Star Child's Parenting Diary - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24
Section 6. The Missing Mage’s Whereabouts (4)
Ethan pressed a hand to his chest.
He checked again, thinking it was only his imagination, but the sensation remained the same.
Just yesterday the Ether Depletion had given him such a terrible headache, and yet a single night’s rest had made it vanish.
“What troubles you, sir?”
“My Ether feels unusually stable.”
“Surely that’s a good thing?”
“It is good. But it’s abnormal, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps it’s the result of a proper night’s sleep.”
Aspe shrugged his shoulders lightly, offering the thought without much weight.
“You never sleep well, so your temperament grows sharp and your Ether mimics its master—ungh!”
“I really ought to stitch that mouth shut for you.”
Ethan clicked his tongue and flicked through the stack of documents with a sharp gesture.
Then his gaze snagged on a particular line.
A moment passed.
“Rejected.”
Ethan cast the papers aside, his voice cold and final.
“Her tastes are far too garish.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Aspe’s face withered in an instant.
“That makes twenty-three now.”
“This country is overflowing with people fit to serve as a nursemaid.”
“At this rate, I fear the well will run dry before long.”
Aspe puckered his lip in protest.
“Or I might wither to nothing first.”
“Then you should have found the right person in the first place.”
“Has it never occurred to you that your standards might be somewhat… exacting?”
“Not at all.”
Ethan replied with his characteristic lack of shame.
“Every one of my requirements is reasonable.”
The moment Ethan posted a notice seeking a nursemaid for Puppu, applications flooded in like madness.
He filtered out more than half of them—candidates backed by members of the Council of Elders—and then sifted the meager handful that remained by background check, culling them once more.
When these carefully winnowed nursemaid candidates were finally presented to Ethan for approval, he rejected them all without mercy.
Of course, Ethan had his reasons.
Once Setia entered her Magical Construct Research, the role of a nursemaid for Puppu would become far more crucial. For the child’s emotional well-being, careful consideration in hiring was essential.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened as he scanned the application.
Flutter.
Ethan tossed the investigation report on the applicant carelessly out of his bed.
Two more candidates from among his carefully selected nursemaids were rejected.
Flutter.
“If you’re going to be like this, find one yourself!”
The count had risen to three now.
“Your voice is rather loud for morning, isn’t it?”
Ethan raised one eyebrow in a glare, and Aspe quickly retreated to a safer distance.
Having subdued Aspe with nothing but a look, Ethan’s eyes returned to the documents.
Aspe dejectedly gathered up the papers of the rejected candidates.
“Why are you rejecting this candidate, sir?”
“Something about her just wouldn’t appeal to children.”
The last applicant had been so gaunt that Ethan worried the child might poke her by accident.
Another had such long hair that he feared it would whip across Puppu’s face.
“And what manner of person appeals to you? You’ve rejected every single child from the Orphanage—ugh!”
Aspe hastily lowered his head.
Whoosh.
A pen streaked past his head, grazing it narrowly before embedding itself in the wall.
“Are you trying to kill me? Where else will you find a talent as capable as I?”
Aspe stared aghast at the pen vibrating faintly in the plaster.
“A man who can’t even find a single nursemaid has no business calling himself capable.”
“If you’re going to be this way, then cultivate a nursemaid yourself! What? Train one directly—!”
Aspe’s eyes suddenly dilated wide.
It was thanks to a clever notion that had occurred to me from the words I’d just spoken.
“Your Highness. I’ve just had a rather good idea.”
“If it’s a poor one, you’re dead.”
“There’s that child called Lili from the Orphanage, sir.”
Ethan’s previously apathetic eyebrows shot up sharply.
“The cold one?”
“Yes! That capable child. What if you simply hired her instead?”
“Rejected. She’s a minor.”
Aspe began his explanation with supreme confidence.
“Please, just hear me out first, Your Highness.”
Ethan listened to his subordinate’s opinion with the mindset that he’d slit the man’s throat the moment he started spouting nonsense.
“Lili is at an age where she can legally work with the consent of both herself and her guardian.”
“Still rejected.”
“There won’t be anyone better than her. She’s already been caring for Miss Setia all this time. I’m sure the young lady would be pleased, wouldn’t she?”
……
“To that child, the other orphans were family, after all.”
