I became the maid who serves that unlucky little young master. I had to stick by the child's side all day, every day.
Young Master Robert was no ordinary child. As if to prove he was a noble young master, the child had a clear understanding that I was his subordinate.
"Bring it."
The child snatched the spoon from the nurse's hand and threw it on the floor, then immediately gave an order, pointing at the spoon that had fallen to the ground while looking directly at me.
"Young Master, you shouldn't do that."
The nurse gently scolded him and tried to get up. But Robert grabbed her waist, preventing her from standing, and ordered again in a clear voice.
"Ugly one, bring it."
"……"
"Young Master!"
The nurse looked flustered and glanced at me. I smiled to show that I was fine, then picked up the spoon. I wiped it with my apron and tried to hand it to the nurse, but before she could take it, Robert snatched it and threw it on the floor again.
"It's dirty!"
"……"
"Young Master, why are you doing this!"
Ah, I've seen this somewhere before. It reminds me of someone.
A sense of déjà vu slowly took over my mind.
"Mother says not to use something that has fallen!"
"Then I'll bring a new one."
"I don't want to! Don't go!"
Robert grabbed the nurse's waist again, hanging onto her while looking straight at me and shouting.
"You go!"
I clenched my teeth and forced a smile, then moved my steps. I didn't wipe the smile off my face until I stepped out of the room. Of course, I let out a silent scream as soon as I was outside.
Even when I brought a new spoon, the same situation repeated.
"New one!"
After eating a bit of the soup, Robert threw the spoon again. The nurse looked flustered and glanced at me. I forced a smile again and went back to the kitchen.
As soon as I entered the kitchen, I stiffened and looked around. I soon found a clean, dried cloth nearby, unfolded it, and put all the spoons inside, wrapping them tightly. I hid the bundle behind my back and returned to the room with one spoon in hand. Before long, the same situation occurred again.
"Young Master!"
The nurse scolded him, but Robert ignored her. I tried to calm her down, saying it was fine. Then I took out the white cloth I had brought from the kitchen. Her eyes widened, but I smiled and unfolded the cloth.
"I have plenty prepared."
I handed one of the dozens of spoons to the nurse and added that I could bring more if needed. The nurse took the spoon with an admiring look. Robert stood there with a blank face.
But Robert's mischief continued.
"Bring that!"
"Don't touch it!"
"You're ugly!"
Wow, this really reminds me of someone. Maybe a man, or a temperamental master, or a bastard.
But I wasn't going to give up. I had served a temperamental master before, so I was confident in my perseverance and patience.
When he threw something like a spoon, I would bring dozens of them and prepare them in advance. For things I couldn't do that with, I would bring and hand them over several times. If he went too far, I would throw them far away and not hand them over. I ignored his requests, wore gloves when he told me not to touch something, and even appeared with a paper bag over my face to shock Robert.
"I hate you!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
I even developed the ability to interpret bad words positively.
But Robert's stubbornness was considerable. The child was quite cunning.
Whenever I couldn't control my rising anger, he would notice and burst into tears, claiming he was scared. Anyone would think he had done something terrible. I was amazed by Robert's acting skills.
The more I looked at Robert, the more he reminded me of someone. Someone older, with an even more stubborn nature.
Oh my. I never thought there would be someone like that man. It's a tragedy.
As I brought back the twenty-third item Robert had thrown, I regretted coming to this mansion for the first time. I stared blankly at the twenty-fourth item flying through the air, exhausted. I thought about just not picking it up, but the nurse patted my shoulder.
"Annie, he seems to like you."
What's there to like? It looks like he's just getting back at me for what happened last time.
But since I had become the maid for this little young master, all I could do was serve him diligently. Besides, there were times when the nurse left and I had to handle him alone. The reason Joelle assigned me to Robert was that the nurse often went back to the main house.
But lately, I had other thoughts. Maybe she just wanted to make me suffer. Maybe I did something wrong. Couldn't she just tell me?
"Ugly one, bring it!"
Feeling stifled and irritable from being in the room, I had stepped out into the hallway and was walking lightly. Robert stopped and pointed at a wooden horse figurine he had dropped. I narrowed my eyes. Even though I had told him my name, Robert insisted on calling me that. It was clearly intentional.
"Ugly one, ugly one."
Ah, I want to punch him.
But I was the maid who had to serve this unlucky little young master. I couldn't punch his little head. I forced a smile and picked up the wooden figurine, placing it in Robert's hand.
"Young Master, are you four years old?"
"No! I'll be five soon!"
