Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 72

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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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“Pardon the interruption.”
A stranger stepped into the shop.
A woman who appeared to be in her early thirties.
‘Quite dazzling,’ I thought.
Her clothing and jewelry were unmistakably expensive.
Even the fan she held in her hand seemed to be an object of considerable value.
“My, you have quite a few customers today?”
She swept her gaze around the shop while shielding her lips with the fan, her brow creasing slightly—apparently displeased by the mercenaries filling the space.
“Are you Yulia’s older sister?”
“And who might you be?”
“Oh, how rude of me to delay my introduction. I’m Lukia.”
……
“…Lukia, you said?”
…And that means what, exactly?
As she snapped her fan shut and introduced herself, everyone present—Seres included—exchanged puzzled looks.
Seeing their expressions, her brow creased once more.
“Count Kainel is my husband.”
Ah, so she’s the countess?
But what is she doing here?
Seres turned her attention back to Yulia.
Today, because the butler Colin had much to attend to, a different maid had taken over the task of collecting the child from the Academy. Yet she was nowhere to be seen.
“She was supposed to come with Lucy, but…”
“I sent that maid back.”
Just as Yulia, sensing Seres’s confusion, opened her mouth to explain, the Countess Kainel cut in, interrupting the child.
“Sent her back?”
Seres’s brow furrowed slightly.
Who did she think she was, dismissing someone else’s servant?
“It wasn’t quite suitable to have her ride in our carriage.”
“Suitable? What do you mean by that?”
“I’m rather particular, you see. I simply cannot abide the thought of a carriage becoming soiled.”
…Was she implying our maid would dirty the carriage?
One corner of Seres’s mouth curled upward.
“How amusing.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“So then, what brings you here?”
“Oh, nothing particularly urgent. It’s regarding the School Festival coming up in a few weeks.”
I vaguely recalled hearing something about it—an Academy School Festival where parents were invited, perhaps in a fortnight?
‘They apparently hold all sorts of events organized by year level.’
But what was this about?
“The class containing my child and Yulia has decided to perform a play. I’ve come to discuss the matter with you.”
“Discuss?”
“You see, Yulia has been assigned the Protagonist Role in this play.”
Seres’s eyes, which had been responding with disinterest, widened slightly.
A warmth bloomed momentarily in her gaze as it rested on Yulia.
“You’re playing the lead?”
“Yes! The class voted on it.”
Seres gently patted the child’s head, a look of pride crossing her face.
But the warm moment between the sisters did not endure long, cut short by what the Countess said next.
“Which is precisely why I’ve come to ask if we might change the role assignment.”
“Change the role?”
“I believe it would be better if my child took on the Protagonist Role, and I’ve come to request your consent.”
The Countess Kainel continued, maintaining a serene smile.
“When I spoke to the teacher, she said I must discuss it directly with Yulia’s guardian. Of course, Yulia has no parents, does she?”
……
“So I came here, hoping to meet with you as her older sister.”
She lowered her head slightly, her gaze lingering on Yulia with a hint of pity.
“It pains me to say such things, but without the active support of parents, it would surely be too much for her to carry such an important role.”
A smile blossomed once more across the woman’s lips.
“This position is simply too heavy a burden for Yulia. Won’t you entrust that role to my child instead?”
“…….”
“If you’ve given it thought, you’d know I’m right. You’re busy enough running a shop as it is. How are you supposed to give the child proper attention?”
The Countess Lukia glanced around the room and clicked her tongue lightly.
“Such dreadful conditions……. There’s truth to the saying that the lack of parents shows, you know. Oh, don’t misunderstand, dear. I’m only saying this out of concern.”
The woman’s words continued endlessly. She kept emphasizing Yulia’s lack of parents as if it were some grave deficiency.
“I’ll speak to the teacher once more and…….”
“Your ear.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Would you mind if I had a word in your ear?”
“My ear?”
At Seres’s sudden remark, the woman tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh!”
Meanwhile, the mercenaries—whose faces had been turning red and purple as the woman’s words grew increasingly tactless—drew in a sharp breath.
