The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 14

Leaving behind the duchess, who naturally mingled with the ladies, I headed for the children’s side with Carol.

Hmm. Julien was there, but where was the Empress?

“Hello.”

Julien looked alright as he greeted me, and I couldn’t see anything wrong with his physical condition.

“Where’s the Empress?” I asked.

“I came with a nanny today.”

Oh. It made sense that the Empress can’t participate in these events all the time.

“Sharon, come sit next to me!”

Alright, alright.

I sat in the chair that Carol pulled out for me. By luck, it happened that I was right between her and Julien.

Well, I guess I’m glad that I’m not sitting next to strangers.

Like last time, all of the other children’s eyes were focused on me.

“W-wow. It’s true. Carol really is friends with a princess,” one of them stuttered.

“That’s right! Just like I said,” Carol boasted.

She sure seemed happy. I should have known this was what she was up to when she begged Madame DeJoue to curl my hair like a princess, even though we were in a hurry.

I had been wondering why she was paying so much attention to my hair.

As Carol bragged excitedly, I turned around in my chair and whispered, “Julien, how are you?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I ended up saying something really bland.

The prince looked at me curiously for a moment and then nodded his head, signalling that he was fine.

“That’s good.”

His face showed me that there was no reason to be worried, and I felt relieved.

“Oh? Were you just talking to Julien?”

The boy on the other side of Julien poked out his head. If I remember correctly, his name was Haru.

Haru Stein von Atrata. He was one of the most important supporting characters in the novel. He was about two years older than us.

Haru, who always accompanied Julien, was such a pitiable character that he brought everyone to tears by the novel’s end. He took a sword for the crown prince and had to wander in a foreign country for several years, unable to return to the empire.

I quickly adapted to the fact that another character I’d read about in a novel was real and right in front of me, then quickly recalled my memories of him.

“Hello.”

“Hi. You’re really pretty.”

Haru smiled at me cheerfully and held out a hand. As I reached over to shake it, Julien suddenly grabbed my hand.

Um, what?

As I looked at him bewilderedly, Julien narrowed his eyes.

“You’re annoying,” he said.

Where did he learn to be so rude? Unlike his peers, Julien was usually more mature.

Julien was still staring at Haru’s hand.

What, was it that he didn’t like people hanging around him?

Maybe it was because we were trying to shake hands while he was stuck in the middle. Haru snickered as he put down his hand.

“What a temper.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem offended.

“Julien, let go of my hand, please,” I said.

“…don’t want to hold my hand?” he mumbled. Then, “…Oh,” he said, and let go.

What was he talking about? I couldn’t even ask him to explain as he looked calm, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Besides, there was no time to ask because the children around us were frantically introducing themselves to me.

I was bombarded by greetings as soon as I turned away from the crown prince.

“I’m … ! Let’s be friends. You’re really pretty.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember anything as they said. Their names were a complete blank in my mind.

I apologized to the kids in my head.

***

Throughout the brunch party, Carol and Julien seemed to be getting along well. They smiled at each other, as if they had never gone around pulling each other’s hair.

As I had thought, kids were very simple.

“Sharon, try this! It tastes really good!”

Carol placed a small meatball in front of me and smiled brightly. Then, she placed one on the prince’s dish as well.

“It tastes good, Julien.”

“You should… Thanks.”

Julien’s smile was a little awkward, but it was probably that he wasn’t used to smiling.

“What’s happening? Why are they acting like this? …It’s scary.”

“Were they always on such good terms?”

“No. Last month they were cursing and fighting. Oh, but that’s a secret. Did you say that to your mother?”

“No… If I tell, Julien and Carol won’t tolerate us.”[in a threatening way]’

“That’s right. If I tell, they said they’d tell my mom that I was the one who lost her ring. Ugh.”

I could hear the children whispering among themselves.

…Were these kids connected to each other in some sort of symbiotic relationship? Luckily, the enmity between Carol and Julien seemed to have cleared up.

I ate the meatball that Carol gave me. It was delicious.

“Hey, what’s this? Are you guys playing nice in front of the little princess? How come you’re not cursing at each other?”

“What.”

“No… Like, why are you guys suddenly so close now? Did you decide to get along because she’s going to be your wife?”

“That’s crazy… Shut up.”

I could also hear the conversation between Haru, who was snickering again, and Julien. The relationship between Carol and Julien seemed to have caused great controversy among the children.

But hey, kids fight and then they make up. It’s all a part of growing up.

I snickered.

The two of them really match each other!

I felt content.

***

What was up with this kid?

I was exhausted today from dealing with the crowd. I just wanted to sleep, but there was an intruder on my bed.

“Hey. What are you doing? Go sleep in your own bed!”

Carol snored, pretending to be asleep.

However, she didn’t snore when she slept. I could see her eyelids fluttering!

I pushed Carol to the side.

“Go to that side. I want to lie down, too.”

I gave up so that I could go to sleep more quickly. Carol wriggled away, making room for me to lie down.

I met Carol’s half-opened eyes.

But anyway. This naughty puppy.

“Can I sleep here?”

“If I say no, will you leave?”
“Nope!”

Carol closed her eyes tight, as if she would never get up from this bed.

“Why in the world are you here when you have a huge bed?”

