Chapter 6: Read a ‘book’ and have ‘lunch’ together!

It was already 8 a.m. after having breakfast with the young lady.

“Well, young lady, shall we go read a book together now?”

“Do you have any books you usually enjoy reading?”

“Uh… picture books.”

“Ah, that’s nice.”

“I think it would be great to play together while reading picture books.”

In the morning, we decide to conduct education together while reading books.

Actually, I already knew that the young lady couldn’t read.

Because writing is too difficult to learn alone without someone teaching you.

That’s why she was so passive when she had the chance to show off in the study at first.

So, of course, as a maid and tutor, I should teach her, but just doing the alphabet would be boring, and the young lady might feel bad if she found out that she didn’t know how to read, so I replace studying with reading like this.

“What picture books do you usually look at, young lady?”

“This one, this one, and this one!”

“Then shall we read them together?”

“Yes!”

The young lady is still a little awkward, but she doesn’t dislike sitting on my lap anymore.

It seems that having her sit on my lap while bathing yesterday was a big help.

Good. Then shall we read a few books for a while?

“Okay, then I’ll read.”

“Once upon a time.”

“Once…upon…a time…”

“A rabbit and a tortoise lived.”

“A rabbit…and…a tur…tle, lived…”

As I read, pointing to the words with my finger, the young lady also began to look at the letters and repeat the pronunciation I made.

Since Korean is easy to write and read, if she can quickly realize that the letters that look alike have similar pronunciations.

She’ll probably be able to master Korean in six months.

Because the young lady is a genius!

The young lady squirms, moves in my arms, and slowly reads the picture book.

“Tortoise! You walk slowly?”

“Tor, toise! You walk slowly..!”

“Young lady, you read well, too?”

“Of, course..! I’m good at everything!”

“I see~ That’s amazing!”

Pat pat on the head~

“…Do it more.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll do it as much as you want.”

“Ahem..!”

Ah, so cute.

I wonder if someone will snatch her away later because she’s so cute~

“Okay, then shall I continue reading?”

“Yes!”

Like that, sitting with the young lady, we read one book… two books…

“Mana, what’s a ‘sot’ (cauldron)?”

“Ah, we have small pots in our kitchen, right?”

“Yes.”

“A ‘sot’ is a very large pot.”

“It’s surprisingly expensive, so in ordinary households, mothers usually give it as a dowry gift when their daughters get married.”

“A very large pot?”

“Yes, probably… I don’t know about me, but it’s probably big enough for the young lady to fit in.”

“Of course, the sizes vary greatly.”

“…What does ‘cheonchamanyeol’ (great variety) mean?”

” ‘Cheonchamanyeol’ is…”

In between, I answer the young lady’s questions when she asks about words she doesn’t know while reading the book.

“Which book do you like the most, young lady?”

“Uh… storybooks!”

“Not information books.”

“Information books are boring.”

“Ah, stories are definitely more fun, right?”

“Yes!”

“I like fairy tales, too!”

“I see.”

“Mm-hmm, I like them too.”

“Really?”

“Of course~”

We ask each other about our favorite books and preferences, bring other books, and…

“And so, the prince and princess lived happily ever after.”

‘…What does it mean to live happily?’

“…Well, sometimes they fight and quarrel, but isn’t it about living while loving each other?”

“Gasp, they fight even though they love each other?”

“Why?”

“Even if they love each other, there are bound to be things they don’t agree on.”

“…What kind of things?”

“It’s probably over really trivial things.”

“For example, like whether you like potatoes or sweet potatoes more?”

“…I like sweet potatoes.”

“I like potatoes.”

“..I, I like potatoes more, too.”

“Pfft… You don’t have to change your preferences like that.”

“‘I like sweet potatoes more, but I can also eat potatoes’ is enough.”

“…I eat potatoes well!”

“I see~ The young lady is a wonderful child who doesn’t have any picky eating habits!”

“That’s right!”

After a little chat about life like this, it’s 10 o’clock.

Happy times fly by.

“Hnghhh… I don’t want to read books anymore.”

“We’ve already been reading for two hours.”

“Was it fun?”

“Yes.. It’s fun, but I’m a little tired…”

“Then shall we go take a rest?”

“Yes, I want to play with something else!”

Even if an 8-year-old child has changed books, she can concentrate on reading for two hours.

The young lady is indeed a genius.

“From now on, after breakfast, would you like to read books with me?”

“..Every day?”

“Ah, is it a bit too much every day?”

“N-No!”

“I like it!”

“Is Mana okay?”

“Don’t you have things to do?”

…Our young lady is so kind!

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Even if I look like this, I’m quick and efficient at handling things.”

“…So you’re saying it’s okay?”

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“Don’t worry.”

“That’s great!”

“Then.. from now on, we’ll sleep together, wake up together, wash together, eat together, and you’ll read books with me every day?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll do that every day!”

“Promise!”

The young lady extends her little finger and thumb as I taught her last time.

Ah… look at those fingers, they’re so tiny and cute…

“Yes, I promise!”

Squeeze~~~~

“I like Mana so much!”

“I like the young lady too~~~”

“Haaawwwnnn… Then… Now I want to play with something else…”

“If you’re too tired, you can sleep.”

“It’s good to sleep a lot when you’re young.”

“…Then can I sleep for a little while..?”

“Yes, I’ll take you to your room.”

“…”

I wonder if it’s because she has a habit of sleeping in the morning.

Well, it’s good for me because I have time to do housework.

I pick up the young lady and go to the bedroom.

…Haaaahhhhbbb…

“Sleep tight, young lady?”

“I’ll wake you up a little before lunch.”

“Yes… Thank you…”

Carefully.. carefully.. I lay her down.

“…Mana, aren’t you going?”

