§ Chapter 13 §
Even though he told me to wait, I sat still in the garden like a fixture, but Dietrich never came—not even when night fell.
Clutching my hungry stomach and groaning, I eventually dragged my shivering body back to my room.
‘Liar.’
Resentment welled up to the tip of my throat, but what could I do? It just meant I hadn’t completely won Dietrich’s heart yet.
‘Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to approach him even more actively.’
After all, whenever I sought him out, he never outright avoided me.
‘Ugh, I’m so hungry I can’t even sleep.’
Tears of hunger leaked out until I finally dozed off.
From the day Dietrich annoyingly ate up all the roasted sparrow by himself right in front of me, I started being given food other than just milk.
“Here you go, porridge. The porridge you’ve been waiting so eagerly for.”
“Thank you, Lanse.”
I bowed my head politely to Lancel, who handed over the bread as if he were doing me a favor, and gave him a bright smile.
‘Finally, something to chew!’
“Drink your milk too.”
“Lanse, you’re the best.”
It wasn’t particularly delicious, but when soaked in milk, the rough bread softened, and that alone moved me.
‘Now I get why Euric was so touched by cookies.’
They say hunger is the best seasoning, after all.
Liatris’s children wouldn’t even glance at black bread, but for me, it was more than enough.
Because of the bread, I could even leave more milk behind. Dietrich, who knew how to hunt, was better off than me, but even so, I brought him milk whenever I could. It was the only kind of “bribe” I had.
“Dittri!”
“…What, again.”
“Dittri! Drink milk!”
“I don’t need it.”
“I have cookie too.”
When Dietrich refused the milk, I reluctantly pulled out the cookie I had stolen from Lancel. I was a bit reluctant to share now that my teeth were strong enough to chew hard biscuits.
“Eat cookie!”
“……”
“Eat a lot! Got it?!”
Instead of eagerly accepting the cookie I held out, Dietrich just looked down at me with an unreadable expression.
‘Ugh, his aura is so gloomy I can’t read him at all.’
“Where did you get this?”
“Stoaled it.”
I puffed out my chest proudly as I answered.
Sometimes Lancel would mutter:
‘Why do the snacks keep disappearing?’
And squint suspiciously at me, but he never managed to find any evidence.
‘He won’t report me… right?’
Bringing little things to Dietrich while keeping an eye on Lancel turned out to be more effective than I expected.
Now, Dietrich rarely refused the food I gave him. The funny part was, as one of the heirs-apparent, he no longer had to worry about meals anyway.
“You eat that. Milk’s enough for me.”
He said this as he opened the lid of the bottle I had handed him earlier.
Gulp, gulp.
‘Ah, look at him drink.’
Watching Dietrich swallow the milk so smoothly made me feel oddly proud, as if I were the one raising him.
‘Yes, all of that will become flesh and blood. Grow big and strong—!’
…And become a villain.
‘Oh dear.’
The thought of a grown Dietrich committing terrible deeds made me pout.
‘Still, I have to like him.’
Otherwise, all the milk and cookies I gave him would feel wasted.
“Obba, bye-bye.”
Clutching the empty bottle he had drained, I toddled toward the door. I had to be back in my room before Lancel returned.
‘Well, last time he didn’t even notice I was missing.’
Lancel was supposed to be my caretaker, but he paid shockingly little attention. One time, I’d even fallen asleep in Dietrich’s room, and he hadn’t noticed.
He must have thought I was just quietly napping on my bed.
‘Such a wage thief.’
Sure, he was probably paid less than servants in other palaces, but still—what a cushy job.
“Hey.”
At Dietrich’s voice, I stopped at the doorway and turned back.
Why did he always call me “hey”?
‘Wait… does he not even know my name?’
“Dittri. I’m Anissa.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m Anissa.”
“You’re… not messy?”
‘No! I said my name is Anissa!’
He understood me perfectly well at other times!
“Come here.”
‘What, you could’ve called me earlier.’
Grumbling, I waddled back toward Dietrich. By now, I was pretty used to walking and could even run a little.
