IMMCFC 09

Chapter 09

In high society, single mothers were looked down upon. Among aristocrats who valued appearances, it was a scandalous fate.

Many would secretly abandon their children and hide the truth, but Viola did not.

‘She has remarkable responsibility.’

Still, it was hard to admire her completely.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine the feelings she must have had, hiding everything alone and then finally revealing the truth to her family.

How much humiliation she must have endured.

Aristocrats might call it undignified, but in fact, Cain didn’t think her actions were wrong.

In his view, true undignified behavior was perhaps the practice of political marriages—marrying strangers for power, bearing loveless children…

Cain himself was born that way, and he wasn’t proud of it at all.

He suddenly recalled Viola’s gaze from earlier.

A look so heartbreakingly sad, full of longing and resentment, yet forcing herself to forget.

He didn’t know what love was, but he could tell it wasn’t an easy feeling.

Born with indifferent dragon blood, even permission for such emotions hadn’t been granted.

Everything happened simply because she loved. So there was no blame to place on Viola.

Yet… he couldn’t understand why his hands were trembling so badly.

Drop. Drop. The ink running down his hand blackened the report beneath.

“Your Grace? Are you alright? The ink—!”

Conrad’s worried voice didn’t even register.

Sighing deeply, Cain finally spoke.

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why on earth did that man do such a thing?”

It was incomprehensible. Before being the father, did he not even have the minimum sense of responsibility as a human being?

How could he leave such a woman alone?

The lively, smiling face of Viola flashed in his mind. Her skill with children. He had thought she simply liked kids…

But behind that, there had been the reality of raising her child alone.

He muttered again:

“How could someone do something so despicable?”

Even Conrad, standing nearby, trembled at the low voice filled with barely contained anger.

“Even if you ask me…”

Conrad, suddenly caught in the storm, felt like crying.

At the same time, in the guest room of the Duke’s mansion.

I was in the middle of a sudden chase late at night.

“Stop running, you unbrushed little child!”

“Ugh…”

“What did Mommy say? You have to brush before bed, right?”

I grabbed the nape of Melody’s neck as she dashed away.

“Ughhh.”

She let out a deep sigh, clearly feeling unjustly treated.

Good grief. Did she hate brushing her teeth that much? She did it fine in the morning, yet fought it at night.

A bit of bedtime fuss, perhaps? But I couldn’t let it slide.

‘Cavities are non-negotiable!’

I set down my bag on the table, took out the toiletries, and marched Melody into the bathroom.

“Okay, say ‘ahh’.”

“Ughhh.”

“Good. Brush, brush.”

“Brrghh.”

“Now, don’t just spit—swish it properly!”

After the war-like toothbrushing, I finished washing up myself. By then, it was well past 9 PM.

Finally ready for bed! What a ridiculously long day!

Therapist interviews, signing a contract with Cain, even moving my belongings into the mansion. Without sweet Melody and Cain’s consideration, I’d have needed ten bodies to manage it all.

“Melody, shall we go to sleep now?”

“Uh-huh!”

I carried her to bed. This was the guest room the servants had guided us to earlier.

“This will be your new room. Since guests rarely visit the mansion, please let us know if anything is insufficient.”

The steward’s words drifted through my mind. We were lucky enough just to have a place to sleep.

It made sense there wouldn’t be a proper room, considering our sudden arrival. Even a storage room would have been fine, but…

Where was it insufficient?

“…Wow, what is all this?”

“Waaah!”

Silk sheets gleaming under soft lighting, a cloud-like mattress.

The moment we saw it, Melody and I’s eyes lit up. We jumped onto the bed at the same time.

“Woooh! Hah? Hehe!”

The texture was unbelievably soft. We tumbled around, overjoyed. The bed was so wide I could lie across it and still have room to spare.

‘Coming to the Duke’s mansion was definitely the right choice.’

