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Chapter 4
I Reincarnated as an Extra in a Childcare Story
I took a detour through the forest instead of the garden path and asked myself:
Did I go somewhere I shouldn’t have?
No—it was a path mainly used by servants.
Some nobles restrict servants from entering the garden, but Trisen wasn’t like that.
Was it really such a crime to sigh near the master’s family or pass by without noticing them?
In this world, yes—it was a crime.
But Trisen didn’t care what servants did, as long as they didn’t touch Miss Edel.
…Right. Miss Edel. The protagonist of this childcare story.
If things followed the usual pattern, the timeline would have started when she was still a baby.
Trouble never ceased around her.
When she was one, a noble who tried to gain Aeon’s favor by using her met a terrible end.
When she was four, children from the Trisen branch family who bullied her also met a terrible end.
“Met a terrible end” was just a softened way of putting it.
I might have become another sacrifice in this world that revolved around her.
Still, I didn’t want to blame her. This was all because Narkis Trisen was a complete psycho.
I suffered from nightmares for a while. Washing blankets, Narkis overturning the basket, washing them again, running into him again.
I was sixteen, and he was only twelve. Four years younger, yet already a budding psychopath. Avoiding him made me develop a habit of checking a 30-meter radius at all times.
And yet, I hadn’t run into him since then.
Until three years later—when he called me into his private reception room and said he remembered me.
Me. Maid number 82. Just a bug he had once brushed away.
“Are you waiting for me to call your name?”
After a long silence, he even added something ridiculous.
What’s wrong with him?
Is it because I didn’t answer?
What was I supposed to say to a young master who remembered a careless, foolish maid?
It’s an honor that you remember me?
Are you insane, young master?
Suppressing a scoff, I fixed my gaze on the polished tip of his shoe.
“No, young master. I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making Miss cry…”
“Hmm. And?”
This was on a completely different level from the boss at the café I worked at in my past life.
I hesitantly mentioned the only other thing I could think of.
“For… not answering?”
His low, clear voice rang out slowly.
“Well. It’s always better to listen carefully to what your master says.”
“…Yes.”
“Even if you don’t respond to everything, when you do respond, you should know what you’re saying.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
He was just like that café boss—pushing until he felt like stopping.
Aeon had left me alone, so Narkis probably couldn’t do much either.
That should be enough. He’ll let me go now, right?
“I sometimes play hide-and-seek with Edel.”
Apparently not.
“When she chases me or I chase her, it’s quite enjoyable.”
The tapping of his shoe stopped.
“But when someone else runs away or hides from me right in front of my eyes… it’s not very pleasant.”
A bad feeling crept in.
“Because it’s like a sewer rat.”
Regardless of Aeon, Narkis wasn’t going to leave me alone.
“You shouldn’t have been caught, Annie.”
A white-gloved hand touched my chin.
Only after a few seconds did I realize—
I was staring directly into his red eyes.
“Looks like Lord Narkis wanted to check your face.”
When I rephrased it as ‘What kind of lunatic does that?’, Kyle responded casually. I plucked at some wildflowers and shot back:
“Check my face? If he checks it twice, I’ll die of a heart attack.”
I meant it seriously, but I heard him chuckle. His laughter was so light I couldn’t even get mad.
We were sitting by the Lark River that ran through the Trisen territory.
The shallow water shimmered like a mermaid’s tail. Smooth pebbles lay at our feet, and lush greenery spread above us.
Three years ago—on that very day—I met Kyle here while re-washing blankets.
‘Are you okay? Why are you crying?’
I didn’t even realize I was crying until he said that.
The boy, who had just hit puberty, had fluffy brown curls and gentle blue eyes.
I stared at his innocent face and replied bluntly:
‘I’m not okay. Can you help me with the laundry?’
‘Uh… sure.’
‘Thanks. But who are you? You didn’t sneak in, right?’
‘No, I didn’t. I’m… um… Lord Aeon’s squire.’
‘How old are you? I’m sixteen.’
‘Seventeen.’
‘Wow, I thought I’d be older!’
Since then, we became secret-sharing companions at the laundry area. His shockingly youthful looks hadn’t changed even now.
Whenever I toned down how “utterly horrible” Trisen was into “difficult to serve,” Kyle would quietly listen.
