I Possessed As A Childcare Extra Chapter 14

The pressure crushing his neck and chest, the pain stabbing his entire body like needles, the chill crawling from his nape down to every cell, the hallucinations hurling curses at him— all of it had vanished.

Thump, thump.

A pulse beat in the hand he was holding.

Thump-thump, thump.

It felt oddly faster.

“Ahem… khm…”

Just when he thought the maid was only clearing her throat loudly—

“Um… could you… let go of my hand?”

She asked him to release her.

He had said he would stay by her side until she fell asleep, but he had not said he would hold her hand.

“……”

He knew that, but somehow it annoyed him.

“You didn’t send me away either, Young Master.”

That night, the maid had said something strange.

“My lady and you… you kind of look alike. You must really be siblings.”

It was something he should never have heard.

‘Young Master, you resemble the Lord.’

‘You’re just like your father.’

Words no one would ever say to him again.

“…Young Master? Are you asleep?”

A whisper reached him.

He almost answered, just to keep her from running away.

“You psycho.”

That’s what she called him. And it was definitely not in the sense of “emotional pillar.”

-At least be in pain, then.

‘…What?’

Words he had never heard spilled out.

-What’s a noble Young Master so anxious about, anyway.

‘Is this the language she made with Edel?’

It made more sense that a seven-year-old child and a nineteen-year-old maid weren’t constructing a new language system—they were probably just stringing meaningless sounds together.

-Don’t have nightmares. Sleep well.

The whispers flowed smoothly. It couldn’t possibly be a structured language.

-Grow up big and healthy.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, her soft tone—gentle like reciting a spell—felt filled with goodwill.

-So you can become a fine Grand Duke of the North. Open up your audience hall wide. Handle petitions like a pro.

At least it wasn’t a curse.

-Be a truly capable, benevolent ruler.

‘Maybe it’s the language of some minority tribe.’

She was probably born a maid of the household. He thought he should look into her origins more closely.

-And you get that, right? Our psycho.

And then she urgently added in Imperial:

“No—don’t become a psycho.”

That, she apparently did want him to understand. If he followed her earlier explanation, she was telling him not to become an “emotional pillar.”

“Don’t be sick, Young Master.”

With that abrupt remark, she backed away.

Her shawl still wrapped around his body.

 

 

****

 

 

 

During the two weeks she was assigned to night light duty, just before ten o’clock, Narkis stepped out of his bedroom with the maid’s shawl.

He sat down with his back against the door connecting his room to the corridor’s sitting room. Beyond the door, he could sense the maid pacing.

Moonlight poured in through the uncovered front window.

He buried his face in her shawl.

It made him feel… better.

 

 

****

 

 

 

5. A Special Promotion to Supporting Role

“Annie, are you busy?”

After roll call, Cynthia, one of the upper maids, came looking for me.

Cynthia, who came from a minor noble family, had become an upper maid after only three years of work.

Usually, when a senior like her asked if you’re busy, it meant she didn’t care whether you were or not — she just wanted to send you on an errand.

“No.”

“Great. Can you clean the bathroom on the second floor of the East Wing?”

She asked without waiting for an answer. Of course, it wasn’t a real question.

The East Wing held a cluster of guest rooms. Hardly any nobles visited all the way to the North, so most were covered with white cloth.

Five of the rooms were maintained for vassals or branch family members who occasionally stayed at the castle.

Bedrooms were cleaned daily. Bathrooms — which required far more work — were cleaned once a week.

And today, guest room bathroom cleaning was not on my schedule.

“All of them?”

“No, just the last two rooms.”

Two bathrooms. That would take half a day.

Cynthia shrugged as if it were nothing.

“I have to clean the First Young Master’s bathroom, you know. And the others say they’ve got too much work.”

How meticulously was she planning to clean Narkis’s bathroom? She didn’t even bother asking the others — I got the message.

Her boastful attitude carried a hint of excitement. She was eighteen; it wasn’t surprising she’d get flustered over a handsome young master.

“I’ll do it.”

“Then thanks. Oh, right.”

Just as she was waving goodbye, she added:

“I’ll tell the Young Lady you don’t have time for tea today.”

So the Young Lady had asked her to call me.

Watching Cynthia walk away, whispering with another upper maid, I felt a troublesome premonition.

 

 

****

 

 

While I was scrubbing the bathtub in the second room, the bathroom door opened without even a knock.

“I’ll be done soon—”

I thought Cynthia had come to rush me, but when I turned around—

“So this is what you’re doing after shaking Edel off.”

Narkis stood there in a deep navy suit. I almost dropped the brush out of sheer shock.

“My lord? What brings you here?”

His neatly swept-back white hair and cool expression—there was no trace of the sweaty, disheveled mess he’d been before.

The Narkis who slept surrounded by bluish darkness and firelight was completely different from the Narkis glowing under the midday sun.

His downward gaze was no different than usual, yet it no longer felt intimidating.

