IPACE 10

Episode 10

I Got Reincarnated as a Childcare Extra
There Are Things Scarier Than Ghosts

“Servant Annie.”

“Eeeek!”

Who could appear silently next to a maid cleaning the fireplace just to scare her?

Ta-da—right here! My heart almost stopped! I thought I was going to die!

I screamed like a war cry and hit the floor on my backside.

“I’ve been working since I was eight.”

Aeon didn’t care that I nearly died; he just kept talking.

“William Carter, the gamekeeper, raised you.”

“Gasp… huff… y-yes…”

I just breathed heavily, then flattened myself belatedly.

“So you weren’t adopted.”

In medieval times, commoners needed the lord’s permission to issue official documents.

Uncle Will might have wanted approval, but Aeon, not being a good lord, never opened the audience hall. Until the young lady appeared, he didn’t even linger near the castle.

Rather than waiting for paperwork, it was easier to just declare, “Annie is now our daughter!”

A man who wouldn’t even manage his estate can talk all he wants.

“Still, he raised me like his own daughter.”

“I heard Edel kept you close.”

Aeon spat the words abruptly, as if it was none of his business. Why even bother investigating if you’re going to act like that?

“Yes, I am very grateful…”

I had expected this ever since getting involved with the young lady.

This wasn’t the first time. After trial and error, I even prepared a response.

If someone asked, “What’s the secret?” I’d say, “I don’t know.”

If they said, “You can tell me anything,” I’d still say, “I don’t know.”

In short, “Absolutely no idea.”

If a line like “Stay away from my daughter” came flying with a bundle of cash from some wealthy father-in-law, I’d just think, “Oh my, what’s this about.”

But neither of those happened.

“I will watch over you.”

After all this surveillance, he says it as if it’s new. Is that it? I wish there were some cash involved.

Just as I relaxed, thinking he was more straightforward than his son…

“If my daughter cries in front of you again…”

His heavy voice pressed down on the back of my head.

“Make sure she’s comforted.”

“…Understood.”

Even after Aeon left, I stayed flattened for a long while.

…Scary.

Did he just speak? Or did he imbue that with sword energy or something? I can’t move.

If I let Edel cry again… he won’t forgive me, right?

Narcis was nothing. If Aeon had spilled tea, I would have fainted just like Holly said.

No, I probably wouldn’t have been able to even speak. Not a word to plead for my life, just trembling, like when dragged into the study.

Will Narcis grow up like that too? I shouldn’t mess around.

They say the best time to regret is the earliest time. I need to run before it’s too late.

“Hey.”

A dissatisfied voice interrupted my resolve.

A smaller boot was placed crookedly in front of me.

Ah, so that’s why you weren’t coming.

“You’re Annie, right?”

“Yes, my lord.”

The second child of the Trisen family—a twelve-year-old division leader.

As I got up to greet Leoni Trisen, a grumble came flying.

“Why are you standing up? You bowed to Father!”

Your father is scarier than me. Normally, you bow only to the emperor.

Still… if told to bow, I must bow.

I bent my knees again, but my legs cramped and I wobbled.

“Ah!”

“Hey, watch out!”

Leoni grabbed my arm and fussed.

“If your leg hurts, you have to say it hurts!”

“…Sorry.”

“Enough, don’t apologize!”

“…Thanks.”

“See? I said enough!”

What’s wrong with the men in this house?

Leoni, a head shorter than me, could still see me even while bowing.

Her straight black hair was minimally styled. The servant must have struggled keeping her in line.

Her red eyes glared. Though bright and childlike, the sharpness at the corners made her gaze quite fierce.

Her tiny face had delicate features, cute despite her rough habits.

Let go of my arm, I’ll bruise.

Before I could protest, Leoni threw my arm away.

“You!”

“Ah!”

“What? Does it hurt?”

She hurt me herself and then frowned. It hurt like crazy, but I shook my head.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Let me see!”

I wish she would say only what she needed, but she inherited her father’s meddling personality.

The part she grabbed was just below the elbow, and maid uniforms had long sleeves year-round.

“Do you mean I should roll up my sleeves?”

“Yes!”

What a sight—but I unbuttoned my sleeves.

If told to roll them up, I roll them up.

As expected, they were red and swollen. Bruises are coming.

“I said, if it hurts, speak up!”

“…Sorry.”

“Ugh, so annoying!”

Leoni, fuming, pulled something from her pocket.

“Apply this!”

