§Chapter 6§
When I came to my senses, I was already lying in the cradle in my room.
I made a small effort to lift my head and checked my hands. The bandages were neatly wrapped, soft and fluffy.
“Kids can be surprisingly meticulous.”
It was so tidy that I could hardly believe it was done by a child. Somehow, I barely felt any pain at all.
“Still, the situation is worse than I thought.”
From the incident with the maid, I realized that Dietrich’s circumstances weren’t much different from mine. Unlike me, he was a candidate for heir, but he had no backing like Yurik, and he seemed to endure every form of neglect imaginable.
“No wonder… even though I’m just a newborn, I’m supposed to be a princess, and Ransel kept tormenting me.”
The Dalia Palace where we stayed wasn’t just neglected; it was almost forgotten.
The allowance provided by the Lagrange family seemed almost nonexistent. Since neither Dietrich nor I had money to spend, Ransel and the maid’s salaries were tiny compared to the staff at other palaces.
“So that’s why Ransel and the maid dislike us so much.”
It must have been tough for them, sweeping and cleaning this huge palace while also caring for Dietrich and me.
“Still, tormenting kids like that…”
Even in my previous life, adults were rotten, and apparently, this book-world wasn’t much different.
To torment children over money!
“Pfft! Those little brats!”
I muttered angrily in my head at Ransel, who kept bothering me whenever I saw the maid who had refused to treat my wounds.
“Ah, I need to be able to speak soon.”
I felt like I needed to finally scold the maid—who had claimed I was going to die—properly.
I could understand what people said right from birth because of my past-life memories, so why couldn’t I speak?
Had my tongue not fully grown yet?
“Brrr!”
No matter how much I tried, proper words wouldn’t come out.
“Oh? What are you doing by yourself?”
Just like the saying “speak of the tiger,” Ransel appeared in the room.
“Baa!”
“Are you hungry?”
Even so, Ransel didn’t speak casually to me, a princess.
Well, at least he brought me food on time. I smiled and reached for the baby bottle he held.
“Hmm… what’s wrong with your hand, Princess?”
Ransel tilted his head as if seeing my bandaged hand for the first time. It seemed the maid hadn’t informed him about me and Dietrich.
“Did you get hurt?”
He lightly touched my bandaged hand once and then immediately lost interest.
“Well, as long as you’re not dead, that’s fine.”
His casual attitude irritated me—how could he act so indifferent when I was hurt?
“Hey, pay some attention! I’m hurt here!”
My cheeks puffed with dissatisfaction as I noticed Ransel’s aura, which had seemed normal when he entered, darken completely.
“His aura turns black every time he sees me.”
I assumed it was because he disliked me, but the mottled aura looked strangely artificial.
“Why should I care?”
“Ugh?”
“For the baby who caused Camille’s death!”
Ransel, who had been casually checking my hand, suddenly began to shout at me.
“Become white! Become white!”
Startled, I flailed my arms inside Ransel’s aura, which seemed to envelop me like a blanket.
“Ah… Isn’t this how Anissa purified people’s auras?”
Gradually, Ransel’s aura faded like water. I breathed a sigh of relief, observing him carefully.
“Right… the baby isn’t at fault.”
“It really works?”
The omnipotent goddess Eredia’s power didn’t just read people’s emotions; it could manipulate them to a certain extent. I guessed that this was why Anissa had survived in the Lagrange household.
“I’ll purify him every time I see Ransel.”
Maybe then he’d warm the bottle before giving it to me. Unaware of my little scheme to steal his heart, Ransel let out a deep sigh.
“I thought that if the young lord became an heir candidate, things might improve in the palace… sigh.”
“Baa?”
“Still not an official heir, huh? Ah, the pay’s tiny… I might as well quit.”
“Baa!”
Ransel muttered as he handed me the bottle. I nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, you brat, just quit!”
I didn’t need a troublesome servant like him. I hoped a slightly kinder staff member would arrive.
I didn’t need a gentle nanny, just a normal adult who wouldn’t pinch a baby.
