The Villainess’ Kindergarten

“I want to take a break from Guardianship to focus on training a little more.”

It was what Chantz said to me about three weeks after we returned from the capital.

I didn’t know what Chantz learned from the Knights of the Capital, but he always focused on training except when he was with me. But when he said that, it felt like my son, whom I had raised with great care, was leaving me to study abroad. But what could I do? This mother supports her son.

“Okay, I understand. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

I said this while patting Chantz’s head, and he nodded and left the room.

Not long after Chantz left, there was a knock on the door.

I looked at my watch and it was a little past 2 o’clock. I knew that only Chantz would come at this hour, so I turned my gaze back to the book I was reading.

Not long after, the door opened and Lima came into the room. She was holding a gift box and a letter the size of her head.

“Sister-in-law, here’s a letter and a gift!”

burst out laughing at her bright smile as she handed me the letter and gift box.

Sometimes the children would deliver letters or gifts to me instead of the maids, and I gave them small gifts like chocolate or candy every time.

“Thank you.”

I patted her head, put down the book I was reading, and accepted the letter and box.

The letter, decorated with gold leaf, had the empress’s seal. It was a letter from Afile.

I opened the letter thinking that.

Then I saw the pretty handwriting that was the same as the letter I had received when I left the capital.

[How are you, princess? I hope you are doing well. Did the children like the gifts I gave you last time? I feel sorry that I couldn’t give you better ones.]

No, it’s enough, so why was she doing that? The children, except for Thomas, really liked the rings Afile gave them.

When I told him that the shock would send a signal, Thomas frowned as if he was all grown up and asked why he needed something like this.

In contrast, the other kids didn’t seem to think so badly of it.

They said that they rarely went outside the mansion, but that they would always carry it with them in case of an emergency.

[Your chocolate recipes have become the most popular desserts in the capital, and the drink called latte is also very popular among the nobles. It’s all thanks to you.]

Come to think of it, chocolate bonbons started being sold in this store a few days ago.

It must have become popular so quickly because it sells well in the capital.

I felt proud when I thought of that.

[I’ll be bringing another gift with me soon. If you don’t listen, it’s okay to scold me. I hope it won’t be a nuisance.]

I tilted my head at her continued words. What was she talking about?

I read the letter further, but it only talked about my current situation or her story, and there was no mention of a gift at all.

Was she talking about this one that came with it?

I tilted my head and opened the box. It was filled with chocolate.

I took one out and took a bite, and the ganache inside the chocolate spread sweetly in my mouth.

It’s a chocolate bonbon! But why was this annoying?

If I eat too much, would I get fat?

I thought as I put ganache in Lima’s mouth too.

“Wow, this is so delicious!”

Lima, who had eaten the ganache, opened her mouth with her eyes sparkling. At that moment, the door opened with a loud noise without even knocking.

It was Jasmine and Greenly.

They looked unusually flustered, but Greenly was the first to speak.

“We have a guest!”

We didn’t have many guests, but was this really that surprising? That thought disappeared the moment I looked out the window to confirm the identity of the guest.

There were five carriages parked in the ducal garden, and they had the royal emblem engraved on them.

No way.

As expected, the carriage door opened and Rayan and Lilian got out one after another. Then, large gift boxes followed them.

Was this Afile’s gift?

Only then did I understand Afile’s letter.

Of course, I had asked them to come, but she didn’t say they would come this soon.

He’s the crown prince, so how can he just leave the palace like this?

At that moment, about 10 knights arrived on horseback.

…Would… it be?

I didn’t mind the children coming, but I was a little flustered because the visit was so sudden.

I took my eyes off the window and headed downstairs.

“First, I have to prepare to welcome the guests, so let’s go.”

Baridas probably knew.

No wonder he had been sighing deeply and repeatedly apologizing to me for the past few days. He must have been asked to keep it a secret, considering the current situation.

At that moment, someone grabbed my clothes.

When I turned around, Jasmine was sobbing and hugging her teddy bear.

“Sis… I’m scared…”

Were the knights scary?

The knights standing in a row could have been scary for Jasmine.

I thought that and hugged Jasmine.

“What’s scary?”

“I’ve never seen anyone as small as you before….”

