Chapter 9
“So, children, you don’t have to worry anymore.”
I smiled brightly at the children. After making my decision, my mind felt much lighter.
However, even after hearing my words, the children’s expressions did not look very good. I soon found out why.
“Then who will stay with us today?”
“Hm?”
“The new teacher is coming tomorrow, right? Then what do we do today?”
“That is……”
“Being without an adult is scary……”
The maids were supposed to return to the Duke’s residence in the evening. Their workplace was the Duke’s residence, so it was only natural.
I was also planning to return to Lucian.
The fact that Lucian wanted to follow me had been bothering me the entire time.
‘If the maids and I leave, the children will have to stay without an adult until tomorrow morning.’
The children went to sleep early, so it should have been fine. But I could not ignore possible problems. Children were unpredictable. They always needed a guardian nearby.
Besides, there were babies in the Vusnier Orphanage who had only recently learned how to walk.
‘Young children like this will probably cry when they want to sleep, and someone will need to change their diapers when they wake up.’
I looked at the maid who was comforting a crying child in the corner of the orphanage. The other maids were also busy changing diapers, feeding formula, and taking care of the children.
Seeing their faces become exhausted in such a short time, I could never ask them to stay until tomorrow morning.
So I made my decision.
“I will stay, so it’s okay.”
“You will, sister?”
“Yes. I will stay here until the new teacher comes tomorrow. So everyone, don’t worry too much.”
“……That’s a relief.”
Smiles appeared on the children’s worried faces. Their little smiles were incredibly adorable.
With children this lovable, staying one night should not be a problem.
However, that was my mistake.
“Miss, are you sure you’ll be okay? Maybe we should stay with you after all……”
“It’s okay. You already came all the way here. I don’t want to make you work through the night too.”
“But still. There are so many children.”
“I said it’s fine. No matter how hard this is, do you really think it will be harder than taking care of Lucian?”
“But……”
I pushed the worried maids toward the carriage.
“When the new childcare teacher arrives tomorrow, I’ll come back right away. Please tell Lucian that his aunt has something to do, so she has to stay one night.”
“Okay. But if anything happens, you must call us right away, okay?”
“Okay.”
I waved my hand toward the carriage carrying the maids as it moved away.
Thankfully, a childcare teacher had been found quickly, so I was able to relax a little.
“I fed them dinner, and they took a clean bath.”
Because the children had grown up under the orphanage director, they could eat and wash themselves without help.
The older children even helped me and the maids wash the younger children.
It was admirable, but at the same time, it made me feel sad.
I took out my pocket watch.
It was almost 9 p.m.
A good child should already be in dreamland by now.
“Shall we get ready for bed?”
After carefully checking that all the doors were locked, I picked up a couple of storybooks.
“They definitely won’t want to sleep.”
I remembered Lucian, who had struggled with all his strength to avoid sleeping.
‘Lucian, why don’t you want to sleep?’
‘I don’t want to!’
“So why don’t you want to sleep?”
‘Because I don’t want to!’
Not only did he scream that he absolutely would not sleep, but he even stuck his finger into my nose while I was singing him a lullaby.
There was even a time when he tried to sneak out into the hallway at dawn and was caught by the nanny.
‘Why does he hate sleeping so much? If it were me, I could sleep all day.’
Holding the storybooks in my arms, I entered the room with a determined heart.
But all my preparation was meaningless.
The children were already ready for bed.
“Are you all ready to sleep?”
“Yes.”
The children lay on their blankets and only nodded their heads.
“If we don’t sleep early, we get punished.”
“That’s true, but……”
The punishment I imagined and the punishment the children had received from the orphanage director seemed completely different.
They trembled just hearing the word “punished.”
“I won’t punish you for that.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. Sometimes there are days when you just can’t fall asleep.”
Of course, it would be a problem if they refused to sleep every day like Lucian.
I shrugged and walked toward the empty spot.
There was a pillow and blanket prepared there for me.
“If anyone can’t sleep, come here. I’ll read you a story.”
The word “storybook.”
At those three syllables, some children quickly lifted their heads.
However, they did not immediately come closer.
‘They must still feel uncomfortable. I am an adult they met for the first time today.’
At times like this, I should not force myself on them.
I needed to let the children approach me by themselves.