"Yes, you'll be a wonderful five-year-old. Then…"
"Yeah, ugly one. I want to climb up there."
Robert interrupted me and pointed upstairs. I barely suppressed my rising anger and calmly looked up. He was pointing to the large wooden horse statue that almost caused an accident last time.
"No, you can't."
"I want to climb up!"
"It's dangerous. Let's go back to the room."
"No! I want to climb up!"
"Then, would you like to walk in the hallway?"
I tried to distract Robert by holding his hand and pulling him. Robert screamed that he didn't want to go and was dragged along. Even during the short walk, he struggled. He hit me with the wooden horse figurine he was holding and suddenly threw it.
The wooden figurine hit the wall and fell to the floor. When I picked it up and handed it to him, he threw it again.
"I want to climb up!"
"Absolutely not."
Robert finally shook off my hand and grabbed the legs of the statue, hanging on. Despite his small size, he was surprisingly strong and clung on with all his might. His determined expression made it clear he wasn't going to give up easily.
"I want to climb up!"
"It's dangerous."
"No! I want to!"
"Okay, then let's go back to the room."
I picked up Robert. He was surprised and opened his eyes wide, but soon frowned and wriggled. Before his struggles became more intense, I quickly ran to his room.
By the time we reached the room, I was drenched in sweat. Robert had been acting out the whole way. Suddenly, everything felt exhausting.
"I hate you!"
Leaning against the wall, exhausted, I heard Robert puff up his cheeks and glare at me.
"There's nothing I can do about it."
His chubby cheeks puffed up even more. I kept a calm face. Robert suddenly looked like he was about to cry.
"My toy…"
"What?"
"Toy! Toy!"
His loud, threatening voice was alarming. Confused, I asked what he was talking about, but Robert just kept shouting about his toy. Then I remembered the wooden horse figurine he had been holding and often throwing since our first meeting.
"You were just throwing it."
"Toy!"
"Yes, here you go."
I blocked Robert from running out and quickly left the room. I heard him pounding on the door from inside. He couldn't open it because the doorknob was out of reach.
The sound behind me made my steps quicken. I ran down the hallway and reached the area near the horse statue. After thoroughly searching, I found the wooden horse figurine Robert had been looking for.
"If it's precious, don't throw it."
I examined the figurine and found it hadn't broken. Robert's room was full of toys, but he always held this one tightly. It must be something he really liked, yet he treated it carelessly.
Should I just say he lost it and throw it away? The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
"I really have to deal with a child."
I laughed to myself and turned around. Then I saw the large horse statue that Robert seemed to love second most. The statue, placed against one wall, was made of metal, smooth and sturdy. I tapped the body of the horse.
Why does he want to climb up there?
I stared blankly at the horse statue. Then, after looking around, I placed my hands on the body and stepped up. It was quite high. How did Robert manage to climb up with his small body? I grunted as I pulled myself up and finally managed to sit on the saddle.
I took a deep breath and straightened my body. It was a dizzying height. Wrapping my arms around the horse's neck and looking down, I could see the long hallway at a glance. I could even see the view outside the window if I lifted my head a bit more. I could clearly see if anyone was coming.
"It's a good view."
Since he's still small, maybe he finds high places interesting. Or maybe he likes looking down. I leaned more towards the latter.
I usually look up, so this was a fresh experience. I dangled my legs and enjoyed the air at the high place.
"What are you doing there?"
Startled, I looked down and saw the nurse standing there. I had been so absorbed that I hadn't noticed anyone coming. She looked at me as if I were a strange person.
I silently and obediently climbed down.
"I heard you went out. You're back?"
"Yes. And the young master?"
"He's in the room. I was just on my way to bring this back."
I shook the wooden figurine in my hand. The nurse nodded.
"It's something he treasures."
"I see."
"The mistress gave it to him as a gift, so he never lets it go."
It really is precious to him. I examined the well-worn wooden figurine. I had ignored his requests a few times when he threw it and asked me to pick it up, but I remembered seeing Robert pick it up himself. It made me feel strange.
"But just now?"
"……"
I closed my mouth and turned around. I felt her curious gaze on my back but pretended not to notice. After this uncomfortable journey, we finally reached the door.
There was no unusual sound coming from the room. Thinking he might be tired, I was about to open the door when I was startled. The small body lying with both hands hanging down in front of the door was Robert, who had been pounding on it just moments ago.
"Young Master!"
The nurse rushed to the fallen child. I quickly scanned the room to see if anyone had broken in or if he had tripped over something, but there were no signs of such things.