People Aren't Meant to Be Fixed! - Chapter 59

“Oh, really? What for?”

The finely chopped meat, meant to aid digestion, blended perfectly with the banana sauce – the chef’s stroke of genius. It melted in my mouth along with the meat juices, creating a fantastic flavor that further elevated my mood.

‘She liked it too much.’

Feeling sheepish for perhaps showing too much dislike for studying, I made an awkward expression. Hecate, seemingly pleased, simply made that burdensome expression that Jeff and I found cringeworthy.

The maids and others just saw it as the expression of parents doting on their beloved child, and having seen it many times before, their faces showed they were used to it.

I couldn’t understand how they could express such strange emotions and make such ridiculous faces every time. My head throbbed briefly, and as I subtly averted my gaze, Hecate’s voice rang out again.

“Today is the day we paint the imperial family portrait.”

“A portrait?”

For a moment, old memories surfaced, and I hesitated, raising my head. Jeff smiled and answered instead of Hecate.

“Yes. We’ve only managed to make sculptures to record our daughter’s growth so far, which has been a bit disappointing.”

After finishing his words, Jeff gazed at Hecate for a moment. At that instant, his eyes seemed to glisten as if buttered, and I felt as though the sweet scent of honey was permeating the air.

‘There they go again.’

Reminded of someone from a past life who used to flirt, I almost let out a groan. I quickly popped a piece of meat into my mouth and chewed.

This wasn’t my first experience living as a child, nor was it the first time I’d lived a life with parents, but I’d never seen a couple so close and affectionate. It was fascinating.

If they explained the reason for their behavior theoretically, I might be able to accept it intellectually, but that would be from an academic perspective. The sensation of my limbs turning to jelly like octopus tentacles was unsettling.

What on earth does one have to do to fall so deeply for each other?

I’ve been reborn several times, received courtship, and even briefly felt the preciousness of past connections while playing treasure hunt a few years ago, but it still eluded me.

Even though I could now accept thoughts and emotions about others more gently than before, it was clear that I still had no connection to the kind of emotions Jeff and Hecate shared.

My nerves screamed, and an invisible, illusory woodpecker appeared, wailing that it couldn’t bear to watch this spectacle. That said it all.

“Besides, as you know, Darjeeling, your mother used to be away on long expeditions. Add to that the spy incident, and the political situation was quite turbulent.”

Jeff continued to look at me while holding one of Hecate’s hands.

“But things are different now. The political climate has stabilized, our little sovereign has grown a lot, and she’s developed the stamina and perseverance to endure for a few hours. We thought it was time to try something new.”

Jeff finished speaking with a gentle smile, softly releasing Hecate’s hand and linking arms with her.

“By the way, Darjeeling, do you know what a portrait is?”

Hecate, who got the chance to speak next, looked slightly worried. Apparently, she thought they might have been talking about something only they knew. Feeling a bit slighted, I shrugged and quickly answered.

“Of course. It’s a painting that focuses on the face, isn’t it?”

“We were worried we might have gotten ahead of ourselves without explaining properly. Our daughter knows a lot.”

Hecate, relieved, sighed and slid a beautifully wrapped chocolate towards me, adding:

“Portrait work is grueling. The model has to stay still for hours.”

Then, with a face full of concern, she rattled on:

“But we don’t want to strain our daughter, so we’re planning to take a break every 15 minutes. It’s a bit unfair to the painter, but you’re more important to us than anyone else, Darjeeling.”

They’ve managed it well on their own. I nodded, leaning forward slightly to grab the chocolate Hecate had pushed towards me. I quickly unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth.

I don’t usually eat much for breakfast, so I planned to cleanse my palate with something sweet at the right moment.

‘Portrait work? I did that in my previous life as an emperor. It’s as easy as breathing while lying down.’

I snickered inwardly, puffing out my chest proudly as I happily ate the chocolate.

Jeff and Hecate, who usually didn’t let me eat too many sweets at once for fear of cavities, were letting me eat to my heart’s content without scolding. It seemed like they were giving me a reward in advance for enduring the portrait session well.

Thump, thump-

“It’s been a while since the three of us walked together.”

“We’ve only taken short walks together in the evenings or at lunch, so it’s been a long time since we’ve been together like this so early in the day.”

After the meal, we headed straight to the spacious room where the portrait work would take place, due to the tight schedule.

