One afternoon, one week after Carro joined us.
Today, as usual, I was practicing in the courtyard with Daru, swinging a wooden sword.
โHunn, hunn, cha-cha-cha-cha~~โ
โWoof, woof, aaaaahhh~~โ
As I swung the wooden sword around, Daru, as usual, wagged a wooden stick in his mouth, mimicking me.
โKyuu kyuu~~โ
Carro was watching me and Daru from somewhere, looking somewhat exasperated, along with the birds.
โHunn! Hunnโฆ Hooโฆ Is this good enough?โ
โWoof! Woof!โ
After a while of concentrating, Daru and I were both drenched in sweat and finished our training.
โHmm? Whereโs Carro ?โ
โWoof?โ
Carro , who had been watching us just a moment ago, was no longer there.
โLost?โ
โWoof?โ
โBirds, do you know where she went?โ
โHoh-hoh?โ
The birds, as if trying to deflect the question, looked away.
Though the birds might have known, they wouldnโt tell us.
โHmm? A game of hide-and-seek, huh? Daru, letโs find Carro .โ
โWoof!โ
Daru and I began searching for Carro .
โMaybe over here? Hmmmโฆโ
โWoof!โ
โOh, Daru, well done!โ
Daru, using his sharp nose, seemed to have easily found her.
โLetโs seeโฆโ
At the end of Daruโs nose, there was a rather large hole.
It would be hard for me to get through, but Carro could easily fit.
โCarro ? Did you hide in the hole? Come out, Carro !โ
โโฆ.. Kyuu?โ
When I called out, Carro โs face appeared from the hole.
โYou dug a holeโฆโ
Itโs a habit of prairie dogs to dig holes in the grasslands and live there.
It seemed she couldnโt suppress her instincts.
โWill I get scolded?โ
โKyuu?โ โWoof?โ
Perhaps worried about being scolded, Carro flinched a little.
Daru also moved his tail slowly, looking anxious.
It was a delicate situation. Normally, if someone dug a hole in the courtyard, they would be scolded.
But since this was Carro โs instinct, it might be forgiven.
I stood on top of the hole and looked around.
The garden trees, flowers, and objects in the courtyard created blind spots.
โI hope she wonโt be foundโฆโ
โKyuruuu~โ โWoof~โ
Carro seemed relieved.
Daruโs tail movements became more lively as he felt reassured.
โHmmโฆ now, letโsโฆโ
โKyuu~?โ
โโฆ Letโs clean up secretly. If youโre covered in dirt, you might get scolded.โ
โKyukyu.โ
I hid Carro inside my clothes and climbed onto Daruโs back.
โDaru, letโs go back to my room.โ
โWoof.โ
Back in my room, there was a bucket and hot water available.
If we secretly washed up, no one would know about Carro digging the hole.
We returned to the room and prepared a large bucket.
โAlright, the hot water isโฆโ
Though Iโd never prepared hot water myself, I had seen my nurse and maids do it, so I knew how.
โThis should be it!โ
If I turned the lever high up, the magical device would start working, and hot water would come out.
I didnโt understand the mechanism, but thatโs how it was. I had heard the maid mention it.
โDaru, donโt move. Iโm going to stand on your back.โ
โWoof.โ
With Carro on my head, I climbed onto Daruโs back and turned the lever.
Suddenly, cold water sprayed from the faucet.
โUwaa, itโs cold, so cold. Fugyaaahh!โ
โKyafuu.โ โKyukyu kyukyu.โ
Daru, Carro , and I were all drenched in cold water.
I tried to return the lever to its original position, but I slipped and couldnโt reach it.
โUppuhhโฆ Itโs cold.โ
Then the nurse came running and turned the lever back.
โThank you.โ โWoofโฆโ โKyuuโฆโ
โLady Luria, you must not operate this on your own.โ
โSorry.โ โWoofuu.โ โKyuu.โ
As I apologized, Daru and Carro also apologized.
It wasnโt their fault, but I still felt bad.
โDaru and Carro didnโt do anything wrong. Itโs my fault.โ
โYouโre not in trouble.โ
The nurse smiled gently.
โLady Luria, what were you trying to do?โ
โWell, I wanted to wash off the sweat, and Carro got dirty, so I wanted to clean her tooโฆโ
โI understand. Please wait a moment.โ
The nurse quickly took action and prepared the hot water for us.
โTo get hot water, you first need to move this, and the temperature control is tricky, so you shouldnโt operate it on your own.โ
โYes.โ
โPromise?โ
โYes.โ
I couldnโt win against the nurse.
The nurse had cared for me and fed me with breast milk in collaboration with my mother.
Especially right after I was born, when my mother was on the brink of death, she took care of me all day.
She was certainly a person who I held dear, second only to my family.
The nurseโs name was Marion, and she was originally a distant relative of my mother.
As Marion bathed me, she murmured.
โThere wonโt be much time left for me to take care of you, Lady.โ
โIโm sadโฆโ
A nurse needs to be able to produce milk to do her job.
So, inevitably, my nurse has a child around the same age as me.
Of course, the infant mortality rate isnโt low, so there are cases where the nurseโs child has passed away.
But luckily, Iโve heard that Marionโs child is healthy and growing well.
โIโll miss you too.โ
โBut Marionโs child will probably miss you even more, right?โ
I couldnโt stop myself from thinking that, knowing how Marion had to care for me and couldnโt spend time with her own child every day.
โIโd like to meet Marionโs child, though.โ
โโฆ As long as the master and mistress permit it, you can meet them anytime.โ
โI seeโฆโ
Nurseโs children are called โwet-nursesโ children,โ and the children raised by nurses for noble families are called โfoster children.โ
In other words, I am the foster child, and Marionโs child is the wet-nurseโs child.
Wet-nurse children often become the trusted confidants of the foster children.
In fact, my older brother and sisterโs wet-nurse children are often together, studying and training together.
Iโve even met my brotherโs wet-nurse child during sword training and had my sisterโs wet-nurse child read me a picture book.
But Iโve never met my own nurseโs child.
The reason for that is obvious.
I was attacked right after birth.
If Marionโs child had been nearby during the attack, they could have been involved.
Thatโs what both my father and mother worry about.
โI think it would be fine to meet them soon.โ
Now that Iโm three years old, Iโm still forbidden from going outside the courtyard.
I feel like my father and mother still try to minimize the number of people I meet.
โHmmโฆ Lord cares a lot about you, Lady Luria.โ
โI seeโฆโ
Even so, it still feels overly protective.
โHmmโฆโ
โYou look so serious again. The master, mistress, and even I, Marion, all love you, Lady. So please, rest assured.โ
โThatโs right! Luria also loves Marion!โ
โThank you.โ
Marion, my dear nurse, retired from her duties and returned home three days later.