“I knew you would say that, so I prepared something. Here, read this.”

Hailey quickly handed over a piece of paper. The paper listed the expenses Hailey was charging to the Baron couple.

At the top was 20,000 Zenia for the education that she should have received as a noble child, assuming she had learned the essential education in a one-year intensive course, with a note that living expenses were omitted since they had minimally provided food, clothing, and shelter.

Additionally, there was a detailed calculation of all the hours Hailey was dragged around as a maid when the Baroness went to tea parties, calculated at 2 zenia per hour.

The Baron couple looked at the outrageous paper with faces red enough to faint at any moment.

“These are the costs for the education and upbringing you were obligated to provide, and the wages for the time you used me as a maid. I have been keeping track for a day like this.”

“How did we raise you! When did we ever use you as a maid? You’re our daughter; can’t we at least do that much? And childcare costs? Ha! That’s ridiculous!”

As Hailey expected, the Baron couple strongly resisted. Hailey calmly countered.

“You abused me. You never bought me a single piece of clothing, and instead, you always told me to eat less, saying I was growing like a pig.”

The Baron couple were at a loss for words at the sight of Hailey, who seemed to have been waiting for this day. They knew Hailey was different from others, but not to this extent.

“You made me do laundry and cleaning with the maids, saying you were short-handed, and I ran errands and did all sorts of chores every day.”

“Hailey Langston!”

“According to the revised family law of Zenovia by Hern III, noble children under 16 have the right to be protected from exploitation and abuse, and even serfs cannot be exploited for more than six days a week.”

“……”

“Of course! There hasn’t been a case of punishment yet, but if you keep resisting, you might be recorded as the first case of punishment for child abuse. I mean it. You know that, right?”

“……”

“Originally, I should get five times more, but considering the circumstances, I’m offering a settlement at this amount. You can easily raise the money by selling a few of your luxury items.”

Goodbye! I will throw off the shackles and constraints of this dreadful barony and leave with Theo to find freedom!

For the first time, Hailey smiled brightly in front of the Baron couple.

* * *

“…Hailey. Hailey!”

“Huh? Yes? Theo, did you call?”

“Is Hailey sick?”

Theo alternated between touching his forehead and Hailey’s forehead with his small hand. It was the gesture she always made when Theo had a fever.

The child tilted his head.

“You’re not hot—”

The child’s green eyes were clear as he stared at her while mumbling.

Hailey patted Theo’s head. It felt like her heart was melting from the warmth of the child.

“I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s no fun.”

Since the incident with the childcare cost claim, the Baroness had started to harass her in petty ways.

Until now, she hadn’t prepared meals for Theo, but she hadn’t stopped her from using ingredients either. Now, she even forbade that.

However, Hailey didn’t care. She went to the market with the money she got from selling Marianne’s used accessories to buy ingredients.

Hailey suddenly remembered seeing the daughter of the lady who runs the vegetable shop she often visits. Without much thought, she asked how old the girl was, since she seemed bigger than Theo.

“She’s five years old. Oh, my child is so small, it’s a big problem.”

She was the same age as Theo.

“Is that considered small for a five-year-old? Our Theo is…”

Even smaller.

Since then, Hailey couldn’t shake off her worries.

She had thought she was raising him well enough, even if not abundantly, but perhaps it was just self-consolation.

“But our Theo is smart and speaks so well.”

Theo was folding a paper airplane from the paper he was using to study addition.

“Stop folding paper and try this on.”

“I want to put it on by myself!”

These days, this five-year-old was fascinated with ‘doing things by himself,’ refusing Hailey’s help.

“Come here. This outfit has buttons that are too difficult for your hands.”

“No, I can do it!”

Theo snatched the small shirt and pants from Hailey’s hands.

Finally, she could dress Theo in the new clothes she had painstakingly made over several days.

While Hailey wore Marianne’s discarded clothes, there were no suitable clothes for a young boy like Theo in the Langston household, no matter how thoroughly she searched.

So, Hailey had no choice but to buy fabric and make clothes for Theo herself.

Until now, her sewing skills were lacking, so she could only make rough indoor clothes, but this time she had finally completed an outfit for Theo to wear outside.

“Fortunately, I made it just in time.”

Today marked the fifth anniversary since Marianne, who had run away, returned home with Theo.

