Henrietta fired her yesterday. The nanny was to be chosen from her maternal family, the Counts of Grancel. There were quite a few women of modest and virtuous character among the lower noble families that served her father.
“But Her Highness doesn’t seem to be calming down...”
The terrified maid began to tremble. The baby had been crying for several days. As the birth mother had said, the baby did not breastfeed properly, and even when it did, it would vomit. Henrietta used this as an excuse to fire the Princess's wet nurse.
Her expression hardened at the words that she would never have to come again. Henrietta smiled affectionately in front of her, holding the baby in her arms like a real mother to the Princess.
“My parents said they’d send a nanny, so she’ll be here soon. Can’t you stand that moment?”
The maid kept her mouth shut. In fact, she wanted to cut off the concubine's limbs. The concubine's breath that touched the Princess. She wanted to raise this child perfectly as Henrietta's child, and if things went well and the child really thought of her as her mother, it wouldn't be bad either. Above all, since the King had entrusted his daughter to her, she wanted to raise her well.
“Come here.”
Henrietta spoke coldly to the maid who was nursing the newborn baby, who was pale. The maid carefully handed the baby over. The swaddle, which she had thought would be heavy, was lighter than she had thought.
“Shhh, my baby. Stop crying. When you cry, your mother’s heart hurts.”
Henrietta wiped the wet cheek and patted the baby. However, when Henrietta came into view, the baby cried even harder. Even the baby’s eyes turned away, making her feel bad. Henrietta’s face, which had been trying to comfort the baby with a warm face, hardened.
"Miss..."
The maid was sweating profusely, stamping her feet as if worried. Henrietta tried to soften her cold gaze and took a deep breath. In fact, she hated this baby. She wanted it to think of her as its mother and follow her, but it was the child of the King and the government. Besides, Henrietta originally did not like children.
Not only did she never find babies cute, but she also did not feel attached to other people's children. Her mother said it was because she was a virgin who had never given birth to a baby herself. But whatever the reason, Henrietta did not like babies. The King's daughter did not like babies either.
At first, she was curious because it was such a surprisingly pretty baby. It was even more amazing because it was the first time she had seen such a small and young newborn. It was a lump of blood that was wheezing and struggling to hold up its neck. That little baby was as pretty as a doll she used to play with when she was little. Seriously, it was the first time she had seen such a pretty baby.
Even then, she was crying, but even so, her red and plump cheeks, her eyes like shards of sky-blue glass, her cute hands and feet, her pouty lips, they were all pretty and lovely. At least, that was until that woman came and grabbed her hair, whining.
Actually, to be honest, the problem was seeing the woman the King held in his arms. It was the first time the King had shown favor to someone. That is, a woman. The King never allowed girls to be near him. The man held the woman in his arms and made a kind face. Henrietta could not forget the shock of that day. The facts she had only known in her head made her whole body tingle.
The King had a child, and it was not one, but two. The mother of the twins was the King's favorite. She had conceived the King's seed by sharing the King's bed for many years, and with that pregnancy, she went up to Siena and became the only woman who enjoyed the King's favor.
Even now, she was sharing a bed with the King. She was the King's only wife. She was the most important woman in the royal family, even if she was not the Queen. Jealousy boiled over. The baby who had been as pretty as a doll when she was young seemed like the result of a disgusting affair. The delicate features and the trembling gestures. Everything that had been lovely and adorable felt horrible. The child in front of her eyes was the daughter of the woman who had stolen her man.
So she didn't want to be the mother of such a thing. As soon as she heard that the King had entrusted her with the Princess, her mother sent a letter and kept nagging Henrietta that she should be a more caring mother than the Princess's real mother, but the more her mother did so, the more Henrietta became afraid of the baby. However, the Princess was an opportunity. Since the King had personally taken her and entrusted the Princess with her, she couldn't help but think of it as an opportunity. Even if it was terrible, if only she could suppress that arrogant and haughty woman's spirit...
“My lady. Her Highness's cough won’t stop.”
The baby, who had been crying and shaking her hands and feet, began to cough. Henrietta got up from her seat and glared at the baby after repeatedly tapping the swaddle. The baby, who was crying without getting tired, was noisy. She quickly threw the swaddle on the bed. The baby, startled, stopped crying and then started crying loudly again.
“Shut up! You little dirty girl.”
