RWMU 03

Chapter 03

“Nanny, how did you know that kid was the prince?”

I asked in a bright, clueless tone appropriate for a six-year-old. The nanny made an awkward face and apologized to Leonhardt instead of answering me.

“Young Lady! You mustn’t call His Highness ‘that kid’! I apologize, Your Highness. Our young lady is still very young…”

I was six years old, and Leonhardt was four.
On top of that, Leonhardt was smaller than most children his age.

Perhaps realizing too late that her excuse sounded strange, the nanny’s ears turned slightly red.

I secretly exchanged glances with Leonhardt and smiled.

“It’s okay.”

Leonhardt replied carefully, trying to pronounce the words clearly.

Seeing his gentle demeanor, the nanny’s guard noticeably softened.

With a much kinder voice than before, she said her farewell to Leonhardt.

“Thank you for forgiving our rudeness. Then we will take our leave now.”

We had rushed in thinking the palace was empty, but since the owner of the palace had caught us, it was a serious breach of etiquette.

Even if Leonhardt was a neglected prince.

The nanny, who bowed politely like something out of an etiquette textbook, hurried to take me out of the palace before anyone else saw us.

However, before we could leave Leonhardt’s room, a maid entered.

“Your Highness, it’s time for your meal.”

The maid called out lazily, but when she noticed us, she frowned.

“Who are you?”

She had spoken politely because of my carefully dressed appearance for visiting the imperial palace, but the way her eyes scanned me up and down was insolent.

The nanny was a kind person, but she wasn’t someone who easily overlooked rudeness.

“This is the young lady of the Duke Roderick’s family.”

The Roderick family was the most prestigious noble house in the empire.

My father, the current Duke Roderick, had been the emperor’s guardian when he was still a prince and had also played a decisive role in helping him win the struggle for the throne after he came of age.

To a mere palace maid, the daughter of the Roderick family would seem like a star in the distant sky.

And when you’re from a ducal house, even the young lady’s nanny is usually a noble.

The person before us wasn’t even a court lady—just a maid.

And considering she had been assigned to the “abandoned annex,” she was most likely a middle-class commoner at best.

Compared to me, there was no comparison—she was far below even the nanny in status.

When the nanny responded in a cold tone, the maid finally realized the situation and quickly spoke in a fawning voice.

“It is an honor to meet someone so distinguished.”

I merely blinked and did not acknowledge her greeting.

By etiquette, one must maintain the greeting posture until the other person accepts it.

And the formal court greeting was quite an uncomfortable position.

The maid, who had initially looked convincing, quickly began to falter.

This maid had also been assigned to the annex during my first life.

According to what Leonhardt later told me, she had been there since he was so young he couldn’t even remember.

She used to steal food supplies meant for the annex and pocket the money.

She starved a child. This much isn’t even punishment.

Back then, thanks to Leonhardt’s useless habit of keeping quiet, that maid had pretended to be a loyal servant caring for a mistreated prince and lived comfortably in secret.

Only after Leonhardt became emperor did she finally fall into my hands and get removed.

Let’s meet again later.

Perhaps the nanny was also displeased with the maid’s insolent attitude, because she pretended to tidy my clothes while deliberately stalling for time.

Nearly five minutes passed before she finally suggested that I accept the greeting.

“Oh my, Young Lady. The maid from the annex is greeting you.”

Her act of covering her mouth with both hands as if she had just noticed was quite natural.

I grabbed the hem of her skirt shyly and mumbled,

“Mm… hello.”

Now allowed to straighten up, the maid became much more respectful than before.

“Yes, it is an honor to meet you, Young Lady.”

Even her tone when asking why we were in this abandoned annex was cautious.

“But what brings the Young Lady to the annex…?”

“The Young Lady has received special permission from His Majesty to tour the imperial palace.”

The nanny answered proudly on my behalf.

Of course, the area I was actually allowed to see was only part of the garden, but she left that part out.

“Ah, I see. If you need directions, I would be happy to guide you anywhere you wish to go.”

The maid quickly grasped the situation and bowed repeatedly.

It seemed she wanted to leave a good impression on me if possible.

“That won’t be necessary. We’ll manage ourselves.”

The nanny rejected her immediately.

The cold gaze she directed at the maid softened again when she turned back to me.

“Young Lady, didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to visit the lake garden?”

“Mm… I did, but…”

Actually, I hated the lake garden.

The Crown Prince appeared there often.

It had just been an excuse to come toward this annex.

But the nanny, as if planning to go there immediately, took my hand and tried to leave the annex.

However, I still had one thing left to do.

“I don’t really want to go anymore.”

I planted my feet firmly and refused to move.

The six-year-old me was a well-raised child who could be stubborn and willful at times, but was generally gentle.

The nanny hadn’t expected this reaction and looked troubled.

She tried to say something soothing to me, but stopped when she noticed other people were present.

Leonhardt, who had been quietly watching us, flinched as well.

Why are you staring like that?

He looked as if he were observing a state council meeting.

Open your eyes a little more brightly!

How could a four-year-old have such world-weary eyes?

I was doing this for his sake—if he couldn’t help, at least he shouldn’t interfere.

As an example, I tilted my head with an innocent expression.

It was the face I often used whenever my family suspected my mental age after my regression.

I was confident it looked exactly like a six-year-old.

Leonhardt flinched at my head tilt.

His face stiffened as if he had witnessed something horrifying.

I didn’t know such an expression could appear on the soft features of a four-year-old.

This is bad.

The nanny, who had relaxed after seeing Leonhardt’s small and frail appearance, sensed the silent tension between us and became wary of him again.

I desperately signaled to Leonhardt with my eyes.

Act like a baby, you baby rabbit!

Perhaps my thoughts reached him, because Leonhardt awkwardly gave a shy smile.

It looked like the result of great effort, but it wasn’t satisfactory.

In this situation, a frightened face would have been better.

Sigh… I think I was more natural than that even on my first day.

Was this the difference in talent?

I stepped in to make up for Leonhardt’s poor acting.

“I want to play with him!”

The nanny valued etiquette more than anything.

Even when she had instantly noticed Leonhardt wasn’t being treated properly, she had still followed every rule of etiquette when addressing him.

“Young Lady!”

The nanny called me in a low, firm voice, startled.

Just as I had expected.

She forgot about being wary of Leonhardt and started scolding me for acting like a foolish child.

“You must call him ‘Your Highness.’”

Frightened by her stern tone, I corrected myself.

“Okay! I want to play with Your Highness!”

The cheerful rudeness—changing only the title—made the nanny look troubled.

But it would have been stranger if a six-year-old obeyed perfectly.

Sorry, Nanny. But I can’t just leave him like this.

My inner adult self apologized.

But the outward child, as if too excited about visiting the palace for the first time, shouted in a higher-pitched voice.

“Can’t I?”

When I asked sweetly, pleadingly, the nanny’s lips softened.

She was one of the many people in the ducal household who were weak to my cuteness.

But she wasn’t that easy to persuade.

“His Highness is busy.”

I hadn’t expected her to let me play with a stranger she had just met—especially here in this dusty annex.

“How long will he be busy?”

I pouted.

“Probably for quite a while.”

She replied with an awkward smile.

“Then it can’t be helped. Let’s go to the lake garden, Nanny!”

Pretending to back down, I grabbed the hand she offered.

Her expression brightened immediately.

“Shall we go, then?”

Holding her hand, I spoke loudly enough for both the maid and Leonhardt to hear.

“But if he’s not busy next time, I can come play, right?”