/
Tatiana was visible in the distance.
She was sitting between Kirios and Cesar, chattering about something.
He didn’t know what she was talking about, but the child’s expression was very bright.
‘When the heck are these two going back?’
Siegfried reflexively frowned.
And then.
“Huh?”
Tatiana suddenly lifted her head, then opened her eyes wide.
“Siegfried!”
The child expressed her delight with her whole body.
Tatiana jumped up from her seat and ran towards Siegfried.
But–
“Eugh!”
Maybe it was because she was too hasty.
The child who had tripped over her own foot stumbled greatly.
“Tati!”
Siegfried reflexively reached out and grabbed the child by the scruff of her neck.
“Woww!”
The child smiled brightly while clinging to the strong grip.
“Siegfried called me Tati.”
“……”
“I’m happy.”
…..He called her by her nickname.
It was just a word that came out as a reflex.
She said that she was happy even with such simple words, and that child put on a really bright face.
For some reason, Siegfried’s heart was moved, and he bit his lips.
“Really, what are you going to do if you fall?”
Siegfried, with a somewhat suppressed voice, put Tatiana on the floor as carefully as a mother cat sets her kittens down.
“Be careful from now on.”
“Yes!”
Tatiana, who nodded quickly, looked up at Siegfried with a bright gaze.
“Are you done with all your busy work?”
“Yes.”
Until Countess Ghiberti was completely dealt with, Tatiana was initially told that he was busy.
Siegfried bent down to meet Tatiana’s gaze.
“Tati.”
“Mhh?”
“I should say thank you.”
A look of wonder crept over the innocent sky-blue eyes.
Siegfried cautiously reached out his hand.
Pat.
A large hand landed on the top of her head and caressed her hair awkwardly.
“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have known that my subordinates were being treated so unfairly.”
Siegfried patted Tatiana on the head.
His heart ached because he couldn’t feel the texture of her disheveled pink hair due to lack of nutrition.
And–
‘Huh?’
Siegfried’s eyes widened slightly.
A small hand wiggled forward and grabbed Siegfried’s collar tightly.
“Then….”
The child, who had not been able to speak for a long time, lowered her head and asked cautiously.
“Am I helpful to Siegfried?”
“……..”
“Am I a useful person?”
The earnest question left Siegfried speechless.
‘You are still only a four-year-old child.’
How messed up her life must have been, that she already asked such a question.
“Tati.”
At that call, Tatiana quietly raised her gaze.
Siegfried asked back in a subdued tone, looking into her blue eyes, which seemed a little frightened.
“Have we not given you faith in us?”
“….That’s.”
Tatiana could not answer easily.
Siegfried’s face contorted.
“You don’t have to think about your usefulness.”
“But……”
“Since you’re a child, you just have to be happy, so why…..”
Siegfried gritted his teeth, unable to continue speaking.
Her blue eyes were filled with water.
The child seemed to hesitate as she approached, but her slender arms hugged Siegfried’s neck tightly.
“……Still.”
Burying her face in Siegfried’s arms, Tatiana muttered in a low voice.
“I’m glad to be of help.”
“Tati.”
“It’s not because I don’t believe in you……it’s because I admire Siegfried.”
Perhaps ashamed, the child’s earlobes were already dyed red.
“That’s why Tati wanted to be a person who is needed.”
“…….”
“Siegfried, Kirios, and Cesar…… you saved Tati.”
With those words, the arm that wrapped around his neck got a bit more strength.
It was a weak force that could be shaken off at any moment. But Siegfried couldn’t push the child out of his arms.
“…….”
After hesitating for a moment, Siegfried carefully embraced the child.
Even though he fed her constantly with food, the child in his arms was still as light as a feather.
Contrastingly, his heart felt heavy as if a stone had been hung on it.
However, Siegfried’s complicated mood did not last very long.
“How is it, kid. Why don’t you just come to the Magic Tower?”
Just in time, Kirios had abruptly joined the conversation.
“How much experience do you have in taking care of a child so far? If she stayed there, wouldn’t she only suffer?” Siegfried shot back.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Kirios scoffed.
But Siegfried was serious. His arms held Tatiana dearly.
“These guys there have never had a conversation with a child before.”
“There are?! There are many young assistants in our mage tower!”
The two of them started arguing quite loudly.
And there was one person who took advantage of the commotion and attacked the gap.
“Come here, Miss Tatiana.”
It was Cesar.
“You don’t have to be among those stupid humans.”
Cesar shook his head, not hiding his pitying expression.
He watched a smile slowly spread over Tatiana’s face as she watched the three of them.
It was a smile as bright as the clear sky.
***
I didn’t intend to meet the male leads like this.
After that, the atmosphere of the townhouse changed a lot.
The first change that caught the eye was the attitude of the employees.
Ever since Countess Ghiberti had been cut off, the servants’ expressions had brightened considerably.
It was said that Siegfried drew his sword against the Ghiberti family.
I heard that the countess not only collected all the money she had embezzled until now, but also extorted a huge amount of compensation……
‘Well, that’s none of my business.’
Meanwhile, my occupational games continued, and now I had been a gardener and a stable keeper in addition to a maid.
“If there were pockets in the clothes, it would be nice to put scissors, seeds, and this and that in it!”
Then new garments with many pockets were issued to the gardener.
“My shoes keep getting dirty…… Wouldn’t it be great if you could change your clothes often?”
The day after I pranced around the stables all day interacting with the horses, the stable keeper was in a good mood, saying he had received five new pairs of boots.
Ugh, I just talked about the parts of each job that made me uncomfortable.
Why does it feel like those inconvenient points are being corrected in real time….
‘Well, it’s not a bad thing.’
The only troublesome thing was that the servants’ coy eyes were following behind me recently.
“What kind of play education is Miss Tatiana doing this time?”
“Perhaps…… Are you saying she is not interested in the kitchen?”
“Or at the laundromat?”
It seemed that Nora was being asked that way about her knowledge, but it seemed that Nora also knew how to brush it off.
But there was one sad news.
That’s just….
‘Why, why isn’t it there?!’
I looked up at the books piled high in front of me with a feeling of helplessness.
‘A way to awaken as a demon king!’
I searched the townhouse’s library like crazy, but I couldn’t find a clue about how to awaken the demon king……
No, it’s not a duchy, but a townhouse in the capital.
The collection is much smaller than the library in the Duchy’s capital! Still, it’s the house where the hero lives, so wouldn’t it be okay to have at least one hint?
“Hah.”
I let out a deep sigh and sat down on my desk.
“My lady.”
Nora, who was helping me move the books, looked down at me with a worried look.
“Is something the matter?”
“….. No, nothing at all.”
I couldn’t say that I was depressed because I couldn’t find a way to awaken as a demon king.
I held back my tears and just shook my head.
As I shook my head, my pink hair swayed gently and tickled my cheek.
Nora watched and smiled.
“The young lady looks good with short hair.”
Recently I cut my hair short to the nape of my neck.
It was because of Nora’s recommendation.
‘My hair was already very damaged.’
In fact, Nora tried several times to regenerate my hair, but to no avail. It was because my hair was not very well nourished, and the hair itself was frizzy.
‘If I grow my hair like this, the damaged part will continue to ride up and get in the way…..’
Nora, who had been brushing my hair with a look of regret for a while, had opened her mouth with a determined face.