Chapter 10. I Became Friends with the Young Male Lead (3)
“…Pardon?”
Leopold’s eyes, filled with question marks, looked like they might fall out.
‘It’s common for late-blooming boys like Leopold to fall for mature girls. And with Cecilia’s looks…’
Yes, it was best to cut off any awkward vibes from the beginning.
I was quite satisfied living as an extra born with a diamond spoon, and more than anything, I had no intention of leaving this comfortable palace because of something as foolish as romantic feelings.
It might be a very early decision for a seven-year-old to make, but I wasn’t truly seven…
So this was the time to put a nail in it.
“I mean—did you fall for me because I’m pretty?”
There was a hint of sarcasm in my tone.
Like when Mary Jane and Patisha fussed over me, or when the escort knights puffed their shoulders while walking with me in the garden. Or when the new maids and cooks in the Freesia Palace greeted me with sparkling eyes…
When everyone in the palace looked at me like I was the most adorable thing in the world, treating me like fragile glassware—
At those moments, I couldn’t help but think:
‘I’m the same inside, so this must be all because of my looks in this life.’
I was being loved so much it was bewildering. And when it felt too strange, I could only look in the mirror to try and justify it.
To my potentially rude question, Leopold’s eyes sparkled as he replied,
“Your Highness is co-cool!”
“Okay, I’ll admit I’m cool. But your heart fluttering when you saw my face today—that’s just a normal reaction to being startled, not love.”
Leopold stared at my face, mouth slightly open, apparently not fully understanding what I meant.
‘Even though he’s smart, I guess he’s never thought about this stuff. Relationships are a different matter altogether.’
I pulled out the line I had prepared just for this moment, worried about the impact of Cecilia’s face. I’d been waiting to use this one.
“When you meet someone you like… you’ll hear bells ringing.”
“…Huh?”
“If you don’t hear bells, it’s not love.”
“Bells…?”
Leopold looked even more confused.
But this wasn’t some random nonsense.
“When I first saw the young lady… it was like I could hear bells. As if the heavens were telling me this woman would be the one to teach me love.”
That was what Leopold would say when he confessed to Amelie later.
If he says it himself, it must be true, right?
‘If I brainwash him like this, I won’t have to worry.’
Looking at him with a “you didn’t hear bells just now, did you?” expression, the little male lead still had his mouth hanging open.
I could easily guess that in that little head of his, he was developing some admiration for the eloquent princess.
‘You might not understand now, but someday you’ll realize how right this big sister was.’
Feeling somewhat relieved, I sipped the fruit iced tea Mary Jane had left for me.
Then Leopold tilted his head and asked,
“But Your Highness… do you really think people love you just because of your appearance?”
“Yeah. What else could it be?”
I answered without hesitation.
“Even the royal family?”
“Probably.”
Leopold hesitated, then cautiously spoke.
“I think… I would’ve liked you no matter what you looked like.”
What? You blushed because of my face earlier, and now you’re talking like you know something?
I didn’t hide my irritation as I looked at him, but Leopold just smiled brightly despite his fumbling words.
“Everyone at Freesia Palace spends so much time with you. And your family—of course they love you. They say looks don’t matter when it comes to loving family or friends.”
“Well, people are all about appearances.”
Isn’t it because my insides are the same as my past life, but I’m being loved this much now thanks to my changed looks?
‘Not all families love like this.’
Feeling annoyed, I said something mean.
“Isn’t it because you’re pretty too? Maybe the love you’re getting is similar to mine.”
“I… I didn’t think that. I would never dare…”
Leopold answered in a trembling voice, clearly flustered.
I had said it to fluster him, but seeing him actually upset made me feel a little guilty.
…Not like it would make up for anything from my past life.
After a short silence, Leopold spoke again.
“I was really sick until recently, and my family told me it’s enough that I’m alive and not in pain anymore.”
Right, that was part of his backstory. To justify his kind personality despite being the heir to a duke, he was portrayed as having been sickly as a child. That’s why this outing was his first time going far from home.
