WCMW 3

“…Why did he stop being taught?”

“I understand that once he grew to a certain extent, he no longer needed a wet nurse’s help, so she left.”

…What kind of innovative bullshit is this now?

At three years old, wasn’t that the age when a child was still toddling around, holding their parents’ hands?

And yet they sent the nurse away, saying a baby like that no longer needed one. The only word that came to mind was insane.

“How can you just neglect a three-year-old kid like that….”

I ground my teeth, muttering without realizing it.

Up until now, living here, I had thought both the surrounding environment and this new body suited me well.

But….

‘This really isn’t right.’

He was a younger sibling who had appeared out of nowhere, and honestly speaking, I didn’t have the confidence to cherish him like a real younger brother.

But at the very least, I believed it was a basic human duty for someone—if no one else, then me—to help this child grow up like a proper human being.

“Miss, I heard you were looking for me.”

It seemed Amy had been quicker on her feet than expected.

When I turned around, a middle-aged woman with her hair neatly pulled up, the head maid Mira, greeted me politely.

Mira was one of the characters who appeared in the original work, someone who would continue to hold the position of head maid all the way until Amon inherited this mansion later on.

At first, I wasn’t used to speaking down to someone older than me, but after exchanging words a few times, it turned out to be something I could manage.

‘More than anything, she’s also the person who would find it strangest if I accidentally spoke formally.’

So I was always careful to keep my speech casual.

“Yes, Head Maid. I saw something absurd today. I hear Amon is using a room that’s worse than this storage room—what’s going on?”

At the time, I was somewhat agitated, so I failed to first check whether the original Rieli had already known about Amon’s situation.

“Th-that is….”

The head maid glanced at Amon standing behind me and couldn’t continue.

It seemed I needed to send Amon away first.

“Amon, could you go to the dining room first? I’ll talk for a bit and then follow you.”

“Yes, Sister. I’ll see you in the dining room.”

I stayed silent until Amon’s small figure completely disappeared from view.

In the original story, Head Maid Mira and her son, the chief butler Phil, were retainers of the Duke of Rober’s household, and strictly speaking, they weren’t bad people.

In the story, they were described as harboring a subtle sense of pity for Amon, who had gone through an unfortunate childhood.

Later on, the two of them would also feel sorry for the female lead, Remiel, whom Amon practically dragged into a forced marriage.

But that was all.

They appeared merely as passive figures who quietly obeyed their master’s words.

It was hard to believe that people like them would have voluntarily given Amon a room like that.

If so, there was only one person who came to mind.

“Was it Father? Did Father give Amon a room like that?”

“…The head of the household ordered that he live as inconspicuously as possible, as if he didn’t exist… Those were the words directly conveyed by Lord Raymond, the head of the household’s chief aide.”

“Hah…. Yeah, figures.”

In truth, the answer had already been decided, but I had clung to a faint hope, just in case.

The way he treated me kindly, asking if there was anything I wanted and paying attention to me, made me think there might be some variable not mentioned in the original story.

But now I knew for sure.

The Duke was clearly discriminating between Rieli and Amon.

Unlike Amon, who was still young and therefore showing a different 모습 from his future in the original story, the Duke was exactly the same person described there.

‘What on earth was I expecting….’

I couldn’t even muster a hollow laugh.

Looking at it this way, I really was stupid.

After being betrayed like that as a child, I still went and placed even a shred of expectation on a father figure again—especially the father of a body I had only possessed a few days ago.

I dragged my mind back up from where it was about to sink beneath a deep sleep.

Right. Let’s throw away these futile expectations and face reality.

From now on, I had to take care of Amon. There was no way I could entrust a child’s upbringing to someone who would neglect him like this.

“We need to move his room immediately. Prepare the biggest and best room. As quickly as possible so he can use it right after dinner.”

“…The largest vacant room is directly across from yours, Miss. Would that be all right?”

“What wouldn’t be all right about it? Ah, and if Father says anything, tell him I gave the order.”

“Understood. Then I will take my leave.”

I gave a rough nod in response to the head maid’s words and hurried toward the dining room.

Thinking of the small child who would be waiting for me made my heart impatient.

Dinner with Amon was better than the meal I had shared with the Duke.

At dinner with the Duke, the gazes focused solely on me had been suffocatingly burdensome, and old, stale memories had torn through my mind, to the point where I couldn’t even tell whether the food was going down my throat or my nose.

In contrast, now we simply kept our silence, quietly putting food into our mouths.

Come to think of it, Amon must never have received any education in dining etiquette either.

I glanced at the child out of the corner of my eye.

He probably didn’t even know how to use them properly, yet the child before me was neatly spooning up his appetizer without any unnecessary movements.

