The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 5

Duke Gratoni, despite having a messy personal life, was a competent man. And among the emperor’s many sons, he chose to support the crown prince.

The crown prince did not have an easy road to the throne. He would have to suffer many hardships to become the emperor.

“But he will become the emperor…” I murmured.

Duke Gratoni placed his bets well. Well, it was moot though. In the novel, he still ended up on the guillotine because of Carol’s evil actions.

Carol peeked open her eyes. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Are you going to get up now?”

“Eh… I really hate him though!”

“Do you think the prince likes you any better?”

Carol continued to grumble as if she didn’t hear me. “He’s just trying to take advantage of me! He ignored me because I’m not good at reading. I really, really hate him.”

Oh my. It looked like my child is all grown up now.

Originally, Carol wouldn’t realize the crown prince was using her until the very end. This version of Carol is much more sensible. Was it because we read the fairy tales together?

“How do you know?” I asked.

Carol pouted. “My mother said so. She told me that I should catch the crown prince and use him before he uses me.”

Really, now. Duchess Gratoni is such a great teacher.

“Also, I’m not an idiot! He keeps looking at me like this.” Carol raised the corners of her eyes to make them pointier.

Carol didn’t have much ground to stand on, at least not regarding her attitude. She was supposed to meet with the prince today, but it felt more like she was preparing for battle. She was still pouting, and she had a deep frown on her face.

“But wouldn’t it be good to at least be friends?” I asked. After all, they may have to get married one day. Even if they end up breaking their engagement, it would be good for Carol to be on good terms with the prince. Of course, if Carol continued to grow up as she is now, she would never do the evil act of trying to abort the prince’s child.[T/N: This sentence was a little unclear to me. I think it was referring to poisoning the female protagonist of the novel, not that Carol herself was ever pregnant with the prince’s child.] We would naturally drift away from capital punishment.

Carol shook her head as I tried to appeal to her.

You’re going to throw off your blanket, puppy.

“No, I know. But he only needs me because my father can help him stabilize his position.”

For a child, Carol had a good grasp of the situation. Her tutors did an excellent job of teaching her the basics. “That’s why I really hate him!”

I sighed. Well, it was better than her being desperately in love with him.

“By the way, Sharon.”

Carol’s smile showed that she was up to no good. At least I knew she wouldn’t hurt others as the original Carol would.

I nodded at her for her to continue.

“Come with me when I go meet him.”

…It seems that instead of bullying others, she chose to target me.

“What?”

“My mother said that I have to meet with him once a week… I really hate it, though. But I think I’ll be okay if you’re with me. How about it?”

“Maybe the crown prince wouldn’t like it—” I wasn’t really worried about that, but the whole situation would be troublesome.

“Don’t worry. He hates me the most!”

“…What are you talking about? That had nothing to do with what I was saying… A non-sequitur?”

“What’s a non-sequitur?”

Was that too advanced? I’m sorry.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, the prince might not like it if I go.”

“Hmm…. The prince won’t care!”

I squirmed, and Carol pulled out her puppy eyes.

No, what’s this?

In the two months since I came here, Carol had started to act more craftily. She noticed how I was weak to that face.

Instead of giving in to her, I knocked my knuckles on the book I was reading.

“Do you want to read this?” I asked.

“Will you come to the brunch party with me?”

“Ah…”

My attempt to change the subject and distract her had failed. Carol used to be so gullible, and I was unfamiliar with this new side of her.

I began to worry.

The emperor was a lusty man who bedded anyone whom he was attracted to, regardless of gender. The empress hated him, and she also hated the crown prince who strongly resembled him. Her attempt to put the prince on the throne was for her own satisfaction; there was no affection involved. In addition, the empress didn’t see the crown prince for himself. She was projecting the image of her firstborn son, who had passed away.

That wasn’t all. There were six prominent candidates on the list of possible successors to the throne, not including over 20 other half-brothers.

Could the crown prince have formed a proper, regal personality in such an environment?

The answer was no.

The crown prince had a personality as crooked as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Come to think of it, the crown prince and Carol were like mirror images of each other.

“It would be good if you two coupled up and didn’t bother other people…”

“What did you say?” asked Carol.

That you and the crown prince suited each other, I didn’t say. I just smiled vaguely and shook my head. “It’s nothing. I just need to meet him with you, right?”

“Yup! We probably won’t fight if you’re there.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

Carol huffed. “He’s a rude jerk! If you tell him not to do something, he goes right ahead and does it. He ignores everything you say, and if you try to get close to him at all, he just snaps at you!”

It sounded so familiar that I thought she was talking about herself for a moment. I could see the two interacting in my mind: like two stubborn mules facing off.

“But anyway,” I said. “Where did you learn the word ‘jerk’?”[T/N: The word that they use is ‘싸가지’, which isn’t technically a swear word but considered to be offensive nonetheless.]

Carol calmly gazed at me.

Oh. It was me.

My hand rose up to cover my lips. I should be more careful with my words.

“…I get it. I’ll go meet him with you. But Carol, what will you do for me in exchange?”

“Hmm… What do you want me to do? Oh, do you want my sherbet?”

