Gasp. Marie was so surprised that she unconsciously responded without realizing it and quickly shut her mouth.
“…H-Huh?”
When the child, startled, asked again, Marie frantically waved her hands, as if to say she had misspoken.
“I-I just heard about it too. I think I spoke out of turn. Since His Grace will take care of everything, why don’t we have some snacks first?”
Clearly unwilling to continue the conversation, Marie’s hesitation made Ellie narrow her eyes.
A few months ago, an official notice had provided some insight into why the annex’s management had fallen into such disarray.
Since it would have been impossible to expel so many annex staff members without any explanation, a simple reason had been given.
‘They definitely said the main culprits had been punished, especially those who escalated the situation with the former butler’s tacit approval.’
After hearing that, the atmosphere among the staff had visibly been unsettled for some time, making it impossible to ignore.
But since there had been a precedent set, they had become even more respectful toward the child, which Ellie found acceptable and let pass.
The precedent had already been made.
Ellie wasn’t sure how much Rutus had uncovered, but the staff’s punishments had been carried out, and with the former butler dead, only one thing remained.
‘…He must have found out where the money had been siphoned off to.’
If that was the case, as Marie had said, it was up to Rutus to take care of it.
There was no benefit in letting a child know about such matters, so it was better to divert his attention for now.
Ellie slowly blinked as she watched Marie place the snack packages in front of the child one by one.
‘It would be best if this just passed quietly…’
The problem was that, lately, both Ellie and Rutus had been so preoccupied that they hadn’t been able to focus entirely on the child.
And now, hearing this conversation in such a sulky state…
“…Who is it?”
There was no way the child would let it go as usual. Sure enough, the child pouted and looked up at Marie.
“H-Huh?”
“I said, who is it? I understood what you were saying, Marie. Because of those people, I had to wear clothes until they were completely worn out.”
“Well…”
“…They took away what Daddy gave me.”
“……”
“So I should… at least… have the light… to know…”
…The right. Ellie hesitated before speaking cautiously to the child. The child pursed his lips, looking at Ellie, then continued.
“The right… to know.”
“But, Young Master, you’re still too young. There’s no need for you to worry about things like this. You can just go about your days as usual—”
“I’m not a baby! Why does no one tell me anything?!”
They say knowledge is power, but…!
Unable to hold back the frustration that had built up over the past few days, the child burst into tears.
It was common sense to keep distressing matters away from the child’s ears.
But in a household where dozens of people lived and worked, complete secrecy was impossible, no matter how careful they were.
‘Hearing bits and pieces about a situation that directly involved him but never getting a full explanation… Of course, it must have been frustrating.’
Had their attempts at consideration ended up being harmful instead? Ellie wasn’t sure.
Ellie pressed her lips together at the child’s next words.
“Grown-ups are all liars…”
– ……
Knowledge is power.
That was something Ellie had once said.
It wasn’t an original thought—Ellie had come across the phrase while reading a book in the library, following Rutus around.
Looking at the child, sniffling in sorrow, Ellie had no choice but to say something.
– Adi, don’t cry. Look at Mommy just once, okay?
“……”
The child turned away abruptly, still upset.
– Mommy, Daddy, and Marie should have told you properly. I’m sorry, Adi. We didn’t know you were this upset.
“……”
But as parents, they hadn’t wanted to burden their child with unnecessary worries.
Especially since, in this case, the child had been an innocent victim caught up in the affairs of adults—of course, they wanted to hide it.
– This wasn’t your fault, was it? It was because the adults did something wrong, right?
“……”
– So Daddy probably just wanted you to be happy. Since this is something Mommy and Daddy have to handle, they just wanted you to keep smiling.
“…But,”
– Then how about this? As Adi said, you have the right to know, since Adi was also involved. It’s natural to be curious.
So let’s eat some snacks first. Then, once Daddy has calmed down a little, we’ll go and ask him.
Ellie suggested.
Whether Rutus would willingly tell the truth was uncertain.
But since Ellie didn’t know the full details either, this was the best option.
The child, who had been lying face-down on the couch, slowly sat up.
“…I’ll eat my snack first, then go to Daddy.”
“To His Grace? …He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood today, so perhaps it would be best not to visit…”
“Daddy said he wouldn’t eat dinner with me today either. It’s been three-teul already. If not now, then when?”
“…Three-teul?”
Marie, who had been listening to the child’s words with a troubled expression, quickly blinked and asked again.
The child shook their head as if wondering how Marie didn’t know and picked up a cookie.
“You don’t even know that? Three nights!”
“…….”
“…….”
Ellie and Marie were simultaneously taken aback, their pupils trembling slightly.
The strangely subdued atmosphere became soft and fluffy, as if cotton candy had been sprinkled over it.
‘Uh… so, it seems like he’s talking about three days right now.’