Henrietta glanced down at the baby's face, which was covered in tears and snot, with a distorted expression. The face was so red and dirty that she didn't even want to touch it. The maid was shocked and trembled with a hardened face. When she approached her cautiously and tried to hold her, Henrietta screamed.
“Don’t hug her!”
“But... soon, soon it will be time to breastfeed...”
“What good is forcing food on someone who won’t even put it in their mouth? They’ll just throw it all up anyway.”
The maid, who had been thinking about the milk the nanny had expressed, stared at her with a blue face. She still had to hold and comfort Henrietta, but she was still nervous. The maid, following Henrietta's orders, stepped away from the baby and shrugged her shoulders.
The Princess had never tried to breastfeed herself since she was separated from her mother. She had heard that babies at this age need to breastfeed frequently. She did not know the details, but she knew how difficult it was for her sisters who had given birth to babies at this age to raise them.
She was a Princess who had just turned one month old. She was probably at an age where she would wake up and fall asleep repeatedly to breastfeed, desperately searching for her mother's hand. The maid swallowed her tears and stared at the baby, who was waking up.
Even though she was a Princess, she was still a newborn baby, barely a month old. She was so young that she couldn't even hold up her head, and her only way to express herself was by crying. Henrietta was disgusted by the baby's cries, comparing them to tiny creatures like cicadas and dogs.
Although she tried to calm herself down a few times, it didn't last even a few dozen minutes, let alone a day. In the end, the maid had no choice but to put the baby to sleep far away from her.
'If it's going to be like this, I'd rather give it back.'
How could she be so stubborn, even after seeing how much the mother was looking for her? The Princess's birth mother, apart from being rough and unruly, hung on to the King's feet and cried out earnestly for the baby to be returned. The maid did not like her very much, but she felt sorry and pitiful for having her baby taken away. The Princess was really young.
“Miss, should I just take the Princess far away and put her to bed like last time?”
“It won’t stop just because you hug her and comfort her. Just leave her alone.”
“But, but, miss. If we leave it like this, the Princess will be in big trouble. I have never given birth to a baby, but I know because my sisters have. If babies this small cry all day, they will be in big trouble. Especially the Princess, who is weaker and younger than other babies...”
The maid shed tears. She was a baby who had been forcibly separated from her mother before she became the King's daughter. Thinking of her strong and healthy niece, she could see how weak and small the Princess was. Henrietta, who did not like this baby and threw it away, not even feeding it, was truly a wicked and bad woman.
Even though she had never been a mother before, she couldn't do this to her baby. If the man who would become her husband didn't like the child she saw outside, she could just leave him with a nanny and not look at him anymore. The Queen's bedroom was spacious, and if she wanted to avoid seeing the baby, she could do that.
The King also did not tell Henrietta to raise her daughter herself when he entrusted her with her. Henrietta said she would hire a nanny, so she thought she was not going to leave the child-rearing to her. However, soon after taking care of the baby, Henrietta fired her without telling the King. If firing a nanny was a proper thing to do, she would have immediately informed the King, the Princess’s father.
However, she was told to keep quiet until a new nanny arrived from her parents. As a result, the Princess had to live on spoon-feeding. Count Grancel said they would send a nanny soon, but they had no idea when she would arrive. In the meantime, the Princess was withering away day by day.
There was no one to look after the baby. The birth mother was practically imprisoned, and Henrietta was neglected and even abused the Princess. The maid trembled in disbelief at what was happening before her eyes.
“Are you teaching me about your subject now? I have seen babies like this before. Even my noble cousins raise babies better than your lowly sisters. If you do something wrong, these babies will become spoiled!”
"But..."
“Shut up! How dare you be a maid... If the Princess becomes ill-mannered and His Majesty becomes angry, will you take responsibility?”
Henrietta's eyes lit up, and she pressed the maid. The maid bit her lips in fear. How could such a newborn be so ill-mannered? There were many things she wanted to say, but she couldn't. She knew that when Henrietta got really angry, it wouldn't end with a slap.
“I’m sorry, miss. I was overstepping my bounds.”
“If you know, then go do your job. Don’t come into the bedroom again and send someone else.”
“I will do that.”
The maid lowered her head. In the meantime, the Princess kept whining and wailing. Now, her throat had become hoarse, and only her limbs trembled weakly, making sounds like she was crying for milk. Her appearance was just like her mother’s, and she felt like tears were about to fall.
'I'm sorry, Your Highness...'
She turned around. After the maid left, the Princess stopped crying. Henrietta looked down at the baby for a moment as if she were happy, then held her in her arms. However, she could no longer hear the Princess breathing.
