The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

I quietly looked down. Just how in the world did Ardion’s half-brother, Rowell, raise him to the point where he was wary of everyone?

Recalling the events earlier, I remember that Ardion kept his scowl on me the whole time in the office, not even softening his gaze for a moment.

I was confused since I didn’t know the details of how Ardion had lived until now.

However, based on his state I saw earlier and the behavior he displayed just now, it didn't seem like he had lived in a good environment.

I tucked him inside the blanket. “Ardion, how long are you going to lie down like that?”

“Don’t call my name so casually.”

“Then how do you want me to call you?”

“…” Ardion was speechless.

I realized he was still a member of the imperial family, while I was just a mere maid. Even though I knew how to use magic, my knowledge was still limited.

What should I call him…? Ardion is a member of the imperial family, so perhaps prince?

I cleared my throat slightly and called out cautiously, “Prince.”

A harsh voice immediately came from inside the blanket. "Shut up!"

He said, ‘Shut up’. This young prince’s reaction was more aggressive than I expected, harsher than I imagined.

In fact, Ardion was an illegitimate son. His existence was not well received by the people of the empire, who liked formal succession.

I stared at the blanket and slowly opened my mouth. "Young Master?"

“…”

Seeing that he didn’t say anything, it seemed he didn’t dislike this title. Otherwise, he would have refuted me aggressively like he had done earlier.

“Then, from now on, I’ll call you Young Master,” I said to confirm again just in case, but there was still no answer. It seemed the address ‘Young Master’ was okay.

After dealing with what I should call him, I took a look around the room. Everything was gray—the floor, walls, his rusty bed, and the randomly placed chairs.

This kind of place would shock Derol.

I glanced at the bed and saw that Ardion still didn't want to reveal himself to me.

Of course, I wouldn’t force him to lift the blanket. If I did, it would lead to animosity between us.

I got off of his bed. Since I was here, I thought I should clean his room. But after closer observation, I concluded I would need Derol and his dear friends, cockroaches.

No matter how much water magic I used, I wouldn’t be able to remove all the stuck dirt on the ceiling and the floor.

I gave Ardion, who was still curled up under the blanket, a quick glance. He was still playing dead.

You won’t watch me clean, right?

I was a little afraid he would be startled if he saw a black mouse and cockroaches cleaning his room.

Well, this situation didn’t look like it would end soon, so I quickly headed for my room to look for Derol.

“Welcome back, Master,” Derol greeted me right after I returned.

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Feeling better than earlier, I reached out to Derol, who quickly climbed onto my hand.

“Master, what’s going on?”

“I want to show you something you’ll like.”

“Is it about cleaning, perhaps?”

"Yes."

I immediately opened the door to the adjacent room. Ardion was still buried under the blanket.

I no longer bothered with him and placed Derol in the middle of the room. Derol raised his head and looked around with his hands clasped together.

"How is it? It will take quite some time, right?”

Derol nodded and said with determination, “Yes, I should call my friends.”

“Then I’ll give you some help.”

Derol nodded and went out through another mouse hole.

I snapped my fingers a few times. Soon after, water filled the floor and swept away the dust in the room.

Once the water cleaning finished, Derol arrived just in time with a few clean cockroaches. No matter how I looked at them, cockroaches were still disgusting.

I tried to keep a good expression as I sat down and looked into Derol's eyes. “I’m counting on you for the rest.”

I tried not to look at the cockroaches.

But the cockroaches were so busy moving around that I kept noticing them. Perhaps because they were clean cockroaches, they were shining under the light.

Where does the light come from?

My expression was distorted, so I tried to avoid letting them see my face because I was grateful they were helping me.

Derol was busy jumping around like a fish in water.

Before long, the cleaning task was almost done. The cockroaches were moving around diligently and kept emitting small noises.

I tried not to discriminate against them, but I couldn’t stand looking at them for long.

“Master, I think we’re done.” Derol approached me, dusting his hands off. The cockroaches also came running in droves.

I took a step back but then stopped, pretending as if nothing had happened. “… Great job. You’re probably hungry now, right? Should I bring you something delicious?”

"No, I…”

Without finishing his sentence, Derol squeaked and dashed away in a matter of seconds. It was the same for the cockroaches. They quickly disappeared through a gap in the wall.

In an instant, the surroundings became quiet.

What happened?

I looked around at the empty walls, then slowly stood up and turned around. Then I made eye contact with someone.

