The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 20

After Julien and Haru went back, Madame DeJoue told me that I should sleep more. Quietly, I replied, “How can I go back to sleep when I slept for so long? You said that I was out for 3 days.”

My eyes were wide open. I slept that entire time without waking up once, so that should be enough.

Come to think of it… That was one good thing about being sick.

It may have been the first time I slept deeply without nightmares since I first came to this world.

Was that good or bad?

I sighed. “Anyway, I want to wash myself.”

“A maid will be here soon. The first one that wakes up.”

“Did you ask her for me?”

“…Since you always wake up around this time, I just arranged it with the maids who wake up first.”

Madame DeJoue’s tone was calm as always, but I was touched.

I could feel how much Madame DeJoue cared for me and the affection she was showing me.

Madame DeJoue knew much more about me than I had thought, and the reason I could adapt to this world and be comfortable here was because of the consideration of Madame DeJoue and the people around me.

Now, I realized… More than I knew, I was…

“Sharooon!”

The door opened, and a whining sound like a siren came in.

I couldn’t finish my thoughts nor thank Madame DeJoue because Carol did not give me any time.

“You’re not sick anymore? Are you okay? I was scared to death!“

“What do you have to be afraid of?”

I ended up comforting her in my arms as she continued to whine. Carol, who gently held onto me with her whole body, seemed so desperate that I couldn’t help myself.

“Sharon, you didn’t open your eyes… I thought you were mad at me. I thought it was because you hated me.”

Crying, Carol rubbed her face on my clothes. I’m glad I was leaning on the couch. Otherwise, we’d both fall down.

“No. There’s no way I would do that.”

“Sniff… you’re not sick anymore?”

“Of course.”

I comforted the cutely whimpering Carol.

“Lady Carol, Lady Sharon needs to wash up. She’s been sweating a lot… I heard the maid prepared a bath as soon as she woke up…”

There’s no way that a maid wasn’t awake when the late-riser Carol woke up. When Madame DeJoue heard from the maid, who was hesitating outside, she came in to comfort Carol and lead her away.

But instead of falling away from me, Carol buried her head and said, “I’m going to take a bath with Sharon!”

“Who gave you permission…”

“That’s okay, right Sharon?”

She was already no longer listening to me.

“Since you’re still young…”

Madame DeJoue’s eyes glanced past me.

Why did she hesitate just now?

“That’s right. Since you’re still young, it should be alright.”

Madame DeJoue left to tell the maid to prepare for the two of us.

As I patted Carol, who was still sticking to me, on the shoulder, only sweet and friendly thoughts came to my mind.

It felt like my heart was being tickled with white feathers.

It was tingling, sweet, as if my whole body were soaked in warm honey water.

I was much more loved in this world than I had thought.

***

“Sharon, drink this!”

Time passed faster than usual because I had been ill. As Carol insisted on not going to the palace this week, the Empress told Julien to come here.

It was because the meetings could not be stopped, as they showed that the connection between the Duke of Gratoni and the Crown Prince was solid.

To the Empress, the Duke of Gratoni was one of her last remaining connections.

“I said that I’m all better…”

“No!” Carol said stubbornly, and she fed me tea.

Why did I have to catch a summer cold…?

Now Carol and Julien were treating me like a patient.

“Ugh. This doesn’t taste good!”

“You should still eat it. They say it’s good for you.”

Julien resolutely pushed the soup bowl in front of me.

How did they know I didn’t like broccoli?!

“You still have no strength in your hands. I’ll feed you.”

Julien took the soup spoon from my hand.

That wasn’t it!

But even before I could say it, the Crown Prince scooped up the green soup and put it before my mouth.

Why was he doing this to me?

The smell was savory and fragrant, but the taste wasn’t like that!

“Now, say ‘ah.’ It’s good for your health.”

I couldn’t refuse the soup that the Crown Prince brought from the palace.

The Crown Prince voluntarily did a good deed. Well, fine. Eating this won’t kill me.

I opened my mouth.

Ewwww!

This was totally horrible!

***

“Are you sure this is all right?”

“Sharon, you shouldn’t go around like this yet.”

Can they please talk without sticking their faces right up to my ear? Both of them needed to back off a bit.

My ears itched, and so I kept shaking my head.

Right now, we were trying to escape.

I had recovered from my cold a long time ago, but I couldn’t even take a walk because of Madame DeJoue’s protectiveness.

This was imprisonment!

I had decided to run away from home. While they were trying to stop me, Carol and Julien could not hide their excitement.

“Where will you go?”

“I want to see a circus in the night market.”

“I want to see … a street vendor! I want to buy a line of sausages there!”

These kids were distracted.

“Be quiet!”

I checked that Madame DeJoue opened the door to the bedroom where we were.

We were hiding in the parlor connected to the bedroom and observing Madame DeJoue’s movements.

The only people in this mansion that could stop me were Madame DeJoue and the head maid.

Most of the time, the head maid was next to the Duchess, so as long as we didn’t get caught by Madame DeJoue we would be free.

As I sat crouching behind the curtain, my legs felt numb.

Cat, cat![1]

I desperately tried to endure by meowing. Madame DeJoue had not entered the bedroom yet, so I had to use a very small voice.

Carol’s hands were shaking with excitement, and Julien was crouched down, holding his chin in one hand. He kept glancing outside, as if he wanted to leave quickly.