“But Her Highness doesn’t seem to be calming down...”
The terrified maid began to tremble. The baby had been crying for several days. As the birth mother had said, the baby did not breastfeed properly, and even when it did, it would vomit. Henrietta used this as an excuse to fire the Princess's wet nurse.
Her expression hardened at the words that she would never have to come again. Henrietta smiled affectionately in front of her, holding the baby in her arms like a real mother to the Princess.
“My parents said they’d send a nanny, so she’ll be here soon. Can’t you stand that moment?”
The maid kept her mouth shut. In fact, she wanted to cut off the concubine's limbs. The concubine's breath that touched the Princess. She wanted to raise this child perfectly as Henrietta's child, and if things went well and the child really thought of her as her mother, it wouldn't be bad either. Above all, since the King had entrusted his daughter to her, she wanted to raise her well.
“Come here.”
Henrietta spoke coldly to the maid who was nursing the newborn baby, who was pale. The maid carefully handed the baby over. The swaddle, which she had thought would be heavy, was lighter than she had thought.
“Shhh, my baby. Stop crying. When you cry, your mother’s heart hurts.”
Henrietta wiped the wet cheek and patted the baby. However, when Henrietta came into view, the baby cried even harder. Even the baby’s eyes turned away, making her feel bad. Henrietta’s face, which had been trying to comfort the baby with a warm face, hardened.
"Miss..."
The maid was sweating profusely, stamping her feet as if worried. Henrietta tried to soften her cold gaze and took a deep breath. In fact, she hated this baby. She wanted it to think of her as its mother and follow her, but it was the child of the King and the government. Besides, Henrietta originally did not like children.
Not only did she never find babies cute, but she also did not feel attached to other people's children. Her mother said it was because she was a virgin who had never given birth to a baby herself. But whatever the reason, Henrietta did not like babies. The King's daughter did not like babies either.
At first, she was curious because it was such a surprisingly pretty baby. It was even more amazing because it was the first time she had seen such a small and young newborn. It was a lump of blood that was wheezing and struggling to hold up its neck. That little baby was as pretty as a doll she used to play with when she was little. Seriously, it was the first time she had seen such a pretty baby.
Even then, she was crying, but even so, her red and plump cheeks, her eyes like shards of sky-blue glass, her cute hands and feet, her pouty lips, they were all pretty and lovely. At least, that was until that woman came and grabbed her hair, whining.
Actually, to be honest, the problem was seeing the woman the King held in his arms. It was the first time the King had shown favor to someone. That is, a woman. The King never allowed girls to be near him. The man held the woman in his arms and made a kind face. Henrietta could not forget the shock of that day. The facts she had only known in her head made her whole body tingle.
The King had a child, and it was not one, but two. The mother of the twins was the King's favorite. She had conceived the King's seed by sharing the King's bed for many years, and with that pregnancy, she went up to Siena and became the only woman who enjoyed the King's favor.
Even now, she was sharing a bed with the King. She was the King's only wife. She was the most important woman in the royal family, even if she was not the Queen. Jealousy boiled over. The baby who had been as pretty as a doll when she was young seemed like the result of a disgusting affair. The delicate features and the trembling gestures. Everything that had been lovely and adorable felt horrible. The child in front of her eyes was the daughter of the woman who had stolen her man.
So she didn't want to be the mother of such a thing. As soon as she heard that the King had entrusted her with the Princess, her mother sent a letter and kept nagging Henrietta that she should be a more caring mother than the Princess's real mother, but the more her mother did so, the more Henrietta became afraid of the baby. However, the Princess was an opportunity. Since the King had personally taken her and entrusted the Princess with her, she couldn't help but think of it as an opportunity. Even if it was terrible, if only she could suppress that arrogant and haughty woman's spirit...
“My lady. Her Highness's cough won’t stop.”
The baby, who had been crying and shaking her hands and feet, began to cough. Henrietta got up from her seat and glared at the baby after repeatedly tapping the swaddle. The baby, who was crying without getting tired, was noisy. She quickly threw the swaddle on the bed. The baby, startled, stopped crying and then started crying loudly again.
“Shut up! You little dirty girl.”
Henrietta glanced down at the baby's face, which was covered in tears and snot, with a distorted expression. The face was so red and dirty that she didn't even want to touch it. The maid was shocked and trembled with a hardened face. When she approached her cautiously and tried to hold her, Henrietta screamed.
