The Duke of Harrington is looking for a nanny - Chapter 2.2

‘It’s nice…’

Bella said. She looked around the parlor to shake off her nerves. She had never seen a chandelier like the one hanging from the ornate pattern on the ceiling before. Seeing it in person, after only seeing it in picture books, gave her a similar feeling to the one she had when she saw the tall buildings of the capital. It was a feeling of overwhelm.

The sofa she was sitting on felt as soft as silk. Its gold frame and red cushions were in harmony. It was a perfect match for the bright and colorful drawing room of the palace.

’And last but not least, Lady Bella.’

Aiden, the butler, stepped in front of Bella. She took in every piece of furniture in the drawing room. Soon she was alone in the drawing room. Uncomfortable with the title, Bella rose to where she sat. Behind the clear spectacles, the dark eyes of the man seemed to scan her from head to toe. tone, no one raised their hands. The butler nodded, finally satisfied. He began to call the candidates one by one in the order in which they had written their names.

Why are you so angry that I have asked you to ask questions? That’s what nobility is for…’

Emily whispered. Only Bella could hear her, sitting next to her, and shook her head. Bella had a smile on her face that only she could see.
‘Next, Mrs Emily.’

The Butler’s stern voice made Emily rise from where she’d been sitting. She winked at Bella. Then, surrounded by the butler and two maids, she made her way to the door that led from the corner of the drawing room.

I had a feeling she was on her way to the other room after the interviews.

As she watched the candidates disappear one by one, Bella rubbed her chest with a mixture of nerves and boredom. It was Emily’s handkerchief that she had placed on her chest. She looked around. She was looking for damp spots. It was a bit embarrassing. But she knew they’d understand, since they were looking for a nanny anyway.

‘It’s nice…’

Bella said. She looked around the parlor to shake off her nerves. She had never seen a chandelier like the one hanging from the ornate pattern on the ceiling before. Seeing it in person, after only seeing it in picture books, gave her a similar feeling to the one she had when she saw the tall buildings of the capital. It was a feeling of overwhelm.

The sofa she was sitting on felt as soft as silk. Its gold frame and red cushions were in harmony. It was a perfect match for the bright and colorful drawing room of the palace.

And last but not least, Lady Bella.

Aiden, the butler, stepped in front of Bella. She took in every piece of furniture in the drawing room. Soon she was alone in the drawing room. Uncomfortable with the title, Bella rose to where she sat. Behind the clear spectacles, the dark eyes of the man seemed to scan her from head to toe.
‘This way.’

Bella clasped her hands together in front of her and began to walk slowly, two of the maids following at her side.

‘We’re going to start disinfecting you. Please hold your dominant hand in front of you.

‘Yes…’

One of the maids began to carefully wipe Bella’s right hand with a wet towel, the warmth of the towel making her feel cool at the same time, leaving her speechless. It didn’t look like a normal wet towel.

‘The next thing is to unbutton your shirt.’

Another of the maids said as she wiped her right hand and then her left hand. Bella was startled. She looked back and forth between the speaking maid and the butler standing behind her.

“Come on, you mean her breasts?”

‘Yes. The young master will be in the next room and I want you to give him a breast for his examination.

Check? Check what? The letter clearly stated that the Duke’s apprentice was three months old. A baby like that could hardly be examined….

Bella looked at the butler. He was standing behind her. At the thought of a stranger looking at her breasts, her hands didn’t come up easily. She hesitates. The butler sighs and turns away.
“If you end up working as a nanny, don’t be ashamed of it”.

Bella was offended by the cold words of the man. A woman was a woman. No matter how many children she had. How could a woman be ashamed to bare her skin and not be ashamed of herself? And she was an unmarried woman with no children.

Bella curled her lips into a smile. She carefully pulled Emily’s handkerchief over her chest.

‘Ah……!’

‘…….’

‘……Sorry.’

The maid opened her mouth involuntarily, then bowed her head in apology as she waited to disinfect the chest. Her buttoned white blouse shirt was soaked with breastmilk, forming round circles. The sight of it, combined with Bella’s gentle appearance, made her look very suggestive.

