I Possessed As A Childcare Extra Chapter 37

Going back home meant being kicked out.

“Before, you intercepted Edel’s orders once, didn’t you?”

It was sheer luck I wasn’t fired back then.

“You can’t keep a servant who even sneaks into a superior’s room.”

She wasn’t a good kid, but I didn’t have any ill feelings toward her. I felt sorry for Narkis’s naïveté in believing I would meet his demands.

Narkis stood behind me.

“Then now… explain to me what this is.”

Narkis’s arm stretched out as if to cage me in. Below my lowered gaze, I saw a sheet of paper. Ines’s elegant handwriting certified my identity and career.

“When did you start preparing this?”

I had imagined being caught by Narkis many times.

In my imagination, I answered back quite clearly.

That as he knew well, the North wasn’t a place fit for people to live, so I wanted to leave. That once preparations were finished, I would tell milady, and milady would gladly give her permission.

“That’s…”

In reality, not a single word came out.

“You said you’d stay by her side.”

Of all days, it had to be today.

“Since when were you planning to leave Edel behind?”

Narkis whispered, repeating the words I had said yesterday.

“I’m extremely curious.”

“I… I mean, when the time comes…”

“I didn’t know you’d become so good at lying.”

Calling it a lie felt unfair.

“I wasn’t planning to leave right away.”

Just because milady’s birthday was over didn’t mean I could leave overnight. Setting off on a long journey through the northern cold would be insane.

I planned to wait until the weather warmed, then tell milady. When spring came closer.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I wasn’t trying to lie. I just…”

Saying I’d stay by milady’s side until leaving for Irendil was sincere. I just didn’t expect to be exposed like this the very next day.

“Annie.”

Narkis cut me off and stepped closer.

“I asked you since when.”

“That’s…”

I’d thought about leaving ever since milady appeared. And that had nothing to do with Narkis.

I wasn’t in a position to question why he was acting like this, so I retreated helplessly.

Narkis closed the distance as if saying there was no way out.

“You know well that there’s no one Edel trusts and relies on as much as you.”

After only a few steps, I hit the back of the sofa.

Narkis slowly leaned in. As if giving me a chance to run.

I couldn’t move until he placed both hands on the backrest, trapping me in.

Narkis met my eyes. His gaze was straight and unwavering.

Thinking you could understand everything just by looking into someone’s eyes was arrogance. I had no idea why he was angry at me.

His red lips parted.

“Trying to run away—what admirable courage.”

“Run away?”

“Did you think you could hide?”

“Hide?”

Running away, hiding. Quitting a job was a servant’s right. Commoners weren’t slaves—they were workers under contract, paid wages.

“You might fool Edel, but not me.”

“Fool… what do you mean…”

I stopped mid-protest. Was he angry because I hadn’t told milady?

“I was going to tell milady once I was ready!”

“Of course you were.”

The corner of Narkis’s lips curved faintly upward.

“Edel wouldn’t stop you… and you’d run far away.”

Why did it end up at that conclusion?

“Guess, Annie. What do you think I’d be willing to do to find you?”

He was close enough for our breaths to touch. Facing Narkis’s beautiful smile, I didn’t feel yesterday’s impulse at all.

“Young master. The lord has sent a message.”

I hadn’t even noticed anyone until Oliver spoke carefully.

Narkis turned only his head, still blocking me in.

A breath burst out of me all at once. My heart pounded loudly.

“They report that a pack of wyverns has appeared at the northwestern border outpost. The lord has gone out. The second young master went with him as well. You were ordered to remain in the castle.”

Narkis replied calmly.

“Since His Highness has gone, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Then he turned his head back.

“You may leave now.”

That dismissal wasn’t meant for me.

The moment I met those scarlet eyes again, I hurriedly lowered my gaze. A sigh settled on my collar. I saw Narkis raise his right hand.

“Narkis oppa. I came to get Annie.”

This time, it was my turn to let out a sigh of relief.

Milady entered the office and spoke with both hands on her hips.

“I told you not to bully Annie. If you keep this up, I won’t even let you see her.”

If I were the male lead, this would’ve been a perfect rescue scene.

 

 

*****

 

 

The northwestern border outpost invaded by wyverns was quite far from the stronghold, Kerun.

No matter what kind of bloody battle broke out there, the territory itself remained peaceful. It couldn’t harm milady, who stayed inside the castle.

So there was no need for the duke’s deputy to keep close watch.