‘I wonder if the painter is also someone who painted my portrait in a past life? There’s a possibility they’re an old person.’

In the life just before becoming a princess, I, along with my officials, had discovered and supported talented individuals who, like Jeff and Hecate, had potential but couldn’t spread their wings due to their circumstances. Later, I entrusted this task entirely to trusted officials, but I participated directly in the initial selection of talent.

At that time, there was strong resistance from the privileged class who disliked commoners joining their ranks, but I crushed it, calling it an insult to the emperor, as it seemed to mock me, who had risen to the throne from a noble background without connections.

In any case, the talents I nurtured during my time as the previous emperor displayed their abilities in various fields and became excellent loyal subjects, all determined to repay the grace they had received from me. Although they started from humble beginnings, they all broke through the ceiling, transcended their limits, received titles, and gained fame.

The court painter who had painted my portrait in my previous life was one such person. Although I hadn’t particularly wanted to see them, the precedent set by Elaila made me somewhat open to the possibility of reuniting with people connected to my past.

“I greet the light of the empire and the little hawk.”

However, contrary to my expectations, the court painter was a very young woman with slightly tanned skin, wearing a large green beret and a green dress as her distinguishing features.

“I am Musai, one of Master Aifric’s disciples. Thank you for granting me the honor of capturing the Emperor, Empress, and Princess in a painting.”

I was surprised that Fleur was a woman and amazed at her outstanding abilities, but learning that the new court painter was a disciple of a talent I had personally selected in my previous life was beyond admiration.

Feeling a whirlpool of indescribable emotions and pride, I searched through my hazy memories for information about ‘Aifric’.

‘Hmm, there’s no way to treat your right eye? Aren’t the doctors incompetent? How can even the best of them not fix it?’

‘It’s alright, Your Majesty. I can still see. When I completely lose my sight later, won’t you grant me a splendid eye patch?’

Aifric was quite sociable, though not as much as Jeff and Hecate. Excluding those two, he was the person I had conversed with the most.

He was a fellow whose sight in one eye was on the brink of blindness. I had found excellent doctors for him, but no medicine seemed to work. When he entered his 40s, his right eye completely lost its sight, which was regrettable.

‘Well, I’m sure he’s living well on his own.’

If he had died, there was nothing to be done, but if he was alive, he would still be painting. Whether in the imperial palace or in a cozy house by some nice coast where he retired to spend his later years comfortably.

“The portrait work will be divided into individual portraits and a group portrait. For the next 5 days, you’ll need to model for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, totaling 4 hours each day.”

Musai recited with a polite attitude and a happy smile, soon moving chairs and props herself, explaining what posture to take, how to sit, and what expression to make.

‘In my previous life, I was alone, so I yawned loudly and acted difficult.’

Suddenly, I remembered the time when I was having my portrait done as the previous emperor. I had married the country like Ulrika, so I had no spouse or descendants, and I thought it was good that it would end quickly.

‘Your Majesty, not even 10 minutes have passed yet.’

‘I’m bored.’

After we gradually became busy, we only met occasionally, but when I could see Aifric’s face every day for the portrait, we talked about many things.

‘It’s impossible to remember everything, and you can’t pay equal attention to everything.’

No matter how close we were, I was closest to Jeff and Hecate in my previous life as emperor, so as time passed and we met less frequently, Aifric faded from my mind, just as out of sight became out of mind.

But looking back, while I may have been overly devoted to Jeff and Hecate, I had unexpectedly done many things for many people.

It’s just that as time passed and I faced death, these memories sank into the depths of my unconscious like a sinking ship. If someone were to speak about a person I was with in my previous life as emperor, it might pop up like a jack-in-the-box the moment the lid is opened.

‘The way fate works is truly strange.’

It was fascinating that the threads of a past life remained unbroken in later generations.

“Now, can our Princess smile a little more? Please lift the corners of your mouth like this~”

Ah, smiling is what I’m worst at. Suddenly pulled from my reverie by Musai’s request, I struggled to lift the corners of my mouth.

“That’s right, well done!”

Musai’s face, with both index fingers comically pulling up the corners of her mouth, looked so odd. Unable to laugh or cry, I maintained an ambiguous expression before finally declaring that I would leave my smiling face to the court painter’s imagination.