Surprised by my unexpected behavior, she raised her body and shook her head.
âListen carefully. You are a lady who doesnât know the ways of the world. This isnât very good for you. I donât know what kind of dream youâre having, but youâre nothing. Because I am the big shot here.â
âDid you say âbig shotâ? Not even the princess, but a nanny is a big shot? People will laugh at you.â
I couldnât resist laughing at her words that I even struggled to close my mouth.
âYou will regret it. You wonât benefit anything if you act like this. You could be kicked out of here tomorrow. Completely naked.â
âTherefore, you are a big shot? In this dukedom? So I should throw away my useless pride and bow down in front of you, right?â
âThatâs right. I donât think youâre stupid. So it would be nice if you could squeeze that stubborn head of yours. Even the Duke canât do anything about me.â
The nannyâs head soared haughtily as if she was inquiring if I finally understood her.
When I saw her act that way, I turned my gaze to Rebecca.
âRebecca. You must be a doll. If the big shot of this house is your nanny.â
Perhaps provoked by my twisted words, Rebecca shouted back.
âIâm not a doll!â
âWell, thatâs what I heard. If youâre not simply a child, you must have realized something. Do you think itâs acceptable for her to look down on you and say that sheâs the big shot of this duchy?â
Rebecca, who was pouting her mouth, flared out her eyes.
âIâm not a doll!â
âYouâre a doll. You canât even say anything to oppose your nanny.â
âDarn itâŠNo, Iâm not! Nanny, get out!â
âMiss! Are you telling me to get out? What are youâŠâ
ââŠDarn it. Are you deaf? Get out of here!â
âThat woman only says weird things. I wouldnât think of you as a doll, would I?â
As her eyes suddenly turned to Rebecca, the nannyâs face became pale.
She even walked up to the child in a hurry and grasped her hand, but it was meaningless.
âShut up! Get out! Or else I will collapse here. Do you want me to collapse again? Do you want to get scolded by my dad?â
âMissâŠ!â
âGet out!â
As if not a fool, Rebecca angrily buried herself inside the doll again.
âMi-MissâŠâ
The nannyâs sorrowful voice filled the room, but nothing changed.
Rebecca was adamant.
I looked at her appearance for a long time and kicked my tongue.
âMrs. Nanny, who said that she was a big shot. Youâre leaving now, right? The child told you to go.â
âHow dareâŠHow dare youâŠbetween me and miss..!â
âNow that I see it, I donât think you had that great of a bond with the child. And I know for sure this time, nanny. What you had done to the other stepmothers. But unfortunately, itâs not going to work now. Unlike the others who grew up well, I grew up like wild weeds.â
ââŠ.â
âNow that Iâve talked about weeds, the more you step on it, the stronger it grows.â
I grinned and waved my hand.
Then the nanny, who was fuming and flushed red, stormed off as if she wouldnât let me go easily.
âNow, bring me a meal.â
âAh, yes, Lady Leona. But what about the missâŠâ
âBring it too. Iâll let her eat when she comes out.â
The maids, who were at a loss at what to do, finally moved out.
Thanks to that, there were only two maids, Rebecca, and me in the room.
âRebecca.â
I finally folded the book I was reading and looked at the rabbit doll.
ââŠâ
âIf you donât want to come out, you donât have to. I will visit this room every day and stay here every day.â
ââŠ.â
âSo I want to ask, why do you hate me so much? For no reason?â
She didnât answer my question for a long time.
Maybe I shouldnât expect an answer yet.
Each child I saw at the orphanage had their own wounds. The wounds did not heal on their own even if they waited quietly for time to pass.
It got worse, and it gradually tore them apart.
So the first thing to do when children come to the orphanage was to listen to their story. If you donât know the root, you wonât be able to find the solutions.
âI wanted to hear what you were thinking and what made you upset.â
But Rebecca was reluctant to speak.
Today is not the only day, so I decided to not bother Rebecca anymore. At that time, the child, who was silent for a while, mumbled something and then yelled in a small voice.
ââŠYouâre going to run away, too!â
âRun away?â
âYes. The nanny said that. You are all the same! The first and second both ran away, so youâre going to run away, too. Thatâs why I told you not to be close to me from the start!â
I was speechless for a moment.
