Chapter 67

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 67

Chapter Title: The Maid and the Little Young Master (1)

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I'd become the maid assigned to that obnoxious little young master. That meant I had to stick to the kid's side all day, every day.

The little young master named Robert was no ordinary child. True to form as a noble's son, he had a perfect grasp on the fact that I was beneath him.

"Bring it."

He snatched the spoon from the nanny's hand and flung it to the floor, then pointed right at me while issuing the command. He was staring straight at me as he jabbed his finger at the fallen spoon.

"Young Master, you can't do that."

The nanny softly scolded him and started to get up, but Robert grabbed her waist to hold her down. In a clear voice, he commanded again.

"You fetch it, dummy."

"……."

"Young Master!"

The nanny looked flustered and glanced at me. I gave her a smile to show it was fine and picked up the spoon. I wiped it on my apron and was about to hand it to her when Robert snatched it before she could take it and threw it back on the floor.

"It's dirty!"

"……."

"Young Master, why are you doing this?!"

Ah, I've seen this somewhere before. It was reminding me of someone else.

A sense of déjà vu crept over my mind.

"Mother says I can't use things that've fallen on the floor!"

"Then I'll get a new one."

"No! Don't go!"

Robert clung to the nanny's waist again and yelled straight at me.

"You go!"

I ground my teeth and forced my lips into a smile as I started walking. I kept smiling all the way until I stepped out the door. Of course, the moment I was out, I let out a silent scream.

Even when I came back with a new spoon, the same thing happened.

"A new one!"

Robert ate a bit of his soup, then grabbed the spoon and tossed it again. The flustered nanny glanced at me. I forced another smile and headed down to the kitchen.

The second I entered the kitchen, I dropped the smile and looked around. I grabbed a clean, dried cloth nearby, spread it out, dumped a bunch of spoons into it, and wrapped it up tight. I hid it behind my back and returned to the room holding just one spoon. It wasn't long before the same situation repeated itself.

"Young Master!"

The nanny scolded him, but Robert ignored her completely. I waved her off to say it was okay, then pulled out the white cloth bundle from behind my back. Her eyes went wide, but I smiled brightly and unfolded it.

"I have plenty ready."

I picked one out of the dozens of spoons and handed it to the nanny. I added that she should just let me know if she needed more. The nanny took it with an impressed look on her face. Meanwhile, Robert stared blankly beside her.

But Robert's mischief didn't stop there.

"Get that!"

"Don't touch it!"

"You're ugly!"

Wow, who does this remind me of? Some guy or other, a master with a rotten personality, or that bastard.

But I wasn't about to back down. After all, I'd once served a master with an equally rotten temper. I had confidence in my patience and endurance.

When he threw things like spoons, I'd bring dozens and have them at the ready. For anything else, I'd fetch replacements a few times, and if it got excessive, I'd toss it far away and pretend not to hear his demands. When he told me not to touch it, I'd wear gloves. When he called me ugly, I'd show up with a paper bag over my head and make Robert freak out.

"I hate you!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

I'd even developed the ability to twist insults into positives.

But Robert was stubbornly persistent too. The kid was... pretty clever, actually.

Whenever I was about to lose it from the rising anger, he'd sense it somehow and start bawling that he was scared. Anyone watching would think I'd done something awful. I was baffled by his acting skills.

The more I saw of him, the more Robert reminded me of someone. Someone bigger than Robert, with an equally unyielding stubborn streak.

In the world. To think there was another person like that man. What a tragedy.

As I fetched the item for the twenty-third time Robert had thrown, I regretted coming to this mansion for the first time. With a weary face, I stared blankly at the twenty-fourth item flying through the air. If I picked it up again, he'd just throw it. Should I just not bother? As I hesitated, the nanny patted my shoulder.

"He seems to like you, Annie."

Where's the "like" in that? Anyone could see it was payback for last time.

But since I'd already become this little young master's maid, all I could do was serve him diligently. Plus, sometimes the nanny had to leave me alone with him. Joel had assigned me specifically because the nanny often had to go back to her family home.

Lately, though, I had other thoughts. Maybe she just wanted to make me suffer. Had I done something wrong? Couldn't she just tell me outright...

"Dummy, fetch it!"

I'd stepped out into the hallway for a walk to ease the stuffiness of being cooped up in the room when Robert stopped walking and pointed at a wooden horse figurine he'd dropped. I narrowed my eyes. Even after I'd told him my name, he insisted on calling me that. It was definitely on purpose.

"Dummy, dummy."

Argh, I wanted to smack him one.

But I was the maid serving this obnoxious little young master. I couldn't go hitting that tiny head of his. I forced my lips into a smile and picked up the fallen wooden figurine, placing it in Robert's hand.

"You're four, Young Master?"