Tears of gratitude welled in my eyes. Even the extravagant weekly pay wouldn’t compare to such a perfect bed.

This was the true dignity of the Ascheln Dukes.

So blessed…

I felt a surge of loyalty toward the absent Cain.

Loyalty! Your Grace, I’ll truly do my best!

Still…

“Pfft.”

We must have rolled around too much. Looking up, both Melody and I’s hair was messy.

Melody’s hair was puffed up like dandelion fluff from static, making me laugh. After a long while, we finally calmed down.

“Since we’ve played enough, shall we sleep?”

“Uh-huh.”

Click. The lights went out, and the once-bright room became dark.

Lying side by side with Melody, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, it finally hit me. This was now our home.

Melody blinked in surprise, likely feeling the same unease.

‘It must be overwhelming for her.’

I had explained the basics of our situation on the way here.

Cain would protect the Saintess candidate Melody from the Temple. Our life here would be very different from Hayron Village.

Fortunately, clever Melody understood everything, but I still felt guilty. She loved the countryside so much.

I held her small hand in mine.

“Melody.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Let’s do our best starting tomorrow.”

I whispered, and she snuggled into me, warmth radiating from her.

“Mom… uh-huh.”

Though not perfect words, I understood her meaning. I smiled softly.

Mm-nya mm-nya…

Before long, Melody had fallen asleep, her cute breathing beside me.

The next morning.

Knock knock. I opened the door to a new face.

“Excuse me, Miss Viola. May I come in?”

“Of course.”

I answered calmly but with a spark in my eyes.

‘Just as I thought…’

I subtly studied the man’s face. Long brown hair tied high, thin silver-rimmed glasses. He looked familiar—likely a supporting character from the original story.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Conrad, the Duke’s aide.”

Wow. I had half expected it, but he really was here. It made the world of The Future Saintess feel real.

Conrad was the comic relief.

The Duke, completely doting on his daughter, caused his aide endless suffering—and Conrad would become Melody’s number-one fan.

He was one of Cain’s closest aides.

“I’ve been fully briefed by the Duke. Where is Miss Melody—uh?”

Conrad suddenly covered his mouth mid-sentence.

Melody, hiding behind my skirt, peeked out at the stranger.

Conrad immediately bent down and carefully greeted her.

“Hello, Miss Melody. I’m Conrad.”

“Heheh.”

The child smiled and waved. Conrad adjusted his glasses and stood back up. His stiff expression made him look angry, but…

‘Hmm. That look. Definitely that look.’

The expression of an adult trying not to laugh at a child’s cuteness, worried the child might cry—yet unable to hide their fondness.

‘Melody really is cute.’

I rubbed my nose, understanding exactly how he felt. Having worked long in a kindergarten in my past life, I knew this feeling well.

“Miss Viola, we plan to guide you directly to the young master. Is that alright?”

“Yes, of course.”

Just then, the maids who would take care of Melody arrived.

“You have to listen to the maids, alright?”

“Uh-huh.”

Melody patted her chest confidently, as if saying, “Just trust me.” Quite the show-off.

Still, I felt reassured and left.

Following Conrad, we made our way from the annex to the main residence.

While getting a brief explanation of the mansion, he said:

“This floor is where Young Master Jayden resides.”

“What kind of person is he? I want to make it easier to get along.”

“Umm… well…”

For the first time, Conrad hesitated to answer.

“Uh…”

“Don’t worry. You can speak freely.”

“I should apologize in advance. The young master… is somewhat, well, very sensitive.”

“Since he’s a patient, I understand that.”

I responded readily, but beneath Conrad’s glasses, his expression remained grave.

“Uh… it’s probably beyond what you’re imagining.”

What could it be? The original story described him as sensitive, but not in much detail.

It didn’t take even five minutes to find out.

“I said I don’t need it! Go away!”

A sharp, irritated voice, and something flew at me quickly and fell before me.

Clang!

A glass vase shattered, shards scattering wildly across the floor.