I Possessed As A Childcare Extra Chapter 29

“…….”

“…….”

Is it okay for me to breathe this close to the young master’s wrist?

As I hesitated, I heard something like an auditory hallucination.

“…Sorry.”

Narkis, apologizing? I must’ve held my breath too long.

“I’m sorry, Annie.”

“Pff—!”

I slapped my palm over my mouth to stop the breath that burst out.

No way.

“I… was late.”

“Ah…”

“I should’ve stopped it sooner.”

“Uh—pardon?”

“I won’t be late again.”

This can’t be happening.

“People can be late sometimes… right…?”

I couldn’t process what I’d just heard, or what I was saying. His fingers, which had been moving back and forth across my left cheek, stopped.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Sorry?”

“I said I’d only watch you, but I was late.”

“Uh… yes?”

I’m sorry, but I can’t follow this conversation at all.

Why are we talking about trust here? Of course I don’t trust you! I’ve never once trusted you…

“You were always like that.”

…never trusted you.

Narkis’s hand fell away. Only then did I properly look at him. With half his face lit by moonlight, he looked strangely unreal.

“You don’t expect anything from me.”

Why does he sound so resigned?

Is it resignation? It almost sounded like resentment.

What did I do wrong?

I didn’t leave the young lady’s side. I didn’t disobey Freda’s command. I did my best so the young lady wouldn’t get dragged into it.

I did everything you told me to do. I only listened to you, so what in the world did I…

I was about to resent him back when I realized what he meant by “being late.”

“I won’t ever have to apologize again.”

Narkis rose to his feet and bowed.

“Good night, Annie.”

Then, just as silently as he came, he left. The curtains and window were closed exactly as before.

I’d missed the timing to respond. I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Why would I even greet him when I never do?

Narkis must have been watching me just as he promised. He could’ve easily stopped Freda before she hit me.

It wasn’t your fault that your body froze.

He apologized for being late. He said he wouldn’t be late again. To me, of all people.

What happened to the duke’s heir for him to develop a habit of climbing through windows at night? The ointment on my cheek felt sticky.

If I sleep and wake up… will I be able to chalk all of this up to a dream?

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

At dawn, even though I hadn’t slept well, my eyes opened.

It felt too real to say, ‘What a strange dream.’ The basin water was still there. How was I supposed to wash my face? Even if I grumbled, spilled water—no, water the young master washed his hands in—was still spilled water.

I thought about just using it, then decided to wet a handkerchief with the remaining water in the bottle. It was the handkerchief Narkis had left.

I lifted my left cheek toward the small table mirror. Thanks to all the fuss—ice packs and ointment—it looked clean. There was still a thin line of a mark above my cheekbone, though.

I really had been scratched. I rubbed the mark gently and decided to apply more ointment. It was Leonie’s ointment, the one Narkis left behind.

It wasn’t until I slipped into my everyday clothes that I realized I was still in my sleepwear. A white cotton dress was practically underwear in a medieval-style world. Well, the young master didn’t care about modesty anyway, so I guess it was fine.

Had Freda left? I hadn’t seen her go, since I was too busy being held down by people.

Would I see her again? If it were her, she would probably laugh like nothing happened even after seeing me, but I felt like I’d shrink without meaning to. I didn’t want that.

Maybe I should prepare—cheek training or something. Isn’t there a maid-exclusive skill like, ‘I got slapped but dodged!’?

How did I end up someone who gets slapped as a technicality? I sighed and stepped out of my room.

“Uh… Annie.”

There was a blue-eyed handsome man standing at my door with a worried face.

“Kyle? Why are you clocking in at my room?”

“Um, well…”

Kyle avoided my gaze this way and that, then suddenly blurted out:

“I made a mistake yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to do what you wanted. But if what you want means you get hurt, I…”

This familiar flow! I quickly raised a finger.

“Wait! No apologizing!”

“From now on… huh?”

“You too? Really?”

His deer-like face crumpled pitifully. If you want to apologize sincerely, you should’ve covered your face first! And it’s not even something you need to apologize for!

Freda had probably already forgotten everything, but receiving apologies from innocent people didn’t sit well with me. And what Narkis said last night… I wasn’t even sure if that counted as an apology.

While I was lost in thought, Kyle suddenly said:

“I’m sorry, Annie.”

“I said it’s forbidden!”

“Please forgive me.”

“Forgive what?!”

