RWMU 02

Chapter 02

Like children often do, I suddenly dashed off.

Naturally, toward the direction of the abandoned palace where Leonhardt was.

“Lady! Where are you going?!”

I heard my startled nanny calling after me, but I ignored her.

Sorry, Nanny.

The flustered nanny forgot about her dignity and started running after me, but it was no use.

During my first life I had gone back and forth so often that I knew every hidden path leading to the abandoned palace.

I ran diligently like a rabbit traveling through burrows.

Huff, huff.

Finally, after reaching Leonhardt’s room without getting caught by the nanny, the moment our eyes met I realized something.

Wait… why does he look happy to see me?

Isn’t this our first meeting?

Don’t tell me…

* * *

It had been one week since I suddenly returned to my childhood.

Leonhardt had secretly gone to the garden to pick up a tree branch and was swinging it like a sword when he stopped at the sound of someone approaching his room.

Is the maid bringing my meal earlier than usual today?

No.

The footsteps were lighter and livelier than a maid’s.

Almost like a child running.

Who could it be?

Leonhardt tossed the branch under the corner of the bed and slowly climbed onto it.

Since his legs were still short, even climbing onto the bed was difficult.

Just as Leonhardt was about to sigh heavily in a way that didn’t suit a child, the door opened.

Miella?

It was Miella, whom he hadn’t seen in a week.

Leonhardt’s eyes widened with joy.

I thought I wouldn’t see her for at least another two years.

His soft cheeks twitched and the corners of his lips lifted.

He couldn’t greet her like he knew her, since it might startle her, but simply seeing six-year-old Miella made him happy.

For Leonhardt, who had the mind of an adult, the past week had been quite exhausting, so it felt like receiving a gift.

But the longer their eyes met, the stiffer Miella’s expression became.

As if she were extremely shocked.

Ah.

Leonhardt quietly lowered his gaze.

Eight-year-old Miella had never been afraid of his eyes from the start, but the Miella in front of him was only six.

Children were generally more fearful at six than at eight.

Will she leave because she’s scared…?

Perhaps because his body had become four years old, his mind seemed to have grown younger too. Just imagining Miella being afraid of him and screaming made his eyes sting.

Even thinking about it made his eyes feel sore.

But Leonhardt tried to suppress the rising tears with a man’s pride.

Or at least he tried.

However, uncooperative tears welled up anyway.

It was the limitation of a child’s body.

Damn.

Leonhardt blinked repeatedly, even cursing inwardly—something he rarely did—to keep the tears from falling.

Just then he heard loud footsteps stomping toward him.

The sound grew closer, and a pair of Mary Jane shoes entered his view.

“Hey!”

Miella lightly tugged on Leonhardt’s hair.

As if telling him to lift his head.

“Ow…”

Leonhardt finally reacted after being pulled up by Miella’s hand. She looked sulky.

In truth, it didn’t hurt much—it was just an exaggerated reaction.

He was feeling a bit miserable right now, after all.

Startled, Miella gently stroked his dull, rough silver hair.

“Sorry.”

Seeing the guilt in her green eyes, Leonhardt thought that Miella had been kind even at six years old and smiled faintly.

Miella then began examining Leonhardt’s face carefully from head to toe.

Leonhardt blushed, thinking about how dirty he must look.

He had tried his best, but given the limits of his body, properly washing himself alone was impossible.

And there was no one in the abandoned palace to take care of him.

If I’d known Miella would come, I would’ve somehow cleaned myself properly.

He wondered if he might even smell bad.

But Miella’s next words quickly blew away that trivial regret.

“…Baby bunny?”

It was a nickname the two of them used to share—one he hated hearing once he grew older.

Leonhardt’s eyes widened in shock.

Miella’s eyes filled with certainty.

“Why did we fight?”

Miella asked as if it were the final test.

“We didn’t fight…”

Leonhardt muttered softly, suddenly feeling wronged by the question.

Leonhardt knew very well that for Empress Miella’s authority to stand firm, he—as the Emperor—had to respect her.

He regularly sent her gifts and made time to see her.

Their wedding anniversary was also one of those days when he would send a gift and spend time with her.

But on that particular anniversary, a high-ranking envoy from another country suddenly collapsed, covered in rashes.

The delegation panicked, insisting the man had been poisoned.

In the end it turned out to be an allergic reaction to a specific spice that existed only in the empire and not in that country, but the whole day had been chaotic, and he had momentarily forgotten it was their anniversary.

When he rushed to Miella afterward, she was furious and told him she didn’t even want to see his face.

Leonhardt lingered in front of the couple’s bedroom door for a long time before eventually returning to his office to deal with the unfinished work he had left behind.

He worked until just before sunrise, took a short nap—and woke up like this.

When Leonhardt tried to start explaining himself belatedly, Miella’s eyes sharpened.

“Is that what matters right now? Just answer the question.”

Startled, Leonhardt whispered in a tiny voice.

“I forgot our wedding anniversary.”

And at that moment Leonhardt realized something.

“Miella… you too?”

* * *

“Yeah, me too.”

Just as she suspected.

They had both returned.

A joint regression.

While she stood there momentarily stunned by the unexpected situation, her nanny’s voice came from outside.

“Lady! Where are you?”

Thinking the palace was empty, the nanny’s voice echoed loudly as she searched.

I’m going to get caught.

I shrugged.

“Anyway, Leon. I think I have to go now. I’ll try to find another chance to come soon, so hang in there a little.”

She couldn’t mention a specific date because if she returned now, there was a high chance she’d be forbidden from going out again.

Although the situation was unexpected, it was actually fortunate that Leonhardt had also regressed.

The twenty-two-year-old Leonhardt she knew had strong mental resilience.

After quickly telling Leonhardt what she needed to say, she called out to her nanny in the innocent voice of a child.

“Nanny! I’m heeere!”

She even deliberately slurred her pronunciation.

Soon the sound of the nanny running down the old corridor echoed.

The door burst open.

“My lady!”

Even though I had run to the nanny myself, she acted as though she had just found a lost child.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

After scolding me with a tearful voice, the nanny suddenly hugged me tightly.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No.”

I answered, feeling a prick of guilt.

“Sorry, Nanny.”

But I had to see Leon.

I thought both his mind and body were four years old.

Even though I knew the nanny would be worried, my apology was sincere.

Seeing me shrink down apologetically, the nanny gently patted my back.

“Next time you mustn’t run off like that by yourself. Even if you’re excited about coming to the imperial palace, do you know how worried I was?”

I listened carefully and nodded obediently.

That was when the nanny noticed Leonhardt.

“Why is there a child in a place like this…?”

Surprised by the unexpected situation, her thoughts slipped out loud.

She quickly closed her mouth and looked at Leonhardt carefully.

“I greet Your Highness the Prince.”

Perhaps recognizing his identity from his distinctive red eyes, she bowed politely and pulled me behind her.

The clear hostility made both Leonhardt and me flinch.

In the first life, the nanny had treated him kindly too, so seeing her show caution made Leonhardt’s expression droop again.

Why does he keep looking so dejected? It makes me worried.

To break the tense standoff, I grabbed the hem of the nanny’s skirt and peeked out.

“Nanny!”