Chapter 09
“Alright, kids, you don’t have to worry anymore.”
I smiled at the children, feeling relieved after making my decision.
But despite my words, their expressions remained uneasy. It didn’t take long for me to understand why.
“Then… who’s staying with us tonight?”
“Huh?”
“You said the new teacher will come tomorrow. What about today?”
“Well…”
“It’s scary to be alone without an adult…”
By evening, the maids would return to the duke’s mansion. Their workplace was the duke’s residence, after all.
I had also planned to return to Lucian. He had wanted to come with me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
‘If I leave with the maids, the kids will be without an adult until morning.’
They usually went to sleep early, so it should be fine, but I couldn’t ignore the possibility of something happening. Children were unpredictable and always needed a guardian.
Besides, there were toddlers in the orphanage who had only just learned to walk.
‘Babies like that cry at night, and they’ll need diaper changes too.’
I glanced at a maid soothing a crying baby in the corner. The others were busy changing diapers and feeding milk, looking completely exhausted.
Seeing their tired faces, I knew I couldn’t ask them to stay the night.
So, I made a decision.
“I’ll stay here, so it’ll be okay.”
“You will?”
“Yes. I’ll stay until the new teacher arrives tomorrow. So, you don’t have to worry.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Smiles finally returned to the children’s faces. They looked so adorable.
With such sweet kids, spending one night with them didn’t seem like a big deal.
But I was wrong.
“Miss, are you sure? Maybe we should stay with you…”
“It’s fine. I’m already grateful that you came this far. I don’t want to make you stay up all night too.”
“But still… there are so many children.”
“It’ll be fine. No matter how hard it is, it can’t be harder than taking care of Lucian, right?”
“Even so…”
I gently pushed the concerned maids toward the carriage.
“Just tell Lucian I’ll be back in the morning. Say I had something important to do.”
“Alright. But if anything happens, call us immediately, okay?”
“I will.”
I waved at the maids as their carriage disappeared into the distance.
Thankfully, a new teacher had been found quickly, so I felt relieved.
“We gave them dinner, and they all took their baths.”
The children had grown up under the director’s care, so they were used to doing things on their own. Some of the older ones even helped wash the younger ones.
It was admirable, but also heartbreaking.
I took out my pocket watch. It was close to 9 p.m. A good child’s bedtime.
“Alright, time to get ready for bed.”
After locking all the doors, I grabbed a couple of storybooks.
“They probably won’t want to sleep right away.”
I thought about Lucian, who always resisted bedtime.
‘Lucian, why won’t you sleep?’
‘I don’t want to!’
‘But why?’
‘Because I said so!’
He used to scream and refuse to sleep. He even stuck his fingers up my nose when I sang lullabies and tried to sneak out of his room in the middle of the night.
‘I don’t get it. I’d love to sleep all day if I could.’
Holding the books, I braced myself and entered the room.
But my preparation was unnecessary.
The children were already lying in bed, ready to sleep.
“You’re all ready?”
“Yes.”
They nodded, snug under their blankets.
“We get scolded if we don’t sleep early.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
It seemed their idea of discipline was very different from mine. Some of them trembled at the thought of punishment.
“I won’t scold you for that.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. Sometimes you just can’t fall asleep, right?”
However, if they were like Lucian and never wanted to sleep, that would be a problem.
I shrugged and headed to my sleeping spot, where a pillow and blanket were already laid out.
“If you can’t sleep, come here. I’ll read you a story.”
At the mention of “story,” some of the children perked up, but they hesitated to approach me.
‘Well, I am a stranger to them.’
I couldn’t force them. They needed to come to me on their own.
“Alright then, I guess I’ll read by myself.”
I casually opened the book, pretending not to care. Some of the children fidgeted in response.
I took it a step further.
“Gasp! A house made of candy? That sounds delicious!”
“…Candy house?”
One child mumbled, looking curious.
I smiled and tilted the book toward them.
“Want to see?”
“…Yes.”
As soon as one child came over, the others followed.
“Once upon a time, in a kingdom made entirely of candy…”
As I read, I glanced at their fascinated faces. It was heartwarming.
By the time I finished one book, most of the children were asleep.
‘Seeing them sleep makes me sleepy too…’
But I couldn’t stop yet. A few children were still awake.
I fought off my drowsiness and opened another book.
Or at least, I tried to.
“Waaahh!”
A sudden cry jolted me awake.
I quickly turned toward the sound. A tiny girl, barely a year old, was crying loudly.
‘If she keeps crying, she’ll wake the others!’
I hurriedly picked her up.
Her name… was it Cherry?
“Cherry, what’s wrong? Why are you so sad?”
“Waaahhh!”
“…Wait, this smell…”
Rocking her gently, I suddenly noticed a warm sensation in my hands. I sniffed cautiously.
“Oh… you need a diaper change.”
A big one.
‘So that’s why she was crying.’
The problem?
I had never changed a diaper before.
Lucian’s nanny and maids always did it. That was just how things were for nobles.
‘But I can’t just leave her like this.’
Alright. I just had to try!
“I’ll change you quickly, okay? Just wait a little.”
I grabbed a clean diaper and a towel before heading to the bathroom.
I undressed her, put the soiled diaper in a bucket, and cleaned her up as fast as I could. Babies caught colds easily, so I had to be quick.
“Waaahhh!”
“Almost done.”
I blinked away my sleepiness and carefully dressed her in fresh clothes.
Thankfully, Cherry stopped crying and soon dozed off.
‘Phew… that was close.’
The diaper wasn’t perfectly wrapped, but it was okay.
Just as I was about to lay her down…
“Waaaahhh!”
The moment her back touched the bed, she started crying again.
“Okay, okay. Don’t cry.”
I tried rocking her again, but she wouldn’t stop. It was like she had a sensor on her back—she cried the second she wasn’t being held.
The worst part?
“Waaaahhh!”
Other babies woke up and started crying too.
“Shh, it’s okay, go back to sleep.”
I patted their chests with one hand while holding Cherry in the other. It was exhausting, but I had no choice.
But they wouldn’t stop.
And then…
“I need to pee…”
“…Are you awake?”
A little boy stood up, clutching his pants.
‘He drank a lot of juice earlier…’
It was a total disaster.
“Can you go by yourself?”
“Mm-hmm…”
He nodded, but on his way to the bathroom, he accidentally stepped on a few sleeping kids.
“Ouch!”
“Ow!”
And just like that, everyone woke up.
A complete catastrophe.
‘I want to cry…’
Why did I send the maids away?
Why did I think this would be easier than taking care of Lucian?
As I struggled to manage everything…
“Ugh… ah!”
Cherry had another accident.
‘Easier than Lucian, my foot…’
At that moment, I truly understood how difficult taking care of children could be.
