Chapter : 02
“I prepared something, knowing you’d say that. Here, read this.”
Hailey quickly held out a sheet of paper. On it were the details and costs Hailey was charging the Baron and his wife.
At the very top was an education fee of 20,000 Jenia—calculated as a one-year intensive course for the essential education a typical noble child should receive—along with a note stating that living expenses were omitted since they had provided meager food, clothing, and shelter.
Below that were meticulously calculated entries for every hour Hailey had been dragged along as a maid to the Baroness’s tea parties, billed at 2 Jenia per hour.
The Baron and Baroness stared down at the outrageous paper, their faces turning a deep crimson as if they might collapse at any moment.
“That is the conversion of the education and upbringing you were obligated to provide into a monetary value, plus the wages for the time you used me as a maid. I’ve been keeping records all this time, just in case a day like this came.”
“After how we raised you! When did we ever use you as a maid? You’re our daughter; can’t you do at least that much? And child-rearing expenses? Ha! Not a chance!”
As Hailey expected, the Baroness rebelled fiercely. Hailey countered calmly.
“You two abused me. You never bought me a single set of clothes; instead, you pressured me to eat less, calling me a ‘pig’ for growing.”
The Baroness was speechless at the sight of Hailey, who looked as if she had been waiting for this very day. She knew Hailey had a different side to her, but she hadn’t realized it went this far.
“You made me do laundry and cleaning alongside the maids, claiming you were short-handed, and tasked me with daily errands and all sorts of chores.”
“Hailey Langston!”
“According to the Zenovia Family Law revised by Hern III, noble children under the age of 16 have the right to be protected from exploitation and abuse. Even serfs are forbidden from being exploited more than six days a week.”
“……”
“Of course! There hasn’t been a case of punishment yet, but if you two keep resisting, you’ll likely be recorded as the first case of punishment for child abuse. I do what I say. You know that, right?”
“……”
“Normally, I should receive five times more, but since I know your situation, I’m settling for this much. You can easily afford it by selling just a few of your luxury items.”
“Goodbye! I’m going to throw off the shackles and yoke of this tedious Barony and leave to find freedom with Theo!”
For the first time, Hailey flashed a bright smile in front of the Baron couple.
“…iley. Hailey!”
“Huh? Oh, Theo. Did you call me?”
“Is Hailey sick?”
Theo used his small hands to touch his forehead and then Hailey’s forehead alternately. It was the gesture she always did whenever Theo had a fever.
The child tilted his head.
“You’re not hot—”
The child’s green eyes were clear as he gazed at her, muttering to himself. Hailey stroked Theo’s head. The warm heat of the child seemed to melt her heart.
“I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s not fun.”
After the “child-rearing expense claim” incident, the Baroness began to harass her in petty ways. Until now, she hadn’t provided meals for Theo, but she hadn’t stopped them from using ingredients; now, even that was forbidden.
However, Hailey didn’t care. She went to the market and procured ingredients with the money she made by selling ornaments Marianne had thrown away.
Hailey suddenly remembered seeing the daughter of the vegetable shop lady she often visited. The girl looked bigger than Theo, so she asked how old she was without thinking much of it.
‘She’s five. Oh, my child is so small, it’s a problem.’
She was the same age as Theo.
‘That size is considered small among five-year-olds? Our Theo is…’
He was even smaller.
Hailey’s heart hadn’t felt right since then. She thought she was raising him well enough despite not being wealthy, but perhaps that was just self-consolation.
‘At least our Theo is smart and speaks so well.’
Theo was busy folding a paper airplane out of the sheet he had used for addition practice.
“Stop the origami and let’s try this on.”
“I want to put it on by myself!”
Lately, this five-year-old toddler had developed a taste for “doing it myself” and refused any help Hailey tried to offer.
“Come here. This shirt has buttons, so it’ll be hard for Theo’s hands.”
“No. I can do it!”
Theo snatched the small shirt and pants from Hailey’s hands.
Hailey was finally able to dress Theo in the new clothes she had spent days agonizing over. While Hailey wore clothes Marianne threw away, there were no clothes for a young boy like Theo even if she searched the Langston house from top to bottom.
Out of necessity, Hailey had bought fabric herself to make Theo’s clothes. Until now, her skills were lacking, so she could only make clumsy indoor wear, but this was the first time she had completed an outfit for going out.
‘Fortunately, I finished it in time.’
Today marked the fifth year since Marianne, who had run away, returned home with Theo. Since Marianne never properly told her Theo’s actual birthday, Hailey celebrated the day she first met him as his birthday instead.
