"Mao-neesan, where did the other big brothers and sisters go? Just now, Cha walked around but didn't see anyone. I don't recognize a single face. Today, there are only new ones—they're all really kind, but Cha doesn't know them. Everyone smiles… no one scolds Cha at all."
Even so, no matter how much little Bai Cha's head throbbed with worries about his own role and mission in this world, the boy still knew one thing: before he would one day grow old and die, he still had many years left. At the very least, he could spend that time doing little things to strengthen the relationship between his father and mother.
Ah… no! Not his mother, but his stepmother.
That was why the little one decided to put aside for the moment the impossible romance between Ryo and Polles, and instead bring up something he thought might shake Mao's nerves the most.
"Hey…!" The woman who heard him ask about those who had disappeared almost lost control, on the verge of blurting out, "That's all because of you!!"
After all, she remembered clearly—every terrible thing had started with this stupid boy showing his depression openly, which led to Butler Ken bringing it up. As a result, she had to give up a huge amount of resources to persuade those people to leave Wakaba, all while making them believe her family would really take them in.
And worse, those resources had been wasted for nothing. Because once those people were gone, it was as if she'd lost multiple limbs at once. To put it plainly, she'd lost both assets and manpower in one blow.
So it was no surprise that she burned inside with rage, desperate to vent. But Ryo's earlier behavior had already made it clear—whether or not he loved Bai Cha, he had already given the boy the rights of a son of the household. He had passed harsh judgment on anyone who slandered him, and now he even had skilled people monitoring this residence, making it as tightly secured as Sen's, the eldest young master's.
For that reason, no matter how furious Mao was, all she could do was restrain her emotions… she dared not scold or lay a hand on the boy.
"Mao-neesan, Mao-neesan… what's wrong? Why are you so quiet? Did Cha say something wrong? The new brothers and sisters are really, really nice though!" The boy tilted his little head in an adorable way.
"Ah!? No, not at all, young master. Actually, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just…" Mao fell silent, as if pondering something. She glanced around to make sure no one else was there, then crouched down, putting on a pitiful look for the boy to see.
Bai Cha instantly realized she was about to put on another act to manipulate him. The only question was—what kind of manipulation this time?
"But what is it, Mao-neesan? Don't be sad… don't cry." The boy raised his hands, pretending to pinch her cheeks together with all his strength. Of course, no matter how much force he put in, the thick-skinned woman didn't feel a thing.
"I-I'm not crying, young master. I'm just sad because I worry about you. Why is it… when my young master is so cute… sigh, I don't understand why the Young Madam hates you so much." Mao pulled his hands away, suppressing the urge to slap him, while speaking in a sorrowful tone.
"Who's the Young Madam? And why doesn't she like Cha? Cha's a good boy, Mao-neesan. Cha's easy to take care of, eats well, sleeps on time, never throws tantrums, not naughty at all." He put on a worried look, as if he truly didn't understand why anyone wouldn't like him.
"…If I tell you, young master, can you promise not to tell anyone? Not even the butler or the young master." She stressed secrecy as she prepared to sow discord between the boy and Polles.
"Hmm… another secret between us again?" The boy scrunched his face as though troubled. He already had too many secrets with her—though inside, he was smirking, because she was getting closer to openly insulting the Young Madam.
"Yes, it's our secret… just between you and me. Because we're so close, like mother and son." Mao, blind to his tricks, nodded with a smile.
"Okay! Cha listens to Mao-neesan, 'cause Cha's a good boy." He raised a tiny thumb in an adorable gesture.
"Alright, then I'll tell you. You remember how I explained before that the young master already has a legal wife, while your mother was just a concubine…"
"Yeah, Cha remembers. Mao-neesan said the legal wife comes first, the concubine comes later, and people who come later are bad. So Mama's bad… which makes Cha bad too. Cha's the child of a concubine, so nobody in the world likes Cha. Only Mao-neesan likes Cha." He nodded sadly, looking up at her.
"That's right. And the Young Madam is the legal wife. That's why she dislikes you the most." Mao smiled softly as she stroked his head.
