Lilian of Turin

After it became known that the nanny was fired for unavoidable reasons.

“Miss Lily, do you remember me?”

“Yes.”

Lilian naturally nodded her head.

“Mrs. Hayworth, I remember. Have you been well?”

“Oh my, polite as well.

“Somehow, it reminds me of when I was a child.”

It was the highest compliment the madam who raised Cedric like a son could give.

At the unfamiliar compliment, Lilian unknowingly twisted her fingers. Mrs. Hayworth looked at Lilian affectionately and asked.

“Young miss, do you know why I visited you today?”

“Um, are you here to introduce me to someone who will take care of me?”

When Lily answered awkwardly but clearly, Mrs. Hayworth smiled.

“Yes, young miss. From what I’ve heard, you’re really clever.”

It was embarrassing to be praised like a child. She wasn’t used to compliments in the first place. Lily quietly lowered her gaze. Mrs. Hayworth pretended not to know and continued.

“As you said, starting today, I will be in charge of the young lady’s affairs, even though I have little talent.”

“Pardon?”

Lily blinked before asking, “but”.

“Madam is the housekeeper of this castle.”

The housekeeper oversaw the female employees of Turin Castle and was in charge of many things.

She was not one to be held back by being Lilian’s attendant.

Lilian politely refused.

“You must have a lot of work to do. I can’t possibly add to your difficulties with my affairs.

Your services would be too much for me.”

“Oh my, you’re so kind as well…”

The middle-aged woman, admiring her softly, knelt down and made eye contact with Lilian, who was sitting on the sofa.

“Excuse me, young miss, nothing is too much for you here in Turin. You are the only younger sister of my Lord.

“And I adore a wonderful and good child. I would be very happy if I could neglect my duties for a while to do some chores for you.”

“But…”

“If you’re truly concerned about it, then until I find someone I can trust for the young miss, would that be acceptable?”

Because of her mother’s indifference from birth, Lilian was very unfamiliar with the affectionate attention of an adult woman.

‘It’s strange…’

She didn’t hate it. Lilian gave her a small nod.

Mrs. Hayworth gave her a big smile.

In fact, it was because of Cedric’s special request that the housekeeper decided to take care of Lilian herself.

‘I was wondering why.’

The madam nodded inwardly.

Having met Lilian in person, she naturally wanted to take care of the child without being asked.

“Wonderful. Then, shall we find out what snacks the young miss likes?”

“Snack?”

“Yes, the doctor will be coming for a check-up soon. If it goes well and you take your medicine, I can give you your favorite snack.”

“…”

Somehow, Lilian smiled.

“I’m fine without the snack. I’ll just get a check-up.”

“Pardon?”

Mrs. Hayworth was a bit puzzled, but Lily calmly said that she was okay, so she immediately went to the doctor.

“My name is Shaw Winston.”

It was a man with sloppy brown hair and glasses. It was as if ‘unkind’ had been written on his face.

In addition, he was even taller than most doctors, making him look more like a knight.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Today, I’m just going to do a check-up.”

“Yes, doctor.”

One eyebrow went up as the doctor unfolded his bag.

“You don’t need to exalt me that much, young miss.”

When the doctor bluntly refused, Lilian smiled.

“I’m entrusting my life to you. So wouldn’t it be better to be polite?”

“I see.”

The doctor’s eccentric gaze lingered on Lilian.

“You still don’t have to.”

“I was very sick, to the point of thinking that I should be polite to the doctor.”

Behind Lily, who was lightly smiling, Mrs. Hayworth politely coughed.

“Mr. Winston.”

“Well, even if you say that, you still have to take medicine.”

“You said you were only doing a check-up.”

“If you need a medical examination, I can give it to you, but will that really be all? Let me see.”

Lilian obediently obeyed the instructions that would normally feel uncomfortable during the examination process.

‘What’s this.’

Shaw suspiciously examined Lilian, who meekly opened her mouth in front of the medical instruments that looked intimidating.

