§ Chapter 8 §
I pressed my lips together to hold back my tears at Dietrich’s question. Still, the sad tears kept welling up.
“Why are you crying?”
“…Hiiing.”
“Is it because I didn’t give this to you?”
“By…bye…”
It wasn’t that.
Or… maybe, in a way, it kind of was.
Dietrich looked down at me as the silent tears rolled down my cheeks, letting out a surprisingly deep sigh for someone his age.
“Hah…”
Then, he took a bottle from my arms and opened it.
I swallowed and watched him carefully.
Glug glug.
Perhaps because he was a “future villain,” he drank the milk briskly and without fuss.
“All done?”
The bottle, which usually took me over ten minutes to finish, was emptied by Dietrich in a single go. There was a bit of milk on the opening, but he didn’t seem to care.
‘What a manly… no, what a manly child!’
“Tastes pretty good.”
“Byebye!” (See? I was right!)
I told him it would be fine if he tried it, so there was no need to be stubborn.
I hugged the now-empty bottle Dietrich had finished and smiled brightly. I’d have to bring it to him again next time.
If I brought him plenty of bottles, maybe someday he’d like me.
“Kkuung-cha!”
Once again today, I set out to find Dietrich with a half-finished bottle in hand.
‘Does he even realize how much trouble I go through to deliver milk?’ It had been a month since I started the long daily journey just to give milk to Dietrich. I remembered back in my past life, when I was in elementary school, how a basket of milk would hang at the front door every morning.
‘I should have at least thanked the delivery person back then.’
But truthfully, I had never actually drunk the milk delivered to our house. Mom would order two bottles, one for my brother and one for my sister.
‘If you do well at school, I’ll order milk for you too.’
Mom had said that if I whined about wanting milk. But I had never been first in class, not even once, so naturally, I never got to drink the milk my older siblings had.
‘In that sense, Lancel might’ve been better.’
I remembered Lancel scolding me for drinking so much milk lately. Still, he hadn’t let me skip meals recently.
“Wow, to drink this expensive milk so much!”
Babies are usually cute when chubby, but I was being scolded for only bringing milk.
Thinking of his sharp voice, my gratitude suddenly faded.
‘Tch, Dietrich and Lancel both.’ Dietrich always knew I came to him every day but never sought me out first.
It would’ve been much faster for him to walk to my room than for me, a baby, to go to the garden.
“Byebye!!!” (Rude kids!)
I slammed my palm on the floor in frustration.
“Eppi, eppi!”
‘Ah! My milk!’
The bottle I had in my bag peeked out as my body jolted. I froze, startled by the cap of the bottle visible under my chin.
‘It can’t fall.’
I thought of the poor milk I had dropped on the grass before and carefully cradled the bottle.
“Byebye…”
‘My precious milk…’
I hugged it tightly, the sweet smell rising.
Because milk often leaked when just tossed into clothes, I tied a handkerchief Lancel had left in the room around my back like an old-school backpack.
Sliding the bottle inside, I had the perfect outfit for my “Feed Dietrich Milk Operation.” Before leaving the room, I approached the drawer where Lancel often left small items.
‘Wow, he’s already this careless.’
Pleased with his rapid growth, I started hopping in front of the drawer.
As I waved my hands, round biscuits and jam cookies, apparently left over by Lancel, fell. Lancel, a very careless servant, often snacked while feeding me and left treats behind.
‘Even if they fall on the ground, picking them up within three seconds is fine.’
I picked up the cookies, brushed off the dust, and put them in my bag.
‘Shall I go now?’ I stepped into the corridor—no one was around. At first, sneaking out without Lancel noticing was scary, but now the chances of being caught were nearly zero.
‘A palace with only a one-year-old and a six-year-old left so unattended!’
I had only met Derek once, but he was clearly a terrible person.
‘Yurik Legrange must be living a luxurious palace life.’ Unlike Dietrich, Yurik had a strong backer, Liatrices, in the background. Later, he would surely become one of Dietrich’s subordinates.
‘But for now, he seems more like a rival.’
As I crawled, remembering Yurik rooted like a vegetable in the ground, two pale legs blocked my path.
“You, are you that baby?”
The owner of the thin legs was Yurik.
‘Huh? He doesn’t even live here. What’s he doing?’
I widened my eyes to check his face. His reddish hair and rare blue eyes from Legrange confirmed it—he was definitely Yurik.
He looked like a child actor who would have been famous in the modern era, but having gotten used to Dietrich, I felt no particular excitement.
“You say you’re Dietrich’s little brother?”
“Byebye!!!”
I struggled to escape Yurik’s grasp, my dangling feet flailing.
“Where are you carrying this load?”
“Byebye!!!” (Let go!)
I had to be careful. Yurik wasn’t on good terms with Dietrich, so he was likely hostile toward me. Indeed, his aura, while not completely red, radiated a hint of danger.
“Is it okay for a baby to wander alone like this?”
He muttered to himself and tucked me under his arm.
“I’ll use you as a hostage to pressure that guy.”
“Byebye?”
I laughed at Yurik’s ambitious plan. There was no way I’d work as a hostage against Dietrich. Useless effort.
‘Well, it’s easier to just go along like this to Dietrich.’
I relaxed and stopped struggling. Letting my body hang comfortably in his arms, I looked up at his surprised face.
“What? Aren’t you scared of me?”
“Bba.” (Hmph.)
After facing kids who tried to kill me with Dietrich, Yurik was nothing to fear. Upon closer look, his aura, though reddish, wasn’t truly dangerous.
At least, he had no intent to harm me. I smiled brightly at Yurik, who was staring at me in confusion.
“Kyaa!”
I clapped my hands, showing that I was enjoying dangling in the air. His beautiful blue eyes wavered.
‘I’m cute!’
Seeing my reflection, I decided to actively use my charm—or even my “love strategy.” It’s embarrassing to say, but I’m not usually cute. Even Lancel, whose hostile aura was suffocating, had patted my head because of my cuteness.
‘Of course, purifying the aura helped too.’
“Hmph. Strange baby.”
Yurik judged quickly like Dietrich and moved along. Since we’d eventually be on the same side, it couldn’t hurt to make a good impression now. I pulled a cookie from my bag and offered it to him.
“Huh?”
Yurik looked even more startled than before. His ears were turning slightly red.
‘Does he really like cookies that much?’ He was thrilled over cookie crumbs left by a servant. Though he didn’t show it much, I could see his fluctuating aura turning yellow.
“Byebye.”
“Th-thank you.”
Yurik seemed much more like a child than Dietrich. He puckered his lips and grabbed the cookie I offered. His chewing was so cute I giggled—but then he suddenly spat the cookie out into the corridor.
“Byebye!”
My precious cookie!
Why would he throw away a cookie he was eating? I glared, but he suddenly tossed me to the ground.
“Is this poisoned?!”
“Byebye?” (Why would you suspect that?)
“It’s poisoned! Otherwise, you wouldn’t give me a cookie! You’re Dietrich’s sibling!”
How bleakly does this kid see the world?
‘Has this kid only been deceived all his life?’
I let out a helpless laugh and pulled another cookie from my bag, popping it into my mouth.
I just wanted to show him it wasn’t poisoned, but now I hesitated a bit.
‘Can a baby even eat cookies?’
I’d never raised a baby, so I didn’t know when to start solid foods. Still, I had only been drinking the milk Lancel gave me.
“Gah! Eating a poisoned cookie!”
“Byebye?!” (It’s not poisoned!)
“Spit it out, quickly!”
I chewed the cookie nonchalantly while Yurik stared, pale as snow.
“Yum.”
