Chapter 3: This is an 8 year old girl who ‘cried’!

“H, hey, let go..!”

“Mmm.. Did the young lady wake up?”

“Let go of my arm!!”

“Ah.. Were you uncomfortable?”

Oh… When did I fall asleep.

I must have dozed off for a moment while holding the warm young lady.

“Oh, that was the plan from the beginning!”

“Yes? What plan?”

“I, I’m…!”

“I won’t hug you~”

“Don’t!”

Oh, she broke free.

The young lady is very angry, or maybe she’s pouting, or just sulking; anyway, she glares.

…She’s cute.

“…Get out of my house right now!”

“Hiccup, I’ll be eaten by a bear.”

“…Th, that…”

“Please allow me to stay in the house so that I won’t be eaten by a bear, Young Lady!”

“…Ah, you said that earlier too..!”

“Hiccup.”

“Oh, okay. Okay, so don’t cry.”

“Wow! Really?!”

“…Sigh.”

“Our young lady is the best! Thank you so much!”

“Oh, if you understand, then sleep, and don’t come near me. Got it?”

“Uh… I’ll try my best!”

“Not try..! Th, this is not it…”

I’ll have to try to win the young lady’s heart quickly.

“Young Lady, if you don’t mind, may I take a tour of the castle to see what rooms there are? I’m not familiar with it yet.”

“Wh..at..? Well, I can’t help it. Follow me, I’ll give you a special tour!”

“Yes, thank you~~”

If I were to describe the young lady’s current state, she is in a state of extreme anxiety, resignation, and abandonment, and after several failures, she has completely cut off interaction with others.

Born with albinism, hearing bad things from everyone, coming to this castle at the young age of 4, and the servants who came with her all feared the young lady, creating a kind of vicious cycle, if you will.

Everyone hurts me, so stay away from me!! That’s what she’s saying.

So, first of all, I need to use my experience as a former maid, ‘Mana’…

It’s ironic, but the young lady’s actions are actually very cute.

How cute she is on the outside!

If they just had a little more time, wouldn’t they think they could have treated the young lady, who will become a frontier count, a little better when she was young?

“Be careful of the stairs, there’s a handrail next to you.”

“Thank you, young lady.”

I follow the friendly young lady and get a tour of the mansion.

Actually, there’s not much difference from what I investigated in the morning.

“This is the bedroom on the 1st floor!”

“Oh, I see!”

“Sigh, there are many rooms like this on the 1st floor! Guests who come to our house usually sleep here!”

“Wow~ It’s really cool!”

Who would give up the chance to talk even a little with such a cute young lady~

Just look, the way the 8 year old puffs up with pride, being able to share what she knows!

Ah, she’s too cute. Our young lady…

“This is the kitchen. There are many dangerous tools here, so be careful, alright?”

“Yes! I understand!”

“Hehe, good. Then, let’s go to the second floor now…”

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I followed behind the excited young lady and received a tour of the mansion.

“Um.. And… And…”

“Young lady! I have a question!”

“Wh, what is it?”

“How do you usually spend your time at home! I am so very curious about the young lady’s life!”

“M..me..? Um… Um… I usually read books!”

“Wow, really? That’s so cool! Would you like to go read a book with me?”

“..!. Ah, no… not now… I, later…”

Children are so capable of lying so easily to satisfy their desires.

“Then, shall we go later, Young Lady?”

“U, um! Ok! Later, I will read you a very thick book!”

“Gasp… I might fall asleep then!”

“Really? Or…”

Hmm?

The Young Lady seems to be hesitating about saying something.

Then, as her maid.

I carefully kneel in front of the young lady and meet her eyes.

“Is there anything you need, Young Lady?”

A bright, light smile doubles the effectiveness.

“So… you, you are a maid, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am the young lady’s personal maid.”

“…What’s your name?”

“Yes?”

“Na, name…”

Name..!

“You were going to call me by my name, Young Lady?!”

“Of, of course… you, you said you have nowhere to go other than our house.”

Oh… so cute…

She’s so cute I want to bite her…

Our Young Lady must have been hurt a lot, but she’s growing up without being twisted at all!

“My name is Mana, Young Lady. Ma, na.”

“Mana..?”

“Yes, it’s a common name, isn’t it?”

“Mana… Mana…”

The Young Lady repeats my name about 10 times while folding each of her small fingers one by one.

“Mana.”

“Yes, I am Mana, young lady!”

“…do you know my name?”

“…If it wouldn’t be too rude, would you tell me young lady’s last name too?”

“Cieli, Cieli-Rilly-Nile.”

“What a lovely name. Lady Cieli.”

Oh, she bit her lip.

“Mana.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“…You can leave whenever you want.”

“Yes?”

“That’s what I said. There won’t be anything good if you stay here for long.”

Young Lady…

The Young Lady’s face doesn’t look bright at all.

She is saying that she can leave at any time.

And that it is okay.

She is telling herself that.

“Young Lady, do you perhaps know how to make a promise?”

“A promise?”

“Yes, originally, great heroes made promises by pledging their hearts, and nobles and mages learned from them. Nowadays, even commoners or non-mages do it.

Like this, with the pinky and the thumb.. Yes, that’s right. And by pressing the thumbs together, you absolutely cannot tell lies.”

The Young Lady’s small hand.

…Small and cold hand.

