Chapter 21

– Chapter 21 –

“Yes……”

Whitney’s voice trembled.

“In the moment, you were calm and acted rationally, which meant you had done your job perfectly. I highly admire you for that.”

“…… Thank you.”

Despite being praised, Whitney’s voice was so quiet that it was barely audible.

“When Aiden was young, he was very sick. Do you remember?”

“Of course I remember.”

Whitney’s voice trembled a bit.

“That’s when you stayed up for 3 nights taking care of Aiden, without sleeping or taking care of yourself. By the time Aiden had gotten better, you had become sick yourself.”

The more Isabella reflected on the past and praised her, the more Whitney’s body trembled.

But for Erin, this was a story she has never heard before.

The Duchess’s response was meant to answer her question as to why she left everything in Whitney’s hands.

“At that time, I was grateful that you sincerely cared for Aiden, so I chose you as Aiden’s nanny.”

“……”

“It’s not because I don’t have anyone else who can take responsibility.”

Isabella continued, unable to hide her rustrated expression.

The atmosphere was growing more and more intense as everyone fell silent.

“I think you’ve met my expectations so far,

right?”

“……. Yes.”

Though Isabella’s voice remained calm, everyone was hit with the same sensation. As she spoke, her words sent shivers down one’s spine.

“So I trusted you and gave you leadership over the other employees.”

“I thought the employees were working well together but were there any difficulties? If there was something you couldn’t say because the situation was too hard, don’t worry and tell me.”

“Ah, no. There were no difficulties.”

Isabella looked at Whitney without saying anything

“Then what was it?”

The heavy question she asked didn’t match her soft voice.

“I see that there was some trouble while I was absent.”

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“Now, I’ll need to carefully look over everything that has happened while I was absent, and find out if there’s anything else I don’t know.”

She was speechless.

Whitney bowed her head.

It was best to stay silent. Regardless of what she said, nothing would have a positive outcome.

It wasn’t until recently that Whitney started having trouble.

I thought that if I made the Duchess witness Erin’s mistakes with her own eyes, she wouldn’t be able to ignore the problem.

However, the moment she turned around, the Duchess looked at Whitney fiercely.

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Whitney hoped Erin would go berserk.

At that moment, all she could do was lay low and wait.

It was obvious.

But the situation was now flowing in the opposite direction of what she expected, and suddenly she was the one being criticized.

Additionally, if she were to speak up, the Duchess would go and investigate everything she’s done while the Duchess was gone.

It was the worst outcome for Whitney.

Isabella went back to her room.

Next to her was her trusted maid, Helena, who she had been friends with ever since she was young

She sat down on a sofa that was by the window.

She stared out the window. There, she saw Erin and Aiden, hand in hand, laughing together

Even the servants who were following them were laughing

Isabella’s lips slowly opened as she watched them.

“Time flies when we’re absent.”

She murmured to herself as if she were alone.

She looked away from the window and looked at Helena, adding.

“During that time, he brought the mansion onto his side.”

She spoke in a steady tone of voice, making it impossible to read her.

The corner of her mouth crept up.

“I think this is fun.”

She was laughing, but the emotions behind her laugh were vague. Helena, who had been with her longer than anyone else, could immediately tell what she was thinking.

The Duchess had taken an interest in Erin.

“You don’t believe Whitney?”

Helena asked carefully. Isabella looked at her with a smile on her lips.

“No way. Until now, she was the closest person to Aiden in the mansion and the one who takes care of him.”

“Then?”

“But there’s no harm in being discreet.”

Helena’s eyes showed an unusual mood.

Erin and Whitney clashed while the Duchess was away from the mansion with Helena, and both of them seem to have their own reasons.

In the end, Isabella had to be the mediator between the two.

Her will was more important than anything else.

“And she’s my daughter-in-law.”

But Isabella’s answer was clear and simple.

Even Helena, who has known her longer than anyone else, didn’t dare answer for that reason.

“I need to see what you’re thinking.”

The corners of Isabella’s lips curled up even higher, drawing confusion from those watching. She was expecting Erin to say something in response.

***

In the end, the Duchess said that she would keep track of Whitney’s whereabouts.