Seres leaned close to the woman’s ear. At the same moment, she clamped her hands firmly over Yulia’s ears.
“You like spouting that kind of bullshit, huh? What the hell are you doing here? Before I shove a beer mug up your thick skull, get the…….”
“Ah… oh, oh my, oh my goodness. Oh……!”
The Countess Lukia stood there with her mouth hanging open, her face growing redder by the second.
Watching her reaction, the mercenaries nodded knowingly. They could easily guess what Seres had whispered in her ear.
‘Ah, wait. Why is she cursing into her ear!’
‘Can’t do it openly in front of the child, can we.’
Whenever they made a mistake in Yulia’s presence, this was always what Seres did.
‘Talk into the ear hole.’
They’d heard her deliver more than enough colorful language that way.
“For heaven’s sake! How crude!”
The Countess Lukia gasped and scrambled backward in alarm, her face flushing as if she were hearing such language for the first time in her life.
“Surely the young lady of a Baron’s household, even if it’s a house with nothing but a title, wouldn’t speak in such vulgar terms?”
“What you’re doing is far more vulgar and crude than how I speak.”
“What, what did you say?”
“If I start acting as crudely as my tongue…….”
Whoosh.
“Things might become rather difficult for you. Would you be alright with that?”
“……!”
At Seres’s casual step forward, the Countess Lukia flinched despite herself.
Her entire body broke out in goosebumps from the sudden chill in Seres’s gaze.
“I… I really can’t associate with this sort of person! I’m leaving!”
“I’m not finished talking yet.”
“……?”
“Clean your ears. They’re full of wax.”
“Ugh!”
The Countess Lukia, her fists clenched and trembling, fled the spot with her face burning crimson.
Bang!
“Jay, check if the door took any damage. We’re sending her the repair bill.”
“Yes!”
Seres watched Yulia, who stood quietly beside her, as the Countess Lukia slammed the door shut behind her.
“That’s impressive, Yulia. The protagonist role, no less.”
“Yeah……. But, should I not do it?”
“Why? Don’t you want to?”
“It’s not that…… I just thought Christine might be fine for it too.”
Seres picked up the discouraged child.
After coaxing her gently to lift her head, the child whispered with tears clinging to her eyes.
“I won’t have anyone to come to the Festival.”
“Why wouldn’t you have anyone?”
“Huh? You’ve been busy lately. You’re always coming home late.”
“That day, I won’t be busy.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m certain I will be there.”
As Seres set Yulia down, her gaze turned toward Kainel, who stood to one side.
Try assigning him extra work that day under the guise of end-of-shift duties. Whether it’s debt or anything else—that day, we settle it once and for all.
“…….”
Kainel looked at Seres in silence for a moment, then cast his gaze toward Yulia.
Is that small creature actually her younger sibling now?
The way Seres carries herself around Yulia differs markedly from how she treats everyone else. There’s something distinctly tender about it.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
Only then did Yulia’s already large eyes go even wider as she registered Kainel’s presence.
“Someone who came to collect a debt.”
“Does that make him a bad person?”
“…Well, not exactly a bad person.”
The man’s been irritating lately, sure enough, but not so much that I’d introduce him as an outright villain.
“Yulia.”
“Mm?”
Fascinated by Kainel’s striking appearance—his hair as pristine white as fresh snow—Yulia couldn’t easily tear her gaze away from him. At Seres’s call, she looked up at her instead.
“From now on, if a stranger ever asks you to go somewhere, you must never follow them. Understand?”
“But Christine’s mother isn’t a stranger.”
“From now on, she is.”
“Mm… okay.”
Seres reached down and lightly stroked the hair of Yulia, who was nodding emphatically. She then handed Kainel a fresh plate of food that had just come from the kitchen.
“Table six.”
“Oh! Mister, you were a new employee!”
“Gasp!”
No, that’s not it!
At Yulia’s bright, clear voice—accompanied by a clap of her hands—the pupils of the mercenaries scattered throughout the shop trembled visibly.
…….
Kainel regarded Yulia for a moment without expression, then picked up the tray of food and headed toward table six in silence.

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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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