IBRIP l CH 30

Chapter 30 

Loti’s words hit hard.

I broke into a cold sweat trying to hold back the urge to smack her mouth.

So frustrating. So humiliating.

But honestly, I didn’t have a boyfriend in my past life either…
Heck, now that I think about it, I didn’t have many friends either.

Loti spoke with a tired expression.

“Forget the letter. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. If I survive this time, I’ll tell him in person. So… how exactly do you plan to sneak into Young Master Yubel’s room?”

Finally! Loti was cooperating willingly.

I shrugged confidently.

“In the middle of the night. When everyone’s asleep. The nanny will fall asleep too, right?”

“She usually sleeps next to Yubel. And if he’s sick, she might not sleep at all. Plus, the Duchess and the Imperial doctor will probably come and go all night.”

“Can you go and check how Yubel is doing?”

Loti left quietly.

After a while, she came back and reported:

“The Duchess and the Imperial doctor are fighting. He kept saying, ‘Babies normally have slightly higher temperatures. I told you several times. Honestly, I think you, not the [Materia], are the one who needs a checkup.’”

“And the Duchess yelled, ‘So you think it’s okay to go off and stare at flowers instead of treating my son?!’ She said she’s going to write to His Majesty first thing tomorrow. But from the sound of it, Yubel isn’t seriously sick.”

“That crazy doctor… does he have two lives or something? Wait… Pereth? Oh. Pereth…”

Then it hit me.

Pereth was the guy who went out to investigate the plague and ended up dead. A throwaway character.

But his background was pretty flashy.
He was from a side branch of the royal family, had no filter when he talked, and had made enemies all over the place. Still, for some reason, the Emperor liked him a lot.
He was talented in medicine but super lazy.

“That means he probably won’t go back to Yubel’s room tonight. And the nanny, being experienced, will relax if she thinks Yubel is okay.”

“You plan to go when she’s asleep? But how do you know when she’ll fall asleep?”

“I’ll make her sleep.”

“…With what?”

“You know. That. It should still be there. I bet the Duchess didn’t move it—probably saving it for me again.”

Loti’s head tilted adorably as she thought. Then suddenly, her face went pale.

“‘That’? You mean that?!”

I nodded.

Yes. That.

***

That night.

Loti stood over me, nervously holding a tray with a cup of tea.

After a moment of thought, I said,

“Let’s try sucking up to her.”

“Sucking up?”

“Flattering her. You’ve already gotten on everyone’s bad side in the mansion, remember?”

In noble families, nannies hold a lot of power. They raise the future heirs—sometimes the heirs love their nannies more than their parents.

So when the Duke and Duchess aren’t around, the nanny is practically one of the most powerful people in the house.

“Just say you felt bad and brought her some tea to cheer her up.”

“…Fine.”

“This nanny’s pretty kind. She’s one of the few people who looks at me warmly. She won’t kick you out.”

Loti sighed and shook her head.

“How can such a sweet nanny fall for a brat like you?”

“How can my Loti take orders from a 10-year-old like me?”

“Aghhh.”

And off Loti went, fleeing the room with the tea.

***

Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

Yubel’s nanny, Molly Hennes, responded cautiously.

It couldn’t be the Duke or Duchess. They didn’t bother knocking.

“It’s me, Loti!”

“Loti…?”

Molly quietly opened the door so the baby wouldn’t wake up.

There stood cheerful Loti Hesward, with her freckled face and ginger hair.

Molly looked at her with suspicion.

“…What are you doing here?”

She had definitely heard the rumors—how Loti got caught sneaking into the Duke’s room, got demoted to look after the troublesome illegitimate child, and even made a huge mistake afterward.

A maid with no future.

So why was she here?

Molly couldn’t help but feel tense. She glanced back at the sleeping [Materia].

Was Loti about to do something dangerous out of desperation?

Then Loti held up the tray with a small, sheepish smile.

“I brought you tea…”

“…Tea?”

Molly blinked, obviously confused.

Loti shifted nervously and whispered.

“It’s Evergreen Tea. Servants are only allowed to drink it once a week. I didn’t drink mine last week. I saved it… to give to you.”

“Why give it to me?”

“Uh… well…”

Loti forced a wobbly smile.

“I was hoping you’d be nice to me…”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at Molly.

Molly stared at her for a while.

Loti was lively and pretty, but her blunt mouth often made her unpopular with other maids.
Not a sweet child, but not an evil one either.

Molly remembered seeing her once, gently caring for a dying flower in the garden all night.

“…Sigh. Thank you, dear. I’ll take it.”

Molly took the tea.

Loti’s face lit up.

“Then I’ll be going now! Have a good night, Molly!”

Was that really all she came for?

Molly watched her walk away with mixed feelings, then shut the door and returned to the room.

The room was silent except for the soft breathing of the sleeping infant savior.

Molly touched Yubel’s forehead, sighed in relief, and sat in the rocking chair nearby.

“To think that this tiny baby carries the fate of the entire continent…”

Of the three saviors, one had gone missing, and troubling rumors surrounded the other.

How could she raise this one properly?

Molly was scared.

She had already admitted to herself that she failed to raise Boris Rohia right.

Yudis refused to accept that, but Molly couldn’t lie to herself.

Josef Rohia was a bit unsettling too.

Unlike Boris—who, despite being a troublemaker, still showed affection to his nanny—Josef kept his distance.

Even as a toddler, he clung to the Duke and Duchess but avoided her, especially when Boris was around.

Boris would come to her arms, while Josef rushed to the Duke and Duchess, not even glancing her way.

That wasn’t normal.

“Can I really do this right…?”

Molly trembled, her lips slightly shaking from fear.

But then she took a deep breath and calmed herself.

She couldn’t fall apart.

One, two, three…

She silently counted.

Four, five, six…

Eventually, sleep took over.

***

A few hours later…

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

But Molly didn’t hear it—she was fast asleep.

The door opened quietly.

A girl with green hair entered the room like a shadow.

She moved silently toward the baby’s cradle.

Holding a tiny needle.

***

Later that morning.

Molly woke up suddenly.

Still groggy at first—until she felt a strange wetness around her knees and snapped fully awake.

The sun was already rising.

“What?! Did I sleep through the whole night?! No way!”

Babies cry every couple of hours—for boredom, hunger, or a wet diaper.

Molly’s job was to respond to all of those needs. She’d always been good at it.

And yet tonight…

She had just slept straight through the night—next to the [Materia] baby.

Panic rising, she rushed to Yubel Rohia’s cradle.