Chapter 3: Nanny Dante and Young Lady Yulia

“I say, Miss Yulia, can we skip going out today? It’s snowing outside, and I might just turn into an ice cube!” Dante entered the officer’s room looking utterly defeated as he spoke to the floating Yulia already in mid-air.

“Snow? I’ve only seen it a few times in the capital! By the way, I didn’t even notice when I came this morning. Did it just start? Come on, let’s go play in the snow, Mr. Dante!” Yulia exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him.

“The snow here is nothing like in the capital; it’s really cold, please spare me, Miss.”

“No, I want to go, I want to go!”

“Then you go by yourself!” Dante ignored the pouting Yulia and lazily sank into the couch. “I drank too much last night; I’ve got a headache and feel terrible.”

“No, I want to go, I want to go!” Yulia shouted, making everything around her start to float.

“Alright, alright, I get it! Just put everything down, and after lunch, we can go, okay?”

And thus, another day began for Dante, the nanny.

Dante Greywhite, the kingdom’s strongest and once a formidable soldier known for striking terror on the battlefield, the infamous sword master with silver hair and a disinterested smirk, had single-handedly annihilated a ghoul gang on his first day at Poseidon Fortress, and now he was being toyed with by a little girl.

Sigh, this girl keeps gaining more magical power. If this continues, she’ll just keep bouncing around like a horse on my back! I need to find a way to wear her out, or I won’t make it through the day.

“Hey, Mr. Dante, are you listening? Mr. Dante, Mr. Dante.”

“Ah, what? Sorry, I zoned out for a moment there.”

“Yesterday, I used my crystal ball and saw a large gray bear in the forest defeat a ghoul! Isn’t it said that ghouls are the kings of Cilia?”

“Oh, you mean the Grayfire Giant Bear? That guy specializes in eating ghouls! They’re the only animals in the corpse-cold barrier that can use fire, so when they catch ghouls that are afraid of fire, they munch away.”

“Then why were there still so many ghouls coming down last month?”

“Because, oh right! Once ghouls form a group, they tend to hunt nearby bears. It’s quite a peculiar ecosystem, really. I haven’t read too many books, so I’m not quite an expert on this stuff.”

“Can we go play with the bears?”

“Yulia, didn’t we say we’d go play in the snow after lunch?”

“Snow, snow! It’s almost noon; let’s hurry up and eat, or the snow will melt!”

“Eh, I just finished breakfast…”

“Who told you to sleep in all the time, Mr. Dante? Come on, let’s eat!” Yulia dragged Dante half-heartedly out of the officer’s room.

Once outside, Eleanor, the maid who had been silently waiting by the door, stepped in sync with the two as they headed to the cafeteria.

Yulia and Dante had been at Poseidon Fortress for almost two months, and the maid had maintained an indifferent attitude towards Dante since the very first day when she replaced Lawrence to hand over documents explaining the situation. Other than that, they hadn’t exchanged more than formal greetings.

Dante always felt that if he could have a good discussion with Maid Eleanor, he might just find a way to handle this wild girl named Yulia. Unfortunately, Eleanor seemed to harbor a dislike for him and kept her distance. It’s quite a headache!

Not only does Yulia spoil him, but Dante is also completely at a loss with modern-day ice queens like Eleanor, unable to do anything but secretly admire her as she meticulously cares for Yulia every day in her maid outfit.

It was still not quite lunchtime, and Dante was sipping on broth with interest, while Yulia was once again indulging in the meticulous noble lunch prepared by her maid.

“Hey, Yulia-chan, don’t you have to go to school?” Dante asked, looking up at Yulia sitting across from him.

“Yulia just turned six, so she won’t start school until nine! Besides, Eleanor is her teacher!” The young lady mumbled with a mouthful of food.

“Eh, is Eleanor the only one teaching everything?” Dante looked surprised at the expressionless Eleanor.

“Indeed, with the Blessing of the Doe, I can sufficiently teach basic education, like etiquette and magic.”

For once, Eleanor actually spoke a whole sentence to Mr. Dante.

“The Blessing of the Doe? That sounds familiar…” Dante tilted his head, rummaging through his memories.

“I’m done eating! Let’s go play in the snow, play in the snow!”

With renewed energy, Yulia jumped up from her chair, opening all the windows in the cafeteria with magic.

After opening the windows, Yulia took flight, basking in the cold winds as she joyfully breathed out into the snowy expanse and then swooped out through the window.

“Cold! Yulia, close it quickly! Ah, be careful! No, don’t, you can’t! Don’t go out the window!”

Dante shivered from the cold wind and raced after Yulia as she flew out of the fortress, leaving Eleanor alone at the table to clear the dishes.

As always, Dante was not good at dealing with Yulia.