Inwardly making such a resolution, I looked at the lady.

Some newborns are said to be wrinkly, but the protagonist is truly a protagonist. She’s cute enough to nibble on.

‘What a shame I can’t capture this in a photo.’

In a civilization that appears to be early 19th century at best, cameras couldn’t possibly exist.

“……”

In one corner of the bedroom were a pencil and notebook that seemed too small for even a child to properly hold.

I carefully opened the notebook.

<First Day>

After writing those words, I scribbled lines underneath.

The sound of the pencil scratching filled the room.

Dozens of lines soon took the shape of a baby.

As if knowing I was drawing her, the lady lay still, staring at me.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve drawn anything.’

I thought while adding shading.

I always wanted to continue learning to draw but…… had to give up.

‘Think positive thoughts, positive thoughts.’

I focused on the lady again.

“I think I drew it pretty well……”

Since I’m not showing it to anyone, it doesn’t need to be perfect, but.

Looking at the finished drawing, my heart beat pleasantly.

“Shall I show you?”

I impulsively asked the lady.

I still hesitate to show my drawings to others, but a newborn baby is fine.

She’s at an age where she can’t judge whether it’s good or bad.

Instead of waiting for a response that wouldn’t come, I showed her the drawing.

“……”

Did I see wrong?

The baby, who had been staring blankly at the notebook, slightly curled up the corners of her mouth.

I understand now why fathers in romantic fantasy novels melt at a single smile from their daughters.

Day 9 of Being Trapped in a Terrible Game, Day 8 of Tutorial

“How has he not come even once.”

The Duke hasn’t shown his face for a week.

Unlike the tutorial period that ends in three days, it’s still winter here.

During this time, I’ve been……

—Waaah!

—Why is the lady crying? Please don’t cry.

While raising the lady,

♡SYSTEM♡ You drank an Intermediate Recovery Potion!

Health recovered by 50.

Mental Strength recovered by 50.

Desperately restoring my depleted health by giving Mary my entire fortune,

—Hello, Mr. Harrington!

—If you need help, please don’t hesitate to call me!

And working hard to unlock side jobs.

Even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.

“And he calls himself a romance fantasy novel father.”

I grumbled while patting the lady.

Of course, for the baby’s emotional wellbeing, I made sure my voice was gentle and my tone cheerful.

Thinking of all the romance fantasy content I’ve encountered, characters who are “indifferent fathers” always visit at least once despite claiming to have no interest in their daughters.

“And when she smiles at that exact moment…!”

Their icy hearts melt, and they become daughter-obsessed.

Speaking from experience, a baby’s smile is more powerful than you’d think.

After that, the only difference is whether they pretend not to be overprotective or are openly overprotective.

But Duke Cromwell didn’t even show his face, as if determined not to give that possibility a chance.

If not for his insane appearance, I might have forgotten what he looked like.

Health: 40/100 

Mental Strength: 30/100

Looking at my status window, I could only sigh.

I swallowed my pride and begged Mary flat on my stomach for more potions, but……

—I can’t give them for free anymore. They say material costs have risen because of demonic beasts. Oh, but I’ll sell them cheaper than the apothecary!

I wasn’t surprised since Mary was a paid shop NPC in the game too.

Buying as much as I could, my balance was emptied.

“When will side jobs be unlocked?”

You can receive side jobs once you become friendly enough with NPCs.

Since favorability needs to be at least 3, I’m in the process of recruiting everyone from the stable boy to fellow maids.

“At least today is payday.”

25 precious gold will be deposited!

Since yesterday, I’ve been constantly staring at the system window.

“Good morning.”

Just then, Mrs. Lester entered the bedroom.

Ding!

As the day officially began, a familiar sound was heard.

♡SYSTEM♡ You received your weekly pay!

Gold +25G (25G)

They say peace of mind comes from a thick wallet and a solid bank account.

