Chapter 38:
Chapter 38:
Ruth Naven raised his head and looked down at Claude, not noticing the change in the temperature on the butler's expression.
"How should I play with you today? Young Lord Ambrosia."
When he brought it up, other young masters, who were listening quietly next to him, began to add words one by one.
"Ah, last time you said that chess games were boring, so I prepared something different today."
"I just happened to bring you a good present. It would be enough for Young Lord Ambrosia to play with."
They approached Claude one by one, surrounded him, and skillfully pulled Ronda away from Claude.
"Isn't there a gift I entrusted to you? Bring it here."
"I would like some refreshments while Young Lord Ambrosia waits for you. I hope you have prepared it for me."
They started to order this and that as if all they had been waiting to do was to ask them to leave. Veron stepped back with a smiling face. At this point, he knew he had to leave. It was easy for words to come out here and there if the butler continued to stand in the master's place to play. Ronda, the head maid, also stepped back relieved to see Claude sitting calmly and well. Since there were other servants, she decided to watch from a little further away.
"Then have a good time."
As the butler and the head maid left the place, Ruth Naven revealed his true nature as if he had been waiting.
"Your expression is very dark? Young Lord Ambrosia."
"No matter how much we hate it, we have to take care of our facial expressions."
"What am I supposed to do with a child Your father is really boring, too."
Claude bowed his head and clenched his fists at the words pouring over his head. A sharp voice of criticism and a hint of malice. The child was well aware of these subtleties. He even got used to it. Those who had stabbed Claude once turned their heads as if they had lost interest when there was no response from him.
"Come to think of it, I heard that Viscount Naven-nim gave you a horse as a gift this time. Can I take a look?"
"I'll invite you to the mansion one day, Young Master Pable."
"Wow!"
The conversation now went completely except for Claude. Centering on the young master of Viscount Naven, the noble young masters were busy chatting, making sure that Claude was invisible to them. The younger the children, the more sensitive they tend to be.
This was even more so for those who would be active in the social world, where they had to check their opponents with invisible speech. Forgetting that he was only a child who had not yet fully grown up, a scene of imitating the grown-up noble young men unfolded.
"My father decided to teach me how to hunt foxes, so come and see me when you have time."
"I will definitely go!"
"Don't forget to invite me too, Young Master Naven!"
They acted as if they had forgotten that this was a place to build friendship with Young Lord Ambrosia. As they had not yet grown up, they did not understand the instructions of the adults in the family to please Claude, who was much younger and timid than them. It was very difficult to play with a small child because of their high self-esteem and high status, as they were brought up by having their families fulfill everything they wanted, whether it was gold or jade.
"......"
Claude bit his lip tightly and prayed that this time would pass quickly. It was really hard to meet the children of aristocrats who seemed to dislike him outright. Claude clearly remembered the abusive language that had been poured on him during the last meeting.
When all the people were presented, they smiled very kindly when they first greeted each other and wished to be close in the future, however, when only the children were left, they openly laughed at Claude.
'I heard the Duchess died because of you. Is that true?'
'Is that why I heard Duke-nim hates you? I heard you haven't even been to the imperial palace yet?'
'You didn't get any presents from your father, right? What's the point of being close to a hated child?'
'Hey, do you hate us? Then tell your father! Come on, come on! Ahaha!'
If the children's world had been added, cruelty to the weak would have been crueler than the adults' world, but never less. And for Claude, being isolated from these children's world was scarier and more painful than being isolated from the adults' world. This was because it was a problem for children that adults could not solve. And he couldn't even go to his father, Ethan Ambrosia.
'What if Father hates me more for no reason?'
Claude thought so and kept his mouth shut. Other young masters, including Ruth Naven, glanced at Claude and started exchanging strange glances with each other. After all, seeing him staying still and down, they felt like they wanted to touch him a little more.
When they went out, even just mentioning the name of Ambrosia provoked a lot of interest and questions. When they thought that Claude would get that kind of attention in the future, their stomach twisted and their chest tightened. They wanted to make people realize endlessly that this child was nothing compared to them.
"Come to think of it, I heard that everyone started training in swordsmanship. Have you ever held a real sword?"
"If it's a wooden sword, I've held it."
"You can't get excited with just a wooden sword."
Ruth Naven said so and picked up the refreshment knife that was on the table. The blade of the silver knife gleamed in the sunlight.
"Even a small knife like this is not exciting, but yes, this would be perfect for the level of Young Lord Ambrosia."
Ruth Naven held out the knife to Claude, who was sitting still.
"Would you like to swing it?"
"......I, I."
"I hate this and I hate that. There are many things that Young Lord Ambrosia dislikes."
Seeing Claude playing with a pale, tired face, Ruth Naven grinned, forcibly pulled Claude's arm, and forcibly took the knife into his hand.
"I'll take a look at it myself, so give it a try."
"This, this, I mean."
"Haha. This is worth seeing."
Ardel Pable* and Billion Yugen also giggled and scoffed at Claude's troubled face with a knife. It was just funny to see that Young Lord Ambrosia was at a loss for what to do. Ruth Naven smiled fishy and pulled Claude's arm and put it in front of him. He was about to see Young Lord Ambrosia acting cute in front of him.
"Oh my?"
But then, a beautiful voice came over their heads with a black shadow. It was so sudden that they didn't even know when the owner of the voice came. The young masters, including Ruth Naven, looked up in surprise.
"Nanny!"
Claude's face brightened in an instant when he saw Sarah. The voice calling her seemed to be more welcoming than ever.
"I'm sorry, Claude-nim. Am I a little late?"
Sarah smiled and walked over to Claude, kneeling in front of him, leaning over, and making eye contact. A friendly voice, a gentle gaze, and an expression full of kindness. At this moment, Claude was able to realize that Sarah, his nanny, was on his side more than anyone else. Among those who were full of malice and those who knew or did not know Claude's difficulties because they did not want to, only Sarah was on his side, looking straight at Claude.
"Wonderful gentlemen, were you having a good time with our Claude-nim?"
Sarah asked, looking at the young nobles, including Ruth Naven.
"......"
They held their breath for a moment and looked at Sarah blankly. It was because the appearance of Sarah looking at this side with an elegant smile in their young eyes was so beautiful that their breath was taken. Even more than the ladies who visit their mansions with the grown-ups.
When they went to the Imperial Palace, they saw countless women adorned with gorgeous dresses and jewels. However, they had never seen a lady who exuded a pure and elegant atmosphere just by wearing a neat, unpatterned robe like Sarah.
'Who is that woman?'
The quick-witted Ruth Naven heard Claude calling Sarah a nanny, and began to draw up and down relationships in his mind. It would not be an ordinary position to be Claude's nanny in the duke's family, especially Duke Ambrosia's family. She must have been chosen by a vassal family with trust enough to entrust the successor, but since it was also the nanny's job to protect the heir until he grew up, a person with a moderately small position in the family was often selected. In a nutshell, it was said that her status would be good and her strength would be mediocre.
"You are the nanny of our Young Master Claude Ambrosia. It's the first time I've seen you?"
A natural lower extremity flowed out of Ruth Naven's lips, who had finished organizing the upper and lower relationships in his head. He believed that there was a difference between heaven and earth between the person who would lead the family in the future and Sarah, the nanny of only a young child.
THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM