IWPU 15

Chapter 15

At that time, I hated Lant.
Now, when I look at him, I only think of my late dog, Ddorong.
I poked Lant’s cheek, which had turned red from my teasing.

“You. If it were the old me, this wouldn’t have ended here, you know? Didn’t the maids say you’re not supposed to even run into me?”

Lant still remained silent.

‘Like father, like son. The two of them are exactly alike in how unresponsive they are.’

I grabbed Lant’s arm, still lying on the ground, and pulled him up.
The child obediently stood.
I brushed the dirt off his clothes.
He looked so disheveled that my cleaning barely made a difference.
I patted him hard enough that the dust came off with a pang pang sound.

“Ugh…”

It wasn’t intentional, but Lant finally reacted for the first time.
I felt a strange thrill.

‘Am I awakening to the world of sadism? That’s dangerous…’

“Ahem. First, I need to treat your wounds.”

Upon closer inspection, Lant’s injuries were worse than I thought.
It seemed the thorns from the vines were quite sharp.
I had no idea why he crawled into a thorny bush to avoid the maids, but treatment came first.

I grabbed Lant’s hand to head to my room—but stopped.
If we went to my room, I could treat him through the maids.
But my nanny was in there now.

“What do I do…”

The nanny hated Lant just as much as I had.
She seemed to believe the Marchioness’s death was his fault.
If she saw him, she would definitely cause a commotion.
I couldn’t bring Lant there.
I needed a way to treat his wounds without the nanny finding out.
Even now, her nagging was unbearable to me.

Going to the maids would obviously alert the nanny.
I thought about who else could help Lant.
It didn’t take long to figure it out.
There were only a few people in this household who weren’t afraid of the nanny.

“Let’s go.”

I took Lant’s hand and led the way.
He followed me obediently, his large, dark brown eyes fixed on me.

‘…This feels weird.’

He really reminded me of Ddorong.
My dog who used to wag her tail excitedly and follow me around with eyes full of trust.

‘Ugh, I shouldn’t be softening like this…’

I held his small hand tightly.

As far as I knew, Lant was four years younger than me.
My eleventh birthday had just passed, so he should be seven this year.
I looked him over as we walked.
At seven, you’re just before entering elementary school.
But Lant looked no older than four or five.

From what I remembered, adult Lant had grown quite large.
Taller than even the Marquis, with broad shoulders and well-toned muscles from swordsmanship—he had the kind of build that overwhelmed most grown men.

With a face resembling the Marquis and a dream-body by male standards, Lant was quite popular among the noble ladies.
No one dared say it aloud in front of me, but everyone assumed he would become the next Marquis.

‘It’s hard to believe this tiny Lant would grow that big.’

I was newly amazed at the power of growth.
Even with how much I bullied him, he still grew that much—maybe he’d grow even more if he ate well?

“Still haven’t found him?”

“What do we do? If the butler finds out, we’re in trouble.”

“Where the hell did that little brat go?”

Lant flinched.
I stopped walking, wondering what was wrong, and then heard the voices of the maids in the distance.
Even from far away, Lant had sensed them.
Just like earlier, he seemed desperate to avoid them.

I hadn’t bullied Lant yet.

‘Wait, I take that back.’

Looking at his still-reddened cheek pricked my conscience a bit.
Other than pinching his cheek, I hadn’t done anything else to him.
Neither the nanny nor the maids even knew we had met.
So no one else would’ve bullied him yet.

“Search again. I’ll check over there.”

“What if the Marquis or the butler finds out?”

“We have to find him before that happens!”

“Find him fast. If the young lady finds out, we’re doomed.”

“That damned brat! I’ll teach him a lesson if I catch him.”

The voices of the maids faded away.
Lant stood still with his head down.
I pulled his hand firmly.
To my relief, he followed without resistance.

Now I could guess why he was avoiding the maids.
Their tone when speaking about Lant wasn’t exactly kind.
Even though it was obvious from his appearance that he was the Marquis’s bloodline, the maids spoke of him like he was a burden.

If Lant had been a troublemaker or a brat, it might have been understandable.
But from what I had seen, Lant hadn’t acted rudely toward the maids at all.
He was a very quiet, gentle child.

‘Something’s going on in this house that I don’t know about.’

