Chapter 5: The Manor

In the end, Shi Chuchu and another child caretaker were taken away together.

Upon reflection, Long Yuan’s decision was not surprising.

As the empire’s marshal, Long Yuan was wealthy and powerful. Having two additional caretakers for his offspring was no big deal.

It was just unfortunate for Shi Chuchu and the other earnest caretaker.

At this moment, the two of them sat alone in a carriage, exchanging wary glances, sizing each other up with eyes full of caution and hostility.

To be precise, it was the caretaker who was filled with hostility; Shi Chuchu was indifferent.

She just wanted to conquer Long Yuan as quickly as possible and had no interest in competing for the caretaker’s position.

Caretakers were a special profession in this world, responsible for nurturing the spiritual seas of young offspring.

The first ten years were the prime period for the development of the spiritual sea. If these younglings received dedicated, meticulous care from a professional caretaker during this time, their innate talents could be greatly enhanced.

In an era where newborns were becoming increasingly precious, the caretaker role carried a prestigious social halo.

However, this prestige held no appeal for Shi Chuchu; she was just a succubus who wanted to be well-fed every day.

Taking care of kids was the most troublesome thing.

With that thought, Shi Chuchu lazily yawned and closed her eyes right in front of the other caretaker, ready to take a nap.

Alas, a hungry succubus was always low on energy and prone to drowsiness.

As the carriage moved steadily along, Shi Chuchu quickly fell asleep.

She slept soundly all the way.

After an unknown amount of time, the driver shook her awake.

“Miss? Wake up, we’ve arrived.”

Rubbing her eyes, she thanked him, ignoring his suddenly flushed face, and slowly got out of the carriage.

In front of her was a vast estate. The lavender was in full bloom this season, covering a large expanse of the view.

Shi Chuchu looked out with a sinking heart, feeling the suffocating sensation of a worker returning to the office.

She knew this place too well.

Back then, to win over Long Yuan, she had lived here for a full two years, especially during the period when Long Yuan’s favor towards her was nearly at its peak—they were practically inseparable, rarely leaving the estate...

Shi Chuchu’s cheeks flushed.

Ahem, thinking about it now, she sure ate well back then.

Snapping out of her memories, Shi Chuchu obediently followed the butler into the estate.

The butler trailed behind Long Yuan, attentively listening to his instructions and nodding occasionally.

Little Shidun lay bored in Long Yuan’s arms, his large, lively black eyes darting around.

Eventually, his gaze fixed on Shi Chuchu. His small mouth curved into a silly smile, his soft, chubby face lighting up as he waved his chubby arms at her with baby babble.

Shi Chuchu stared at Little Shidun for a while, secretly complaining to the system, “This kid doesn’t look very bright... He’s over three years old and still drooling?”

The system responded silently: “You forgot, the stronger the beast race, the longer their childhood. As a top predator, the dragon lion’s childhood lasts almost three times that of a human’s. This cub’s mental and physiological age is actually just over one year old in human terms. Drooling is quite normal.”

Shi Chuchu shivered involuntarily.

Good heavens, such a long childhood would practically shorten one’s lifespan by three times when raising them...

But such an unusual train of thought was probably unique to her. Anyone else would be thrilled that the marshal’s only son was so friendly toward them, clinging tightly to this future powerhouse.

The other caretaker, seeing the cub’s clear affection for Shi Chuchu, immediately sounded the alarm, her eyes blazing with intense hatred.

At the same time, Long Yuan finally noticed his son’s overexcited state.

He looked back in puzzlement and followed the child’s gaze.

His cool eyes landed on the black-haired, snow-skinned caretaker who was distractedly looking around, lost in thought, not even sparing the cub a glance.

Long Yuan grew more confused, even a little jealous.

He had anxiously incubated that egg for an entire year and carefully raised the little cub to over three years old, yet the cub never showed such enthusiasm toward him—only wagging his tail excitedly in front of a cold and indifferent stranger.

The other caretaker, noticing even the marshal was staring at Shi Chuchu, grew even more jealous.

It was just a seductive face! Hmph, obviously not an honest one!

Shi Chuchu was completely oblivious to this. She was chatting half-heartedly with the system, unaware of the changes around her.

Passing by a fountain, Shi Chuchu instinctively lifted her foot, smoothly avoiding a slightly raised, barely noticeable brick.

The caretaker beside her was not so lucky. If Shi Chuchu hadn’t anticipated this and reached out to steady her, she would have nearly fallen.

This was normal; newcomers often stumbled clumsily here.

Just as Shi Chuchu withdrew her arm, she suddenly noticed a sharp gaze.

She instinctively looked up and saw Long Yuan had stopped walking. His heavy gaze was fixed on her, then on the raised brick beneath her feet, deep in thought.

Shi Chuchu’s heart skipped a beat, suddenly realizing she appeared far too at ease.

It was as if she were strolling through her own backyard.

She felt a flush of embarrassment and lowered her eyes, deliberately avoiding Long Yuan’s gaze, trying hard to act as if nothing had happened.

Fortunately, after staring at her for a moment, Long Yuan turned away and resumed giving instructions to the butler.

Shi Chuchu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What she didn’t know was that Long Yuan was instructing the butler—

“Investigate her background. Get a complete life record and organize it for me.”

Clearly, Long Yuan had grown suspicious.

Thinking she had narrowly escaped suspicion, Shi Chuchu followed the butler into the magnificent yet familiar castle.

Long Yuan handed his cub to the butler as soon as he entered, softly coaxed him with a few words, promised to have dinner with him, then hurried alone toward the study.

Shi Chuchu watched Long Yuan’s retreating figure.

This man was always busy. Even during their most affectionate times, he never neglected his military duties. Often, after spending the entire night with her, he would still rise before dawn to busy himself at the military headquarters all day.

Now with a child, he must have had an even harder time these years.

With this thought, Shi Chuchu, unusually feeling guilty, scratched her nose.

As she immersed herself in her memories, a sarcastic voice sounded beside her:

“Hah, stop staring, your eyes are practically glued to the marshal. Afraid no one will notice you’re trying to seduce him, huh?”

Shi Chuchu glanced at the healer beside her and rolled her eyes indifferently.

“Ugly thing, barking nonsense for no reason.”