I, Shirley, serving as a maid for the Ravane Knight Viscount family, have been assigned to the legitimate son, young master Exus, who is known as the “demon’s child.”
I began my training as a maid at the age of thirteen and, upon turning twenty, was dispatched from the Karenheit Counts family, which is a relative family of the Ravane Knight Viscount family, to this household.
The master, Sir Lanks, is a skilled swordsman in this border area, although he lacks a bit of foresight, and he manages the territory competently.
As for the mistress, Lady Linda, she is remarkably intelligent despite her commoner background. Moreover, she is said to be one of the rare “magicians,” occurring only once in a hundred people. Incorporating the rare blood of a magician into noble lineage is not unusual, so their marriage isn’t considered strange.
Furthermore, these two have had feelings for each other since childhood.
Noble marriages, being fundamentally devoid of love, rarely result in good relationships between the head of the household and the legitimate wife.
So why was such a demon’s child born into such a happy couple…
God, how cruel you are…
Looking back, it was terrifying from the start.
Not crying when born, just letting out beast-like screams.
No crying at night, just shouting loudly at the same time every morning.
When awake, moving the body as if trained, sleeping like dead…
Even after six months had passed since birth, there was neither crying nor laughter.
No matter what words the mistress used, there was absolutely no response.
That is, until he saw magic. Only then did he smile.
But that smile…
It wasn’t the innocent smile of a child.
It was like a cracked, torn face.
Is that what the smile of an innocent child is supposed to be…?!
Once he started walking, he became incredibly talkative, approaching the household members.
…Well, when I say household members, there aren’t many in this household.
The master, the mistress. Also, the steward Oliver, and me, along with Sera.
That’s all.
In the Karenheit Marchioness family, there were dozens of household members, but here, there’s no such luxury.
So, you see… that demon’s child, the moment you take your eyes off him, he disappears and starts talking to the household members.
And that face!
Despite having no joy in his heart, his expression is nothing but a pasted-on smile!
Because he’s such an unbelievably beautiful boy, even at this young age, everyone except me is fooled!
That’s what he does… He asks questions.
And it’s quite insidious. He asks about things that a normal child wouldn’t be interested in and approaches them indirectly!
At first, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, just like, “What are you doing?” or “Why are you doing that?”—typical child stuff. But then, he smoothly transitions the conversation to topics like titles of nobility, the financial state of the domain, information about magic users, history, academia, and etiquette, subtly extracting information as if he’s scraping it off the surface!
Why doesn’t anyone notice?
I’ve seen what children of that age typically do countless times, so I understand.
Normally, whether noble or commoner, children beg those around them to play, throw tantrums, cry and scream, and engage in dangerous activities. About one in several children of this age even die from accidents.
But despite all that…
He’s different.
It’s as if that child is a demon pretending to be a child, plastering on a smile as if it’s a mask, gathering information about the human world!
Even when the mistress ordered that demon child to play within the domain, I was terrified.
Even though he’s only two years old, I was assigned to accompany him…
“Hello!”
“Oh, are you from the lord’s house?”
“I’m Exus!”
“I see, I see. I’m a peddler named Thomson. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too! What do you do, Mr. Thomson?”
“I’m a peddler. I come to this domain once every thirty days.”
“Wow! What do you sell?”
“Well, if you’re talking about merchandise, it’s gotta be salt. Salt isn’t produced around here.”
“Salt? Oh, I get it! That tasty stuff!”
“Oh, you’re clever! That’s right, it’s that tasty stuff!”
“Mister! Give me lots of salt! I’ll give it to my mother!”
“Well, uh, it’s not that simple. I have to sell to other people too, you know.”
“Aw! Then bring lots!”
“That’s difficult too… We only have one cart.”
“Um, then, then! Why not make another cart?!”
“Well, uh, it’s not that easy… You see, kids wouldn’t understand, but salt is a government monopoly.”
“Huh… what’s a monopoly?!”
“A monopoly means… well, in this case, only the government is allowed to sell it.”
“Why?! Even though it’s tasty?!”
“Salt is a source of income for the country. Since everyone wants it, it’s guaranteed profit, right? But, explaining this to a child wouldn’t make much sense.”
“Hmm, I don’t really get it! So, the country is being unfair?!”
“Well, you could say that! The people in power can be sneaky! Hahaha!”
…And like this, little by little, he’s extracting information.
Please, think about it calmly.
A two-year-old understanding the meaning of the term “peddler”? That’s just not possible, right?!
“Uh, young master Exus?”
“Shirley? I didn’t really understand Mister’s story!”
And only acting like a child when it’s convenient.
No matter how you look at it, he’s a demon child!!!
