The Maid Hates Childcare - Chapter 24

“Eileen, this mister isn’t moving.”

Louis poked Dracu’s side repeatedly.

I barely managed to keep my senses, rubbing my face.

“Sir Louis, you shouldn’t poke an ill person.”

As I tried to stop Louis, Evan chimed in.

“Right. I was told it’s better to kill them cleanly in that case.”

But the content is a bit, very strange?

“……Sir Evan? What did you just say……”

I must have misheard.

When I asked again, Evan answered nonchalantly.

“The guardian said so. If a good person is sick, kill them quickly, and if a bad person is sick, don’t let them die.”

Oh no.

I could immediately identify the source of those words.

Before setting the moving date, Kashar often dropped by the Cold Palace.

Each time, Evan would stick to Kashar, and the two seemed to whisper about something.

‘What did you teach the child!’

I had left them be, thinking it would be good for them to get close since we’d be living together, but that was the root of the problem.

“……Is that not right?”

Seeing my shocked face, Evan glanced around cautiously.

After apologizing to me, Evan’s attitude had become much more careful.

Sometimes he would glance at me even for small things, and each time it was half apologetic and half worried.

‘I thought he didn’t need to be so mindful of me. But this is a bit……’

I should have firmly answered that it wasn’t right.

But seeing his anxious expression, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Well…… I’m not very knowledgeable in that area……”

The future Demon King probably has a lot of experience, but Sir Evan shouldn’t do such things.

‘I’m tired.’

It hadn’t even been an hour since entering the castle, but my mental strength had long been in the negative.

‘I need to ask someone else for help……’

There were already two patients.

Just as I was trying to move my body somehow, a blue-skinned woman suddenly appeared from the darkness.

“Excuse me.”

Navy blue hair and sky-blue eyes. Another Ma-in with pointed ears.

‘I’m not even surprised anymore.’

In fact, I didn’t have the energy to be surprised.

The Ma-in passed by me with an expressionless face and slung Dracu, who was sprawled on the floor, over her shoulder.

“Wow, this elder sister. She’s really strong!”

Louis clapped as if he had seen something amazing.

The Ma-in’s gaze turned to Louis. A smirk. Only the corners of her mouth turned up, blending with her expressionless face.

“Thank you.”

Is she really thankful?

As I stood there dumbfounded, the Ma-in who had taken care of the patient bowed slightly.

“I am Ashtra, the head maid of the castle. Are you Lady Eileen Hallen?”

“Ah, yes. That’s me.”

When I answered reflexively, the smirk from earlier returned.

Ashtra looked around and assessed the situation.

“As the butler seems to be in poor condition, I will take charge of guiding you.”

Treating Dracu like a broken appliance, Ashtra took a step forward.

I hurriedly gathered my wits and stopped her.

“Um, the maid who came with us fainted. I think we need to call someone to help.”

“I will take care of it.”

Glancing down, Ashtra adjusted Dracu on her left shoulder.

Then she slung Emma over her other shoulder. It looked as if she had just picked up another shopping bag.

“……This must be a dream.”

It was Emma’s murmur, momentarily regaining consciousness as her body swayed.

But she fainted again soon after. That seemed better for her mental health.

“Shall we go?”

Ashtra nodded towards the stairs.

The full-fledged entry into the Demon King’s castle awaited us.

‘Mom, I miss you!’

I cried out inwardly, but no answer came.

I tightly gripped the children’s hands and followed her.

The rain had stopped at some point, and sunlight was pouring through the windows.

‘If only we could escape like this.’

But would it be possible against a Ma-in who effortlessly carried two adults?

I was in the middle of calculating my escape when Ashtra briefly stopped walking and muttered something quietly.

Swoosh−!

Soon, curtains were drawn on all the windows on the second floor.

‘She’s a magician.’

I did well not to run away.

While thinking that, I was still amazed to see objects moving on their own.

‘But why is she covering all the windows?’

Just as I was getting nervous, wondering if my desire to escape had been discovered, Louis exclaimed.

“Gasp, the curtains closed by themselves!”

“It’s magic,” Ashtra said.

“Magic? I want to learn too!”

Louis’s eyes sparkled. Evan seemed to feel the same, silently clenching his fist.

After watching the children for a moment, Ashtra spoke.

“Magic is a realm of talent, but it seems possible for both of you.”

Ashtra’s sky-blue eyes were reflecting the twins.

For a moment, I wondered if she knew something, but we soon arrived in front of a room, interrupting my thoughts.

