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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Nanny
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I moved closer to Winter.
Winter murmured, her voice a little more relaxed.
“Truthfully, I had plenty of opportunities to bring him back by force. I even considered it yesterday.”
“...”
“But Kivrin told me it would be useless.”
It was a long sigh.
“He said he finally understands now. That only a monster can heal another monster.”
What?
I gaped in bewilderment.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“M-Me neither.”
I said quickly.
Thankfully, Winter was looking out at the garden and didn't turn to face me.
If she had, she would have grown suspicious of my trembling eyes.
*I don't know anything either.*
*Really! It was just a slip of the tongue!*
—The young lord isn't a monster. We're getting along just fine right now.
—Th-That's why you're s-strange, Lady Cheria. Are you... like me? Are we getting along because you're a m-monster, too?
—Yes, well, that could be it.
*It really was a slip of the tongue! Crushing a child's spirit is a terrible thing to do! So!*
A cold sweat broke out.
I, too, had no idea why Kivrin would say such a thing.
Oblivious to my mounting anxiety, Winter clenched the Temple's mark in her fist.
It crumbled with a crisp sound.
*M-Mother, you're so strong...*
*I heard that even a scrap of paper imbued with divine power is difficult to destroy...*
Thanks to her, the stinging in my chest vanished.
Winter smiled, looking relieved as well.
“Well, collecting monsters might be better than pandering to those Temple bastards.”
“I... suppose so...”
“Whether it's a sealing spell or something else, once whatever is affecting Kivrin's body is gone, I will wipe every last one of those Temple bastards from the Empire. Then you won't have to worry about being scolded for lunging at the Saintess.”
“...”
A throb.
My heart ached, but for a completely different reason than before.
At the same time, I remembered Mera embracing me.
Were there really people in this world who cared for me this much?
Mera was an angel.
And Winter was no common villain from a novel.
She was the true power of the ducal house and the last descendant of a fallen royal family.
She was also an incredibly strong person.
She wasn't afraid to show kindness.
Even though she must have lived a difficult life, being a fallen royal and blamed for Kivrin being born a monster.
And unlike me, she didn't even know what the future held.
*...I can't let her die.*
*If my mother dies, it will be a tremendous loss for this world!*
“I thought you'd be pleased, but you don't look well. Is your fever returning?”
Winter's hand touched my forehead.
The cheap bracelet on her wrist shone like a royal heirloom, all thanks to its worthy owner.
Completely smitten, I grabbed Winter's hand.
“Mother, thank you for taking me in.”
“Hm?”
“I'll do my best for the ducal family, too!”
Winter's eyes widened before she let out a small laugh.
“That's unexpected. As you experienced yesterday, the people of the ducal house aren't treated well. We are objects of fear.”
It seemed she had received a report from the gray-haired knight about what had happened during our outing.
Clinging to Winter's hand, I asked.
“Then what kind of reaction did you expect?”
“Well... I thought you might ask to be sent to another family.”
I pouted.
“I like it here.”
“...”
“I like you, Mother!”
Winter's platinum blonde hair swayed gently in the wind.
It looked like a galaxy unfurling, and I confessed without thinking.
“I've never in my life seen anyone as beautiful as you, Mother.”
Winter didn't seem to mind, a smile forming on her lips.
“You sound just like Ric.”
If Menelik were here, wouldn't his face have turned bright red?
Come to think of it, I haven't seen Menelik today. I still need to give him his gift.
“Cheria, survive well in the ducal territory and continue to amuse me like this.”
“Yes!”
I answered energetically.
And the very next morning, I regretted it.
* * *
On the day of our departure for the ducal territory, the townhouse was bustling from dawn.
I, too, ate breakfast earlier than usual and soaked up the sun one last time in the garden.
I felt like a blade of grass photosynthesizing when a booming voice suddenly rang out.
“Young Lord! You've become half your size!”
*Gah, you startled me!*
As I shot to my feet, Yelena, who had been dozing off beside me, groggily opened her eyes.
The owner of the voice was a man of large build.
He stopped Kivrin, who was about to come my way, and busily checked his condition.
