I felt Freyli’s surprised gaze as I gripped the milk bottle cap with all my strength.

Pop-.

The milk bottle cap opened instantly, and I handed it to the nearby maid.

“Drink.”

Oh my, I didn’t think she’d be so weak that she couldn’t even open a milk bottle cap on her own.

Looking closely as I removed the cap, I noticed all the milk bottles looked the same. Feeling frustrated watching her struggle to open it, I impulsively opened it for her.

“Th-thank you.”

Meanwhile, Freyli seemed taken aback by my actions, but she didn’t seem upset and accepted the milk bottle with a smile, slowly emptying it completely. It seemed the milk produced in Penturas suited her taste as well.

“The milk is rich yet so mild.”

Freyli passed the empty bottle to the maid and offered her impression with a smile in her eyes.

“Indeed. It’s slightly different from the milk I usually drink. Just the right amount of fullness too.”

I lowered my head to glance at my still flat stomach, then looked up ahead.

‘Hm?’

Just then, I saw Carlyle walking towards us from the opposite direction. Glancing sideways, I noticed Sasha, Ronowe, and Berith were still chattering while feeding the fish, so I wondered why Carlyle alone was coming this way.

“Your Highness, you have milk on your mouth.”

Just as I was about to ask why he came alone, Carlyle beat me to it, pointing to his lips to let me know I had drawn a milk mustache. In simple terms, it meant there were white milk drops scattered around my lips.

‘What, I’ve been like this the whole time?’

How embarrassing and unsightly. I quickly wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked for Freyli.

‘When did she go over there?’

By the way, why didn’t she say anything when she saw the milk on my mouth?

She must have seen it, but the thought that she didn’t say anything made me feel slightly resentful. If only I had confronted her, I might have felt better, but she had already gone to the Fleur children’s side in the blink of an eye, and I missed the timing to bring it up.

“Your Highness, use this to wipe.”

Perhaps noticing my displeased expression, Carlyle took out a handkerchief and offered it, but I refused.

“No need. I can just wipe it with my sleeve.”

“I-I apologize. I acted thoughtlessly.”

I was annoyed that I had been in a disheveled state when everything always had to be perfect, but why are you apologizing for that?

‘How embarrassing.’

With Carlyle standing there at a loss, I folded my arms and glared at Freyli’s back. If there was any consolation, it was that only Carlyle had seen me like this, but if possible, I wanted to turn back time and make it as if it never happened.

‘Next time, I’ll have to drink milk more solemnly. Then it won’t get on my mouth.’

In my previous life, I never got anything on my mouth even when I gulped it down. While I usually had no complaints about being reborn in a young body, moments of embarrassment like this made me long for the past, giving me an even bigger headache.

‘Ah, the old days.’

As I folded my arms and briefly reminisced about the days when I was emperor…

‘What’s wrong with him?’

I was startled to see Carlyle fidgeting as he watched me, seemingly lost in his own imagination.

His expression plainly said, “Did I perhaps offend Her Highness? Did I do something wrong to upset Her Highness?” It was ridiculous.

“I’m not frowning because of you, so stop worrying about me.”

“Ah, yes!”

If I had really been upset with Carlyle, I would have said so right away or scolded him to correct his behavior, but he’s just too good at digging his own grave.

Hahaha-.

Giggle-.

Amidst this, I heard the cheerful laughter of children and turned to see Sasha, Freyli, Ronowe, and Berith walking towards me, having finally finished feeding the fish.

Sasha was walking at the very back with a maid, wearing an expressionless face devoid of any particular emotion, while Freyli was chatting happily with the Fleur siblings, a genuinely joyful smile on her face.

“Oh?”

As they drew closer, Ronowe noticed the milk bottles on the cart set up in one corner of the rest area, her eyes widening slightly with interest.

“Ah, milk!”

Turning her head, Ronowe saw two empty milk bottles that a maid had probably placed on one side of the cart. She looked back and forth between them and me, then asked in amazement.

“Your Highness, did you drink two bottles of milk by yourself?”

To think she assumed I had finished two of those large milk bottles all by myself. I immediately shook my head to let Ronowe know her guess was off the mark.

“I want to drink milk too!”

Meanwhile, Berith, who had been circling around Freyli and Ronowe holding Poppy’s hand, complained that his legs were tired from standing and that he was hungry and needed to satisfy his appetite.

“If there’s any milk left, give some to these kids too.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Seeing that the milk bottles were clearly prepared to match the number of people, I quickly ordered Miranda, who was nearby, to prepare milk for the children as well. Soon, the round table was instantly adorned with snacks and milk bottles, with a sweet aroma wafting through the air.