Aspe, who had been persuading him with eloquent fluency, emphasized one word in particular.
“Family, Your Highness. Faaamily.”
“I understand. Now stop talking.”
Ethan glared at Aspe savagely before running his hand through his flattened hair and attempting to rise from the bed.
In that moment.
……
Puppu caught at his fingertips.
He suddenly remembered the request Lili had made before leaving the Orphanage.
“Hey, Aspe.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know how to wash a doll?”
“Surely not, sir.”
“Then find out.”
“Pardon? But we could simply order the maids to——”
“She asked me to wash it for her.”
“You mean to launder it personally, sir?”
Aspe’s startled question drew a dry laugh from Ethan.
Even I had to admit it was a ridiculous thing to say.
“Here I am, going to all sorts of lengths just to raise one child.”
“Indeed. It certainly shows that heredity and upbringing matter, doesn’t it?”
“Silence.”
“Right away, sir.”
“And find a new nursemaid. A proper one this time.”
At Ethan’s instruction, Aspe’s shoulders sagged.
As if he cared.
Ethan tucked the freshly bathed Setia snugly against his side and headed toward the Dining Hall.
When he arrived, Setia was already waiting for them, her preparations for an early morning outing complete.
It seemed she had been waiting to depart after exchanging greetings.
“So you’re heading to the Temple from today onward?”
“Yes.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
Setia answered briskly.
Yet Ethan, unable to set aside his concerns for her, launched into a lengthy string of warnings.
“Don’t overexert yourself. If anything should happen——”
“Ethan, stop. Argares already explained everything to me.”
Setia, gently reproaching the ever-anxious Ethan, also greeted Setia warmly.
“Setia, have a fun time playing with your uncle today. Understood?”
“Shetia, woody?”
“Yes. I’ll go study outside and come back.”
“Gom?”
“Study, outside.”
“Gom. Outside.”
Setia repeated her words haltingly and waved her hands fluttering in the air.
“See you soon.”
“Mm. See you tonight.”
Smack!
Setia pressed a light kiss to Bell’s cheek, and the child beamed, returning the gesture with enthusiasm.
“I’ll join you in the research as well.”
Argares had decided to take part in the work too.
If Bell was to learn to control Ether any sooner, even a small addition of knowledge would help.
“Bye~.”
Waving goodbye with both hands, Bell finished breakfast alone with Ethan.
The morning after eating held no particular schedule.
Ethan had his own duties to attend to, after all.
“All right. Stay here and play.”
Ethan set Bell down inside a playpen arranged in one corner of his Study.
“You can play by yourself for a bit, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good. If you get hungry, raise both hands high.”
“Yes!”
Bell answered with enthusiasm and promptly raised both hands above her head.
Ethan caught those hands and tucked them firmly back against her sides.
“Not now. We just finished eating.”
“Aww.”
“Play. Build a castle or something.”
Ethan made the suggestion without much enthusiasm, placing Wooden Blocks in Bell’s hands.
Bell gazed at the square wooden pieces for a moment, then began stacking them carefully.
‘She plays nicely.’
Confirming that Bell was absorbed in play, Ethan settled into his own chair.
Quiet silence and warm peace filled their afternoon completely.
Scratch-scratch. Tap-tap.
The sound of Ethan’s pen moving and Bell stacking blocks created a gentle harmony.
Crash!
At the sound of blocks tumbling, Ethan’s head snapped up.
He could have sworn he heard a sharp sound—and indeed he had.
Bell had wrapped her small hands around her forehead.
“What is it? Did it hurt?”
Ethan immediately rose from his chair.
He opened one side of the playpen and crouched down before the child.
“Let me see.”
“Mm.”
Bell pouted and slowly lowered her hands.
Ethan pursed his lips and blew gently across the spot that had reddened to the size of a pinprick.
“There. All better?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Whether it still hurt or not.
After a moment’s consideration, Bell nodded.
It seemed a bit better, at least.
Fidgeting with her hands, Bell touched the blocks tentatively, then offered them to Ethan.
“Will you help?”
“Yes.”
Ethan glanced at the paperwork piled high on his desk, then ultimately settled beside Bell.
“What would you like to build?”
Realizing he was willing to play with her, Bell’s expression brightened considerably.
“Yes!”
Bell pointed to the Fairy Tale Book she had been given as a gift.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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