“What nonsense. I can’t understand why a mere maid, who has never given birth to a child nor raised one, would dare to criticize me. I wonder if she knows anything about children.”

Mr. Bimen taunted. The statement about not having given birth or raised children was true, but it was not true that she knew nothing about children. She simply had no way to convince Mr. Bimen of this fact.

‘If I bring up anything about my past life here, I’ll have to pack up and leave before the sun sets today.’

Mayana thought.

But even without mentioning her past life, she was adept at caring for children. It was not an exaggeration to say that Mayana alone raised her younger siblings in place of her busy parents.

What about her previous life? Since the age of six, she had dogs and cats that grew up with her like friends, like siblings. Playing with them was as demanding and rewarding as taking care of human children.

Moreover, she had to occasionally help her mother run a nursery, playing with the children.

[Mom, I’m busy! I’m not playing at home!] [Who told you to work? Just come out for a while. I have to take the children, and the teachers have to prepare materials. It won’t take an hour until the mothers arrive, so come out until then.] [Sigh…]

It happened all the time. Mayana thought.

The children who had to stay in the nursery until their parents finished work ranged in age from three to seven years old.

She would sit in a small child’s chair, sewing while watching the children, holding her unfinished tasks. But it was not an easy job.

If she was making clothes for small dolls, the girls became interested, and eventually, the boys who pretended to be uninterested also flocked over, to the point where she couldn’t work.

[Wow, why is the needle pointy? Does it bleed if you prick yourself?] [Why is there a hole in this fabric?] [Why do you put a jewel there?] [Can I try sticking it with glue?]

……That was her daily life.

Although her mother suggested it several times, she never wanted to become a nursery teacher, so she didn’t get the certification, and she graduated from college with a major unrelated to early childhood education. However, there was no doubt that it was an environment where she naturally became accustomed to taking care of young children.

Mayana slowly exhaled, thinking about all these things, and tried to calm herself.

Fighting with Mr. Bimen continuously was foolish. What she had to do was persuade him not to hit Ariante anymore.

That is if persuasion would work on him.

Mr. Bimen said,

“Go and fetch the young lady at once.”

“I will do so if you promise never to hit her again.”

“How preposterous!”

Mayana glared at Mr. Bimen, frowning.

“A servant who doesn’t know her place! It’s outrageous that someone who should be doing their utmost to raise the young lady to be prim and proper is making her even more illmannered!”

But Mayana would not yield. No matter what Mr. Bimen said, she had only one thing to say.

“I am not speaking to you like this to instill bad habits in the young lady. I only want one thing. Do not hit her. Never. Hitting is not allowed.”

“Do you think you can continue this job while criticizing my teaching methods? I will report today’s incident to His Grace the Duke. Understand?”

Mayana clenched and unclenched her fist, exhaling a boiling breath.

“Yes, do as you please. I need to find the young lady now, so I will be on my way.”
Teacher Bimen narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. With the sound of a whip echoing behind her, Mayana rushed into the room where Ariante had disappeared. But, as she had already expected, there was no one there.

‘She wouldn’t stay still.’

Mayana left Ariante’s room and began to cross the corridor. What started as a brisk walk turned into a run. The maids working in their places looked at Mayana and whispered with sneers, but she had no time to respond to each one.

“Princess!”

The garden was vast, and the sunlit leaves were scorching hot. The gardeners had sprayed water all around, but it was of no use. The young trees could not bear the heat and seemed to wither, as if they wouldn’t bloom the next spring.

“Princess Ariante!”

Heading to the rear garden, Mayana anxiously looked around under the dense shade.

Though Valterminster Duke’s garden was said to be large, it was nothing compared to the forest that extended behind the rear garden. If Ariante were to get lost in the forest…

Rustle, there was a sound. Simultaneously, several curved leaves fell just above Mayana’s forehead.

“Oh, really!”

With an exasperated shout, Mayana looked up. Between thick branches, where the sky was hardly visible through the densely grown leaves, she saw a little socked foot dangling.

Mayana looked at that small foot, agape. Part of her thought how foolish she would appear if someone saw her right now.

Her face had turned red from running under the sun, and her throat was hoarse from shouting. Sweat was dripping from her forehead down to her neck, and her normally neat hair was all messed up, complementing her disheveled expression.