HCYPBTKIRWO? Chapter 14

The archduke's brow wrinkled.

“You refused without even listening to my request. You’re not polite."

“I’m not polite? Don’t you think you should apologize first though?"

"What am I going to apologize for?"

“You framed me for using black magic.”

The archduke, who was about to refute, closed his mouth. He stared at me for a moment, then gently closed his eyes and nodded his head.

"That's right. It was my fault that I framed you without any evidence, so I apologize."

It was surprising that he sincerely apologized. Is this such an earnest request?

I looked at him with bewildered eyes, and now the archduke has demanded an apology from me.

“By the way, shouldn’t the person who heard that I live in hell day by day and didn’t bring my younger siblings back should also apologize?”

“I didn’t know they were the archduke’s younger siblings.”

“How can I believe that?”

Actually, I wouldn't believe that either. It was obvious that the witch had children from the archduke.

"If a witch picks up children on the street, she raises them without taking them to the police?”

“They said that they were abused. Who wants to take them back to their abusive parents?”

“Abuse...”

The duke's face darkened.

“If it weren’t for abuse, would the children want to leave a rich family and live with a witch in a shabby hut?”

"Then I'm that family that's worse than a witch?"

“The way you tried to execute me in front of the children is not a good protector.”

The archduke stopped and took a deep breath.

“I acknowledge that it wasn't something I should show in front of them. At that time, I completely lost my reason...”

“I don’t think that’s the only thing you should reflect on… I heard that the kids were trapped?”

Seeing him wrinkle his brow again doesn't seem to reflect at all.

“Is it confinement to live in a mansion with hundreds of rooms, dozens of gardens, a lake, and five toy rooms?”

“But children have to go out and experience the world once in a while. Hence how they loved running around in the woods.”

“But the world is dangerous for unusual children. There is a good reason for not allowing them to go out, so it is not your place to criticize when you do not know the circumstances.”

I waited quietly, but the Archduke didn't seem to want to tell me about it.

“Still, they don’t have to live a boring life. Plus, the kids haven't done much...”

The archduke gave me a sharp gaze. He didn't like the fact that I kept asking questions.

"The nobleman doesn't do chores in the kitchen or dig carrots with dirt on their hands."

"If a nobleman does such a thing, will their status be demoted?"

“I mean, nobles have things that are right for them.”

“That’s right, I know, but isn’t it enough if the kids are having fun?”

“People can’t make a living doing only fun things.”

“As adults, there is no need to set boundaries for children. Various experiences are important when you are young. It becomes the foundation. Besides, your Highness knew mushrooms well. The chestnut didn't know anything.”

It was dangerous. When I remembered the last time the children tried to eat poisonous mushrooms as strawberries, my eyes fired up for a moment.

The archduke, who had kept his mouth shut and listened while I was chatting, spat out a sudden breath.

“You seem to have raised a lot of children.”

I raised a lot of other people's children, not mine. Looking back on my days as a kindergarten teacher, I sighed deeply. I won't be able to go back anymore.

Feeling suspicious belatedly, I clapped my hands and turned the discussion around.

"Oh! And I heard your highness abandoned the kids".

"What?"

The smooth face was distorted.

"Why…?”

"Honestly, you shouldn't raise kids if you always listen to what they say..."

Looking at him, I quickly added.

"Of course, they may have misunderstood because they are children. But it's your Highness' fault that you don't get along well with your younger siblings."

"Right. That was a misunderstanding, and it was also my fault."

Aren’t you good at admitting your wrongdoings? I handed back the teacup back that I had taken away. The duke shed a smile and took the cup.

A silver spoon appeared again. Do you still think you've been poisoned?

"This is something that everyone knows, so I'm being honest..."

He continued, confirming that it was not poisonous.

"The expeditions, subjugations, missions… Because of those things, my stay in the mansion this year will be less than three months out of ten. So it's not unreasonable for them to misunderstand that they have been abandoned."

Having emptied the cup at once, he added like a sigh.

