The Nanny of House Herzen - Chapter 31
The steward bit his lip.
“Sir… didn’t you lock up the stablehand overnight? It might be too soon to go hunting with him…”
Carius’s dark gaze shot at the steward.
The steward closed his mouth, and when he opened it again, different words came out.
“…I’ll prepare everything.”
The steward left the room with a gloomy face.
From the room across, a soft wail could be heard. After opening the door, the head maid was seen alone, soothing the baby.
Despite her attempts to comfort the child with sweets and caresses, it was only a temporary relief. The baby continuously cried out, searching for milk.
As the head maid was patting the baby, she noticed the steward and asked.
“What did the master say?”
“He seems not to be pursuing her.”
“What?”
“He’s going hunting instead.”
The head maid sighed.
“…I thought he cared.”
The steward’s reply was slow.
“I thought so too.”
The head maid hesitated but continued.
“Steward, about the nanny…”
“…Yes?”
“We need a new one. If he’s not bringing Evelyn back… we must find someone else…”
When the steward did not respond, the head maid added.
“May I ask about it?”
“His mood is sour; perhaps it’s better to wait until after his return.”
“We can’t wait, considering the baby’s needs.”
It’s Lady Hestina’s child…The head maid added in a whisper.
The steward nodded and looked at the head maid intently.
“Be careful with your words; he’s unstable.”
“Of course.”
After the steward left, the baby continued to fuss. Tears welled up in the head maid’s eyes as she tried to comfort the child.
“Please help, Lady Hestina…”
She looked up at the dim sky, silently praying.
* * *
When hearing the head maid’s suggestion to hire a new nanny, Carius unexpectedly nodded.
The head maid was slightly surprised, considering the Duke had fired the previous competent wet nurse after the Duchess’s death. His refusal to nurture the baby was so firm back then that they didn’t even dare to discuss hiring another nurse.
The poor baby was quite literally starved, but Carius hadn’t glanced at it once. In fact, he seemed annoyed by the mere presence of the child, hastily ordering it to be hidden downstairs and fed only boiled water.
Then, as if sent from heaven, Evelyn arrived. When the head maid brought the blood-soaked woman into the mansion, she ignored the steward’s scolding about inviting trouble.
To prevent any gossip among the staff, she personally cleaned the woman’s body. Her eyes widened in surprise when she discovered the source of the blood wasn’t from a big cut. The woman had engorged b*****s that were leaking milk.
Luckily, Carius was away on a hunting trip. When the head maid hired Evelyn without the master’s permission, she boldly declared she would pay her salary from her own pocket if necessary.
She was willing to do anything to save the baby, but convincing the returning master fell to the steward.
He explained that a woman who had lost her child had arrived in the night, crossing the reed fields, and perhaps it was fate that she should care for the baby. Despite a lifetime of service, the steward’s lips trembled as he made his case.
The young master was no ordinary person. Considering his parents, it was clear he couldn’t have grown up to be a typical individual. The steward and head maid felt a deep pity for him.
The master seemed displeased but didn’t outright refuse. He appeared to detest even thinking about the child. Taking his non-refusal as tacit approval, the butler and head maid agreed to proceed.
After that, the head maid made sure Evelyn stayed out of sight to avoid provoking the master’s temper.
Even if the baby wasn’t his own, it was his cousin’s child. Though he wouldn’t give it the family name, they hoped he wouldn’t cast the child aside. Despite the child’s lack of the black hair or eyes characteristic of the Herzens, they prayed he wouldn’t abandon it.
For that, they needed to raise the child healthy and beautiful.
While focused on the baby, the head maid failed to notice Evelyn’s youth and beauty, which had caught the master’s eye.
One day, she discovered that Evelyn had been visiting the master’s chambers. It was unexpected. But rather than being shocked, she was delighted.
Dead foxes, dead deer, dead bears, carcases—everything the master had brought into the mansion was something others did not welcome.
He spent long hours in the largest room with things no one else welcomed, calling it his ‘playroom.’ Playroom, indeed…
The head maid was a faithful woman. She truly cared for the young master and followed him devotedly, but she despised and was ashamed of that room filled with death more than anyone. Perhaps she felt ashamed of herself for witnessing his unhappy childhood without being able to do anything to help.
In truth, it was more her own will than the master’s that kept everyone from entering the upper floor.
However, after Evelyn began visiting the master’s chambers, his time spent in the playroom noticeably decreased.
For a nobleman to bring a single servant into his bedroom was hardly gossip-worthy. It wasn’t as if he was calling in a different servant every night—there was just one. There hadn’t been such a situation before, and it seemed unlikely there would be in the future.
He even planned to have the baby, whom he had previously ignored, baptized. The head maid believed it was because Evelyn had softened his heart. She hastily assumed everything would turn out well because of this.
