Chapter 2
1. Enjoying Infant Life!
By the time I was old enough to have memories in my previous life, my aunt was already the empress.
I’d only ever heard stories about Grandfather. I’d seen him only in portraits, never in person—until now.
Amid his golden, curling hair, strands of silver peeked through, lending an air of mystique. His eyes were the vibrant emerald of a summer’s day. His sharp gaze, the faint wrinkles etched into his face, and his tightly pressed, thin lips were exactly as the rumors described—a portrait of stubbornness.
The older servants had told me that His Majesty the Emperor was terrifying, obstinate, and held grudges forever. Stubborn to a fault. Petty to the extreme. Such descriptions were irreverent for an emperor, but in essence, they were true.
Yet, they also said he had doted on me, that I was his precious weak spot.
I think I was beginning to understand what they meant.
Before long, Grandfather set me down and sat at his desk to attend to state affairs. I began to explore my surroundings.
My abruptly changed body made every step awkward, like wearing ill-fitting new shoes. My movements were clumsy, as if I were draped in a heavy quilt.
The emperor’s study was filled with the scent of paper and the metallic tang of ink.
The desk was so vast it could be mistaken for a bed.
The tower of documents stacked upon it was so high that if it ever collapsed, anyone caught beneath would be crushed to death on the spot.
“Wow…”
A gasp of awe slipped from my lips.
Turning my head, I saw an enormous bookshelf. Its lacquered surface gleamed with a deep, near-black mahogany hue.
Then a sudden thought struck me.
Where am I? Who am I?
“Nurse! How long do I have to stay here?”
“Until evening, Your Highness. His Majesty stayed at the hot spring palace all winter to handle state affairs and returned to the main palace just the other day. He wanted to bring his granddaughter to the hot spring palace. They say he spoke of you fondly all the time. Didn’t you want to see your grandfather?”
I started to nod but stopped to stare at the nurse.
Nurse, is that really something you say to a three-year-old?
Should I pretend to understand or act like I didn’t? I was suddenly caught in an immense dilemma.
“Uh… I unnerstand!”
My response was a bit delayed from my pondering, but the nurse didn’t seem to mind. Truthfully, I hadn’t understood, but I decided to play the part of a three-year-old who did.
Then I toddled over to the foot of Grandfather’s desk, tugged at his robe, and reached up with my arms. I’d only heard that he adored me, but this was my first time seeing it for myself.
In my previous life, surrounded by the palace’s endless schemes and tangled webs of allies and enemies, I’d lived and died. To me, Grandfather was a fresh shock, a warm nostalgia. I didn’t want to lose that again.
“Ohhh, my Melly came to me! Did you see, Count Maron?”
Grandfather’s voice was thick with emotion as he called out to his chief attendant, Count Maron.
“Yes, I saw, Your Majesty. Quite clearly.”
“My Melly’s asking me to hold her, isn’t she? Alright, I’ll take a break.”
Count Maron, his face pale, rushed over and grabbed Grandfather’s hand, pinning it to the desk.
“No, Your Majesty! You must finish your work before resting!”
“It’s fine. I’ll just stay up all night.”
“If Your Majesty stays up all night, does that mean we don’t get to leave?”
“Tch. So petty.”
“Petty? I’d rather not hear that from you, Your Majesty!”
Whether the count was wailing or not, Grandfather deftly slipped his hand free. Then he scooped me up and set me on his lap, gently bouncing me.
Bouncy-bouncy. Hmm? Bouncy-bouncy?
“Eek?”
“Ohh, my sweet little puppy. Did you come to see your old grandpapa?”
His voice, short-tongued and playful, clashed so starkly with his still-dignified face that I couldn’t get used to it. Truly, stereotypes are a fearsome thing, I thought.
Yes, it’s possible. Even an emperor known for being stubborn to a fault and the pinnacle of pettiness could be like this.
As I stared at Grandfather with wide, round eyes, he kept grinning broadly, bouncing me up and down. Bouncy-bouncy.
It was fun, but also a bit dizzying. As I swayed, struggling to keep my balance, my nurse spoke up anxiously.
“Y-Your Majesty, if I may be so bold…”
“Tch! If it’s bold, don’t say it in the first place. Right, my precious little one?”
“B-But if you shake her like that, she’ll get motion sick…”
“What? Oh no, that won’t do! That won’t do at all. Why didn’t you say so sooner? Tsk, tsk.”
Grandfather quickly handed me to the nurse and, with a flourish, lifted a stack of papers from the right side of his desk, dropping them onto the floor with a thud.
“What are you all standing around for? Clear this up already!”
He pointed to the right side of the desk, drawing a circle in the air with his finger.
The attendants, who had been lingering in the corner, rushed over and swiftly cleared a circular space where Grandfather had pointed.
“Set her down here.”
The nurse promptly placed me in the cleared spot. The desk was so vast it felt as stable as a bed. I could probably stand and toddle around on it.
“Let’s play with your grandpapa here.”
“…?”
Um, Grandfather? Don’t you have to read all those papers?
