I Possessed As A Childcare Extra Chapter 11

At times like this, it felt unfair to be just a maid. It would’ve been nice if Annie were a mage.

Mages were born to their calling. You couldn’t become one through hard work—you had to be born with innate magical power.

Those geniuses were usually taken by the imperial family, noble houses, or the Magic Tower. No matter where they belonged, none of them pursued the public good.

Other places I could understand, but shouldn’t the Magic Tower, at least, be different? They claim to pursue pure magical research without political interests, yet they won’t even make a washing machine or a lamp. Too much.

What were they wasting all that talent on?

In the original novel, the Magic Tower committed nothing but political schemes, war instigation, assassination attempts, kidnappings, plots, and crimes—only to face retaliation in the end.

From one of the male leads, the “next Tower Master.”

In The Spirit King’s Contractor, there were three male lead candidates.

Candidate 1: The Crown Prince.

A senior Serphine met at the academy. Kind but unreadable. Hid his identity, then revealed he was royalty after getting engaged—royal-coming-out moment.

Candidate 2: The Duke’s son.

A friend and loyal aide of the Crown Prince. A genius swordsman. A central noble, but as cold as a northern one. Probably warm only to Serphine.

Candidate 3: The next Tower Master.

An oddball in the same magic department as Serphine. Chases after her saying he wants to research the rare talent of spirit magic. A younger guy who charges ahead without thinking.

I never found out who the real male lead was. Probably the Crown Prince anyway.

The ones currently in the Magic Tower were destined to fulfill their role as villains and get wiped out by Candidate 3. Should’ve cared about the public good when they had the chance.

If the protagonist changes, how will the Magic Tower appear? Will they target our young lady?

Her life would be spectacular even if she were just breathing, but she’d surely overcome it. She had already changed her fate.

Winning someone’s affection as a newborn—someone who was originally supposed to kill her—was not something just anyone could do.

If it were me, I would’ve fainted the moment I saw Aeon. Probably peed myself like a real baby. Instead of hearing “You’re smiling,” I’d hear “How filthy,” and get kicked out.

Unlike an extra like me, the young lady was perfect protagonist material.

Which is why I must leave!

I pretended to plan an escape with her, but the young lady could never leave the Tricen estate. The protagonist always gets dragged back to the stage no matter what.

At least I should run away properly!

With that firm resolve, I clicked and extinguished the last lantern on the first floor.

“Huuuuh…”

A low moan sounded.

From the back, where all the lanterns had been put out.

I should… run… Holly’s ghost-prevention tips were useless now.

Was that supposed to be a ghost sound?

I slowly turned and shined my lantern down the dark corridor.

No one was there.

The sound continued.

“Ha… ugh…”

One step. Two steps.

I slowly walked toward the source—then sped up.

“Kh… haaah…”

It sounded more like a person in pain than a ghost’s curse.

The sound came from a remote hallway.

This area was restricted. A corridor with no moonlight stretched endlessly like a rectangle of darkness.

Should I ignore it?

But what if someone was in real danger?

I pushed forward, holding out my lantern.

“Is someone there?”

I gathered every bit of courage to shout, and the sound stopped instantly. At least something was there.

I took a few more steps.

At the end of my lantern’s light, there was an old wooden cleaning cabinet.

Perfect place for a ghost to jump out of.

There was no way that would happen now, but standing in front of it made my heart pound.

If I open this, and no one’s inside… please let me faint instantly before I see anything ghostly.

I prayed to a god who had never once answered and pulled the handle.

Creeeeak… A sound straight out of a horror movie opening.

Inside the cleaning cabinet, a white figure was curled up.

“…Young master?”

Red eyes glared at me.

“You… ugh, why are you…”

The ghost that appeared every summer. The heir who only stayed at the castle during summer break…

“Why are you here, young master?”

The ghost was Narkis. Why had no one connected the dots? Was it because almost no one knew what his voice sounded like?

Lights-out took at least forty minutes. Holly and I dawdled before starting, so it must’ve been around ten.

People prepare for bed as soon as the sun sets, yet here was the heir of a ducal house, hiding in a forbidden cleaning cabinet in the middle of the night.

“What in the world are you doing here…”

But I couldn’t get answers.

“Ugh…”

The wide-open eyes lost strength. His pale face was drenched in sweat. Harsh breaths leaked through lips bitten to hold in sound. His small, curled-up body trembled continuously.

Even I, wearing a long dress and a shawl, felt the icy cold—but he wore only thin nightclothes.

“Are you alright? At least take this.”

When I pulled down my shawl, Narkis muttered in a hoarse voice.

