Childcare Diaries - Chapter 42

Marie stood by Ellie’s side.

Things have changed from before. A sense of guilt followed that she should have been a little more careful. Although she said she had no trauma, Marie was concerned that there would be.

Without Eujes there, Ellie would have been kidnapped. She felt like her heart would burn just by making that assumption.

The door opened and Kentrail came in.

He had just heard about the situation from Derek. Thankfully, even though Derek had a wound on his arm, it wasn’t too serious.

Derek was genuinely sorry and apologetic for Ellie’s collapse.

“Marie.”

“Count…”

Kentrail placed his hand on her weeping shoulder and patted it.

“Who’s behind it?”

“One is captured. It’s just that he’s unconscious, so we’ll have to wait for him to wake up to find out.”

“It’s because of me. I put Ellie in danger…”

“Why is that your fault? Rather, it’s because of me.”

“No. How could that be the Count’s fault.”

It was because the original Marie accepted their offer. There was no one who could be resentful in the mansion now.

“Do you have the letter Ellie received?”

“Yes, please wait.”

Marie got up from her place and walked over to Ellie’s desk. There were the letters in a small box.

“This is it.”

The seemingly cute letters were written by children at that age.

“The physician was surprised, though he said she would wake up soon.”

“Yes. But, I’m worried about the after-effects. I wonder if it might make her afraid to even go out.”

“I will do my best so that there are no aftereffects.”

She nodded her head at his words.

“How is the Young Master?”

“Whoo. It’s a wind of tears.”

Knowing that Ellie had collapsed, Brielle cried so much that Kentrail wondered if his nephew might also collapse from dehydration. No matter how much he consoled Brielle, it was no use.

[ “What if Ellie collapsed because I was mean? I mean, I didn’t mean what I said.” ]

Before Ellie left, Brielle acted angry that she was going out alone. And, then he said to her to do whatever she wanted.

That was what remained in his mind.

“I have to go.”

“Don’t worry. You need to be by Brielle’s side.”

Her heart was heavy at the thought of Brielle weeping, but Marie couldn’t go, lest Ellie would wake up when she wasn’t there.

“Yes, is Teacher Eujes gone?”

“He wanted to see Ellie wake up before leaving, so I led him to a guest room.”

It’s already late. Thankfully, he was worried about Ellie and seemed to be staying here.

“If it were not for him… Ellie would…”

“Yes, she was really lucky. It’s my fault that I didn’t expect to prepare so many people.”

“No, as long as a few more knights were attached, as long as they were targeting Ellie, this would have happened at least once.”

Only when the enemy is killed as soon as possible will this affair be over…

“What did they want by kidnapping Ellie? Are they trying to harm the Young Master by threatening me…?”

That was most likely.

The reason for kidnapping Ellie over Brielle could not be explained other than that.

“I’m worried about Barry’s trip from the academy. He should have left by now.”

Kentrail sent about two knights, but because of all this, it felt like the preparation was negligent now.

“Was he coming to the Capital with other friends?”

“Yes, he said he was coming with a friend he’s close with.”

It was a relief. Since they are students of the swordsmanship academy, they will know how to use a sword to some extent.

“I’ll send more knights just in time for Barry to arrive at the main gate of the Capital.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I think Barry may need to take a leave of absence from the circumstances. I’m sorry about that.”

“If it wasn’t for the Count, Barry wouldn’t have even had the chance to go to the academy. Don’t be sorry.”

When he sent Barry to the academy, he never thought the family would be in crisis so quickly. He let out a sigh secretly.

*** 

Barry didn’t come.

It was three days past the date he was said to arrive.

Marie was getting thinner. The time Ellie did not wake up was much longer than expected as well.

Kentrail sent a knight to find out what had happened to Barry and he rushed the physician. However, on Barry’s side, it was difficult to understand the situation because of the sudden snow, and the physician could not figure out Ellie’s cause.

Brielle also became speechless.

Half of the day, he went to Ellie’s side, and the other half was just lying down.

Not able to see Brielle like this, Marie stepped out. Even if she skipped her own meals, she couldn’t get Brielle to do the same.

“Young Master.”

“Marie!”

“Why are you lying down like that and not going to the dining room?”

“How can I eat when Ellie’s lying down like that? Marie isn’t eating, and uncle is starving himself.”

“Ellie is sure to get up soon.”

It was almost like Marie was talking to herself.

“Don’t you think so, Young Master?”

“I think so…”

“But what if you don’t eat like this?”

“What about Marie?”

“I’ll make sure to eat as well, so I can stay with Ellie until she wakes up.”

“If Marie says that, I’ll eat it, too.”

Brielle, not wanting to cause concern, went to the dining room and forced himself to take a bite of the soup in front of her eyes.

“Marie eats, too.”

At his urging, Marie barely passed a bite. Still, her mind was on Barry and Ellie.