“I’ll leave after watching the young lady fall asleep.”

I sit next to the young lady, put my hand on her stomach, and gently stroke it.

“…Thank you, Mana.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m the young lady’s exclusive maid, after all.”

“…Still, thank you.”

Our young lady.. must have been very tired.

She falls asleep as soon as she lies down…

Have sweet dreams, young lady.”

Kiss.. I give a kiss on her forehead and carefully leave the room.

I hope she doesn’t have nightmares anymore.

“Okay… then shall I start doing the housework.”

Cleaning the house is the top priority.

The rotten wood needs to be replaced, the mossy stones need to be taken out and cleaned one by one, and the curtains on each window need to be washed at least once.

“…Time is gold.”

Even for an elite maid, it will take some time.

Let’s move quickly, busily!

After doing housework here and there, it’s already noon.

Now I should start preparing lunch.

…She’ll probably ask me to eat lunch together, too, right?

Sigh… It’s against etiquette, but I can’t help it.

Right now is the time when the young lady needs stability the most.

As they say, late learning is scary. She’s only just found someone she can trust at the age of 8, so she’ll want to be with me all the time.

…I wonder if this period will pass quickly.

Later on, she might even tell me not to come into her room.

…Thinking about it suddenly made me a little sad.

“I’m already being pathetic.”

“Let’s just hurry up and prepare lunch.”

I open the magic refrigerator and take out some ingredients.

Today’s lunch… shall I make it fish?

Come to think of it, I also need to buy groceries.

Hmm.. I guess there will be an opportunity soon?

I take out the fish, quickly debone it, finish preparing it, and coat it with flour and egg wash.

And fry it in oil at the right temperature…

In the meantime, prepare side dishes and sauce to eat with it, and it’s done.

Wonderful fried fish with a savory aroma and sides that comply with the Green Quarter system.

…This time, as the young lady said, I made my share too.

Good. Now all that’s left is to wake up the young lady!

I go up to the second floor, carefully open the door, and gently wake up the young lady who is sleeping soundly.

“Young lady, lunch is ready.”

“Wake up.”

“Hmmm..? Already..?”

“Yes, did you sleep well?”

“Haaaawwwwwnnn… Yes… I slept well…”

“Then let’s wash our faces together and go eat!”

“…”

This time, I don’t think she had a nightmare; I pick up the Young Lady as she gently rubs her eyes with her little hands, take her to the sink and wash her face.

“Pwah!” (Sound of washing face)

“Young lady, you are beautiful~”

“Well, even if you keep praising me like that, I have nothing to give you…”

“Hey, I can see the young lady’s smile, can’t I?”

“That’s enough for me.”

“…Ugh. Mana, you’re so sly.”

“How do you come up with such things to say.”

“When I look at the young lady, it just comes out naturally~”

“Really..?”

“Yes, when you see something pretty, pretty words come out.”“…Mana is pretty too.”

“Thank you~”

After lunch, I should start studying etiquette.

Hmm… It’s a little late, but if it’s the young lady, surely.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about what to play with the young lady after lunch.”

“We can play again?!”

“Of course.”

“Then with me.. uh…”

“I’ve prepared a lot of things to play with.”

“I want to do everything!”

“Yes, yes~ To do that, you need to have a hearty lunch first, right?”

“Yes!”

I go down to the dining room with the excited young lady.

“Sniff sniff..! It smells delicious!”

“I prepared fried fish.”

“I wonder if you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll like it!”

“Because it’s a dish made by Mana!”

…How can the young lady say such things so casually?

I seat the young lady at the head of the table, set the food, and sit right next to her.

“…Is it bread?”

“No, it’s called ‘twigim’ (fried food).”

“You can eat it using a fork and knife, like this…”

When I cut the fried fish in the middle, steam rises.

“Cut it well like this, dip it in this white cheese sauce, and… Ah, would you like to try?”

“Ah…”

This is another delicacy.

Munch munch, the young lady’s eyes widen as she chews the fried fish.

“It’s delicious..!”

“Right?”

“Now, try cutting and eating it yourself.”

“Yes!”

“Like this.. like this…”

The fish flesh is a little crushed, but the young lady managed to cut a piece of fried fish nicely.

“And dip it in the sauce!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Here!”

Ah?

“Mana, eat!”

“…Really. I told you it’s not allowed.”

I put the fried fish that the young lady offered into my mouth and chew.

The right amount of fish oil, no fishy smell at all, crispy batter, and soft and savory sauce.

…I made it myself, but I made it well.

“How is it? How is it?”

“…It tastes even better because the young lady gave it to me.”

“Then I’ll give you more!”

“Mana, give me some too!”

“Ahahaha… You shouldn’t do things that go against etiquette, young lady?”

“…Can’t we just do it when we’re alone?”

How can I say no when you look at me with those eyes…

“Okay…”

“Yay!”

Sigh… I feel like I’m gradually being swayed by the young lady.

“But in exchange, after eating, you have to play hard and study well, okay?”

“Yes! I got it!”

…I can’t help it then.

I cut the fried fish to fit the young lady’s mouth size and put it in her mouth.

“Ahm… It’s delicious…”

…Just watching the young lady eat makes me feel full because she’s so cute…

How can she be so happy with just one dish?

“Young lady.”

“Yes?”

“From now on, I’ll make you even, even happier.”

“…If I get any happier than this, my heart will burst!”

“Haha, then shall we get used to this level of happiness first?”

“Get used to… Can I?”

“Of course.”

I will make it so, so don’t worry.

The young lady deserves to be happy.

“Here, have another bite.”

“Aaaah… Nom nom nom… I’ll give some to Mana too.. Here!”

“…It’s delicious.”

…Ah,

I’m so glad I came here.