Several days had passed since Lady Edel spirited me away.

Someone buried in administrative work all day following their younger sibling around… yes, that could happen.

As long as he didn’t pour that much attention on me. I felt like my face would burn through.

Every time Narkis’s conversation with milady ended—and even while they were still talking—he looked at me.

He glared intensely.

I couldn’t glare back at the heir of the ducal house, so I quietly lowered my gaze.

I had expected him to be displeased if he found out about the letter of recommendation. After serving milady for so many years, my leaving probably felt like betrayal.

Still, I hadn’t expected him to be that furious. His seemingly indifferent eyes suddenly burned, sometimes even roiling. He wasn’t even an obsessive male lead.

And even if he were, the object of his obsession wouldn’t be me. It would be milady or the princess.

Gathering his obsession for milady and taking it out on me felt exactly like a maid’s fate. That was why I wanted to leave.

I hadn’t gotten the recommendation letter back. Was Ines okay? What if she got dragged down as a conspirator?

“Oppa. Annie can’t breathe.”

At least milady loosened the pressure.

“If someone can’t breathe, they die. Annie’s perfectly alive.”

That might not have been true. It was scarier how he relaxed his killing intent and smiled brightly.

“If you keep that up, she might faint. It’d be good to get some fresh air.”

Milady stood up from the sofa and held out her hand to me.

“I’m going out with Annie, just the two of us. Don’t follow.”

Milady! Tears pricked my eyes.

The days of fawning and reading the room were long gone. Faced with milady drawing a firm line, Narkis said something meaningful.

“You seem to cherish that child very much.”

Was he asking how I could still think of leaving? Narkis was keeping silent about the recommendation letter.

“Do you think I’m the only one? There are lots of people who care about Annie.”

Milady! I wanted to sob at her feet. Narkis only smiled mysteriously.

“Have a safe trip.”

“You cool your head too, oppa.”

We passed through the garden and went down to the birch forest beyond the southern castle gate. Surrounded by piled snow and white trunks, I finally felt like I could breathe.

“Annie. That day, with oppa…”

Milady, who had been quiet, spoke up.

“What happened between you and Narkis?”

When we were alone, milady often corrected how she addressed me.

Kyle stood several dozen steps away. He said that unless even a sword master tried to eavesdrop, this distance was safe.

“Well, about that…”

I wasn’t ready to talk yet. Even if I told her, it didn’t seem like anything would change. The letter was taken, and the day I could leave felt far away.

“Really? I thought maybe I interrupted you two, so I was going to pretend I didn’t notice.”

“What? Interrupted?”

“From what I saw, it didn’t feel like things were going well.”

Milady laughed, having mistaken my relationship with Narkis for something improper.

I couldn’t laugh. This was something that could get me executed.

Even when milady had witnessed it back then, it had been a life-or-death situation. How did it look like that to her?

“Jueun, what’s wrong? Did I really interrupt? Is that why Narkis is so worked up…?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Hmm. Then something else must’ve happened?”

I was trapped. Was this why she’d said something so ridiculous?

Our milady had grown this sharp. The milady who had grown just as I once hoped was terrifying. Was she really becoming like Narkis?

Her innocent green eyes stared straight at me. I couldn’t avoid them.

Where should I even start?

As I hesitated, rumble—the ground shook.

“Didn’t the ground just move?”

“Are you changing the subject?”

As milady’s eyes widened, the ground shattered and something massive burst out.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Lady Edeeeel!”

As I wrapped my arms around the collapsing milady, I saw Kyle’s black cloak blocking us. The silver sword emblem of a knight of Trisen fluttered. Beyond that—

“Annie, take milady and run to the castle. I’ll follow.”

Kyle dashed forward, tightening his grip on his sword.

Kerun, the stronghold of the Trisen Grand Duchy, had never once fallen, earning it the name of an impregnable fortress.

So why—

“M-milady, take my hand—”

-Kieeeek!

“Oh my!”

A giant snake appearing in the middle of the territory?!

I desperately looked away from the jet-black, long-bodied snake screeching as it writhed. Milady, panicked, couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Lady Edel! You have to snap out of it!”

At twelve years old, I couldn’t scoop milady up like before. Shaking her shoulders didn’t bring her focus back. Without realizing it, I shouted.

-Miriya! Park Miriya! Get it together!

Milady blinked rapidly and looked at me.

“J-Jueun…”

“We have to run!”