“Don’t… care… go away…”

Go away? Even when acting like a psycho, he only used refined language.

I wanted to leave him, but if something happened to him because I did, I would be punished.

A maid couldn’t touch the young master’s body, so I draped the shawl over him awkwardly and got up.

“I’ll call a servant.”

“No!”

My skirt was yanked with terrifying force.

Narkis pulled me close and growled.

“Don’t tell anyone! If you run your mouth carelessly…”

Hot breath hit my collar. The pale face right in front of me twisted.

“I’ll kill you.”

With the same mouth that usually smiled so leisurely.

“I’ll kill you.”

He spat the words like he was chewing them.

Narkis could kill me anytime he wanted. Even now, with my skirt in his grasp. I would never be able to shake him off and run.

“I can’t just pretend I didn’t see you.”

But I had to do my job.

If he didn’t want anyone called, then I had no choice. I didn’t warn him about the rudeness that was about to follow.

“Goodness! How long have you been like this?”

I challengingly grabbed the back of his hand—then jumped in shock. Was he a vampire? He was freezing!

“You’ll catch a cold!”

“Be… quiet…”

“You’re already getting one, aren’t you?”

Ignoring his objections, I touched his forehead.

“No fever yet?”

But his sweat-soaked hair clung to his skin. I took out a handkerchief and wiped it gently.

“If you keep sweating like this, you’re definitely going to get sick.”

A cold hand weakly grabbed my wrist. Compared to how he pulled my skirt earlier, this was nothing.

“Stay still…”

He lowered my hand and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

“It’ll go away… if I’m left alone…”

His furrowed brow and heavy breathing still looked unstable.

“Lies.”

“What…”

Narkis gave a faint laugh. If he weren’t sick, he would’ve said, “Me? Lose composure to the likes of you?”—in that elegant tone of his.

“No, really. I’m getting better.”

He obediently argued back in a weak voice.

“According to what?”

“…What do you know.”

“I don’t know why you’re like this, young master, but I do know leaving you like this is dangerous.”

I slipped my wrist free and supported his hand.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

Narkis stared at me with half-lidded eyes.

“As long as I don’t call anyone, that’s fine, right?”

“…No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t… want to go to my room.”

“What do you mean, you don’t?”

Narkis clearly expressing dislike was shocking enough to make me angry. If I couldn’t call someone and he refused to return to his room, what did he expect me to do?

“Even if you don’t want to, there’s no choice. Do you want your body temperature to drop even more?”

“You really… are unruly.”

“I just don’t want to watch you get sick. Now, come out.”

When I pulled his arm, he followed obediently—only with his arm. After stretching it out, he didn’t budge.

“Young master.”

“…”

Is he not going to put any strength in his legs? I glared at him.

Narkis turned his head away in the opposite direction. What was he trying to do?

“What, is a ghost going to appear?”

Do you even know people were trembling because of you?

“If you’re scared to be alone, I’ll stay with you. Until you fall asleep.”

I said it to provoke him, and the former ghost turned his head back toward me.

It was a joke, so stop staring like that.

“Um, well… young master?”

“…”

“Why are you… looking at me like…”

“…”

I said it was a joke!

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Was this a dream?

I had doubted it for several minutes, but the warmth of the hand holding mine proved it wasn’t.

Was I really… delivering Narkis to his room while holding his hand?

The careless provocation I threw out had worked far too well.

When I stared blankly as Narkis rose from the cleaning cabinet, he looked back at me calmly. As if asking, “Why aren’t you going? Huh?”

By the time I regained my senses, we were already walking. Still hand in hand. I was leading and Narkis was following, yet it felt like I was the one being dragged along.

Sometimes he tugged my hand to stop me or to change direction. Maybe he was avoiding any signs of people.

I couldn’t even complain about why we were taking such a roundabout way, and we cut through side paths that weren’t commonly used.

That’s how we reached Narkis’s room without running into anyone.

The west end of the second floor on the front side of the main building.

We passed the parlor filled with bad memories and opened the bedroom door. The fireplace crackled as it burned.

It was my first time entering the bedroom.

Rooms used by the ducal family were managed by the “upper maids” who worked above the central staircase. They served the direct bloodline closely and were the higher-ranking staff. Maids like me, who handled miscellaneous chores, were the lower rank.

This wasn’t a place I should enter. The tension I thought had vanished while wandering the halls suddenly resurfaced.

Maybe it was because of the warmth. I felt like I was sweating.

I just had to follow protocol. And to do that… I needed to straighten the bed first—the one that showed signs of someone having rushed out of it.

“……”

“……”

When… am I supposed to let go of his hand?