The Kids Have Changed - Chapter 9

Chapter 2. Why The Kids Changed

Carol had been acting depressed since Julien came to visit.

It was as if she had finally taken off her rose-tinted glasses and noticed the dead, brown grass on the road.

Anyway, she had been shocked pretty badly. I should have left her outside of the room.

It was difficult for me, too, because I didn’t know much about this. Raising kids is a lot different from volunteering as a tutor in college.

What should I do?

Despite my worries, Carol began to be more active again when it was time to meet with the prince once more.

“Let’s go!”

“Why are you so excited?” I asked.

To my relief, I hadn’t heard about the Empress doing anything bad to Julien the past week, but I haven’t seen him since last week either.

So, my heart jumped with a slight feeling of anxiety and relief.

Carol wrung her hands. “Let’s just hurry up and go!”

I couldn’t win against Carol.

As we entered the palace, I could see that there was something different about Julien’s smile. Maybe it was something in the tilt of his lips, but it was enough to reassure me.

It seemed that nothing had happened to him this past week.

The Empress greeted us with the same bright smile as before.

“Welcome, Miss Carol, Miss Sharon. You’re both beautiful as always.”

Her graceful facade didn’t look as good as it seemed before, now that I knew what sort of ugliness and scars hid beneath it.

“Thank you, your majesty. It’s a wonderful morning,” Carol and I chorused.

The Empress’s eyes wrinkled, and my ire grew when I saw her benevolent smile.

How could you be so cruel with a face like that?

Rather than feeling sorry for her, I resented her because she vented her pain onto a child, unable to take care of her own wound.

“Now, I think I will head back first today as well. I don’t want to be a hindrance as you three play. Julien, will you be able to take care of our guests properly?”

“Yes, mother.”

At his mature answer, the Empress smiled contentedly.

She looked like a monster. I clenched my fist.

Carol, frightened, stepped behind me and grabbed the back of my dress. When the Empress reached out to pat Julien on his shoulder, I saw Carol squeezing her eyes shut.

The Empress dotingly patted the prince’s shoulder, and he flinched. Finally, she left the garden.

Then, all of our tension seemed to fly away.

“…What. Why were you guys more nervous than I was?” asked Julien, his voice like a sigh.

Carol mumbled, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Carol pouted at his cold answer. Then, she whispered to me, “That jerk. I was worried for nothing.”

…Like I said, she hated him because the two of them are similar.

“It was nice of you to worry about your friend, Carol.”

Carol and Julien both turned on me at once.

“We’re not friends!!” they yelled.

Yeah, yeah.

They probably didn’t want to be friends, but the two of them combined could become the greatest of allies. They should think about it again.

“Sharon, we’re really not friends!” Carol denied. She went to the table and sat down.

I looked at the prince. Thankfully, Julien seemed to be in a good condition.

I carefully reached out toward him. My hand moved so slowly that it probably looked like it was in slow motion, but he didn’t push it away.

I grasped his arm, and Julien laughed awkwardly.

“You really are okay, right?” I asked, as kindly as I could.

Julien nodded.

“Look me in the eyes and answer me.”

“You… Aren’t you being too casual with me right now?”

I smiled at the crown prince, who was trying to nitpick over my manners.

I’m 35 years old, you brat.

“You told me to be more casual.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Don’t change the subject. Look me in the eyes and answer me. Are you all right?”

I heard Carol gulp beside me, as though she was nervous.

Julien’s eyes, as smooth as pebbles eroded by the air, turned to me.

I patiently met his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m all right.”

His eyes were sincere. Only then did I feel relieved.

I let go of his arm and sat back properly in the chair. Following my lead, Carol also sat up straight.

“So, what should we do today?” I asked. “What do you two usually do when you meet?”

“Us?”

“…”

Silence spread throughout the garden.

Hey, guys…?

The two of you see each other every week. Wasn’t it too soon to forget everything?

I was just about to ask again when Carol answered me.

“We just… sit down and drink tea… and read books together.”

“What book—”
Julien was about to say something, but Carol cut him off with a sharp glare.

What were they doing?

“Carol. You just kicked my leg,” I said.

“Hehe, I thought it was Julien,” Carol said, laughing. “This is how we play around.”

“…Something like that,” Julien agreed.

It was a weird way to play, but if they said so, I’d take their word for it.

Carol, drinking tea and reading? The combination seemed off, but I guess she couldn’t run around acting like a mischievous puppy when she was outside.

“Then, should we read a book today as well?”

“No!” Julien and Carol shouted.

Oh? It seemed like they did get along.

After they yelled in unison, they stared at each other, and I burst into laughter. “Okay. Then what do you want to do?”

With careful consideration, Julien replied, “Fishing.”

“Fishing? Why fishing…” My words trailed off.

I remembered when I first met Julien at the brunch party. There had been a boy at our table who boasted about his weekend fishing trip with his father and older brother. Julien had quietly and intently listened to his story.

