620 – Overwhelming Parenting Experience – 3

I opened my eyes because of a faint noise. Is Nia tidying up her room?

Still, I was definitely more tired than before, perhaps because I had closed my eyes a little. At this level, I can hold out until night falls.

At night, Teresa also sleeps normally, not at the level of a nap. This means that Theresa will not have to cry until morning, giving her an opportunity to recover as much of the energy she lost throughout the day.

“Ah-woo-!”

‘Huh?’

Just as I was trying to get up, I heard a sound I shouldn’t have heard.

It’s definitely Teresa’s voice. Teresa’s voice, who should still be sleeping, rang out.

‘Why?’

I tried to calm my trembling hands and hurriedly turned my head. It would be difficult if Teresa woke up already. Nia and I decided to take turns sleeping just in case, but if Teresa is already awake, Nia won’t have time to sleep.

Even so, Nia’s burden of childcare has become extreme due to the absence of her previous matriarch. If you can’t even take a short nap, you could collapse, right…?

“…Huh?”

As soon as I turned my head towards the voice, my head froze.

“Awww! Wooooo!”

Teresa is not lying in bed, but she is in a strange place.

“Do you want me to go faster?”

Carl has already arrived from the Islands to Tyglehen.

Both of them are embarrassed and dumbfounded, but

“Ah-woo!”

“If our youngest wants it, then so be it.”

It was less embarrassing than seeing the knife carrying Teresa on the boat moving through every corner of the room.

“Shoo!”

“Woo!”

And that too while lying down.

It was a sight that my mind could not accept, so I looked at her siblings blankly. I can’t understand Teresa, who is crying often, and she can’t understand Carl walking around as if he were going to wipe the entire room with his clothes.

“Laura.”

“Nia?”

I finally came to my senses thanks to the feeling of a tap on my shoulder

“Has your fatigue gone?”

She instinctively nodded at Nia’s words.

The fatigue went away a little. It was definitely resolved…

“What is this situation?”

Instead of relieving physical fatigue, it feels like mental fatigue is accumulating.

Even though, from Karl’s point of view, Teresa is his younger sister, Karl is the current imperial ruler and minister. Considering his prestige and authority, he should not be wiping the floor with his back like that.

“Shooooo!”

“Awww!”

Meanwhile, why is it so fast? When did you go to the door when you were at the window a few seconds ago?

“I felt sorry for my eldest brother for not being able to come often, so I said I would play with him a lot and then leave.”

Nia, the biological mother of the two siblings, looked at the scene with satisfaction.

No, when I looked closely, I saw that he was looking at me with an expression of emotion that went beyond satisfaction. It looks like he was very moved, even though his eyes were moist.

“To be so devoted to your younger brother. How wonderful it is.”

As Nia quietly wiped her eyes, I looked at Karl and Teresa again.

“U-ah-!”

“It’s a bit difficult to go faster than this─”

“Uuuh…!”

“Break through the limit!”

It’s still a difficult sight to understand, but I can understand one thing.

That Teresa was a bright and innocent baby angel in Karl’s arms.

Teresa, who cries half the day, is a child who only smiles in Karl’s arms.

‘A true matriarch.’

I felt overwhelmed without realizing it. The older brother who throws his body on the floor for his younger brother and makes his crybaby younger brother laugh. If such a person is not the true head of the family, then who is the true head of the family? What kind of person can be called the owner of the family?

I felt like crying at the reality that Carl, whom I raised like my own son, was a great brother and head of the family. As time goes by, Carl looks different from when he was young, but he still retains his good nature.

‘No matter what position you hold, a sword is a sword.’

I felt foolish for worrying that Cal’s face might be lost, even if only for a moment, and his authority might drop.

Even a brilliant reputation and position cannot obscure the true nature of a sword. Carl, whom I have protected since I was young, was a child who loved his family and was considerate of others. For Carl, that action for his sister was completely common sense.

“Shall we go to the hallway like this?”

“Ooh-ah!”

While Nia was filled with emotion, Carl opened the door and went out into the hallway. It was such a natural behavior that it was hard to believe that he was lying down.

…

“Knife!”

“Matriarch!”

Belatedly, Nia and I ran out into the hallway.

An older brother playing with a younger sister is a heartwarming and beautiful sight, but it is not a sight that should be proudly shown to all the retainers and servants. How would the vassals feel when they see the lord they are supposed to serve with all his heart crawling on his back?

“Go, Your Excellency!?”

“No, why are you lying down? Your Excellence! Please stop first! Why are you moving so fast while lying down!”

A voice similar to a scream was heard, as if some of the retainers had already encountered the sword.

***

There is a first principle that must be considered above all else when taking care of a baby.

That means that no matter what your social position is, it has no meaning in front of your baby. Only by recognizing and accepting that can you truly communicate with your baby.

