Childcare Diaries

“Th—That…”

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“Hmm?”

Marie’s face turned red at the words he spit out towards her, with a low tone.

‘What would the Count think?’

At the thought, she jumped up from her seat.

“I’m going to drink some water.
Wait a minute.”

Kentrail stared blankly at her where she had run away in an instant.

‘Why is she doing that?’

Meanwhile, he organized the clothes that she had not yet folded.
In order to alleviate her troubles a little more, he concentrated on the work with quick hand movements, and before he knew it it was half-cleaned.

‘What’s going on? She still haven’t come.’

Finally, he lifted his head and looked in front of the door, bewildered.
Marie was standing in front of the door, looking at him.

But, somehow, her face was more red than before.

“You didn’t come in… Wait, are you sick?”

Marie waved her hand as he got up and looked like he was approaching her.

“It’s fine.
I’m not sick at all.”

‘How can I say that I was spying on the veins spilled on his forearm when he started tidying up…’

She wanted to cry as she saw him approaching, not sure if she was relieved.

 

***

 

“Marie, I don’t need this anymore.
And, this one, too.”

Brielle was next to her, putting unused items in a large box.

“Are you giving this to friends who really need it?”

“Yes.”

She was choosing something to donate to a nursery school or slum.

‘You don’t know how much I suffered for this.’

That day, he had no idea how much she suffered because of her blushing face while folding the laundry.
Count, who knew nothing, came up to her to go to the doctor, and her excuse to run away was gone.

Marie shook her head.

“Huh? Don’t put this in?”

Because of that, Brielle looked at her face and asked.

“No, young master.
If you don’t need it, put it here.”

“Huh.”

Perhaps, Brielle would be the first noble in the world to donate in this way.
Usually, nobles burned things that their children wore or became obsolete while playing, though they didn’t give them to the slums.

‘I’m glad the Count gave me permission.’

After all, he was always like this.
He allowed her to do whatever she wanted, whether it was right for this place or not.

‘I have to balance it.’

She made that decision to herself and helped the child organize it.

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“This, too.”

“Is this too? It’s a book that Young Master enjoys reading?”

Marie asked with a puzzled look at what Briel was handing over.
Then, Brielle hesitated, as if he was embarrassed.

“I don’t have to read it anymore.”

It seemed that he wanted to help someone, so he began to include things he liked.

“You’re great, Young Master.”

Looking at him, she hugged the child tightly.

“Hehe, I wish it could go to a friend who really needed it.”

“Yes, I hope so as well.”

When she told Brielle that she would give it to children of the same age or younger, he naturally called it a friend.
It was probably not the correct title here, although she wanted him to grow up thinking of them, even for a moment.
So, Marie left it alone.

 

***

 

Ellie and Barry also listened to Marie’s thoughts and willingly joined in.

It wasn’t much, but they picked out the most expensive clothes that they couldn’t wear because of their height.

“It would be better if we could bring it ourselves.”

“I know.”

The children seemed unhappy about it.

“Let’s do that next time.”

Marie comforted the children and approached the entrance to the mansion.
However, even from a distance, the piled-up objects were clearly visible.
For things set aside for the children, the quantity was quite large.

“What is this?”

She asked the knight who was standing to load the things into the wagon.

“It’s something the Count has provided.”

“Can I open it?”

Marie asked, looking at the box.

“Yes.
I’ll open it for you.”

He lowered one of the tallest stacked boxes.
Inside the box that the knight opened, she could see that there were things that children would need.

As it was a new item, it seemed that the Count had purchased it this time.

‘He moved subtly…’

The Count was a man of action rather than words.

‘If I look at it, he moves on without saying anything to show off.’

The good things about him grew more and more.

‘How can I not like him like this…’

While Marie was thinking of Kentrail, the knight organized the box again.

“Then, we’ll get going.”

“Yes, please.”

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“Of course.
Thanks to the nanny, we also did something we’re proud of.”

“It’s something the Count, the Young Master, and the children did more than me.”

At that, the knight looked at Marie, speaking modestly, with sympathetic eyes.

“You’re not going yet.
What are you doing?”

“Master.”

Kentrail watched the knight from afar and approached.
The knight, who received a bitter glance, quickly disappeared to drive the wagon.

“Count.”

Marie called him.

“The knight has departed, so let’s go inside.”

“Yes.”

Following him, she got the feeling that something like this had happened before.

 

***

 

There was a newspaper article.

It was titled praising the Chancellor for his good deeds.

“Look at this, sister.”

Ellie showed Marie the scrapped newspaper.

“It’s about the things we gave that were put to good use.”

“Hmm.”

Ellie smiled broadly as she lifted her cheeks happily.
“If I had known that it would be this good, I would have done it sooner.”

“You gave things away, don’t you think you got something in return, too?”

