People Aren't Meant to Be Fixed! - Chapter 30

Because she had such a playful nature, abundant curiosity, and lively temperament, I thought she would suddenly cry and throw a tantrum, refusing to let it go.

“Okay.”

However, perhaps because of what Marquis Fleur said about the earthworm’s family waiting in their home in the soil, Berith finally decided to let the earthworm go. I was relieved that Berith didn’t impulsively throw the earthworm away in a fit of temper.

“Earthworm! I’ll take you home!”

Then, with a serious expression as if imbued with a great sense of mission, Berith carefully carried the earthworm to a nearby flowerbed.

“I suppose it’s alright for me to appear now, isn’t it?”

Hecate, who had been standing in place for a long time, looked at me with a grin and finally moved. She soon made eye contact with Marquis Fleur and they greeted each other.

“Marquis Fleur, you must be tired from your long journey.”

“Fleur, the key to the western lands, has arrived at the call of light.”

Meanwhile, I was still being held, so my eye level was high enough to watch what Berith was doing. He put the earthworm down among the blades of grass and waved goodbye with one hand.

“It’s an honor to see you again, Your Highness the Princess.”

When I turned my gaze, Marquis Fleur, who had straightened her slightly bowed back, was looking at me.

“Yes, Marquis. It’s been a while. By the way, I don’t see Ronowe.”

I suddenly realized that we were one person short and asked honestly.

“Ah, Ronowe… She wasn’t feeling well, so she couldn’t come with us today.”

After a brief hesitation, Marquis Fleur explained with a sad expression why only Carlyle and Berith had accompanied her today.

“I was going to ask if she had gotten better, but it seems she’s still struggling…”

Upon hearing this, Hecate, with the same expression as Marquis Fleur, lamented Ronowe’s situation.

‘She’s not supposed to be weaker than me.’

Meanwhile, I was skeptical of the story Marquis Fleur had told.

‘What on earth happened in the library?’

What kind of shock could Ronowe, who had been isolated from everyone, have received while alone that her health was still poor after several days?

‘I don’t understand why such a robust child can’t regain her strength.’

I couldn’t believe that a child who had always been so energetic was still unwell and lacking in vigor, unlike her usual self.

“I hope she gets better soon so we can play together.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

Although I wasn’t foolish enough to cruelly blurt out the thoughts that came to mind, I at least made a show of expressing worry in a formal manner.

“Mom! I put the earthworm back!”

And Berith returned. With a face full of pride for having excellently completed his task, he came running, wanting praise from Marquis Fleur. It was quite amusing.

“Ah…”

But Berith, who had been shy and hesitant in front of Jeff from their first greeting, froze in place when he made eye contact with Hecate.

“Berith, shall we greet Her Majesty the Empress together?”

At that moment, it was Carlyle who extended a helping hand. The future right-hand man gently wiped Berith’s soil-covered hands with a handkerchief he took from his vest’s inner pocket, and helped him follow etiquette to pay proper respects.

“One, two, three~”

Not content with just that, he even counted numbers to give Berith time to prepare and relax. Seeing this, I inwardly stuck out my tongue. I even thought that Carlyle was truly amazing.

Because I would never be able to be that gentle. Although I had praised Jeff and Hecate, I hadn’t been affectionate, and I had made training more difficult for those with outstanding abilities.

“We greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

“We… we greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

Anyway, thanks to Carlyle’s good guidance, Berith managed to complete his greeting safely.

But still tense and shy, Berith quickly hid behind Carlyle as soon as he finished speaking, with only his head slightly peeking out.

“It’s nice to meet you, Fleur’s lovely children.”

Hecate seemed to find this behavior adorable, covering her mouth with one hand and chuckling before telling them to take their seats.

‘It seems Vladimir wasn’t invited.’

I thought to myself as I sat down first with the help of a maid.

‘Jeff said it was a tea time with the Fleur family, so he’ll probably meet them separately later.’

It was probably because this gathering was for those closely related to the imperial family, which suddenly reminded me of Duke Vladimir, who wasn’t invited this time.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s start our tea time~”

Meanwhile, Hecate clapped her hands to signal the start of the salon while watching Carlyle seat Berith with another pleased expression. Soon, various desserts filled the white marble table.

Exquisite lace sheets and three-tiered trays, beautiful plates with golden borders filled with tarts and slices of cake – just looking at the excellent cuisine stimulated the appetite along with the sweet aroma.

The main attraction was the coconut-like biscuits and macarons filled with chocolate, newly developed by the chef as the main dessert. They were piled up to form a mountain and decorated with premium strawberries around it, creating a spectacular sight.

“Delicious!”

Oh, my goodness! I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as I chewed on a macaron. When I came to my senses, I saw Hecate smiling at me contentedly, while Berith was tasting a cream-filled castella roll cake.

“My, how much must he like the cake to have drawn a picture with cream around his mouth?”

Hecate smiled at Berith’s mouth with the same expression she had when looking at me earlier.

“Berith, at times like this, you should wipe with a napkin, not your hand.”

“Can’t I wipe with my hand?”

Marquis Fleur gently explained the correct way to handle it when she saw Berith unconsciously wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That’s not it, Berith.”

As Berith seemed to have trouble understanding, Carlyle calmly explained again.

“Next time when you eat cake… let’s take small bites like your brother does.”

“I got it!”

As expected of a future general! It was perfect how he demonstrated and taught the 3-year-old Berith how to eat without dirtying his clothes or the area around his mouth, adjusting to Berith’s level. It seemed like he would be able to handle any task flawlessly when he grew up.

