Chapter 2
They say nothing in life goes according to plan. Even so, this is a bit too much.
Where did I go wrong?
In the past, when I didn’t work a little harder? Right after the possession that I didn’t run away immediately with or without money? Or a more distant past when I read this novel?
The worst thing might have been the body and mouth that were out of my will.
Even now. The smile on my face as I stared at Edwin was too wide. Even without looking at it, you can tell just by looking at the tight facial muscles.
As I looked at him and smiled, I suddenly felt a creepy feeling. Can I hold Edwin’s hand like this?
I turned away, terrified that Catherine was glaring at me with a horrified expression on her face. But to my surprise, she was looking at us with a smile on her face.
This is how the conversation ended. I knew there was no way to turn it back.
I’m screwed, I’m screwed, my life is going to end when this pretty little doll grows up.
No, it wouldn’t. My mind raced with a sudden realization.
The environmental impact of Edwin growing up like that was great.
Edwin, who was materially wealthy but always poor emotionally, longed for Raynan’s love.
But Raynan was the same. Edwin, who resented his indifference but still couldn’t let him go, eventually sought affection from others.
That was the nanny Renee. In fact, Renee only saw Raynan.
In the first place, she was a person who was obsessed with getting into Raynan’s eyes.
She wanted to live in luxury rather than be a maid for the rest of her life, and Raynan was a man she didn’t want to miss.
She was confident that she could easily seduce him with just one outstanding appearance, and everything seemed to work out the way she wanted.
At least until she became Edwin’s nanny, and then things turned out differently than she expected.
Shortly after becoming his nanny, Renee acted like she was giving Edwin lots of affection, but it didn’t last long.
It was because she knew it did nothing to get Raynan’s attention.
Renee worked very hard to become Raynan’s woman, but she had to go through many painful failures. Every time that happened, Edwin was helplessly the target of her anger.
No, so if I’m nice to Edwin, maybe he’ll be different? At least he won’t try to kill me.
A ray of light shone through the darkness of her despair.
Maybe it was for the best. You may be able to live a much more comfortable life than a runaway, and above all, there is no other place with better working conditions than the Duke of Loerian.
No longer would she have to work for extra pay, or live in constant fear of catching Catherine’s eye and becoming Edwin’s nanny.
As the agony of my heart passed by in an instant, I burst into tears.
Tears slowly began to well up in my eyes from the overwhelming emotion, Catherine spoke to Edwin in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know why she’s so happy to have you here, young master Edwin.”
*****
It was when I had just left Edwin’s bedroom. A familiar voice came from the end of the hallway.
“Renee!”
“You’re going to fall!”
As soon as he saw me, Edwin ran to me like a cute duckling.
Hearing my startled voice, Edwin slowed down. But maybe it’s because of the conflict between his desire to run and the need to walk quickly.
Seeing his butt wiggle, I finally gave in and ran over to him.
“This is for Renee. I worked hard on it.”
Edwin squared his shoulders and handed me the stack of papers.
“Wow! You’re good at it. Such a nice paper….”
“If you fold it like this, it becomes a rose.”
“You fold flowers!”
It was a rose. I thought we were going to play ball. It was also good to wait a little bit.
Even as I sighed in relief, Edwin’s little hands were busy showing how the roses had been folded.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of the twitching hands. I wanted to hold his hand, but I had to resist it.
Instead, I opened my eyes wide and focused on Edwin. With a very serious look on his face, Edwin once again produced a paper craft that was supposed to be a rose, and I clapped my hands enthusiastically.
Edwin, who looked up at me with a very proud face, immediately put his hand on his waist and said sternly.
“I even washed my hands before eating!”
Edwin was in a more bizarre position than I had expected. Everyone was polite to him, but they weren’t actively caring or deeply concerned about him.
It was the day after I was assigned to be Edwin’s nanny that I felt strange.
I didn’t know if I was waiting for a nanny to be chosen, but things moved quickly and I was assigned to Edwin the next day.
On the first day of working as Edwin’s nanny, I asked, wondering.
“Why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?”
Edwin was wearing the same clothes as the day before. He looked luxurious because he used the finest fabrics, but upon closer inspection, there were dirty spots here and there.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t just his clothes.
“Huh?”
Edwin looked at me with his eyes wide open, as if he had no idea what the problem was.
“Nothing.”
It was not something to ask the child. I shook my head and lowered myself to eye level with Edwin.
“Would you like to wash up first?”
Edwin visibly frowned at my words.
“I will call the servant. Please wait.”
I got up, but I couldn’t move. It was because he quickly grabbed the skirt.
“Why?”
“Later….”
“Oh, come to think of it, I prepared a cake that young master Edwin likes…”
“Cake?”
