Translator and Editor: Skye and Wyvern

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Chapter 6

No, well…

If he was a guardian, wasn’t it his duty to help descendants of ancient witches?

However, the guardian showed no sign of helping me.

He should just eat bread if he’s hungry.

I went down to the first floor to find a usable piece of wood.

Fortunately, I didn’t see anyone all the way down the stairs. The sight of a maid’s skirt would mean I would have to hide.

I headed out. Halfway around the mansion, I started sweating. This was why long-sleeved dresses were a problem.

But I couldn’t just take off my clothes now, so I just wiped the sweat from my forehead.

[Many in the back.]

The guardian, who seemed to have no intention of helping, flew directly in front of me to deliver information.

“Where?”

[At the back. In a place full of laundry.]

I turned my head to the guardian’s guidance.In the distance, I could see white clothes blowing in the wind.

“Hey, are you sure?”

The guardian was silent for a long time and flew away after saying he’d be back. I then ran after the guardian.

As the guardian said, quite useful pieces of wood were seen piled up in the area.

They were not too round and big, perfect for a footrest.

First, I tried to hold two and stack one on top of the other.

“Help me with this…”

[Don’t wanna.]

Aish.

Even before I could speak, I sat back down staring at the guardian who refused to help and held three pieces of wood in my arms.

I thought I could manage to move it even though it was hard to walk when I held it vertically.

But still…

Aish, it’s heavy.

I glared at the guardian that had already flown far away from me again and headed to my room.

***

Step~

The sound of footsteps, soft enough to be heard in detail, caught the ears of the maids who were walking the laundry outside.The small child was moving something while wearing her old black dress that came down to her ankles.

“…it’s the lady.”

“It’s Lady Mariette, right?”

“That’s right, what is she doing?”

Four maids quickly hid behind the pile of laundry and watched Mariette so that they could not be seen by the lady that their master ordered not to disturb.

Why was she walking so busily with her arms full?

Mariette, who picked up on the curiosity of the maids, continued as if she couldn’t sense anything around her.

If one looked closely, she looked like she was heaving a piece of wood that could be used as firewood.

“Why would she take that?”

“Is it cold in her room? Does she need it to light a fire?”

“No, Laura just finished checking.”

“Then what is she going to use it for?”

The maids followed behind the child and walked a little side by side.

“Shouldn’t we help her?”

“But if we’re going to help her all at once then she might…”

“Then our cover will just be blown away.”

“The order was that we should not offend her or make her feel uncomfortable…”

“But she’s having such a hard time.”

The four maids continued to follow Mariette with their eyes and watched with their hands clasped to see if the lady could take the firewood safely to the room.

“Why doesn’t she call someone then? If she tells us to, we can jump right out.”

The maids, who had been told briefly by Dante about Mariette, felt sorry for the waddling child’s steps.

What kind of life did she live at such a young age that she didn’t ask for help in moving that heavy piece of wood?

Usually, noblemen of that age did not even lift a single hand.

Some aristocrats ate desserts only when they could reach them.

On their days off, they heard all sorts of stories when they had meetings with friends who were servants of other aristocrats.

In comparison, the noble lady before them was too different from the other noble ladies. Her small physique further encouraged their sympathy.

“Ah!” Mariette dropped one of the pieces of wood she was hugging in her arms.

One of the maids, who was ready to jump out at her any time, could not stand it and ran ahead.

Mariette turned around with the piece of wood in her arms. “…!”

The maid saw the huge ribbon adorning the curly, long black hair at the top of her head. She almost screamed when she saw the child’s big eyes and chubby cheeks

Lady Mariette was the cutest thing she’d ever seen in this mansion.

“U-uhm!”

“Yes?” Mariette’s little mouth opened.

God, even her voice was so…!

The maid took another step forward out of courage. “Well… Miss, c-c-can I help you?”

***

Unexpectedly, I met a maid outside.

Unlike the guardian, the maid moved all three pieces of wood I had saved to the room.

The maid was horrified to find out where the piece of wood was going to be used. She quickly brought some cushions and put them on the footrest.Eventually, the hard-earned piece of wood was moved into the fireplace, not next to the bed.