‘Those are the coconut-shaped cookies I used to enjoy.’

The cookies neatly arranged on a large plate in the center of the table were familiar, but this time they were filled with pure white whipped cream instead of chocolate cream, making my mouth water even more.

Clatter-.

“Ah!”

As everyone quietly opened their milk bottles and began eating and drinking, Berith’s hand slipped, turning the milk bottle downward and spilling milk all over his clothes.

I inwardly muttered that he was doing things he never used to do and pretended not to notice, but Ronowe, sitting to Berith’s left, didn’t miss the opportunity to scold her brother with a mischievous face. Her expression seemed to say, “I’ve been wanting to tease you, and now I’ve caught you red-handed.” I even thought these two might start fighting again.

“Berith, do you still spill everything when you eat?”

“No, I don’t!”

As expected, Berith flushed red and immediately counterattacked. It was as if he was saying, “Do you think you’re always perfect?”

“Well, you still scribble in books all the time!”

“That’s correcting errors!”

Oh, here we go again. I groaned and leaned back against the chair. It was obvious that the bickering voices of these troublemakers would soon grow louder, and before long, Ronowe grabbed Berith’s cheeks and stretched them while scolding him.

“You, who told you to talk back to your sister?”

“Whu thld yu tu tlk bck tu yur sistr?”

Clearly, it must hurt in that state, but Berith, not wanting to just take it, mimicked Ronowe’s words with a mischievous expression.

“You idiot! Don’t copy me!”

Soon, the siblings started fighting, pulling at each other’s cheeks, and as the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, Carlyle, unable to stand by any longer, stepped in to mediate.

“Stop fighting. Didn’t the Duke tell you to play nicely without fighting?”

Unfortunately, despite Carlyle’s efforts, the siblings continued to bicker, their anger having reached its peak. I sighed, letting out an “Oh, boy.”

“Just leave them be. They’ll stop eventually.”

Is it because they’re twins? They fight over the smallest things. I decided to intervene directly if things got too serious, while picking up the milk bottle with one hand, taking a few sips, and immediately wiping my mouth. I didn’t want to show myself with a milk mustache again. One embarrassment was enough.

“It seems the Fleur children were raised without much age difference.”

Surprisingly calm, Freyli didn’t seem bothered by the noise of Ronowe and Berith fighting. I thought she might get dizzy, given how sick she had been, but instead, Freyli was watching the Fleur siblings fight as if it were an interesting spectacle.

“They’re fraternal twins. Of course there’s no age difference.”

I answered Freyli nonchalantly and immediately asked:

“Don’t you and your brother ever fight like that?”

“No, we’ve never fought.”

I found it a bit strange that they never even had occasional fights. Of course, I thought they might get along more peacefully since Sasha was more mature than Berith or Ronowe and wouldn’t get angry or upset over trivial matters, but it seemed odd that they never fought at all.

“Oh, by the way, Your Highness. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’d like to play the conch shell for you.”

“Is that really necessary?”

Wondering why she suddenly brought up playing the conch shell, I raised my voice at the end, indicating I wanted to hear her reasoning.

“You opened my milk bottle cap for me earlier, didn’t you?”

It wasn’t earlier, but a bit before that. I nodded, swallowing my words.

“I believe that when someone does me a favor, I should repay them properly.”

Freyli carefully held the milk bottle she had opened with the maid’s help with both hands and began to explain her thoughts precisely.

“Your Highness must have all the best things in the empire, so giving you a gift doesn’t seem right. I thought I’d show you what I’m best at instead.”

Hmm, it seems like a reasonable judgment.

“The conch shell performance.”

“Alright, if that’s your principle, I’ll respect it.”

For now, I agreed with Freyli’s opinion and told her to go ahead if that’s what she really wanted to do.

“But can you actually perform? When I tried blowing the conch shell, it was quite breathtaking.”

However, I doubted whether a child who had been even sicker than me could handle the conch shell that I found difficult to hold and play, leaving me out of breath.

“Yes, of course. I’m not fully recovered, but I can play the conch shell.”

Well, it was really heavy, but where does this confidence come from?

“As long as you’re not overexerting yourself, it’s fine.”

Since she said she was okay, I decided not to push the matter further, assuming she knew what she was doing.

“Alright, let’s get moving now.”

Next, I glanced at the Fleur children, who were making up with sullen faces after being scolded by a stern-faced Carlyle, and shook my head. While it was fortunate that they had finally stopped, it was ridiculous that they had fought for so long over something so trivial.

“Since we’re in the greenhouse, we might as well see lots of things.”

“Yes!”

Finally, hearing the children’s energetic response, I took the lead, taking one step at a time with Poppy, who had scurried to my side.