*Who is that? A knight?*
Yelena, beside me, clicked her tongue in sympathy.
“Poor Viscount Rose, she's going to collapse from crying like that.”
“...What?”
“They say she rushed here without any sleep after hearing the young lord was out of the Snake Pit. A woman who was gravely ill for so long, traveling that great distance all alone without an escort...”
*What in the world is she talking about?*
*Where is this gravely ill woman?*
I rubbed my eyes.
The hulk of a man was still there.
*What is this.*
*Am I the strange one, or is it Yelena?*
“Yelena, are we looking at the same person?”
Unable to hide my confusion, Yelena explained in detail.
“That young, blonde woman in front of the young lord is Viscount Rose. After miraculously recovering from a critical condition, she has been working for the ducal family and the young lord.”
*Blonde and young, yes, but a woman?!*
Just then, the man called Viscount Rose turned his head and stared at me.
Thanks to that, I clearly saw the man's brown eyes rapidly turn a blood-red.
The fine hairs on my arms stood on end.
My instincts screamed at me not to draw his attention.
“I-I see. She must really care for the young lord.”
I nearly bit my tongue as I hastily agreed.
Only then did the man slowly turn his gaze away.
*Wh-What was that?*
I swallowed hard.
There was no one like that in .
*A mage? Or someone from the Temple?*
*...I have no idea.*
The ducal family's security wouldn't be lax enough to let someone like that in without any countermeasures.
Yelena continued her explanation.
“Yes. Viscount Rose is very fond of the young lord. No one applied for the nanny position because of the malicious rumors about him, but then the Viscount appeared. It would have been truly difficult without her.”
I rubbed my eyes again.
*Hmm... that's very moving, Yelena, but I think she might have ulterior motives.*
*An honest person wouldn't sneak in while hiding their true identity.*
“Should we go and greet her? The Viscount will take good care of you too, Lady Cheria.”
“I-I'm fine with just you, Yelena!”
*I don't need the mysterious Viscount Rose!*
“Oh, come now. Viscount Rose may look too frail to lift even a twig, but she's incredibly strong. It's hard to believe she was ever so sick, you know?”
*Frail, my foot!*
*He looks like he could take down a tiger with one hand!*
*Why can't anyone else see those muscles?*
My resistance was futile.
Before I knew it, I had been dragged right in front of Viscount Rose.
“It's been a while, Viscount. Thank you for coming back.”
“Yelena.”
Viscount Rose straightened up.
To others, she might have appeared to be a woman who cherished Kivrin and had arduously overcome a grave illness, but to my eyes, she was simply threatening.
“This is my other home, after all.”
*...So that gruff voice sounds perfectly gentle to Yelena's ears?*
Yelena's smile proved my suspicion correct.
“Lady Cheria, this is Viscount Rose.”
Yelena's eyes were full of trust as she looked at the Viscount.
—We need a proper nanny like Viscount Rose.
Even Winter had said so before.
No one would believe me if I tried to explain that Viscount Rose was a hulking, blonde man whose eye color changed at will.
“...H-Hello. I am Cheria Mayol.”
I took the opportunity while greeting him to sneak a glance at Viscount Rose's face.
As if it had never happened, the Viscount's eyes were a normal brown.
The corners of the Viscount's eyes curved gently.
“A pleasure, Lady Cheria. I've heard about you.”
*He looks at me as if I'm pathetic.*
*Though I'm sure it looks like a gaze full of goodwill to Yelena.*
“I'll be counting on you to look after Lady Cheria on the way to the ducal territory.”
“Of course.”
*He's scoffing right now, Yelena!*
*Why am I the only one who sees him this way!*
“...”
A cold sweat broke out.
*Can I even act normally...?*
While I was frozen stiff, the topic of conversation shifted to the upcoming schedule.
Something about warping to the ducal territory from a certain district drifted into my ears.
Just then, a shadow fell over me, and something was placed gently on my head.
“Here, a gift.”
As always, the relaxed, low voice made me lift my head.
“Your Grace?”
*I didn't see him at all yesterday. Did he return at dawn?*