But his reactions were frustratingly calm.
“Listen carefully, Kyle. The young master touched my face.”
The heir of the grand duke’s family!
With his own hand!
Touched a maid’s face!
Do you know how terrifying that is?!
Even days later, it felt vivid.
Where his hand touched, it felt like my blood slowly dried up.
His colorless face that didn’t seem human.
Those vividly shining red eyes.
My frightened reflection mirrored in them.
That gentle smile.
Didn’t he smile that day too? When I dropped the laundry—looking down at me in satisfaction?
His fingers left as quietly as they had touched.
His shoes made no sound on the finest carpet. He disappeared like a ghost.
Just remembering it suffocated me.
I buried my face in my knees, and Kyle asked innocently:
“…Is it that scary?”
He didn’t understand, but he tried to.
I explained calmly.
“Why do you think he checked a maid’s face himself?”
A maid he already disliked, who made his beloved sister cry, who annoyed him like a rat.
“That was a warning. If I catch his eye one more time…”
I trailed off with a sigh.
“Maybe… he was looking out for you?”
“…Looking out?”
Was he serious? Even as I glared at him, Kyle continued innocently:
“I think it means you shouldn’t avoid him. If you keep dodging him, it’ll make your work harder.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Grabbing someone’s chin and saying ‘You shouldn’t have been caught’—what part of that is considerate?
“It’s exactly this: ‘How dare you avoid me? Know your place and crawl properly.’”
The more I said it, the more unfair it felt.
Maid are supposed to avoid nobles!
“Hmm…”
While Kyle hesitated, I came to a conclusion.
He just didn’t like me.
“I’ll leave my last words then.”
“What?”
“If I suddenly disappear, just pray for me.”
“Haha. Annie, you’re something else.”
“I’m serious. Someone like me would evaporate if the young master just breathed on me.”
“You have quite the imagination.”
“I’m serious! They say he’s reached the level of sword mastery. He’ll soon be like the master, right?”
“Well… yeah…”
“They say sword masters can kill with just their gaze.”
I had experienced something like that from Aeon recently.
“I’d evaporate from a breath.”
Kyle muttered absently:
“If that were true, I’d have disappeared already.”
“What?!”
I covered my mouth in shock.
“You—you—you got breathed on by the master?!”
“Well… sometimes I attend him…”
“What?! Why would he do that?!”
Why would he breathe on someone like that?!
I grabbed his cheeks and inspected him frantically.
“You look fine on the outside!”
“I-I’m fine.”
“What if you got internal injuries?”
“I’m fine inside too.”
“Whew, that’s a relief. I guess there was no sword energy in it.”
After letting go, Kyle touched his cheek and asked seriously:
“Annie… haven’t you been reading too many novels?”
“Are you serious right now? I’m in trouble here.”
“Hahaha.”
Ignoring my despair, he smiled brightly and said:
“Lord Narkis doesn’t keep people he dislikes around. If he didn’t like you, you’d already be fired.”
“How would you know that?”
As a squire, he handled miscellaneous tasks—not much different from maid number 82.
“Well… you just kind of figure it out while attending him.”
He was obviously lying to comfort me.
“Sure, that must be it. I’m so lucky I wasn’t fired. Thank you, young master.”
“I’m serious… you don’t believe me?”
“I do, I do. Who else would I believe if not you?”
Kyle blushed shyly.
Still, it was obvious why Narkis let me go.
Because Miss Edel had defended me.
As long as I stayed under her favor, I’d be safe.
So… do I have to follow her around all the time now?
“No…”
I didn’t want to get more involved in this childcare story!
“Ugh! I’m doomed!”
As I buried my face in my knees again, Kyle asked worriedly:
“Annie? Are you okay?”
“With experience as a maid in the Trisen household… I could work anywhere, right?”
“Huh? You’re leaving?”
“Maybe Ines will write me a good recommendation letter… if I beg her to leave out the part about making Miss cry…”
“…Didn’t you say a few days ago that there’s no master easier to serve than Lord Aeon?”
That was before.
“Things are different now. I’m leaving this place—”
I was about to declare it.
But then I met his drooping blue eyes.
“Don’t go, Annie.”
