Chapter 39

The Dragania Mansion in the remote snowy mountains.

In the audience hall that could easily be mistaken for a royal palace, Leopard knelt down.

He could count on one hand the number of times he had bowed in his lifetime.

However, at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to raise his head and look at the other person’s face, remaining still and frozen instead.

It wasn’t just because Leopard was in a position of asking for a favor.

The other party was Duke Dragania.

Perhaps even more significant than the Emperor himself.

“Are you saying you want to take in a human woman?”

“Yes…”

“And this woman comes with a child?”

“Yes…”

“Do as you please. Since it’s you, Leopard, there must be a good reason for it.”

“Thank you.”

The permission was granted without hesitation.

Then the sound of footsteps, seemingly filled with displeasure, echoed loudly and gradually faded away.

It was as if the footsteps were saying why he was wasting time on such trivial matters.

Finding someone to introduce wasn’t something that required much deliberation on Leopard’s part, but he was fearful of the repercussions if her true identity was revealed.

He decided to keep this hint for future reference.

The Duke was a man of fickle moods, but he was not one to renege on his word.

Through the vibrations of mana, it was confirmed that the Duke had left the mansion.

Only then did Leopard exhale a sigh and rise.

The old butler approached Leopard with a worried look on his face.

“Wanting to take in a woman, Sir Hero. What is this about all of a sudden? She isn’t a dangerous person, is she?”

“Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry? I’m concerned that you might be thinking of hiding someone who is being pursued here at our Dragania. How many times has this been now?”

“There won’t be any problems. I assure you. So prepare to receive one maid and her daughter at the villa of the institution.”

“Excuse me? At the villa, not the main building?”

The butler’s eyes widened.

If he wanted to hide someone, it would be much better to bring her to this secluded place.

Yet, he insisted on keeping a position open at the institution’s villa.

He simply couldn’t gauge the intent.

“Is your ear blocked already? Should I clear it out for you?”

“No, I understand. I will do as you say.”

However, the butler had long since learned that attributing meaning to the Hero’s actions was a foolish endeavor.

Having observed the Hero for over fifty years, it was strange not to realize this.

“Phew…”

As he exited the audience hall, Leopard let out a deep sigh.

Just as the butler said.

If his objective was to hide someone, it would have sufficed to bring her here.

No matter how prominent the Papal Office was, they couldn’t just invade the Dragania Mansion.

Moreover, this snowy mountain housed only a grand mansion, with not even a small village nearby, so there was little worry of a woman escaping.

It was the perfect place to hold Julia captive.

Then why did he choose the institution’s villa?

Even asking himself, no rational reason surfaced.

It was only natural.

The reason stemmed from a realm devoid of rationality and reason.

“Ah.”

Now that he thought about it, he forgot to ask the Duke one thing.

Had he ever slept with a human woman?

It was a rather rude question, but he was confident that the Duke wouldn’t take much offense.

In fact, it was much harder to ask Julia how she managed to bear that disgusting child.

“Oh dear…”

Once outside the mansion, Leopard groaned as the biting wind struck his face.

Before him loomed a steep cliff.

All around were mountains, mountains, or just snow.

How was he supposed to return to the institution from here?

He hadn’t thought that far ahead.

The Hero, Leopard, squeezed his eyes shut in frustration.

*

“My period. It’s late.”

I had made all the necessary preparations.

I had learned the proper use of sanitary pads from Irina, and I made sure to carry one every day.

I had made sure to be ready for when it inevitably came.

But wasn’t the typical menstrual cycle 28 days?

A month had passed, and yet there were no signs of it arriving.

I felt no pain in my waist or abdomen, and my body felt completely fine, so it didn’t seem like it was coming anytime soon.

Could it be that my cycle was still irregular after giving birth?

“Julia! You’re being called!”

“Yes!”

I hurriedly shoved a pad back into my bag and dashed out of the waiting room.

It was time to work.

Though my introduction to the Dragania family had been confirmed, I hadn’t quit my job just yet.

The hero just said he would “introduce” me; he never guaranteed that I would secure a job.

If I quit and it turned out that the job fell through, I might have to return here, creating a rather awkward situation.

Better to work hard for a few more days; it felt more comfortable that way.

“I’m Julia, the one called!”

“Julia! Do that thing for me, the one!”

“What do you mean…?”

“That thing! The one everyone does!”

“Hah…”

How aggravating.

It was another day of dealing with terrible customers.

I almost let a curse slip in front of that guy.

I tightened my trembling lips into a smile and murmured.

“Hi, hi! It’s Mama Julia here!”

“Yesss! That’s it!”