This is not just a theory, but reality. As I, the Imperial Baek and Minister, crawled at the same eye level as the children, the children followed me wholeheartedly. I was pushed out by Titi and the Holy Beasts due to the difference in species, but among humans, I am the best.

That’s why he also treated Teresa with sincerity. I walked around here and there holding the curious child in my arms, and crawled on the floor with her on my stomach at the eye level of Teresa, who would crawl one day.

‘It’s been a while since I used my back muscles.’

To be honest, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, but I was satisfied to see Teresa happy. Not the high eye level of being held in the arms of adults, but the low eye level close to the floor. When would Teresa be able to see a scene like this?

“Your Excellency! Please show some dignity…!”

“Does my dignity matter when Teresa is smiling?”

When I answered firmly to the deacon’s cry, the deacon kept his mouth shut as if telling a lie.

He is the head deacon who has already suffered from Teresa for several months. In her head, she may think that she must prevent the deviation of the Empire White, but in her heart, she thinks this situation is not bad.

“…Then at least stay here. If you go to other floors, the employees will—”

“Because it’s not up to me to decide.”

“Go, Your Excellency!”

I left behind the butler’s plea and headed towards the stairs.

However, there is nothing we can do. As I said to the head deacon, it is not up to me to decide where I wander. Teresa decides.

‘How good am I at paying attention to kids?’

A subtle look, a weak nod, a cute hand gesture. With just those three things, I am a specialist who can figure out what children want and where they want to go. The know-how I gained while raising five children is by no means light.

So Teresa moves to places she is interested in without hesitation. Even if there are stairs at the end and there are people using them.

The humiliation is fleeting, but your brother’s laughter will last forever.

“Ah-woo-!”

Fortunately, Teresa has been smiling ever since she boarded my boat.

It is indeed a fortunate thing.

I feel like I used up all the back muscles I will ever use for the rest of my life today.

“Aww!”

Still, seeing that Teresa liked it, I couldn’t stop. No stairs or doors could stop us from running.

‘It’s clean.’

And when I saw the strangely sparkling hallway, I smiled bitterly.

Perhaps because I was running around the mansion with the kids so much, Trixie, who was no better than me, put a spell on my clothes. A miraculous magic that completely removes dust from wherever you pass, just like the magic on your own hair.

Thanks to this, the area I swept with my back was cleaner than other areas. The performance of the vacuum cleaner is solid.

“Aww… Wow…”

“Are you sleepy?”

As I was walking to Teresa’s room like that, Teresa, who was in my arms, yawned softly.

It was worth playing for a few hours. After all, the best way to get your child to sleep is to play hard.

“Sleep well, our youngest.”

As I gently stroked Teresa’s cheek, she blinked a few times and then slowly closed her eyes.

‘The castle deserves to be overturned.’

After confirming that Teresa was completely asleep, she let out a small sigh.

Even I, who had already crawled like a dog for my five children and endured all kinds of humiliation and pain, was able to make Teresa smile after rolling over for hours. If you had taken care of Teresa with an ordinary mindset, disaster would inevitably have occurred.

However, I can’t expect my parents, nanny, and other retainers to provide the same level of upbringing as I did. I can do this because of my physical strength and age.

‘What should I do with this?’

I’m worried. If Teresa can start crawling tomorrow, she can stop doing this. However, it will take at least 3 to 4 months for Teresa to crawl.

But that doesn’t mean I can come to the castle every day and play with Teresa. It is said that Feddy has a daughter, the Crown Princess, Titi, and triplets, but Friedrich is at an age where he cannot crawl like Teresa. It’s a bit much to give up your son for your younger brother.

‘Should I take him to the mansion?’

If Teresa were to stay at the mansion, she could play with her every day. It is enough to take care of my children while playing with them.

But that’s something you can’t do to your parents. Aren’t you the ones who want to raise Teresa with your own hands, not someone else’s? Even if it is the eldest son’s home, one can feel the loss of having their daughter taken away.

Of course, it is even more difficult for my parents to come to the mansion with Teresa. From the wives’ perspective, they have to serve their parents-in-law every day.

‘What should I really do?’

Should I just come to the castle one day a week? I think it would be okay to endure Teresa’s crying for six days at the castle and then rest for a day when I come.

It doesn’t seem like a very bad method. If the best is impossible, even the worst should be avoided.

So let’s tell her mother that we will come once a week ─

“It might be okay if Billy and the knights take turns playing.”

“Yes?”

My mother suggested a plan that was beyond her imagination.

The plan is for my father and the knights of the family to take turns performing the miracles that I performed while walking around.

…

‘Are you okay?’

It’s definitely perfect in theory.

Whether or not it can be translated into reality is another matter.