Chapter 43.
I figured there was no need to wake him, so I just gazed at the sleeping Friedrich from the side.
‘His face really could melt away anger in the middle of a fight.’
Recalling my earlier conversation with Elsa, I stared intently at his strong, assertive features when suddenly Friedrich’s eyes snapped open.
Startled, I instinctively tried to sit up, but Friedrich was faster.
“…Your Highness?”
He stared blankly at me for a moment, then fumbled hurriedly for his pocket watch. I watched him dazedly and asked,
“Did you know too? That you turned into a child past midnight yesterday.”
Friedrich paused, then nodded slightly. No wonder his walk today was unusually long. He must have been troubled by that.
“Did Your Highness know as well?”
I nodded to his counter-question, then, feeling I should explain my silence, added softly,
“In case it was temporary… you might get your hopes up and then be disappointed. That’s why I couldn’t say anything rashly.”
“…The same for me.”
Friedrich replied quietly.
“I didn’t want to disappoint you. So I was going to confirm it and tell you once I was sure.”
“Disappoint me? What would I be disappointed about?”
At that, Friedrich hesitated before answering.
“…Because Your Highness would prefer me as an adult at night rather than a child.”
“No, that’s… well, of course, but.”
I opened my mouth with a slightly flustered expression.
“It’s not for my sake so much as because the curse stresses you out.”
“….”
“Honestly, I’m fine even if you stay a child forever. That doesn’t make you any less Friedrich Stade.”
No matter who you are, I’ll always be on your side!
I thought saying this would comfort Friedrich in its own way… but why does his expression look off?
“Uh, did I say something wrong?”
When I asked cautiously, Friedrich smiled and shook his head.
But it was a smile that made me incredibly uneasy. I furrowed my brow and said,
“Your face looks unhappy. I said it with you in mind.”
“I know. Your Highness is a kind person.”
“But?”
“….”
Friedrich was silent for a moment before asking me,
“…By any chance, is my body not to Your Highness’s taste?”
“Huh?”
“You said before that my face is to your taste.”
Friedrich continued hesitantly.
“But my body… maybe not.”
“Wh-why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“It seems like you don’t desire my body that much.”
“Me? No, you’re really…!”
I quickly scanned Friedrich’s body up and down, then, feeling like I shouldn’t, hastily returned my gaze to normal.
It was a body worth that reaction.
“…Impressive. The kind of physique everyone would prefer, taste or no taste. I can guarantee it.”
I hadn’t seen it as closely as Joachim’s, but you don’t need to strip everything off to know, right?
More importantly, as I wondered why we were having this conversation so seriously, a wave of reality hit me.
“Not others—Your Highness?”
“I said ‘everyone’… ”
Besides, could you not come closer while we’re talking about this…
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I subtly leaned back and said honestly,
“Still, I don’t want you to be disappointed.”
Actually, it’s because I was disappointed earlier. I got excited thinking my magic had returned.
Maybe for Friedrich, yesterday was just a one-time fluke.
“In any case, you’re you, Friedrich. Whether the curse lifts or not.”
At those words, a bright smile spread across Friedrich’s lips.
Strange? When I said something similar earlier, his expression was bad.
‘Sometimes he seems as fickle as Rene.’
Or maybe it’s because it’s around the time he usually turns into a child? Anyway, I’m glad he seems cheered up.
“If the curse is really lifting, the time you turn into a child should keep getting later. That’s what I came to check.”
“Then you’ll come every night for a while.”
“But since you know about yesterday, I don’t really need to…”
“Aren’t you hot? The bedroom might be cooler.”
Friedrich suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me to the bedroom. Before I knew it, I was lying on his bed.
Perhaps from fatigue, sleep rushed in the moment my head hit the pillow, but I snapped back and shook my head.
“Ah, no. What if I fall asleep like this?”
“It’s fine. I’ll stay awake.”
…Then there’s no reason for me to be here, is there?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a tremendously refreshing sensation washed over me.
Friedrich was massaging my hand. Ah, so that’s what he meant by the bedroom being cooler?
“I’m bored while waiting.”
“Thanks.”
Wow, it’s really refreshing again. Is this what heaven feels like?
I closed my eyes against the oncoming drowsiness and murmured,
“It would be nice if you just didn’t change at all…”
Suddenly, the pressure massaging my hand weakened.
Wondering if it was what I thought, I opened my eyes and saw, as expected, the younger Friedrich.
I let out a hearty laugh and checked the clock. 12:15 a.m.
“Wow, it’s delayed by 15 minutes.”
Friedrich gave an ambiguous smile, then reached for my hand again. I startled and pulled it away.
“Oh my, no need. What strength could those little hands have?”
“….”
“Let’s sleep now. You need to grow tall.”
Unexpectedly, Friedrich obediently lay down on the bed.
I was wondering what to do if he insisted on more massaging. He must have been getting tired after all.
With my task done, relief washed over me, bringing even more sleepiness. I quickly succumbed to slumber.
***
Mari Stade came to her senses the next morning.
She realized it from the thin ray of sunlight slipping through the tightly closed curtains.
“Your Highness.”
“Shh, you’ll wake the child. How is she?”
“She hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Is it okay for her to sleep this long?”
“The court physician says she needs recovery, so she might sleep a lot.”
“It’s not from the sleeping pills, right?”
“…It might not be unrelated.”
It was Rene and Elsa’s voices. Mari was awake but felt burdened by the attention she’d get if she opened her eyes now.
So she kept them closed, pretending to sleep.
“Lady Noivan said she fed sleeping pills with every meal for five years, but I don’t think that’s accurate.”
“What do you mean?”
“If she really did that, Princess Mari couldn’t have survived this long. In my opinion…”
Elsa paused briefly before concluding.
“It seems the princess noticed and cleverly avoided taking them.”
Mari swallowed in panic for a moment. That was exactly right.
“Drink it all. Not a drop left.”
The medicine Lady Noivan gave looked suspicious somehow. But with her piercing glare and the fear of being abandoned, Mari drank it obediently every time.
But as her sleep became abnormally prolonged, spending most of the day asleep, she realized. The thing she took with meals was sleeping pills.
She was young and uneducated, but she knew that sleeping all day couldn’t be good for her body. Mari pretended to take the sleeping pills cleverly.
After all, Lady Noivan was feeding them because caring for her was bothersome. As long as she stayed quiet, she wouldn’t get caught.
“Goodness, this child?”
Rene’s surprised voice made Mari tense.
Would she think it impudent? That she was a sly child who deceived adults from a young age? Would she be abandoned again? Kicked out of here?
Mari fretted, her mind racing.
Should she open her eyes now and say no, that she didn’t avoid that much? What if she isn’t believed?
Her head ached as if it might burst when suddenly a soft hand stroked her hair.
Mari was so startled she nearly opened her eyes. But what was even more surprising was the words that followed.