Because the main members of the family were indifferent, most of the house affairs were run by the butler and the nanny.
Especially the maids—they were under the nanny’s control.
I decided I’d have to look into it soon.

Avoiding the maids’ patrol routes, I led Lant into the main building.
Unlike the noisy outside, the inside was quiet.
The maids likely didn’t expect Lant to come here.
Even if he did, they wouldn’t dare search for him openly.
This was where the Marquis, the butler, and I resided.

My destination was on the second floor.
We approached the spiral staircase.

Going up the right staircase led to the corridor with my room and the late Marchioness’s.
The left staircase led to the Marquis’s study and bedroom.
The two wings weren’t directly connected.
To get from our rooms to the study, you had to go down and then use the left stairs again.
I led Lant up the left staircase.

As on the first floor, no one was in the corridor.
We reached the Marquis’s study without running into anyone.
Even the guards who normally stood outside the door were gone—since their job had been to block the Marchioness.

I knocked on the tightly shut door.
It opened with a voice from inside.

“Young Lady?”

The butler seemed surprised to see me.
I pushed past him into the room.
The Marquis was inside, reading documents.
I led Lant to the sofa.

“Young Lady, what is going on?”

The butler looked back and forth between us.
I didn’t answer.
I just sat Lant down and told him:

“Go get some medicine.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Seeing Lant’s filthy condition, the butler nodded and quickly left.
I stood in front of Lant, who was now sitting quietly.
Leaves were still clinging to his navy hair.
I gently started picking them off.

As I was absorbed in removing the leaves, I felt a gaze on me.
I looked up—only to find the Marquis staring intently.

“What’s going on?”

I’d noticed it before, but the Marquis had changed.
Back when I bullied Lant harshly, he hadn’t shown any interest.
But now, not only was he paying attention, he even asked.

“I’m back.”

Before I could answer, the butler returned.
He brought not just medicine, but also a wet towel and bandages.
He laid everything out on the table and began inspecting Lant carefully.

“Scratches from something sharp, I see.”

The experienced butler immediately figured out how Lant got injured.
He carefully wiped Lant’s face, neck, and arms.

“His cheek looks swollen too. Was he struck by someone?”

I flinched.
The butler looked closely at Lant’s face with concern.
No matter what, Lant was still the Marquis’s bloodline.
If someone inside this house hit him—it was serious.

The butler turned to look at me.
I quickly averted my eyes.

“…Tch.”

And accidentally met the Marquis’s gaze instead.
His blue eyes were fixed seriously on me.
In the end, I had no choice but to confess.

“It was me.”

“Pardon?”

“It was squishy and fun to tug, and it just ended up like that.”

The butler looked at me in disbelief.
I looked him dead in the eye and declared:

“His skin’s just really sensitive. You should keep an eye on that.”

I decided to be brazen about it.
That expression on the butler’s face—I’d never seen it before.

…

Plop.

I could almost hear his eyeballs roll.
Lant’s big brown eyes blatantly tracked the cake.

Plop plop.

His face was expressionless, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the cake.
With fluffy sponge, whipped cream, and honey-glazed colorful fruits—it looked delicious even to me.

I teasingly pushed the plate further away.
Lant’s eyes rolled after the cake again.

Gulp.

“Pfft.”

His tiny throat bobbed as he swallowed, and I couldn’t help laughing.
I finally stopped teasing and pushed the plate toward him.
He looked between the cake and me with wide eyes.

“Go ahead, eat.”

Even with permission, he didn’t move right away.
It was like I could see steam rising from his tiny head as he struggled to decide.

“Come on.”

Grab!

Of course, a kid is still a kid.
He didn’t hesitate for long.
When I pushed the plate right under his nose, his little hand snatched it up.
The elegant, artistic cake was completely crushed by the strength of a tiny tyrant.

“How vulgar…”

“Can’t hide that low birth, can he.”

The maids waiting nearby sneered at Lant’s rough behavior.
As they gossiped, Lant’s hand stopped mid-air, the cake just inches from his mouth.

‘This is a bit troubling.’

His face flushed red, even to the tips of his ears—he looked pitiful, and yet adorable.

‘I keep wanting to tease him more… Maybe I am developing a sadistic streak after all.’