Childcare Diaries - Chapter 54

“Then, how about work?”

“Work?”

“Yes. Uncle works at the Palace and at home.”

“Well, it’s not that good, but it’s not that bad either.”

Kentrail was just trying not to think about the moment he thought he didn’t want to do it anymore.

“What is that?”

His cheeks bulged as if it wasn’t the answer Brielle wanted. Seeing that, he didn’t know what to do, so he looked at his nephew.

“If uncle said he didn’t want to work, I was going to do it for him when I grew up.”

It wasn’t about Marie that his nephew was going to ask, though this seemed to be the point.

“Brielle…”

“That’s what the butler said. He said uncle is the happiest person to play an instrument or draw. Of course, uncle was well-educated, yet also had a great artistic sense.”

Hearing this from the butler, the child thought about it for a long time. He always did what he wanted to do and had fun doing it, except when his uncle told him to study. However, his uncle was always busy and tired.

Because of that, Brielle wondered whether his uncle would be happy while working like this.

Kentrail’s heart pounded at the words of his wonderful nephew.

“So, you want to work for uncle?”

“Yes. I heard from the butler what Heir Apparent is. Now, I am a full-fledged child. If I grow up a little, I will be a teenager.”

“Yeah. Our Brielle has grown so much before now.”

Saying so, he placed his face on Brielle’s soft cheek.

He thought that the butler had said useless words, but seeing his nephew who was doing this for himself like this gave him a lot of strength.

“And, the butler said that uncle should get married sooner. But, it’s a little bit… what if it goes wrong, Marie, Ellie, and Barry will have to leave. If I inherit the family, can’t I get married then?”

“What…?”

Apparently, the reason the butler said that to Brielle was to put pressure on him to marry, but the points that the child was stuck on were different.

“Then, if the nanny doesn’t have to go out, does it matter if my uncle gets married?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter.”

Brielle, who didn’t know whom his uncle was dreaming of marrying, answered brightly.

“Yeah. That’s what Briel said.”

“Hmm.”

Although it was a bit cheating, Kentrail secretly obtained permission to marry from his nephew.

*** 

“I made contact with one of the maids from the Caveran family.”

The work given to Taylor finally came out.

“Really?”

“Yes, it was a long time ago, so it was difficult to remember exactly, but she vaguely remembered that something strange happened when the predecessor Count passed away.”

“What is it?”

“It is said that for a while, the mansion was made of thin ice. It is not uncommon for things to fly, and some of the maids were beaten and kicked out. It is said that the change of Count Caveran is more memorable because he was in a good mood for a while after the wedding of the Queen.”

“….”

“Then, after a few days, he felt better by himself again, and everyone sighed. Around that time, strangers came and went in and out of the mansion.”

“Yes…”

“I haven’t approached the butler or the chief maid yet, but wouldn’t they know more?”

Kentrail nodded his head and continued, “Have you found a way to approach yet?”

“No. There seems to have been a recent clash between the chief maid and Countess Caveran. Hopefully, I will be able to approach it.”

“Keep watching.”

“Yes.”

Hearing that, he felt as though he was more and more approaching the clue now.

*** 

Marie didn’t know she had these feelings.

Her chest tightened, and something in her was boiling. It was because of a man and woman who were walking affectionately in the mansion.

Next to Marie was Ellie, who was aiming her eyes more floundered than hers.

“I have to change the candidate.”

The child mumbled her voice, which didn’t make sense.

The man and woman smiled for a long time as they looked around the garden as though they could not even feel their gazes. Seeing that, Marie grabbed the necklace from her neck. Even though she had no reason to be so angry, her heart fluttered.

“Ha…”

Without realizing it, she let out a sigh. Hearing this sigh, Ellie looked at the Count with more bitter eyes.

It was an impure gaze.

“Ellie, let’s go do the laundry.”

“Hmm…”

When Ellie saw her sister talking helplessly, she was even more upset.

Both of them arrived at the laundry with staggering steps. Marie’s hands washing the clothes were rougher than the other times. She always washed her clothes herself, as she didn’t want the maids to wash their clothes.

She usually didn’t let Ellie do it, but sometimes she came along like this and did the laundry jokingly.

“Are you going to step on it now?”

The thick dresses were not easily washed. She had to step on it with her feet, as if she was washing the duvet.

“Huh.”

Ellie grabbed her sister’s hand and entered the basin, where she stomped her feet hard.

Both of them kicked their feet as though they were angry, or pressed it hard to the point of making a squeaking noise.

The maids who came to do the other laundry next to them were bewildered by the behavior of the two people. They looked at the pile of laundry, wondering if it was so dirty. Though from the outside, everything looked clean.

“You’re here.”

Marie, who discovered them, pretended to notice them. Meanwhile, Ellie said hello. They have already lived in the mansion longer than the maids have worked here. It was because all the laundry was done by maids of lower age.

