Chapter 7. I Became the Youngest Princess of Asura-Masura (6)
“…Cecil?”
“You said no?”
Mother and daughter both turned to look at me. I gripped the fork in my hand tightly and rolled my eyes.
‘I did it again without thinking.’
Should I just let them think it was a baby’s random outburst?
‘No, if I do that, they might stop listening to me altogether.’
It was getting frustrating as an adult in a baby’s body, constantly being dismissed just because I was a child—even though I understood everything.
‘…Yeah, maybe it’s not so bad to go with the genius baby concept. That way, I don’t have to keep pretending.’
Though it hadn’t been my intention, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
After all, even among babies, the smart ones are more lovable, right?
Relying on the affection and trust they’d already shown me, I decided to take a little risk.
I didn’t have divine power, so I needed a selling point—something to make me stand out.
“That’s disthcriminathion. Dis! Crim! I-nay-shun!”
“…Discrimination?”
Grace blinked as she tried to catch my meaning.
“There aren’t as many knights anymore.”
“…Right, we lost over half of the Holy Knights in the last battle.”
Grace’s face was still blank with shock. Hearing her baby sister suddenly speak with such logic must’ve felt surreal.
“…Good heavens, Cecil.”
Sorry, Mother. I really didn’t mean to make it this obvious I think like an adult…
“We have to rethore twust!”
“You mean… we need to restore trust…?”
Instead of saying more, I nodded my head firmly.
I wanted to speak in longer sentences, but even imagining forming more sounds in this clumsy baby speech was embarrassing.
‘They’ll figure it out on their own.’
Coming from a modern world in my past life, I couldn’t understand the practice of separating fallen knights into noble and commoner categories. As if commoners didn’t have families too…
Maybe it was because I’d once been a regular citizen myself, but I found myself empathizing more with the non-nobles.
“If they’re not treated well… the knight order won’t recover.”
Grace repeated my words under her breath.
“True. With more than half of the Holy Knights lost in this crisis, we need to recruit… If there’s discrimination in how the fallen are treated, even knights with high divine power might choose not to join.”
“…After all, even mercenary work would be enough to live on. Who would join the knights just to be discriminated against?”
Finally accepting the situation, Mother nodded in agreement with Grace.
‘Does this mean they’ll see me as useful now?’
Trying not to show my nervousness, I focused on the fruit pieces in front of me—playing the part of an ordinary toddler.
Grace, staring at me blankly, looked stunned.
“…Cecil’s grown up a lot.”
“Indeed. Children grow fast at that age… but really…”
“Yes, really…”
Their eyes locked on me again.
I swallowed a piece of mango and gave them a shy smile.
“I knew Cecil was special even from when she first started rolling over…”
“Exactly! Even her babbling was so logical…”
“She really is extraordinary…”
“Yes. This must be the will of the gods.”
“Indeed, with such intelligence… having divine power on top of that might have been too heavy a burden for a small child.”
“Maybe even my position would’ve been in danger.”
…Well, I doubt that.
‘Still… looks like I succeeded!’
Listening to my mother and Grace, I felt a wave of relief.
I’d revealed my adult-level thinking and made myself seem useful. Two birds with one stone.
‘…Now, I wonder what happened to that knight’s body? I hope he found peace. And that the baby found a new family…’
✧ ✧ ✧
“Cecil, you’re an angel as always.”
“Fadder, you’re here!”
“Did you enjoy your lesson today?”
“Yes, Lord Lentil taught me about the ancient kingdoms today.”
“Was it interesting?”
“Yes, I was curious how they traded with the northern continent since ancient times.”
“I’m glad Lord Lentil is a good teacher for you.”
Theodore grinned and cupped my cheeks in both hands before planting a kiss on my forehead.
Time flew, and I was now four years old.
They say time moves slower for children than adults, but as someone who had lived nearly thirty years across two lives, it didn’t feel that way to me.
That day’s bold act had brought unexpected rewards.
Even before my third birthday, Grace had requested a tutor for me.
“I read her books every night, and she understands even the difficult parts. Cecil is a future asset to my reign—I want to raise her well from a young age.”
“Ho ho, Crown Princess, are you already naming me emperor?”
Despite his words, Father was pleased. He immediately summoned Lord Lentil—a scholar from the Tower of Scholars who had also taught Rebecca and Theodore—to the palace.
‘Lord Lentil’s face when we first met—priceless.’
I felt the same way toward him as I did toward the eight knights assigned to guard me—a mix of guilt and amusement.
Rebecca and Theodore had only started studying at age five.
‘Still, once Lord Lentil realized he could actually have a real conversation with me, he got really into it.’