“They told me I didn’t need to study or do anything else. That this kind of love is something every family member deserves.”
“Even sickly kids look cute when they’re good-looking.”
I snorted in reply.
Thinking about sickly kids reminded me of my youngest sibling in my past life, who monopolized our parents’ attention due to poor health.
I unknowingly furrowed my brow.
But Leopold wasn’t discouraged by my reaction.
“When I heard there was a princess my age who was more mature and courageous than me… I already wanted to be friends. So I begged my father. Was it wrong for me to want to be friends with you before even meeting you?”
He looked like he might burst into tears.
‘Ah…’
Hearing that, I remembered the faces of my parents and siblings in this life—who looked lovingly at me even when I had that red, blotchy, and frankly ugly face from a lingering fever.
‘I know I’m being unreasonable.’
That didn’t mean I completely accepted Leopold’s beautiful words, but…
Seeing a child with a flushed face struggling to express himself, I couldn’t help but reflect on myself.
I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly to Leopold.
‘I’m not fit to call myself an adult…’
Even though I proudly thought I had the mind of an adult, I’d basically been taking out my past-life pain on a child in this life.
If anything was wrong—
*
My first meeting with Leopold ended on a vague, awkward note.
Feeling guilty, I pushed all the biscuits and chocolates the maids had prepared toward him. That’s when Leopold, thinking he had said something wrong, began to tear up.
‘Aren’t kids over this kind of thing by seven…?’
Not that I really knew what “normal” seven-year-olds were like. I tried my best to treat him kindly out of guilt.
“Your Highness isn’t going to eat more?”
“Nope. Just watching you eat makes me full.”
Being all affectionate like that—
“But sweets can rot your teeth, so make sure to brush as soon as you get home.”
“Br-brush?”
I ended up nagging him anyway.
‘We’ll keep seeing each other, so we’d better get along.’
As the duchess’s carriage took the fluffy-headed Leopold away from Freesia Palace, I reflected on what he had said.
‘Honestly, I probably would’ve been thrilled with Leopold no matter what he looked like.’
After all, what kind of young male lead in a romance fantasy isn’t adorable?
‘I always thought our family was kind and harmonious because everyone is beautiful, and I thought I received so much affection because Cecilia is beautiful…’
But if it had been the original Cecilia without me inside—maybe she would’ve grown up bright and pure like Leopold, without all my tangled baggage.
Having the mind of an adult was definitely useful for living as a princess. But for the first time, I began to think that it also made me misjudge others due to my own biases.
“Your Highness finished reading The Prince already? Amazing!”
“How can you identify apple varieties so well? Your taste buds must be extraordinary!”
“How do you take medicine so easily? I always struggle…”
Every time Leopold came to visit—twice a month—he admired me for something or other. His sparkling green eyes were always so sincere.
“You must be mature because you read ancient scripture too, Your Highness.”
“Leopold, but you’re not in love with me, right? You didn’t hear any bells, did you?”
“Nope, no bells.”
After seeing each other more times than I could count on two hands, we naturally began calling each other by nicknames.
‘There’s a scene in the original where Amelie gets jealous over the nicknames, so this is something I needed to do.’
Confident it wasn’t anything romantic, I began to accept Leopold’s affection as simply childish affection.
At least, I told myself it was childish. Maybe Leopold was just expressing closeness in a way that fit his age…
Still, I couldn’t help pausing every time he said something so affectionate.
‘Maybe he’s only acting so admiring because Cecilia’s beautiful and that makes him want to get closer to her.’
Even though I knew that was the wrong way to think.
And not just that. Maybe because I’d never experienced such blind friendship in my past life, I couldn’t help but be wary of the shape of Leopold’s heart.
Though he was naturally sweet, that didn’t make it easier.
‘I don’t want to mess up anything in this perfect “male-lead-growing-up” world.’
As long as this world stayed stable, I could enjoy a peaceful golden age with no hardships.
The world that had been instilled in me as my salvation since I was a child.
But then—
“Cecilia, do you have a moment?”
It was my third sister, Rebecca, who came to find me in my study.