“Young Lady, am I right? I will never leave the Young Lady until she becomes an adult. Of course, I might leave for a few hours or a few days. Promise. I will be by your side, young lady.”

“…Don’t lie.”

“It’s not a lie~ It’s true~ Young Lady~ You know? Whether I lie or not.”

Children are sensitive to the other person’s emotions.

Girls are even more sensitive.

They start to read the atmosphere from a young age, and especially girls in situations where they have to be aware of their surroundings, like the young lady,

are sometimes more sensitive to other people’s emotions, actions, and reactions than adults, and they are good at finding out information.

I guess you could call it intuition.

And most of them perceive the other person’s feelings and emotions through their eyes.

So I look straight at the young lady.

Even for a few minutes.

“Do I look like I’m lying?”

“…No.”

“Then.. Can I stay by your side, young lady?”

“…Are you really not going to leave?”

“Of course.”

“I.. I’m a witch, you know.”

“Who says so? Of course, since the young lady is of noble blood, she may become a wonderful mage later, but a witch and a mage are completely different beings. I’m sure the young lady won’t become a witch.”

“…I’m a vampire, you know?”

“Young lady, do you know that vampires hate garlic?”

“…”

“…Really?”

“Yes, they hate garlic, they hate crosses. They also hate silver. But I put garlic in the stew this morning, and I carry a cross like this? Did you dislike this morning or me?”

“…No.”

“Young lady is just a little different from others. There is no one in the world who is not different. It’s just that the young lady is a little more different than others.

So you don’t have to be discouraged by that. I don’t know who said those things to the young lady, but. As long as I’m your exclusive maid. I’ll scold anyone who says such things.”

“…”

Oh, oh…

“I’m sorry…”

“Yes? For what?”

“…”

‘…Yesterday, I’m sorry for pushing you down the stairs.”

The tip of the young lady’s nose turns red.

“You were hurt a lot… because of me…”

“…I wasn’t hurt that badly.”

“Liar.. You couldn’t move. I thought you were dead…”

“…I’m sorry for making you worry because I’m weak.”

“…I know it’s my fault.”

…See.

She’s such a cute and lovely 8-year-old.

What witch, what vampire.

Anyway, they’re all liars.

The young lady’s eyes glisten, and tears well up.

“Young Lady, then I’ll forgive you, so will you grant me one request?”

“…Request?”

“Yes, if you grant me just one, I’ll forgive you for pushing me yesterday.”

“What is it..?”

The young lady is very nervous.

…She must be thinking I’m going to give her a very scary punishment.

Hmm… It might be a pretty scary punishment for the young lady right now.

“Will you allow me to hold you, Young Lady?”

“…Huh?”

I open my arms to make a space for the young lady to come in.

“I want to hold the young lady.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, very tightly, I’ll hug you.”

Looking back at my memories from 4 years ago, the ones who held the young lady were me, the Madam, and the Count.

The others were curious or scared, so they were reluctant to hold her.

So… Shall I legally receive permission to hold the young lady after a long time, next to the Count and the Madam… I’m thinking?

The Young Lady stares at me blankly for a long time… and then hesitantly takes a step back.

“…”

“…”

She’s being cautious.

Can I trust this person?

After being hurt and in pain, she’s afraid of being hurt again if she trusts someone.

What I can do then.

Is to neither approach nor move away, but to stay still.

“…Mana.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

And showing my heart by looking her straight in the eyes.

After a few minutes, a very difficult time,

The Young Lady started to approach me little by little… little by little…

The Young Lady is indeed a wonderful person.

A person who knows how to be brave.

Little by little… little by little… The young lady’s face, which was getting closer, touched… my chest.

“May I hold you?”

“…Yes.”

Oh, dear.

I, a mere maid, made the young lady cry.

I hug the young lady tightly.

“Hic… Sob… Hueeee…!”

“It’s okay.”

“Heee, heeeeeeng..! Huaaaang…!”

“It’s alright.”

“Hiccup..! Uwaaaaang!!!”

I hug the young lady tightly, stroking the back of her head and patting her back.

“Mana…! I…! I…!”

“It’s okay, Young Lady.”

Of course, in the world, people call albinos witches and vampires.

Actually, there are witches and vampires in the world of this novel.

Since ancient times, albinos have been ostracized and ignored.

So, it is said that some albinos actually become witches or vampires.

…But even so, that is absolutely no reason for this small child to be hurt just because she is an albino.

At just 8 years old, how much has she accumulated? She’s crying in my arms as if the world is ending.

..She only cried like this when she was first born.

…

Do you know, young lady, I was the one who received you then too.

“It’s okay, young lady.”

“Ueeeeeng…! Uwaaaaang!! Heueuu…”

…I’m starting to tear up for no reason.

“I’ll be by your side from now on.”

“Really…! Really..!”

“Yes, even if the young lady kicks me out, I’ll be by your side.”

“Heuu! Heuu! Heuu! Heuu! Uwaaaaang…”

…I think I know why the Madam sent me.

Did she wait until I became an adult?

…She didn’t have to wait if that’s the case.

“I’m sorry for being late, Young Lady.”

“Nooo… Nooo..!”

The young lady grabs my waist tightly.

As if she will never let go.

…Such a fragile child.

“I will protect you by your side from now on.”

“Oooo…!”

Now I will protect you.