As a top scholar from the Tower, he treated me without prejudice. And I studied obsessively to make up for my lack of divine power. This only increased Lord Lentil’s enthusiasm.
‘I’ve even started learning royal etiquette now…’
Remembering my past life—and thinking like an adult—clearly helped me adapt to life as a princess.
I had no choice but to study, so I accepted it willingly.
In other words, I was already mature enough to live up to my royal status.
‘And let’s not forget, the superior royal genes probably helped with Cecilia’s intelligence.’
Thanks to that, I grew up as a clever and well-behaved four-year-old, loved by all—even without divine power. I even dutifully drank those bitter herbal tonics symbolic of overprotection.
“Theo, you couldn’t even read at Cecil’s age. Stop trying to ride her coattails.”
“Isn’t Cecil too smart? You always scold only me…”
“Shhh. It’s Cecil’s nap time.”
As usual, Rebecca and Theodore were bickering when Mother noticed I was getting sleepy and carried me to bed.
Her green eyes, which I inherited, overflowed with love as she looked down at me.
“Cecil, my beloved little one. When you wake up, the chef will have made your favorite duck leg confit.”
“Yaaay, duck confit…!”
I couldn’t help but grin, my eyes sparkling with excitement.
Mother smiled warmly, laid me down with her arm as a pillow, and stroked my face gently.
Ah… after using my brain so hard in this inefficient baby body, I drifted to sleep the moment I lay down.
“Sleep well, my sweet child…”
Her lullaby lingered softly in my ears, and the rhythmic pat on my shoulder lulled me to sleep.
So this is what a mother’s touch feels like… So warm…
The royal family’s love for Cecilia was as inevitable as gravity. There was no Newton here, but the pull was the same.
My parents, siblings, even the maids—everyone doted on me endlessly.
Probably because, as mentioned in the official royal genealogy, Cecilia looked like… well, a literal fairy.
Seriously. Now that I was out of the baby stage and into toddlerhood, even I had to admit I was adorable.
My shiny green-gold eyes and irresistibly squishy cheeks were practically a national treasure in the palace.
‘If I’d been born with this face in my past life, I’d have been the internet’s favorite niece.’
So, all I had to do was keep being a smart, pretty little sister. Totally harmless.
Whenever anxiety from my past life crept in, I’d bury myself in hard books and put on even cuter expressions.
As long as I didn’t “grow into” a weird adult face, maybe everything else would be fine.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Cecil?”
At a dinner hosted by Grace, who had taken the seat of honor, she asked me this question.
She had married last year and moved to Pomegranate Palace with her husband, Duke Edel. Once a month, she invited us to dine and spend time together as siblings.
At twenty-three, Grace already had the air of an empress.
Her deep blue eyes were sharp, her face hard to read, and she exuded dignity like a living embodiment of nobility.
I dangled my legs from my baby chair, feeling both flattered and squirmy under her gaze.
“I wanna be an admiral! To fight pirates in the North Sea!”
It was a random answer—just something I’d heard about earlier in class from Lord Lentil, who talked about trade with the northern continent.
“A… soldier? Wouldn’t it be better if you became my prime minister instead?”
“There are ways to fight pirates without joining the military.”
“You could pray for the North Sea victims instead.”
“Or start a charity foundation for the region with me?”
One after another, my siblings piled their own preferences on top of my innocent career wish.
Ah… Not having divine power meant I had no combat potential, hence the commotion.
As I chewed a small piece of meat that Rebecca had cut for me, I rolled my eyes.
“I just wanna help big sister, that’s all…”
When I pouted and fidgeted with my lips and fingers, all their faces softened into silly grins.
It was like I’d trained them with cuteness or something. Even though I hadn’t tried that hard, they were already deeply in love with Cecilia.
Pretending to be cuter than I actually was… turned out to be addictively easy.
Maybe this was the power of being born with a lovable face.
And to think I lived twenty-some years in my past life without knowing this.
‘And that’s why I…’
Hmm. That old sadness crept back again.
There were no wide rivers here to swallow my pain, no riverbank parks full of happy people where I sat alone.
Suddenly, dessert didn’t taste as good.
“Cecil, we ordered your favorite brownies for dessert today.”
“Yay! Bwowneee!”
Nope. Dessert tasted just fine.
“Be careful, the syrup’s hot.”
“Okay!”
In moments like this, family therapy in the current life worked best.
As I looked up and gave a big smile, Grace smiled back just as brightly.
‘Right. I’ll stick to the genius concept and never let them down. I can’t let go of this overwhelming love.’
