Childcare Diaries - Chapter 36

As Barry left again, Ellie and Brielle were lying together in a wooden house. Suddenly, the two of them, who were much taller, had their legs sticking out of the treehouse.

“Oh, it’s nice.”

It was the shade that supported them during the hot season. It was the coolest thing to be under the shade in a wooden shack like this.

“Young Master, you don’t play with toys these days, aren’t you?”

“Like what?”

“The horse and the dragon.”

“Been a while since I put them away.”

Brielle, who was listening to Ellie next to him, started to fuss.

“Hey, just tell me. Aren’t you secretly playing with it every night?”

“No, I don’t.”

Brielle, unaware that his heart was getting stronger the more he was pushed, just got angry.

“If not, then never mind.”

Ellie patted the seat next to her with her hand, and he fell down again. Then, he turned her head away from Ellie.

‘How could she know?’

Ellie’s guess was true. During the day, Young Master Brielle insisted that he act with dignity while watching the employees, but at night he was busy playing with toys by himself.

The reason Marie and Ellie knew that was simple. It was because the location of the toys in Brielle’s room had changed little by little. Brielle did his best to put it back in place, but it was easily spotted by them.

Ellie giggled as she gazed at the back of Brielle’s head. He didn’t even know how much she laughed with her sister. Although she doesn’t know why he’s trying to be so mature, she wants him to stay the way he is.

“Shall we play in the water?”

So, she suggested. She wanted to see Brielle’s face bloom with a smile like a child without any worries.

“Play in the water?”

“Yeah. It’s almost time for the gardener uncle to water the flower bed.”

Ellie, who knows he waters three times a week, nodded her head and said, “Like before?”

“Yes.”

She was talking about the time when Brielle was young, they all ran and played together. Those were really beautiful days.

The two hurried down the tree and ran to the place where they had played before.

In the past, she was worried that Brielle would fall, though now they are running together like this. Ellie was new to the feelings.

“Oh, Young Master.”

The gardener found them and shouted. They came out so suddenly that he couldn’t turn the water off.

Although Brielle and Ellie ran around laughing.

And, this laughter entered Kentrail’s office. When he opened the window and looked out, the children were having fun.

He put down what he was doing and went downstairs. He wanted to make as many memories as possible with his nephew.

“Children.”

“Uncle.”

“Count.”

The three of them ran happily as before. Meanwhile, Marie saw this sight from afar and ran to them with the towels.

“If you catch a cold, what would we do?”

“It’s fine on a hot day.”

“Marie, come with me.”

“Sister!”

Hearing the excited voices of the three people that seemed to brighten up after a while. A smile appeared on Marie’s face.

The sight was lit by water droplets reflected in the sunlight.

So nobody knew. The fact that one person in this same place as before has disappeared.

***

The rainy season has just begun. The damp air enveloped the earth.

Kentrail called Marie and Brielle into his office.

“You called?”

He was not alone in the office room, behind the opened familiar door. A man Marie had seen though Brielle had never seen before was sitting there.

“Der…”

Marie hastily covered her mouth at the words that she had almost uttered without knowing it.

‘Derek.’

She was even more embarrassed because she didn’t know she would face him like this. She glanced at Kentrail and with her eyes, asked how this happened. When she recognized Derek even though he hadn’t told her, he thought she was telling the truth, too.

“Let’s sit down.”

Sensing the nanny’s unusual reaction, Brielle sat across from Derek, wary of him.

“I’ll introduce him. He’s the one who swore allegiance to me. And, in case anything happens to me, he will protect Brielle on my behalf.”

The child’s eyes turned to his uncle and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Why are you saying that? What’s going on with uncle?”

Kentrail was appalled by Brielle’s reaction. He thought he had chosen the wrong word for a child who still had anxiety.

“It’s not like that, Young Master. Originally, the masters would prepare for such a contingency when a successor is born. Now, you have reached the age, too. Is that right, Count?”

At Marie’s words, Brielle barely calmed down. Still, he looked at his uncle as if he wasn’t convinced yet.

“That’s right. Brielle. You’re supposed to be prepared when you don’t know when it’s dangerous.”

The child, who looked up at his uncle’s eyes to see if it was true, then nodded. He turned his head to observe the man he had first seen.

He doesn’t know what that man would be doing, but he was a ferocious guy. Derek seemed to be holding it down in front of him, but it was not completely hidden.

He stood up from his seat, seeing Brielle, who was wary of him.

“My name is Derek.”

Derek looked at Brielle and said. The child also rose from his seat and approached him.

“I’m Brielle. Please take good care of me in the future.”

“Yes, Heir Apparent.”

With those words, he knelt down on one of his knees and met Brielle’s gaze.

“Heir Apparent…?”

“Yes. Brielle, my successor is you, so it’s probably right to be called that now.” Kentrail explained to the boy, who was startled by the name he had heard for the first time.

“Oh, I should call you Heir Apparent now.”

“No. Marie, don’t call that.”