Marie’s lips quivered as she clenched her teeth and asked,
“Young master, c—cough! Young master, could you perhaps teach me how to count the days?”
Marie’s voice wavered with an indistinguishable sound—whether it was a cough or a suppressed sob. She had held back quite well until that moment, but…
“…Marie, you don’t know how to count?”
“I, cough, I just… got confused all of a sudden.”
“Hmm… One day, two days, three-teul, four-teul….”
The child folded his fingers one by one while counting the days. From the second day onward, only the number changed.*
Hearing this, Marie, who had been sitting on the couch, suddenly bent down under the table, muttering that she had dropped something. Naturally, she didn’t come back up.
‘Ah, I know this one.’
Because the imperial palace officials were excessively sharp, there was a time when they overcomplicated a basic problem that academy freshmen should have been able to solve and got all the answers wrong.
Wondering if this was one of those cases, Ellie clenched her teeth alongside Marie.
Likewise, the child, whose intelligence easily exceeded expectations to an almost astonishing degree, would occasionally show such an unexpected side.
“Eleven-teul, twelve-teul… what?”
As the child furrowed his brows and looked around, belatedly realizing the surrounding reactions, his puzzled gaze landed on Ellie.
The back of her head tingled, but there was no avoiding it.
‘If I turn around here… and burst into laughter, there’ll be no saving the situation.’
That would be the day he might actually pack his things and run away from home.
While Ellie was doing her best to hold her breath to keep up with her just-turned-five-year-old son’s antics,
The child, who had paused in eating his snack, suddenly jumped up from his seat and looked around.
– …Adi? What’s wrong?
“I hear a sound from the next room.”
At the child’s words, Ellie tilted her head. She hadn’t noticed any movement.
However, before Ellie could stop him, the child had already grabbed the half-eaten cookie and flung open the door to the next room.
“…….”
“…….”
Rutus, who had been in the middle of changing into his outdoor clothes, froze as his eyes met the child’s.
‘No way… there really was someone.’
It seemed that children had incredibly sharp hearing.
For a brief moment, Rutus shot a look at Marie as if asking why she hadn’t stopped him.
But before he could say anything, the child spoke first, leaving Rutus unable to reprimand anyone further.
“Daddy… where are you going?”
“I have to step out for a bit. I’ll be back before sunset—”
“You’re going to see that person, aren’t you? The one who took away what Daddy gave me.”
“…….”
Had he not reacted, the child might not have noticed. But Rutus hadn’t expected the child to know that much, and his eyes wavered in surprise.
And then, the child’s gaze sharpened.
“I think I have the right to know that too.”
“It’s something you don’t need to know.”
“But I could know. I’m curious!”
The child shouted. As if determined to block him from leaving, he stomped over to Rutus and looked up at him, continuing,
“Then at least tell me who it is. I won’t ask to go with you, so just tell me….”
“…….”
“If you ignore me and leave, I won’t eat with you anymore.”
“…….”
“I’ll eat alone in my room.”
“…….”
“I guess I’ll just have to live like that, miserably, eating only soup and bread forever….”
Now that he had gotten a bit used to acting spoiled, the child quickly pulled out a threat card.
Even though he himself would be the most upset if that really happened, he said it knowing that Rutus would give in.
As expected, Rutus glanced out the window, seemingly estimating how much time was left until sunset. With a sigh, he finally spoke.
“…A long time ago, when you were very young, there was an attendant who got injured while watching over you for a short time at dawn. I heard he became lame and had to quit his job. Turns out, he was the son of the previous butler.”
“…….”
“He might still hold a grudge over that incident, so I thought it best not to let him into the estate. I was on my way to confirm the situation myself.”
“Th-Then… is it that red-haired older brother?”
“…I don’t remember that much, but the previous head attendant’s wife was a redhead. Anyway, I need to get going now, so—”
Rutus, who had been deep in thought with a solemn expression, had seemingly decided that explaining things was better than taking the child along. Just as he was about to demand that the child keep his promise and step aside—
– ……!
Ellie’s eyes widened in shock.
“I-I want to go too!”
The child clung tightly to Rutus’s leg and shouted.
* * *
*TL/N: FOR YOUR REFERENCE: IN KOREAN, DAYS ARE COUNTED LIKE THAT: (하루>>haru>>one day, 이틀>>i-teul>>two days, 사흘>>sa-heul>>three days, 나흘>>na-heul>>four days, 닷새>>dat-sae>>five days, and so on..) SO WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY THAT WHEN ADI WAS COUNTING THE DAYS IN KOREAN HE ONLY MEMORIZED HARU(ONE DAY) AND I-TEUL(TWO DAYS) AND CHANGED THE NUMBERS BEFORE “TEUL” AFTER SAYING 2 DAYS.
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