Chapter 10 …
“—For a nanny, she doesn’t seem close to Lady Artea at all…”
Was that what the butler had said?
My head grew complicated, but at this very moment, with the magic tool malfunctioning, I had no idea what kind of accident might happen.
‘It can’t be helped.’
I finally made my decision.
“Artea, do you want to go see your uncle?”
Ever since that guy moved in next door, I’d had a feeling this day would come sooner or later. Damn it.
“Mm!”
Artea immediately nodded, then quickly made a startled expression. But even though her eyes darted around in embarrassment, she didn’t take back her words.
No matter how she acted, she must have wanted to see Erios.
And so, the meeting between Artea, Erios, and me—the three of us—was arranged.
“Nanny doesn’t seem close to Artea,” I whispered quietly, so only Erios could hear.
The situation was urgent, but this was something I needed to know.
“It’s not like the nanny did anything wrong.”
Artea’s first nanny died on the spot in the carriage accident with my sister.
The second nanny had to quit due to sudden health problems.
The current one was the third, and she’d only been here a few months.
‘No wonder the child feels insecure.’
“Among the new people who came, she was actually the one Artea liked the most.”
But even so, she still hadn’t opened her heart to the third nanny.
Erios suspected that, since the people around her kept leaving, Artea had grown reluctant to get close to anyone.
“So the nanny hasn’t done anything suspicious, right?”
“She was actually the person who received the most suspicion after Artea disappeared this time.”
The butler had implied it was due to the nanny’s incompetence.
But Erios spoke as if both the nanny and the maid were innocent.
I’d have to talk to the nanny and the maid myself when I got back.
“Bellona. Just focus on your work for now. I’ll take care of Artea.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Artea’s care was suddenly thrust on you. You have your own work to do.”
I knew that. But my heart still felt heavy.
Something in my expression must have shown that. Erios, who had been quietly watching me, hesitated for a moment, then placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered softly.
“You know it too, right? The best thing you can do is focus, solve the problem, and come back to Artea.”
It was fortunate that Erios had moved in next door.
If he hadn’t, Artea would’ve been left alone among people she couldn’t rely on, crying by herself…
“Master, this way.”
Even when she arrived on site, Bellona’s heart didn’t settle.
Of course, she couldn’t stay by Artea’s side 24 hours a day.
She knew that. But perhaps because it happened sooner than she expected, she hadn’t mentally prepared herself.
‘I cursed it as a crazy idea at first, but… if Erios hadn’t been there, it could’ve been a disaster.’
The only reason she could leave Artea behind was because she was with her uncle.
No, it wasn’t just about leaving her in someone’s care.
If not for the words Erios had told her before she left, she might still be drowning in guilt.
“This is a huge accident! The thing’s not responding at all! How can it break already? I knew it! ‘Lorozo’s’ magic tools are made by hacks weaker than real Tower mages… I thought it was just Tower slander, but—!”
Bellona ignored the man’s loud, irrelevant complaints and examined the magic tool.
The malfunction was easy to find.
“It’s just a simple mana entanglement issue. It’ll take some time, but it’s easy to fix.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means it broke because someone didn’t follow the precautions.”
Mana entanglement wasn’t the tool’s defect.
It was the user’s fault.
“I told you several times not to use other magic tools or spells nearby, and it’s written clearly in the manual…”
“Why does it have to be that complicated? You should’ve built it better!”
Only then did the man seem to remember the precautions. He waved his hands and fled the scene like a coward.
To think the emergency that dragged her away from a crying Artea was just a user’s negligence.
“……”
It wasn’t unusual for Tower mages to spread malicious rumors about magic tools being used by non-mages.
They were always looking for a chance to undermine me and my company.
“Master, are you all right? He doesn’t even know anything about magic tools… Want me to chase him down and give him a piece of my mind?”
The subordinate who had guided her seemed nervous.
Bellona didn’t want to waste energy on pointless matters.