Bella shook her head and said she didn’t mind. Then she unbuttoned her shirt and pulled up her underwear, exposing one breast. The maid swallowed hard and moved cautiously closer.
‘You are beautiful,’ he said.

Bella was too embarrassed to have a reply. The maid slowly cupped her lower breast. She began to wipe the cloth around the nipple.

The maid’s touch was very gentle. It was as if she was cleaning a sacred relic. But the sensation became increasingly strange. The texture of the damp cloth reminded her of Viscount Vale’s lewdly moving tongue. Nervously, Bella closed her eyes tightly.

It was the last thing on her mind. She held her breath, trying not to think about it. But the harder she tried, the more she remembered the lewd teasing of his tongue, licking her areola hungrily and then tormenting her nipple. Bella’s chest rose and fell violently.

‘Suck…!’
Embarrassed by the sight, the maid hurried to step back.

‘There, there, you’re done.’

At the maid’s words, the butler quickly turned around and walked forward, brushing past Bella as he went. As he opened the door politely, the man looked back at her. A fine line formed between his eyebrows, as if inviting her to enter.
And then.

The cold, silver-rimmed glasses focused on Bella’s beautiful breasts. The nipples were erect and dripping with milk. As she took each step forward, her milk dripping and dripping, the man’s thick, throaty collar bobbed and weaved. Even as she pressed a towel over her breasts to cover them, Aiden’s dark eyes never left them.

*.

‘You’re the last one.’

The spare room that led off from the spacious drawing room seemed relatively small, but it was actually almost as large as Bella’s own home. The sparseness of the furniture gave the empty space the look of a room that was rarely in use. In the middle of the room was a large, lumpy child’s cot.

‘Come over here.’

The elderly maid who was looking after the little apprentice next to the cot waved Bella over to her. She appeared to be a middle-aged woman in her fifties. She was much more relaxed than the two younger maids who had been wiping her hands and chest. Bella shook off her nerves, took a deep breath and approached the woman cautiously.

‘Wow…’

Glossy hair, piercing eyes. The beautiful baby in her crib looked up at the stranger. Her eyes were as wide as a horse’s mouth. Bella gazed at the Duke’s little apprentice. Suddenly she remembered the conversation between the two women in the carriage.

‘I wonder if he is of royal blood, being as fussy as he is.

Indeed…. Or maybe he’s trying to smoke.

Bella could see why the woman had mentioned the royal family. The external evidence was clear: the baby was unmistakably an imperial offspring.

‘Oh, Master Julian. Do you like him? Or is he staring at you?
The baby in the cot looked up at Bella. It began to gape. Hurriedly picking up the baby, the maid’s complexion brightened.

‘Could you give him something to suck on?

‘Yes…?’

Bella felt startled. She had never been in the arms of a newborn before. What if I look clumsy? What if she dropped the baby? All sorts of worries made her anxious.

‘Ah……, hello, little one…….. I’m Bella.’

Bella stuttered. She introduced herself, hoping to shake off her fear. Despite not understanding her, the baby made eye contact with her and continued to babble.

She gathered her courage and held the baby, who was heavier than she had expected. She broke into a cold sweat at the thought of this being the youngest apprentice in the Duke’s family. Perhaps the weight of a being so intertwined with royalty was too much for Bella, a commoner, a peasant.
Please make yourself comfortable in here.

The maid led her to a chair by the side of the bed. Bella slowly positioned herself. She laid the baby’s face against my chest. As she leaned her upper body against the back of the chair, the baby squirmed. Then it found her nipple and took it into its mouth.
‘Ah!’

‘Oh!’
‘Phew….That’s the first you’ve eaten all day.’

The maids let out a collective gasp, both admiring and relieved. But Bella didn’t seem to hear a thing. She stared down at the baby nuzzling my chest and felt an incomprehensible emotion: motherly love, the kind that all women have. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. His blue eyes blinked as he suckled at my breast.

His every gesture was as adorable as his angelic appearance: His inability to take his eyes off me, the way he smacked his lips, the way he moved his tiny hands to place them on my soft breasts. My heart skipped a beat. It was like looking at my own child after ten months of labor.