"But… but Cha didn't do anything. Cha likes everyone, and Cha doesn't even like Mama either. Mama's bad. Daddy even said never to call her Mama, 'cause she hurts Cha. So I can't call her Mama anymore… ugh." His face crumpled, eyes filling with tears. It was enough to make Mao secretly grin—proof that the relationship between his parents wasn't good.
To her, that meant her only real enemy remained Polles. Before, she had no cards to play against him, relying only on winning over the lower servants. But now she had Bai Cha in her hands.
"I know my young master is sweet and good. I even tried telling the young master and the Young Madam that. But sadly, she hates you so much that she fired everyone who used to serve you and replaced them with her own people."
"But… Cha doesn't understand. If Daddy's wife hates Cha, then why did the kind new ones come to stay with Cha?" The boy's straightforward question caught her off guard before she could finish her manipulation.
"Ahem! That's because she didn't know those old ones were bad. So she…" Mao quickly changed tactics, explaining that the old servants were bad, Polles just didn't know, and the new ones, though they looked kind, might hurt him one day. Better not get too close.
Bai Cha immediately rolled his eyes inside. If anyone in this house could hurt him, it was surely her!
"Cha understands." Outwardly, he nodded obediently, feigning fear and concern as she went on and on, demonizing Polles until he sounded like a monster.
And so, after those troubles passed, Bai Cha went back to his peaceful daily life as a little child.
Like today, he spent his morning playing in his favorite garden, sitting by the koi pond, dipping his hand to stroke the bodies of the giant koi fish. He was curious—how were these koi different from those in his past life's world? They were almost as big as toddlers, yet not fully grown. But dissecting one would be cruel; he could just read about it when he was older.
"Ah!?" While he was petting a big red koi he'd secretly named "Big Red," suddenly, the fish spat out a huge pearl into his hand. He nearly toppled into the pond from surprise.
By the time he steadied himself, he was holding a pearl of fortune so large it filled his tiny palm.
"What are you doing, young master?" At that moment Mao walked up, spotting the massive yellow pearl in his hand.
"Mao-neesan!? Cha got this! Big Red spat it into Cha's hand. It's shiny and pretty, not gross at all!" Knowing he couldn't hide it, the boy held it up proudly like a gift.
This was a pearl spat out prematurely—because Bai Cha had been secretly feeding the fish treats and massaging them in spots they liked, helping them produce pearls more efficiently.
"Ah, that's a Pearl of Fortune. Very precious! Whoever holds it will be blessed with luck. Looks like Big Red really loves you, to give his pearl to you." Evil thoughts sparked in Mao's mind as she stroked his head gently.
"Heehee! Big Red is kind, and Cha's kind to Big Red too. We're close friends." The boy clutched the pearl with both hands and blew a kiss to the fish.
"Haha, that's good. Then… how about this, young master?" Mao smiled sweetly, though inside her head brimmed with malicious schemes.
"What is it, Mao-neesan? Do you want Cha to give this round thing somewhere?" He tilted his head, eyes sharp despite his innocent look.
"You said you wanted the Young Madam to like you, right?" she asked with a glint in her eye.
"Yes, yes! Cha wants her to like Cha!" He nodded eagerly.
"Then why not give this pearl to the Young Madam? She'll be delighted. She might finally see how good you are." Mao quickly suggested—planning to use it to provoke Polles into scolding the boy, damaging their bond early.
And if Polles accepted the pearl, she even had a darker plan: she'd lure the boy to the largest koi pond, have someone push him in, let him drown, and then frame the Young Madam for stealing family pearls and causing the boy's death.
Her empty head, filled with nothing but thoughts of men, could barely come up with anything but wickedness.
"Hmm! Cha's got an idea!" The boy only said vaguely, then suddenly ran off toward the front residence.
"Young master, slow down!" Mao chased, mind racing with plans.
"Daddy!!!"
"Y-Young master!?" Mao froze when she realized he wasn't running to the Young Madam, but toward his father's group, just visible in the distance.
