The Maid Hates Childcare - Chapter 54

Mikael followed the children upstairs to the second floor.

I grabbed some clothes suitable for guests and went to Louis’s room.

When I opened the door, Mikael was kneeling on the bare floor.

“Why are you sitting like that?”

“Ah, the floor is warm…”

The ondol heating is nice indeed.

I nodded and held out the things I had brought.

“Please sit comfortably. These are clothes to change into and slippers.”

“…Thank you.”

He looked shy even receiving something.

Soon, there was a growling sound of a stomach rumbling.

The source was Mikael.

“After you change, I’ll prepare something for you to eat.”

“…Yes. Really thank…”

“No more thanks from now on.”

Mikael looked dejected after being deprived of expressing gratitude to me.

‘Since it’s late, let’s go with something simple.’

I went down to the kitchen while he changed clothes.

‘Would egg sandwiches… be enough?’

Mash boiled eggs, sprinkle mayonnaise, and season with pepper and salt.

Then fill it generously between slices of bread – nom – our nutritious snack.

The cooking process was simple, but the taste doubled depending on how much mayonnaise was added.

I put the sandwiches with the crusts cut off on a plate and returned to the room.

“Here you go.”

“…This is.”

“Egg sandwiches. And milk.”

It was around evening when I found Mikael.

If he had been wandering since daytime, it would be normal to be hungry.

Mikael’s eyes couldn’t leave the sandwiches.

After glancing around, Mikael soon picked up a sandwich and carefully took a bite.

“…!”

His small chewing mouth stopped and stars shot from his eyes.

A moment later, abandoning his timid demeanor, he devoured the halved sandwich in three bites.

“It’s really delicious. The eggs are so soft… they go well with the bread. It doesn’t get stuck in my throat, and I want to keep eating it.”

As his blue eyes sparkled, his already pretty face looked even more lovable.

‘Is this a characteristic of the imperial family?’

Really, these imperial family members expressed their appreciation for taste in a way that was quite pleasing.

“There’s more, so eat plenty. And drink the milk too.”

Even while eating hurriedly, he still looked graceful and dignified, making me think that a male lead is indeed a male lead.

‘But why does it feel like we’ve gained a third child?’

It felt like finding the twins’ lost sibling.

When Mikael finished his meal, Louis approached.

“Elder Brother Mikael, let’s do this together.”

What Louis brought out was a board game called “Reksha,” similar to chess.

Mikael couldn’t take his eyes off the Reksha game.

He seemed to want to play but also awkward about someone approaching him.

“I’ve never tried something like that before…”

“I’ll teach you.”

“Uh, th-thank you.”

Mikael was led by Evan’s hand to the table.

The chairs, originally two, now had a third added.

I watched the golden heads huddled together.

‘They’re playing well.’

Especially Evan seemed to be taking good care of Mikael.

Louis, watching the two play, proudly boasted about Evan.

“Evan teaches well, right?”

“Yes, Louis, you have a good elder brother.”

“Hehe.”

Louis beamed.

Evan pointed at the board as if to say focus.

“This part is difficult.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll look carefully.”

For a first-time player, the rules were unfamiliar.

‘It’ll take some time to teach.’

I decided to borrow Louis for a moment.

“Young Master Louis, could you help me for a bit?”

“Hm? Sure!”

“As expected, only our Young Master Louis can do it!”

“…You heard all that just now, didn’t you?”

Louis even boasted about this to Evan and Mikael before jumping up from his seat.

“I’ll be right back. You two keep playing.”

“I’ll be back!”

With Louis waving his hand, the door closed.

I entered an empty room with Louis.

Looking around the interior, Louis scampered over to me and asked.

“What can I help with?”

“Well, actually I have something to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

I was quite impressed by Louis, who caused such a major incident with such an adorable face.

‘You see, Mikael’s mother and Kashar are mortal enemies. So wouldn’t Kashar want to kill Mikael?’

But I couldn’t say such things to a child.

I suppressed the truth rising in my throat and smiled brightly.

“About Prince Mikael. How did you become close?”

Let’s say it’s too late now that Mikael is in the duke’s mansion.

But I thought I should hear about how he and Louis became close.

“Ah, that. I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

As expected, Louis covered his mouth with his hands.

But I had a way to make him tell everything.

“Prince Mikael looks like he’s having a hard time. I thought if I knew the reason, I might be able to help.”

“…Hmm, that’s true.”

Louis opened his eyes wide and nodded.

“Elder brother was having a hard time. Actually, he was crying then.”

Louis and Mikael met on the balcony of the donor party hall.

Louis, exploring the hall, opened the balcony door and discovered Mikael crying alone.

The two immediately recognized each other as siblings and members of the imperial family.

“Elder brother said he hadn’t awakened like me. So he couldn’t join the imperial family gatherings and felt sorry towards his mother.”

Mikael, who grew up being disregarded by those around him, was always lonely.

He eagerly awaited his awakening at fifteen as a last chance to be acknowledged by people.

However, the result was failure.

“So did you comfort him, Young Master Louis?”

“Yeah. I told him what Eileen said to me.”

“What I said?”

As I was trying to recall what I had said, Louis was faster.

“That it’s not failure, but just that the time hasn’t come yet. Like how flowers bloom in different seasons!”

I remembered what happened at the magic tower from Louis’s words.

“But then elder brother cried even more. So I comforted him for a while and asked to be friends. Did I make him cry?”

“No. Some people cry when they’re too moved. It’s not your fault, Young Master Louis.”

