The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 97
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Chairman. There’s something I want to ask of you.”
When I spoke calmly, Herman’s eyes widened.
He looked puzzled for a moment, then asked seriously.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Mm, investigate someone’s background.”
“Background investigation?”
Herman thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Though it’s modest, our Abner does have something that could be called an information network. In truth, it’s closer to being mine personally…”
Herman was fundamentally a person with leadership qualities.
Moreover, he had cool-headed and rational aspects, making him truly capable as a chairman.
His hidden strength was precisely the ‘information network’ he had just mentioned.
This was exactly why I had previously described Herman as ‘the old man with a black heart.’
“Chairman Hermann may look gentle, but he’s a scary old man. Princess, you should always be careful around him. There’s no telling what schemes he might be hiding.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Despite staying only in the duke’s castle, he’s spread informants like a spider web throughout the entire Empire. I was shocked too.”
I learned about this thanks to none other than Lady Larienne.
That Lady Larienne who had been from the Abner branch family and recently became my etiquette teacher.
“It was also Chairman Hermann who found my husband after he ran away with a maid.”
“With a, a maid…?”
“He hid so thoroughly that I spent ages searching for him with a nail-studded club, but I just couldn’t find him.”
“Eek…”
“Then rumors started spreading. That one of the Abner branch family members was prowling the back alleys every night with a club.”
That news soon reached Chairman Hermann’s ears.
Naturally, Herman was concerned about Abner’s reputation falling and tried to dissuade the lady.
He told her to stop going around looking for her husband while carrying dangerous weapons.
But Lady Larienne was someone whose temper was second to none among the branch family.
Naturally, she wouldn’t accept such a proposal.
When the lady remained so stubborn, Herman finally made a decision.
He would personally step in and find Lady Larienne’s husband for her.
“What I couldn’t find after months of searching, the chairman found in half a day. I should have killed my husband right then and there. But that old man desperately stopped me…”
“L-Lady Larienne…”
“Still, it worked out well in the end. If I had become a murderer, I wouldn’t be able to stay by the Princess’s side now, would I? There’s still a mountain of things to teach you.”
Lady Larienne concluded the conversation with a laugh, as if it were nothing.
But the words I heard that day were not easily forgotten.
Especially Herman’s information network.
“If you have an information network, can you investigate nobles’ backgrounds too?”
“That’s correct. I can obtain most information I want to know.”
“How exactly?”
Herman cleared his throat and began to speak.
“As you know, Princess, I rose to this position from the very bottom.”
His eyes became serious.
“I met my current wife at twenty-one and formed connections with the Abner family, so it’s been well over forty years now.”
Hearing it directly made the years feel even longer.
“Though Abner has faltered a bit in recent years, it wasn’t like this before. Just getting into the Council of Elders was extremely difficult.”
“What do you mean it was difficult?”
“Princess, you’re intelligent, so you’ll probably understand. You have to engage in power struggles between people and react keenly to various information.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“So I placed various information sources throughout the Empire early on. Moving quickly is competitiveness, and competitiveness is success.”
I pretended to listen obediently, but inwardly I couldn’t help but be amazed.
‘I really did well choosing Herman as my second advisor.’
Herman seemed to be a much more capable and intelligent person than I had expected.
“So if the Princess just gives the order, I’ll do my best to dig up the information.”
As if he had already prepared himself mentally, Herman’s face was very ambitious.
I nodded and finally brought up the main point.
“There’s one person I’m curious about right now.”
“Who would that be?”
“Lambert Longton’s sister. Philomena Longton.”
Herman’s eyes widened.
“Philomena Longton?”
Soon he nodded as if understanding the reason.
“Is this perhaps a continuation of what you mentioned before about wanting to find Lambert Longton’s weakness?”
I was inwardly flustered.
I remembered telling Herman a few days ago that I wanted to find Lambert Longton’s weakness.
But that wasn’t the reason I was giving this instruction now.
‘What Jayden said was too similar to what Philomena said in my previous life.’
I was asking because I wondered if there might be something between those two.
But I nodded as if it was roughly correct.
“That’s right. We’ll be going to the Imperial Capital soon, so I need to work hard until then!”
Herman nodded as if he was moved.
“That shouldn’t be difficult. Lambert Longton might be one thing, but Philomena Longton will probably be easy.”
Then he asked.
“What exactly should I find out?”
I took a deep breath and began pouring out all the instructions I had thought of.
Time continued to flow.
Senianna adapted to Abner Manor at a frighteningly fast pace.
I looked around my room that had become empty in just a few days and buttoned up my thin coat tightly by myself.
The weather had been getting cooler and cooler lately.
It was because the notoriously harsh Northern winter was approaching.
Just as I finished putting on my coat and was about to take out a book from the shelf.
“Ouch!”
I twisted my hand and stepped back in surprise.
“Ow ow ow…”
I had tried to dodge, but the thick book fell onto my foot, and the corner hit my left fourth toe.
I touched my reddened toe with a dejected expression.
‘In the old days, Miel, Soya, and Ann would always get them down for me…’
I felt the absence of the three people keenly.
Ann and Soya were in the Ibrhill Region, and Miel was attending to Senianna.
I muttered to myself while looking at the wound.
“I don’t have time to go to the workshop… what should I do…”
The wound was already turning red and swelling up.
Of course, a wound like this would heal quickly with just one Lubarinna, but the problem was that I didn’t have time to go get medicine right now.
I thought for a moment, then roughly pressed down on the wound with a handkerchief that was nearby.
After confirming that the slight bleeding had mostly stopped, I squeezed my foot into my fur slippers.
The wound stung with a sharp pain, but I endured it.
When I turned around to leave the room, an excessively empty interior view spread before me.
Over the past few days, my room had become desolately vacant.
From birthday gifts to clothes and accessories.
It was because Senianna had taken everything away, saying she liked them all.
The servants of the manor knew about this situation too.
They all worried about me without exception.
When Senianna wasn’t around, they would come to me and try to dissuade me, saying I didn’t have to give my things to that child.
But I shook my head each time.
“Lia, I’m doing this to get along well with Senianna. I’m just lending them to her temporarily until she gets her own things…”
My attitude was the same toward Miel as well.
Miel would stop attending to Senianna and come to my room almost once a day.
And she would plead with me, almost tearfully.
“Young Miss, we could just ask the Master to hire a new maid. I’m your personal maid, so why…”
But each time, she would be dragged away by Senianna, who would come rushing over like a hawk.
To be honest, Senianna was desperate to bring my people around to her side.
She did this with Awin, who seemed close to me, and also with the Head Chef and his wife.
Finally, she even approached Butler Roger and Wendel, trying to become friendly with them.
Of course, no one could turn away that child who clearly appeared to be the daughter of the late Lady Isabel.
Awin, at least, wasn’t bound to Abner, so he openly kept his guard up against her.
In Awin’s way, he would smile brightly while giving Senianna the cold shoulder.
Of course, after such incidents, he would always come to me and worry about me.
“Lia, are you really okay? You look thinner. Hmm?”
“Awin. Don’t come near me for a while.”
“What?”
“Just don’t come for a while. And play with Senianna instead.”
“Lia. What are you suddenly talking about?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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