The Pegasus Lord’s Child Is Carefre
CHAPTER 15…………………………………………………………
Yubara felt a cold sweat run down her spine.
“Are you saying you just tried to abduct Lin?”
Theodor’s voice, low and growling, stabbed at her like a lance.
“N—no! That could never be me, the nanny… Miss has been feeling very unwell today and was fussier than usual while dozing earlier. Maybe she had a nightmare and said those things in her sleep.”
Theodor’s eyes grew even colder at the implication that Lin was blaming her, but Yubara, desperate to save herself, didn’t notice—her mind had gone blank with panic.
Why did they have to show up right now!
Today was the day she would reap the rewards of the plan she’d been preparing.
Rather than staying on as the nanny of a mutant child who seemed harder to manipulate than expected, she’d planned to do one simple “job,” collect her pay, and leave for another manor.
All I needed to do was make the acting head distrust the guardian, then create a chance to get close to the child…
But now, the acting head was glaring at her while she still clutched the child to her chest—clearly angry—and it looked like the plan was blown.
Still, she hadn’t actually done anything that bad, had she?
Yubara frantically searched for an escape and blurted out, “Kidnap? What a terrible misunderstanding… Children sometimes make things up when they’re half-asleep. Surely you’re not going to believe me to be the kidnapper just from that?”
She pulled whatever semblance of a gentle expression she could onto her trembling face.
She was mumbling things subconsciously, completely under the influence of my pheromones. That mutant kid couldn’t possibly remember everything correctly.
A six-year-old who couldn’t articulate her thoughts coherently, and Yubara’s plausible, rational explanation— which would look more credible?
She hadn’t bound the child or tied her up like a real kidnapper—she’d only used a bit of pheromone.
Capybara beastkin affinity pheromones ease the whole body’s tension; a child who wakes from such a sleep feels refreshed and in top condition, so everyone wants that ability.
Right. I didn’t do anything bad.
Convincing even herself with that lie, Yubara tilted her torso to show the hoofprints on her chest as if to demonstrate injury, exaggerating her pain.
“Liar!”
“Miss Lin….”
“You said you were taking me to someone who would help me, but I didn’t want to go! You were trying to put me to sleep with pheromones!”
Now that her strength had returned somewhat, Lin accused Yubara clearly and took a deep breath.
Then, as if she could not bear the thought, she raised her voice with all her might and shouted:
“You insulted Uncle Theo!”
Theodor stared down at the small hand gripping his sleeve with a face that looked like it might break; his expression was unreadable.
“Insult the acting head? Me? A small animal beastkin like me wouldn’t dare….” Yubara trembled as if hearing those words for the first time, and combined with her naturally meek capybara features, she looked genuinely pitiable.
“Is that true? Well, it does take guts to insult the commander.”
“But surely there’s a reason Miss is that angry?”
“I don’t exactly know what happened.”
Their exchanging remarks left the crowd around them bewildered.
There were no obvious clues in front of them, and the knights didn’t know what to do, murmuring among themselves.
Unlike the hesitant crowd, Theodor’s voice was decisive: “Lock her up.”
At that clear order, the knights moved immediately.
Regardless of the uncertainty on their faces, they obeyed their superior’s command swiftly.
“Ac-acting head! You can’t do this to me! You’ll lock up an innocent person without any proof!”
Pretending to be a wrongly accused criminal, Yubara snatched at fear and shouted desperately as the knights bound her.
“I’m really innocent!”
Her earnest plea and innocent expression caused some of the knights to hesitate. Sensing that, Yubara raised her voice even more urgently.
“If you coddle a child’s tantrum like that, it won’t be good for Miss Lin. If you respond to things she said in a nightmare as if they were true, won’t she start to confuse dream and reality?”
“It wasn’t a dream!”
“I’m her nanny. How will it look in Lin’s memory if you drag away the nanny who’s cared for her so long? It won’t be healthy for the child!”
Lin retorted quickly, but Yubara’s words weren’t meant for the child.
Although she kept saying “Miss Lin” as she spoke, Yubara’s real target was the adults with decision-making power; she treated Lin’s protest, which had no official weight, as irrelevant.
“I truly didn’t do anything wrong!” Yubara pleaded.
“Nothing wrong?” Theodor’s voice dropped; he didn’t even raise it, but its coldness sounded all the more terrifying.
“The child screamed in terror—how can you say the nanny did nothing wrong?”
“T-that’s….”
“You’ve already lost the child’s trust to this degree. You’ve failed as a nanny.”
Theodor nailed Yubara with those words and then gave further orders to the surrounding knights as if to make a point.
“Close the gates. Search the area thoroughly—there may be accomplices.”
“Are you really treating me like a kidnapper?”
Ignoring Yubara’s pleading, Theodor told the knights, “Search everywhere. No exceptions for whoever the culprit is.”
“Yes!” they answered.
“You’re really going to lock me up based on the word of a six-year-old? Children don’t even think they’re lying; they change what they say without a second thought. Such nonsense isn’t evidence!” Yubara kept protesting, but no one responded anymore. The knights, following Theodor’s orders, set the search perimeter; the knight who had been holding Yubara’s hands now bound both of her hands.
No! If they drag me off like this… I won’t die alone! Yubara, who had planned to extort her client from the shadows while pretending to be helpless, felt a surge of panic from the strong hands dragging her and cried out.
“Is persecuting an innocent beastkin without evidence what Lord Pegasus would do?”
“!”
Invoking the duty of the lord to protect his people and slashing at the acting head’s legitimacy, Yubara’s words didn’t faze Theodor, but they affected Lin, who was in Theodor’s arms.
Lin’s round golden eyes widened to their limit at the shocking statement.
Insulting Uncle again!
Her newly grown molars clenched hard and Lin shouted fiercely.
“Where’s the proof!”
Her confident cry drew everyone’s attention to Lin.
Giving Yubara the scariest look she could, Lin pointed to her throat.
“Here! I recorded everything!”
R-recording magic artifact?
Yubara’s face went pale at the unexpected revelation.
Clack.
Without hesitation Lin turned the button on her necklace.
It was the necklace Uncle Theo had put on her without the other servants knowing. The magic device embedded at its center immediately began to play the recorded sound.
-There’s someone very close who’s wary of Miss gaining power.
-My power…?
-Yes. I was worried, so I looked for someone who might help Miss Lin.
-Wh-who…?
-They’re waiting just outside the castle. Shall we go see them like a little walk?
