The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 7

***

The week passed by quickly, and it was soon time for Carol to visit Julien again. As I had promised her I would, I had to tag along.

“Is this really going to be okay…?” I murmured.

“It’s okay! I won’t be scared if you’re with me,” said Carol.

Carol was excited because this was my first time going to the palace. We got onto the carriage together.

“I wasn’t scared when Mother came with me, but now it’s better because you’re here!”

It was heartbreaking to see how much Carol relied on her cruel mother. But seeing Carol laugh so happily, I started to laugh as well.

I was glad. At least I could be here for you.

***

The Empress welcomed me and Carol with an inscrutable sort of smile. Prince Julien sat beside her, elegantly taking a sip of his tea.

Was he born like that?

Then, as we entered into their space, I witnessed a bizarre scene.

“Your Imperial Highness, Carol Benice von Gratoni greets you.”

Uh. What? Why was she acting like this? Was she sick?

It was the first time I had ever seen Carol act so courteously, and I was briefly mesmerized by the scene.

But I also had to do my part, rather than stand around like an idiot.

“It’s an honor to meet you, your Imperial Highness. I am Sharon of Atrina.”

“Welcome,” said the Empress. “I see that the young miss Sharon will join us today. I hope that you continue to visit the palace in the future and become good friends with Julien.”

Hmm. I guess I don’t need to worry about whether I’m welcome at the palace in the future.

I watched closely as the Empress reached out her hand and patted the prince’s arm. He flinched, then turned to me with a feigned smile.

…Was he really a child?

“Lady Sharon, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope that we will get along.”

“…Me as well, your highness.”

When Julien and I finished exchanging our greetings, the empress stood up, wearing a smile that looked like it was painted on her.

The elegance of her motion felt unnatural, but I didn’t know why.

Before I could shake off these strange thoughts, the Empress spoke. “Well, it’s time that I go out of your way so that you children can become friends. Please feel welcome here, as if this were your own home.”

“Thank you, your highness,” said Carol and I in unison.

The Empress did not respond to us. She was staring straight at the crown prince, whose shoulder she was still holding. “Can you take care of things from here?”

“Yes, Mother.”

The Empress left.

It was only then that Carol revealed her true colors again. She bounced across the room and sat across from the prince.

“Hey, what’s up with your face?”

…Where did she learn to talk like that?

As I scratched my head, I went to sit down between the two.

Julien curled up the corner of his lips. “What about you?” he said. “You’ve become even uglier than before.”

…What was wrong with these kids? I felt like I was stuck between two raging bears.1

“This is why nobody wants to play with you!”

“Nobody wants to play with you, either!”
Looking at their fight, I could see why they didn’t like each other. It was definitely because they were too alike.

Honestly.

“…I have Sharon!” yelled Carol, pulling me into the conversation. I would have preferred to continue being left out, though.

Julien stared at me, and I shrugged.

I didn’t want any trouble. “Whatever you’re thinking…”

The prince’s lips were pinched at my words. He looked displeased.

What exactly did I do wrong here?

“It’s nothing. More importantly, why did you bring her here?” He gestured to me.

Carol crossed her arms and smiled. “To brag! You’re totally jealous, aren’t you? Sharon also tied my hair for me today!”

That was why it looked so messy, puppy.

I closed my eyes. She shouldn’t have told him that I did it…

“So what? Your hair’s really disheveled.”

“Dis- disheveled? What does that mean?”

That Carol. This is why I told her to read more books.

“It means it looks messy.”

At Julien’s point, Carol bit her lip.

These kids really don’t get along. They should really stop talking about her hair.

I scooted my chair backward, not wanting to get caught in the fight.

“You bastard!”

“Carol! What are you saying?!” I yelled, before Julien could even react. Where did a kid learn such filthy language?

Carol looked stunned by my reaction. But this sort of language just wasn’t acceptable. I glared.

She turned her head, and she saw Julien looking as well. She jumped to her feet.

“I hate you, Sharon! And I hate you even more!”

Carol jumped onto the prince.

“Hey, you can’t—!”

My words echoed back to me, seeing as nobody was listening. Before I could stop her, Carol bit Julien’s arm.

“Carol!!” I screamed.

Simultaneously, Julien paled and pushed Carol away in a cold sweat.

“W-what is it?” said Carol, who seemed flustered. “I didn’t bit him hard. Julien, what’s wrong? I only pretended to bite.”

Carol ran over to my side, startled. To be honest, I also knew that Carol wouldn’t bite him seriously, even if she did run a bit wild.

“Carol, we’ll talk more about this when we get home.”

Hearing my words, Julien flinched like a kicked puppy, sweating. I approached him.

“Don’t, don’t touch me.”

I stopped the hand that tried to push me away, and carefully, I rolled up the sleeve of his coat.

“No…” I breathed.

