I Am the Nanny of the Villain

Claude jumped up and screamed with excitement.

   “Really!?”
   “Shh, Claude-nim, quiet……!”
   “Really, really, really? With Father……!”

Sarah tried to dissuade and soothe him in a hurry, but Claude’s voice, as excited as he could be, could not diminish. It was the first time that the child’s voice had grown this loud while she was serving as Claude’s nanny in Ambrosia. May cautiously opened the door and entered with a knocking sound as if she had heard Claude’s excited voice from outside.

“Is there something wrong?”
“……!”

Sarah hastily shut Claude’s mouth. Claude, too, only then realized that he had been shouting too loudly, and his eyes widened.

“We were talking about a secret.”

May looked at Sarah and Claude, smiling and awkwardly averting their eyes. It was only a few hours ago that the mansion turned upside down, and it felt like nothing had happened just because Sarah was there. Ambrosia’s servants also lay down their tired bodies and fell asleep, saying that they could sleep well just because Sarah was in the mansion.

“It’s good to talk, but you should go to bed now. It’s very late.”
“Yeah, I got it!”

Claude answered, gently lowering Sarah’s hand that covered his mouth. May looked at Claude’s grinning face and she didn’t think he would fall asleep soon, but she pretended not to know and closed the door and left. Even after May left, Claude quietly looked at the outside and asked secretly.

   “……Did she leave?”
   “Not yet.”
   “What about now?”
   “Um……, she’s far away.”

Sarah smiled at Claude, who stretched out his neck like a cute baby turtle. Claude jumped back into Sarah’s arms.

“Hehe. It’s so good.”

How anxious he had been. Looking at the aristocrats talking about Sarah at the party, Claude could not shake off his anxiety that she would one day be taken away.

   ‘The young and beautiful Countess Millen need not be tied to Young Lord Ambrosia.’
   ‘It’s not long before Countess Millen stops being a nanny, isn’t it?’
   ‘Ah ah, I can’t wait for that day. What kind of partner will Countess Millen meet?’

Claude clearly remembered the tongue-clicking voice as if it was regrettable. It was the nobles who hid their smirks and sneers while looking at them in pity. Those who coveted Sarah and tried to establish connections with her by using their own sons and younger brothers. Claude, thinking of such nobles, chuckled, very much like Sarah laughed.

‘In your faces, you idiot adults. Nanny is now mine and my father’s.’

He wanted to laugh and sneer at the faces of the nobles right away.

“Claude-nim, are you okay with it?”
“Yes! I like it! Very very love it.”

Claude liked it, even doing the shoulder dance. Sarah, who was nervous that Claude would reject her, drooped her shoulders as she was relaxed.

   “I told you that before. Actually, I want Nanny to be my mother.”
   “That’s what happened.”
   “So I really like it. If Nanny marries Father, I’ll be Nanny’s real baby.”
   “Even now, Claude-nim is my baby-nim.”
   “No, it’s wrong.”

At Sarah’s words, Claude stiffened his smiling face with a serious look.

“Um?”
“It’s definitely wrong. Nanny being my nanny is different from Nanny being my mother.”

Seeing Claude pretending to be serious with a cute face with plump cheeks, Sarah finally smiled and nodded.

“Okay, then let’s be a little more special.”
“Yeah!”

When Sarah nodded, Claude smiled again with a relieved face. Sarah’s worried voice fell over Claude’s head as he was held in her arms again.

“But what if Duke-nim doesn’t like me?”
“……Huh?”

What kind of nonsense is this?
Claude raised his head puzzled and looked at Sarah’s face. He wondered if she was joking, but surprisingly, Sarah’s face was very serious.

   “Are you worried that Father won’t like you?”
   “Yes.”
   “Why?”
   “Why…… because, of course, I’m worried?”

Sarah and Claude looked at each other and tilted their heads. They didn’t understand each other. Claude opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

‘Why are you worrying about such useless things?’

Claude, who instinctively noticed that the two were thinking of each other, couldn’t understand Sarah’s concerns.

‘How frightening Duke-nim is, the reason he’s kind to me may be because I’m so useful.’

Ethan Ambrosia was a man who did anything he could to get what he wanted. It was Sarah who watched it the closest. Sarah, who has the power Ethan needed the most, must be acquired somehow. Therefore, Sarah’s misunderstanding had already deepened.

“……?”
“……?”

There was no way two people with different thoughts could understand each other. A deep silence fell between Sarah and Claude.

* * *

Belluna peeped toward Claude’s room and asked cautiously.

