I exerted my strength, holding the milk bottle’s cap, feeling Praylee’s surprised gaze on me.

Splash.

In an instant, the milk bottle cap opened, and I handed the cap to a nearby maid.

“Drink.”

Oh my, I hadn’t expected that I couldn’t even open the milk bottle cap alone.

As I removed the cap and looked closely, the milk bottles all looked the same, and watching someone nearby struggling to open it, I felt frustrated and opened it for her instead.

“Th-thank you.”

Meanwhile, Praylee, seeming a bit surprised that I had to come to her rescue, did not seem upset. With a smiling face, she accepted the milk bottle and slowly drank it cleanly. It seemed that the milk from Penthuras agreed well with her taste.

“The milk is rich yet refreshingly light.”

Praylee, handing the empty milk bottle to the maid, left a comment with a smiling expression.

“That’s right. It’s slightly different from the milk I usually have. It provides just the right sense of fullness.”

I lowered my head, glancing at my still-flat stomach and then looked ahead.

‘Huh?’

Just then, I saw Kallail walking towards us from the opposite side. I wondered why Kallail alone was coming this way when Sasha, Ronowe, and Beris were still making a commotion about feeding the fish.

“Your Highness, there’s milk on the corner of your lips.”

So, just as I was about to ask why she came alone, Kallail, who had been quick on her feet, indicated the area around my lips with her index finger, revealing that I had drawn milk mustaches. In simpler terms, it meant that white milk droplets were scattered around my lips.

‘What? Was I with milk on my lips all this time?’

Embarrassing and unsightly. I quickly wiped my lips with the back of my hand and looked for Praylee.

‘When did she go there again?’

Leaving that aside, even if she knew there was milk on my lips, why didn’t she say anything?

Even if she was watching, the thought that she didn’t say anything made me slightly resentful. If she had pointed it out, it would have been refreshing, but in the blink of an eye, I missed the timing to speak, heading towards the Fluor siblings.

“Your Highness, use this to wipe.”

Perhaps because my face looked displeased, Kallail, who was watching my reactions, took out a handkerchief and offered it to me, but I declined.

“No, you can just wipe it with your sleeve.”

“I-I apologize. I acted recklessly.”

I didn’t like that everything had to be perfect, and it bothered me that I had appeared in a disheveled state, but why was she apologizing for it?

‘What’s embarrassing about this.’

Facing the perplexed Kallail, I glanced at Praylee’s back with my fist clenched. Perhaps it was fortunate that only Kallail witnessed this, but if possible, I wanted to turn back time and erase what happened.

‘Next time, I should drink milk more gracefully. Then, I won’t have to worry about having it on my lips.’
In my previous life, even when I gulped something down, I never had the embarrassment of milk stains on my lips. While I don’t have any particular complaints about being reborn with a young body, moments like this, which bring waves of old memories flooding in like a tide, make the headache even more painful.

‘Ah, the old days.’

Thinking back to the time when I was briefly the emperor while clenching my fist…

‘Why is she like this?’

Kallail, looking at me, seemed utterly perplexed, lost in her own thoughts.

From her expression, it was clear that she was openly wondering whether I might have offended the princess, or if I had done something wrong, and whether that had upset the princess’s mood.

“Don’t think that my expression is wrinkled because of you. Don’t read into my emotions.”

“Oh, yes!”

If Kallail had caused my emotions to sour, I would have either corrected her right there or scolded her, but she was the type to dig her own grave.

Hahaha.

Garrul.

In the midst of this, the laughter of the cheerful children reached my ears. Turning my gaze, I finally saw Sasha, Praylee, Ronowe, and Beris walking towards me, apparently having finished feeding the fish.

Sasha, walking at the back with a maid, had an expressionless face that didn’t reveal any particular emotions, and Praylee, genuinely enjoying herself, smiled brightly while chatting with the Fluor siblings.

“Huh?”

Soon, the approaching Ronowe, after noticing the milk bottles on a cart set up in one corner of the rest area, widened her eyes slightly, showing interest.

“Oh, milk!”

As Ronowe turned her head, she looked alternately between the empty milk bottles, probably placed there by a maid, and me, expressing admiration before asking.

“Princess, did you drink both of these milk bottles alone?”

To think that she assumed I had emptied two large milk bottles by myself. I immediately shook my head left and right to inform Ronowe that her expectations had missed the mark.

“I want to drink milk too!”