RWMU 04

Chapter  04

“Of course. It’s fine to come later with a proper invitation.”

The nanny answered vaguely, worried that the mood I had barely calmed might sour again.

“I’ll ask my brothers to come with me!”

At my deliberately innocent tone, the maid flinched.

Normally, one would think that grown young lords wouldn’t come all the way here just because their little sister begged them. But things that seem impossible often become reality—and sometimes grow into much bigger problems.

As a six-year-old and a nanny from a minor noble family, we had no authority to officially reprimand the servants of the detached palace for their negligence.

But if my brothers—who had recently started involving themselves in family affairs—found out, it would become a serious issue.

The emperor is a weak man.

He couldn’t abandon the son he believed was cursed, yet he couldn’t embrace him either.

The emperor simply wished for Leonhardt to live quietly as if he didn’t exist.

He didn’t want him to be treated this poorly.

“When should we come? Tomorrow? Next week?”

As I pretended to ponder when my brothers might be free, the maid anxiously glanced around Leonhardt’s messy room and nervously bit her lower lip.

For a while, the servants of the detached palace would probably be more mindful of outside scrutiny.

They would clean a little. Serve decent meals.

And since I was only six years old, this was about the best I could do.

Still, you should be grateful I came to save you earlier than last time.

I winked so that only Leonhardt could see.

Leonhardt blinked as if he didn’t understand the meaning of my gesture.

It was obvious that becoming younger had made him even more clueless.

Frustration bubbled up inside me, but I kept smiling until the end.

It would surely be a long time before I could come see him again.

As I left the detached palace, I felt a familiar gaze lingering on the back of my head.

* * *

As soon as we were far enough away from Leonhardt’s palace, the nanny started scolding me.

Keeping a gentle, elegant smile on her face, she spoke in a small voice only I could hear while holding my hand.

“My lady, if you run off alone like that again, this nanny might cry her eyes out.”

Anyone watching from a distance would assume we were having a very affectionate conversation.

The nanny looked like a typical sensitive and delicate noblewoman, but unlike her appearance, she was a very strong-willed person.

Even in the last timeline, I only saw her cry once.

So when she said she would cry her eyes out, it was more like a form of discipline suited to a six-year-old.

Still, I obediently promised not to do it again.

“It was just that one time. I won’t do it again. Really. I promise!”

The only time I had seen her cry in the previous life was when she shed tears of relief after dying in my place while trying to save me from the Crown Prince’s scheme.

Seeing me shrink so meekly, the nanny seemed to soften.

She crouched down in front of me to meet my eyes and pulled me into a hug with a warm smile.

“Our young lady is so mature.”

“Was I like an older sister?”

“Yes. At this rate, you could go to the academy already.”

In the nanny’s arms—something I hadn’t felt in a long time—I let myself act spoiled as much as I wanted.

Only when her legs began to go numb and she gently tried to pull away did I finally let go after giving her one more tight hug.

“Nanny, you know…”

I whispered.

“I think it’s a good thing that I’m six years old.”

Because it meant I could save the nanny and rescue Leonhardt sooner.

The nanny laughed at the sudden comment, but I meant it sincerely.

* * *

Perhaps the Crown Prince had another engagement, because the nanny and I were able to enjoy a quiet walk through the lakeside garden without encountering anyone.

“The hydrangeas are so pretty.”

“They really are.”

This place really is beautiful.

The garden itself had done nothing wrong.

Since the nanny seemed to like the lakeside garden, I stayed there for quite a while, partly as a way of apologizing.

“Oh my, my lady. Aren’t you tired?”

The nanny finally noticed that I had been walking longer than usual.

“No! Not tired at all!”

I shook my head vigorously.

“Really? If you’re tired, you must tell me.”

“I’m really, really fine!”

In truth, my stamina wasn’t great and I was prone to minor illnesses.

But in the previous timeline, whenever I wanted to be alone I pretended to be sleepy or tired, which gave me the image of being frail.

Because of that, my family had raised me with excessive protection.

This time I’ll just be a moderately healthy child.

“I’m just having so much fun that I’m not tired!”

I said energetically while planning my image transformation.

The nanny smiled warmly, finding my unusual excitement adorable.

“But I’m getting a little tired. Shall we head back now?”

She lightly patted her legs and suggested we return home.

Actually, I was a little tired too.

Even though I hadn’t come here often, I had still visited this place dozens of times while living in the imperial palace. Acting as if I were seeing everything for the first time was surprisingly exhausting.

“Hmm… okay!”

But for the sake of my perfect six-year-old act, I pretended to think for a moment before answering.

“We’re going back because the nanny is tired!”

I grabbed her hand and chattered proudly.

“Of course. Our young lady is the best.”

I kept talking to the nanny the entire way back.

Pretending to be six years old is exhausting.

Both the one talking and the one listening were exhausted by the time we arrived home.

I was completely worn out.

I decided to postpone my plan of becoming a “moderately healthy child” until tomorrow.

“I’m sleepy, nanny.”

For a six-year-old body, resisting sleep wasn’t easy.

The moment I acknowledged my drowsiness, my eyes were already half-closed.

“There’s still some time before dinner. Shall we wash up and take a nap?”

Washing was bothersome, but I nodded anyway.

The nanny called my personal maids.

“My lady, you’ll feel better after washing with warm water.”

“Shall we make some bubbles for you?”

The maids carefully washed me while trying to cheer up the sleepy me, and afterward I felt even more relaxed.

It felt like I would fall asleep the moment my head touched the pillow.

Seeing me half-asleep while walking, the nanny lifted me into her arms.

“You might fall.”

If she hadn’t carried me, that would have happened with a high probability.

In her arms, I was taken to the bedroom.

The last thing I remembered was the nanny laying me down in bed and carefully tucking the blanket over me.

After confirming that I had fallen asleep, the nanny briefly left the room, leaving the maids in charge.

A bad feeling crept in.

But I was too sleepy.

That was my mistake.

* * *

“My lady, are you awake?”

I tossed and turned as I struggled to wake up, when my personal maid Anna asked gently.

“Mm.”

I answered with a sleepy voice, and Anna chuckled quietly.

Then she dropped a bomb in a sweet tone.

“My lady, can you stay alone for a moment?”

“Yes… but why?”

“Your mother asked to be informed when you woke up.”

Apparently my sense of foreboding had returned along with my wakefulness.

I shook off the last of my drowsiness and sat up straight.

“Mom? Why?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t hear anything specific.”

Anna tilted her head as if she truly didn’t know.

But my instincts were clear.

The nanny must have reported everything that happened today to my mother.

Unlike my father, who was always soft toward me, my mother always scolded me when I did something wrong.

Considering the kind of person I might become in the future, her parenting method was probably correct.

But even if my mind was twenty-four years old, I still didn’t want to be scolded.

I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.

I should have stuck close to the nanny.

But no matter how quickly regret comes, it’s always too late.

If the price for meeting Leonhardt two years earlier is just a few days without snacks, it’s not a bad deal.

Comforting myself, I staggered out of bed.

“I’ll go see my mother.”

Since I was going to be scolded anyway, I might as well get it over with quickly.

“Very well.”

Anna neatly fixed my messy hair that had been ruined during sleep and tied it nicely.

“Okay.”

My steps felt heavy.