‘…Barry, what happened?’

It was sad to know that she could not do anything if not for the Count.

*** 

“What?”

“What?”

It was a conversation between Siege and Barry.

“What are you?”

“What?”

Barry panicked at his friend’s absurd remarks.

“No, didn’t you say that your sister was a nanny at the County? But, you’re saying that they’ve even given you this kind of escort when you’re coming back?”

Barry, who couldn’t tell the Count’s detailed situation, made a perplexed expression on his face.

“It’s because the Count has a friendly personality.”

“You wanted to hear the story of the Count, the Chancellor, right?”

At Siege’s reaction, Barry wondered what kind of person other people would see the Count as.

“What kind of man is the Count?”

Siege recalled stories he had occasionally heard at banquets he attended.

“He’s cold and sympathetic and…”

“Stop it.”

Not wanting to hear gossip about the count, Barry cut off his friend’s story.

“You said you wanted to hear it, though.”

“I didn’t know you would talk like that.”

What he imagined was a soft charisma. Barry, sitting inside the carriage, glanced outside, wondering if the knights guarding outside would have heard this.

“Do the knights know?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Siege complained that he would ask them himself. But, that was also for a while.

Suddenly, both of them pulled out the sword they were holding on to in an unusual air current. And, they asked if it was true that they felt looking at each other with their eyes. Barry’s hands, the first time in actual combat, were sweaty with tension.

“It’s here.”

Simultaneously with Siege’s words, the sound of swords clashing outside echoed, and the carriage hastily stopped.

The two ran out at the same time, aiming for the timing.

When they came out of the carriage that stopped on the white snowy field, they saw the knight who was stabbed by a sword and collapsed. It looked like he had already lost his life as a lot of blood had poured out.

The two other knights who were protecting them were still fighting. As if there were several enemies, about four assailants approached in front of them.

The two were back to back.

“They are two professionals, and the rest are just ordinary people who use swords.”

It was Siege’s analysis. He thought that it would be worth trying if they only got rid of those attackers. Before they ran out of energy, Siege rushed first.

Barry felt the pressure more through his swords compared to his classmate. He also realized that his stamina was lacking when he went to a long fight.

‘I have to finish with one shot.’

Among his swordsmanship, what he was good at was melee swordsmanship. He needed to take down the enemy with power at once without dropping the distance as much as possible. It was the first time he had ever stabbed a person with a real sword. However, for this moment, he had to relieve his emotions.

The fortunate thing was that his physique was similar to that of Siege. He was confident in his strength.

The two separated for a moment and then reconnected. The attackers, who had been a little careless, felt nervous when they realized that they were not ordinary academy students.

Barry had progressed enough to pull his grades into the upper ranks by the recent finals.

The biggest variable was the blizzard. The white snow pierced between them. Both of them lost their center at the same time in the strong wind.

‘…No.’

Barry used his reflexes as much as he could to stretch his sword forward. He has a feeling that this is the best opportunity.

And the feeling was right.

Then, he stabbed the attacker with a sword. After that, the thought of saving his friend went beyond the sense of just stabbing a person. Otherwise, Barry might have collapsed in a panic on the spot. Though now looking beyond, he ran straight towards his friend.

Siege got rid of the attacker first and found him fighting the other two.

Seeing that, Barry quickly joined it as well.

He did not feel the same threat as before, perhaps because they were not professional swordsmen.

Fortunately, it ended in victory for the children. The knights who were escorting them joined from late, and the remaining ones were no match. The problem was that they couldn’t be captured.

Before they could even gag his mouth, he bit his tongue and committed suicide.

“Still, it’s a relief. Because of your guys’ skills, we were able to finish this.”

The knights looked relieved.

But, the carriage broke down, so they had no choice but to ride a horse. They loosened the reins of the horse that had been tied to the carriage.

Still, here a problem arose.

The horses walking through the snow easily got tired and the rest time was longer, so it took twice as long. Unfortunately, they had not been able to contact the County in the meantime.

Eventually, the knights breathed a sigh of relief as they finally saw the city walls. They thought they were going to get frostbite, but they arrived just in time.

“We’re in the Capital. It’s only about an hour away.”

At those words, Barry thought of her sister and Ellie, who were worried.

‘I’m going to go ahead and show them I’m safe.’

The thought that it was all over now gave him strength.

Nonetheless, that too was short-lived.

“They’re here again. It seems like you’ve bought a strong grudge.”

At Siege’s call, he looked to the side, and a black object caught his eye through the coniferous trees.

‘No way…’

He doesn’t know why they were so obsessed with him, but another attacker has come.

“When we arrive in the Capital, treat me to a really big treat.”

Siege shouted at Barry.

‘Yes, if we can go back safely, even if you rob me of all the pocket money I’ve saved, I’ll give you a big treat.’

With that in mind, Barry nodded his head and rushed towards the enemy.