* * *

Sarah looked at the two people who followed her around as if they were protesting.

“Belluna.”

“……”

“Benjamin.”

“……”

Despite the warning, the two shamelessly followed her around.

“Are you really going to be like this?”

To the frowning Sarah, Belluna said with a calm face.

“There is still time before you can discuss it with the magic tower, so I’ll stay by your side like this for a while.”

“Belluna, why are you being like this…….”

“Until that time, please allow me to do that.”

Sarah closed her eyes with her throbbing head. It was because her heart was about to weaken as she looked at Belluna’s eyes, who looked at her with unfathomably desperate eyes.

‘The child who isn’t usually like that is really……, it’s hard’

Belluna was a much more mature child than Sarah. She must have lived less than Park Hyeyeon and Sarah Millen, but Belluna was older than Sarah Millen anyway. It was because Oliven had been with her since he was a boy, and Benjamin was brought in before he became an adult, but Belluna was brought in only when she was already an adult. Belluna also vaguely noticed that her master was younger than her, but she was always polite to her and mature at the same time. As such a mature Belluna looked at her with her eyes shining like a child like that, her heart was shaken.

‘However, Young Master Claude is…….’

Sarah sighed quietly and looked at Claude, who was hiding in the corner over there and looking this way. Claude hadn’t come close to Sarah since the two of them followed Sarah.

“May, can you tell Young Master Claude that it’s okay because they’re not hurting him?”

“Yes, Lady Sarah.”

Sarah communicated with Claude through May. It was because Claude, who was firmly sulking, wouldn’t talk to her. When May walked up and delivered Sarah’s words to Claude, the child tiptoed and whispered something to May’s ear. Sarah watched May’s expression change as she listened to the child’s words. When May narrowed her eyebrows, her heart sank, but when she smiled faintly, hope came back up again.

“Lady Sarah.”

“Yes, what did Young Master Claude say?”

“He said it was scary.…. That person.”

May’s finger was pointing at Benjamin. At the same time, Claude raised his face and looked at Benjamin with his sharp green eyes. He looked like a kitten was raising its hair all over its body and stroking its mandibles. Of course, she was crazy because he was so cute looking like that, but it was also painful because Claude avoided Sarah altogether.

“Step back for a moment.”

At Sarah’s words, Benjamin and Belluna took two steps back. Then Claude took two steps closer.

‘This is it.’

Sarah finally found a strategy to ease Claude’s mind.

“Benjamin takes twenty steps back.”

“……Yes.”

He meekly followed Sarah’s instructions and strode backward. When a safe distance was secured, Claude, who had been hiding in the distance, slowly approached Sarah.

“Is it okay now, Young Master Claude?”

“Yes, I’m scared of that uncle.”

“That’s understandable.”

Sarah hugged Claude and patted his back. Claude held his nanny’s arms and stuck out his tongue toward Benjamin, who was behind her.

“……”

Then in the distance, Benjamin’s face was distorted. Seeing this, Belluna smiled faintly and said.

“Young Lord Ambrosia is very cute. Truly, he deserves to be cherished by Master.”

“Right? Our Young Master Claude is cute, right?”

“Yes, he is very cute and mature.”

Claude, who was in Sarah’s arms, turned his gaze and headed for Belluna. When Belluna made eye contact with the child, she waved awkwardly, trying to smile as kindly as possible.

“……”

Claude glanced at Belluna from head to toe with a searching gaze. Belluna did not let go of the tension in her waving hand in order not to look even a little scared at that blatant gaze. The quick-witted Belluna recognized it right away. In order to be close to her master here, she had to like that little kid.

“I like that sister”

“……!”

Finally, Claude’s permission was granted. Belluna was relieved that it was Benjamin, not herself, who caused a fuss in the Imperial Palace.

“Heaven, you liked Belluna.”

It seemed that Sarah was moved by that generosity. Inwardly, she was worried that there might be friction between Claude and her disciples. Still, when Claude’s permission was granted like this, Sarah felt a little relieved. She didn’t know how long it would take to negotiate with the magic tower, but she wanted Claude to hold out well during that period.

“Thank you.”

Belluna bowed and made eye contact with Claude, who was in Sarah’s arms, to express her gratitude politely. Whether the look was unexpected or he really liked it, Claude lowered his guard against Belluna a little. Then he again cast a sharp gaze on Benjamin behind her. Recognizing the meaning of Claude’s gaze, Sarah quickly told Benjamin.

“Benjamin, if you want to stay with me while you’re here, keep that distance from now on.”

“……!”

Benjamin was about to say something for a moment, but then he shut his mouth when he saw Claude’s eyes staring at him.

“By the way, how about Oliven?”

“He seems to be in a big shock. He’s lying on the floor and crying.”

“……Tell him to cry more.”

Sarah said calmly, turned around, and walked away. Oliven was a pitiable child in many ways, so there were many times when Sarah was a bit soft. When she accepted and patted her grown-up disciple’s foolishness, he seemed to have a bad habit. It was just right to say that she raised him wrong. Sarah made up her mind that she would be a little colder towards him from now on.

“Shall we go, Young Master Claude? You’re hungry, right?”

“Yes, I’m hungry.”

Soon it was breakfast time with Ethan. As Sarah moved her steps, she thought about how she would face Ethan.

“May, what about the Duke?”

“He has already arrived and is waiting for you.”

“Is that so?”

Ethan, who fell asleep in her arms last night, did not wake up for a long time. He fell asleep so deeply. Even though she magically moved him to the bedroom and covered him with a blanket to the end of his chin, he could not wake up. Even after that, Sarah stared at Ethan’s sleeping face for a long time before returning to her room.

‘I didn’t know the Duke had such a past.’

She knew well that the predecessor duke was not qualified as a father because Ethan told her himself. However, she didn’t know that even his mother had hurt Ethan.

‘How on earth did he endure it?’

I realized just how strong the man named Ethan Ambrosia was. A father who lusted for power, a mother who hated him, and even the curse of Ambrosia that could take away a loved one at any time. How could he have succeeded the dukedom without collapsing and led the family splendidly? How did he carry that weight? Sarah, who was walking with that thought, noticed that she had already arrived at the dining room.

‘Ah.’

Sarah was able to break free from her thoughts when she found Ethan sitting in the dining room.

“……Sarah.”

When he found her walking in from afar, Ethan’s expressionless face softened like the sunlight of a spring day. Sarah blinked, thinking the scene moved slow, like a panorama.

“To be honest, isn’t it against the law to smile like that?”

“Huh? What did you say, Nanny?”

“No, let’s go.”

Sarah, who inadvertently muttered the words in her mind, smiled at Claude as if nothing had happened and moved on.