just an attempt to show how badass you are, there must be a limit to everything!"

The girl almost jumped to her feet and was prepared to leave when Vernon pulled her back down into the chair by her arm and clicked his tongue in obvious disapproval.

"Sit down. I was paid for ninety minutes, and since we've already lost thirty minutes solely due to your actions, I now have to make the most of the remaining sixty minutes and impart at least some knowledge to your esteemed self."

Amelie opened her pretty mouth to interject one more time but the guy shook his head and tapped his long index finger on the laptop screen again.

"You came here to study, so let me teach you. If you leave this room unsatisfied with the results once the sixty minutes are up, you are free to tell your father that I failed and ask Professor Taylor to find someone else to help you."

The girl could not argue with that logic. After all, Vernon Lin was rumored to be a genius, and he never let anyone take his impressive first place in the student rankings even once. Therefore, no matter how cold or rude he was, she had to suck it up and try to learn something from him. She had to at least try.

***

Vernon's methods of teaching were as impressive as his overall knowledge of the subject, Amelie could not help but feel that he was truly gifted - not only did he manage to explain even the hardest topics in the most simplified ways, but he also guided her through each task seamlessly, and while Professor Taylor was a renowned expert in his field, Amelie found his teaching approach way inferior to Vernon's. She was genuinely impressed.

Once the promised sixty minutes were up, the guy closed his laptop and shoved it into his large black backpack, getting ready to leave.

"When is our next lesson?"

Unexpectedly, even for her, Amelie blurted out those words completely out of the blue, which made Vernon pause for a moment and let out a short sarcastic scoff. He leaned over the desk, snatched a pink glossy pen out of Amelie's hand, and quickly wrote something in the corner of her notebook. Then, he threw the pen onto the desk and smiled like a cunning fox.

"I'll let you know, Your Highness."

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