Chapter 3
“Your Majesty, you have arrived.”
The sound of Father entering the room was followed by greetings from the nanny and the handmaidens.
“Are the Princess and the Prince well today?”
A silhouette approached the bed as he addressed the question to the nanny.
At the news that the very man who had imprisoned me in my past life had come to visit, my entire body stiffened.
“…..”
As he drew closer, I saw that my father looked far younger than the final memory I had of him.
Hair as brilliant as if steeped in molten gold, the striking and beautiful features unique to the imperial bloodline, and a pair of heterochromatic eyes—one cool and one warm in color—so captivating in their coldness.
Both Lucas and I had inherited those eyes. Perhaps that was why our fates, too, had already been written toward inevitable ruin.
Father stood beside the bed, looking down at the two of us lying there side by side.
‘There’s no escaping this now.’
The moment I saw his face, I could no longer deny the reality before me.
“Kya-haat!”
“…..”
Unlike Lucas, who let out a high-pitched shriek as if he already knew who it was, I felt the strength drain from my body.
“Why is the Princess so listless?”
Father frowned as he noticed me, limp and unresponsive, and turned to question Lenny.
“Well, that is…”
“Speak. Now.”
Father’s voice, sharp as a finely honed blade, pressed Lenny for an answer.
“Just a moment ago, she seemed perfectly fine, but then she suddenly started hiccupping…”
Lenny’s voice shrank as she explained, clearly startled by my sudden state.
“You mean to say the child was perfectly fine moments ago and then became like this?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
“And that’s the answer you bring me? You, a woman charged with the care of imperial children?”
“Uh…”
“Hee…”
“Hwaaaah!”
At Father’s thunderous roar, Lucas’s lips quivered before he burst into tears.
“Hic!”
And I, too, began to hiccup again.
“Your Majesty… the young Highnesses are frightened.”
Though Silvia’s shoulders were hunched, she mustered the courage to speak, voicing her concern for us.
“Summon the Imperial Physician at once.”
Father paid Silvia’s words no heed and issued a sharp command to the chamberlain.
Before long, the Imperial Physician arrived, panting heavily, his neatly groomed white beard trembling as he entered.
“I-I present myself to His Majesty, huff, huff.”
“Examine the Princess immediately and report back.”
Father gave him no time to catch his breath, ordering him straight to my side.
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. Huff, huff.”
The physician, still short of breath, bowed deeply and hurried over to me.
“……”
I lay motionless, offering no response even as he checked me over.
The physician carefully examined me, but soon wore a troubled expression as he turned toward Father.
“What is her condition?”
Father, who had stepped aside from the bed for the examination, fixed the physician with an icy stare.
Everyone else in the room also watched him intently, waiting for his answer.
“Stop stalling. Speak.”
“Well, Your Majesty…”
Overwhelmed by Father’s intimidating presence, the physician squeezed out his words.
“I-it appears the Princess is experiencing a bout of infantile heat rash, as is common at this age.”
“Heat rash?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Though her temperature has risen somewhat, if we cool her down and allow her to rest, she should recover without issue.”
The physician bowed his head low, his manner apologetic as he delivered the diagnosis.
“So I’ve seated a spineless rat on the Imperial Physician’s chair.”
“P-pardon, Your Majesty?”
The physician blinked, his voice foolish with bewilderment at the sudden rebuke.
“You’re telling me a child who was perfectly fine mere moments ago now suddenly has a heat rash?”
“Y-yes. That is correct.”
“And your remedy is simply to cool her down and let her rest? That is the extent of your counsel?”
“Well, that is…”
“I’m asking you if you’re certain there is truly nothing else.”
Father’s voice dropped to a lethal quiet, as if he might strike the man down at any moment. At that, my dulled mind came back to itself.
No matter how much he pressed, there was no illness to be invented. The physician’s eyes now showed clear fear.
‘If this keeps up, an innocent man will end up a corpse.’
I figured it was probably nothing more than a fever brought on by pent-up stress.
“Hwa-oo.”
I sighed inwardly, deciding to help rescue the beleaguered physician, and let out a soft whimper.
“……”
Father, who had been bearing down on the physician, turned his gaze to me at the sound.
I wondered whether those cold eyes were genuinely concerned for me, or if it was something else.
“……”
I held his gaze, hiding the sense of oppression that threatened to overwhelm me under the weight of my past life’s memories.
“Abba.”
“…Seems she’s fine.”
As I gurgled a small babble, Father gave a nod.
“Ka-oo-a?”
Just as I was silently locking eyes with him, an ill-timed, overly cheerful sound cut through the room.
That clueless fool.
“Babu.”
I glared daggers at Lucas, who was giggling brainlessly.
“Unlike the Princess, the Prince is quite… cheerful.”
I wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a compliment.
Lucas simply smiled innocently at Father and me in turn, and I promptly turned my head away.
“Nanny.”
Father called for the nannies without taking his gaze off us.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Both Lenny and Silvia responded in unison.