It was a small box. Surprised, I opened it. Yellow ointment inside.

If told to apply, I applied.

It spread well and absorbed surprisingly efficiently. Medieval tech.

Can I greet her properly now?

“…Thanks.”

“See? I said it’s enough!”

Doesn’t your throat hurt from shouting after every sentence?

Before I could even close the ointment, Leoni snatched it and finally got to the point.

“Anyway, you! Edel looks for you every day, right?”

This is Trisen behavior.

“Not every day.”

“Then?”

“About every other day…”

“That’s every day!”

I need to endure this. If I fight back, I’ll get wrecked.

“Ahem, um… to Edel.”

She took her time. I was ready for whatever she said. Big data collected.

“What’s the secret!”

“Stay away from my sibling!”

“If you make my sibling cry again, I won’t forgive you!”

It didn’t matter if it didn’t match my expectations. She’s Leoni, not Aeon.

Hands on her hips, Leoni declared proudly:

“Tell Edel that I like tea too!”

“Ah…”

“Got it?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Better deliver it, or else!”

She ran off, fingers pointing, ears bright red. Time to update the big data.

With Aeon and Leoni gone, what remained…

I hadn’t met Narcis since that day. I only saw him from a distance or through a window.

Sometimes I felt his gaze, but when I turned, no one was there. I ignored the feeling that it was him.

Being ignored isn’t a good sign. It feels like standing in the eye of a storm, unsure when it will hit.

One wrong word could get me expelled, yet I ran without orders to leave.

Why is Narcis leaving me alone?

9 PM, Lights Out

Holly was tense, her efforts at changing the patrols seemingly useless.

“Annie, if you hear anything even slightly strange, run immediately. Got it?”

“Okay, okay.”

“I’m right upstairs, so don’t worry. I’ll wait until you return! Got it?”

“Wow, reliable.”

“Did you get that?”

“Yes, yes.”

Even though I answered properly, Holly didn’t seem satisfied.

The conclusion of her ghost-prevention advice, repeated like a chant, was simple: run as best you can.

After hearing the same warning ten times, she told me the title I’d earned among the servants like a legend:

“Holly, I’m Annie, who survived a private meeting with my lord.”

“Well… yes… but…!”

Without a chance for her to argue, I went down the corridor behind the main building. Holly, responsible for the back second floor, had to climb the stairs.

“I’ll see you upstairs.”

“Annie…! Come back alive…!”

Holly’s sobs echoed from behind.

Soon, all I could hear were my own footsteps and the clatter of the lantern.

Moonmist Castle was rectangular.

The front half belonged to the Trisen family; the rear half was for servants.

Compared to the front, the back was sparse. Only essentials, minimal decoration.

The first floor of the back was the darkest, narrowest part—perhaps because the corridors went deep into remote areas.

Other than a storage room near the entrance, most rooms were unused. Entry was forbidden.

Rumors said it was full of barbaric torture devices, connected to dungeons, or sealed with cursed objects or monsters.

In short, the back first floor was a hotbed of rumors. All of Moonmist Castle’s strange events started there.

Even the ghost that appeared every summer was one of them.

Screeech.

When I extinguished the first lantern on its covered stand, I heard scratching on the wall. A rat had appeared.

Rats from the harsh north were very different from K-rats. Fierce eyes and bulked-up bodies made them seem like monsters rather than animals.

Still, I felt pity. They had to leave before spring.

Every spring, on cleaning day, the family’s mages would drive the rats away. With some top-tier magic, like the Pied Piper.

A few years back, when I saw it… a line of rats forming a hill caused the mage to run away mid-spell.

Holly had asked why I was acting so surprised. Did I like rat-chasing?

Every spring, I just prayed for their safety. Medieval European rats, verified for historical accuracy in a medieval fantasy setting.

The lack of electric lights was absurd. Couldn’t they use magic to drive the rats while lighting lamps?

No universal magic stones? They worked elsewhere.

“Ta-da! With this all-purpose magic stone, you can light fires, control room temperature, turn on lamps, heat water, and enjoy all kinds of modern conveniences!” Something like that didn’t exist here.

That’s why it’s medieval. Why only medieval at inconvenient times?

The castle did have warming magic. But it wasn’t as warm as a heater, and broke once every winter.

So I experienced northern winters with my whole body, chanting like in agony:

“Winter is coming…”

It wasn’t just coming; it hit hard. All I could do was pray I wouldn’t freeze. Survival, not comfort, was at stake.