Episode 7
“Is anyone there?! Somebody come here, quick!”
There wasn’t even time to waste on screaming.
With trembling hands, I immediately moved to rescue the nanny and Dietrich.
When I shouted to call for help, several servants working downstairs hurriedly ran up.
As soon as they saw where I was pointing, they were horrified. Without delay, they rushed in and began clearing away the heavy curtains and debris.
Is the nanny okay?
What about Dietrich?
“Oh, ugh… young master! Are you alright, young master?”
Her hair, which had been neatly tied up, was now disheveled. Shards of glass were scattered across it, glinting here and there.
Despite being in such a state, the nanny’s first question upon crawling out of the wreckage was about Dietrich’s condition.
Who’s supposed to be worrying about whom right now?
“I… I’m…”
One of the servants reached out and carefully pulled Dietrich out from the nanny’s tight embrace.
Thanks to the nanny throwing her whole body over him, Dietrich looked completely unscathed to anyone who saw him.
Even the shards from the broken glass door that had rained down had been entirely blocked by the nanny’s back. As a result, Dietrich only had one or two minor scratches.
“I… I’m fine. What about you, nanny? Are you alright?”
Dietrich, who had been standing with a dazed look, suddenly came to his senses like someone waking up from a dream. He looked at the nanny with the fearful face of a child who knew he had done something wrong.
Wiping away the blood flowing down from her ear, the nanny tried her best to speak in a calm voice, as if to reassure him.
“Thank goodness… It’s a relief that you’re not hurt, young master. I’m fine too.”
Her entire upper body is soaked in blood, yet she claims she’s fine. Where on earth is she ‘fine’ right now?
It was a good thing I had already called for the physician.
“I heard the child had a fever that wouldn’t go down, but what on earth is this…?”
“Physician! Take care of the nanny and Dietrich first. Quickly!”
With the physician arriving just in time, we moved the nanny to a clean bedroom.
Her clothes were so soaked with blood that it was impossible to take them off properly, so we had no choice but to cut them off with scissors.
When her back was revealed…
The sight was so horrifying that the maids quickly covered my and Dietrich’s eyes.
“Please, both of you, go back to your rooms for now. We’ll stay here and take care of it.”
“No way. I’m worried about the nanny. I’m staying right here with Mariela.”
“I… I’m staying too!”
How could we just leave the nanny like this after she got so badly hurt?
With me, Dietrich, and a few maids present, the physician began removing each shard of glass embedded in the nanny’s back.
The bleeding was so severe that the maids had to bring fresh clean cloths and boiling water several times.
“Is our nanny okay?”
“The shards were only embedded on the surface of the skin. You’re very lucky. There might be a few scars, but it won’t interfere with her ability to move her arms or anything like that.”
Hearing the physician’s diagnosis, I finally felt a sense of relief and collapsed into my seat.
Only then did I realize how much anxiety had built up inside me, to the point where my legs felt shaky.
The nanny, her throat slightly hoarse from the long ordeal of removing the glass shards, glanced toward the physician.
“Please check if our young master has any injuries too.”
“I checked earlier, and this household’s young master is completely fine. There’s a small scrape on his palm, but with some ointment, it’ll heal in about three days.”
“But young miss has been running a fever that still hasn’t gone down…”
Even in a situation like this, the nanny was only worried about the two of us.
Something hot welled up in my throat.
It didn’t seem to be related to the fever that had been rising, as it didn’t subside even after receiving all the doctor’s treatment.
After the maids who had been with us escorted the doctor out, only Dietrich, the nanny, and I were left in the room.
“Nanny.”
The first to speak was Dietrich.
With his head tilted toward the wall, the nanny, who was lying face down, didn’t respond right away.
Dietrich’s face looked like a scolded puppy.
The nanny didn’t answer his call.
All we could hear was a stifled, strained sound as if she was trying hard to hold back her tears.
“Nanny, are you crying?”
Surprised, Dietrich shot up from his seat, but her sobs did not stop.
Instead, the sound of her crying grew louder and louder.
By the time Dietrich and I had also started sniffling, unable to hold it in, the nanny finally spoke.
