Childcare Diaries - Chapter 32

Kentrail instantly thought he had heard it wrong.

So, with only a frown, he gazed at her.

“Really. I’m telling the truth.”

In his mind, he wanted to talk to her about this and that. He wanted to tell Marie to stop and explain to him more. Though words continued to spill out as if they had their own will.

“I’ve been living in a different world than here. I don’t ride horses like this place, and I don’t usually wear fancy clothes like this.”

“…”

“Where I worked there, I took care of the children. Like Brielle’s nanny. But, we didn’t stay together all day. We each went to their house to pick them up in the morning and dropped them off in the evening. However, one day something happened…”

“…”

“I transmigrated here due to an accident, and this was in the book I was reading—Young Master Brielle was the first person to be mentioned at the beginning of the book. There, the young master…”

She couldn’t even say that the young master was dead. Those words couldn’t come out of her mouth. It was scary. Marie was afraid it would really be like that if she said it out loud.

“This body that I came into, the Young Master… Young Master…”

As Kentrail closed his eyes, she stopped talking.

He was engulfed in chaos.

What she said was not something he would normally accept. For a moment, the first thought occurred to him as to whether she was wandering in her mind right now. But, he could see how tightly she was clenching her hands. Her firmly shut eyes trembled.

She was the one who knew that the words she uttered would bring catastrophe. Every time she opened her mouth, she was adding evidence of fact to her own words.

‘Is this place inside a book…?’

He stared down at his own hands. He couldn’t believe it was all in print. While Kentrail was lost in a momentary thought, Marie started talking again.

“The only way I can prove this is by telling the future or telling the past, which only you know.”

“…”

“The Count used to enjoy fishing with his brother when he was young. Rather than fishing, the time with him was more enjoyable.”

She saw it in the part where Kentrail recalled a happy past as he died.

Marie remembered this part rather well because she also wondered if she were to die, what memories of her family would she recall?

“And the Count has one subordinate, right? He’s trustworthy enough to give up his back. His eyes are red…”

Kentrail clenched his fists at Derek’s story coming out of her mouth. Except for the butler and a few reliable knights, very few knew about Derek.

She added confidence to her words.

‘Is it really true what she said?’

The attitude that changed one day would also be right if the person changed like this. The warmth felt from her younger brothers who saw her again. Greed disappears, and the warmth that comes out of her sparkling eyes is transparent enough.

Marie stopped talking again as he closed his eyes.

It was an unacceptable fact. But, if not, how could she know so much about him?

“Sigh…”

A deep sigh escaped his mouth.

“So… on the premise that you’re right…”

Kentrail rubbed his forehead as though he was confused, and continued. “What’s the reason?”

“What?”

“The reason why Brielle… had such an accident. And, the real Marie… Haa… well, who made her do that?”

“Ah…”

Unfortunately, the story of Brielle, who was a supporting character, was all outside the box.

Therefore, the person who drove the child to death was not clearly seen in the main story. The growth of the male lead took the forefront, and most of the pages were spent dealing with Kentrail, who took over as the villain.

Marie was contemplating how to say this. She didn’t want him to be hurt as much as possible.

“In the book, the main content begins after that event, and the exact reason…”

He closed his eyes and listened to her quietly, then met her gaze.

“Okay… Now that I know, you can stop talking.”

He made her stop. Kentrail also found it difficult for himself to accept this fact, but the more she spoke, the more her face became pale. Even though Marie was telling an incredible story, she was the one he loved. Shaking her whole body like this, falling into despair, how can he be silent and watch her talk silently?

With that, he pushed the table in front of him. Then, he knelt down on one of his knees before Marie and gently took her trembling hand.

“No, I have to keep going. Only then, will I be able… to protect the young master… from now on.”

Marie continued her story again.

“…”

Seeing her courage, Kentrail had no choice but to submit.

Indeed, Marie was telling the truth—The stories of his family, which there was no way she would’ve known, and the circumstances of the Kingdom, were all pointing to what she was saying.

To be honest, he was able to think this way because of the trust he had built through the past with Marie serving as a strong support in his heart. Had it been someone else, he would have done a thorough investigation to determine if they were playing a trick on him.

