#027. A Child Who Would Appeal to Adults
Unlike Blanche, who fell fast asleep as soon as she finished dinner after running around all day, Melchizedek had spent a relaxed and leisurely day. So even after dinner, he still had enough energy to calmly visit the Empress Dowager.
“You called for me, Mother?”
The Empress Dowager, Rachia B. Pendleton, greeted her son while still tending to a bonsai tree. Trimming a tiny tree in a small pot, Rachia opened the conversation with a question of well-being.
“So, how is your brother doing?”
She was asking about the elder son. A mother asking her younger son about her elder son’s well-being—it was an odd sight. Yet Melchizedek answered naturally.
“He’s doing very well.”
“Good. Then there’s nothing more to say. He’s already reached the highest position at the age of twenty—what more could one ask for besides good health?”
It was a question too awkward to answer, so Melchizedek let it slide.
“I assume you didn’t call me just to ask about my brother.”
Rachia curved her lips in a slight smile and finally turned her eyes to her son.
“You’re in quite a hurry today, unlike usual.”
“At my age, I should be in bed by 10. So I thought we’d get straight to the point, talk quickly, and I’ll get to sleep quickly.”
It was a logical excuse. In truth, Rachia hadn’t summoned her son at this hour just for idle chatter, so she smoothly got to the point.
“Right. What kind of child is this Blanche?”
Melchizedek, unusually, paused before answering. Rather than thinking it over, it was more like reviewing a conclusion he had already reached.
“She’s the kind of child who would appeal to adults.”
It was a strange evaluation. If he had said she was a good or bad kid, clever, or flattering, it would have been easier to understand. But “a child who would appeal to adults”?
Especially strange coming from a five-year-old.
“Does that mean you don’t like her?”
“No, she’s actually quite nice. She’s the first among my peers I can really talk to.”
Tilting his head slightly, Melchizedek continued slowly.
“But when I look at how she acts, she really seems like a child tailored to please adults. You know how adults don’t like kids who act too much like kids, but also get uncomfortable when kids act too much like adults?”
Now it was Rachia’s turn to fall silent.
What Melchizedek was pointing out was the way adults treated him.
Except for his blood relatives, only Liana truly saw him for who he was. Other adults were unsettled by how precocious the young archduke was.
If Melchizedek hadn’t been the crown prince, perhaps they wouldn’t even have tried to push their own children toward him.
“In that sense, Princess Blanche is perfectly balanced. She’s just precocious enough not to be annoying, and just childish enough not to be creepy. She’s affectionate enough to be adored, and pitiful enough not to be a bother.”
It was hard to believe, even hearing it.
If Blanche were twenty-three, it would make sense—but a three-year-old?
This wasn’t just a matter of precociousness like Melchizedek’s. Being precocious is one thing, but knowing how to act to please adults requires a level of social awareness and tact. Something even full-grown adults struggle with—yet a three-year-old could pull it off?
“Do you think she was trained that way in the Kingdom of Lamore?”
“If a three-year-old could be trained to be like that, then Lamore’s reputation should be reconsidered.”
“Then it’s innate?”
“That seems more likely.”
It made sense. A small, weak kingdom trapped between two powerful empires probably didn’t have the means to so thoroughly groom a political hostage. It was more reasonable to assume Blanche was simply born with a charm that attracted people.
“If what you’re saying is true, then she’s worth my time.”
Though she held the title of Empress Dowager, Rachia was still managing affairs within the palace. If Blanche were just a lucky child, even as a playmate to the second prince, Rachia wouldn’t have the leisure to meet her herself.
But Melchizedek’s assessment had piqued her curiosity, and so she decided to meet Blanche directly instead of leaving it to her subordinates.
“…That’s fine, but maybe you should wait a little before calling for her. She’s seemed tired lately from the tea party aftermath.”
Rachia smiled kindly and pushed the finished bonsai pot aside.
That smile made it clear she had no intention of taking Melchizedek’s opinion into account, so he decided to be content with simply voicing it.
* * *
I only closed my eyes for a moment, but when I opened them, it was already morning.