‘Good job, my legs!’
Sometimes I patted my plump little thighs, proud of my sausage-like limbs.
“Uung?”
As I came closer, Dietrich stretched his hand toward me. When he opened his fist, a large cherry appeared.
‘A cherry?’
The bright red fruit looked impossibly precious—something you could never find in the withered rose forest.
“Can you even eat this?”
He offered it to me cautiously, as though he’d found a wild animal.
“Yes!”
I quickly nodded, afraid he’d change his mind.
“I can eat it!”
“Dittri, thank you!”
More than the fruit itself, I was deeply moved that Dietrich thought of giving me something to eat.
As they say, food is the surest way to tame children.
‘He must really like me now!’
Among all the days I’d worked hard to bring him milk and snacks, today felt truly monumental.
Dietrich looked at me impassively as I clasped my hands together and beamed.
“Dittri, you’re the best.”
“…Sure.”
“Dittri, thank you.”
I rubbed the cherry on my clothes to clean it, then popped it in my mouth and chewed.
“You really are like a chick,” he muttered as I ate, but I ignored the remark.
“Want another?”
“Yes!”
The first cherry I had ever eaten since being reborn was so delicious it brought me to tears. The tangy juice was almost overwhelmingly stimulating.
‘This sweet and sour taste—amazing!’
“Why are you crying again?”
‘Try living on nothing but black bread and milk. Then you’ll know how heavenly fruit tastes.’
Seeing my eyes water from joy, Dietrich looked a little flustered. Worried he’d misunderstand, I gave him my brightest smile.
“I’m not crying!”
‘I’m smiling, not crying!’
Only when I grinned so wide my cheeks hurt did his frown ease.
“Are all babies like you?”
“Uung?”
He looked at me blankly before adding indifferently:
“I wouldn’t know. All the other babies are dead.”
…Well then.
Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that. Forcing down the cold sweat that prickled my back, I reached toward the bed he was sitting on.
“Wanna go up.”
I struggled to climb the bed, nearly my height, until he finally grabbed me by the scruff and lifted me.
‘Wow, he even helps me now.’
It’s called the exposure effect—humans naturally warm up to those they see often. Whenever Lancel wasn’t watching, I stuck to Dietrich like glue. And now, I could tell my efforts weren’t wasted.
“Why are you sitting there?”
He was at the corner of the bed, so I scurried closer and buried my face against his leg.
“Dittri!”
When I rubbed my cheek against his leg, he pushed my head away.
“Go away.”
“I like Obba!”
But I refused to budge. This wasn’t calculated skinship to raise affection—it was pure gratitude.
‘The future villain shared a cherry he worked so hard to get!’
When bad kids do one good thing, it feels more moving than when good kids do it.
“I like Dittri!”
“…Fine.”
“I really like Dittri!”
“Whatever.”
No matter how much I declared my affection, Dietrich barely reacted. For a child, he was unbelievably cold—icy to the bone.
‘It’s been over a year since I saw this face, and I still sometimes stare at the mirror because I’m so cute!’
But he stayed indifferent to an adorable baby like me. His heart must be made of ice. I absently fiddled with my fluffy, cotton-candy curls.
‘Why doesn’t he find me cute? Is it because we’re both kids?’
“Want more?”
“Yes!”
“You sure eat well.”
I giggled as I accepted another cherry from him.
“Picked it up at another palace.”
“…Uung?”
“Well, it’s probably not poisoned.”
‘WHAT! You should’ve said that first, you brat!’
“Wha—?!”
At his words, I froze, unable to swallow the cherry I was chewing. So maybe he didn’t like me as much as I thought after all.
‘Of course. Villains don’t get won over that easily!’
Dirt was one thing, but poison? That was serious.
“Nooo! No poison!”
My throat suddenly felt hot after swallowing the cherry. I clutched it with both hands, eyes filling with tears.
“A-am I gonna die?”
Dietrich watched me with an indifferent gaze, then slowly opened his mouth.
“…Who knows.”