“Speaking of which, young Lord Dietrich hasn’t had his meals for a while, yet he’s still alive.”
“Baa?!”
Ransel’s muttering startled me so much that I swallowed the milk wrong.
Coughing, he patted my back and continued.
“Strange… I don’t see Jeanine taking care of him.”
Ah, so the maid who shut the door so coldly was Jeanine.
“There probably isn’t even a crumb in the kitchen. How is he still alive?”
“Baa!!!” (These crazy people!)
“Quiet! The princess is feeding him!”
“Baa!!!” (Didn’t I just say I’m feeding him?!)
“So he’s been starving a six-year-old this whole time?!”
I wanted to shout at Ransel with all my might, but since I couldn’t speak, all I could do was fume inside.
“So this is the level of neglect Dietrich experienced in the novel!”
Now I understood how he survived after fleeing into the forest following his first defeat against the protagonist.
He probably learned to hunt animals in the forest because he wasn’t fed.
“If you gave birth, at least provide basic meals!”
I couldn’t understand why they would give birth out of selfishness and then neglect the child. The Lagrange family wasn’t exactly poor.
Now I understood why Dietrich became the villain.
“This family… they’re insanely deranged.”
Even Hermann, the classic hero of the fantasy novel who lived and died for justice, would probably have turned villainous under these circumstances.
The bigger problem? Dietrich’s situation wasn’t much different from mine. That meant I’d likely be treated the same way.
“Baa…”
I wondered if I’d starve once I grew too old to be fed with a bottle. Even while eating, my stomach felt hungry thinking of future starvation.
“Seeing you drink milk makes me hungry too.”
“Baa?!”
“Then stay here alone. I’ll be back in the evening.”
Ransel left the room as if he had fulfilled his duty, leaving me sulking. He acted as if spending more than ten minutes in the room would kill him.
“So sad…”
I held back the tears threatening to spill and rolled out of the cradle, clutching the bottle tightly. The milk inside sloshed beautifully. I hadn’t even finished half of it.
“At least I can bring this to Dietrich!”
How hungry must he be? The thought that no one fed a six-year-old was horrifying.
Humans naturally grow fond of those who provide them food.
“Alright! From now on, I’ll feed Dietrich!”
There’s a reason people say, “The one who gives you food is a good person.” I had to be a good little sister to Dietrich, the kind of sister who wouldn’t make him want to die.
According to Ransel’s muttering, the milk I was drinking was formula mixed with essential nutrients for infants.
“So even a child Dietrich’s age can safely drink it.”
I tucked the bottle into my snug clothing and hurriedly braced myself against the floor.
“Baa-baa!!!”
Ah! I’d forgotten my hand was injured.
The sting of pain made me shrink back instinctively.
I decided to move slowly and carefully rather than risk rushing. I might arrive later than planned, but Dietrich wasn’t running from me, so it was fine.
“Ah, since I’m going slowly, maybe I should check the mirror too!”
I changed my path toward the drawer.
“Now that I’m out of the cradle, I should see my face.”
I had planned to look after meeting Dietrich last time, but I passed out from pain before I could. I wondered how ugly I must be for Ransel to scold me about it every day.
“But in the novel, I was supposed to be pretty.”
Of course, the narrator, Anissa Euclid, wasn’t exactly reliable. People tend to judge themselves as three times more beautiful than they are. That’s why there were so many narcissists. Or maybe Anissa remembered any compliments she had ever received.
“Where did Ransel put the mirror again?”
Ransel was very conscious of his appearance, so he always held onto a small mirror even while taking care of me.
“I think he left it on the drawer.”
“Baa!”
Crawling with effort, I soon spotted the small hand mirror on the bedside table.
“Baa-baa-boo!”
I pushed up with my legs and hurriedly stood.
“Ughh.”
I now had enough leg strength to stand briefly and take a few steps. My exercises in the cradle were paying off.
“Baa…”
I slammed the mirror down onto the floor and checked my reflection in the reflection above.
“Yikes.”
Even covering my mouth, I couldn’t suppress my gasp.
“Oh my… this is too, too—”
