Chapter 69
The Count's Secret Maid - Chapter 69
Translation: godsn
I returned to the room and laid Robert down on the bed. Despite all his earlier fuss about wanting to go out, he had quieted down completely. He buried his face in the pillow, squirmed for a moment, and soon fell asleep.
Worried he might have trouble breathing, I gently turned his head to the side. His sleeping face looked puffy—the area beneath his eyes was damp, as if he'd been crying.
I wiped away the tear stains and pulled the sheets up to his chest. After stroking his hair for a while, I carefully left the room. Joelli was waiting for me.
"It's been a while."
"Yes. Why haven't you gone back yet?"
"I was bored. Let's talk."
She smiled warmly and turned her body. Was she telling me to follow? After a brief hesitation, I hurried after her.
"It must be hard dealing with Robert's stubbornness."
"Not at all."
"Don't say that. Earlier, you seemed conflicted—whether to lift him up there or not."
"......"
"I understand. The child is lonely."
It was the same thing Nanny had said. I moved closer to Joelli and asked,
"Why does the Young Master keep trying to climb the iron statue?"
"He's waiting."
"Waiting for whom?"
Then it hit me.
Robert's mother.
"For Mama."
Ah, only then did I understand why Robert had been so fixated on climbing that iron statue. The iron horse statue was so tall even adults struggled to climb it, yet he kept trying to scramble up with his short legs—because from there, he could see out the window. The horse's head faced the mansion's entrance, giving a clear view of anyone entering.
Robert had been waiting every day.
Waiting for his mother to come see him.
"Ann, have you heard anything about Robert's mother?"
"Nanny told me the general circumstances."
"Robert's mother is an extremely busy woman. She's single-handedly managing her husband's household and doesn't even have time to see her own child. Though she's doing an excellent job. She's truly remarkable and strong. Even as a child, she seemed delicate on the outside but had incredible inner strength and boldness."
"......"
"But as a mother? Not so great."
Joelli clicked her tongue. It was a harsh but accurate assessment. Robert was lonely enough to risk climbing that tall, dangerous statue.
"Robert is in pain. There's a gaping hole in his heart, and no one's filling it, so he's sad. He waits patiently, behaving well without complaint, but the person he's waiting for never comes. He can't even get angry, so he takes it out on everything else. When people are hurt, they get irritable, don't they?"
"Yes, I know."
Whether it's physical or emotional pain, suffering makes people irritable. The desire for someone to acknowledge their pain leads to tantrums.
"I understand very well. The loneliness, the desperate need for someone to stay by your side."
I knew people like that all too well.
Like that man who lost his sight, confined to his room, battling his suffering.
For a moment, an old memory threatened to overwhelm my mind. No. Instinctively, I pushed it away. Grief tried to strangle me. I clutched my stinging chest and resisted. When I finally raised my head, I realized I'd stopped walking at some point. And Joelli was watching me.
The playfulness had vanished from her beautiful face. Her gaze turned sharp. The relaxed atmosphere from moments ago had instantly hardened. Had I said something wrong? Flustered, I tried to gauge her mood when Joelli suddenly smiled again.
"But he's still a good kid."
She patted my shoulder. Though she forced the smile, I couldn't bring myself to reject her words. At the very least, he wasn't a good kid to me. Instead of shaking my head, I remained silent, and Joelli seemed to see right through me, mischievously narrowing her eyes.
"Think of it as cute stubbornness and humor him."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Hehe."
It was advice I'd heard from Nanny before, but this time it resonated more.
"I've heard a lot about you from Nanny."
"What kind of things?"
"Hmm, that you're diligent."
Nanny...! I felt touched imagining her saying such kind things about me with that gentle smile. So she'd been quietly praising me all along. My earlier resentment at her absence melted away.
"And they say you handle Robert quite well. That every time he throws a spoon, you bring him dozens to hand over, isn't that so?"
Nanny... My image of her graceful face shattered into pieces. The warmth of my gratitude fizzled out like a dying ember.
"Hoho. She said you seem like an amusing person."
"Yes......"
"I think so too."
I shot her a look asking what she meant by that, but Joelli just kept smiling without explanation. Then she waved her hand dismissively, signaling me to leave. Watching her retreating figure, I tilted my head in confusion. Had she come just to say she was entrusting Robert to me?
From that day onward, Robert stopped throwing tantrums about climbing the Iron Statue. Instead, he moped around, holed up in his room. He barely responded when spoken to and showed no interest in doing anything. The once lively child—so energetic it was almost troublesome—had become unnaturally quiet, as if that previous behavior had been a lie.
After several days of this, I grew uneasy. If Nanny were here, she might know what to do, but she'd gone out for some reason and hadn't returned. So I was left alone to deal with this new kind of trouble. Robert had become so despondent that I almost missed his stubborn outbursts.
Should I try to cheer him up? Watching his unusually small, slumped back, I agonized over what to do. But nothing came to mind. Eventually, after much deliberation, I resorted to my last resort.
"Young Master, shall we go for a walk?"
"A walk?"
Robert asked with a gloomy face. I nodded, remembering how he had wanted to go outside a few days ago. We couldn't go far, but surely walking in circles nearby would be fine.
Robert seemed intrigued, his sullen expression fading as his eyes sparkled.
"Yeah! Let's go for a walk!"
His sudden cheerfulness, nodding repeatedly, made me wonder if I'd been tricked. But I couldn't take back my words now.