“We don’t have time to waste. Let’s just fix it quickly and get back.”
She had to focus entirely on the task at hand.
Once she resolved to do that, Bellona skipped even meals and threw herself into the repairs.
She meticulously realigned the tangled mana strands and poured fresh mana into the damaged flows.
“As expected of Master.”
Despite people worrying that she was overexerting herself, Bellona stayed focused on her work.
Even though mana entanglement repairs normally took a long time, she finished earlier than expected.
“That customer—put him on Lorozo’s blacklist.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Ordinary magic use doesn’t tangle mana this badly. If things go wrong, it’s not just a broken tool—it could become a major accident. And he’s not the type to listen to warnings.”
Once the work was done, thoughts of Artea came rushing back.
Was she crying again by now?
Was she waiting for Bellona to return?
“Artea…”
The heavy guilt of leaving a crying child behind weighed on her.
When she finally arrived back at the mansion, she hesitated to go in right away.
But then—
“Auntie, you’re back?”
To her surprise, Artea wasn’t crying when she greeted her.
In fact, she smiled brightly.
“You were worried I’d cry, right!”
“Huh? Uh, yeah…”
“It’s fine! You can just go! I’m strong!”
Her eyes were still swollen and her cheeks flushed red,
but she spoke in a cheerful, sturdy voice.
And somehow, that forced smile—neither a tantrum nor genuine cheer—made it even harder to look away.
“……”
Bellona forced herself to look at Erios and silently asked what had happened.
Erios didn’t make any big gestures; he just blinked.
“Artea took a nap and woke up. I guess she’s feeling better now.”
“Yeah! I’m fine!”
In truth, she wasn’t really “fine.”
Artea just… felt embarrassed.
‘I can’t keep acting like a baby anymore!’
Babies were only babies until they were five.
At six, she was supposed to be grown up.
She hated how she kept acting like a baby.
What if Auntie started to hate her because of it?
‘I’m six now. I’m all grown up!’
She hadn’t been any help when living with Uncle.
She couldn’t be a burden here too.
“Auntie, is there anything I can help with? Are you tired? Want me to massage your shoulders?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“But I’m strong!”
“I said I’m fine!”
A little kid helping would just make two people tired instead of one.
Bellona wanted to tell her she didn’t need to worry—but Artea looked downcast.
“Artea?”
“Mm-hm! I’m just glad you’re not tired!”
Then she turned away and tears spilled down her cheeks.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what Bellona had said earlier.
That she was too young to come along.
‘I guess Auntie doesn’t really need me.’
She wanted to be someone Auntie needed.
That way, she wouldn’t be abandoned.
‘I must still be a baby!’
Sniffle.
Tears kept coming. Artea rubbed her eyes with her tiny hands as if to insist she wasn’t crying.
She wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but her red, swollen eyes gave her away.
‘Why am I not grown up yet?’
Looking back, it was childish of her to beg her uncle not to leave.
Her pride was badly hurt.
‘I’m never going to see him again!’
…or so she’d thought.
“U-uncle, don’t go. Waaaah…”
She ended up blurting that out.
The very image of a clingy, troublesome baby.
So after her nap, she tried to distance herself from him as much as possible.
She told herself it was fine because Auntie was here.
But then Auntie had to leave for work, and her heart dropped again. Tears welled up once more.
“Artea, do you want to go see your uncle?”
And she nodded.
Even though she’d run away, declaring she wouldn’t live with him anymore…
‘Being fickle is babyish. No one likes that. He must hate me now for real.’
But something was strange.
She’d said she didn’t want to live with him. Then she’d told him not to leave. Then she’d said she hated him. Over and over, she’d changed her mind—
but her uncle never went away.
‘I thought he’d say, “Good! If you run away, I’m free of you too. You were annoying anyway!”’
But he hadn’t.
Instead, he stayed by her side.
Even though, by all accounts, he should have hated her.