Don’t you have a pile of documents to approve, petitions to review, and all sorts of things to do?
But Grandfather, as if none of that mattered, sat me on the desk and pulled a large box from beneath it.
The beautifully wrapped box was big enough for me to sit inside.
“Uh… this is…”
“What else? A gift for my little one. I picked it up on my way back from the hot spring palace.”
“D-Doll…”
It was so massive I wanted to ask if it was a dollhouse, but the words wouldn’t come out. A dollhouse would be smaller than this, wouldn’t it?
“Do you think I’d put something as dull as a doll in there?”
What in the world did I play with Grandfather in my previous life?
With a satisfied look, he gazed at my slack-jawed expression and tugged at the ribbon tying the box.
“Ta-da! Look at this. On my way back from the hot spring palace, I saw something so amusing it reminded me of my dear granddaughter.”
“What’s… this?”
First of all, setting aside this enormous palace-like structure crafted from translucent amber glass, what was that sweet, candy-like smell?
Uh-uh-uh. I couldn’t close my mouth as I stared at Grandfather, who let out a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! Isn’t it pretty? I had it custom-made to look just like our palace for my darling. To get this, I gave the craftsman the platinum bracelet I was wearing right then and there.”
What?
I doubted my ears. A platinum bracelet worn by the emperor couldn’t possibly be ordinary…
“Um… Grandfather?”
But why don’t I have any memory of this giant dollhouse-like model palace?
A toy this expensive and intricately crafted, made of amber glass, would’ve stayed with me at least until I was ten. If I’d had it, surely this amber glass palace would be in my memories from my previous life.
Just then, Grandfather gently stroked my lush golden hair and said,
“What do you think? Do you like it? Doesn’t it look absolutely delicious?”
Oh, right. As they say, the tastiest rice cake is also the prettiest…
“Huh?”
Wait. What did he say? Delicious? This thing?
I stared blankly at the model palace, bigger than me.
“Haha! It’s candy.”
“C-Candy?”
Oh my goodness! Did I hear that right?
The emperor traded his platinum bracelet for candy?
As I gasped in shock, Grandfather broke off a corner of the glass—no, candy—palace with a snap and popped it into my mouth.
“It’s called candy craftsmanship. The artisan’s skill was so remarkable that I stayed there on my way back to have it made.”
The sweet candy melted softly in my mouth. The sugary taste tickled my tongue, and drool dribbled down my chin.
The nurse quickly wiped my mouth with a handkerchief.
“My little puppy eats so well. Want some more?”
More? Should I have more? It’s delicious. I love you, Grandfather!
Since becoming a baby again, I seemed to crave sweets even more than in my previous life. Back then, I preferred desserts with a rich, slightly bitter flavor, but now that my body was younger, my tastes seemed to have regressed too.
Just as I reached for the candy palace, someone blocked my hand.
It was none other than my nurse.
“No, that won’t do.”
Grandfather and I both turned to her, letting out deflated sounds.
“Mweh?”
“Huh? What now?”
“Your Majesty, if Her Highness fills up on sweets and refuses to eat at mealtime, it could harm her healthy growth. Please understand.”
At the nurse’s firm tone, the emperor frowned. Then he took a deep breath, puffing out his chest.
I tensed up.
What’s he going to do? Yell at her for being insolent?
They said Grandfather was stubborn, petty to the extreme, and held grudges like no other!
As I trembled with anxiety, he let out a long sigh and said,
“Hmph, no helping it then. Store it well and bring it back tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I stared blankly as the attendants packed the candy into a clean glass box and carried it away.
Grandfather, where’s your stubbornness…? He’s quite different from what I’d heard about in my previous life. It seems history, written by people, gets distorted or exaggerated quite a bit.
Just as the attendants finished clearing the candy, a voice came from outside the study door.
“Your Majesty, Princess Eonel requests an audience.”
Aunt?
“Let her in.”
The door opened, and in walked a much younger version of my aunt than I remembered.
She looked strikingly like the late empress, my grandmother, from her portraits. Her slender eyes, red lips, high nose, and delicate features made her look far too youthful for someone over thirty. Her shimmering blue hair sparkled like the sea goddess herself. Only her emerald eyes, inherited not from the late empress but from Grandfather, the emperor, stood out.
Aunt gave a brief courtesy and strode forward confidently.
“Father, did you enjoy your time at the hot spring palace?”
“Well enough, I suppose.”
“Was that glasswork the attendants were carrying out meant for Melly?”
Aunt, it’s not glass!
I shook my head vigorously, staring at Aunt Eonel. In response to her question, Grandfather answered, “It’s not glass. It’s candy.”
Yes, yes, Aunt, it’s candy! I nodded enthusiastically, only to lock eyes with her. My body froze out of habit.
Her blue hair seemed to radiate a chill, and her emerald eyes, reminiscent of a cool sea, were icy—her heart even colder. She was the very picture of a ruthless monarch. The education she’d given me as her successor had been relentlessly strict, at least in my memories.
Yet, somehow, the gaze meeting mine now was different. Softer, gentler.
I tilted my head, puzzled.
* * *