Instead, I decided to get permission. Nanny wasn't here, but fortunately, the mansion had another guardian for Robert.
"Fine. Go ahead."
Joelli waved her hand lazily with a bored expression. Today, too, she was barely dressed. The sheet draped precariously over her shoulders nearly slipped off before she flopped back onto the bed. Beside her lay a dark-skinned man who had shared her bed last night.
Permission secured, I held Robert's hand firmly and stepped outside the mansion. Thrilled to be out, Robert beamed the whole time.
"Young Master, you must hold my hand tightly. If you let go, we're going straight back."
"Okay, dummy."
Somehow, even his mouth had regained its energy. Couldn't he stop calling me a dummy?
Hand in hand, we walked slowly. After circling the mansion once, we retraced our steps, then walked the same path again until we reached the front door. By the third lap, the smile had vanished from Robert's face.
"I wanna go there!"
Robert suddenly stopped and pointed toward the woods. I shook my head firmly.
"No."
"I wanna go! I wanna go!"
"Absolutely not."
"I'm going!"
"Then shall we go back to your room?"
If needed, I could sling him over my shoulder and carry him back. When I spread my arms, Robert—already familiar with this—clamped his mouth shut. But he pouted, scrunched his round eyes as hard as he could, and made his displeasure unmistakably clear. I pretended not to notice and resumed our circular path around the mansion.
But the initial excitement never returned to Robert's face. After much frowning, he finally looked up at me with a tearful expression. His fingertip pointed toward the woods again.
"Can't we go there?"
"No."
When I refused just as firmly this time, Robert fell silent. I thought he might cry, but instead, he suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.
"Ann."
...What did he just say? My eyes widened as I stared at Robert. Had I misheard?
"Ann. Ann."
"......!"
Robert called my name again.
Good heavens. I froze in shock. My name—clear and precise—had just come from Robert's lips. He lifted his head and looked up at me. His violet eyes, glistening with tears, shone with desperate longing. That sparkle pricked at my skin like tiny needles.
"Let's go. Huh? Huh?"
Robert rubbed his face against my stomach and shook his body while whining adorably. It was genuinely adorable whining—not the kind where he throws things or throws a tantrum. For a moment, I could almost see the illusion of rabbit ears drooping from his golden hair. Robert was putting on his most charming expression, trying to coax me.
"Ann, let's gooo—"
"Ugh."
And the worst part? I was weak to this kind of whining. I'd rather deal with him throwing a fit—that was easier to handle.
Robert rose onto his tiptoes. The sparkle in his eyes grew even closer. I covered my eyes with my hands, but it was useless.
"Huh? Huh? Uhhh?"
"Ugh, ugh."
The relentless, prickling cuteness shattered my composure.
In the end, I lost. There was no way to withstand such deliberate, full-force adorableness. My immunity to cuteness was dangerously low. Maybe this was why Nanny always gave in to Robert's whims! If so, I finally understood her.
"Yay! Yay!"
Robert beamed as he eagerly looked around the forest. I gripped his small hand tightly and secretly let out a sigh. If we got caught, it'd be a disaster. My heart pounded anxiously, making it hard to even glance around properly.
"Hey, dummy, let's go over there!"
Robert had completely switched his attitude. As if calling my name earlier had been a lie, he was back to calling me "dummy." So sly. So sly.
"Let's go!"
"Yes, yes. Let's go slowly."
I stole glances behind me as I took a step forward. I only planned to go as far as the edge of the forest, not too far from the mansion. But Robert kept urging me to go deeper.
"Further! More!"
"No. If we go any further, Nanny will scold us."
"Ugh."
Robert puffed out his cheeks, but no meant no. I measured the distance back to the mansion again.
When I looked at Robert, he was staring at me with those same dewy, pleading eyes. Another wave of sparkles assaulted me, but I turned my head away to resist.
"No."
Robert fell silent. A quick glance revealed his shoulders slumped in blatant disappointment. I clutched my chest, torn. Should I give in? Or not?
"He's still young, after all. And you know how he is... right?"
Nanny's voice, gentle yet firm, echoed in my ears. Right? Right? No, I don't know. Save me, Nanny! I'm weak to this kind of thing!
"W-well, just a little further, then. About ten steps?"
"Okay!"
Robert grinned brightly, as if he'd been waiting for this. The lifeless look from moments ago vanished instantly. Ah... I think I've been tricked again.
In the end, we went beyond ten steps. Robert eagerly scanned the forest, and this time, I leisurely took in the surroundings too. But for some reason, the scenery had felt familiar since earlier. The dense canopy of trees, the thick undergrowth—it was all ordinary, yet an eerie sense of déjà vu crept over me.
Have I been here before?
No way.
Shaking off the pointless thought, I stopped after taking two more steps past the ten-step limit. Robert pouted again, but this time, I firmly shook my head. Even the prickling sparkles couldn't sway me—we were already too far from the mansion.
"Let's go back."
When his cuteness failed, Robert dug in his heels again. I had to drag him as he stubbornly resisted, his feet dragging against the ground. After a while of being forcibly pulled along, Robert suddenly yanked his hand free.
"I'm going!"
"Young Master!"
I chased after him as he sprinted deeper into the forest. Despite his short legs, he ran with all his might. But he was still just a child—catching up wasn't difficult.
The moment I grabbed his small body, he thrashed violently, throwing me off balance. The side was a steep downward slope. Both Robert and I tilted toward the drop. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms tightly around him.