“…It’s scary because it’s so big! I feel like a monster is going to appear in my room.”

Well, she’s a little right. It wouldn’t be so surprising if a monster did appear in her room.

After all, a monster called the Duchess lived in this house.

“Fine. Let’s go to sleep.”

After checking that Carol made herself comfortable, I closed my eyes.

Now that I think of it… The crown prince was alone.

If Duke Gratoni’s mansion is this large, how empty must the palace feel? I had never been to Julien’s bedroom, but it was probably as big as Carol’s, if not bigger. Wouldn’t it be a room that was extravagant but stark, beautiful but without human warmth?

He was only 8 years old. He must be scared, as well. And in that place where he can’t even show his emotions…

Ah, darn. It was going to bother me now.

It was even worse since I couldn’t be by his side. Even if he said that he was scared… There was nobody who would stay with him.

I thought that he was friendly with Haru, but Haru didn’t live in the palace. Even if he did, not just anyone could enter the prince’s bedroom.

“Hmm…”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Do you need to use the bathroom, Sharon?”

“…Just go to sleep.” I patted Carol on the back.

What should I do?

Oh. I just thought of something good. Having solved this problem, I closed my tired eyes. Even though I would probably wake up at dawn, for now, I fell into a deep slumber.

The next day, I went looking for Madame DeJoue and caught her as soon as she opened her eyes.

“My lady? What’s wrong… It’s early in the morning.”

Maybe she was embarrassed, but she still opened the door. She was wearing her pajamas and a shawl on top.

“Please, come inside.”

She prepared a hot cocoa for me.

“Has something come up?” she asked.

I noticed a large scar on Madame DeJoue’s exposed forearm. Madame DeJoue covered it up with her shawl and smiled at me as if it was nothing.

“I got the scar when I climbed a tree, back when I was young. That’s why I can’t wear any clothes that show my arms.”

It didn’t look like a scar from a tree… It was too neat, like a cut from a knife or a papercut.

Wasn’t it?

“It must have hurt,” I said.

“It did. Oh, but what brought you here this morning?”

Madame DeJoue’s question caused me to come to my senses.

“Aah…  I’ve heard that there’s a marble that can record sound. Are those very expensive?”

“No, it isn’t too expensive.”

“Then, could you get one for me? And, if you can… Can you get one that has a song recorded on it?”

“…Nobody would use that expensive artifact just to record a song.”

“I thought you said it wasn’t that expensive.”

“It isn’t expensive for you, my lady.”

Oh, right…

I forgot that I was ridiculously rich. I supposed that God granted one of my wishes.

“So could you get me one?”

If I record a song… Well, I’m tone deaf. Maybe I’ll ask Carol.

That should do. Carol and Julien were on good terms these days, so she should be happy to do so.

“Please get me one,” I said more firmly.

“Of course. What size marble would you like?”

“Is there one that would fit in my palm? I think it would be nice to make it into a necklace. So, maybe one that’s the size of a pendant?”

“It’ll be more expensive, the smaller it is.”

“Oh… So we can’t buy it?”

“No, we can. But if you’re just using it for a song… Well, nevermind. It shouldn’t be a problem for a young lady to have dozens of necklaces.”

Hooray for capitalism!

“Then, please find me one that is suitable for a necklace.”

“Yes, my lady.”

If it was to protect the prince’s sleeping space, that much money was well worth investing.

***

In the afternoon, Madame DeJoue came to me, holding a box covered in purple velvet.

“I’ve found what you were looking for,” she said.

“What’s that, Sharon?”

Carol’s eyes were sparkling as I opened the box. It was a pendant, the size that I had requested. The design was one that even boys could wear it comfortably. With only a round pendant on a long chain, it would be easy to hide under everyday clothes.

“Is it to your taste?”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

“Sharon, what is this? Hmm?”

“Oh, it’s a sound marble… Madame DeJoue, how do I use this?”

“You tap it five times with your finger, and when you finish recording, tap it twice.”

“What about playing the sound back?”

“You just need to blow on it with your mouth.”

It wasn’t too difficult to use.

“Woah… I’ve seen this being used before!”
“Oh? When?”

“My father did it! He uses it to give and receive important news.”

“I see…”

That must have been why Madame DeJoue asked if I was only using it to record songs.

“So it’s mostly used for official purposes or for things that must be done in secret?” I asked Madame DeJoue.

“Correct. But this can be used in other ways.”

I turned to Carol. “Carol, shall we record a song?”

“Huh? What song? Are you going to give the necklace to me?”

“No. I’m going to give it to Julien.”

“WHAT?!”

Carol’s voice exploded and her cheeks immediately puffed up with air.

“Why would you give it to Julien? What about me?”

“Julien doesn’t have a friend who’ll sleep over with him.”

Carol seemed unconvinced by my explanation.

“Why? He has Haru! Or he could call over a maid and sleep with her!”

“That won’t work.”

Carol was talking so harshly. That sort of thing would ruin a maid’s life.

Behind us, I heard Madame DeJoue snickering.

“Carol, you’re a really nice person, right? And you and Julien have been getting along so well these days. Let’s just get him one gift.”

“I hate Julie– Ah! Nothing. Anyway, I don’t wanna!”

Carol pouted and shook her head.

It’s all ruined.

If Carol won’t record the song… who will?