She Raised Her Ex-Boyfriend's Niece Very Well

‘Everyone said I should stay away from my uncle.’

When I looked at the people of the Duke’s house, I felt that way and my heart tingled.

– Actually, being the niece left behind by your brother is a lot of burden.

– Lady Artea too. she’s annoying all the time. i can’t even work.

– Why would he go out of his way to subdue monsters like that? haha. Isn’t it because his nephew is annoying? Because it’s a problem.

It was like that that day too.

I guess I’m a useless child.

Thinking so, i got on the carriage, but when i opened my eyes, i found himself in an unknown place.

‘huh?’

The nanny who was with me just a moment ago was also nowhere to be seen.

All she had left of Artea was the doll.

A gift from her aunt, whose face she doesn’t even know.

‘Glitter?’

Just a moment ago, the light from the doll seemed to have colored Artea, but when she closed her eyes and opened them, it had disappeared.

It was warm and cozy, as if it was protecting me.

Artea tilted her head and suddenly looked away.

‘Where am I?’

It was the first time she had seen it.

It was bleak and narrow, and there was even dust rolling around.

On one side of the ceiling, a large spider was wriggling and spewing out strings.

Maybe it was because it wasn’t realistic, but I wasn’t scared.

It reminded me of a story I saw in a popular musical.

‘Cherry Cherry got hit with a brick here!’

It was very exciting.

She felt like she could do it too.

“Hwaachcha!”

Artea held her doll in her mouth and raised her two little hands.

And she climbed up the wall, holding on to the gap between the bricks.

She didn’t even know that the smoke scattered in her room was the strong scent of sleep.

She didn’t know that the reason she was unaffected was because she was protected by a doll her aunt had given her.

Or that she was lucky to be alone when the sleeping incense was used to kidnap her.

– The child disappeared!

They didn’t know that young children were good at climbing walls.

– Oh. Is this a runaway?

Artea climbed down through the window, not knowing what was happening to her, and just innocently raised her arms.

– I will no longer live with my uncle!

Artea left the place where she was trapped and disappeared along that path.

Because i was covered in dust, i couldn’t see my expensive clothes, so I fell asleep in the wagon I happened to ride, and when I opened my eyes, I was in a far, far away place.

The owner of the carriage was startled when he saw Artea, and immediately called the security forces.

– Hey. Where should I take you?

However, Artea only blinked when she saw the security guard.

‘Is there somewhere for me to go?’

I was hungry and tired.

The adventure was fun, but it was short-lived.

The rattling wagon was uncomfortable, smelly, and difficult, and most of all, one side of my chest ached.

Young Artea didn’t know that what she was feeling was loneliness.

She just felt that she hated that moment and that it was difficult.

‘I want to wash myself cleanly and lie down in a warm, soft bed!’

What came to her mind at that moment was her doll, which she hadn’t let go of in her arms until now.

It felt like it was somehow protecting herself.

– I’m going to my aunt’s.

Fortunately, Artea, who was noticed by the security guards, was able to safely go to Bellona’s mansion.

This was because she had the good fortune of having a wagon passing through a nearby estate.

But her wonderful adventure ended there.

Even when I came to my aunt’s house, nothing changed.

Artea is still a baby, and I couldn’t do anything helpful.

‘I’m not the main character, so I can’t save the world, and I can’t help my aunt and uncle.’

The reason she came to visit her aunt was because she suddenly remembered the person who gave her the doll she was holding.

Actually, I didn’t know she would be that good.

She said that she was her niece, so I thought i would insist that we will stay together.

“If you massage your aunt’s shoulder, your hands will hurt.”

Strangely enough, she kept being nice to me.

She was constantly afraid of being as unwanted by her aunt as she was by her uncle.

“Arte, aren’t you really tired? Would your uncle carry you?”

i couldn’t understand my uncle either.

It was clear that i was hated, so he came out first before i was abandoned…

– If you’re not next to me, I’m going to cry!

– I will live with both of you!

Why doesn’t he keep leaving Artea, who is just whimsical and doesn’t need me?

‘I want to become an adult quickly.’

I wish it would be completely covered when I wake up.

An adult who can help, to the point where people say they can’t do anything without Artea.

Artea seemed to be in a strange state of her mind and she fell asleep early.

She cried a lot today, so she must be exhausted.

After returning to Artea’s nanny, I made eye contact with Erios, who was carrying Artea on his back.

“Good job. Sorry.”

“No, because I am also Artea’s uncle.”

It’s a shame because Erios coaxed me to stay with him.

The nanny and other employees can’t calm things down at all.

“Has Artea always been this anxious?”

“Hmm.”

“How was it possible for a child to leave and go to subjugation when he was having such a hard time?”

“She didn’t want to be away from me before, but not like this.”

Erios’ expression sank.

“perhaps…It was difficult to say goodbye this time, so maybe coming out while Artea was asleep was the catalyst.”

“…….”

“For whatever reason, it’s because I didn’t treat her well.”

‘that’s right. Whatever it is, it’s probably your fault.’

I managed to swallow my thoughts and sighed.

I didn’t even take care of my nephew, so what more can I say?

“For Artea’s sake, subduing monsters is also important. still.”

“Don’t be weird. If you hadn’t gone out to suppress, more people would have died, and Artea would have been in danger too.”

I felt like I was blaming myself so much, so I said something to console myself.

It seems like Artea’s anxiety has finally come to fruition this time…

“I should have visited her more often, at least to show her my face.”

“You couldn’t come visit her either. I never thought of it that way because I’m not married….I just assumed you weren’t interested in your niece, because you used to hate children.”

“My parentless niece ran away from home. Does that make me a person?”

“You seem rather fond of her, for such a thing.”

Erios’s eyes softened.

In the darkness of the night, the light of the magic lantern cast a yellow glow over his face.

For a moment his mood became strange and he turned his head.

“Bellona, I can’t believe you can think of someone like this… .”

“What on earth do you think of me?”

Fortunately, i was able to calm down immediately after hearing Erios’ next words.

Ha, if I talk about this kind of thing anymore, my temper will only get dirty.

Artea must have fallen asleep at that moment, and I remembered the questions I had asked Artea over the past few days when she was more stable than usual.

“Enough of the trivial talk. I was asking Artea.”

“hmm?”

“She said that when she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unknown place and decided she had to go to her aunt’s.”

“It was not her will to come out in the first place. It’s consistent with what the duke’s employees said. Artea showed no signs of trying to leave, and at some point she disappeared.”

Then I guess I’ll have to dig deeper into that.

“Seeing as the protective spell on her doll was broken… .”

“What happened to Artea?”

Erios understood what I meant right away.

“It’s true that Artea didn’t leave the duke’s residence by chance.”

She was so proud when she came to visit her aunt whom she had no memory of seeing…

Although Artea was happy, she was also very anxious.

‘Am I worse at raising than Erios?’

‘What if I have to be away in the future?’

It is true that she was disturbed by such thoughts, but…

I have to do what I have to do now.

First, we need to catch the culprit who caused this situation.

“The butler said so. The nanny isn’t close to Artea and is suspicious that she lost it right under her nose. Well, but….”

“You talked to the butler?”

But isn’t Erios confused when he hears that?

“He’s not the type of person to take the initiative.”

“…….”

“You might be surprised because you saw him confronting me when I first met you, but I actually thought it was unexpected even back then.”

“You mean, he was been acting this aggressively since Artea disappeared?”

It may be because the issue is a serious issue, but…

I felt like something was wrong..