Chapter 12
Several days passed.
Ian and Leon did not come back.
Well, it’s not like seven-year-old boys would keep coming to play with a three-year-old girl.
I had been close with Mina too, but when I was little, I preferred playing with friends rather than my younger sibling.
I thought I might finally have some friends. What a shame.
I had been planning to tell them not to become knights and just be my friends instead, but the twins never gave me the chance.
It’s not like I’m a public corporation that can guarantee job security.
Why did they want to become knights anyway?
At first, they had spoken as if they hated Lloyd’s insistence, but toward the end, they sounded like they genuinely wanted to do it themselves.
Then again… maybe it’s more like a major corporation? Would a ducal house count as a giant corporation?
Whenever I met Uncle Lloyd during my daily walk through the garden, he proudly boasted that the twins had become much more enthusiastic about training after meeting me.
So do they hate it or like it…?
And if they like it, why…?
“Kids… are hard to understand…”
“…Lady Shana? What did you say?”
Maria tilted her head as she looked at me muttering to myself.
“Sigh…”
The psychology of children…
“No… it’s nothing…”
“Are you hungry?”
“Do I look like some kind of glutton?”
I had eaten not long ago.
At that exact moment, however, my stomach growled.
I stayed silent for a second before speaking.
“I’m not a glutton. It’s mealtime.”
“That’s right. It’s mealtime. Of course you’re hungry.”
A child’s body got hungry constantly. It was terribly inefficient.
Maybe it’s because moving around takes so much energy?
I felt like I needed to grow more before I could develop the muscles and coordination needed to move properly. Right now, my limbs were too short and weak, and I couldn’t control my strength well. Everything required maximum effort.
Eat a lot. Sleep a lot. Poop a lot.
That was the duty of a child.
At three years old, I was a kid.
Not a baby.
My days were incredibly simple.
I woke up in the morning and ate breakfast. While digesting, I read picture books with Ella. Sometimes I scribbled on paper or played with blocks. My finger muscles were still too underdeveloped for fine movements, so I needed lots of practice.
“Lady Shana really can speak so well…”
Screeeech!
The pencil moved across the page regardless of my intentions.
I tried to hold it properly between my thumb and index finger like an adult, but my fingers wouldn’t cooperate. I had to grip it with my whole fist instead.
And then—
Screeeech!
“What an artistic line. Wonderful, Lady Shana.”
“Such impressive strength too! Strong enough to tear the paper!”
“…”
Maria and Ella applauded in admiration.
Please don’t admire me so sincerely…
I’d rather you mock me.
This isn’t positive reinforcement. It’s positive torture.
Instead of feeling pleased by the praise, I felt embarrassed.
Around noon I ate lunch, then took a walk through the garden with Maria. We wandered around the estate for about an hour, greeting various people, and before I knew it the time was gone.
After washing up, I took a nap.
Then came dinner.
I spent my days moving, talking, playing, and sleeping.
Such an instinct-driven life…
Maybe when life became simple and structured, thoughts became simpler too.
Without any serious worries, my days were mentally very satisfying.
Besides, everything I needed was provided so that I could focus solely on eating, sleeping, and learning.
A wealthy environment really was incredible.
It wasn’t as though I had been unhappy before.
After my younger sister Mina was born, my mother became ill, and we ended up being passed around among various caretakers.
Most people were kind, but unfamiliar environments alone were enough to make a person feel small.
Still, Dad always loved us and did everything he could.
That made it bearable.
If Mina hadn’t been so adorable, maybe I would have grown into a pretty twisted person.
I always wanted twin younger brothers.
The twins seemed like exactly the type who would be fun to tease.
I wanted to get closer to them.
After all, I only had a younger sister.
“Lady Shana, it’s time to eat!”
Ella entered with a bright smile, pushing a tray that smelled delicious.
“Eee!”
“Are you that happy?”
“Yes! Hungry!”
“Our Lady Shana never refuses food and eats everything. It’s such a lovely sight. My son always refuses to eat and gives me such a hard time…”
Bailey commented.
“You gotta eat! So you can be strong!”
Strong enough to run around!
This body without muscles was exhausting!
I needed to eat well and exercise so I could become muscular.
In front of me sat soup cooled to a suitable temperature for children, soft bread, unseasoned meat, and fruit.
Ella picked up a fork.
I proudly refused.
“I’ll do it!”
“Lady Shana… so independent… so brave…”
I didn’t hear that.
I heard nothing.
I grabbed the tiny child’s fork.
At least it wasn’t chopsticks.
Stabbing food and putting it in my mouth was something I could manage.
Though they say chopsticks help brain development…
Wasn’t that one of the reasons people claimed Koreans were smart?
Something about improving fine motor skills too…
Thinking nonsense, I speared a piece of meat and brought it to my mouth.
“Lady Shana, you’re amazing!”
“I love how well you eat!”
I can’t hear you.
I hear nothing.
Yet I could feel my cheeks growing hot.
Please.
Couldn’t they stay quiet while I ate?
I was going to choke from embarrassment.
While enduring the sincere cheers of Maria, Ella, and Bailey as I chewed my meat—
A little salt would make life so much happier…
Children’s food wasn’t seasoned at all.