"They’re still young to understand the situation of adults."

That's why.

The expression of the duke was dark. Maybe my face got dark too.

"I don't know why I’m asking a witch to understand this, but the safety of my younger siblings is the top priority.”

That's what either a parent or a brother would do. I nodded and listened to him.

First of all, as the children said, it doesn't seem to be abuse. Misconceptions just piled up severely. It seemed that he cared deeply for the children.

"The problem is that I have to go on another expedition soon. But I thought they'd run away from home while I was away…”

The duke tapped the edge of the teacup with his fingernails as if he was worried. It wasn't long before he looked up, breathing heavily.

"I think I'm crazy to ask this kind of favor to the witch..."

The eyes were meaningful. What kind of request is it? Is it about kids?

I gulped down my dry saliva and urged.

"What…?"

He bit his lips once as if he were prepared to do so, and said.

"While I'm away on an expedition, will you be their nanny for a while..."

"Yes! Yes! I like that!"

When the hand claps and my cheers echoed loudly in a small cave, the duke covered his ears and frowned.

"I'm suspicious because you like it so much..."

"Why?"

"No one in the world likes the request to be the nanny of the Duchy of Blaine.”

"Why?"

They were such lovely kids. Isn't it a dream job? I'm already happy.

However, instead of answering, the duke scolded me, saying that I only ask the same question.

"I've felt this since last time, but I can't tell you."

Well, what's the point of knowing? I can go see the children now.

I was excited and snapped my finger. The teacups and plates that spread out in front of me disappeared one by one, and before I knew it, only a bonfire remained in the cave.

After organizing, I jumped up and grabbed the hand of the duke.

"Where are you touching now?"

"Hand."

"No, that's not what I'm saying.”

"Is that important now? Let's hurry up and go!"

"It hasn't stopped raining yet."

Turning my head, I became sullen.

"Right, why didn't I learn the spell to change the weather?"

The duke laughed again.

***

"Your highness, I must say something bitter today."

The face of the deputy seen over the documents, was like a lump of iron heated in a furnace. Elliott nodded, lowering his gaze again with the documents he saw.

"When did you do that?"

There's only a week left until he departs. Before that, there was a lot of work to be solved.

That's why the deputy couldn't hold back his anger and grabbed the edge of the desk as if breaking it.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"It is certain that Sir Daniel, the Marquis of Arwen, who's asking the duke if he is out of his mind, is out of his mind."

"Why did the one who was supposed to save the nanny bring a witch instead?"

He couldn’t believe the duke who went out alone brought a young woman! It was unprecedented, so all the servants soon lost their minds while trying to whisper with rosy imagination.

The lady who got off the white horse holding the hand of the duke was none other than the black forest’s cannibal witch.

Not enough, when the duke introduced the witch as the new nanny, everyone froze as if the frost had fallen in the middle of winter, with only the witch excited like a child in spring. So this must be because...

"Did the witch mislead you?"

"Does it look like that?"

“…”

Daniel narrowed his eyes and looked closely at the duke, but found nothing suspicious.

The young man in front of him was just the usual Duke Blaine, who exuded the energy of being absorbed in work.

"No, but I may have felt it was wrong because..."

"No. It'll be enough to keep an eye on the witch."

"What?"

"Daniel, listen carefully."

The duke finally put down the documents and put his hands together. It was a habit that came out when he talked about something not very pleasant. And it wasn't wrong again this time.

"I decided to exclude you from this subjugation."

"How come..."

When he was young, Daniel had been with Elliott wherever he went since he began his apprenticeship at the Duchy.

Of course, there was a gap when he joined for a while.

Although officially, the relationship between them was superior and the deputy, but in private, they were best friends in the world.

But the duke was going to leave the person he believed the most out of the subjugation of dangerous things? Daniel just couldn't understand.

"Because you have a serious mission to do."

What was a more important mission than protecting his life by his side?

"If you leave anything to me..."

"Keep an eye on the witch."

"What?"

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