   “……Is Claude-nim asleep?”
   “Yes, he fell asleep quickly because he went through a lot today.”
   “He must have been tired.”
   “I know.”

Benjamin, who was silently watching Sarah and Belluna as they nodded and talked, interrupted with a blunt voice.

   “I had it the hardest.”
   “Of course you do, Benjamin. It’s all thanks to you that Claude-nim is safe.”
   “……Yes.”

When Sarah smiled and praised him, Benjamin smiled lightly and lowered his eyes. Belluna secretly glared at the sight of him being openly satisfied.

‘Anyway, you only act like a full-fledged beast in front of Master.’

In fact, the repair of the Ambrosia mansion was done by Belluna. This was because Benjamin was a magician who specialized in combat magic and was not of any help. It was also Belluna who handled hallucination magic installed throughout the mansion while taking care of all Ambrosia’s servants and knights. However, Benjamin, who only protected Claude and the Third Prince’s family, was acting so shamelessly in front of their master.

‘Sometimes he’s more cheeky than Oliven.’

Benjamin glanced up and looked at Belluna as if he felt Belluna’s fierce gaze.

“What. Why.”
“……Nothing.”

Looking at Benjamin shamelessly asking back, Belluna eventually shook her head with a sigh. Then, looking at Sarah, she hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth.

“Master.”

   “Yeah?”
   “Oliven, is he dead?”
   “……”

At Belluna’s question, Sarah kept her mouth shut for a moment. Seeing her master’s silent appearance, Belluna clenched her fists as if she had sensed something, and then turned her head away.

“That crazy guy ended up……”
“He should be glad he’s in Master’s hands.”

Benjamin’s voice could not hide his bitterness, but he responded coldly on purpose. However, like Belluna, his clenched fists were so tight that blood could be spilled.

   “What’s so pretty about a guy who did it right when he stained Master’s name? Never mind, Belluna.”
   “When did I say I cared?”
   “You’re doing it now.”
   “I’m not.”
   “You are.”
   “I said It’s not that.”

Belluna and Benjamin quarreled for no reason. Sarah, who smiled faintly at their figures, shook her head and said.

“Oliven is here.”

She flicked her hand and a black jewel appeared in the air, scattering a subtle light.

“……This?”
“It’s a condensed version of the black magic that was extracted from Oliven.”

At Sarah’s words, Benjamin and Belluna looked at the black jewel with puzzled faces. It was surprising that she had black magic condensed, but how did Oliven get here?

“It’s the perfect vessel for that child’s tainted soul.”
“How, how is that……”

Belluna stuttered in disbelief, looking at the black jewel and Sarah alternately. The magic of extracting one’s soul and sealing it in the magic stone was known in theory, but it was difficult to practice. It was because it was like the realm of God.

“Did you forget? In matters related to the soul, I am the best in the magic tower.”

Sarah smiled brightly as she looked at Belluna’s pupils shaking in disbelief. She was Sarah, who lived across dimensions with two souls. There would be no magician who was as interested in this field as she was and had actually tried and learned magic experiments on their own bodies.

   “That’s true, but without any preparation……”
   “It’s possible because it’s me.”
   “Yes, that’s right, though.”

“You can do it too if you try.”
“……Ah no.”

Belluna shook her head as if tired. She had always known the greatness of her master, but she felt a new realization.

   “So Oliven’s soul is sealed there?”
   “Yeah. He can’t wake up until I allow it.”
   “Then the body……”
   “I kept it well.”
   “Right.”

Benjamin then nodded with a slightly relaxed face. He felt like a part of his heavy heart was lighter.

“He deserves that to pay for what he had done. I think it was an appropriate treatment.”

At Benjamin’s harsh evaluation, the black jewel floating in the air seemed to tremble.

   “But it can’t be kept here forever, isn’t it?”
   “I know. So there’s a place I need to take this guy to……”
   “Where do you talking about?”

Sarah quietly looked into Belluna and Benjamin’s eyes and said.

   “Where my other soul lives.”
   “……!”
   “……!”

Belluna and Benjamin stared at each other with their eyes wide open and soon looked at Sarah again.

   “Didn’t you say you couldn’t go back?”
   “Right. But I found a way to get there for a while.”
   “How?”

A bitter smile lingered on Sarah’s lips for a moment at Belluna’s question and then disappeared. Benjamin, feeling somewhat anxious at the sight, narrowed his brows and stood up.

“Master, don’t tell me.”
“……That’s right.”

Sarah shook her head as if she had no choice in front of the disciples who had turned pale.

“Guess I’ll have to sleep a little longer.”