Bella casually stroked the Duke’s fringe. It was a very careful, yet loving and warm touch.

The users who saw her like this felt an inexpressible certainty at that moment: she would stay in this manor for a very long time.

* (*)

The users were right.

As they had predicted, Julian’s only desire that day was for Bella’s breast milk. At every meal he sought out Bella’s breast and licked his lips, the baby who wouldn’t drink it if he didn’t like it, and wouldn’t drink the same milk more than once if he did like it.

But it didn’t make her happy. It was only on the rarest of occasions that he was a sucker for the same woman’s breast. They put her in Julian’s bedroom, at the far right end of the second floor of the mansion. They watched her progress until the next day.
As the morning dawned on the third day of Bella’s stay at the Duke’s mansion. The users finally let out a cheer.

‘You have found ……?’

‘Yes. She was breastfed at 6 o’clock this morning.’

Duke Ricardo Harrington, who owned Harrington House, a sprawling ducal mansion, looked up from breakfast to see his young butler.

The Duke’s butler, Aiden, was younger. But he had been with him since the current Duke was a young apprentice at the estate. He was steadfast and patient. He hated to make assumptions. And if he could say so confidently, he had indeed found the right nanny for his fussy youngest son.
The man raised the clear glass to his mouth after a moment of thought.

……That’s good to hear. You’ve worked hard. Please include a bonus for those involved.

‘Thanks, my dear duke.’

The Duke’s eldest son smiled softly. He was due to graduate from the Academy this summer.

Leonard Harrington, Duke of Harrington, came of age in January this year and was knighted by the Emperor. He was a little different from his father, a cold-hearted perfectionist. He was much softer than Riccardo, a young man with a tender heart and consideration for others, although he shared his father’s drive for perfection. He was popular enough in social circles to be a hot potato next to his stilt-walker, the Crown Prince.

I have to go and say hello to her… ……, ah, should I call her nanny? Let me know when the nanny takes a break. I’ll come over.

You can find her in the little master’s room any time you like.

That… room? Didn’t you just give the nanny a new room?’

The butler saw the dining room door open and was about to answer the duke’s question.

I gave her a guest room, but she hasn’t had time to use it.

It was Lady Megan, the maid who had been in charge of Julian until Bella’s arrival. She was also the longest-serving of the maids. After the Duchess’s death and a major reshuffle, only three of them remained at the manor.
She took over the butler’s morning greeting. She answered Leonard’s questions.

You must really like your nanny.’ She cries herself hoarse.

‘That ……, that’s interesting.’

Lady Megan’s eyes crinkled up deeply at Leonard’s quizzical look.

‘Well, I’m glad you’ve found someone you like now. For the last few days you’ve been drinking from every teat, no matter how new.’

This time Leonard blushed and bowed his head. Her use of the word ‘milk’ didn’t seem to go down too well with him.

“Well, I guess that was a little too much for you, Duke. You’re an adult, you should be used to it.’
‘Mrs Meghan! …… Don’t tease me too much.’
‘Ohhhhhhhhhh!’

Lady Meghan’s cheerful laughter echoed throughout. The owner of the villa, who had overheard the conversation around the table, wiped his lips and said.

‘When does the child go to bed?’

‘She usually falls asleep after breastfeeding after 8 pm.’

Still, she is the nanny of my son, let’s see her face. Tell her to come to the study tonight.

‘Yes, sir.’

With that, Ricardo walked out of the restaurant. Leonard checked the time and hurried to his feet.

*.

Around 10am. In a quiet room on the second floor of the mansion, there was a knock on the door. It was Aiden, the Duke’s young butler. Aiden was sitting in his rocking chair, staring at Bella, who was suckling Julian, as a hand behind his back silently closed the door, plunging the room into darkness.

The bedroom, set aside in the most secluded part of the mansion for a baby sensitive to changes in her surroundings, seemed to remain dark and silent for long periods of time unless someone came to visit. The previous owner of this bedroom would be horrified if he returned.
But Aiden doesn’t think the bedroom’s 180-degree transformation is a bad thing. Despite the darkened curtains and a candle on the bedside table to help the baby sleep. The bedroom feels cozy and welcoming.