Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: My Family Portrait
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Having lived such a long life as a Korean adult, I'd completely forgotten that three-year-olds usually can't read.
Flowers? Should I draw something like flowers?
Or what, some futuristic sci-fi picture?
But would Dad even like that?
Having kept my distance from drawing for so long in both my past and current lives, my mind went blank, like a white sheet of paper.
"Why the long face? Shall I help you?"
Betty, who had been standing off to the side, scooted right up next to me as I fumbled through the 152 crayons.
Come to think of it, Betty knows Dad way better than I do, doesn't she?
"What does Daddy like?"
"Well... the master isn't one to express strong likes or dislikes about anything..."
At least he's not the type to be picky about side dishes.
That's a pass.
"Ah, he really dislikes the Duke... I mean! Madam! The master really, really likes you!"
But Mom passed away.
Realizing she'd slipped up while trying to change the subject, Betty bit her lip, her face a little flustered.
So Dad hates Grandpa but really loved Mom.
...That's kinda sad.
Betty eyed my expression, desperately trying to brighten the mood.
"O-of course, the master loves both young masters and the young lady very much too."
What Dad likes: Mom, and us siblings.
Hmm.
I hesitated a moment, then picked up the black crayon.
'Dietrich has black hair and golden eyes.'
After getting scolded by the nurse and having snacks cut off, his chubby cheeks slimmed down a bit, and he'd shot up in height.
Like his eye level had changed or something?
Dietrich's always grinning playfully, so the corners of his mouth as high as possible...
"Are you drawing Father?"
"No. This Ditri."
"It's the little young master. He takes after Father exactly. Your father has hair and eyes the exact same color as the young master's."
Then maybe draw Dad the same colors as Dietrich?
Laura said Dad's even taller and bulkier than Ralph, so huge, filling up the left side of the paper.
"How Mommy look?"
"Your mother looked just like you, miss. Pretty pink hair and bright blue eyes."
Switching to the pink crayon, I quickly sketched in myself and Mom.
Me small, Mom big.
I don't know Mom's face well, so I made it look as much like mine as possible.
Once the drawing was filled out, the right side felt a little empty.
I heard I have another brother besides Dietrich.
Unlike Dietrich or me, he lives at the main house—Erich Kalenberg, whom I've never met.
"How draw Eri?"
"The eldest young master? I heard he has black hair like Father and blue eyes like Mother."
"Betty no see too?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
Half like Mom, half like Dad, then?
I drew Erich—a bit bigger than Dietrich—someone I'd never met.
Drawing all five of us filled the not-so-small letter paper right up.
'Reminds me of elementary school.'
Back then, I hated art class because I had no family to put in the drawing.
I liked the director and the orphanage kids, but they felt different from the families the other children talked about.
I stared down at the paper for a good long while.
Today, drawing a family picture didn't feel bad at all.
'Our family.'
Such an unfamiliar phrase—I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud, just repeated it in my mind a few times.
"I'll wrap it in cloth, slip it into an envelope, and get it to the master somehow."
"Mm-hmm."
Betty gave me a tight hug, then pulled out a clean cloth and carefully wrapped up the drawing letter.
I shook off the sentimental mood and glanced out the window.
Through the glass of the butler's office, the back of his head was faintly visible as he sat at his desk.
'Eh? Did he just stand up?'
Seeing the butler rise from his seat and unlatch the window, I hurriedly ducked into the shadows of the curtains.
Thanks to my room being a bit higher up, I could peer down at him, but from his side, I didn't seem visible.
After scanning around a few times, the butler thrust his fist into thin air.
'Looks like he's gripping something.'
The moment I pressed close to the window for a better look, a gray bird flew vigorously from his hand as if tossed into the sky.
It launched too fast to make out the breed properly.
Still, highest chance it's a pigeon like the one before?
Anyone could see it looked like he was secretly sending something.
"Watching outside? It can be dangerous, so don't stick right to the window, miss."
I'd seen everything I needed to.
I slipped out from the curtains without a second thought.
For days on end, I speculated about the contents of the letter the butler had sent, but came up with nothing.
No clue who it was even to.
From wondering if he was reporting our daily routine to Grandpa, to imagining some hidden wife and kids in the duchy somewhere—all delusions, since there were no answers.
'He wouldn't be plotting a theft like that other servant before, would he?'
Having dealt with both lone thieves and whole gangs, that was my biggest worry.
'The last thief servant who showed up badly injured the old butler grandpa...'
Hm.
Something hot churned deep in my throat, forcing me to catch my breath for a moment.
"I never stole anything!"
Eh? I didn't accidentally say my thoughts out loud, did I?
Startled, I touched my mouth—then peeked my head toward the voice.
The sound came from... over there, Dietrich's bedroom, right?
This house can't catch a break for even a day!
"The pocket watch the young master lost turned up in your room. You still planning to keep lying?"
"I don't know why the pocket watch was in my room, but I really didn't steal it!"
"So you're saying the pocket watch wandered into your room on its own?"
That interrogating tone was the butler.
Even the guards sent from the main house were there.
The man they'd pinned down to his knees on the floor was a face I recognized.
Zeke. Kitchen staff, sous-chef.
Zeke, our kitchen's number two—always quiet and gruff—was now protesting with veins bulging all over his neck.
"Hold on. The baby's here."
I tried slipping quietly into the crowd of people, but Dietrich spotted me right away.
He yanked my hand, blocking me behind him protectively.
Peeking sideways, I saw the main house hires, butler included, giving arrogant little nods.
"What's? Why? Zeke why like this?"
"Well..."
Dietrich—usually so straightforward—hesitated awkwardly, and the butler cut in, finishing his trailing words.
"We're discussing the sous-chef's punishment for stealing the young master's belonging, miss."
"I really didn't steal it! I'd never even seen the thing until this morning!"
Zeke's face was flushed beet red, practically bursting.
"Looks like the young master's pocket watch went missing sometime last night. You saw it the day before. What were you up to last night?"
"I've got work today—of course I go to bed at night."
"Anyone see you asleep?"
"Th-that... I'm not married yet... Ah, there's a servant named Carl next door! He stays up late—if I'd moved, he'd have noticed right away!"
"Carl?"
"Yes! Servant from the main house—you know his name, right, butler?"
"This is a problem."
The butler paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"That Carl fellow put in for leave yesterday evening and left. Said there was a family emergency, so I let him go. It'll take him at least a month to get back."
"What... such... suddenly...?"
"Got word his little sibling was sick."
Zeke kept insisting he hadn't stolen it, but with no witness, his fire had died down from before.