“It really is.
Why did I live without knowing this.”

“It’s okay now that you know.”

“Did the Count read this article?”

“Yes.
He read the newspaper every day, so there’s no way he didn’t see it.”

The two sat in the room and talked for a long time.

Then, a knock rang out.

“Yes, come in.”

The person who opened the door was Kentrail.

“Count.”

Ellie greeted more warmly than Marie.

She showed the newspaper happily.
“Look at this.
I even scrapped it.”

He had a look of embarrassment when he received the paper the child was handing out.

“Thank you.
But, what can I do? Marie deserves more praise than I do.”

As He turned his head to look at Marie, she just laughed.

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“Who cares who gets it? And, the Count did more things than I did.”

Saying so, Marie shook her head, saying she had only come up with an idea.

“Then, you can think of it as something we did together.”

Seeing these two, Ellie said.

“Okay then, since you’ve done such a good job, I’ll grant one wish.
Is there anything you want to have or want to do?”

Kentrail asked the child.
Ellie did not readily answer and hesitated.

“It can even be anything.”

Marie and Ellie, who couldn’t easily say what they wanted to have or wanted to do, looked overlapping.

“Please play the piano one more time.”

“Piano?”

Because of that, Kentrail asked at the unexpected request.
It was too simple a request to be called a wish.
Still, he hesitated for a while, and it seemed like a supreme wish to Ellie.

“Yes.
I’ll play it for you anytime.”

At his answer, Ellie moved her feet happily.

“By the way, Count, what are you here for?” After listening to their conversation for a long time, Marie asked.

“Oh, I have something to tell you.”

Uttering that, Kentrail looked at Ellie.

“I’ll be playing with the Young Master.”

The quick-witted child opened the door and walked out.

“What’s going on…”

When Ellie thought it was a story that she could not hear, Marie started to worry about it.

“It’s about Siege Kaylor.”

“Siege?”

She suddenly found herself thinking about the original story, but she felt indebted.

“Yes… I guess it’s Siege’s older brother who killed the real Kaylors.”

Marie’s eyes trembled.

“Uh… How…”

“I need some more solid proof, but it’s almost certain.”

“Siege’s shock must be great.”

“Yes… I think we should take good care of him.”

She was helpless at the regret.
Kentrail looked at her and gently patted her on the shoulder.

 

***

 

Siege and Siege’s older brother, Jaz’s news, covered the newspapers every day.

Numerous pieces of evidence point to Jaz as the culprit, but Jaz had a perfect alibi.

This made the investigation long.
Though fortunately, thanks to the recent popularity of the Chancellor, public opinion was more favorable towards Siege, whom he was protecting.

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“I’m worried.”

“Still, public opinion is good, so don’t worry too much.”

“That’s true, but…”

Today, Marie and Kentrail were having a meal together, and they were having a conversation.
Most of the conversation these days has been about Siege.

“I know you feel indebted to Siege, but it’s not your fault.”

She nodded her head.
But, convincing her head and feeling with her heart were two different things.

“Besides, the things you suggested have given us an advantage.”

She didn’t know it would turn out like this.
She just wanted to do a good job, although there was a benefit…

Kentrail called the chef, when he watched her put the vegetables of her salad, which came out first, barely a bite into her mouth.

“Bring what you have prepared.”

“Yes.”

A question spread across Marie’s face when the chef said it was ready.

“What did you prepare?”

“You’ll see.”

After a while, the chef brought out a white plate and something red.

“It’s a shrimp.”

“That’s right.
I remember you ate it well.”

Marie now knew that seafood was not that expensive in the capital, even though it was far from the sea.
It was because the seaweed she had previously obtained was about to be thrown away.

“….”

He sometimes would ask if there was anything she liked about where she lived before, though she didn’t think he would prepare like this.

“Wait.”

Then, he took the shrimp from the plate and started peeling them himself.
At that, the chef next to him persuaded him to do it himself, but to no avail.

“It’s crowded, so just go to the kitchen.”

…Rather, he was just kicked out.

“Then, I’ll do it.”

Marie, who couldn’t stand to see it, came out.

However, she was also stopped.
And so, she just had to watch as he used a knife and fork to dismantle the shrimp.

‘It looks like all the flesh has been removed.’

Watching the precious shrimp’s flesh stick to the shell, she felt sorry for it.

“Come on, eat.”

In the end, the shrimp placed on Marie’s plate had been reduced in size by half.

“…Thank you.”

Marie, who laughed so hard as he had done this for herself, took the shrimp into her mouth.

‘Tasty.
It’s been a while since I’ve eaten this.’

Looking at her brightly blooming face, Kentrail took the shrimp to the plate again and began to peel them with a knife.

With the candles lit so brightly, the bizarre meal continued.