“I see. I’m glad he didn’t get sadder.”

Louis nodded his little head.

‘So that’s why he reacted like that when he saw me.’

The empress did not welcome Mikael’s existence.

She grew to hate him more each year, reaching a peak when he failed to gain abilities.

‘No one must have said such words to him.’

The empress did not forgive even those who showed favor to Mikael.

Thus, only people who disliked him remained around Mikael.

“Elder Brother Mikael said he wanted to meet Eileen. That’s why I invited him.”

Now all the circumstances made sense.

‘I can’t really say anything about this.’

Mikael was wandering through a foggy forest searching for warmth.

Telling him to go back now would have been like a bolt from the blue.

‘But he’ll meet his mate and be happy next year. What if he dies by Kashar’s hand now?’

I could almost hear our Louis’s heart sinking.

“Thank you for telling me. Shall we go back to Young Master Louis’s room now?”

“Yeah! They should have learned how to play the game by now, right?”

“Probably.”

On the way back, Louis and I chatted pleasantly.

“Can I stay up late playing games today?”

“Just for today.”

“Yay!”

When we arrived at the room, we saw Evan and Mikael with the board game between them.

Mikael greeted us with a flushed face.

“You’re back?”

“Yes. This game is really fun.”

Mikael’s excited appearance was just like a Maltese wagging its tail.

“Now play with me!”

Louis jumped between the two.

While Mikael and Louis played with the pieces, Evan approached me.

“Eileen, just a moment.”

“Yes?”

It was a tiny voice.

I lowered myself for the child who was gesturing for me to lend an ear.

“I’m a bit worried about that elder brother.”

“…”

He had never said such things even to Louis. How serious could the situation be?

Glancing at Mikael, I saw him anticipating defeat just minutes into starting the game.

‘Is he just lacking in comprehension?’

Though he looked like a dazed pretty boy now, Mikael would show a strong side after awakening.

‘Like a second puberty, I guess.’

His appearance and personality were described differently then.

I hoped he would meet his mate soon.

I whispered softly to Evan.

“Then Young Master Evan should teach him diligently.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Finally feeling a sense of responsibility, Evan nodded.

“…Alright. I’ll do that.”

“Our Young Master Evan, so mature.”

I gave a kiss on the forehead of the admirable child.

Evan, who gets shy with just a peck, went back to where the two were with flushed cheeks.

“That’s not how you do it.”

“Huh?”

“Hey, Evan. Teaching is cheating!”

The laughter of the two children and the male lead mixed together.

The cute commotion only stopped when the dark night fell.

I turned off the lights in Louis’s room.

“Then good night to all three of you.”

As I left the room, the corridor was dim.

Dracu was waiting for me.

“What about Kashar?”

“He seems to be returning in two days, but what happened?”

“It seems he became friends with Louis at the temple.”

“Oh my.”

Dracu frowned at my words.

He also knew well that Kashar was hostile towards the imperial family, especially the empress’s children.

‘I’ll feed him tomorrow… and think about it.’

Returning to my room, I sprawled out on the bed.

“I don’t want to dream today.”

Since coming to this world, there hasn’t been a single day I haven’t gone to work at the mart.

‘It’s amazing that I’m not tired despite that.’

It felt like living each day twice. It was a miracle morning without trying.

Despite my complicated thoughts, my weary body easily fell asleep.

Soon, only the sound of soft breathing filled the room.

It was the moment of falling into deep sleep.

A yellow light flowed from the body of the sleeping person.

The light illuminating the night circled the bed before seeping into an overturned teddy bear.

Twitch. The teddy bear that had been twitching a few times raised itself up alone.

The teddy bear that jumped down from the table trudged over and climbed onto the bed.

“Mmm…”

The bed’s owner tossed and turned.

The teddy bear soon climbed on top.

[Wake up.]

“…”

[Hurry, hurry!]

Pat pat.

Arms full of cotton hit the cheeks.

‘Ah, what is this.’

It felt like someone was tapping my cheeks with a cotton stick.

Was I having this dream because I said I didn’t want to go to the mart?

After struggling to open my eyes, I met gaze with green jewel eyes.

“Kyaaaaaah−!”

A loud scream shook the quiet castle.

Thud−!

It was the sound of the possessed teddy bear flying and crashing into the wall.

‘It must have been possessed after all!’

It looked suspicious from the start, and indeed it was a cursed doll.

The problem starts now.

As in any horror movie, the slumped teddy bear was raising its body.

[I… I almost died as soon as I came out.]

It even spoke.

This was the height of horror.

“Priest, I need to call a priest…!”

An exorcism needed to be performed urgently.

But something was strange. I screamed loud enough to shake the castle, but it remained quiet.

‘Why isn’t anyone coming!’

As I was about to grab a candlestick in fear.

Trudge trudge. The teddy bear, which had gotten up without a single tear, was approaching me.

It was the second scream.

“Kyaaaaaah−! Don’t come, don’t come…!”

[It’s so noisy I could die!]

When I squeezed my eyes shut, the voice became even clearer.

‘But why does it sound familiar?’

It was a very familiar young girl’s voice.

[I thought the seams would burst. Why are you such a scaredy-cat!]

As I carefully opened my eyes, I saw the teddy bear grumbling as it climbed onto the bed.

Though the sight was extremely eerie, I didn’t scream this time.

“You, are you Hayang?”

[You just realized that now.]

The teddy bear made a clicking sound.

It really was Hayang.