“This is Miss Emma’s room, and the rooms on either side are for Prince Louis and Prince Evan.”

“Huh? Are Evan and I using separate rooms?”

Louis tilted his head.

“If you dislike it, I can arrange for you to share a room.”

“No, I wanted my own room!”

Louis’s expression was truly full of excitement.

On the other hand, Evan narrowed his eyes as he watched Louis jumping around with joy.

“Are you really okay? You’re a scaredy-cat.”

“I’m not a scaredy-cat! I’m a child who will soon be an adult, so I’m fine!”

They immediately started bickering.

Even as they argued, the children’s faces were very bright.

I felt somewhat relieved.

‘At least they’re not scared. That’s a relief.’

The twins seemed more curious than frightened by the Demon King’s castle they had moved into.

Perhaps it was natural, since everything was new to these children.

“I want to see my room!”

Louis darted into his room.

Smiling at that cute sight, I hurriedly entered the child’s room.

“Wait a moment!”

The entrance looked unusual, so the room couldn’t be normal!

I stood in the middle of the room, panting. My eyes seemed to be on fire.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Louis blinked, startled because of me.

The room was filled with sky-blue wallpaper, a wooden bed, and high-quality furniture just right for a child.

‘……It’s normal?’

I rubbed my eyes at the surprisingly good room.

But it was still too early to let my guard down.

After thoroughly checking Louis’s room, I led Evan to the front.

“Sir Evan, may I check your room?”

“……Sure, anything for you, Eileen.”

Evan spoke shyly, as if he were already the owner of the room.

I quickly checked Evan’s room, but it wasn’t much different from where Louis would stay.

‘Just the wallpaper color is different?’

Louis’s room had a bright sky-blue theme, while Evan’s room seemed to have a light purple theme.

‘……Well. Even a handsome lunatic must have some thoughts.’

It’s fortunate that at least the children’s rooms are normal.

After confirming everything, I finally caught my breath.

‘Come to think of it, where is my room?’

From what I heard earlier, there were only rooms for Emma and the children.

Since there were many rooms left on the second floor, I thought mine must be somewhere among them.

Eventually, Ashtra put the unconscious Emma in her room and came out into the hallway.

I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Ashtra? Where might my room be?”

“Lady Hallen will be using the third floor.”

“Just me?”

“Yes. I’ll guide you.”

Dracu was still dangling, folded in half on Ashtra’s shoulder.

“Ah, haha. The third floor! It’s a nice place!”

Fearing that if I defied her words, I might end up on her other shoulder, I quickly nodded.

Ashtra and I went up to the third floor, leaving the children behind.

‘This is strange.’

Unlike the second floor, the third floor had a long corridor with only two rooms facing each other.

“You’ll use this one.”

Ashtra pointed to one of them.

‘The children’s rooms were fine, so mine should be similar, right?’

All I had left was the desire to go in and rest quickly.

“Thank you for guiding me.”

It was a roundabout way of saying please go back soon.

After all, Dracu occupying her shoulder since earlier was quite concerning.

‘Mr. Butler, your blood must be rushing.’

I was afraid he might cough up blood again.

For both our sakes, I issued a polite dismissal.

“Then, I’ll be going in.”

Just before my hand touched the doorknob, Ashtra pressed down on the door.

“Wait.”

“……Yes?”

It was even more intimidating up close.

‘What did that madman say?’

What could he have told her to deliver that made her act so scary?

I just blinked, pinned against the wall by Ashtra.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“Day or night, it doesn’t matter.”

Her voice lowered, as if trying to imitate Kashar’s voice.

Ashtra said half the sentence and then pointed to the room across.

“Come to my room anytime. You can invite me too.”

The other remaining room was Kashar’s bedroom.

“That is all. Rest well.”

As if nothing had happened, Ashtra withdrew with a polite attitude.

After she disappeared, I entered my room in a daze.

‘A madman is just a madman.’

It was a very foolish judgment to think that even a madman would have some thoughts.

I flopped onto the bed without even looking around the room.

But the bed was too big. It was king-sized.

‘Invite my foot!’

I should have included a no sexual harassment clause in the contract!

After raging for a while, I finally fell asleep.

‘Ugh. I’m tired.’

When I opened my eyes, four hours had already passed.

The children were just as tired, so we ended up having a simple dinner in Louis’s room instead of the dining room.

As Ashtra cleared away the basket that had held bread, she said to me.

“I will guide you through the introduction of the staff and the internal structure of the castle tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

It was already dark night, so it wasn’t an appropriate time for such explanations.