“…”

Maybe I should just quit.

I felt like dying.

It’s a thought I had every day, but today the urge to die was even stronger.

“Julia! We have some formula here! Can you do the knee pillow thing and feed it?”

“Of course…”

I barely managed to respond.

Among the nauseating demands, at least this one felt mild.

At least they didn’t ask for breastfeeding, so I took solace in that.

The amount had reduced compared to when I had just given birth, but it still came out enough that if I didn’t express it every morning, I would dampen my clothes.

Maybe if I stopped expressing altogether, it would produce less.

How long was it going to keep coming out…?

“Oh dear. My thighs hurt…”

“Julia! You’re being called again! You can take a short break if you want!”

“No, I’m going right now…”

When I finish working, I’m called again, and I have to go out.

If I get a break, I’d end up feeling self-loathing reflecting on the day’s work; it’s much better to stay busy without a break.

The downside is that when the deadline passes and I finally return home and lie down to sleep, the self-loathing and existential crisis come crashing in.

“Julia! Can you bring Tia with you?”

“No. Sorry, sir, just because you called for me doesn’t mean you can see Tia too.”

“I just meant to ask you to check with her. Who knows? Maybe seeing my face might make her want to come play! I’ll give you some allowance too! Just bring her over!”

“Ugh…”

I quietly chuckled.

Please don’t make a fuss, you annoying customer.

If he understood that, he wouldn’t be a troublesome customer.

How on earth should I gently coax this guy into leaving?

It was another day of relentless bad thoughts.

“I’m tired, tired!”

“Good job! You had a lot of calls today, especially.”

“Right? How about Sasha?”

“I went out just once. And even then, I returned because they said my horns are too big. I just cleaned the whole time. Hehe.”

“Oh…”

It just after the deadline.

Sasha scratched her head with an awkward smile.

This was indeed a tricky situation.

Should I comfort her or say it’s good she didn’t have to deal with those annoying customers…?

“Mom! Irina Auntie is teasing Tia!”

“When did I?!”

Just then, the door burst open, and Tia ran in whining.

In an instant, she jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and her weight made my back feel like it was going to snap.

Ah. Is it really getting hard to hold Tia now…?

“Meh! That hurts!”

“Hmm?!”

Tia, who was clinging to me, suddenly burst into laughter and dropped down.

What hurt?

Surprised, I instinctively touched my chin.

There shouldn’t have been any beard growing.

As I frantically searched for something that might feel prickly, Irina appeared from behind the door, looking indignant.

“Tia! It’s a misunderstanding!”

“It’s not a misunderstanding. Irina Auntie doesn’t like Tia.”

“No! I was just joking! Even if you call me Auntie, I won’t dislike Tia… I won’t ask you to call me sister anymore…”

“Humph.”

Ah.

I kind of got the situation.

Seeing how Tia insists on calling her “Aunt” must have made Irina sulky and had a cunning act to coax Tia to call her “Sister.”

Tia must have gotten pretty upset hearing that.

“Meh.”

No, wait.

Looking at Tia turn her head away, desperately trying to suppress a giggle, it seemed she wasn’t genuinely angry.

What a clever kid.

She uses this strategy to win over her older sisters’ hearts.

“Everyone worked hard on the deadline. How about we all have a light drink together tonight?”

“Sounds good!”

“Tia? What about Tia?!”

“Tia can’t drink….”

The innkeeper knocked on the waiting room door calling us.

Although I had quit drinking, the topic was intriguing.

Today, everyone on the deadline team were people I felt comfortable with, so we decided to have at least one drink.

“Get something nice for us, Innkeeper? Like that thirty-eight-year-old one!”

“Are you crazy? We’re not wealthy enough to drink that. Let’s just empty what’s left over from the customers.”

“Ugh…”

“Did you drink? Just one sip for Tia!”

“No. Wait until you’re all grown up.”

“When will I be all grown up?”

“Uh…”

I was at a loss for words at Tia’s innocent question.

When should Tia be considered an adult?

After 19 years from birth?

Or when she grows as tall as me?

My head started to throb.

I decided to forget these unanswerable questions with a drink.

“Wow, it’s refreshing to drink after a long time.”

“Oh, and by the way, Julia isn’t the only one who said she’d quit today; someone else notified about leaving too.”

“Who? Which girl is so rude as to leave like that?”

“Natalia says she can’t take it anymore because it’s too hard. She’s even leaving this city.”

“Wait? Natalia? She borrowed money from me last time!”

“…”

With Irina’s remark, the atmosphere soured instantaneously.

That means she’s skipping out on the debt.

A troublesome situation had unfolded.

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