“…your throat is a little swollen. You have a little fever.”

“Oh my, is it serious?”

“It’s not that bad, but it’s better to take some medicine as a precaution…”

Mrs. Hayworth and Winston looked at Lilian at the same time.

“?”

Lilian just tilted her head slightly, wondering why they were like that.

Even when Shaw whipped out medicine on the spot, Lilian calmly accepted it.

Klopp, klopp.

Lilian didn’t stop until she emptied the entire bottle.

“Oh my, this.”

“Um.”

Lilian’s face, which had been pale, seemed to smile brightly, but it quickly distorted.

“Oh my, young miss!”

“Bitter…”

Maybe because she’s 12 years old. The medicine felt bitter in her mouth much more than she was prepared for.

“Oh dear, this is why a snack should be prepared in advance.”

Mrs. Hayworth rubbed Lily’s back and ordered a maid to quickly get something sweet.

“Doctor should have said that it’s bitter medicine.”

“I thought she wouldn’t take it.”

The two of them, who were exchanging words like that, somehow looked a little relieved.

Watching Mrs. Hayworth make a fuss and Lilian choking on the bitter taste, Shaw thought.

‘A child is a child…’

“Then I’m done.”

*

A little break. Something that’s so trivial that they’re easily overlooked in life.

Lately, Cedric had been experiencing the effects of relaxation that had been so easily overlooked.

It’s been about two weeks since he started drinking tea with his sister. Cedric was slowly freed from the disembodied fear and obsessive panic that gripped him.

The refreshed mind.

The body that had been treated a little better than before had recovered its condition close to normal.

Now that he recovered somewhat in all respects, he had a question.

“Allen.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“From your point of view, our Lilian…”

No, no. He hesitantly spoke out but then Cedric waved his hand.

Even with that. Allen, who had already narrowed his eyes, would not allow him to run away.

“What do you mean by the young miss?”

Allen’s reaction was quite sharp. Cedric suddenly raised a brow.

“Come to think of it, what you’re doing these days is suspicious.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Allen shamelessly denied it, but it wasn’t enough to fool the person whom he’d been serving for years.

“Since when did you look at Lily so well.”

“It’s just a thing of the past.”

Despite Cedric’s cold gaze, Allen remained firm.

“And it’s not that I hated her. I just hated the new Marchioness.”

“Is that different?”

It was an excuse that was tantamount to a play on words.

If children could disgrace their parents, then, of course, the reverse was also true. If the parents weren’t good, the children weren’t good either.

Allen’s master was Cedric.

As a typical Turinian with an unusual sense of loyalty, he hated his master’s greatest enemy, the new Marchioness. In fact, it’s safe to say that he loathed her.

In any case, it wasn’t that long ago that even Lilian was considered an accessory. It was like that until just a while ago.

But…

“The Marchioness has passed away. So I have no reason to hate her anymore.”

“Were you the kind of person who suddenly acts honestly just because there’s no reason to dislike a person?”

“I’m not that honest. Just a bit.”

“You were, excessively so.”

Allen, the closest aide to the Lord, was in a position to instruct someone to work.

‘A guy like that comes in behind Lilian with a tray of snacks like a lowly servant?’

What the heck? Cedric looked at Allen disapprovingly.

“If it looked like that, then I have nothing to say.”

Whether the Lord’s eyes are good or not.

Allen was always calm.

“From what I’ve experienced, the lady is a person with nothing to dislike. Besides…”

“Besides?”

Cedric started a fight with every word he said. He was clearly on edge.

He trusted Allen as his close friend and counselor. However, apart from his trust, he also thought of him as an insidious bastard.

‘This kind of guy being very kind to a child…’

The older brother, who started to walk the overprotective path in high spirits, ended up feeling very upset.

They had been together for a long time, so Allen could easily guess what Cedric was thinking. But, like an old friend, he shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to know.

“Didn’t the young miss kick her out?”