“Yes. Why don’t you get cleaned up and come over, and I’ll have a cake waiting for you here, just the way you like it.”
Edwin rolled his eyes for a moment and then nodded as if he had made a big decision.
Was it because of the cake? Edwin liked me quite a bit from the start, and he followed me well.
After that, I continued to wonder about Edwin. I realized that for a child who was supposed to be the heir to the Duke, even the most basic education was lacking.
I was probably not mistaken in thinking that he was quite intelligent, but his pronunciation sounded more childlike than his age.
Edwin’s pronunciation was much clearer, even after just a few days of talking to him at eye level.
Perhaps the reason was that Raynan was indifferent to Edwin.
Even so, I couldn’t believe people were leaving him alone like that. If you’re paid to work, you should work.
After becoming Edwin’s nanny and getting a raise, I went to see Catherine. I tried to discuss basic hygiene concepts with Raynan about Edwin’s free-spirited life, but the answer was…
“Well. It’s not a good idea to ask the Duke. Would you be able to do that on your own?”
It was. A look of embarrassment crossed her face.
It was the first time I’d seen Catherine who couldn’t give a clear answer. And if she can’t do it, how can other servants?
“This is bad….”
“Renee?”
The figure of Edwin tilting his head as he looked at me, who had been pondering for a moment, caught my eye.
I just had a sad feeling. As an intelligent child, you must have already known what the atmosphere was around you.
He wanted attention and affection, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
How could everyone be so indifferent to such an adorable child? Even though there was a lot of swearing, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Edwin’s face.
“Who are you giving this to?”
“Well….”
I asked, pointing to a wad of paper, believed to be a rose, in Edwin’s hand. He dragged his foot as if contemplating, but the target already seemed clear.
“Just tell me.”
He lowered his voice and drew closer to my ears, as if I were asking him to reveal a great secret. Edwin whispered quietly as if he had gained courage by seeing me like this.
“I’ll give it to my father.”
“Wow!”
“Shh!”
As I smiled and exclaimed loudly, Edwin was startled and put his little finger to my mouth. Soon he was more startled than before, though, and withdrew his fingers.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Young master Edwin.”
“Yes?”
“I really like young master. You have no idea how happy I am to have you here.”
Edwin, who had a pale face, smiled brightly as if he had won the whole world at my words. I straightened the hem of Edwin’s clothes, which had become disheveled from running, and held out his hand.
“Then shall we go?”
“Where?”
“We have to deliver the pretty flowers that the young master made himself to the Duke.”
A complex emotion flashed across Edwin’s face at my words. There was only joy and concern.
“I’m also on my way to pay my respects to the Duke right now, so why don’t you come with me?”
“You’re going to see my father…?”
“Yes. Today is the first day I greet him.”
Needing to greet Raynan was certainly the word I heard on the day I decided to be Edwin’s nanny.
I couldn’t tell if he was too busy or unwilling to do it because it was delayed until today, after a long time has passed.
Catherine’s words came to mind, saying that there’s nothing to worry about because it’s only a glimpse of his face. Of course, there was a long list of cautions that followed, but it was only a brief glimpse.
Don’t talk nonsense, don’t ask questions, don’t stare at him… They were mostly words that start with ‘don’t’.
A small smile of relief appeared on Edwin’s face as she tried to push her warnings to the back of her mind and pretended not to notice.
“We’re going to be late, shall we?”
I started walking while holding Edwin’s hand, who was not ready to answer even though he had a face he wanted to go to.
Worry washed over his face again, but he didn’t pull away from my hand.
I patted him on the back, not giving him a chance to think about it, and wondered if one day his heart would be filled with a little more light.
My future was important, of course, but more than that, I really wanted this little kid to be happy. Even though we had only been together for a short time, I truly hope.
“Young master Edwin?”
Catherine was already waiting for me in front of Raynan’s office. She thought I would appear alone, but when I came holding Edwin’s hand, she called him with a pretty surprised face.
Edwin hesitated about what to say at Catherine’s call, so he opened his mouth and then closed it. So I told her instead.
“Young master Edwin said that he had something to offer the Duke, so I came with him.”
A very faint look of embarrassment appeared on Catherine’s face. She looked at my brightly smiling face as if she knew nothing, then turned her head slightly.
Catherine stared at Edwin. Her gaze stayed on Edwin’s hand for quite some time.
A small sigh escaped her mouth, and then she raised her hand and knocked on the door of the office.
“This is Catherine. I brought Edwin’s nanny.”
Edwin gave a small laugh, but quickly became more nervous, wringing his hands.
I looked at him, nodded my head to indicate that it was okay, and squeezed his hand just as he did. Edwin smiled slightly as he saw my hand clinging to him.