Still meager, but seeing the increased amount compared to just before gave me some relief.

“The lady has grown a lot.”

Mrs. Lester said as she handed me the lady after she finished eating.

I thought she felt heavier because my health had dropped, but it seems she’s actually grown.

I was relieved to confirm it wasn’t just a health problem.

“She’s getting heavier by the day.”

I said while patting the lady’s back. The baby looked more content than before.

“This time passes the quickest. In the blink of an eye, they’re walking, talking…… if only every moment could be recorded!”

Mrs. Lester’s voice became choked.

I was about to mention that I record through drawings but stopped myself.

‘No need to show them.’

It’s not like I have the skill worth showing anyone.

Mrs. Lester often gets emotional when talking about children.

‘Duke Cromwell should be like this.’

It’s hard to imagine him getting teary-eyed.

But from Mrs. Lester’s wistful comment, I found a clue for my future direction.

‘I just need to make him recognize her as his daughter, right?’

Duke Cromwell’s biggest problem is that he doesn’t participate in childcare at all.

This means the nanny has complete freedom in raising the child, but it also means there’s no opportunity for a father-daughter bond to form.

Considering that the Duke only appears during the quarterly evaluations……

‘It means he only sees her four times a year.’

You can meet him more if you join him in subjugation or battle, but even that doesn’t exceed ten times.

Now I understand why he can see his daughter as a woman rather than a child, and why the lady can see Duke Cromwell as a man rather than a father. It’s a frequency that makes sense.

But now, without providing mid-term evaluations, even those sparse points of contact are in danger of disappearing.

The point of this is—

‘Could the reason Duke Cromwell sees his daughter as a woman be because he never had the chance to see her as a daughter in the first place?’

—that’s it.

To him, the lady is just a girl he brought home over a decade ago, and since he didn’t participate in raising her, he could see her as a woman.

‘My task is clear.’

Make Jeremiah Cromwell a ‘real father.’

Make him treat her as a daughter with no room to see her as a woman, so that when the lady proposes one day, he’ll collapse grabbing the back of his neck in shock instead of drooling with excitement.

Make him participate in childcare.

Considering the ending-viewing age is three, it’s horrifying to even have such concerns.

But it’s better than making her a child bride.

‘For that……’

I need to implant the recognition that she is his daughter.

Let’s start by having him name her.

✧ʚ .·:¨༺♡༻¨:·. ɞ✧

I dressed the baby in outdoor clothes and left the room.

The small baby smiled brightly as if the corridor was endlessly fascinating.

“If by chance we see the Duke on our way, you must smile at him.”

Just like you did for me.

That way he’ll feel familial affection and won’t marry her.

NPC favorability isn’t anything special.

It’s just about talking to everyone you come across.

If I had money, I would have launched a gift offensive, but conversation is the best option when broke.

‘If only it were spring, I could at least pick flowers as gifts.’

Another reason for our frequent outings is Duke Cromwell.

Realizing he would never voluntarily visit his daughter, and unable to seek him out directly due to my low level, the method I chose was simple.

Operation Accidental Encounter.

Unless he handles all his schedules in his office, I’ll eventually meet him if I keep moving around.

“Though I haven’t seen him once. I wonder when the Duke will appear.”

I asked the lady in a humming tone.

The baby tilted her head as if answering. So you don’t know either.

In the corridor were people other than the one I was hoping for.

“Lala, have you eaten?”

“Cassandra, you should greet the lady first.”

“Alright, Jane. Hello to you too, my lady.”

“She’s so cute. How did the Duke find such a baby?”

My fellow maids approached me.

As a result of talking to everyone for side jobs, I somehow became the person with the widest connections in the ducal residence.

“Breakfast…… I’m planning to eat later.”

The lady was picked up by Duke Cromwell from ruins on his way back.

Of course, I can’t make such meta comments.

Fortunately, as if they weren’t really curious about the lady’s origins, the conversation quickly moved to other topics.