His dark green eyes resembling a forest, Ardion was looking at me as if he had witnessed something unbelievable and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Oh, did you see everything?” I casually threw a question, trying to sound natural and that nothing much had happened. But Ardion still looked shocked.

I assumed he would cover himself with his blanket all day, but he appeared to be curious about his surroundings too.

I planned to explain because hiding what he had witnessed was pointless. 

“You talk to animals?”

“That….”

“On top of that, you even brought cockroaches into the room…”

“Young Master, let me explain. The cockroaches…”

“I get it, so get out.”

I hesitated about following his order, causing him to throw a pillow at me. And blessed my fast reflexes, I caught the pillow, earning a frown from him, and calmly placed it on his bed.

"What are you doing?"

“Young Master, you must not carelessly throw things at people. If what you had thrown was a flower pot, my hand would have been injured.”

“What does it matter to me?”

“How can it not matter? You hurt someone, but you do not care?”

Ardion just frowned and said nothing.

I looked at him and continued, “I even cleaned your room, did I not, Young Master?”

“…”

“Anyway, Young Master, don't throw things carelessly. Do you understand?”

Ardion glared at me and said in a deathly chilling tone, “I would have not done so if you had just gone out when I told you so.”

He raised his head stiffly. Perhaps because he was a member of the imperial family, he carried himself with a lot of pride.

Unlike earlier, when I attempted to make eye contact with him, and he avoided it, he acted differently and initiated a staring contest with me.

Suddenly, my hands started to ache, tingling as if electricity were passing through them.

As I looked at my hand in surprise, Ardion spoke again. “I told you to leave a long time ago.”

“Master, you did not…”

But Ardion glared at me as if he was serious about ending my life right now.

Wanting to salvage the current situation, I quickly said, "Alright, I’m leaving. But even if you refuse to accept it, I am the person in charge of taking care of you. I will be back for lunch.”

With that, I hurriedly left the room, feeling it wouldn’t be easy to raise him.

Even when I entered my room, my hands were shaking.

My hands were trembling a lot lately because the mana in my body was gradually draining out.

Honestly, the original Laila in the story could barely navigate her own magic. For some reason, she couldn’t even lift her hand to attempt it, which was why she had been brutally killed by Ardion in the end.

So I had to receive Ardion's mana before it completely disappeared.

Of course, I can buy mana elsewhere, but the forest spirit mana I needed was very expensive.

It was probably more expensive than this mansion.

The original story stated that only Ardion had the mana that could coexist with the properties of water.

Additionally, he could drive mana of all attributes and was claimed to be an invincible figure.

Once I recharged my mana, I wouldn’t have any symptoms like hand tremors for the next few years.

What I had witnessed earlier was Ardion overflowing with mana despite his young age.

Based on the original story, his feelings for the female protagonist began when he gave her his mana.

Now that I think about it, when did the female protagonist first appear?

I think it was a ball at the imperial palace after Ardion grew up…

It was clear there was still a long way to go. Before then, I had to raise Ardion to be polite to her. But thinking about his previous actions, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy feat.

Suddenly, my stomach growled, asking for food.

I should go to the kitchen and get something to eat.

Also, by how Ardion was treated, I was certain no one would provide him with food. Which leaves me to take care of everything.

I could only endure my trembling hands and go up to the kitchen.

When I arrived at the back door, many people like me were waiting for food.

I stared at my trembling hands. When it was my turn, I accepted a tray. There was only one tray.

“Deevher, could I get another one?”

Deevher was in charge of the kitchen and distributing food to the servants. She hated waste like Duke Orchid and never gave them more food.

She looked sharply at me. “I received a report for only one.”

“But I am taking care of Ardion now.”

“Ardion?”

“Yes, didn’t you hear? Duke Orchid told me…”

“Oh, I heard. But as I said, I was told to give only one to you.”

“Deevher, are you telling me Ardion and I should share this food?”

At that moment, I heard a voice from behind.

“Laila, since you’ve gotten your food, give way to us. We have to go to work in twenty minutes.”

Not giving them enough time to eat lunch was how Duke Orchid treated his people. Not to mention, they were all hungry and sensitive.

I could only take one portion. I glanced back at Deevheer, but she was already serving someone else.

The only food on the tray was a piece of bread and spinach soup.

Should Adrion and I share this?

No, was this even enough for one person?

No matter how I thought about it, it felt absurd.

As I walked back to my room, I became increasingly hungry.

It’s already a small amount of food. How can we even share it? I sighed helplessly and entered my room with a bitter expression.

“Welcome back, Master.”

Derol must have been waiting to greet me.