Since Marianne had never properly told her the day Theo was born, Hailey celebrated the day she first met Theo as his birthday.

For Theo’s fifth birthday, Hailey decided to take him out for the first time.

She was so excited about Theo’s first outing, which had never happened before due to the Baron couple’s opposition, that she hadn’t been able to sleep for days.

The small hands, eager to do it alone, took a long time to fasten even the first button.

After struggling for a while, Theo eventually plopped down, exhausted.

“I want to do it like Hailey.”

“It’s impressive that you managed to fasten even one button, considering it’s your first time.”

“…Really?”

Hailey gently approached Theo and comforted him as she helped him up.

“Of course. I’ve never seen such a cool and smart five-year-old.”

“Then show me how Hailey does it. I’ll try it by myself next time.”

After dressing him, she revealed her secret weapon: new shoes she had bought for him.

“New shoes are a must for a first outing.”

Theo, fascinated by his new outfit and shoes, spun around in circles for a while.

“How do you like it? Do you like it?”

“It’s really cool!”

“Then, since we’re dressed so nicely, shall we go out together?”

At the mention of going out, Theo’s face lit up with excitement.

“But…”

However, something seemed to hold him back, and his small shoulders drooped.

“…It’s okay if we just have a party here.”

“Don’t you want to go out, Theo?”

“…No. I’m not curious about outside.”

Theo averted his gaze and looked down at his toes.

Despite his words, he couldn’t take his eyes off his new shoes, trying hard to hide his disappointment by biting his lip. Hailey’s heart ached at the sight.

There was no way he wasn’t curious about the outside world, especially at an age where everything was fascinating and full of curiosity. He had never thrown a tantrum, even though he was always glued to the window. He was an overly considerate child.

Hailey suppressed her rising emotions and pulled the small Theo into her arms.

“At five years old, it’s okay to be curious about everything.”

“…I don’t want Hailey to get scolded.”

Theo was utterly dejected.

Even within the mansion, whenever they occasionally ran into the Baroness, she would scold him for wandering around, and the Baron would click his tongue loudly for Theo to hear.

Whenever Theo cried, the Baron would call Hailey and yell at her, asking how she was raising the child, causing Theo to learn to cry silently.

Theo hated seeing Hailey get scolded more than anything in the world.

Hailey straightened Theo’s slumped shoulders.

“Theo, can you keep a secret?”

“Yes. I won’t tell anyone!”

Although Theo had no one to talk to besides Hailey, she stifled a laugh.

Hailey whispered her plan to leave the house and find freedom into Theo’s ear.

Theo’s expression changed a dozen times as he listened.

Too shocked, Theo barely managed to cover his gaping mouth with his small hands. With eyes wide open, he spoke.

“Ha-Hailey…”

“Yes?”

“…Hailey, you’re amazing!”

Theo hugged Hailey with a genuinely happy face.

“Hailey! Then can we be happy now?”

“Yes! We will be happy together.”

“That’s really amazing!”

Hailey and Theo embraced each other, imagining their happy home.

Unfortunately, they had no inkling of the storm that was about to come.

* * *

In the capital of Zenovia, there was another runaway horse besides Hailey.

Zenovia’s prince, Axel von Otte.

He was the kingdom’s hero and a war fanatic. At the age of nine, he manifested aura, shocking even the king, and he showed an exceptional talent in hunting, becoming the foremost contributor to the expansion of Zenovia’s territory.

There was a princess, but she was the child of a concubine, and the queen’s only child was Axel, so it was only natural that he was early on appointed as the heir to the throne.

Though his hobbies were territorial expansion and his specialty was war, and he was an arrogant and insolent prince who cared for nothing but himself, there was never a single dirty rumor about him.

But this prince dropped a bombshell in front of the king, queen, Zenovia’s nobility, and foreign envoys on his twenty-seventh birthday.

“I hereby renounce my status as a prince of Zenovia from this moment.”

“……?”

“I thank all the distinguished guests for attending today, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the banquet. That is all.”

Everyone in the banquet hall was shocked beyond belief, the king clutched his neck, and the queen fainted on the spot.

Only Axel laughed like a madman as he exited.

In Zenovia, this event was called the ‘Prince’s Rebellion.’