“Don’t hug her!”
“But... soon, soon it will be time to breastfeed...”
“What good is forcing food on someone who won’t even put it in their mouth? They’ll just throw it all up anyway.”
The maid, who had been thinking about the milk the nanny had expressed, stared at her with a blue face. She still had to hold and comfort Henrietta, but she was still nervous. The maid, following Henrietta's orders, stepped away from the baby and shrugged her shoulders.
The Princess had never tried to breastfeed herself since she was separated from her mother. She had heard that babies at this age need to breastfeed frequently. She did not know the details, but she knew how difficult it was for her sisters who had given birth to babies at this age to raise them.
She was a Princess who had just turned one month old. She was probably at an age where she would wake up and fall asleep repeatedly to breastfeed, desperately searching for her mother's hand. The maid swallowed her tears and stared at the baby, who was waking up.
Even though she was a Princess, she was still a newborn baby, barely a month old. She was so young that she couldn't even hold up her head, and her only way to express herself was by crying. Henrietta was disgusted by the baby's cries, comparing them to tiny creatures like cicadas and dogs.
Although she tried to calm herself down a few times, it didn't last even a few dozen minutes, let alone a day. In the end, the maid had no choice but to put the baby to sleep far away from her.
'If it's going to be like this, I'd rather give it back.'
How could she be so stubborn, even after seeing how much the mother was looking for her? The Princess's birth mother, apart from being rough and unruly, hung on to the King's feet and cried out earnestly for the baby to be returned. The maid did not like her very much, but she felt sorry and pitiful for having her baby taken away. The Princess was really young.
“Miss, should I just take the Princess far away and put her to bed like last time?”
“It won’t stop just because you hug her and comfort her. Just leave her alone.”
“But, but, miss. If we leave it like this, the Princess will be in big trouble. I have never given birth to a baby, but I know because my sisters have. If babies this small cry all day, they will be in big trouble. Especially the Princess, who is weaker and younger than other babies...”
The maid shed tears. She was a baby who had been forcibly separated from her mother before she became the King's daughter. Thinking of her strong and healthy niece, she could see how weak and small the Princess was. Henrietta, who did not like this baby and threw it away, not even feeding it, was truly a wicked and bad woman.
Even though she had never been a mother before, she couldn't do this to her baby. If the man who would become her husband didn't like the child she saw outside, she could just leave him with a nanny and not look at him anymore. The Queen's bedroom was spacious, and if she wanted to avoid seeing the baby, she could do that.
The King also did not tell Henrietta to raise her daughter herself when he entrusted her with her. Henrietta said she would hire a nanny, so she thought she was not going to leave the child-rearing to her. However, soon after taking care of the baby, Henrietta fired her without telling the King. If firing a nanny was a proper thing to do, she would have immediately informed the King, the Princess’s father.
However, she was told to keep quiet until a new nanny arrived from her parents. As a result, the Princess had to live on spoon-feeding. Count Grancel said they would send a nanny soon, but they had no idea when she would arrive. In the meantime, the Princess was withering away day by day.
There was no one to look after the baby. The birth mother was practically imprisoned, and Henrietta was neglected and even abused the Princess. The maid trembled in disbelief at what was happening before her eyes.
“Are you teaching me about your subject now? I have seen babies like this before. Even my noble cousins raise babies better than your lowly sisters. If you do something wrong, these babies will become spoiled!”
"But..."
“Shut up! How dare you be a maid... If the Princess becomes ill-mannered and His Majesty becomes angry, will you take responsibility?”
Henrietta's eyes lit up, and she pressed the maid. The maid bit her lips in fear. How could such a newborn be so ill-mannered? There were many things she wanted to say, but she couldn't. She knew that when Henrietta got really angry, it wouldn't end with a slap.
“I’m sorry, miss. I was overstepping my bounds.”
“If you know, then go do your job. Don’t come into the bedroom again and send someone else.”
“I will do that.”
The maid lowered her head. In the meantime, the Princess kept whining and wailing. Now, her throat had become hoarse, and only her limbs trembled weakly, making sounds like she was crying for milk. Her appearance was just like her mother’s, and she felt like tears were about to fall.
'I'm sorry, Your Highness...'
She turned around. After the maid left, the Princess stopped crying. Henrietta looked down at the baby for a moment as if she were happy, then held her in her arms. However, she could no longer hear the Princess breathing.
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