“Why do you keep doing such dangerous things, young master?”
“Hic… I’m sorry, Nanny. I didn’t mean to…”
Dietrich rubbed his tear-streaked cheeks with the back of his hand several times.
“What would I do if you got seriously hurt, young master? Both you and the young miss are like my own children to me…”
It was the first time I had seen the nanny cry.
Normally, the nanny was strict, sometimes even harsh, but she was never one to show tears in front of us.
Today, it seemed even she had been deeply shaken. Since the butler had left for convalescence, the nanny had been left in charge of us all alone. The pressure must have been immense.
“I-I just… I was so bored. Nobody wanted to play with me. Everyone only likes Mariela, and nobody likes me… So, I just wanted someone to pay attention to me…”
He was sobbing so much that the last part of his sentence was barely understandable.
“Why would anyone dislike you, young master? Everyone cares about you so much.”
“Liar. Every time I ask them to play, they all avoid me.”
“It’s not because they dislike you, young master. It’s because they’re too tired from all the work. They just can’t keep up with your energy.”
“Then… then does that mean I have to play alone forever? I hate that! Hic…”
The nanny tried to sit up, but a groan escaped her lips, and she lay back down.
Instead, she reached out her hand and gently wiped away Dietrich’s snot and tears.
I felt like I could understand Dietrich.
‘Back when I was little, I was just like him.’
Dietrich had a dad, but since he was far away and out of reach, it wasn’t much different from being an orphan.
Watching him reminded me of my past life.
When I was little, I also used to do reckless things just to get attention.
Like jumping down the stairs in a way that would make the teachers worry.
I would even pick fights with the kids the director and teachers seemed to favor.
‘If I did something like that, at least in the moments when I was being scolded, I would have their full attention.’
There were too many children at the orphanage.
The director and teachers were good people, but it was impossible for them to give each child the attention they needed.
No matter how kind they were, it was not the same as being cared for by parents.
‘And in Dietrich’s case, he’s also especially big for his age…’
A kid with too much energy and nothing to do is bound to cause trouble.
In this world, there were no kindergartens, kids’ cafes, or even proper playgrounds.
‘And it’s not like I can play with him myself… Our size difference is just too much.’
There were no children his age around, and the only employees who could handle Dietrich’s strength were always too busy due to chronic staffing shortages.
It’s good that he’s developing well physically.
But if Dietrich keeps causing accidents and the nanny or other employees keep getting hurt, that’s a problem.
If that’s the case, there’s only one solution.
I rummaged through my memories from my past life and found the best method to apply to Dietrich’s current situation.
Back then, when the kids at the orphanage couldn’t contain their energy and boredom, and they caused trouble to get attention, the director would give us a ball to throw around with all our might.
Sometimes, they would hold mini relay races and hand out chocolates as prizes.
After that, we would run around the small playground at the orphanage until we were exhausted. Once we’d burned off all that energy, we’d become as quiet as mice.
I’m no child psychology expert.
But if there’s one thing I know better than anyone, it’s that proper exercise can save a person.
With my hands on my hips, I stared at Dietrich.
“Dietrich.”
His face was so swollen from all the crying that he looked like a frog.
Looking at his puffy eyes, I made a solemn declaration.
This is for your peace, my peace, and the peace of this household.
“From today on, I’m going to make sure you stop causing trouble, Dietrich.”
The nanny glanced at me, her lips slightly parted with a look of surprise. Then, she carefully opened her mouth to speak.
“Um, miss.”
“Yes?”
“It’s nice that you have good intentions, but how will a young miss like you…?”
Ah, she’s asking how a girl smaller, younger, and half the size of Dietrich is going to fix his bad habits, huh?
Well, the nanny doesn’t know I’ve been reincarnated, so of course, she’d think that way.
If I were to try and ‘fix’ Dietrich’s habits by beating him up, I’d definitely lose. I’m too small and too young. Not to mention, my body was feverish just a while ago.
But with the memories I’ve recovered, I have a better method than violence.
“Come with me to the rooftop—no, the garden, Dietrich.”
Dietrich met my gaze for a moment, then glanced at the nanny before slowly standing up.
