Chapter 40
└ [My kid has started learning baby talk]
└ [Isn’t that the reverse of how it’s supposed to go?]
└ [From adult speech to baby talk lololol]
Since the comment fairies tend to appear and disappear depending on their whims and interests, I assumed they were gone earlier.
Turns out, they’d been watching the whole time — just not saying anything.
└ [If it’s not from your POV, you don’t read the comments anywayㅠㅠ]
I’m not exactly sure what they meant by that, but…
‘I thought I could pretend to be a little kid because no one was watching!’
└ [Pretending? You were stuttering like crazy lolol]
Feeling embarrassed, I tried to redirect my focus.
“Isn’t this heavy for you?”
“It’s not heavy.”
Right now, I was being carried around in Luberie’s left arm.
Why was I sticking to him so closely? Well, earlier, I noticed something while he was with the puppy.
‘Even scary people look less scary when they’re with something cute!’
└ [So you’re saying you’re the cute one?]
I just meant it as a general rule—because kids are small!
We had to look like we were together, but our height and stride were so different that holding hands didn’t make sense.
So I decided to just be carried. It was more eye-catching this way anyway.
“Or is this uncomfortable for you?”
I asked because Luberie looked a bit awkward holding me.
“It’s… warm.”
“…?”
Well of course it is. I’m a human.
‘Wait. Don’t tell me he’s seen a child cold and lifeless before?’
Worried that I might trigger another war trauma, I shut my mouth.
Like the Duke of Valent, Luberie kept pulling out horrid experiences in the middle of everyday life…
Turning my head, I decided to ask the comment fairies again.
‘Is there a good way to speak baby talk?’
I was going to be meeting a lot of people from now on, and since I couldn’t suddenly change Luberie’s cold demeanor or tone, it was better for me to be the decoy that lowers their guard.
The comment fairies seemed to know all about this and started giving me a crash course in baby talk.
└ [When you talk, start with a soft “Uuung…” like you’re shy]
“Uuung…”
└ [I think “Eeeeng” is cuter than “Uuung”]
“Eeeeng.”
└ [Uuung… Eeeeng… ><]
└ [Ugh]
└ [Uuueeeengeng wiiiiiing~~]
“Uui… eee… wiiing…?”
└ [Are you a blender or what lolololol]
└ [Rose broke down]
Crowd intelligence always veers off course.
I ended my self-study and pointed with my finger.
“Uung. We need to go to Seiji unnie.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s at that cafe over there.”
When we approached the cafe I had just come out of, we saw Seiji glancing around.
“Unnie!”
“Rose! I thought you’d disappeared since you weren’t at the post office—wait, Lord Luberie?”
She had gotten a little distracted by the dog, but we had fixed the store quickly on the way, so we hadn’t taken much time.
Maybe it seemed long for just a quick stop at the post office.
“I went back to the shop earlier to apologize. We even found the stolen wallet.”
“Someone stole a wallet?”
When I explained what had happened earlier, Seiji scratched her cheek.
“O-oh, I see. That must’ve… been rough.”
She looked a bit awkward, probably remembering how she was grumbling about the knights in front of me earlier.
Come to think of it, Seiji was the one who’d told me about the gossip outside the maid dorm.
‘She’ll probably tell the other maids what happened today too.’
That’ll take care of the rumors inside the duke’s residence!
“I’m going to take a walk with Lord Luberie. I’ll come back for pancakes next time.”
“O-oh, okay.”
I felt a bit bad about leaving her alone for dessert, but she didn’t seem too upset.
Now that Seiji was gone, time to decide on our next stop.
“Any other shops that were damaged?”
“There was a restaurant before… a fight broke out and the table was broken.”
“Then let’s go there next!”
If they spent money on repairs, it would’ve left a mark.
Money problems should be solved with money. It’s time to fix things with some delayed compensation.
After circling the market, we returned to the duke’s residence.
When the knights heard from Luberie about the pickpocket incident, they responded:
“Who dares commit crimes in the commander’s territory?”
“Let’s break their fingers so they never do it again.”
“They’re probably still nearby. We’ll sniff them out like rats…”
They were already grabbing their swords, ready to charge out.
Exactly as I expected. That’s why I followed them to the knights’ dorm.
“No, stop!”
When I stepped forward, the knights instinctively shifted into alert mode—then recognized me.
“Isn’t that Lord Damian’s subordinate?”
“When did she get here?”
Well, I was hiding quietly, planning to return unless something happened.
