I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family

Rere, who snatched the towel off my head, quickly started drying my hair with the towel.

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“Wait, Rere.
It’s okay if you don’t do this.”

“It’s better than big bunny getting sick.”

“…Ah.”

I tilted my head to meet Rere’s eyes.
Rere, who was drying my hair, puckered her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“Our Rere is so pretty.”

“I’m always pretty.
I know I’m pretty even if you don’t tell me.
So stay still.
I’ll dry your hair.”

“Okay.”

I couldn’t control my bursting smile.
How could you be so lovely?

And so, I sat for a long time, while Rere’s small hands moved busily.

“Ah, how tiring!”

In the end, Rere gave up.

“Look at this.
My hair is all dried up thanks to Rere.
Is Rere’s hair also finished?”

“Yeah, but my arms hurt so much.
I did something useless.
It doesn’t matter to me if big bunny catches a cold or not.
I shouldn’t have done it.”

I turned around and squeezed Rere’s little arms.

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank me for? Ah, I’m hungry.
Bring in a lot of food since I’m very hungry today!”

“Do you have anything you want to eat today?”

But Rere didn’t answer the nanny’s question.
She just held my hand and led me to the table.

As if it happened frequently, the maids who went outside quickly came in with an armful of meals.

“Hurry up and eat.”

As the food was carefully placed in front of us, Rere urged me.

“Rere, have some too.”

“Don’t worry.
Even if you don’t say it, I’m going to eat well now.”

Then she took out the carrots one by one from the bowl.

“Won’t you eat it?”

“..Ah! It’s for big bunny to eat.”

After collecting the carrots with a fork, she grinned and held them out to me.

“Rabbits like carrots!”

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No.
I’m not the real rabbit.

In fact, I hated carrots the most.
From its texture to its scent.

But Rere’s eyes glistened.

“Say ahh!”

“Oh, I enjoyed the meal.
I’m so full that I can’t eat anymore.”

“Hurry up and eat the carrots.
Don’t tell me big bunny is a picky eater?”

“Rere.”

“You’re trying to persuade me, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.
Listen to me, Rere.
It’s good to have a balanced meal.”

“See? You’re trying to persuade me.”

I took a big bite of the steak and swayed my index finger sideways.

“That’s not true.
Actually, it’s important not to be a picky eater, especially for a growing child.
But not eating carrots doesn’t mean that you’re in big trouble.”

“…So what?”

“It’s fine if you eat something else.
As long as you eat well, you don’t have to eat carrots.”

This was also an excuse for myself since I hate carrots the most.

“Is that so?”

“Of course.
Why don’t we eat something else instead?”

“Ah, so I can do that! Why has nobody ever told me this important information! Hmph!”

Rere chewed the meat while scolding the nanny and maids.

Whether what I said had an effect or not, Rere only ate her favorite food more than usual even though there was so much food on the table.

She swung her feet back and forth as if she liked it, and only after eating so much did the child stroke her stomach.

“I ate well.
So, I’ll give you special permission to play sand today!”

“Huh? Will you be okay with that?”

“I ate until my stomach was full, so I’m okay with anything.
Why? Mom, no, big bunny, do you hate it?”

“No way.
Then shall we go out?”

“Yahoo!”

“I already prepared it since I knew this day would come.”

The nanny, who teared up and wiped it with her handkerchief, returned from the wardrobe with a lot of clothes.

One layer.
Two layers.
Three layers.

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The clothes got thicker and thicker.
Usually, Rere would throw a fit, but surprisingly, she managed to put up with it.

Of course, after her body became so round, she lost the temper that she tried so hard to suppress.

“Uwaa, it’s hot! Stop dressing me up!”

“The weather is getting colder.
And it’s much colder outside, miss.”

“Forget it.
You should put more clothes on the big bunny more than me.
Why are her clothes so thin?”

“I will do that.
Madam, allow me to cover you with more clothes.”

“If Rere wants it, then let’s do it.”

I smiled brightly and went outside in thick clothes.

Perhaps because winter was about to come in a few days, it was a little cold even though the sun was very bright.

In an instant, Rere threw away her outerwear and ran to the sand.

The nanny and I, who couldn’t stop the excited child, looked at each other and went closer to Rere.

“Hmm~ Hmm~”

Rere hummed as she played with the sand.

“Isn’t the sand cold?”

“Ah! It’s warm!”

I put my hand in the sand to check its temperature.
I didn’t know if it was because of the sun or some kind of magic, but the sand was quite warm.