But this didn’t last long.

“What is all this commotion?”

A voice I hadn’t heard in a week interrupted.

It was the head maid.

“I’m sorry. We were just about to take the lady for a walk……”

I bowed my head in apology.

“Shouldn’t you avoid disturbing others’ work?”

The head maid pointed out in a displeased voice.

“That wasn’t my intention. I’m sor……”

Continuously apologizing, I couldn’t finish my sentence.

♡PROFILE♡

Name: Miriam Lynch

Viewing Level: 2

Occupation: Head maid of Cromwell ducal residence

Relationship: Workplace superior

Favorability with Lorelai: 0/10

Favorability with the lady: 0/10

Special Note: She embezzles the lady’s childcare funds.

In the noticeably longer profile window, what caught my attention was the last sentence.

Special Note: She embezzles the lady’s childcare funds.

……Is this the salary thief I’ve only heard about?

The head maid instantly fell to the status of embezzler.

Memories of struggling without money over the years flashed through my mind.

How nice it would be to have more money.

A thought I always had watching numbers decrease as quickly as they were earned, like water through a bottomless dam.

To think that the problem that had tormented me from when Bling Bling ♡ Raising A Noble Lady was a game until now when it became reality was a tragedy stemming from just one person.

“Is that all you have to say?”

She asked in a dissatisfied voice.

Brazenly shameless until the end.

How can someone have such thick skin?

“My childcare funds…!”

More precisely, the lady’s childcare funds.

I shouted with my mouth wide open, facing the profile window only I could see.

Unlike others who looked at me strangely for suddenly saying words that didn’t match the situation,

“……”

The embezzler turned pale.

Even if being a salary thief is every office worker’s dream……

‘Stealing crosses the line!’

This means that person has been living the high life with my money all this time!

If I were in a rational state……

No, does anyone exist who could maintain rationality in this situation?

I don’t know where to begin.

“Head maid, are you embezzling the lady’s childcare funds?”

So I just asked directly.

As if she hadn’t expected me to ask so bluntly, she floundered.

“What are you talking about?”

She asked, barely maintaining a facade of calm.

The colleagues around us began to gauge whose words were true.

Ah, the back of my neck.

Unable to speak logically, I blurted out whatever came to mind.

“My weekly pay is only 25 gold! And you expect me to raise the lady with this!”

I hadn’t intended to disparage my salary in front of people……

“You raised the lady with 25 gold?”

“My goodness, that’s even less than I get.”

But the effect was clear.

They were shocked by an amount that defied common sense.

The lady burst into tears at the sudden loud voices.

While soothing the baby, I continued speaking.

“I didn’t think the Duke would be stingy with his daughter’s upbringing. 25 gold, really.”

I had accepted it thinking it was because of Hidden Mode.

My thinking had been confined to game settings all this time.

“25 gold…… that’s gone just buying formula.”

I said pitifully, looking at the lady.

‘You might as well squeeze blood from a stone.’

She doesn’t even drink formula, but it’s a necessary lie to gain sympathy.

“Let’s talk elsewhere!”

Judging the situation unfavorable, she grabbed my hand and pulled.

“…!”

Her grip was so forceful that I almost dropped the lady.

“You’ll hurt the lady!”

I said, pulling my hand away.

But the embezzler seemed more concerned with her own safety.

“Talk right here.”

“Waaah—!”

“The other servants need to work too!”

“But Lorelai…… really has no money.”

It’s chaos.

The baby is crying at the top of her lungs, and the surrounding servants who understood the situation from context are murmuring.

There seems to be no end to this meaningless dispute.

But contrary to my worry, the fight ended soon.

“……”

The atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

Everyone looked at me, or more precisely, behind me.

“D-Duke!”

The head maid, pale as a sheet, spoke in a terrified voice.

I turned around.

“……”

It’s Duke Cromwell, whom I had been searching for so desperately.