“Do not take your eyes off the children for even a moment today. Keep constant watch.”
“Yes, by your command.”
Lenny and Sylvia both bowed their heads in response to His Majesty’s command.
As the emperor gave a small nod at their answer, the chief chamberlain quietly stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, the council session is about to begin.”
At the chamberlain’s words, the emperor cast us one last glance before turning and leaving the room.
Only then did the tension drain from my body, and drowsiness soon followed.
“Is Her Highness feeling sleepy?”
Lenny must have noticed my drooping eyes, for I felt her warm hand gently patting my belly.
“Rest well now, Princess.”
Between the haze of slipping consciousness, I thought I heard her soft lullaby-like whisper.
“Haaahm.”
Perhaps because I’d fallen asleep without even touching dinner last night, I woke in the early dawn.
“Haaum.”
Yawning, I barely lifted my head to scan the room. There, I saw Sylvia sitting in a chair beside the bed, dozing off, her head bobbing slightly.
Beside me, soft, even breaths hinted that Lucas was still asleep as well.
In the quietness, the first calm since my return, memories of the day I was first imprisoned in the palace in my previous life came rushing back.
Seven years locked away, death, and a second chance. And yet it all felt as vivid as if it had happened just yesterday.
“Hoo, hoo.”
I worked my tiny mouth, exhaling and inhaling to steady the rising unease within me.
Whether it was divine mockery or a test from the gods, what was clear was that I had been granted another chance.
‘I refuse to live a life where I die at Lucas’s hands again.’
I vowed, bitter, silent vows, over and over.
“Oh my, Your Highness is awake. Did you sleep well?”
At some point, Lenny had taken Sylvia’s place. She smiled down at me.
“Mmng. Uga?”
Lenny beamed at my wide, alert eyes and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“I dreamed of Your Highness last night, you know. There was no baby angel in the heavens to compare.”
She chatted away, as if having a proper conversation with me, cheerfully recounting her dreams as she reached down to lift my bottom, giving it a discreet sniff and patting my diaper.
“Ukkaah!”
The indignity of it, this again, this humiliating ritual.
“No number two yet, hmm. Doesn’t smell like anything either… but let’s freshen you up just the same.”
“Buuu!”
As she unashamedly announced the state of my diaper, mortification surged up, and I let out a garbled protest.
“Let’s see how our young prince fared through the night.”
“Abuu.”
Unlike me, trembling with shame, Lucas was drooling blissfully and sucking his fingers, as if his head were full of flowers.
After checking both our diapers, Lenny opened the drawer beneath the cradle and fetched two fresh ones.
“Let’s get you both changed into nice clean diapers and then it’s time for your morning feed.”
“Kyarururu!”
“….”
What’s he so happy about? It’s just a strip of cloth wrapped around your bottom.
I sighed inwardly as Lucas wriggled with sheer joy, all over something so trivial.
But as I was indulging that thought, a wave of crisp, clean comfort swept over me.
“Huaau!”
Only after the fresh diaper was fastened did I realize how miserably damp the old one had been.
“Feels good, doesn’t it? All fresh and dry. Now then, let’s get you two your milk.”
“Dawua.”
“Kyakyakya.”
Handing the damp diapers to a maid standing by, Lenny ordered her to fetch the warmed milk from the kitchens.
A short while later, the maid returned with two bottles, each at the perfect temperature.
And as soon as I saw them, true hunger hit me, a deep, gnawing ache.
“Uttau.”
Unable to wait, I stretched my arms toward the bottles.
Lenny chuckled, took them from the maid, and placed one into each of our mouths.
“Ujjujjujju.”
As the bottle touched my lips, I sucked at it so fiercely I nearly forgot to breathe.
“Oh my, Your Highness must have been terribly hungry.”
“Ddau.”
Glancing sideways while still nursing, I saw Lucas as well, guzzling down his bottle with single-minded fervor.
It would be some time yet before succession education officially began, but a sprout had to be stepped on early if it meant survival. And for that, I first had to grow strong and healthy.
“Jjyuujju.”
“Slow down, Your Highness. No one’s going to steal it.”
Lenny, oblivious to my inner resolve, only looked on with a doting smile.
“Burp.”
“….”
Lucas, already having drained his bottle, let out a hefty burp.
Truly, a creature living purely by instinct.
“Buurrp.”
“And our princess too, what a grand burp that was.”
“Hau.”
A baby’s duty after feeding was to burp, after all.
Brrrrt.
Just as I awkwardly smacked my lips, savoring the leftover taste of milk, a different kind of noise split the air.
“Kyau!”
The moment I finished eating, Lucas wasted no time flaunting his existence in every way possible, both above and below.
I couldn’t let my guard down for a single moment with this one.
“Hah… up!”
Just as I took a breath, an unfamiliar stench wafted through the air.
“Kyaha!”
As long as that reeking thing was beside me, I swore, I would never grow complacent again.
