At that time, I hated Rant.
Now, when I looked at him, all I could think of was Ttorong—my old pet dog.
I reached out and poked the cheek I had turned red from teasing him.
"You know, if I were the old me, I wouldn't have stopped at this. Weren't the maids always saying they must never run into me?"
Rant remained silent.
Like father, like son, I thought. The two of them are exactly alike. Neither of them reacts to anything.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the ground. He rose obediently without resisting.
Dust covered him from head to toe, so I brushed it off as best I could. He was in such a miserable state that it hardly made a difference, and I ended up smacking the dirt off so hard that loud thwack, thwack sounds echoed through the garden.
"...Ugh."
I hadn't done it on purpose, but it was the first reaction Rant had shown all day.
For some reason, it felt oddly satisfying.
...At this rate, am I actually going to awaken some hidden sadistic tendencies? That's... a little concerning.
"Ahem. We'd better treat those wounds first."
Looking more closely, his injuries were worse than I'd expected.
The thorny vines had left deep scratches all over him. I had no idea why he'd crawled into a patch of brambles just to avoid the maids, but that mystery could wait.
Treating him came first.
I took Rant's hand and started toward my room before abruptly stopping.
If I went there, the maids could patch him up...
But my nanny was inside.
"What do I do...?"
Just like the old me, my nanny hated Rant.
She seemed convinced that the Marchioness's death had been his fault.
The moment she saw him, she'd make a huge scene.
There was no way I could bring him into my room.
I needed another way to treat him without letting her find out.
Even to the current me, listening to my nanny nag endlessly was exhausting.
Asking another maid wasn't an option either. Word would inevitably reach the nanny.
So who else could treat Rant?
The answer came almost immediately.
There weren't many people in this mansion who weren't afraid of my nanny.
"Come on."
I took Rant's hand and started walking.
He followed me without a word.
Those large, dark brown eyes remained fixed on me.
...This feels strange.
He really did remind me of Ttorong.
My little dog who had wagged his tail excitedly whenever he saw me, following faithfully behind me with complete trust shining in his eyes.
Ah... I shouldn't keep letting my heart soften like this...
I tightened my grip around his small hand.
If I remembered correctly, Rant was four years younger than me.
I'd turned eleven not long ago, which meant he was seven this year.
As we walked, I studied him carefully.
Seven years old...
He should've been just about to start elementary school.
Yet no matter how I looked at him, he only seemed four or five.
The Rant from my memories had grown into a remarkably tall young man.
He stood even taller than the current marquis, with broad shoulders and a powerful physique honed by years of swordsmanship—enough to dwarf most grown men.
With a face nearly identical to the marquis's and the kind of body every man envied, Rant had been extremely popular among noble ladies.
No one had dared say it aloud because they were wary of me, but everyone quietly assumed he would one day become the next marquis.
Hard to believe this tiny little thing will grow into someone that huge.
Human growth really was incredible.
Even after everything I'd put him through, he'd grown that much.
If someone actually fed him properly...
He might grow even taller.
"Still haven't found him?"
"What do we do? If the head butler finds out, we're finished."
"Where the hell did that brat disappear to?"
I felt Rant flinch.
I stopped and listened.
Far away, I could hear the maids talking.
They were still some distance off, yet somehow he'd recognized their voices immediately.
Then again...
Both earlier and now, he was desperately avoiding them.
Why?
It wasn't as if I'd bullied him yet.
...Actually, I should correct that.
Seeing his cheek, which was still red from my pinching, pricked at my conscience.
Well...
Aside from that, I hadn't really done anything to him.
Neither my nanny nor the maids even knew we'd met.
Under the current circumstances, there shouldn't have been anyone tormenting Rant.
"Keep searching. I'll check over there."
"But what if the marquis or the head butler find out?"
"Then we have to find him before they do!"
"Hurry! If the young lady discovers this first, it'll be even worse!"
"That damned brat! When I catch him, he'll regret it!"
Their voices gradually faded away.
Rant lowered his head and stood frozen.
I squeezed his hand and tugged him forward.
I'd expected him to resist.
Instead, he quietly followed.
Now I understood why he avoided the maids.
There wasn't a trace of kindness in the way they talked about him.
Anyone could tell at a glance that Rant was the marquis's blood relative.
Normally, servants wouldn't dare mistreat someone like that.
And yet...
They spoke about him as though he were nothing but a nuisance.
If Rant were some unruly troublemaker, I might have understood.
But from everything I'd seen today, there was no way he'd been rude to them.
He was an astonishingly quiet, well-behaved child.
Something's happening in this house that I don't know about.
Since the masters paid no attention to the household, everything inside the estate was effectively managed by the head butler and the nanny.
Especially the maids.
They were entirely under the nanny's authority.
