“Is His Majesty here?”
The sound of my father entering was followed by the greetings of the nanny and the maids.
“Are the Princess and Prince doing well today?”
I saw a silhouette approaching the bed while questioning the nanny. At the sound of the visit from the father who had imprisoned me in my previous life, my entire body went stiff.
“……”
Up close, Father looked much younger than in my last memories of him. With blonde hair that shimmered like liquid gold, the characteristically ornate and beautiful appearance of the Imperial family, and heterochromatic eyes with a chillingly sharp gaze—he was striking. Because both Lucas and I inherited those eyes, it felt as though our end was a preordained catastrophe.
Father stood by the bed and looked down at Lucas and me lying side by side.
‘I really can’t avoid this now.’
Looking at Father’s face, I realized this was a reality I could no longer deny.
“Kyahat!”
“……”
Unlike Lucas, who let out a high-pitched cry of joy as if he knew exactly who it was, I felt the energy drain completely from my body.
“Why is the Princess so limp?”
Father frowned at my unresponsive, sagging form—so different from Lucas—and questioned Leni.
“That is…”
“Speak at once.”
Father pressed Leni, his voice as sharp as a well-honed blade.
“She was certainly fine until a moment ago… but she suddenly started hiccuping, and then…”
Leni spoke in a shrinking voice, seemingly startled herself by my sudden lethargy.
“A child who was perfectly fine just now has ended up in this state?”
“…Yes.”
“Is that what you call an answer? You, who are the nanny to these children!”
“Huu…”
“Hi….”
“Waaaaah!”
At Father’s thunderous shout, Lucas whimpered before bursting into tears.
“Hic!”
I, too, began to hiccup again.
“Your Majesty… You are frightening Their Highnesses.”
Silvia spoke to Father while hunching her shoulders, clearly worried about our condition.
“Bring the Royal Physician immediately.”
Father didn’t even acknowledge Silvia’s words, giving the order directly to the Head Attendant. A short while later, a Royal Physician with a neatly tied white beard rushed into the room, panting for breath.
“I, I greet—huff—His Imperial Majesty.”
“The Physician shall examine the Princess’s condition and report at once.”
Father ordered the examination without even giving the man time to catch his breath.
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty. Huff, puff.”
The Royal Physician panted heavily and bowed his head before approaching me.
“……”
I lay there still, offering no reaction to the Physician’s touch. After looking me over, the Physician turned toward Father with a troubled expression.
“What is the Princess’s condition?”
Father, who had stepped back from the bed for the examination, asked with a freezing glare. Everyone else in the room also fixed their eyes on him, waiting for him to speak.
“Do not hesitate. Speak.”
“It is…”
The Royal Physician squeezed his words out, overwhelmed by Father’s aura.
“It—it seems the Princess has developed a newborn fever, as is common for children of this age.”
“A newborn fever?” (TN: Taeyeol – a Korean term for infantile seborrheic dermatitis or heat rash in babies.)
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Princess’s temperature has risen, but she should be fine if her body is wiped down to keep her cool and she is allowed to rest.”
The Royal Physician bowed apologetically as he delivered the diagnosis.
“It seems I have appointed an incompetent rat who merely eats up his salary to be a Royal Physician.”
“P-pardon?”
At the Emperor’s sudden words, the Physician let out a bewildered sound.
“A fever suddenly appearing in a child who was perfectly fine?”
“Y-yes. That is correct.”
“And all you have to say is that she will recover with a wipe-down and rest? Is that truly all?”
“Well, you see…”
“I am asking if that is truly the extent of the child’s condition.”
I snapped out of my daze at the sound of Father’s low voice, which sounded ready to take the Physician’s head at any moment. Seeing the fear in the Physician’s eyes, I realized he was in a bind.
‘He’s going to end up burying an innocent man at this rate.’
The fever was likely just due to my own internal frustration and stress.
“Hau.”
I let out a small whined and a sigh to save the struggling Physician.
“……”
Father, who had been hounding the Physician, turned to look at me upon hearing my whine. I wondered if that cold gaze held any sincere worry for me.
“……”
“……”
Hiding the intimidation I felt from my past life’s memories, I locked eyes with Father.
“Abua.”
“…She seems to be alright.”
As I opened my tiny mouth to babble, Father nodded.
“Kwaua?”
While I was having a silent staring contest with Father, an annoying sound broke the tension. That oblivious brat.
“Babu.”
I narrowed my eyes and cursed at Lucas, who was smiling like an idiot.
“Unlike the Princess, the Prince is quite… cheerful.”
I wondered if that was actually a compliment. Lucas gave a harmless smile, looking back and forth between Father and me. I turned my head away sharply.