It was painfully bland.
Wasn’t relying entirely on the natural flavor of ingredients a bit excessive?
Pepper… salt… I miss you…
I wasn’t even asking for spicy hotpot.
Just give me salt.
When would I finally be allowed to eat seasoned food?
The reason my growth stopped in my previous life was probably because bland food tasted awful.
I was slowly chewing through the excessively healthy meal when—
“What a noisy mealtime.”
Ella and Maria immediately sprang to their feet and stepped in front of me.
Their movements were so quick and sharp compared to their usual relaxed demeanor that I was startled.
They looked like trained agents.
More importantly—
I recognized that voice.
“It’s been a while. You’ve grown.”
“Blond brat!”
“…”
Ah.
Did I say that out loud?
“Who… exactly are you calling a brat?”
“Your Highness, please calm yourself.”
“Daddy!”
As soon as Father appeared alongside the blond brat Raven, Ella and Maria relaxed and stepped behind me.
What was that?
They really were like bodyguards.
“Shana, have you finished your meal?”
“Yep! All done!”
I proudly showed him my clean plate.
I, Shana Perry Wentwis,
was a three-year-old who never picked at her food.
I could even eat vegetables.
Not that it mattered much—unseasoned vegetables and unseasoned meat both tasted equally disappointing.
“Well done. Good girl, Shana.”
“Hehe.”
Father’s large hand gently ruffled my hair.
This was nothing.
Yet I couldn’t hide how proud I felt.
The fact that I was getting this happy over something so simple really proved I’d become a child.
“By the way, Shana, you seem to remember Prince Raven?”
“Of course! He saved me!”
“…But you were only a newborn baby back then…”
Oops.
I looked up at Father in alarm.
He was staring at me with a strange expression.
The light behind him cast his face in shadow, making it hard to read.
“I knew you were smart, but…”
“H-ha ha…”
I couldn’t think of a response.
Come to think of it, it really was strange.
People didn’t usually assume babies understood everything adults said.
Or remembered it all.
Uh… what do I do?
Am I doomed?
“My prince, how long do you intend to ignore me, Duke?”
“Oh my. My apologies. I completely forgot.”
Father smiled pleasantly.
Yet it was obvious he wasn’t sorry at all.
Raven didn’t seem bothered either.
“If you’re sorry, perhaps the adults should leave now.”
“…”
“The children will play by themselves.”
Was it my imagination?
Father’s smiling face looked strangely similar to Raven’s.
Father shook his head with a sigh.
Feeling nervous, I quickly grabbed his sleeve.
“Shana? Do you not want to play with His Highness?”
“N-no…”
That wasn’t it.
“The remembering thing…”
“Ah.”
Father’s eyes widened slightly.
Then he stroked my hair.
“My daughter is far more special than I realized.”
“U-um… sorry…”
“You don’t need to apologize for something that isn’t wrong, Shana. I was only surprised because…”
He paused.
“…I wondered if you might remember things that would be better forgotten.”
Ah.
The kidnapping?
I don’t remember anything before waking up in the snowy field, so that’s fine.
How was I supposed to explain that?
“Your Grace, did you seriously forget I was standing here?”
“Ah.”
“…”
“My daughter is the only thing I can see.”
“…”
Father.
That was way too honest.
*
Raven and I were now outside in the garden.
Even though he said children should play with children.
Ella and Maria remained nearby, close enough to watch us. The guards Raven had brought were probably with them as well.
He’s grown up nicely. Whose son is this?
He was still ridiculously handsome.
I looked at Raven, who stood with perfect posture.
His neatly arranged blond hair, expensive clothes, and composed expression made him seem far older than he actually was.
A prince really was a prince.
“What should we play?”
“Me? Play with you?”
“You said you wanted to. Isn’t that why you came?”
“No.”
I tilted my head.
“Then why are you here?”
“To check whether what I picked up is growing properly.”
“…”
“Looks like you are. And I assume your healing ability has been discovered? The way the Duke overprotects you makes it obvious.”
“…What are you?”
“Not you. I already told you my name.”
I was beginning to suspect Raven might be living a second life too.
“Whatever.”
“You got caught remembering things, you know. You called me a blond brat. You’re blond too, and an even bigger brat than I am.”
“Hmph.”
I pouted and kicked my feet in the air.
I was still upset because I worried Father might think I was strange.
So I was taking it out on Raven.
Even though calling him a blond brat had clearly been my mistake.
Father had patted my head and reassured me…
But what if he secretly thought I was weird?
Everything annoyed me.
I jumped down from the bench.
Boing!
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m not ‘hey’!”
“Then what are you? You never told me your name.”
Boing, boing.
I stomped deeper into the garden.
Raven followed behind me with an amused smile.
Boing boing boing.
No matter how fast I walked, I couldn’t shake him.
Curse this difference in leg length.
Taking my frustrations out on an elementary school kid… pathetic.
My self-loathing had reached maximum levels.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I said I’m not ‘hey’!”
“Then tell me your name so I can call you something else.”
“Stop following me! Who asked you to— huh?”
My eyes widened.
A puppy.
