The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 3

“Hey, come here.”

At my words, Carol stopped pouting. She released the air in her puffed-up cheeks and sat in front of me.

Madame Berna had prepared us a desk under the window with lots of sunshine. I had gotten used to the dynamics of the mansion within a week, and when I started poking about the neglected study, Madame Berna welcomed me with open arms.

“That’s right,” she had said. “Young women need to study to become great ladies!”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t my intention.

Back in real time, Carol asked, “What are you doing? Are you going to read a book?”

“Of course. Will you read it out loud to me?”

“N-no, I like listening better.”

Carol was lying. I knew that Carol couldn’t read properly until she was 13 years old. The Duchess didn’t teach her how. The only things she taught her were that she didn’t need to study when she lived in luxury; how to be cruel; and how to torment others.

“Okay. Then, you can read for me next time!”

Carol was silent. Her eyes shifted to the side, as if she was anxious. It would hurt her pride to say that she couldn’t, but she couldn’t say yes because of her lack of ability.

“You can study with me. It’s not difficult to learn,” I said.

“I already know how to read!” Carol protested. “…But, I guess I can study it one more time.”

She’s really a cute child.

Surprisingly, Carol had many cute sides to her. For example, she had no idea how red her face had turned as she bluffed.

“I know that you know. I just wanted to practice.”

“Oh. That’s fine, then.”

“We can take turns reading out loud. I can go first.”

I opened the storybook that I had chosen.

Oh?

The fairy tales in this world were similar to the ones I knew. The book that I had picked was a variation of the tale of Cinderella, with strong morals and a rags-to-riches plotline. It was interesting to see how the features of this world were reflected in its literature. The story was just to my taste, and unknowingly, I had paused, lost in my thoughts.

“Sharon, what happens next? Why did you stop reading?” Carol’s hand shook me, and I realized what I was doing. I started to read again.

“The prince hugged the maid, and he asked, ‘Will you marry me?’”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Carol said. “My mom says that a maid could never be a queen!”

There really is no such thing as a child’s romance.[T/N: Referring to Romanticism, an emphasis on emotion, imagination, individualism, etc.]

“Hey, just listen. It’s only a fairy tale.”

Though Carol pouted, she didn’t interrupt again. She rested her chin on her hands and followed along with sparkling eyes.

That was when it happened.

There was a knock at the study’s door, and a maid entered.

“Excuse me, Lady Carol, Lady Sharon. It’s nearly lunchtime. I knocked on the door for a while, but I opened the door as there was no answer. I apologize for my presumption.”

I hadn’t realized that the time had gone by so quickly. I closed the book.

Children have to eat their meals regularly in order to grow tall, and since we are so young, we also have to take naps during the day.

“Carol, get up.”

“Why? Why can’t we finish reading?”

“We can read more after we eat and take a nap. Come on, let’s go.”

At my words, Carol’s expression turned fierce.

“You! Come here!” She beckoned at the maid, who came over with small, hesitant steps.

“Why?” I asked. But it seemed I was the only one who didn’t know what was happening. The maid closed her eyes and turned her head, presenting her cheek toward Carol.

“I told you not to disturb me when I’m with Sharon!”

I moved quickly to block Carol’s hand. “What… do you think you’re doing?!” The impact made my arm turn red, but I managed to stop Carol before she slapped an innocent maid.

“Why did you block me?”

This was the first time I saw Carol act like this, and I was bewildered. “What are you doing?”

“She interrupted me, so I’m punishing her. Isn’t that obvious?”

Why would that ever be obvious? What sort of education teaches a child to act like this? I couldn’t help but sigh. “Haaa. Where do I even start?”

The look on my face must face frightened Carol, as she slowly lowered her hand.

“Wh-what’s wrong? Are you mad? Why?”

She asked what’s wrong. Carol didn’t even know that what she did was wrong! Well, first of all, I wasn’t even angry.

No, I was just upset because the future seemed bleak.

I was also feeling sorry for Carol. In my previous life, before I went to college, I grew up with my parents’ love and support. I could never have imagined being in such a terrible situation. The saying, “The environment makes the man,” hit me hard.

I gestured at the maid. “We’ll be down soon, so please go back first.”

“But…”

I nodded at her in confirmation. She looked at Carol, who said nothing. Then, she left, closing the door behind her.

Then, it was just the two of us in the study.

“…Sharon?”

“Who told you that it was all right to hit people? And for nothing, no less.”

“M-my mother said that you have to train maids by hitting them,” answered Carol. Her voice was shaky and uncertain.

Oh. My expression was too much for her. I stretched out my furrowed brows with my fingers and tried to let go of my persistent frown.

The Duchess was the core of the problem. She taught such values to a child who wasn’t even old enough to know right from wrong.

I sighed deeply.

“Here. Watch carefully.”

I raised my hand. Carol’s eyes followed my motion as I flicked her forehead with a ‘thwack!’

“Ow!”

Carol’s eyes quickly filled with tears. She seemed surprised by the pain, as if it was the first time she had experienced it.