I'll have to find out what's really going on.
Avoiding the servants' patrol routes, I led Rant into the main mansion.
Unlike the noisy commotion outside, the interior was eerily quiet.
Apparently the maids hadn't even considered the possibility that Rant had entered here.
Even if they suspected it, they couldn't openly search for him.
This was where the marquis, the head butler...
...and I stayed.
Our destination was on the second floor.
I headed toward the grand spiral staircase.
The staircase split into two directions.
The stairs on the right led to the corridor where my room and the late marchioness's room were located.
The stairs on the left led to the marquis's study and bedroom.
The two wings weren't directly connected.
To reach the study from my room, I'd have to return to the first floor and climb the opposite staircase.
Still holding Rant's hand, I took the left staircase.
The second-floor hallway was just as deserted as the first.
We reached the marquis's study without meeting a single person.
Even the knights who usually stood guard outside were gone.
They had only been stationed there to keep the marchioness away.
Now that she was gone...
There was no reason to guard the room anymore.
I knocked on the tightly shut study door.
"Come in."
The door opened.
"Young Lady?"
The head butler looked startled to see me.
Without hesitation, I pushed past him and entered.
The marquis sat inside, reviewing a stack of documents.
Ignoring him, I led Rant to the sofa.
"Young Lady... what is the meaning of this?"
The butler looked back and forth between us.
Instead of answering, I sat Rant down and issued an order.
"Go get some medicine."
"At once."
One glance at Rant's filthy appearance was enough.
The butler nodded and hurried out.
I stood in front of the obediently seated child.
Leaves were still tangled throughout his dark navy hair.
Carefully, I began picking them out one by one.
I became so absorbed in the task that I almost didn't notice someone staring.
When I looked up...
The marquis was watching me intently.
"What happened?"
I'd noticed it before.
The marquis had definitely changed.
Back then, no matter how mercilessly I bullied Rant, he'd shown absolutely no interest.
But now...
Not only was he paying attention—
He was actually asking questions.
"I've returned."
Before I could answer, the butler came back.
Along with medicine, he'd brought a basin of water, clean towels, and bandages.
He spread everything across the table before examining Rant carefully.
"These are scratches from something sharp."
The experienced butler identified the cause immediately.
He dipped the towel into the water and carefully cleaned Rant's face, neck, and arms.
"His cheek is a little swollen as well... Was someone hitting you?"
I froze.
The butler's expression turned grave as he examined Rant's face more closely.
Regardless of everything else...
Rant carried the blood of House Marquis.
If someone within the estate had struck him, that was no trivial matter.
The butler slowly turned toward me.
Unable to meet his eyes, I looked away.
"..."
Damn it.
Instead...
My gaze met the marquis's.
His blue eyes studied me with complete seriousness.
In the end, I had no choice but to confess.
"It was me."
"...Pardon?"
"It was so soft that I kept pinching it because it was fun."
The butler stared at me in disbelief.
I shamelessly shrugged.
"I guess his skin's unusually delicate. Make sure you take better care of him."
I'd decided to brazen it out.
The look on the butler's face...
I'd never seen anything quite like it.
His eyes rolled so dramatically that I almost imagined I could hear them.
Roll...
Rant's dark brown eyes shamelessly followed the cake.
Roll...
His face remained completely expressionless.
Only his eyes betrayed him.
The cake itself looked irresistible.
A fluffy sponge layered with fresh white cream, topped with colorful fruits glistening under a coating of honey.
Even I had to admit it looked delicious.
Smirking, I deliberately slid the plate farther away.
Rant's eyes immediately rolled after it.
"—Gulp."
"Pfft."
His tiny throat bobbed as he swallowed loudly.
I couldn't hold it in anymore.
Laughing, I pushed the plate back in front of him.
Rant blinked, staring back and forth between me and the cake with wide, round eyes.
"Go ahead."
Even after I gave permission, he didn't move.
It was obvious he was thinking as hard as his little head could manage.
He looked as though steam might start rising from it.
"Come on."
Snatch!
In the end, he was still just a child.
His internal struggle lasted only a few seconds.
When I nudged the plate right under his nose, his tiny hand shot out and grabbed the cake whole.
The elegant dessert, which had looked like a piece of edible art only moments earlier, was mercilessly crushed by the grip of the little tyrant.
"How vulgar..."
"I suppose you really can't hide your birth."
The maids standing nearby exchanged sneers and whispered among themselves.
At their mocking voices...
Rant froze.
The cake stopped halfway to his mouth.
...This is a problem.
His entire face—
Even the tips of his ears—
Turned bright red.
He looked so pitiful...
And so unbearably adorable.
The fact that I keep wanting to tease him...
Maybe I really am awakening some sadistic instincts after all...