A handsome knight begging for forgiveness was always nice, but not like this.

“What did you do wrong? You understood my signal.”

I was the one who told Kyle not to come. Because he listened, it didn’t turn into a huge incident.

Kyle, who had been staring at my raised finger with a sorrowful gaze, murmured:

“That’s exactly the problem.”

“What problem?”

If only I could tell him everything. ‘We’re in a novel, and things follow certain rules, and we accidentally disrupted them!’ But I couldn’t say that, so I shut my mouth.

“Annie, I’ll always trust and follow you, but…”

I didn’t understand what he was doing until Kyle slowly reached out.

“When your safety is on the line, I don’t think I’ll want to listen to you.”

Kyle folded my pointing finger gently and wrapped his hand around mine.

“If you’re getting hurt, I can’t just stand there and watch. It’s too…”

His deer-like eyes shot straight at me.

“It was painful.”

Hold on. That’s cheating.

“I might not do what you say from now on.”

“H-hey, let go…”

“Will you still understand?”

“Y-yes, I will, so just…”

Say it after letting go! Don’t hold my hand and use your face like that!

As soon as I tugged, his hand slipped away. Kyle dropped his shoulders. Why are you sulking?

“You don’t have to do what I say anyway. Just listen to the young lady and don’t mind me.”

I meant don’t feel sorry, but it came out like a scolding. Kyle’s deer-like eyes went round, and—

“Oh my. Did both of you sleep well?”

Cecile came out of the young lady’s room with a gentle smile.

She didn’t see that just now, right? The moment I wondered, Cecile giggled, ohoho.

“You’re awfully close this morning.”

“Good morning, Madam Seymour.”

It was an embarrassing morning. Unlike Kyle, I couldn’t laugh it off like an adult, so I hurried my steps. It didn’t help, since Cecile and I had the same destination.

Luckily, on the way to the servants’ dining hall, Cecile’s attention turned to the young lady.

“She kept tossing all night. To think she doesn’t want to be a good kid anymore. Our young lady grows up so fast.”

The signs of a troublesome seven-year-old must have been quite shocking. Cecile had only ever seen the lovely version of her, so that made sense.

I, who wanted her to be a little wicked, replied awkwardly.

“Right… time really flies.”

“Well, she has always been too mature. Children need to whine now and then.”

So Cecile thought the same. I nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly, exactly.”

“She really takes after the master and young lords.”

“Oh…”

I couldn’t deny it—not after last night, when she reminded me of Narkis.

“So Annie, you should whine too!”

“Ah!”

While I was off guard, Cecile tapped the tip of my nose.

“Your cheek has gone down a lot.”

“Haha… thanks to your care.”

“You have no idea how worried Ines was.”

A worried Ines. Even after working so long, she’d still scold me for being reckless and thoughtless—her voice was easy to imagine.

“I promised to help however I could. In that sense…”

Cecile’s violet eyes curved like irises in bloom. A sudden beauty attack. Once again, I was reminded she was of Trisen blood.

“I’ll teach Annie everything before I leave.”

“Eh? Wait, what?”

“You must listen well to me, okay?”

Everything from Cecile. Behind her gentle face, I could almost see ‘smile-while-giving-hell’ and countless books floating around.

I didn’t even feel like running away anymore. Really, why learn slap-avoiding techniques? Talking my way out is better.

“Yes, teacher…”

Cecile waved her hand quickly.

“Oh my, don’t call me teacher. How embarrassing.”

At the council held after driving Freda out, Narkis exposed House Hilstern’s corruption. The marquis’ faction denied it, but soon confessed.

It was the young lady who got them to confess.

The council only allowed direct-line, branch-line, and retainers, so I didn’t witness it myself. But thanks to the higher-ups blabbing everywhere like proud fools, even dishwashers and stable boys knew every word of the young lady’s legendary lines.

‘Huum? Uncle Steward said sho, right?’

‘Did you take all that money, Mister Marquis?’

‘Aha! You wanted to get rich all by yourshelf!’

The culprit apparently trembled with shame.

“I didn’ talk like a baby that mush!”

She was supposedly working hard on correcting her speech, but who knew the truth.

Just as expected of a childcare-story protagonist. In only a few days, she broke down the marquis faction’s guard. They must have slipped up and confessed.

While Narkis and I were busy negotiating about Freda, the young lady prepared for the council too. I never imagined she’d win over even the marquis household servants and gather testimony.