"No! Just a tiny bit more and I'll be five!"

"Yes, soon you'll be a splendid five-year-old. Then..."

"Yeah, dummy. I wanna climb up there."

Robert cut me off and pointed upward. I barely suppressed my surging anger and calmly looked up. What he was pointing at was that massive iron horse statue—the one from last time that nearly caused a disaster when he tried to climb it.

"No, you can't."

"I wanna climb!"

"It's dangerous. Let's go back to your room."

"No! I said I wanna climb!"

"How about walking down the hallway instead?"

I grabbed his hand to divert his attention and pulled him along. Robert screamed that he didn't want to go and dragged his feet. Even as we walked a short distance, he thrashed about. He smacked me with the wooden horse figurine in his little hand, then suddenly hurled it away.

The figurine hit the wall and fell to the floor. When I picked it up and handed it back, he threw it again.

"I wanna climb!"

"Absolutely not."

Robert finally shook off my hand and clung to the leg of the iron horse statue. No matter how I tried to pry him loose, the kid had surprising strength for his age and clung desperately. With his lips pressed tight in determination, he didn't look like he'd give up easily.

"I wanna climb!"

"It's dangerous."

"No! I wanna go!"

"Yes, then shall we go back to your room?"

I scooped Robert up in my arms. The kid's eyes went wide in surprise. But soon he scrunched up his face and started wriggling. Before he could thrash harder, I dashed back to his room.

By the time we arrived, I was drenched in sweat. Robert had been screaming the whole way. Suddenly, everything felt exhausting.

"I hate you!"

I leaned against the wall with my weary body, and Robert glared at me with puffed-up cheeks.

"No choice if you hate me."

His chubby cheeks puffed out even more. I gave him a calm look that said, what are you gonna do about it? Suddenly, Robert's face crumpled into a wail.

"My toy..."

"Pardon?"

"Toy! My tooooy!"

His shrill voice was intimidating. Confused, I asked what he meant, but Robert just kept screaming about his toy. Then I remembered the wooden horse figurine he'd clutched and thrown around since our first meeting.

"You were throwing it like crazy earlier."

"Toy!"

"Yes. Stay here."

I blocked Robert from bolting out and quickly left the room. From inside, he pounded on the door. The handle was too high for him to reach.

The echoing cries from behind sped up my steps. I ran back down the hall to the iron horse statue. After searching thoroughly around it, I found the wooden horse figurine he'd been so desperate for.

"If it's precious, don't throw it."

I examined the figurine closely—no breaks or damage, luckily. His room was full of toys, but he always clutched this one. It must mean a lot to him, yet he handled it so roughly.

Should I just say it's lost forever? The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.

"I'm pathetic, stooping to a kid's level."

I chuckled wryly and turned around. That's when I noticed the large iron horse statue, his second favorite. Placed against one wall, it was made of smooth, sturdy iron. I idly tapped the body.

Why on earth does he want to climb that thing?

I stared up at the iron horse blankly. Then I glanced around, placed my hands on the body, and swung a leg over. It was pretty high up. How did Robert manage with his tiny body? Grunting with effort, I finally hauled myself onto the saddle.

I let out a heavy breath and straightened up. It was dizzyingly high. Wrapping my arms around the horse's neck and looking down, the long hallway stretched out below. Tilting my head up a bit more, I could even see the view outside the window. Anyone coming would be easy to spot.

"Great spot for people-watching."

He's still little, so heights must seem novel. Or maybe he likes looking down on everything. I leaned toward the latter.

I was usually the one looking up at people. So this view from above felt fresh. I swung my legs idly, savoring the air up high.

"What are you doing up there?"

I startled and looked down to see Robert's nanny standing there. I'd been so absorbed I hadn't noticed her approach. She stared up at me like I was some weirdo.

I climbed down quietly without a word.

"I heard you were going out, but you're back."

"Yes. And the Young Master?"

"He's in his room. I was on my way to bring this back—he dropped it."

I shook the wooden figurine in my hand. The nanny nodded.

"He treasures it."

"I see."

"The Master gave it to him as a gift, so he never lets it go."

It really was precious to him. I examined the well-worn wooden horse. I'd ignored him a few times when he deliberately threw it and demanded I fetch it, and I recalled Robert picking it up himself then. For some reason, it made me feel odd.

"But what were you doing just now?"

"……."

I shut my mouth and turned away. I felt her puzzled gaze on my back, but I ignored it. We walked in awkward silence until we reached the door.

There was no sound from inside the room. Thinking he must be tired, I opened the door—and froze. Right in front of it, slumped over with arms dangling limply, was Robert—the same one who'd been pounding on the door moments ago.

"Young Master!"

The nanny rushed to the fallen child. I quickly scanned the room. No signs of an intruder or anything he'd tripped over.