“It’s good to see such deep brotherly affection. The Marquis has raised the children splendidly.”

“I’m honored that you see it that way, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Meanwhile, the Marquis and Hecate exchanged compliments.

“Mom, I’m done eating and want to play now.”

After a while, Berith, patting his bulging stomach, said he couldn’t eat any more desserts and wanted to run around excitedly.

“Go ahead. Be careful not to get hurt, and don’t go too far.”

Marquis Fleur readily agreed as it wasn’t a difficult request, and I too put down my fork, feeling full after eating various things.

“Why don’t you go play with your friends for a while, Darjeeling?”

“Okay, I will.”

It’s a hint to leave so the adults can talk. I slowly got down from my chair, intending to aid digestion as well.

“Kwak!”

Then Poppy waddled behind me, following diligently.

“Now we can get to the main point.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

See, I told you there was really something else to discuss.

As the distance increased, I couldn’t make out what was said next, but this confirmed that the reason for Hecate and Marquis Fleur’s meeting was not simply for socializing.

* * *

“Kwaaaang!”

I’m not sure how I ended up playing this game again. I was playing a game of running away from the maid, who was “it,” along with the other children.

I’m not good at running as it is, but if we don’t play this game, we’d have to play with more boring toys indoors, so I just went along with it and ended up running last at the very back.

‘I should hide here and rest for a bit.’

Still, the maid was perceptive and focused more on catching Carlyle and Berith instead of me, which allowed me to sneak away.

‘This body of mine can’t run well and tires quickly, which is a flaw.’

Not wanting to cause any trouble unnecessarily, I decided to get up and go back once I’d rested a bit.

“I heard you finally found a clue.”

As I was slowly exhaling and inhaling repeatedly, my ears perked up at Hecate’s low whisper.

“Yes. After years of discreet investigation, we’ve finally… grasped a thread.”

Curious, I poked my head out slightly and looked in the direction of the conversation. Wondering what they were talking about, I crawled a bit closer on the floor.

“So the mastermind behind the poisoning incident was…”

“As expected, it was one of those who resent the Bergamot family, Your Majesty.”

I thought it might be political talk, but I swallowed hard at the mention of something related to Carlyle.

“I intend to keep all the evidence we’ve meticulously gathered well-preserved.”

And I realized from Marquis Fleur’s calm but subtly angry voice.

“It will surely be of help when Carlyle comes of age and seeks to claim Bergamot’s rights, as there will certainly be interference then.”

That Marquis Fleur genuinely despised those who viewed Carlyle unfavorably and tried to scheme against him.

‘Marquis Fleur is right.’

Above all, there was nothing wrong with Marquis Fleur’s words, but it was unexpected that she was going to such lengths for Carlyle.

This was because I had thought she had reluctantly taken in the orphaned Carlyle on Hecate’s orders.

I never imagined she would genuinely care for that Carlyle.

‘Come to think of it, when I was Emperor, I knew everything because loyal subjects reported things on their own…’

Suddenly, I realized another inconvenience that came with being reborn as a princess.

It was the fact that, as a young princess, I couldn’t participate in the level of conversations that Hecate and Marquis Fleur were having, which limited my access to information.

‘How else would I end up like this?’

I sighed and decided it was time to go back before the kids started causing a commotion.

“…Your Highness.”

Just as I was turning around, trying not to be discovered by the Marquis and Hecate, Berith’s voice suddenly rang in my ear.

“Aaaaah! You scared me!”

I got goosebumps at his whisper because I hadn’t sensed his presence at all.

‘This is bad. If it goes like this, they’ll find out I was eavesdropping…’

But the problem was that until just now, I had been secretly listening to Hecate and Marquis Fleur’s conversation, which was different from my initial purpose of resting nearby.

“Darjeeling, there you are. You look pale, are you feeling sick again?”

No, this child worries first without any suspicion. It’s absurd enough that they keep making me out to be a sickly child, but shouldn’t they worry first about whether I overheard the conversation?

“I’m not si…”

It seemed they didn’t suspect that I might have overheard sensitive information because I appeared to be a 3-year-old princess.

‘Wait a minute.’

I hesitated as I was about to tell Hecate, who was about to pick me up, that I was fine.

‘I got irritated at first, but this is actually an opportunity.’

An opportunity to avoid the afternoon lessons. I mentally clapped at the thought that flashed through my mind.

“I’m feeling a bit tired, maybe because I haven’t been able to nap lately.”

I pretended to be a little sick, saying I was feeling somewhat tired.

“It’s good that it’s not severe. But still, mommy is upset because it seems like Darjeeling is very~ sick.”

Hecate immediately asked if I was alright and lectured about the importance of managing one’s condition, although it wasn’t the worst state.

“I suppose studying in the afternoon would be too much, wouldn’t it?”

Great, if this goes well, the afternoon lessons might be canceled. Excited, I focused with all my might, hoping my uncharacteristic acting wouldn’t seem clumsy.

“You’re right. It seems to mommy that you should rest for now.”

“Your Majesty’s words are correct, Your Highness.”

Marquis Fleur, who had approached, chimed in. She added weight to the direction of canceling the afternoon lessons, saying that getting plenty of sleep would make one healthy and grow tall.

“You’re right, Marquis Fleur. I should ask for understanding and postpone the lessons until tomorrow.”

An unexpected gain. Feeling suddenly elated, I slightly raised both thumbs and inwardly exclaimed.

‘That’s it, Hecate!’