To celebrate Theo’s fifth birthday, Hailey made up her mind to go out with him. She hadn’t been able to sleep for the past few days, excited at the thought of Theo’s first outing, as he had never left the house due to the Baron couple’s opposition.
The tiny hands that insisted they could do it alone took a long time just to thread the first button. After struggling with those small hands for a while, Theo sat down with a thud, seemingly exhausted.
“I want to do it like Hailey.”
“It’s a brand-new button, and the fact that you succeeded in fastening even one is wonderful.”
“…Really?”
Hailey sidled up to Theo, soothing him as she helped him stand.
“Of course. I’ve never seen such a cool and smart five-year-old.”
“Then show me how Hailey does it. Next time, I’ll try by myself.”
After dressing him, she pulled out her secret weapon: a pair of new shoes she had bought for him after much consideration.
‘You have to wear new shoes for your first outing.’
Theo spun around for a long time, as if his appearance in new clothes and shoes was fascinating.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“It’s really cool!”
“Well, since we’re dressed so sharply, shall we go out together?”
Upon hearing the word “outing,” Theo, who didn’t know how to hide his emotions, immediately became flushed with excitement.
“But…”
However, as if something was weighing on his mind, his small shoulders soon slumped toward the ground.
“…I’m okay with just the two of us having a party here.”
“Does Theo not want to go out?”
“…Yeah. I’m not… curious about the outside.”
Theo subtly avoided her gaze and looked down at his toes. Even though he said that, he couldn’t take his eyes off the new shoes he was wearing for the first time, and the sight of him biting his lip to hide his disappointment tugged at Hailey’s heart.
There was no way he wasn’t curious about the outside when he spent every day glued to the window. Even at an age overflowing with curiosity about everything in the world, he never threw a tantrum. He was an excessively considerate child.
Suppreing her rising emotions, Hailey pulled Theo’s small body into her arms.
“It’s okay for a five-year-old to be curious about everything.”
“…I don’t want Hailey to get in trouble.”
Theo was completely dejected. Even if they just crossed paths in the mansion, the Baroness would glare and ask why he was wandering around, and the Baron would click his tongue loudly enough for them to hear.
On the rare occasion Theo cried, they would call Hailey and shout at her, asking how on earth she was looking after the child, which led Theo to learn how to cry silently. Theo hated seeing Hailey get scolded more than anything in the world.
Hailey straightened Theo’s slumped shoulders.
“Theo, can you keep a secret?”
“Yes. I won’t tell anyone!”
There was no one else for Theo to talk to besides Hailey anyway, but she swallowed her laughter. Hailey leaned into Theo’s ear and told him the plan to leave this house and find freedom.
Throughout the story, Theo’s expression changed a dozen times. Shocked, Theo barely covered his wide-open mouth with his two tiny hands. The child continued with eyes so wide they looked like they might pop out.
“H-Hailey…”
“Yes?”
“…Hailey is so cool!”
Theo hugged Hailey with a truly pure, joyful face.
“Hailey! Then are we going to be happy now?”
“Yes! The two of us are going to be happy.”
“That is so cool!”
Hailey and Theo hugged each other and comforted one another, imagining their happy home for two. Unfortunately, they had no inkling of the storm that was about to arrive.
In the capital of Zenovia, there was another “runaway horse” besides Hailey. The Prince of Zenovia, Axel von Otter.
He was a hero of the kingdom and a warmonger. Having manifested Mana (Aura) at the age of nine—a feat that astonished even the King—he showed an extraordinary talent for hunting and became the primary contributor to the territorial expansion of the Zenovia Kingdom.
There was a princess, but she was the child of a concubine, and since he was the only legitimate son of the Queen, it was natural for Axel to be appointed as the heir to the throne early on.
Though he was a prince who took territorial expansion as a hobby, war as a specialty, and was arrogant enough to know only himself, there had never been a single dirty rumor about him.
However, on his twenty-seventh birthday, in front of the King, the Queen, the nobles of Zenovia, and foreign envoys, that very prince dropped a bombshell.
‘As of this moment, I shall step down from my status as the Prince of Zenovia.’
‘…?’
‘I would like to express my gratitude to all the distinguished guests who visited today. Please enjoy the rest of the banquet to your heart’s content. That is all.’
Everyone in the banquet hall was struck with horror; the King clutched the back of his neck, and the Queen fainted on the spot.
Only Axel made his exit, laughing like a madman. In Zenovia, it was called “The Prince’s Rebellion.”
End Of Chapter : 02