No, you guys really didn’t have any friends? Not even one? At that moment, a thought occurred to me.

The Chilan’ mansion was surrounded by forests, and it was quite a long way to get to the city by carriage. But I had never seen the kids go out of the mansion.

“Have you ever gone out of the mansion?”

Greenly opened his mouth as if he was asking me something obvious.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

But I thought they would have at least been to the city. It wasn’t a bad thing to not go out, if this was the rule and established rule of aristocratic society, then there’s nothing we could do about it, but…

But….

Still, how important it was to experience many things at a young age, how important was sociality!

“Let’s all go out to the city together soon.”

Lima, Greenly and Jasmine’s eyes widened at my words.

“Can we really go out?”

“Really?”

Lima and Greenly asked me, stamping their feet, and I smiled slightly at them.

If I had known they would like it this much, I should have gone out with them earlier.

The duke’s mansion was so big that I didn’t feel confined, but I thought it would be different for the children.

In response, Jasmine hugged my neck tighter.

“I hate going out, and I hate being around people I don’t know.”

I patted her on the back and got up from my seat.

Jasmine was now three years old. She was still scared of new things.

Jasmine’s opinion was the most important, but it would be okay to persuade her a little.

I opened my mouth with that thought.

“Are you going to stay with your sisters and brothers for the rest of your life?”

“Then why not? Why…?”

Tears welled up in Jasmine’s purple eyes, and soon after, tears began to fall.

“I only need my sisters and brothers… and my sister-in-law. If they’re not family, then you’re nothing. I don’t need anyone else. I’ll just let them stay with me for the rest of their lives.”

I didn’t want to force the kids to do things they didn’t want to do.

I sighed and patted Jasmine on the back to soothe her, and opened my mouth.

“You go out and greet the guests.”

Greenly and Lima looked at me and went out of the room, and I slowly walked around the room holding her.

How should I soothe this…

The kids who usually came to kindergarten were at least 3 years old, and at most 5 years old. When I thought about it, did I push Jasmine too hard?

I felt sorry for Jasmine because I did whatever I wanted under the pretext of persuasion.

After some time, Jasmine stopped crying and buried her face in my arms, as if she had calmed down.

“Are you okay now?”

After a while of asking the question, Jasmine finally opened her mouth.

“Yeah… But, I really only care about my family.”

I was relieved that she was okay, but at the same time, I was worried that Jasmine was too dependent on her family. But she’s still a child, so she’ll be okay when she grows up a little more.

I patted her head and opened my mouth.

“Yeah, I won’t force you. But I hope you’re not too scared.”

“…Why?”

I opened my mouth, wondering what to say to persuade her.

“When I first came, were you scared?”

Jasmine, who thought I might get hurt, still buried her face in my arms and shook her head hard as she opened her mouth.

She looked like a young puppy.

“No, Sister-in-law, you’re going to be family. So it’s okay.”

I burst out laughing at Jasmine’s firm words, and I patted her head and opened my mouth.

“Then think of the guests who came today as your friends.”

After thinking about my words for a moment, Jasmine finally took her face off my arms and looked up at me.

Her face and hair were a mess, probably because she had been crying in my arms for a long time.

When I wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and fixed her hair, she quietly let herself be touched by my hands. When I finished roughly organizing it, Jasmine opened her mouth.

“Are friends that kind of people? More than family?”

I opened my mouth, hoping that Jasmine would be interested in a friendship, and hoped that she would not feel too burdened.

“Friends are not comparable to family, but they can be close to each other.”

Jasmine hesitated for a moment at my words, then wiped her tears and nodded.

She smiled faintly.

“Aras, I want to meet my friends too. But I’m still scared outside. I’ll go out later.”

That was also a huge amount of courage.

I smiled and patted her head.

I was impressed by Jasmine’s courage.

I picked up one of the chocolate bonbons I had received as a gift earlier and put it in Jasmine’s mouth, then carried her out of the room.

We quickly reached the first floor, and the moment I put my hand on the doorknob to open the door, I felt Jasmine tremble.

“It’s okay. Don’t be too scared.”

When I patted Jasmine with my other hand, she seemed to calm down, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth while staring straight at the door.

“Aras, open it now.”

 

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Translator Note: