The Maid Hates Childcare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
“Teria, and Ivenna?”
They were maids living with me in the cold palace.
“I’m telling you, it’s true.”
“We’re not hungry, Your Highnesses?”
Ivenna held a round loaf of bread in her hand.
“Give it to me!”
When Ivenna gently dangled it, Louis jumped up and down, desperately trying to grab the bread.
The bread hovered just out of the child’s reach, teasing him playfully.
“You’ll have to jump higher!”
Each time Louis leaped for the bread, the maids’ laughter grew louder.
“Remember what we mentioned earlier?”
“Go on, do it quickly! It’ll suit you well.”
The two maids mocked the child with incomprehensible chatter.
‘No, if you’re going to give it to him, just give it.’
Just as I couldn’t wait any longer and was about to step forward—
“Bark! We told you to do it, didn’t we?”
…What did you just say?
For a moment, I doubted my ears, wondering if I’d heard wrong.
“You’ll really give it to me if I do?”
Louis tilted his head, puzzled.
His eyes remained fixed on the bread, his small hands clutching his hungry stomach.
“Of course.”
The maids nodded in response to Louis’s reaction.
They even urged him on, beckoning him to imitate them right then and there,
as though bestowing pity on a stray dog.
“Louis, don’t do it.”
“Aw, why not? I’m hungry!”
Evan pushed Louis behind him.
Evan glared fiercely at the maids, leaving his whining younger brother safely hidden behind his back.
“That’s exactly the problem—Lord Evan is too stiff.”
“Oh dear, don’t be so harsh.”
Teria chided Ivenna beside her.
But she wasn’t siding with the child.
“You should just learn by watching Lord Louis.”
Teria then smiled even more sweetly.
Her eyes gleamed with smug superiority.
Clearly enjoying the fact that a commoner like herself could treat royalty like a dog, her face radiated pure delight.
“Now then, hurry and bark……”
“Don’t you dare touch Louis!”
As Teria reached out to grab Louis, Evan immediately slapped her hand away.
Teria quietly rubbed the back of her stung hand.
Soon, her face twisted into something demonic.
“What’s wrong with you…!”
Teria raised her hand into the air.
Just as her skillet-like palm was about to strike Evan’s cheek—
Whack!
“Aaah!”
Something flew through the air, striking Teria’s head with a sharp crack before falling to the ground.
The can rolled with a clatter until it stopped. The number “12%” was stamped on its surface.
“Who’s there!”
An irritable voice pierced my ears.
I couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward.
“It’s me.”
“Oh! Lady Aileen?”
Ivenna blurted out my name in relief, clearly worried it might be an inspector.
“What are you doing right now?”
“We were just playing with the princes.”
The maids remained perfectly composed.
“Playing, you say?”
“Yes.”
I asked once more, but received the same reply.
I decided to shift my question to someone else.
“Were you really just playing with the maids, Your Highnesses?”
Lowering myself onto one knee brought me to their eye level at last.
“Huh? Weren’t we playing?”
“That’s not playing, so keep quiet.”
Evan scolded Louis.
Even in this moment, Evan kept his little brother firmly shielded behind him.
Soon, the child who’d been glaring at me finally burst out, unable to contain his frustration.
“…You weren’t going to believe us anyway.”
Distrust, wariness, and unexpressed anger filled Evan’s eyes.
The boy’s small frame trembled.
Beneath that storm of emotions was surely fear.
‘If I’d known it’d come to this, I should’ve handed them a trash bag instead of chocolate.’
So I could’ve stuffed them all in and tied it shut.
My chest ached with a dull, throbbing pain.
There was no need to hear more.
I stood up and approached the maids.
Slap!
Whack!
“Aaahh!”
Screams echoed amid the successive blows.
“You’re fired, effective immediately.”
“W-What do you mean…!”
The maids’ faces, clutching their stinging cheeks, were frozen in shock.
I briskly shook out my own stinging palms.
‘Even Aileen never went this far.’
Aileen, anticipating worst-case scenarios, had never inflicted corporal punishment that could leave marks on the children’s bodies.
Even if it was for her own safety, how dare these maids go so far when even Aileen hadn’t?
More importantly, the authority to dismiss them—and punish them—belonged solely to Aileen.
“Hah, but…!”
“Don’t you know that royalty remains royalty, no matter how neglected they seem?”
My words made the maids flinch violently.
Insulting royalty was high treason, yet even here, class distinctions held firm.
“If word of this gets out, I’ll lose only my head—but you won’t die so easily. So leave. Now.”
If they hesitated any longer, a mere slap wouldn’t be the end of it.
Unlike my bright smile, the maids’ faces had turned deathly pale.
In the end, they gathered their belongings and left the palace.
Watching them disappear, I turned to face the twins.
“Your Highnesses.”
Louis and Evan merely blinked their wide eyes at my call.
“The maids committed grave rudeness. As the lady-in-waiting responsible for overseeing them, I sincerely apologize.”
I knew my words were contradictory.
But this was something I absolutely had to do.
‘These children need a protector.’
If I left the palace, the same situation would undoubtedly repeat itself.
‘Then I’ll make Aileen change.’
Into a proper adult.
I resolved to protect these children.
‘I only have one year left.’
To survive, I needed to turn these future masterminds of darkness into my allies.
‘If I raise them right from the start, they’ll never become villains.’
Besides, if I raised the kids well, I—Aileen—could live comfortably and happily.