“Did you learn table manners from books too?”

“Yes, Sister. I acquired most of my knowledge through books.”

As I asked the light question, I signaled to the maid, who quickly set the main dish—lamb steak—on the table.

As I cut my meat and turned my gaze toward Amon, something caught my eye. What was it… ah.

It was the fork and knife the child was holding.

The forks and knives used here were all made of silver, much heavier than what I had used back in Korea, and also larger in size.

Even I felt their weight when using them, so they were all the more unsuitable for such a small child.

Amon was holding the fork and knife naturally, but unlike before, his handling now looked somewhat awkward and unstable.

Soup or appetizers would have been easy enough to eat, but cutting meat with the bone still attached was a completely different matter.

Watching him like that, an irritated voice slipped out of me without thinking.

“Don’t you have smaller forks and knives? They’re way too big for a kid.”

At my remark, the maid who had been standing by answered with a slightly troubled expression.

“I’m sorry, Miss. All the forks and knives we have are only in the same size as the ones you are currently using.”

“Then there must be something from when I was little, at least.”

At the clear bewilderment in my voice, the maid bowed her head and said,

“All forks, knives, and other tableware are periodically replaced, and anything no longer in use is immediately disposed of. Also, as there have been no occasions for young guests to visit the estate, we currently have none prepared.”

“…Then get them prepared immediately. It’s not like the ducal household is short on money—how can a house with a child even… ha.”

“Yes, Miss. I will see to it right away.”

Even after hearing the affirmative response, frustration surged up from deep inside my chest.

If you really traced it back, this was all the Duke’s fault for neglecting his own child, not the servants’.

I knew that, but I was still angry.

When it came to Amon, it felt like there wasn’t a single thing done properly. No—there wasn’t.

Heat rose inside me, but I forcibly pressed it down. Then I pulled Amon’s plate in front of me and cut the meat for him instead.

I didn’t have the patience to quietly watch that awkward knife work.

Startled at having his plate taken, Amon clutched his fork and knife tightly in both hands and spoke.

“…Sister, I can do it. It’s just that I’m inexperienced since it’s my first time handling a knife.”

“Then what have you been eating with all this time?”

Judging by how things were, it didn’t seem like they had thoughtfully served him dishes that didn’t require a knife, so I asked.

“I have only eaten foods that are easy to consume, so there was no occasion to use a formal dining knife.”

Ah… don’t do this. Please don’t do this with food.

I repeated that desperately to myself and, clinging to a thread of hope, asked,

“…What have you been eating these past few days? Tell me everything you ate.”

“I do not eat breakfast. Yesterday for lunch I ate steamed potatoes, and for dinner I ate boiled eggs and salad. The day before yesterday for lunch, tomato soup—.”

“No, that’s enough! You can stop. I get it.”

If I heard any more, I felt like I might end up snapping in front of the innocent child, so I cut him off.

A raging fire burned inside me. Still, worried that the child might be startled, I continued in an intentionally gentle tone.

“From now on, let’s eat together. Starting tomorrow, you’ll eat breakfast too, and your room will be moved, so after we finish eating, we can go up together.”

My hands clenched on their own.

For a kid so skinny it wouldn’t be strange to call him malnourished—what, eggs and salad?

What I hated most was dieting, and what I loathed even more was forced dieting.

I swallowed my anger alone, stuffing steak into my mouth and chewing, but because of the rage, I couldn’t taste much of anything.

As I mechanically chewed and swallowed, my eyes caught the sight of Amon picking up the meat I had cut for him and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing away.

His already round face became even rounder as his cheeks puffed out with food.

It was so cute that the anger that had been boiling up subsided a little.

Instead, I had the urge to poke his cheek, but I held back.

Even to my eyes, someone who didn’t particularly like children, he looked this adorable—how much more lovable must he appear to others?

‘Poor Amon. What’s the point of being born into a wealthy noble family with a diamond spoon in your mouth?’

When in reality, his living conditions were worse than those of the ducal household’s servants.

Though Amon was a young lord, he had lived a life completely opposite to that of Rieli, a young lady of the ducal family—like black and white.

If I hadn’t entered this body, he would have continued living in that storage-room-like chamber and grown up just as he did in the original story.

But now that I had become Amon’s older sister, I had no intention whatsoever of standing by and watching that happen.

How could I possibly just watch a child, who deserved protection, be neglected like that?

“Is it good?”

“…Yes, it’s good.”

Chew, chew. After swallowing everything in his mouth, the slightly flushed-faced child met my eyes and answered.

Eat a lot, little one. From now on, I’ll make sure you eat plenty—enough to make up for everything you couldn’t eat until now.

And as for your father, I think it’s about time I scheduled a proper face-to-face talk with him.