“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. I’ll just read by myself.”
I deliberately acted casually and opened the book.
Then, a few children started moving their hips.
Seeing that, I made my voice even more exaggerated.
“Wow, there is a house made of cookies? That sounds really delicious!”
“……I’m curious about the cookie house.”
I let out a small laugh at their shy reactions.
Then, pretending to lose, I opened the book so they could see it.
“If you’re curious, do you want to look together?”
“……Yes.”
Once one child nodded, everything became easier.
The children who had lowered their guard slowly came closer to me.
“Once upon a time, there was a cookie kingdom where the entire world was made of cookies……”
I continued reading while happily looking at the children whose eyes were shining as they focused on the story.
The sound of soft snoring could be heard around the time I finished one book.
Except for about three children, everyone else had fallen asleep.
‘Seeing them sleep makes me sleepy too……’
But I could not close the book yet.
There were still children who had not fallen asleep.
I endured the wave of sleepiness and opened the next book.
I was sure that was what happened……
“Waaah!”
A sudden crying sound made me jump up.
Turning my head toward the sound, I saw a little girl who looked like she was not even one year old crying sadly.
‘If this continues, the others will wake up.’
I quickly picked up the crying child.
What was her name again?
Was it Cherry?
“Why is our Cherry crying? What is making you so sad?”
“Waaah! Uwaaah!”
“……This smell.”
While holding Cherry and gently rocking her, I suddenly stopped moving when I felt warmth at my fingertips.
Then I brought my nose near Cherry’s bottom and sniffed.
“You pooped……”
And she had done it very thoroughly.
That was why she was crying.
‘I need to change her diaper……’
Sadly, I had never changed a diaper before.
Washing Lucian or changing his diapers had always been the nanny’s and maids’ jobs.
Since I was born as a noble, it could not be helped.
‘But I can’t just leave the diaper like this.’
Okay!
I’ll just try!
“I’ll change it quickly. Just wait a little longer, okay?”
I took a new diaper and towel and headed to the bathroom.
Then, using everything I had learned by watching the nanny, I took off the child’s clothes.
I put the dirty diaper into a bucket first and decided to wash Cherry’s body.
Babies caught colds easily, so I needed to finish everything quickly.
“Ueeng, ueeeng!”
“Yes, it’s almost done.”
I forced my half-closing eyes open and carefully washed Cherry.
Then I put on a new diaper and wrapped her tightly in clothes so she would not catch a cold.
Thankfully, Cherry stopped crying as soon as she changed into clean clothes and quickly fell asleep.
‘Thank goodness……’
The diaper was a little loose, but I considered it a success.
Just as I was about to lay sleeping Cherry back on the blanket—
“Uwaaaah!”
The moment her back touched the floor, Cherry started crying again.
“Yes, yes. Don’t cry.”
I tried my best to comfort her and make her sleep again, but it was useless.
As if she had a sensor attached to the back of her head, Cherry cried the moment I put her down.
The only good thing was that babies were deep sleepers, but……
“Uuu……”
“Waaah!”
Forget it.
Because of Cherry’s crying, the other babies around her also started crying together.
“Okay, okay. It’s fine. Let’s sleep again.”
With the hand that was not holding Cherry, I patted the chest of another crying child.
Holding a baby with one hand was extremely difficult, but I had no choice.
However, the children did not stop crying.
And then—
“I need to pee……”
“……You woke up?”
A little boy stood up while holding the front of his clothes.
‘No wonder. He drank so much juice earlier.’
It was truly complete chaos.
“C-can you go to the bathroom by yourself?”
“Mm……”
“Then let’s hurry and go.”
Although he said he could go alone, the child stepped on several children lying on the floor while walking to the bathroom.
It was dark, so he could not see them.
“Ouch!”
“It hurts!”
Even the children who had barely fallen asleep woke up again.
It was truly a disaster.
‘I want to cry……’
Why did I send the maids away?
Why did I think this would be easier than taking care of Lucian?
I wanted to lose consciousness and give up, but heaven did not allow me even that.
“Ugh…… Ah!”
Despite the fact that I had just cleaned her so carefully, Cherry had done it again.
‘Easier than Lucian? My foot……’
That was the moment I truly realized.
Taking care of even one child was already difficult enough.
