I Possessed As A Childcare Extra Chapter 30

“Why did you hide it from me?”

When I asked that, the young lady answered with a grown-up expression.

“I didn’t want you to get caught up in it.”

“That’s what a maid is for, though?”

“Don’t be silly!”

“I’m your tool, my lady. Please use me.”

“I said don’t be silly!”

I lifted my arm like a loyal servant and got smacked with a puff-puff of cotton fists.

The Hilstern Marquis, who had been humiliated at the council he didn’t attend, gave no response at all.

Once the storm that should’ve been loud died quietly, the political fights happening underneath also came to an end. Now everyone was ready to accept Narkis as the sole heir.

Narkis officially began acting as head of the family. That was because Aeon still hadn’t returned, even as summer came to an end.

And I had to give the reports I used to give Freda… to Narkis.

“The young lady said her shoes feel smaller than before.”

“Then we should change them. And?”

Narkis, taking over Aeon’s office, flipped through papers. The scratching of the quill sounded busy. With my head slightly lowered, I continued with what I had prepared.

“She said the chocolate cake served with lunch was delicious.”

That was Holly’s opinion. The young lady said her tongue hurt so she couldn’t eat it, but told me to report it like this. It kept her ‘cute’ act, and she could get extra cake to give Holly later.

“Edel said that?”

“……”

“She left half the chocolate cake.”

“……She said she was full.”

“Really?”

“……She had stomach pain not long ago, so overeating wouldn’t be good.”

“Well. In my opinion…”

Narkis continued slowly.

“If it’s not too sweet, it should be fine.”

“……”

Stay calm. He must mean her stomach won’t hurt as long as it’s not too sweet. He couldn’t have noticed her acting.

But what if he did?

A young lady who hates sweets but pretends to like them. A young lady acting cute. Outside, she’s a seven-year-old noble girl, but inside, she has the mind of a mid-twenties civil service exam student who died suddenly. And Narkis found out about all of that!

……Even then, he’d just be the same sister-obsessed idiot. Seven years in a childcare-type story teaches you everything you need to know. He’d keep sticking to the young lady anyway, so since it’s been exposed, she should just stop acting.

When did it get so quiet? At some point, the quill stopped making noise.

“And?”

Narkis asked.

“What else did Edel say?”

Behind the office desk was a big window. Late-summer sunlight covered my worn shoes. Narkis’s shadow stretched over them without moving.

I hesitated, then confessed like I was telling my sins.

“She noticed that I report everything she does to the young master and became very sad.”

More like furious, really. The young lady knew I reported her daily routines to Narkis. I never intended to hide it, and after the council, we silently agreed not to keep secrets from each other.

“You’re not very good at this. Madam Seymour has never been caught.”

Then maybe you should make Cecile your maid instead? I swallowed the words rising in my throat. Narkis added in a mocking tone:

“She must have a lot to teach you.”

I am already learning a lot, okay? Can I go now? I held that in too.

“Anything else?”

“No—…”

I stopped myself. My reward! I forgot!

“Actually, yes.”

“What is it?”

“Well…”

“……”

“It’s just…”

My mouth wouldn’t open. How was I supposed to politely say, ‘Give me my reward, you jerk’?

“Um, young master.”

“Speak.”

“Did you forget anything…?”

What came out in the end was a leading question. Of all things!

“You’re not actually curious about my memory.”

His tone said he’d let this slide once since it was pathetic, but still. Shouldn’t he give it to me before I even ask?

I felt a surge of frustration, but instead of complaining, I raised my words politely.

“My reward… what happened to it?”

“Ah.”

Letting out a noble-style sigh, Narkis set something down on the desk.

“This.”

I glanced up—and oh my goodness!
A velvet pouch filled with gold!
It even landed with a thunk! when he set it down!

With that alone… I could buy a house. No, land! How did landownership laws work in this world again? Could commoners buy land with money? Was there a gift tax? Did they even have a property tax system?

“You look like you might run away this instant.”

Just because I smiled a little, he got suspicious. And yes, I was absolutely ready to run away, but what sane ordinary citizen could stay calm in front of a heavy pouch of gold? Only a highborn like him, raised in a cradle of jewels, could stay so calm.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bury my bones in Tricen.”

“Bury your bones?”

“Of course.”

I could manage this level of social finesse. Feeling cheerful, I held out my hand.

“Thank you—”

Just before my lovely gold pouch touched my fingers—

“In that case, I can’t give you something this small as a reward.”

“…Excuse me?”

His pale hand pulled the pouch away.

“If you’re going to bury your bones in our family, how could just a few coins be enough?”

“A few… coins…?”

I repeated it stupidly and lifted my head. With sunlight turning into a halo behind him, Narkis smiled radiantly.

“I’ll think long and hard about the treatment you truly deserve.”

“Ah…?”

So… he wasn’t going to give me the reward?

“You’re joking, right?”

“As if.”

Narkis frowned slightly, as if he were completely serious.

“You know this already, but the family has a burial ground for lifelong servants.”

Slide. The drawer opened.

“I didn’t realize you intended to be buried there. That was my oversight.”

Thud. The gold pouch fell into the drawer.

“Decide in advance what inscription you want on your headstone. Of course, while you’re alive, I’ll make sure you’re treated with all due respect.”

Clack. The drawer closed.

“I understand your wishes perfectly.”

Click. It locked.

“Please take care of me from now on, Annie.”

Smiling, Narkis looked like a figure from a masterpiece painting. The key that sealed away my gold pouch vanished into his coat in an instant.

“Oh, right.”

It didn’t end there. As if he had prepared this, Narkis continued in a clear tone:

“My return to the Academy has been postponed. You’ll keep reporting to me like this for a while.”

Damn “for a while” turned out to be not for a while at all, but forever. From the day I lost that pouch of gold with my eyes wide open, until early autumn when Aeon finally returned. Through the entire winter break and summer vacation when Narkis suddenly declared he would “spend time with family.”

Time flew by without mercy.

Five years later, the young lady turned twelve.