There was a red bruise on his arm that was painful just to look at. At my reaction, Carol came over as well.

“Huh…? Did I do that? It, it can’t be…”

“It wasn’t you, so buzz off!” Julien nervously pulled down his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Carol’s words from before echoed in my head.

‘You know… There’s a scary lady at the palace. It’s Julien’s mother… She keeps looking at me with scary eyes. Julien is also really scared of her too.’

‘Julien said that his mom is the most pitiful and hurt person in the world, so he has to be understanding. But it’s scary to watch. She always gets so angry.’

And earlier, when the Empress grabbed his shoulder, Julien definitely flinched with fear.

…What have you done to an innocent child, Empress?

There was nothing like this in the novel. But… it did say that the crown prince always wore long sleeves when he was young…

I grabbed my head and sighed.

First, I glanced about at our surroundings. There was no telling who was watching us.

“I see. There’s nothing wrong,” I said.

“Sharon, what are you talking about? Just now—”

“Shh.”

I gave Carol a sharp warning with a look and carefully examined Julien’s pale face.

Then, trying to sound as natural as possible, I said, “Carol, you should apologize.”

“Huh? Oh… I’m sorry, Julien.”

Carol, who was hiding behind my skirt, apologized meekly. She looked discouraged by my reaction, as if she thought it was her fault. I couldn’t do anything about it right now, though.

There was no telling how the Empress would react if she knew that we knew.

I responded by holding Carol’s hand and squeezing it tight.

“It’s fine,” Julien said coldly, clenching his jaw. “Sit down and finish your tea, then go home. I think I’ll head back now.” He stood up. I clenched my fist as I saw him stagger and gasp in pain before he walked away.

“Sharon…”

“Oh, it’s nothing important. Should we finish our tea and leave?”

“I don’t want—”

I pulled on Carol’s hand, which I was still holding. It was important to act like we knew nothing.

“Yes, I’ll drink.”

Once I made sure Carol sat down and drank her tea, I sat down as well.

The Imperial Palace was darker than I had thought… It was cruel.

***

The first thing I did once we got home was soothe Carol. She had been biting her nails with an anxious look, so shocked by my reaction.

“It wasn’t your fault, Carol. He wasn’t hurt because of you.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. So it’s okay.”

Carol had been sitting on the couch across from me, but she now moved quickly to my side. She hesitated, then grabbed my hand.

“I’m sorry that I shocked you earlier,” I said. I was definitely too harsh in the moment.

“Nuh-uh. It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine. I comforted Carol, who was holding onto my hand.

“But it was still wrong for you to bite the prince,” I told her.

“Huh?”

I pinched Carol’s cheek, and she looked away as if she was trying to avoid the conversation.

“It was wrong. And you shouldn’t say bad words, either.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Where did you learn them, anyway?”

“M-my mother…”

They were both mad, the Empress and the Duchess.

“Don’t repeat those words again. They’re not nice.”

Carol nodded her head without hesitation. “Okay.”

“Good. And if you promise not to swear, I’ll even grant you a wish.”

“Wow! Really?”

It was only then that Carol began to smile brightly again. I had been worried about how quiet she was being, but it looked like she already had something in mind. It was lucky that Carol was a simple child.

“Hmm… Well, I want to bake cookies!”

…I’ve never baked anything before. I guess I just had to learn how.

“I saw Katrina at a meeting I went to with my mom, and she kept bragging about how she made cookies with her mom. But they didn’t even taste good!”

I lightly smacked Carol’s head for being mean on purpose. It was obvious what she was going to say next.

“I can do it better! So let’s make them together, Sharon.”

Of course that’s what she asked for.

“Okay. But in exchange, keep your promise. If you don’t, then we won’t bake together ever again.”

“G-got it!”

I let go of Carol’s cheek as she nodded her head.

Now, I’ve dealt with Carol’s problem.

The other problem is the crown prince.

Carol was excitedly planning what cookies to bake, and I fell deep into thought.

What could I do for him?

***

Avoiding Carol’s attention, I asked Madame DeJoue to find out about the relationship between the prince and the Empress.

That evening, Madame DeJoue presented me with the information, which was just as I expected.

“They say that the Empress is obsessed with the crown prince because she lost her firstborn son… She raises her hand against him for little infractions. But nobody dares to stop her because she is the Empress.”

I listened to Madame DeJoue without a word.

The Empress lost her first son because of the First Consort.

Her child was the firstborn son of the Emperor, but he was caught up in the political strife and sent to war, where he was trampled by horses. The horse was apparently excited because it was stabbed with a needle, and the prince, whose skull had split apart at the force, died screaming.

When I read the novel, I had thought the Empress was so pitiful.

But that was before I knew that she had been taking out her unresolved anger on the crown prince.

1: In the original text, Sharon actually refers to being a shrimp whose back gets broken during a fight between whales. It’s a strange Korean idiom.