And naturally, she would always know what Whitney was up to.

To Erin, it seemed that the Duchess had no intentions to leave Aiden completely unattended

Now, Erin’s attention was drawn to a different issue, regarding what the Duchess had told her earlier.

I thought she had no interest in Aiden, and that she had a sense of duty, but maybe that’s not the case……

Is it possible that the Duchess is not uninterested in Aiden?

I’m afraid that I can’t be sure just yet.

At least, there is a real reason why Whitney was appointed as Aiden’s nanny.

She didn’t choose the right nanny without any worry.

She was judged as someone who would take care of Aiden and show him affection.

Of course, it’s not always good for Aiden, that choice isn’t always the answer.

But then, maybe……

That thought keeps coming back.

If that’s the case, I think I can change something now.

So, Erin began to observe the Duchess carefully.

It was hard to see the two of them together. It was common for each person to do his or her own thing silently.

However, every day, there is one time the two are seen together, and it was at breakfast time.

The Leinster family has a rule that the family should eat together at least once a day, as long as they are all staying in the mansion.

The Duke and his wife were obliged to come to the breakfast table.

But the two sat face-to-face and didn’t talk. Of course, Aiden and Erin also regularly attended breakfast, and that was the only time the whole family was together.

For a few days, Erin watched the two closely at breakfast, but in fact, there was no particular outcome.

It just reconfirmed what she already knows.

As expected the relationship between them is really bad.

Something that was better than the ducal couple’s relationship with each other, was that they at least formally greeted Aiden and Erin in the morning.

But the two of them didn’t show any more interest in Aiden beyond greetings.

And I couldn’t say morning greetings were affectionate either

This morning was the same.

But the Duchess seemed a little different.

Erin’s eyes were on the Duchess.

The last time Whitney and Erin had a quarrel, the words that came out of the Duchess’s mouth were not just meant to put pressure on Whitney.

There was a clear sense of power in that.

But this morning’s breakfast was almost over, and not much was found about the Duchess.

Aiden was the first one to leave his seat.

Due to morning training, Aiden would always leave first before the Duke and his wife.

It was time for Aiden to leave after bowing.

“Aiden.”

The Duchess called out.

“Yes, Mother.”

Aiden turned around and answered politely.

There was no expression on his face. It was a blank face that showed he wasn’t bothered.

“…No, it’s nothing. Have a great day today.”

The Duchess’s lips moved slightly, but then tightly shuts.

As she kep watching, Erin realized something

The Duchess’s eyes are often, no, very often on Aiden.

Her eyes stayed on Aiden’s back for a long

time.

Sadly, his hesitant expression filled with regret slowly turned into one of defeat.

As she watched her face carefully, Erin gets down from her chair and opens her mouth.

“Aiden is very diligent. He always finishes training at the same time and goes around supporting others. He also goes and organizes the things that he was disappointed about during training.”

Erin told the Duchess who was listening. She lost the time and place to meet Aiden normally.

Erin smiled broadly, then greeted the Duke and his wife.

“Thank you for the meal. I will go back first.”

Aiden then turned around and went on his way.

Erin wanted to be next to Aiden.

Breakfast was already over anyway.

There was tea time after the meal, but no one stayed until then.

The Duke and his wife will go back soon, so it doesn’t matter.

Not sure how quickly Aiden walked in that moment, but the distance between them got bigger.

Erin laughed as she ran to chase him.

It felt good.

As expected, the Duchess is interested in Aiden.

Fortunately, the Duchess cares about Aiden. Although it doesn’t seem like Aiden knows it

yet.

But why did the Duchess turn a blind eye to Whitney?

However, after seeing the duchess in person, Erin though that she might have had some circumstances that she didn’t know about.

For now, it was a relief to see that she had affection for her son. It’s not because there was a possibility to persuade the Duke and Duchess.

It’s because Aiden doesn’t have to lose his parents.

Still, it’s very fortunate that Aiden still has his entire family.

“Aiden. Let’s go together!”

Erin shouted.

As she yelled, Aiden, who was far ahead, stopped dead in his tracks.

He waited for Erin.

And he waited for Erin.

Erin jumped in excitement and ran towards

him.

– To Be Continued –