Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Father's Triumphant Return
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I let go of the chubby cheek I'd been pinching, Dietrich covered it with his hand and backed away a couple of steps before plopping down to sit.
"The nurse said so. She told me our father is a very tall man. So that means I'll grow super tall too. Isn't that right, Laura?"
"Of course."
Laura nodded, and Dietrich scooted right up next to her, his eyes sparkling.
"I'm so young that I don't really remember Father much. Is he really as tall as the nurse says? Taller than Ralph who works in the kitchen over there?"
Ralph was a kitchen servant with a massive build, practically as big as the side door next to the kitchen.
He hauled sacks of flour and ingredients every day, so his muscles were nicely built—he was the biggest employee in our house.
Laura paused from polishing the vase, thought for a moment, then gave a clear answer.
"The master is much taller and sturdier than Ralph."
Taller than Ralph?
Then just how tall was our dad?
Seeing Dietrich's growth—far more robust than a typical seven-year-old—made me think it just might be true, but then he snorted.
"Pfft, no way! That's a lie! Ralph is the tallest guy among all the servants in the mansion!"
"I never lie. You'll meet Father yourself soon enough, so you can check then."
This was news to me.
Blood truly called to blood—we both tilted our heads to the left at the exact same time.
And then, almost in unison, we turned to Laura.
"Father?"
"Daddy?"
Laura smiled endearingly at us acting like a comedy duo, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
"I saw it in the morning paper too. The war Father was fighting in has officially ended. The Holy King's Court declared the ceasefire."
"Holy King's Court?"
"That's what they call the highest priest of our state religion—the Holy King. The Holy King's Court is where His Holiness the Holy King and the high priests reside."
If the war was over, Dad would be coming home soon.
Dad...
Unlike me, who felt a bit unsettled trying to recall someone I had no memory of, Dietrich's eyes sparkled as he asked,
"Who won the war? Our father won, right? Obviously!"
"Of course. Everyone says the Northern Army never loses."
"Yes!"
I'd heard about the Northern Army's fame too.
The servants from the main family, who were all over the house, never stopped talking about it—the empire's strongest force.
They praised Grandpa the Duke endlessly for practically living on the front lines in his prime, guarding the empire's borders.
Even Uncle, the heir, held a key position under the military.
'Monsters and heretics...'
Even if they'd won, the stories made me shiver, and I shuddered.
The heretics and their monsters had surrendered, but other monsters would be reborn with the changing seasons and come south again.
Would Dad have to go back to war then?
"Are you cold?"
Betty, who was tending to the fireplace, spotted me and hurried over with a blanket.
I wasn't really cold, but I appreciated the gesture, so I hugged her neck tightly.
I felt a little bad about what Yasmin had done to her too.
Though Betty seemed to have gotten over it quickly.
"I wuv Betty."
"What about me, miss?"
"Wuv Laura too!"
After hugging the two maids—who were even younger than my past life's self—my eyes met Dietrich's as he stood there all alone, looking lost.
Hm.
Leaving just Dietrich out wouldn't look good.
"Diwich... not bad."
I awkwardly spread my arms, and he let out a disbelieving chuckle as he approached.
"To your big brother."
"Eung!"
Dietrich came close and started squishing my cheeks hard, and a dumb squeak escaped me reflexively.
"What? You don't like it?"
"Stoppin' makes it huwt!"
That's why it hurts—because you're tormenting me like this!
Dietrich smirked, lips twitching, as he kept pinching my cheeks for a good while.
The one who finally rescued me from the prolonged torment was Yasmin, who had been organizing my hair accessories off to the side instead of mingling with the maids and us.
"It's getting late already. Time to head back to your room and sleep, young master."
Yasmin glanced at the darkening window and spoke in her prim tone. Dietrich's face lit up, and he released my cheek.
Then he jumped up, ran over, and grabbed her hand.
...When did those two get so close?
Strictly speaking, Yasmin was my nanny, so there shouldn't have been any reason for her to bond with Dietrich like that.
"Night night, baby Ella!"
It was just bedtime—why was he so excited?
"I'll escort you to your room."
"Yay!"
Holding Yasmin's hand, Dietrich left the room with light steps.
Something felt off about his overly cheerful attitude.
...Was Dietrich always the type to obediently head to bed right at lights out? Not in my memory.
Especially on days like today when we skipped workouts and he had energy left—he'd usually whine about not wanting to go and linger in my room playing longer.
"Time for you to sleep too, miss."
Betty scooped me up as I sat there tilting my head.
Even as she laid me in bed and patted me rhythmically in a soothing rhythm, the question lingered.
"You have to close your eyes tight and sleep. If you stay up late, the nurse will give you that scary look."
I squeezed my eyes shut on reflex, then slyly peeked open a sliver.
"Whewe's the nuwse gone?"
Not that I was stalling to avoid sleep—I was genuinely curious.
The nurse who'd always been glued to me hadn't been around much for days now. Did she have something urgent?
If it was a vacation, she wouldn't have left without telling me or Dietrich.
"The news of the master's victory has the nurse super busy."
"Nuwse busy?"
"The butler still can't access the master's safe, so the nurse, who has the authority... Oh, this is probably too complicated for you, miss."
"Tell me simpwe."
No, I can totally understand!
But a normal three-year-old wouldn't get words like "safe" or "access privileges."
I pouted my lips, and Laura chuckled as she explained simply.
"The nurse is busy repairing the mansion and buying new things the master needs."
That's usually the butler's job, but the current butler hasn't gotten permission from Dad to handle the funds yet.
The nurse has been with our mansion for a long time, after all.
With the adults away and manpower short for so long, the mansion actually needed repairs in lots of places.
I'd have to behave extra well for a while so she wouldn't have to worry about me. She was busy enough already.
"Miss, Father will be home soon."
"Isn't that great? When Father returns, he'll love you so much."
Without the strict Yasmin enforcing etiquette or the nurse rigorously managing my bedtime, the two maids stayed by my side, stroking my hair.
Honestly, they thought I was too cute.
"When Father comes back, he'll hire a tutor for the young master and you too."
No thanks. Studying at this age? Pass.
"He'll bring back tons of war spoils too. Maybe we can make an even bigger trampoline."
No way!
I got that it was the reward for his hard fighting, but monster corpses? Ew.
"It breaks my heart that Madam won't be coming back though. She was such a wonderful lady..."
"Betty!"
"S-sorry, miss!"
Betty must have been close to our mom.
I just squeezed my eyes shut and let out a yawn without a word.
Mom or Dad, they were both strangers to me anyway—no need to mind me.
Dietrich kept gaining weight lately, and it was getting weird.
Recently, he'd been managing his own workout routine without my supervision, so I'd slacked off on monitoring him—that might be the issue.
'Let's think back to my PT clients from my past life.'
Some of them kept paying for expensive sessions because they'd slack off and half-ass it if they trained alone.
I figured Dietrich might be the same.
'It's about time the repetitive workouts are getting boring too.'
So today, I'd personally oversee his training and teach him one new exercise...
"Aaah!"
That voice... wasn't Dietrich?