Chapter 8
Yet Roana was different from all of them.
Unbelievable as it seemed, Cheres found himself forced to admit that the others had a point.
Especially as he looked at the bright smile on Roana’s face.
“I don’t even know who should be thanking whom.”
“I’m truly relieved that you’ve agreed to take care of Hayden.”
“At least for a while, I’ll be able to put my mind at ease.”
He paused before continuing.
“And… I have one more favor to ask.”
“Just tell me what it is.”
Roana clenched her fist and answered sincerely.
Becoming someone House Beredan truly needed…
There was nothing she could welcome more.
Her heart beat rapidly with anticipation.
Cheres, on the other hand, struggled to get the words out.
This request truly felt shameless.
“…I’d like you, as the Duchess, to meet with Countess Yotley.”
“Countess… Yotley?”
“Yes.”
“She’s the one who recommended the nanny.”
“She also helped forge her employment records and covered for her while they embezzled money together.”
Roana swallowed hard.
She knew exactly who Countess Yotley was.
In the original novel, after driving out the head maid and the head steward, Countess Yotley gradually took control of the entire castle.
Using her status, she tormented Hayden while slowly ruining House Beredan from within.
With the money she siphoned away, she bought a magnificent mansion and a luxurious villa.
She had even financed businesses for her sons.
Wait…
The nanny was connected to all of that?
Roana took a deep breath.
She had tried her best not to interfere with the original story…
But it looked like she’d already derailed it completely.
She had removed one of the early villains of the novel by cutting off Countess Yotley’s right hand.
And she had rescued Hayden from that monster’s grasp.
Is this really okay?
Her sense of justice seemed to have caused a much bigger change than she’d expected.
It honestly made her a little nervous.
Maybe nothing will happen immediately…
But what about six months from now?
Who’s supposed to be taking care of Hayden then?
Roana bit her lip.
This mansion is supposed to become infested with traitors.
The loyal servants would either leave…
Or die.
Only the flatterers and schemers would remain.
And eventually…
Cheres himself would die.
No one could predict what effect the changes she had caused would have on Hayden’s future.
“Why do you look so troubled?”
“Do you know something about Countess Yotley?”
“Or…”
“Do you happen to have some connection with her?”
A trace of suspicion appeared in Cheres’s eyes.
Roana had never believed she had earned Cheres’s unconditional trust.
Not after everything House Hezest had done.
And although Cheres didn’t know it yet…
She let out a silent sigh.
House Hezest really deserves to burn.
Still…
That truth would reveal itself eventually.
Right now, surviving the current crisis came first.
Roana answered honestly and without hesitation.
“No.”
“I simply think she’s a terrible person.”
“If you accepted her recommendation for Hayden’s nanny…”
“That means you trusted her.”
Cheres stared at her, momentarily speechless.
He had never imagined she would respond like that.
“…”
“It makes me sad.”
“You and Hayden never deserved to go through something like this.”
“You trusted her…”
“And she repaid that trust with betrayal.”
“How can anyone do something like that?”
Roana clicked her tongue, genuinely upset.
Those words came from the bottom of her heart.
The roots of that betrayal ran even deeper than she’d imagined.
In the original novel…
The nanny probably had never been dismissed.
That would explain how Countess Yotley eventually gained complete control of the castle.
The nanny would have continued neglecting and abusing Hayden throughout his childhood.
There was a reason Hayden had grown into someone who doubted the entire world and trusted no one.
This is exactly why a child’s environment matters.
Now I’m confused.
Did I do the right thing… or did I make everything worse?
While Roana wrestled with those thoughts…
Cheres found himself thinking about something entirely different.
She said she’s sad…
He had never viewed it that way.
Instead…
He had only blamed himself for being foolish enough to trust such people.
Just because they had once been loyal to his father and elder brother…
Didn’t mean they would remain loyal to him.
To them…
He was still nothing more than an inexperienced young master.
That realization had infuriated him.
He had believed he was doing his best…
Only to conclude that he simply wasn’t good enough.
But Roana…
She merely said she felt sorry for him.
Neither Mrs. Urein…
Nor Bogus…
Nor Oliver…
Had managed to comfort him.
Yet somehow…
Roana’s words did.
Perhaps it was because of the expression on her face.
Or perhaps because she had no deep ties to House Beredan and could speak as an impartial outsider.
“…Thank you.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Cheres spoke quietly, revealing his honest feelings.
“…It must have been incredibly painful.”
“No matter how well you treated people like that…”
“They would have betrayed you eventually.”
“Because what they truly wanted…”
“…was something you could never give them.”
Roana’s face was filled with sincere sympathy.
For the first time…
Cheres began to see her differently.
The prejudice he had always held against House Hezest seemed to peel away from Roana little by little.
It felt as though he were finally catching a glimpse of the genuine person hidden beneath that name.
“If I can be of any help…”
“I’ll truly be happy, Cheres.”
Just what kind of woman is she?
“I’ll do everything I can for Hayden.”
She didn’t boast.
She didn’t insist everyone should trust her.
She didn’t claim she was right.
Instead…
She simply promised to do her best.
Why did those simple words inspire far more confidence?
Had Roana always been someone so cautious and sincere?
The more he learned about her…
The more confused Cheres became.
* * *
From that very evening…
Hayden officially became my responsibility.
Well…
I was the one who volunteered.
“Mama!”
Yep.
He’s definitely convinced I’m food.
Standing proudly inside his little wooden crib, he waved both arms excitedly at me with a huge smile.
His two tiny lower teeth and two little upper teeth peeked out adorably.
“Alright.”
“Let’s eat.”
“I know you’re hungry.”
Earlier, I’d asked one of the maids to help me prepare a new baby food recipe.
I based it on what my nephew used to eat.
Once babies turned one year old, they usually started transitioning toward regular meals.
If Hayden had been eating nothing but that awful flour-and-sugar porridge all this time…
Then we’d have to introduce proper food little by little.
My brother and sister-in-law might have been terrible people…
But my nephew had been absolutely adorable.
Maybe because I’d helped raise him…
He had always listened to me so well.
There wasn’t much I missed from my previous life.
But…
I did miss my nephew a little.
Looking at this little cutie only made that feeling stronger.
Anyway…
Some babies weren’t used to rougher textures.
That’s why baby food had to be introduced gradually in stages.
That flour soup Hayden had been eating…
It was practically no different from drinking water.
“Little Bright Eyes…”
“Say ‘Ah.'”
Hayden copied me immediately, opening his mouth like a baby bird.
I gently slipped a spoonful of baby food into his tiny mouth.
It was made from ground beef, carrots, broccoli, and rice.
I didn’t know what kind of baby food existed in this world.
Fortunately, all the ingredients I remembered were available.
“Ah!”
Hayden clutched the crib railing with both tiny hands as his eyes sparkled.
“Well?”
“Do you like it?”
“Nya! Mama!”
Gripping the railing with maple-leaf-sized hands, he shuffled toward me on his short little legs.
Looks like he likes it.
That makes feeding him worthwhile.
“Good boy, Hayden.”
“Want another bite?”
“Mmm!”
You adorable little thing.
Eat as much as you want.
I’ll make even more for you.
Babies really were the cutest, most harmless creatures in existence.
Anyone who mistreated a child like this…
Was practically a psychopath.
How could anyone possibly do such a thing?
Hayden happily finished every last spoonful of his meal.
After gently rubbing his now-round little belly…
I wiped away the food he’d smeared all over himself.
As I softly stroked his plump baby cheeks…
My own heart seemed to melt.
Ah…
They’re so unbelievably soft.