└ [Silently hiding your presence… it’s like advertising “I’m an assassin” lol]
└ [Fact: Rose is not an assassin]
└ [Wait, since when??]
Since birth!
I must be so unnoticeable that no one realized I had followed Luberie here.
I usually avoided the knights, but someone had to say this to them:
“If you act like this, people will be scared!”
“If they haven’t done anything wrong, they have nothing to fear.”
“If a bunch of knights are running around with swords, people will assume something huge is happening and panic. You’re not the town watch.”
Right. Petty crimes like pickpocketing should be handled by the local watch.
Not knights who fought beside Duke Valent on the battlefield!
Of course, if the knights stepped in, public safety would improve—but the problem was that residents might think the knights themselves were causing unrest.
“But we can’t just let suspicious individuals roam free.”
“Sure. I’m not saying to let them go.”
It would be absurd to witness a crime and do nothing.
“You just need to deal with them quietly, away from prying eyes.”
└ [Rose’s method of “quietly dealing with” things lol]
└ [Did she learn this from Trotnessa or what lololol]
└ [A village where criminals vanish without a trace is more terrifying]
└ [But the villagers don’t know that, right?]
I mean, “deal with” doesn’t necessarily mean kill them, okay? Just quietly hand them over to the town watch.
The knights looked at me, as if asking, “Is that really necessary?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to make an example out of them, to keep others from doing the same?”
“If they’re really bad people, they’ll just hide even more and act sneakier. That makes them harder to catch.”
From what I saw today, they even shared info among themselves in the back alleys.
The knights murmured, this seeming to be a new perspective for them.
“Right, that soldier who was stealing weapons ran for his life. He knew what would happen if he got caught.”
“And the roads are so well-connected here, it’d be easy to escape.”
They were quick to understand when applying it to real scenarios, like Damian would.
“Yes! Besides, the town watch needs work to do too. If you see someone bad, rough them up a little and send them to the watch.”
The knights nodded, finally seeming convinced.
I didn’t know how rough their “roughing up” would be… but that wasn’t really my problem.
Damian’s entrance into the academy was just around the corner.
The academy wasn’t close enough to visit daily, and students were expected to live in dorms.
Recently, Damian and the servants had been busy preparing the luggage he would take with him.
└ [Damian is so cute. Can we see more of him?]
└ [Why is the FL always getting separated from all the boy characters… Leon, Edin, Damian…]
└ [Don’t forget Jeff (sneaks in)]
└ [Is it the power of being forever single?]
What “single energy”…?
Anyway, even with dorms, students weren’t completely locked in. They could go out after class or on weekends.
Although I’d heard there were restrictions during the first month.
After the Grandmaster’s swordsmanship class, I asked Damian while he was resting:
“Damian, once you enter the academy, when will I be able to see you again?”
“Hmm. There’ll be a test after entrance, then class assignments… There’s a visitation day about a month later.”
At the entrance ceremony, only a few attendants are allowed. No other companions.
The academy had strict rules because it wanted to stay purely an educational institution.
If parents showed up on day one telling their kids, “Be friends with that family, avoid that one,” the atmosphere would be ruined.
‘It would just become a battleground for adult rivalries using their kids.’
That’s why the first month is a period of adjustment, where students live and interact only with each other.
After that, there’s a visitation day to signify the students’ official membership in the academy, and from then on, outings become more flexible.
└ [Parent visitation? No way Rose would miss that lol]
└ [Didn’t Rose attend the academy before the regression?]
Most noble daughters didn’t attend unless they were serious about academics. Very few girls inherited the family or business.
Typically, they’d learn etiquette and culture from a tutor at home, then take “bride classes” when they were older.
└ [This world sucks for women]
└ [Didn’t Rose study a lot though?]
That’s because… I did whatever I could to stay useful in the Count’s household.
That brought back unpleasant memories. But since I was thinking about it, I decided to ask Damian something.
“I have a personal favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“When you take the entrance exam… could you try your absolute hardest and get the best grades possible?”
└ [Excuse me????]
└ [This is like asking your son for a small favor like getting into med school]
└ [It’s not that he can’t, he just won’t TT]
Studying hard is a student’s duty, yes…
‘It’s not like the young duke failing his exams will ruin his future. Besides, Damian is more interested in swordsmanship.’
So honestly, it’s fine even if he’s not great at studying.
That’s why this really was a personal favor.
Because… Count Toruto’s son, Gerold Toruto, is also entering the academy this year.