Marie and Ellie have developed a strong friendship with the maids. It was through various things that they came together. The maids felt sorry for Ellie who couldn’t leave the mansion, so when she went to the market, they bought street foods that smelled sweet for her.

The younger sister in the mansion was Ellie.

Marie also enjoyed her popularity among the maids. The friendly nanny was one of the few who could control the naughty master. When it was difficult for the Count to speak and the maid chief was also noticing, they told Marie to stop the Young Master, and it was resolved in an instant.

It was Marie who stopped Brielle, who was playing with soap bubbles at the laundry a while ago.

“You must have done a lot of laundries today.”

Seeing Marie and Ellie, the maids laughed awkwardly. They didn’t know why, but both of them didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

At first, the maids looked at them, but soon fell into their own conversation.

At the word count that came out of their mouths, Marie and Ellie’s ears turned towards it.

“Who is the visitor today?”

“The maid chief says that it’s a Marquis’ daughter.”

At that, Marie became depressed. As expected, this necklace had no meaning. She seemed to have misunderstood that he might like her.

The Marquis’ daughter… She was no match for anyone. She remembered two people walking side by side earlier.

‘It was a good match.’

The Lady and the Count seemed more plausible, than the nanny and the Count. She had never seen him walk through the garden like that with any other woman before, so speculations ran through her head.

“Why is she here?”

The fact that he, who had strictly controlled outside visitors, brought the Lady into the mansion. It could be said that she was quite trusting.

“I don’t know that either. The maid chief didn’t even seem to know.”

Ellie, feeling her sister’s expression getting worse and worse, called Marie slowly.

“Huh?”

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To the Count.”

Hearing her sister’s words, Marie shook her head, asking why are they going there. Then, holding her sister’s hand tightly, Ellie said, “The guest has already left.”

Listening to the maids, it seemed that the Marquis’ Lady had returned a while ago.

If her sister was going to put on such a gloomy look on her face, Ellie thought it would be better to ask straight-forwardly who the Lady is.

“Still….”

“Or, should I ask?”

She wondered if Ellie knew something about her and was doing it. She wondered if it was obvious that she liked the Count so much.

‘No one else noticed, right?”

If that was the case, it would become difficult to be here. She struggled to control her expression and dissuaded Ellie.

‘Ah… Let’s organize our own emotions by ourselves.’

Marie eventually chose to run away from her emotions.

*** 

It was strange.

Kentrail hadn’t seen Marie for nearly three days now. As soon as he appeared, the nanny was gone. When he asked Brielle, he often came back with answers such as she had just been here, or she went to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Ellie’s eyes looking at him were bitter. She was upset in class, which was a completely different mood than usual.

“Ellie, what about the nanny?”

“I do not know.”

Even now, as he saw the child walking in the hallway and asked a question, she only answered like that and passed by.

Because of that, Kentrail was worried that there might have been something to do with Marie’s family, so he asked Barry, though he answered that nothing was wrong.

“Master, what’s wrong?”

He stopped and the butler asked from behind why he was acting strange.

“Nothing. What about Brielle?”

“The Young Master is washing right now. He sweated a lot during swordsmanship training.”

There was a reason why she was walking alone in the hallways, while she would hang out with Brielle every day. Marie must have been spending her alone time during the swordsmanship class.

It was difficult to see even a single strand of her hair, but what would he ask when he saw her face?

“Butler, recently…”

How frustrated he was, he almost asked the butler if he had done anything wrong to her…

Kentrail, who barely swallowed the last words, muttered that it was nothing. The butler thought to himself that they were having a lovers quarrel. Kentrail and Marie didn’t see each other, but their feelings were clear to those who watched them closely.

“If it’s the nanny, I saw her go to the garden earlier.”

At those words, his steps moved quickly.

He didn’t even know that the butler was smiling behind him.

*** 

“What are you doing alone?”

“Count…”

Marie didn’t know what to do. She fell into her own emotions, and after three days she turned away from him, now, she didn’t know how to look at his face.

As he was looking at her, Kentrail asked.

“Perhaps, did I do something wrong?”

At his words, she lifted her head.

‘What do you mean something wrong?’

He did no such thing. Isn’t it just her own feelings? Marie couldn’t blame him for that.

“No. It really must be the case.”

Kentrail looked to see if Marie was really telling the truth. She seemed perplexed, though it seemed to be true. Then, why did she avoid him? He couldn’t know anymore.

“Then, why have you been avoiding me?”

‘Was it that obvious?’

Marie thought she ran away naturally, but it doesn’t seem like that.

Not knowing what to say, she hesitated. Meanwhile, he looked at her and fell into thoughts. It was a question of why the nanny came to treat him like this.

Then, the garden came into view.