Chapter 06
Is This a Childcare Story?
As they passed through the gate, the scenery of the villa—previously hidden behind a tall wall—came into view.
Even before entering the building, the garden that surrounded it was so beautiful that it drew a gasp of admiration.
“Wow! This place feels like a whole other world! Just like the stories Mom used to tell me.”
It looked as though someone had taken a forest and a lake and scaled them down to fit in the yard.
It was so magical that if you leaned close to the rose vines, it felt like a fairy might pop out at any moment with a little brrring!
“Hmph, is it really that great? I mean, I guess…”
Though he trailed off, Istin had to fight the corners of his mouth from lifting in a smile.
Get a grip. What are you, trying to show off now?
Just seeing Miela’s reaction made his shoulders rise involuntarily. Her brown eyes, which moments ago looked dull like chestnut shells, now sparkled like they held the night sky. He had never met anyone who showed their emotions so clearly and honestly.
If only I could show her the estate back home. That would really impress her.
She was just a commoner girl he happened to meet while resting in a small town—someone he’d never even encounter in his usual life as a duke’s son.
So he knew he didn’t need to be sincere. And yet…
Why do I keep wanting to show her more?
The feeling was so unfamiliar that Istin faltered for a moment.
It’s because she’s just ridiculously naive, right? That’s all.
He tried to blame Miela instead. She knew so little about the world that it was simply fun to teach her things one by one.
Yeah. That’s all it is.
He brushed off his own emotions. Now that he had brought her inside the villa, he figured he’d feed her some freshly baked bread and send her on her way.
I should at least repay the person who saved my life, right?
Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered. But somehow, he didn’t even realize how strange that thought was.
The truth was, from the moment he met Miela, Istin had already started to change—just a little.
“Whoa, it’s so huge inside! The ceiling looks like the sky! Even if I jumped as high as I could with my arms stretched out, I’d never touch it.”
Miela, now inside the villa, let out another burst of awe.
It was so luxurious that her tiny, collapsing home couldn’t even be compared.
The place was big enough to hold the entire village. It made sense why the adults in town had always been so amazed and envious.
Even if I say I’ve been here, Meria will never believe me.
That thought suddenly crossed her mind. Meria was another girl around her age in the village.
She didn’t call her a friend—because Meria didn’t treat her like one.
“…”
Suddenly, Miela’s face clouded over as a recent painful memory surfaced.
“Ugh, you stink! Can’t you wash up sometimes?”
“S-Sorry. I did bathe by the stream yesterday… I just sweated a lot today.”
Miela had stammered, flustered, while Meria pinched her nose in disgust.
Meria’s parents ran the village grocery store. That day, Miela had spent all day helping them and had just gotten paid when she ran into Meria.
Meria, on the other hand, hadn’t lifted a finger to help—she’d been playing and laughing with the other kids outside the store.
“Oh right, didn’t you say you couldn’t afford soap? Yikes. Poor thing.”
That tilted head pretending to look concerned, the neatly laundered dress dried under the sun, the dirty, worn-out rags—there was such a clear difference between Meria and Miela.
I wish I could play with the other kids too.
As she had wiped sweat from her brow while organizing vegetables in baskets, Miela had peeked through the window and felt a pang of envy seeing Meria laughing with the others.
But she couldn’t bring herself to ask to join. The village kids never included her.
So that’s why they won’t play with me… because I smell.
Miela scratched her cheek in embarrassment as Meria’s words finally made sense.
“S-Sorry about the smell. I’ll start washing twice a day now!”
“Hmm, even if you wash twice or three times, I bet you’ll still stink! Ahaha!”
Meria had laughed like it was nothing, stabbing her with words sharper than any knife.
Even someone as oblivious and good-natured as Miela could sense the malice.
She had nothing to say. She honestly felt like crying.
But her mom had told her not to cry over things like this. Real protagonists push through even when they want to cry. So—
I won’t cry. I won’t. I’ll never let myself cry.
Miela forced her eyes wide open, letting the wind dry the tears welling up in them.
Why am I suddenly remembering that now?
Back in the present, standing inside the lavish villa, Miela glanced around nervously.
She couldn’t help but wonder—was Titi looking at her with the same expression Meria had worn?
“Um, Titi?”
Istin looked up, sensing something strange in Miela’s suddenly timid voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, I’m not sure if I should ask this but… Do I smell?”
“…What?”
“I mean, this place smells really nice. But I’m so dirty, I feel like I’m ruining the atmosphere. I bet the young master you serve would hate that too…”
“…Ha.”
Now he understood why her face had darkened. Istin couldn’t help but chuckle at Miela’s worry.
This girl… she really was strange in the most unexpected ways.
“That’s a funny thing to say. If you were so worried about that, maybe you shouldn’t have come inside in the first place?”
Miela took the joke literally and jumped in alarm.
“Ah! Should I leave right now? Before the young master finds out and gets mad?”
She looked like she might really bolt out the door, so Istin quickly grabbed her hand.
“No, you can’t go. Sorry, but it’s already too late, Miela.”
“W-What do you mean?”
Her wide brown eyes blinked at him, and Istin’s green ones curved in amusement.
“The young master of this villa, you see, never sends guests away—no matter how smelly or scruffy they are.”
Of course, there had never been any such rule. He’d just made it up.
Still, Miela looked quite shocked.
“So I really am smelly and scruffy?!”
“Hmm. Want me to be honest?”
“Y-Yeah! …Wait, what are you doing?!”
As she nodded vigorously, she suddenly felt a faint breath on the back of her hand—and flinched.
Titi was sniffing her hand like a village puppy! Then he gave a casual shrug, as if it was nothing.
“Hard to say. I don’t think you smell bad.”
“…!”
“If anything, you smell like flowers. Same scent I noticed near your house earlier.”
“O-Oh, really? Maybe because I made a flower ring with wildflowers earlier…”
She had never expected him to say she smelled like flowers.
Her chest felt strangely fluttery, and she couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Titi. Miela turned her head and tried to change the subject.
Istin, meanwhile, delivered a blunt truth. He liked to give the medicine before the poison—unusual, since he usually did it the other way around.
“But to be fair, even if you don’t smell, you still look dirty.”
“…!”
Her brown eyes wavered at his unfiltered comment.
Only then did Istin realize she might have been hurt by his words, and he scrambled to fix it.
“Actually, the young master of this villa hates dirty things. But if something’s cute—even if it’s messy—he’s willing to make exceptions.”
“Then… that means he wouldn’t make an exception for me, right? I’ve never been called cute…”
“Well, who knows?”
Istin gave a short reply and clamped his mouth shut. He’d nearly blurted out:
You look plenty cute to me.