‘After that, I’ll meet a fine, handsome man and live well.’
With so many handsome men in this world, surely I could pick one.
Soon, a happy future painted itself in my mind.
The children safely reaching adulthood. A devoted, kind lover who looked only at me, and a warm home—that was the bonus.
A life of happiness for everyone. That was my goal.
Having steeled my resolve, I extended my hand toward the children.
“Will you grant me a chance to earn your forgiveness?”
They only watched me warily, refusing to come closer.
I picked up the chocolate tin and devised a clever solution.
“I’d like to offer you a gift as a sincere apology.”
“…A gift?”
“Yes! Please wait just a moment!”
I rummaged through the kitchen and found some sliced bread.
Fortuitously, the hearth was already lit. I placed six slices of bread onto a pan.
The rich aroma of freshly toasted bread soon filled the kitchen.
‘I can’t stop here.’
Toasted bread alone would be delicious—but I planned to add a special ingredient.
Chocolate.
I poured a generous heap of chocolate onto a plate.
At the sight of those glistening black beads, Evan’s expression instantly hardened.
“That’s poison.”
…Indeed, its dark color wasn’t exactly appealing.
Moreover, chocolate didn’t exist in this world.
“It’s not poison—it’s chocolate. Though it looks like this, it melts sweetly in your mouth with a hint of pleasant bitterness…”
“…”
Evan’s expression remained unconvinced.
‘Experience is the quickest teacher, after all.’
To dispel their doubts, I popped a piece of chocolate into my mouth.
“Mmm, so sweet.”
Perhaps because my sugar levels had dropped, the chocolate clung deliciously to my tongue.
The melting sweetness combined with its lingering subtle bitterness truly tasted divine.
‘Nothing beats chocolate for a sugar boost.’
As I writhed dramatically, unable to contain myself, both twins’ eyes widened in unison.
Though they didn’t know exactly what it was, they clearly imagined something incredibly delicious.
“It’ll be ready soon—please sit tight.”
All I had to do was pile chocolate generously onto three slices of bread, top them with another slice, and wait for it to melt.
Soon enough, the savory scent mingled with the sweet aroma of chocolate, filling the air.
I placed the finished toast onto a plate and set one piece before Louis and Evan each.
“Today’s lunch: chocolate toast.”
On exhausting days like this, nothing beat carbs and sugar.
We were all starving.
Together, the twins and I took a big bite of our chocolate toast.
“…Hweeeeng! It’s so, so sweet!”
Crisp yet tender bread melted in harmony with the chocolate—
truly nourishment enough to soothe weary, hungry hearts.
Louis, already adorable, clutched his cheeks and practically melted on the spot.
Evan and I were no different.
Our cheeks flushed pink as our eyes met.
“…”
“…”
Evan was the first to look away.
I beamed and greeted the children warmly.
“Please take good care of me, Your Highnesses.”
[This is the timeline separator]Duke Ruben’s manor.
Inside the brightly lit study, he sat.
Kashar Bladis La Reihardt.
The ill-fated deposed crown prince, with beautiful golden hair and crimson eyes.
Though abandoned by the imperial family, the man who had returned as a duke now ate in silence, expressionless as he carved his meat.
Slice.
Soon, a tender piece of meat entered his mouth.
As he chewed and swallowed, his brow furrowed.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
His aide spoke up.
But the man only shook his head.
“Nothing tastes like anything anymore.”
After uttering those words, he continued his meal.
It was his first meal in two full months.
Adult members of the imperial family could go long periods without eating and still survive.
Food, however, was also a source of joy—thus, no one deliberately skipped meals.
‘…That is, assuming one still had a sense of taste.’
Though his plate was now empty, his expression showed no satisfaction.
He set down his utensils and pressed his fingers to his forehead.
The relentless headache that had plagued him for so long had begun again.
“Bring it.”
“But… Very well.”
His hesitant aide brought a red fruit.
The man tossed the fruit into his mouth.
Truthfully, the fruit worsened his headache.
The severe pain had already robbed him of his sense of taste.
Yet he continued swallowing the fruit because of his incurable illness.
‘Mania.’
The very illness that had led to his deposition as crown prince.
By consuming this poisonous fruit, he preserved what little sanity remained.
“One month left.”
He gazed out the window.
His mother, former Empress Viviana, would soon reach her death anniversary—one month from now.
Former Empress Viviana had died imprisoned in a tower.
She was accused of being possessed by a demon—
and of giving birth to a crown prince afflicted with madness.
She had received no state funeral; only Kashar was left to honor her memory.
“Shall I prepare?”
“No. I’ll go alone.”
The tower where she died lay in the most remote corner of the palace grounds.
Since all he intended to do was place her favorite flowers there, a large retinue was unnecessary.
“As you wish.”
His aide withdrew.
The man cast a glance at the leftover food.
‘I can’t smell anything.’
He could still detect scents like blood or iron, but it had been a long time since he’d sensed anything fragrant or appetizing.
‘It’ll only get worse.’
The poison he consumed stole his five senses.
Eventually, it would make him cough up blood and die—but that was still a better end than succumbing to madness.
He swept his tongue inside his mouth.
All that remained of the sauce was an empty, hollow taste.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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The premise seemed interesting enough but unfortunately the way it’s written is very poor. Idk if it’s the way the writer writes or a translation error but it’s just not smooth. Something about the writing feels disjointed