Chapter 48

# 48

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'This might be a ploy to break down my guard.'

Schleman steadied his momentarily faltering resolve and heightened his vigilance. He pretended not to know Nabiya’s true identity and gave a suspicious smile.

"Hello, little miss. It seems you’re looking for something."

Nabiya looked down at her hands and replied.

"I’m looking for a towel to wipe my hands."

"Well, you should call a maid…"

There were no maids in Esselred.

Schleman frowned.

This child, from a noble family, should naturally have someone to take care of her.

'Still, it seems she’s used to doing things on her own…'

In fact, that was strange.

'Perhaps it means she’s used to doing things on her own in her daily life.'

Being a foster daughter, not a beloved child, might have made it inevitable.

'Well, helping her wipe her hands is something I should do as an adult.'

"Come with me. We need to go to the first floor where we can get water."

He led the child to the first-floor kitchen.

Nabiya’s steps were very slow.

She was a small child, and she walked cautiously, enduring the pain with each movement.

Schleman patiently matched his pace to hers.

No matter how cunning, she was still a child.

The sight of the small, frail girl, bruised and battered from her stepbrother, was indeed unsettling.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue involuntarily.

Nabiya bit her lower lip and quickened her pace.

Though she tried not to show it, the pain distorted her eyes slightly.

"Wait."

Schleman stopped Nabiya, looking unusually flustered.

'I probably looked like I was scolding her for walking too slowly.'

He was not used to children.

Being unmarried and serving Lark as his lord, he had never had children around.

"You don’t have to walk so fast."

Nabiya, with great politeness, replied.

"Thank you for your kind words."

Despite her words, she continued to quicken her pace.

Schleman interpreted her response as a mere formality.

He decided not to say anything more and simply slowed his pace.

'What a stubborn little thing.'

He inwardly clicked his tongue.

Nabiya had clear boundaries.

She was overly polite and formal, keeping others at a distance.

She had built a massive wall to prevent anyone from entering her personal space.

Nabiya hid behind this wall to protect herself.

Her actions seemed so habitual that she might not even be aware of them.

Schleman was a very independent person.

He wasn’t the type to show excessive kindness, even to a child.

Yet… Nabiya’s guarded attitude strangely bothered him.

'Is it because she’s just a child?'

He attributed his discomfort to a sense of guilt, similar to feeling responsible for a child’s well-being.

He gathered his thoughts and hurried to help her wash her hands.

Apart from being covered in chocolate, Nabiya was remarkably composed.

She didn’t cry or get upset when the water touched her injured hands; she only slowed her movements, not showing any pain outwardly.

'She’s used to enduring.'

Schleman unconsciously frowned.

Was the child cunning because she had to survive in a harsh environment?

"I’m done washing my hands."

Nabiya showed her clean hands and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Schleman, noticing that her face was also covered in chocolate, wet his hands and wiped her face.

Nabiya, realizing her face was dirty, blushed slightly and tried to stop him.

"I can do it myself, thank you."

Schleman, uncharacteristically, said something out of the ordinary.

"I can help with this."

Even as he said it, he felt awkward and embarrassed.

Once he became aware that Nabiya was trying to do everything on her own, his hand reached out on its own.

He wanted to provide a moment of respite for the child, standing alone in a barren landscape.

But Nabiya smiled and refused.

"But you don’t like me, do you?"

Schleman, taken aback, stammered.

"…Huh?"

Nabiya didn’t feel particularly regretful about Schleman’s dislike.

It was only natural.

"I don’t think just because I’m a child, I must always receive help from adults. And I don’t resent not getting help."

Nabiya finished wiping her face and continued.

"That would be shameless."

Is it shameful for a child to receive help?

While Schleman was still dazed, Nabiya said.

"I understand why you’re wary of me. My situation involves not just the Agnus family but also the royal family."

'Did she know from the beginning that I was sent to monitor her?'

Schleman could confidently say that no one, except Lark, had ever left him so flustered.

Especially not an eight-year-old child.

Nabiya was certainly unaware that he had been in that bedroom last night.

Yet, she spoke as if she knew everything and had come to find him.

Was it possible to deduce all this just from him visiting her early in the morning?

Schleman couldn’t help but sigh.

"Heh heh…"

He had come to assess Nabiya’s intentions but ended up revealing his own.

In comparison, he had gained no new information from her beyond what he already knew.

He was now certain.

This girl was not just exceptionally smart and clever.

Nabiya suddenly smiled.

"Still, I appreciate your kindness."

She meant it.

She could sense that Schleman wasn’t trying to harm her with his kindness.

'He’s a good person.'

Despite his fearsome reputation as the Iron-Blooded Schleman, he was just a bit gruff but genuinely a good person.

He tried to clear up misunderstandings and showed consideration, even if it wasn’t in his nature.

He also seemed to have a strong attachment to Esselred.

His reason for rejecting her was ultimately to protect the family.

Thus, Nabiya spoke more accurately about her situation.

"I hoped the Duke would take me in as a foster daughter. Even though I was rejected, it wasn’t to become the heir here."

"…"

"I needed a shield, not a father. Similarly, Esselred can use me as a weapon."

"…"

"Frankly, how could someone like me, a prisoner, become the daughter of a noble?"

Cred, Lark’s real foster son, would come here, and having someone like her in their family would be absurd.

"And I’ll leave here within a year."

Because that was the promise.

Nabiya remained calm throughout, appearing almost indifferent.

She didn’t seem fazed by the absurdity of her situation.

As if it was something that had always been there.

Schleman felt a strange sense of déjà vu from Nabiya.

'It’s just like…'

Just like looking at his lord.