Had he been jealous?

“Okay!” I said.

“Huh? I don’t want to go!”

I shrugged at Carol’s protest.

“We can go fishing today, and next week, we can make cookies. The week after that, we’ll go on a picnic. We can even come here a bit earlier to make our own sandwiches. How does that sound?”

At my words, Carol and Julien glanced at each other. I thought it was funny how both of their faces quickly wrinkled in distaste.

Hating each other wouldn’t be good for them. But, who knows? They might actually make a good match.

“Okay!”

“…I agree.”

With their agreement, I shook the small bell on top of the table.

A maid who had previously been near but out of sight approached us.

“Are there any streams near the palace where we can go fishing?” I asked.

“Yes. But, leaving the palace is…”

I smiled sweetly. “The young heiress of the Gratoni Duchy wants to go out. Do you think someone of her position needs to ask for permission?”

The maid quickly knelt on the floor and bowed.

I purposefully did not use the crown prince’s authority. This event would no doubt be relayed to the Empress, and I didn’t want her to end up blaming him.

“No! I shall prepare you a carriage and fishing rods post-haste, so please wait.”

“I understand.”

At my answer, the maid stepped back.

“Hmm. How many attendants will follow us?” I wondered.

“At least ten,” muttered Julien. “My mother won’t let me go with any less.”

I shook my head.

I should make sure that we are accompanied by either Madame DeJoue’s or Duke Gratoni’s people the next time we meet.

The Empress was trying to avoid conflict with Duke Gratoni, so she should allow his servants to escort us.

For the first time, I was thankful for Duke Gratoni’s power and his neutral faction.

“This will be fun,” I said.

Carol nodded enthusiastically while Julien gave a small nod. I smiled brightly at them.

***

I sat down comfortably next to Carol, who was quietly staring at her fishing rod. Julien was looking at his own rod with great care.

“Why can’t I catch anything?!” Carol suddenly yelled.

“Fishing is supposed to take time,” I told her.

Carol hmphed and shook her head. “What are you talking about? You already caught some.”

Carol and Julien were both novices at fishing, but I had already caught two. I yawned. “What about me…”

I wiped away the tears that had formed because of my yawn.

When I was living as Nara Lee, I used to go fishing by myself. This much? It was a piece of cake. I was the king of fish.

I felt my eyes slowly closing.

“Ah, I’m so sleepy.”

I couldn’t sleep well at night, so I had to take naps.

Also, my body was warm because it was the summer, and above us, the attendants had prepared an umbrella to shelter us from the scorching sun. The wind was blowing gently, creating the perfect place to take a nap.

My head nodded back and forth like a sick chicken. Julien tapped me to get my attention.

“Go to sleep properly,” he said.

“Okay… Wake me up when it’s time to go.”

With that, I stretched out on the picnic blanket.

Madame DeJoue and Madame Berna weren’t here to nag at me, so I laid down comfortably and closed my eyes.

It only took me a moment to fall asleep.

***

“…Tsk. She’s sleeping again,” Carol muttered.

Carol thought Sharon wasted too much time sleeping during the day. However, she couldn’t wake her up. She didn’t want Sharon to hate her.

Looking at Sharon’s pale face in the shade, Carol opened her mouth.

“So pretty. She’s like a princess.”

Hearing Carol’s murmur, Julien looked toward Sharon too.

“She sure is sleeping well.”

“Yup. Sharon’s like a cat.”

“What do cats have to do with sleeping?”

“I don’t know. Madame Berna said so. Hehe. But she’s really pretty. Sharon is much prettier than my doll.”

Julien stared at Sharon, then dipped his head in a small nod. She was like a mysterious fairy, or maybe like a mermaid from a fairy tale.

Julien looked down at Sharon’s small hand. With that hand, she had reached out to him.

Her pale hand had nails the color of a cherry blossom, and it innocently was laid beside him.

Not letting Carol notice, Julien touched that hand with his fingertip, and then took it back as her foot moved a bit.

Fortunately, Sharon didn’t wake up.

“Oh, I just remembered. Are you an idiot?”

Carol’s quiet screeching made Julien frown.

“What.”

“You can’t act like that in front of Sharon! What if we get caught?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t tell Sharon that we fought every day.”

Despite what they told Sharon, there had been many instances when they kicked each other or pulled the other’s hair as soon as they saw each other, though they did keep this a secret from the adults. For the most part, their relationship was one in which they didn’t even talk to each other.

“Ah,” Julien said quietly.

Carol frowned at the meaningless exclamation. She was certain that her words were going in one ear and straight out the other—because Julien’s eyes had been fixated on Sharon this whole time.

“Hey, don’t do anything Sharon would hate. Or if you do, do it alone. I don’t want to be hated by Sharon.”

Julien’s right eyebrow ticked upwards.