As I nodded, Ashtra went out with the dishes.

That’s when Louis whined to me.

“Eileen, I’m so sleepy. But I don’t wanna sleep…… I want to play more before sleeping.”

Louis was already starting to doze off.

I patted the child’s full belly and pulled up the blanket.

“Can you sleep well on your own?”

“……Ugh, I’m a brave…… mmm.”

His eyes were already half-closed.

I kissed Louis on the cheek. The child immediately fell into deep sleep.

“Shall we go to bed, Sir Evan?”

“……Okay.”

We turned off the lights in Louis’s room and moved to Evan’s room.

Evan lay down in bed on his own.

I covered the child with the blanket up to his neck.

“If anything happens, wake Emma up.”

“Emma was already trying to die.”

“Ah, haha. She must be very tired.”

Emma had been sleeping straight through without even eating.

‘The shock must have been big.’

She probably expected a luxurious ducal mansion, but the reality was a horror fantasy.

My illusions were shattered too, but I was quicker to adapt.

“Then come running to me. Understand? Come up the stairs and the room on the right on the third floor is my bedroom.”

“……Okay.”

Evan nodded. When I patted his head as praise, a shy question came back.

“……Won’t you do it for me?”

“Hm? Do what?”

When I tilted my head, Evan’s face turned red.

“Nothing. I’m going to sleep, so go out.”

Evan pulled the blanket up over his eyes.

Puzzled by his embarrassed appearance, I recalled what I had done for Louis earlier.

‘Could it be.’

Looking down at Evan, I kissed his empty forehead.

It must have been the right answer, as Evan’s forehead turned red too.

“Good night, my prince.”

“……Good night, Eileen.”

Evan’s childlike side seemed like a precious treasure to me.

I stroked Evan’s hair for a long time before getting up from the bedside.

I turned off the lights and returned to my room, but for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come.

‘Is it because I slept during the day?’

I was tired, but couldn’t sleep – exactly that state.

‘I’m thirsty.’

The water bottle in the room was empty.

‘Come to think of it, I think I saw the dining room earlier.’

I think it was at the end of the hallway before going up to the second floor, but I wasn’t sure.

Unable to sleep and unable to bear the thirst, I left the room.

‘Ugh, I don’t want to go out.’

Only the room was normal, but from the corridor, it was still the Demon King’s castle.

‘But at least ghosts won’t appear.’

Ma-in are better than ghosts.

With that thought, I was able to go down to the first floor.

‘Ah, there it is.’

Luckily, I found the dining room.

Plus, there was still someone there, as a faint light was seeping out from behind the door.

Thinking this was good, I opened the door.

And there was.

“Butler Dracu?”

I saw a large build with white hair from behind.

Hearing my voice, he slowly turned around.

“……Miss Hallen?”

Dracu was holding a glass filled with red liquid.

His mouth was also red.

‘It’s blood. One hundred percent human blood.’

Suddenly, I recalled the description of Ma-in from the original work.

‘……There are Ma-in who drink human blood……’

This place called Ruben Castle but known as the Demon King’s castle offered layers of fear like an onion, the more you peeled it.

‘Finally, it’s my turn.’

My turn to faint, that is.

I let my weakening body relax.

How long had I been out of it.

“……would have.”

“That, I made a mistake…… truly sorry……”

The voices sounded muffled, lacking a sense of reality.

My body, accumulated with fatigue, accepted this as a dream.

‘It’s been a while since I had a different dream.’

This was neither the dining room nor my room.

Am I finally going to dream about a scene other than the mart?

‘If so, please make the move to the Demon King’s castle a dream too, I beg you.’

I don’t like horror. I really don’t.

After struggling to open my eyes, I came face to face with the person I had been grinding my teeth at all day.

“……It’s Kashar.”

Kashar, sitting on the bed, was embracing me.

‘But why is it so warm?’

Something firm and hot touched my cheek. It was a thick pectoral muscle.

He seemed to have just finished showering, as he was shirtless.

Water droplets fell from his hair. My gaze was captivated by his damp chest.

“……Chest.”

And even down to his clearly defined washboard abs.

‘Ah, the muscles are amazing. The muscles are amazing.’

A merry Korean melody swirled inside my flushed cheeks.

“Our handsome lunatic.”

As I uttered the special nickname I had secretly kept, Kashar smiled.

It was a beautiful smile.

I put on a serious face against his handsome mug.

“……Hey, you fraud!”

I pinched dream Kashar’s cheek hard.