The Maid With a Child

6. The Master Who Would Cut Off My Neck If Anything Happened.

 

“I feel it exceeds the limits of my abilities.”

“What?”

“T-the baby is very difficult to take care of. As you saw just now, he cries a lot, doesn’t stop easily, and is very picky about other things.”

This wasn’t a lie. Even among all the siblings at the daycare center who had been in Adelen’s care, he was the most difficult ever.

The promise all of the other maids made to watch the baby together became meaningless in one night as soon as she received it yesterday.

The baby seemed to have decided to stay in Adelen’s arms for a long time, and would burst into tears at the touch of another person’s hand.

If that were all and all she had to do was hold him and endure it, it would have been fine, but the baby was never-endingly picky.

He was something hot, sometimes hungry, sometimes sleepy, he would go squeaking when someone was lying down on the bed next to him, or the hand that was tapping his back missed the beat.

Because of that, Adelen couldn’t sit or stand properly and spent the night in an ambiguous position.

It was torture.

Recalling the hardships of the previous night, Adelen burst into tears.

It was a hellish night where she understood why postpartum depression occurs in only one day.

“I have many younger siblings, so I can take care of him a little better than others, but I’ve never really been a nanny or a personal maid…In fact, I don’t want to be a nanny or a personal maid.”

Adelen finally said everything out loud.

Rakalt, who had heard Adelen’s report of the previous night, tapped his crossed arms with his fingertips.

The very situation of her not obediently doing what he had told her to do and refusing his command made him angry. However, after hearing about her hard work the previous night, he tolerated it.

“Then who else would you recommend to do the job?”

“…Uh”

Adelen froze with her mouth open, unable to answer rashly.

She hadn’t thought about it that far.

Thinking back to yesterday when everyone had been reluctant to take on the job and had been pushing and pulling, she couldn’t even name one person.

Besides, it was something that could lead the one doing it to death, so how could she name someone with her own mouth?

“Someone has to do this work in this mansion. Who would be good?”

Rakalt asked again.

It was a question, but it was also a reprimand.

Realizing that, Adelen’s mouth became parched, though his voice was eerily calm.

Adelen shut her eyes tightly.

Her job was important, but her life was more important.

“I’m sorry. But I’ll resign!”

Who would have thought that the words she had used to threaten her seniors who had been pushing all work on her and trying to run away would become reality? However, that was the only way to escape from this job without dying.

As expected, a sharp silence fell.

The only sound that could be heard was the butler’s gasp.

Adelen was so scared that she couldn’t even open her eyes and shrank her neck like a turtle.

“I’m sorry…I, I heard that the master really hates people who can’t do their job. If I can’t do the work he tells me to do, I think it would be right for me to quit.”

Up until now, Adelen had changed jobs because of unavoidable circumstances.

The master’s family had to move to another country, or the business had gone bankrupt and everyone had been laid off. Adelen had never quit on her own.

Even in a household where the other maids had run away and new maids came every week or month, she lasted a year.

Their business had gone bankrupt because they had been abusing their power, and she hadn’t even received a proper salary, but she still held on.

Adelen, who was like that, was the first to say that she would give up her job.

“…Okay.”

After a time so cold that even my breath froze, the verdict that was finally handed down was an unexpected permission.

“W-what? Really?”

“You are not a slave with ownership contract, nor a loyal knight. If you don’t want to work and want to quit, you can tell me and quit. What else can I do?”

Adelen’s resignation was accepted so coolly.

However, it didn’t end there.

“But..you can’t leave this house.”

“Yes…?”

“Or you will die.”

“What?!”

A death sentence was suddenly handed down.

Who would have thought that the master would personally cut off my neck if I did something wrong?

“You are already entangled with the Crown Prince of Morn, and your very existence has become a part of the secret, so I can’t let you leak that secret out.”

So either we lock you up or kill you.

Rakalt easily came to a conclusion.

Of course, Adelen’s consent was not reflected even a little bit in the conclusion.

“A,a,are you saying that you will kill me…?”

The threat of “Do you want to die?” was something you could hear often in your normal everyday life.

However, it was never used as a real threat, meaning that you would kill them or wish they would die. It was usually a joke that was used lightly, so people would laugh it off even after hearing it.

However, the master’s “Do you want to die?” meant it literally.

“It is His Majesty the King’s order to take the Crown Prince of Morn as a hostage. It is something that cannot go wrong even a little bit, so it would be best to kill you in advance to shut your mouth.”

“…”

Rakalt nodded as if asking for her choice.

Will you do it or die?

Adelen did not want to die. However, she did not want to give up her dream of building her own family and living happily for being tied to a baby and devoting decades to him.

“U-uh, then can I choose to stay in the mansion…?”

“…”

Rakalt eyebrows twitched as if he had been caught off guard.

He had just threatened her that she would not be able to leave this house alive, and she just accepted it like this?

But it was true that his own words could be interpreted as Adelen said.

“…Ha.”

Rakalt laughed in amazement.

 

* * *

 

Trapped.

He must have been so angry because he burst into laughter like a madman.

Fortunately, the master did not go crazy, and instead locked Adelen in a corner room. He had even put guards around the room.

Adelen sat down on the bed in a corner of the dark room, gasping for breath.

She was still alive.

But that was not the problem.

“Neeeeeeeeeeh!”

The baby’s cries would not stop.

They were so loud that they resonated even in this remote room, which was the farthest from the master’s room.

“Adelen. Your meal.”

The baby’s cries echoed even louder as the butler, who had brought the meal, opened the door.

“I am so disappointed in you. You are not willing to use your talent properly and are trying to run away instead? You should have thought of it as a promotion and enjoyed it.”

“Promotion…. Hahahaha.”

Adelen laughed weakly as she stirred the stew he had brought for dinner.

If the master had lured her with a promotion, the result would have been the same.

She would have refused, gotten threatened, almost gotten her head blown off while trying to quit, then locked up.

“I told you, I would never be a nanny.”

“Why? It’s the third highest position after the head maid and the chief cook.”

“I wouldn’t be able to get married. I want to get married early. I work as a maid to save up money for marriage as fast as possible…”

“…Oh, really? Well, being a nanny is something you have to sacrifice your life for. It makes it hard to get married. Even if you get married, your husband won’t like it.”

“That’s right…”

Marriage was the biggest and most precious dream of Adelen.

A husband who is handsome and a child who is cute and obedient.

To have those things, she had to get married first. A life that gave up on that was meaningless.

Becoming a nanny was the biggest obstacle blocking that dream.

“Ugh, I wish the master would calm down soon or you would change your mind. It’s a mess because of the baby right now. I called all the maids and servants to the maid’s quarters and left him with them there, but it’s still a mess.”

That chaos must be still going on even at this moment.

The baby’s loud cries continued unabated as if to tell me the situation.

 

* * *

 

The maids’ quarters were shared rooms, so no matter how quiet it was, someone’s snoring, rustling, the bed creaking, and other sounds could be heard constantly, making her alert.

Maybe it was because she was alone for a long time. All the sounds in the world sounded several times louder.

Adelen couldn’t sleep because of the various sounds that constantly pierced her ears, and rolled around on the bed.

Still, she couldn’t overcome the fatigue that was creeping up on her, so she dozed off.

But it didn’t last long.

“?!”

Adelen, who was suddenly awakened by an unusual sound, sat up with a start.