As expected of a child to think, it was a childish suggestion.

Still, I burst out laughing. I knew how much Carol liked sherbet, so it would have been a great concession on her part.

Smiling, I offered an alternate solution. “I don’t really want sherbet. What if you read out loud to me for a week?”

At the rate we were going, I was bound to lose my voice.

Carol considered my proposal, and I could see the gears turn inside her head. “All right, but only for one week,” she said. Her voice was certain in her decision. She must have carefully considered the benefits. Carol spent as much time with me as possible recently, and this way, I would be by her side even more.

That was kind of cute.

I patted Carol on the head.

“Let’s get ready to go,” I said.

Only then did Carol emerge from the blanket.

“Okay!”

***

In the original story, Sharon didn’t meet the crown prince until Carol’s birthday party, when they were all 15 years old. In other words, this meeting was way ahead of schedule.

Sharon had fallen in love with the crown prince at first sight. The stupid girl’s eyes were captivated by the beautiful boy.

But I was confident that I wouldn’t be the same. Who could think of having a first love with a death flag on their back? Especially if that first love would lead to their death?

“Carol, what kind of person is the prince?” I asked.

We were on a carriage on our way to the brunch party, and Carol stuck out her lip, sulking.

“Why do you want to know? Are you going to be friends with him?
Is that a problem?

In exchange for becoming a bit nicer, Carol had started to become weird. She couldn’t stand it when I showed interest in anything or anyone other than her. She was obsessed with me like a baby duck that had imprinted on its mother.

“Why not? It would be nice if we all got along.”

Carol looked like she was going to throw a tantrum.

Hey. I didn’t say anything that warranted that sort of reaction!

“You should only play with me!” she said.

Oh, puppy. When will you grow up?

I brought out my sweet voice to appease her. I knew one word that would instantly make her feel better.

“I’m going to be friends with the prince, and I’m going to be friends with other kids, too. But Carol, I’ll only be your best friend. You’re the only one I’ll have sleepovers with and the only one I’ll read fairy tales to. You’re special.”

I made sure to emphasize the last word. It was cute how Carol giggled as my words soothed her hurt feelings.

This must be why people decide to have children.

It was actually lucky that Carol wasn’t interested in the crown prince. That was one of my initial goals. I didn’t know what direction life would take us, but it was a good sign that Carol wasn’t obsessed with the prince. Love made people crazy, and Carol’s love for the prince had broken her.

“…He’s got no manners,” Carol said, finally answering my initial question.

…Was she talking about herself again? Speaking of having no manners, who treated me like a maid upon our first meeting?

Also, she shouldn’t insult the prince so casually. It was like Carol wasn’t interested in staying alive.

But instead of ruining Carol’s mood, I just nodded.

Julien Urcan von Cosabalta.

That’s the name of the male lead. In another two years, Carol and he will enter a formal political engagement. Although they had known each other since they were young, Carol was different from the novel in that she thought of the prince as her enemy.

Was it because they’re too similar?

Carol sulked. “My mother said that she would kick me out if I didn’t meet with him. She said she wouldn’t even speak to me.”

Carol was emotionally frail, and it was awful of the duchess to take advantage of that to use her. Carol fell for the duchess’s tricks every time, but it was useless to try anything against her. As Duke Gratoni was my legal guardian, I had no power over her. I couldn’t even tell Carol about how messed up this was because the duchess might get upset, and I didn’t want to see that happen.

I didn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel to a child.

She has a tight grip on Carol’s wrist, almost as if she intended to break it. It was better to let the duchess do what she wanted. I didn’t want to see Carol hurt, not able to cry out and only letting her tears fall.

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

As we got closer to the venue, my heart began to pound. Tension swept through my body like I was an athlete at a marathon.

I would be all right. I wasn’t Sharon, and though the traces of Sharon inside me might react to the prince, I would suppress them. Carol was different now, but I too had to change my life.

It didn’t matter how lonely or hurt I would be. I just didn’t want to die.

***

The brunch party was specifically for children. Naturally, many nobles sent their children here to make friends their own age.

The most notable among these sorts was the crown prince, who was also the male protagonist. As expected, the male lead’s buff was not to be ignored. The male protagonist was handsome enough to go toe-to-toe with a TV star. He had blood-red hair and eyes so dark that you couldn’t make out his pupils. It was the first time that trait showed up in the imperial bloodline, and some thought it ominous. However, it was really pretty.

As Nara Lee, I loved the color red. One of the drawers of my wardrobe was specifically dedicated to red clothes.

“Is that him?” I asked.

“Yes. He’s ugly, isn’t he?” said Carol.

…I think Carol might have a slight problem with her sight.

Carol grasped my hand tightly as we headed to the table where the crown prince and some other boys were sitting.

“Long time no see, Carol,” said one of the boys. His name was Haru and he would play a big role in the plot as the prince’s right-hand man. “Who’s that next to you?”

“She’s my friend,” said Carol.

The crown prince briefly glanced at Carol, then turned away. It wasn’t even a proper greeting.

Wow. Eight years old and already so chic.