“You’re up like clockwork. You seemed really tired yesterday—would you like to sleep a bit longer? I can wake you in an hour.”
Seeing Tula here probably meant it was around my usual wake-up time.
Even though I had changed bodies, some habits seemed to have carried over. I still woke up at the time I used to as Lee Baek-ryeon. Though, since this body required more sleep, I tended to go to bed earlier and take naps as well.
“No, I’ll take a nap later. Just prepare something light for breakfast, please.”
I was still tired, and my appetite wasn’t great. Back then, I might’ve just sipped a jujube tea and called it done—but in this body, I had to eat properly to grow.
“I’ll tell the kitchen.”
This was actually something a regular maid could have handled. Technically speaking, Tula was second only to me in authority within the palace.
But unless I assigned her other duties, Tula insisted on handling all my needs personally. She said that was a nanny’s job—to take care of every little thing.
Truthfully, it was convenient for me too. Tula was the most trustworthy person I had, and she took care of everything related to me.
Besides, now that I had picked up a promising “colt” to raise—a future thoroughbred—I had to be careful. With the Empress Dowager now paying attention to me, I also needed to behave more cautiously.
There was no need to send Tula out right now. I had a bit more leeway than I originally planned.
Well… Tula had more leeway. Not me.
“Being in a child’s body is such a hassle.”
Taking advantage of Tula’s absence, I let out a long sigh. An old body had its own inconveniences, sure, but at least I had decades of experience with it. This young body felt clumsy and irritating.
I couldn’t even get off a chair by myself, had to eat balanced meals three times a day, and needed to sleep for nearly half the day.
“When am I going to grow up?”
If only I could open my eyes and be ten years older already. At least then, I wouldn’t have to give things up just because of physical limitations.
I pressed my small, chubby hand to my eyes.
In my previous life, my old colleagues often talked about how amazing it would be to live life again—this time, with all the answers, in a young, healthy body.
But I never agreed. Not then, not now.
I didn’t need a second chance at life. I missed the aging but obedient body I could move exactly how I wanted. Others might not understand, but that life—that body—was truly mine.
As I picked at my soup without much appetite, Tula brought me a letter.
“A letter from His Grace the Archduke.”
He’s not saying he’ll come again today, is he?
With a hint of anxiety, I asked Tula to bring me a paper knife.
“Here you are, Your Highness.”
Since I still struggled with using a paper knife, Tula opened the envelope for me and took out the contents.
[Eat dinner early today and keep your evening free.]
No context, no explanation, but I could sense it immediately.
Ah. The Empress Dowager is going to summon me.
Just two nights ago, at dinner, the Empress had mentioned that the imperial couple and the Archduke always dined together.
So they wouldn’t be calling me during that time unless it was important. If I had to eat early and keep the evening open, and it was the Archduke giving me that heads-up… it could only be the Empress Dowager.
“Tula, tell the kitchen to prepare dinner two hours earlier today.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I still didn’t have much appetite, but if I was going to meet the highest elder of the empire, I had to be fully prepared. I aggressively dipped my bread in soup and ate it like a warrior.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Adults always like me.”
I muttered the words like a mantra. It was true, but the memory was so old, it didn’t feel convincing anymore.
But it really was true. Younger kids thought I was uptight, peers saw me as a rival, but adults always found me commendable.
The adults I had dealt with were all high-ranking. They had no reason to feel threatened by me. By the time I had risen high enough to be considered a threat, they had all retired or passed away.
Yes. This opponent was one I could predict, one I could be sure of.
The reason I had been flustered by the Empress and the political hostages’ affection was because I had never been treated kindly by people in their late teens or early twenties.
But someone of the Empress Dowager’s age—she was a safe bet. I knew how to charm adults like her.
“…I just need to reset my mindset.”
All I needed was one thing: to summon up memories from decades ago.
I adjusted my expression muscles to arrange my face.
Unlike the young ones who liked me better when I acted childishly and lisped, the Empress Dowager would probably prefer it if I acted less like a child.