“You don’t have to go this far…”

“No, if you’re uncomfortable, we should move. If you need anything, feel free to call me. I’ll be right back!” The maid clenched her fists and disappeared as soon as she heard someone else shout.

It was someone else, but she probably mistook that voice for my father’s.

Dad didn’t meet me again until after the sunset.

Following Dante, who came to pick me up, I went down to the dining area and settled down at the table, and a little later, my dad appeared.

Sitting face to face at a large table in the middle of a spacious dining area, we silently waited for the food.

I gulped as I watched the food fill the large table over a few minutes.

I ate only one food at a time, but I felt dizzy.

“Eat.”

“Ah… yes.”

The conversation died again for the last time. Instead of picking up a fork and knife, Dad poured alcohol.

It looked like a very strong liquor with a dark amber color

“You shouldn’t have drunk that first,” I muttered unconsciously as I watched the empty glass.

My father, who is drinking the liquor like water, stopped moving and looked at me.

I was a little scared due to his cold eyes. He wasn’t going to kill me… right?

But feeling already terrified, my body began to tremble.

“Sure.”

“…?”

Was he telling me that he would do as I said?

Unexpectedly, mundane topics such as the weather flowed out of my father’s mouth. I looked at him questioningly.

My dad just stared glumly, waiting for my answer, as if he really didn’t know anything.

I sighed deeply.

The original novel said that after my mother left, my father became a tyrant who knew nothing but war and murder.

Since he told me to, I would have to teach him how to be normal.

I knew that clumsy teaching didn’t have much of a learning effect.

“First of all say… thanks for the meal.” I kept my mouth shut when I saw the chef and the maids standing far away.

They’d been watching my dad from the sidelines, but even though my voice was small, the staff covered their mouths with their hands.

Some turned away as if they had never seen anything.

Did I go too far?

“…I’ve eaten it.” The answer came out of my father’s mouth, who put down the glass.

Oh, I guess it wasn’t worth a death penalty. Then I’ll have to be a little more courageous… But, Dad, that’s way too short to be considered an answer.

I put my hands on the table and corrected him again. “It’s not ‘I’ve eaten it’, it’s ‘I’m going to eat it well’.”

I said it again just in case my dad didn’t hear it. Then my dad’s eyebrows twitched.

I-I can twitch it too.

I moved my right eyebrow. The people around me were again holding their breaths out of astonishment.

“….I’m going to eat it well. Is that okay?”

I wished I could take the last words out. But I decided to give way at this point and nodded.

I held the knife and fork thinking that I should fill my stomach soon. I had to cut the big, thick meat all by myself.

This was nothing compared to my mom’s cooking.

However, it was a little uncomfortable that the tableware is heavier and larger than the one I have used at home.

I cut the meat with a knife, pretending to be as familiar as I could with this kind of thing.

The meat became half-mashed, either because it was soft or because my cutting was clumsy.

“Did you learn how to handle a knife?”

“Yes.”

“From your mom?”

I shook my head.

Oh, I couldn’t do this.

I put down the knife, put the meat in my mouth with a fork, and looked at my father. “Mom didn’t want to overdo it because she was sick. Dahlia did it for me.”

Gulp. The meat that hadn’t yet been chewed a few times had gone down my throat. “On the day Dahlia goes to get firewood, she has to eat alone.”

Dad frowned on his forehead and his purple eyes became even darker. The surrounding atmosphere turned wintry.

No, what was the matter this time…?

It was even like someone was whimpering.

Why was my dad looking at me like that?

My father touched the glass again like a habit, and relaxed his hands when he made eye contact with me again.

“The meat is getting cold.” When I rebuked him for the sinking atmosphere, he looked at the meat coldly as if it was the worst food ever.

It was not long before my father picked up a knife and fork and started cutting the meat.

It was a graceful touch, but the meat, which was cut cleanly at once, felt somewhat creepy.

One bite, two bites…

Every time my dad cut and ate meat roughly, I put mine in my mouth and chewed.

Meat. Meat again. And again.

The untouched vegetables were pushed aside.

I finally couldn’t help myself.

“Uhm, my mom said no picky eating.”

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