Regardless, Kentrail still had a hard time accepting it. The fact that the existence of the male protagonist is really defined here and that they are the plot points for him was a stifling pain. If there’s really a set fate, it’s too harsh on Brielle…

Although when Marie finished all her words, he got the feeling that the world in Marie’s book she was talking about had broken. Brielle lived, and he himself did not commit such atrocities.

So, that was it.

He pulled her back, still struggling to talk about the future, and pulled Marie into his own arms.

“It must have been difficult.”

It was heartbreaking for him that during the past moments she has struggled to protect Brielle on her own without telling anyone. How frustrated and lonely she must have been. That’s what those vain eyes that he sometimes sees were saying.

“…”

Marie couldn’t keep up with her words and started crying. Kentrail’s arms were warm.

Truthfully, he doesn’t know if he would not fully believe her words for the rest of his life. Still, he knew he would do his best to believe. It felt like a lump that had formed on his chest was finally being released in search of a clue.

“It’s okay. Brielle lives like this now, and I am a person who can laugh.”

His expression was strange. He looked sad and forced to smile. Marie reached out and touched his lips. However, it was the expression that shook her the most out of all his appearances she had ever seen.

“Count.”

“Yes.”

He slowly swept her hair away.

“You don’t think I’m strange—No, don’t you hate or loathe me? I’m the one who tried to kill the Young Master…”

“That was before you came here.”

“B-But, by any chance, what if I lied—”

Kentrail gently held her in his arms.

“Then, you wouldn’t have confessed like this. And I also felt something.”

“Yes…?”

“I told you. There were moments when you felt like a different person.”

The warmth of the mansion that has come since then, was the same as the warmth he felt in his arms now.

Slowly lifting Marie up, he sat down on the sofa again, next to her.

“What’s your real name?”

Marie was startled by the unexpected question. She didn’t think that he would ask for her name from the place where she lived. This question was proof that he believed in her.

Tears flowed down her cheeks once again.

“You are such a crybaby,” Kentrail said, smiling faintly as he reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“…I’m Jin Hae-rin.”

“Jin Hae-rin… Jin Hae-rin.”

The real name flowing through his voice gave her a different thrill.

‘I can’t believe you could feel this way in this situation!’

Marie couldn’t meet his eyes and she tightly closed her eyes.

“You must miss it a lot.”

As he gazed at her softly, Kentrail spat out.

“What?”

She was a warm and nice person. Of course, everyone who lived with her there must have liked her. There must have been a lot of people around her. And, those people must have had the same tendencies as Marie now. So, they would miss her a lot since they separated like this.

“Is there someone you want to see?”

At his words, she looked into her own mind.

‘…I want to see?’

It would be nice if the memories with her mother passed through her head, but unfortunately, there weren’t many. Her father, too. She only remembered the back view of him, who was always busy.

Clearly, there is not much that remains in her memory, but why was she crying? Her throat was choked. Only sobs filled her mouth.

She can barely remember her friends. Their faces were blurred. Since everyone was busy there, too, there were many times when they saw each other only once in a few years. They also made a phone call about once a month.

Nonetheless, she knew. Even if they met again now, it wouldn’t be as awkward as when they met yesterday. Their friendship was just like that.

As she recalled them, a small smile appeared on her tear-stained face before it disappeared moments later.

‘I want to see everyone.’

These are memories that she tried to ignore, but everything fell apart in every word she said.

Kentrail was surprised. It was because Marie’s body suddenly sagged and she fell to her side.

“Nanny! Nanny! Marie, wake up!”

Hearing the loud noise, the butler hurriedly opened the door and entered.

“Count, what’s going on?”

Then, seeing the fallen nanny, wet with tears, he hurriedly ran to call a doctor.

*** 

Marie hadn’t woken up for five days. Ellie was holding her hand by her side as she buried her face in her hands.

Her hands were wet with the tears of the child, but there was no movement. Barry asked if she would sleep for a while, but Ellie insisted with fear and continued to stand by her sister’s side.

Barry didn’t say much either, but he was worried about Marie as well, so he went to the doctor and asked what had happened.

Brielle and Ellie held her hand on the other side and stayed with her. However, after being told that it would be more difficult for the nanny, he went back to the room for a while.

“Ellie, I’ll go and get you some food.”

Barry went to the kitchen and brought her drinks because she was not eating well. He glanced at his younger and elder sister with worried eyes, then quietly closed the door and left.