Brielle, who always wanted to be a friendly Young Master to Marie, grumbled out at her. The tense atmosphere relaxed a bit. She turned her head to the gaze she felt and was startled to see Derek looking at her.

Marie suddenly stood up.

“Please take good care of the Young Master.”

He nodded his head when she spoke with sincerity.

‘Yes. He was the one who stood by the Count until the very end, so he will protect even next to the Young Master…’

When she saw him on the road, it was contradictory as she felt goosebumps and did not know that he was so reliable.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

She took his hand as he handed it to her, cautiously.

“Me, too.”

Brielle intervened in the middle and grabbed the two of them for a moment, before quickly releasing them. No one knew about Kentrail, who had a good look at his nephew.

***

“Where are you all coming from?”

Ellie gleefully greeted Marie and Brielle, coming from the hallway towards her own room. She then found the man behind them. “…Huh?”

“He said he wanted to say hello to you too, so he came with me.”

“Who are you?”

“Um… he’s just protecting the Young Master?”

“Isn’t that what Sir Taylor does?”

“Ah… Sir Taylor, it’s hard on his own.”

At her sister’s words, Ellie pulled her head straight toward Derek. He was a person who she had to look up to due to her short stature. If Sir Taylor had the right model for a knight, he seemed far from a knight.

‘He’s more like a mercenary than a knight…’

Ellie got it right.

“But. why me?”

She didn’t know why he wanted to say hello to her.

“That’s because, of course, Ellie will always be by my side.”

The answer came from Brielle. She likes to have the cute little master who takes it for granted that she is always by his side, so she hugs him tightly.

“Oh, ah, Ellie!”

She let him go when her favorite Brielle shouted that he couldn’t stand the hot weather. Derek was astonished. He knew she was friendly to some degree, but he didn’t know she was so close to Brielle.

How are you being so careless? Whatever it was, it was impossible.

“And, Ellie, if you’re in danger, you can ask him for help.”

Marie didn’t know what to call Derek. Since he’s not a knight, she can’t call him Sir Derek, though calling his name would be weird too.

“You can call me Derek.”

‘Did he recognize her like this?’ Suddenly, he told her how to call his name first.

“Ah, yes…”

Seeing these two, Ellie opened her eyes again. She was busy compiling a brother-in-law candidate.

*** 

Barry was busy at the academy while Kentrail was preparing for the future step by step.

There were a lot of tests, a lot of homework, and a lot of practice. But, he had to endure everything to be the best. He made a promise to the Young Master, so he thought he had to live with it.

“Are you still practicing today?”

Next to him lay Siege Kaylor, who showed off his genius swordsmanship.

‘If only I had that guy’s talent…’

There was nothing pathetic as comparing oneself, although when Barry was by his side, those thoughts stretched out.

‘It would be nice if I could graduate by skipping grades and be with my sister and Ellie sooner.’

Siege Kaylor is called the best at the academy, but Barry, his friend, knew. That guy was pretty good at fooling around. Barry was still practicing and was stretched out from his side, looked up at the sky and before gazing at him.

When Barry turned down the offer to go outside, he was making a fuss.

“If you’re not going to practice, get out of the way.”

“Did you rent this place?”

He was the only one who knew that kind of slurred tone. Barry sighed deeply.

‘Somehow, we became friends.’

Although he lamented, he could not break the friendship he had already made.

“Aren’t you going to move on to the next grade?”

Come to think of it, Siege, who was already able to move to the next grade, was still maintaining the same grade.

“What’s the point of graduating early?”

“What…?”

Although he was from a different background than Barry, he was a friend who could not even be compared with his own status.

‘Because you’re a noble, you don’t need to graduate early.’

He stared at Siege with a cynical look.

‘Even as a man, your appearance is perfect.’

Siege already has such a radiant look that there was a fan club at the academy. There was no one who didn’t like to see him. Even the professors would visit him every class.

Barry also had a good image for Siege, who seemed sincere at first. Although he soon broke all the images he had.

“I was just thinking about going into a family after graduating and suffering this and that, I just want to stay here.”

“That’s very useless.”

Siege looked at Barry, who answered sternly. He is truly a sincere friend. Sometimes it was even frustrating.

The swordsmanship academy was overflowing with geniuses. Among them, if they were in the upper-intermediate level, they had considerable skills. Nonetheless, Barry did not seem to be satisfied.

Hearing that he was a fallen nobleman, he wondered if Barry had been blinded by success, though found out after visiting Barry’s house that he wasn’t.

There, it was full of people whom Barry wanted to protect.

The thing that stood out in the Count’s mansion where Barry said there was a little kid named Brielle—he was so cute that he wanted to touch his cheek at least once even if he saw him.

The older sister who raised Barry since childhood was a person with a big age gap. It seemed that she was treated quite incomparably with ordinary employees, whether he was quite recognized in the mansion.

Contrary to Barry, the little sister, with her scruffy looks, seemed to have a silver lining somewhere, still, they said that was her charm.

He also seemed to be struggling because he had such a family.

It was an enviable thing.

The two of them, unaware that they envy each other, spent a long time in the same space differently.

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