“Edel is upset.”

“…Sorry?”

“She asked you to have tea with her, and you refused, saying you didn’t have time.”

“No, that’s—”

“A maid… turning down the Young Lady.”

Whoa, whoa, wait! Calm down! It’s a misunderstanding!

“Isn’t obeying the Young Lady’s request the basic rule?”

“Of course it is—no, wait, please listen to—”

What? I don’t feel intimidated?

Narkis strode all the way to where I was crouching beside the tub—his eyes weren’t those of a noble young lord. He’d thrown away all dignity and noble restraint, leaving only pure emotion—

“Are you trying to make excuses?”

His crimson eyes were completely smeared with fury! Someone save this poor maid!

I desperately checked the doorway. No one. Why on earth does this young lord walk around without even one attendant?! Where are the servants and guards?!

“It’s not an excuse—it’s just—ah!”

I tried scooting away but landed right on my backside.

Narkis knelt on one knee and lowered his face toward mine.

Those red eyes were now mere inches away.

“Or?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and twisted my head away.

“I’m not the one who refused!”

“…….”

“One of the upper maids gave me work and said she’d tell the Young Lady I couldn’t come—”

I froze in mid-sentence.

Don’t tell me… the thing touching my cheek right now…

While I hesitated, afraid to open my eyes—

“That maid.”

Narkis asked quietly.

“What’s her name?”

His beautiful voice rang in my ears, far too clearly.

I opened my eyes as if bewitched.

A white glove brushed my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

The silk against my skin felt strangely unreal.

And inside it, every bend of his fingers—

“…She’s an upper maid.”

“And?”

“She has every right to give me work, and…”

“Intercepting Edel’s orders midway is unacceptable.”

“That’s… maybe she was jealous…”

“Jealousy isn’t an emotion for a servant to have.”

With only his index and middle finger, he turned my face toward him, forcing me to meet his eyes.

“Tell me her name, Annie.”

I’m sorry, Cynthia. This is why you shouldn’t meddle in things involving the Young Lady.

You probably never imagined I’d snitch. Honestly, I didn’t either.

If you were sitting here, you’d understand.

“Hurry.”

That I had no power to resist.

“Cyn—”

The moment I opened my mouth—

“ANNIEEEEEEEEE!”

BAM!! The bathroom door swung open and slammed against the wall.

A fairy in a pink dress hurled her whole body at us.

“Narkis oppa, stoooop!”

My savior, Lady Edel, collapsed over Narkis’s arm, chirping like a frantic chick.

“Annie didn’t do anyting wong! You can’t scowwld her!”

“Edel…”

His ice-field expression melted in an instant. The very picture of a doting big brother from a childcare novel.

“I’m not scolding Annie.”

“Yesh, you can’t scowwld her.”

Was it just me, or did his face toward Edel not look entirely gentle?

“I’m not.”

Trying to reassure her, Narkis whispered again as he stroked her golden hair.

The two of them together looked like a painting from the moment they met. Edel’s little nose flaring nonstop wasn’t even a flaw.

Looking ready to cry any moment, Edel peeked at me. As if asking, Are you really okay?

I nodded discreetly. Only then did she cuddle into Narkis’s arms.

The moment Edel’s line of sight was blocked, a sharp, intense stare pierced me.

What. Why. What are you going to do, glare at me in front of the Young Lady?

“Edel, I need to speak with Annie.”

Hey, wait!

“Could you wait outside for a bit?”

Unfair! No cheat codes allowed!

“Hmm? Speak?”

Edel lifted her head and looked at me. I sent her the most desperate stare of my life.

Young Lady, please.

Her face hardened with determination. She understood!

“Is it something Edel can’t heaw?”

Good job, my young lady!

Narkis smiled gently at her adorable question.

“Yes. You can’t.”

Her green eyes widened like saucers. Mine probably did too. Narkis—flatly rejecting Edel?!

“You won’t make Annie suffer, wight?”

“Of course.”

“…Pwomise.”

“I promise.”

Edel hooked her pinky with Narkis’s. A valiant, tear-jerking effort.

With nothing more she could do, Edel toddled out.

As the door closed, we exchanged our final glances.

Joo eun-ah, please survive…

My lady… thank you for everything…

Creak, click. The bathroom door closed with a much cuter sound than when it opened.

Then silence.

Water dripped from the faucet into the filled tub. Ripples spread across the surface.

“I told you before.”

His voice was cold—completely different from how he spoke to Edel.

Narkis removed his left glove and dipped his hand into the bathwater.

“Don’t… do that.”

Splash. Splash. His fingers parted the water.

“Don’t be so scared.”

A white hand appeared before me, gathering water—then releasing it.

“Ah!”

I blinked for a long time, unable to process what had just happened.

He… splashed water on me?

Narkis? On me?

Unable to believe it, I looked up.

Narkis was laughing.

Actually laughing—soft, breathy giggles—wearing a boyish expression I had never, ever seen before.