Then, finally, the bedroom door closed.

“Hey, it’s time. Run!”

I started sprinting, holding Carol and Julien’s hands.

Run, work, my legs![2]

***

Hearing the pattering of feet outside, Madame DeJoue sighed.

She thought to herself that she had better go down and tell the Gratoni knights to follow them.

Really, did Sharon really think she didn’t know?

At times like this, Sharon really did seem like an 8-year-old. Three pairs of feet had been sticking out of the curtain for all to see.

Luckily, the people from the palace likely did not notice.

The ducal mansion’s shape imitated that of eagle wings. The eagle represented the imperial family, and they were its wings, so the main building was divided into the east and west sections.

Other than the crown prince, all other guests were staying in the west wing.

“How cute.”

Madame DeJoue snickered. Compared to the first time she had seen them, Carol and the crown prince were much brighter. Sometimes they acted childish as well.

“Anyways. I guess kids will act out as they grow up.”

Madame DeJoue closed the main building’s door so that the palace people did not notice anything.

Then, secretly, she instructed the knights to follow the children.

“Just watch over them without getting caught. Since Lady Sharon is with them, they should come home at a reasonable time. Safety first, second, and third.”

“Yes, Madame DeJoue.”

The knights soon left without a trace.

In reality, these knights had been separately hired by Madame DeJoue. After she spoke with the butler, they had been hired as the duke’s knights in name, but they really were her people.

That was why she was certain that the kids would return unharmed.

***

“Woah!” Carol laughed brightly as she popped the soap bubble that had come near her.

She wasn’t the only one. Julien was also laughing and smiling.

Was it their first time seeing bubbles? What bumpkins.

Phew. But the bubbles in this town were a little interesting.

How did they make it look like a fish?

When I touched the bubbles with my finger, they curled up into a circle, and then puffed out again in the shape of a fish.

Or, it burst with a touch and then reformed.

“Sharon, Sharon! Look at this! It looks like you!”

The rare excited voice of the crown prince made me turn my head.

Julien was pointing to a music box, and inside it, a fairy with light purple hair was spinning.

“You’re right! It’s exactly the same as Sharon! She’s like a fairy! No, she’s a princess!”

Thank you, puppies.

I am a little pretty, aren’t I?

Haha.

I snorted and looked closely at the music box the children were pointing at.

The woman in the music box had long ears and transparent wings, but she was too small for me to see her features well.

Still, the kids seemed to think it was pretty.

“Yeah, it’s pretty. Do you like it?”

“Yes! I love it!”

“Me too!”

“Okay. Do you want me to buy you one each?”

“Really?!”

Oh my god. That scared me.

I stepped back because of the children shouting in unison.

If I said I won’t buy it, they would definitely cry.

“I’d like two of these.”

“I see that the pretty little lady seems to like this. Are those your younger siblings back there?”

“No!”

“No!”

Why, what was happening?

Since when did those two act so alike?

“I, I see. I thought you were their older sister because you were so mature. I’m sorry, young lady, gentleman.”

“Hmmm, it’s okay.”

Carol finally pretended to be decent, but the truth was already revealed.

Aah, you puppy. Where is your pride?

The crown prince was biting his lips and blushing.

These kids were so cute.

I bought two music boxes from the stall owner as I watched the children with a smile.

“Come on, here you go. It’s a present from me.”

Carol and Julien accepted the boxes with open mouths.

Then, they closed their mouths as they realized what they were doing. Did they really like it that much?

I thought that it looked crudely made, and the sound wasn’t that good.

The sound kept on stopping and starting, but despite that, Carol and Julien kept slowing down as they walked as they kept opening the box.

“Take care of it. I won’t buy you another.”

Even when I tried to be mean, the children just nodded.

“Of course!”

“It’s my treasure.”

These children are lovely.

***

I knew that it was almost time for Julien to return to the palace, so we had to go back.

The knights that Madame DeJoue would have put behind us would also be getting antsy. They seemed to be agonizing over whether to reveal themselves.

I made eye contact with the knights shining through the trees.

I’ll be back soon, so stop fretting.

I didn’t know if they understood me, but the knights stepped back.

“Was today fun?”

“Yes!” replied Carol, shaking her head like a puppy.

“…Yes.”

I also heard a small but firm answer.

I stared at the sunset in the sky.

This brilliant eight-year-old summer was drawing to an end.

Summer was the first season I spent in the novel.

I didn’t know 120 days of summer would be this short.

It really passed by in just a moment.

Now I felt as if I had taken a step into this world.

Also, I had gained affection for Carol and Julien, who were crouching on either side of me watching the lights of the night market. It was in a similar vein.

It felt like I was being dragged into a mire.

These children, who were looking up at me with unconditional affection, were lovely.

How could I not love these children who looked at me as if I contained all the beautiful things in the world?

Before I knew it, they made a place for themselves in my heart.

So now, I had to treasure this time, which melted like snow in a flash on my palm.

Tomorrow will be different from today and the day after tomorrow will also be different.

I felt sorry that this happy moment with Carol and Julien, who were growing up more each day, was too short.

[1] The term for feeling numb in Korean sounds like the word for “mouse.” That’s why Sharon is trying to chase it away by meowing.

[2] I’m fairly certain this is a reference to the theme song of an old Korean cartoon called “달려라하니,” which is about a girl who runs (I think?). It was before my generation, but it makes sense for Nara to know about it.