âThat woman said that?â
âWhy do you keep asking? And Iâm not a doll. I didnât do what my nanny told me to do, Itâs my own idea. You fool!â
âYes, it must be your idea. It was you who told the maid to prevent me from finding your room, right?â
âYes! Thatâs not what my nanny told me to do. That was my idea!â
âEven though her attitude is not agreeable in the first placeâŠ..The more she explained, the more I felt as though the child is being controlled by the nanny.â
Rebecca probably considered her nanny, who has been taking care of her ever since she was a baby, her family.
Perhaps other families were also like that. If the children of noble families listened to their nanny, then the nanny could really become the big shot in their house.
Maybe thatâs why she was so confident. As I was immersed in my thoughts, the door, which had been closed for a while, suddenly opened.
âI have brought your meal.â
Rebeccaâs face, which was buried in the rabbit doll, stuck out.
âBring it to me. Iâm going to eat too.â
âNo. If you want to eat, come to the table. Youâre not even a baby, do I need to feed you one by one there?â
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Thereafter, a warm soup was placed in front of me.
The soft scent of potato was more appetizing than ever.
âHa. You really think you are something!â
âItâs because I am something, Rebecca. Iâm worried about you. If I didnât care about you and had plans to leave you, would I even bother myself to try to fix your behavior?â
ââŠâ
âThen I wouldâve stayed quiet instead. I would have done what your nanny told me to do and just sit still. Perhaps if I did as she pleased, I might have lived in comfort just like a real madam of the family.â
In the meantime, I moved my hand and ate the potato soup with a shiny silver spoon. The taste was wonderful.
Leonaâs body was thrilled because of this incredible meal after eating bread the whole week.
ââŠDo-Donât be ridiculous! Youâre going to leave. I donât believe you! You are here because of money!â
âSo you have heard the rumor. Thatâs right. Thatâs why I canât leave. Itâs because of money, and I want to change you, too.â
ââŠYou canât leave? Youâre not leaving?â
âYes.â
My spoon had already emptied out all the potato soup.
ââŠReally?â
âYes. Thereâs no way you would let me run away when you paid for me.â
I want to run away, too. With all my heart.
It would be better to kick me out. Perhaps if I treat Rebecca like this, she might kick me out instead.
Then, the closed door opened with a loud noise.
âWhat a splendid first day. The nanny ran to me and said you made a ruckus.â
The Duke, with his hair all tangled up, came to me in an instant with a look of anger. Behind him was the nanny, who wouldnât let go of me.
A woman with swollen eyes pretending to be a victim.
âA ruckus? I donât think so.â
The Dukeâs gaze quickly turned to the child.
âItâs indeed a ruckus. My daughter, the owner of this room, is still buried among the dolls, and you, who need to take care of the child, was casually eating?â
The conversation between them was obvious even if I didnât see it myself.
The finger of the angry duke was pointed towards Rebecca.
âAh, thatâs right. Itâs good that you came. Itâs seemed to me that your daughter was ignored by her own nanny.â
âWhat?â
âThe nanny over there, what did she say?â
âYou donât have to know.â
âOf course, I donât know. She mustâve spoken nonsense. She might have said that I was abusing the child.â
At her words, the Dukeâs lips trembled as if it was true.
âAre you confident?â
âYes, because Iâve never abused the child. I was just taken aback when the nanny said that she was the big shot of this house.â
âA big shot?â
âThe child also heard it, so you can ask her directly. Youâre not that kind of father who would trust the nanny more than the child, are you?â
The Duke, who looked displeased, finally moved towards the rabbit doll.
âRebecca. Tell me, whose statement is true?â
ââŠWhy! Why are you making a fuss about me!â
âDid somebody abused you?â
âIâm not abused! It was my idea!â
At the unexpected words, the nanny hurriedly came to them.
âMiss, please tell me. She was abusing you, right? Huh? Sh- She didnât let you get out from here, right?â
The nannyâs trembling voice seemed to give a clear indication of how she had treated the child all this time.
With a fascinating sight in front of me, I savored the bread.
âWhat!â
âYou need to say it. Did that woman say something weird while I was away? Why did you change so much?â
In the past, this much persuading was enough to make the child obey her, but now, the nannyâs eyes were filled with shame.
She was busy talking to Rebecca to prove her innocence, while anxiously waiting and biting off her long fingernails.