Ryo Wakaba halted at once at the small voice calling "Daddy," since the only child here was his own new son.
"The young master must have seen you and run out," Ken explained with a smile.
"Careful, young master…" Ken warned as the boy ran too fast.
"Hmph." Ryo's brow twitched slightly—annoyed that others seemed more worried about his son than he was himself.
"Daddy!!" Bai Cha, oblivious, threw himself against his father's long legs in a tight hug. Ryo stood firm, unaffected by the impact.
"I-I'm sorry, young master. I couldn't stop him." Mao apologized quickly, worried Ryo would kick the child away since he hated being touched.
"What are you doing." The tall man asked stiffly. He didn't shake the boy off—the touch was too soft and light, and he feared hurting him.
"Cha missed Daddy!" the boy grinned up at him, still hugging his leg.
"Hm…"
"Ah…" At that moment, the wet pearl slipped from his hand and rolled to the ground before everyone's eyes.
"This is a Pearl of Fortune—Rank B, no less," Ken said seriously as he picked it up.
"Th-that's…" Mao tried to speak.
"Big Red, the big fish, gave it to Cha! Big Red spat it into Cha's hand. Then Mao-neesan saw it too. Mao said it's really precious, so Cha wanted to bring it to Daddy." The boy cut her off, declaring his loyalty first.
"Oh, young master… what a good boy, thinking of your father." Ken held back tears as he handed the pearl to his master, secretly wondering how such a cold-faced man could have such an adorable child.
"Thanks." Receiving the pearl, the man simply stretched out his hand, took it, and gave a curt one-word thanks… which immediately made the atmosphere around them fall into an awkward silence.
At that moment, many nearby couldn't help secretly cursing their master in their hearts—how could he be so cold? If it were them, they wouldn't have resisted scooping the little boy up, showering him with kisses and cuddles already!
"Ehehe, Cha will bring Daddy good things often, okay? Daddy works so hard, so Cha will only give Daddy the best treasures! Cha worries about Daddy lots… and Big Red and the others like Cha sooo much too! Cha's super close with them, always visiting, and they'll give lots more pearls to Daddy too!" Luckily, their young master was so heartbreakingly sweet that no matter how cold and nasty the father was, the boy still kept flattering him adorably, making everyone want to squeeze him.
"Stay away from the water," came the father's flat voice.
The words nearly made Mao's soul leave her body as she screamed silently in her heart. Because if he had said this, then if the child really did drown one day… there was no question—it would all fall on her shoulders alone!
Especially since his eyes, when he said those words, had clearly flicked toward her. She didn't need to be told—he was warning her to make absolutely sure his son never had an "accident" near water due to childish mischief.
"Cha will be careful, Daddy! Cha won't dare fall into the water and tease you," the little face nodded obediently.
"Hm."
"Daddy… Daddy, can you carry Cha, please?" After flattering his father to his heart's content, the boy let go of the man's leg and lifted both little arms up, blinking his eyes pitifully. The man froze on the spot.
"I still have business to attend to. Ken! Carry the boy back." Unfortunately, this father was not like ordinary fathers, doting enough to pick up their children.
"Yes, young master," the butler bowed.
"Whaaa… Cha smells nice, Daddy! You really won't carry Cha? Mmm… okay then! Cha will go make himself even softer and sweeter-smelling first, then later Daddy can carry Cha then!" So the little one could only surrender himself into the arms of the butler once again. But he didn't forget to leave behind words for his father—words that made the man, just as he was about to walk away, stop and turn back involuntarily.
"Cha thanks the butler too! Cha's been running for sooo long, now Cha can't walk anymore! Kiss kiss…" Unfortunately, the man turned back just in time to see his little son planting kisses on someone else's cheek.
"...Hmph!" His big hand nearly crushed the freshly gifted golden pearl to powder right then and there.
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Ryo: How dare you kiss someone else. //expressionlessBai Cha: You didn't carry me, so why sulk? No right to complain! Go on then… anyone who won't carry me can't demand kisses! //waves hand, shoo shoo
Chapter 9 END.