“You… You!” She stammered and covered her forehead with one hand. With the other hand, she pointed at me in accusation.

In a soft voice, I said, “See. It hurts.”

“You just hit me! Owww!”

“…This isn’t getting through to you at all, huh.” But what else could I do? She was only a kid. I gently rubbed her hurt forehead, blowing away the pain.

Carol sniffled. Under my gentle ministrations, Carol stopped yelling and calmed down. Then, when she stopped crying, I asked her, “Carol, did it hurt?”

“Of course it did! Why would you even ask?”

“Then, would it hurt the maid if you hit her? Or do you think she would have been fine?”

Carol concentrated. It seemed it was the first time she had thought about that. “It… It will hurt? But my mother says that the maids don’t know pain…”

“She’s wrong. A maid is a person, too. It’s obvious that she’ll feel pain if you hit her.” I emphasized the word ‘obvious.’

“…My mom was wrong?”

“Yes, she was wrong.”

“But—”

I pinched her cheeks and stretched them out before she could argue. “I won’t play with you if you don’t listen to me.”

“Huuh? In what world does that make sense?” Her words were garbled, but she certainly tried hard to say them.

“In this world. It’s my decision to make. So, what are you going to do?”

Carol blinked at my words, and she nodded slowly. I let go of her cheeks so that it wouldn’t hurt. Since she was still young, her chubby cheeks went right back to their original shape, not a mark on them.

“You’re a good girl,” I praised, patting her cheek. “The things that hurt you will also hurt other people. That’s why you shouldn’t hit people for just anything, Carol. Otherwise, you’ll get punished later.”

“…Okay.”

“Don’t get upset over foolish reasons, either. The maid came in because she was worried when we didn’t answer her. She apologized for it, too.”

“…Okay.”

“That’s right. Good.”

That should be enough. One small change can bring about greater changes.

I held out a hand to Carol. “Should we go now? I’m hungry and tired. Let’s take a nap, and then we can eat strawberry sherbet together. How does that sound?”

“Will you read me a fairy tale while we eat the sherbet? The one that we were reading just now.”

I smiled brightly. “Of course.”

Carol’s ash-colored head bobbed up and down.

To learn culture, Carol was forced to read history books rather than the fairy tales that she really wanted. The aristocracy’s cold approach to education annoyed me. Or maybe it was because Carol’s family were more highly ranked than mine that they were so cold. My room—Sharon’s room—in the Atrina region was filled with picture books and dolls. Did this difference stem from the difference in our parents’ affections?

For a moment, I pitied Carol. At least it’s better now, and she didn’t turn down the books I offered her. Despite growing up in a place like this, Carol didn’t turn out so badly. Also, it was due to her upbringing that I was able to use the carrot-and-stick method with her so easily.

Carol linked arms with me as we headed to eat lunch.

I hope that she grows up well.

***

One month has passed since I came to the duchy.

Since then, Carol developed a new habit: when around bedtime, she comes over to my room with a storybook in hand. Although we sleep in different rooms, Carol, who spent most of the day with me anyway, was no longer willing to part with me at night.

Today, too, Carol brought over a book that was bigger than her and hesitated at the door.

I called out to her. “Carol, come here.”

Carol’s face bloomed. With chubby cheeks and a big smile, she jumped onto my bed.

“Read me a book! Please?”

She handed me the book. It was a well-loved book, with fingerprints all over. The story was about a fish who travelled with its mom, and it was one of Carol’s favorites. I read it out loud to her so many times that Carol had basically memorized the book, and she was starting to learn to read from it as well.

“Okay, but only if you promise to read along with me.”

Carol rolled her eyes. She no longer kept it a secret that she couldn’t read well, and I burst into a smile because she was so cute.

“It’s hard,” Carol complained.

I patted her head. “It’s okay. You can do it.”

“You’re good at it though.”

“When I first started, I wasn’t good at all.”

Carol hesitated, then nodded.

“If you learn your letters and read the whole book…” I thought for a moment. “Hmm. Should we go on a picnic together?”

“A picnic?”

“Yes, a picnic, with Madame DeJoue and Madame Berna.”

“Where will we go?” Carol’s nostrils flared in excitement.

“Where do you want to go?”

“The last time I went to a brunch party, Arya said there was a place that she went to…”

“Where is that?”
“Um… There’s a hill, and there’s a river… She said there was a big tree, too!”

Ah. It might be faster to just ask Madame DeJoue for an appropriate location.

“All right. We can go to a place like that. We can pack sandwiches!”

“But, will my mom allow it?” Carol asked.

“It’ll be fine.” I patted Carol on the head again.

The Duchess never pays attention to Carol except for when she needs her, so why would she care? She wouldn’t even notice our little outing.

I quickly changed the topic before Carol could notice my cold smile. “Then, let’s get started. Make sure to read along carefully.”

I read a little more slowly than usual, pointing at each word with my finger. Carol’s dark green eyes followed along, and she stammered as she spoke, but we made a lot of progress.

Then, after a long time, Carol turned to me excitedly.