“Nannies.”
Father withdrew his gaze from us and called the nannies standing behind him.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leni and Silvia answered simultaneously.
“Do not take your eyes off the children for even a single moment today.”
“Yes, we shall follow your command.”
Leni and Silvia bowed their heads. As Father nodded, the Head Attendant approached his side.
“Your Majesty, the meeting is about to begin.”
At his words, Father looked at us one last time and left the room. Only then did the tension bleed out of me, and a wave of sleepiness washed over.
“Are you sleepy, Princess?”
Feeling my eyes grow glazed, Leni gently patted my stomach.
“Sleep well.”
Through my fading consciousness, I thought I heard Leni whispering a lullaby.
“Ha-am.”
Because I had skipped dinner and fallen asleep early, I woke up in the predawn hours.
“Ha-um.”
Yawning, I barely managed to lift my head to look around. I saw Silvia dozing off in a chair next to the crib. Judging by the soft, steady breathing beside me, Lucas was still asleep as well.
In the silence that came for the first time since my regression, I was reminded of the day I was first imprisoned in my past life. I had been trapped for seven years, died, and returned, yet it still felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
“Hua, hua.”
To steady my fluttering heart, I moved my small mouth, practicing breathing in and out to calm myself. Whether it was a prank of the gods or a divine trial, it was clear this was a new opportunity.
‘I don’t want to live a life where I stay still and die at Lucas’s hands again.’
I made a vow of rage over and over again.
“Oh my, the Princess is awake. Did you sleep well?”
I didn’t know when the shift had changed, but Leni was smiling at me instead of Silvia.
“Eueung. Ugya?”
Seeing me wide awake, Leni smiled with her eyes and kissed my cheek.
“I dreamed of the Princess last night. You were like a little angel.”
Leni chatted away about her dream as if we were having a real conversation. As she talked, she lifted my bottom, sniffed, and tapped my diaper.
“Ukka!”
To think she’d sniff and touch the Imperial Princess’s bottom again.
“No ‘poo-poo’ yet? I don’t smell anything, but I’ll change you anyway so you stay nice and dry.”
“Buuuu!”
The shame of having my diaper situation exposed so bluntly made me babble in protest.
“Let’s see how our Prince fared through the night.”
“Abuu.”
Unlike me, who was trembling with humiliation, Lucas—whose mind was apparently a flower garden—was drooling and sucking on his finger. Leni checked our diapers and pulled two fresh ones from the drawer attached to the bottom of the crib.
“I’ll get you into fresh diapers and then get your ‘num-nums’ ready.”
“Kyarara.”
“……”
I couldn’t believe he was that happy over something so trivial. It’s just a piece of cloth around your butt. I ignored the nanny’s words and stared at Lucas, who looked blissfully happy to have a dry diaper.
He’s just a baby, after all, I thought, but then a sudden sense of refreshment washed over my own body.
“Huau!”
Once changed, I realized just how damp and uncomfortable the diaper I’d worn all night had been.
“Feels good to be dry, doesn’t it? Now, let’s get you both fed.”
“Daua.”
“Kya-kya.”
Leni handed the two damp diapers to a nearby maid and told her to bring milk from the kitchen. A moment later, the maid returned with two bottles at the perfect temperature. At the sight of the bottles, a wave of hunger hit me.
“Udau.”
I flailed my arms toward the bottle, desperate to eat. Leni took the bottles from the maid and popped one into each of our mouths.
“Uchu-chup.”
As soon as the nipple touched my lips, I sucked frantically, forgetting even to breathe.
“Oh my, the Princess must have been very hungry.”
“Dau.”
While sucking with all my might, I turned my head to see Lucas also putting his heart and soul into his bottle.
It would be a long time before our successor training began, but sprouts are best trampled early. To do that, I had to grow healthy and strong first.
“Chup, chup.”
“Take your time, Princess. No one is going to take it from you.”
Oblivious to my resolve, Leni just laughed, thinking I was cute.
“Burp.”
“……”
Lucas had already finished his bottle and was already burping. He really is a creature of pure instinct.
“BUUURP.”
“Our Princess has such a refreshing burp, too.”
“Hau.”
If a baby drinks milk, burping is a matter of great importance.
Pooo-ong.
Just as I was awkwardly smacking my lips at the leftover milk, a different kind of “refreshing” sound echoed from below.
“Kyau!”
Between the burping above and the passing gas below, I couldn’t lower my guard for even a second around Lucas.
“Ha… Gasp!”
As I inhaled, I flinched and held my breath at the unfamiliar scent spreading through the air.
“Kyaha!”
As long as this smelly fellow is beside me, I will never allow myself to become weak.