“You’re right.”

“Actually, while you were away, my master put mana stone in this place.
So you can always be warm.”

He clearly didn’t like sand play, yet he did all of this?

Without realizing it, a smile spread on my face.
I was happy that he started to become more caring towards Rere.

Anyway, it was great to see he was no longer dawdling over useless things as a father.
What’s more, he actually did something to keep the child and I warm.

“Rere, what do you want to make today?”

“I don’t know.
Big bunny doesn’t have to know!”

“Is that so?”

“…Yeah! If you’re that curious, you can watch it from the side!”

Rere pushed a chair next to her.

Only then did I take a seat next to Rere.

I didn’t think this day would come again.
When I was kicked out of here and went down the mountain all night long, I thought I’d never come back again…

‘It’s all thanks to Luca.’

The man who resembled the Duke yet was strangely different.
Without him, I wouldn’t be able to return here.

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If he hadn’t taken me to the harbor, I wouldn’t know about my true feelings.

But I haven’t seen Luca since I came back.

While watching Rere play for a long time, I made eye contact with the nanny who smiled endlessly behind me.

“By the way, nanny.
How’s Luca doing?”

“Luca, who?…Ah! Sir Luca, isn’t it?!”

“Luca? Who is he?”

The child, who said ‘Luca is the best’ just a few days ago, tilted her head in confusion.

So did the nanny.

She frowned as if her memory of that person was hazy.

“Everyone… Do you not know Luca?”

Rere pouted her lips for a while and said as if something came into her mind.

“Ah! I remember.
I know him.
Why would I forget.”

“I also remember.
Somehow, my memory of Sir Luca is not clear.
I guess I’m getting old.”

Seeing the nanny smiling as if it wasn’t a big deal, my heart was becoming uneasy.

“Is that so?”

“Why are you asking about Sir Luca, madam?”

“It just…I’m curious about how he’s doing lately.
I don’t think I’ve seen him lately.”

“Why are you curious about Luca? Big bunny, do you like Luca that much?”

“No, rather than liking him…”

“Instead of Luca, look at my daddy.
Even if he has done mean things, actually, he’s a little bit okay.”

“You’re complimenting your daddy now?”

“I’m not complimenting him! I’m just saying the truth!”

Rere pouted, turned her head away, and piled the sand in the same place.

“Rere.
Do you like your daddy now?”

“No!”

At that time, along with a loud thud, our surroundings become noisy.

“Ha.
Are you crazy? Thanks to my benevolent heart, I endured it even when you treated me like a beggar.
But what the hell is this!”

Astra was dragged out from the duke’s residence.

Rere and I, who were playing in the sand, and as well as everyone there, were surprised by the sudden uproar.

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In case something happened, the nanny and the maids stood in front of us.

“You two should stay behind.
We don’t know what might happen.”

As if she was trying to get back to what had happened so far, the nanny even rolled up her sleeves.

“Everyone.”

“Yes, nanny.”

The maids also did the same thing.
I heard Astra was acting up while I was away.

She yelled at Rere’s maids and forced them to attend to her.

I heard she tried to smack the maids’ heads if they didn’t listen to her order, and she even tried to force the sick child out of the room, saying that she feigned her illness.

Meanwhile, the Duke went out to find me, so the nanny and the maids were the only ones left in the mansion.

Due to that, they blocked the door and guarded the child’s room alternately.

It was said that Astra did not hesitate to give them a harsh beating.
In particular, many of them had bruises on their arms, legs, and faces because of her.

The maids who were beaten and yelled at by Astra were grinding their teeth.

However, the situation was completely different from what was expected.

The arrogant Astra was dragged out of the Petri Residence with only one shoe.

“Are you still asking? I’m kicking you out.”

The nanny and maids, who had been standing in front of us for a while, were very bewildered.

“Kicking her out?”

“Is he really kicking her out?”

“Nanny.
We didn’t hear it wrong, did we?”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear it wrong, though?”

“I wonder what’s going on?”

They were busy alternately looking at each other.
In the meantime, Rere stepped forward as if she wanted to watch the interesting scene.

“Miss!”

Thanks to her, I could see Astra through the opened gap.

“Madam…! It’s dangerous!”

“It doesn’t look dangerous at all.
Anybody can see that she’s being kicked out.”

At that time, Astra rushed to the Duke flaunting her long nails like a wild beast, but he shook her off mercilessly.

“Arrgh!”

“What an impressive scream.”