Xavier picked me up and held me in his arms. I struggled and threw a tantrum.
"Yesterday you cried all day, and today you're angry… I wonder why."
Larima scratched her cheek, looking perplexed. I looked at the two of them, who were struggling, with a scrunched-up face.
'…What am I doing? I'm not a real baby.'
Sometimes I was surprised by how I could act so much like a real baby. After hesitating, I offered them a sincere apology.
"Mia. Dalmoohaet." (Sorry. I was wrong.)
It was completely childish to take out my anger on the wrong people. The decision to abdicate the throne to me was entirely the emperor's crazy idea, and it had nothing to do with these people. They were in a pitiful position, having to follow orders. I need to reflect….
"What did His Majesty just say…?"
"Oh, what? I thought it was a dream, but you heard it too?"
As the two of them talked in confusion, I buried my face in Xavier's shoulder. I was so angry, but I had nowhere to vent it.
I decided it would be better to go to the person responsible. I tugged on Xavier's clothes.
I hesitated, unable to speak easily. I needed to ask him to take me to the emperor, but I couldn't say it in front of others. I was faced with an unexpected and significant crisis. I closed my eyes and muttered.
Xavier looked puzzled and tilted his head, but Larima understood immediately.
"Pappa? You mean Papa? You must be talking about His Majesty!"
"Pappa… I think it's more like food."
But Xavier was completely off the mark. I pulled on his hair and shook my head.
"See, he said it's not food."
Larima confidently took me from Xavier.
"Do you want to see His Majesty? I'll take you there."
"But you haven't eaten yet?"
"We can eat after we come back."
As Larima headed for the door, Xavier followed with a worried look.
"You'll get in trouble with Madam if you act so recklessly?"
Larima left Xavier behind and headed straight for where the emperor was. But when we arrived at the emperor's bedroom, no one was there.
"His Majesty is in the dining room."
Larima looked at me with a "What now?" expression. I gritted my teeth and swallowed my anger. How could he talk about making me the emperor and then just eat his meal?!
I tugged on Larima's arm.
After a lot of practice, I could now walk quite well. I could even run a little. I held Larima's hand and wobbled my way to the dining room. I almost fell a few times, but Larima held me steady, so nothing bad happened. But something was off. I turned my head sharply, and the footsteps and shadows disappeared. It was probably Lysandro, but he usually doesn't make any noise, so it was unlikely. I tugged on Larima's hand and pointed behind us.
Larima let go of my hand and approached the corner of the corridor. She suddenly pointed.
"Hey, what are you doing there?!"
Sure enough, someone was there. I walked over, sucking my finger. There were six maids and servants.
"Because we heard the princess was coming out."
I blinked at the people making excuses. Did they come to see me? I stared at the maids and servants, not understanding. They all gathered around me, making a fuss.
"Your Highness, you're so cute!"
"Already walking, Your Highness? That's amazing. Waddling around is really cute…"
"How can your cheeks be so chubby?"
"Hey, hey! Look at your hands. They're so small and adorable."
Ugh! No one touched me, but with so many people surrounding me and talking at once, I was overwhelmed. I hesitated and grabbed the hem of Larima's dress.
I needed to find the emperor quickly. If we delayed and he finished his meal, we might miss each other. With a serious look, Larima glared at the people and took my hand again.
Larima's loud voice made everyone step back. She took me away in the meantime. Then she shouted assertively.
"Princess is closest to me! So don't pretend to be close to her!"
I looked at her, bewildered, but she looked proud.
"Let's go, Your Highness!"
And she left the scene confidently. She seemed immature, probably because she was still young. Since Larima was 17 last year, she must be 18 now. Still in her late teens, it made sense that she was immature. But thinking she was more immature than Oscar, was I being too harsh…? We arrived at the dining room. The smell of delicious food filled the air. Although I was eating baby food, I had never seen a proper meal before.
'This must be delicious.'
Thinking of pork belly and tripe, I shook my head and entered the dining room. The emperor was drinking water, probably finishing his meal.
I called out to the emperor and started running.
'This is to gain more momentum for a stronger impact.'
I raised both fists high and reached the emperor. Just as I was about to-.
The emperor picked me up. I was suddenly floating in the air.
"Did you come because you missed this Papa?"
'No, wait. That's not it!'
I was flustered and hit the emperor's shoulder with my fists. But it hurt my hands, not the emperor's.
"To run and call for Papa like that, Mabel, I'm really touched…"
It was over. My revenge failed miserably due to a terrible misunderstanding.
I muttered dejectedly. All I got was pain and injury. My hand hurt from hitting the emperor. The emperor sat back down and placed me on his lap. He then ordered a servant.
My ears perked up at the word. As I grew older, my nanny sometimes gave me snacks, including ice cream. But she only let me have a few bites because I might catch a cold, leaving me with a burning sense of regret.
'This must be delicious, ice cream…'
Soon, the ice cream arrived. It was a chocolate ice cream that looked sweet and creamy. The emperor scooped some with a small teaspoon. My eyes followed the spoon like a magnet.
'How nice, to be an adult.'
You can eat ice cream to your heart's content. As I glared at the spoon with envy and jealousy, the emperor said,
Something cold entered my mouth. Since I had my mouth open, the emperor closed it with his other hand. The ice cream melted sweetly in my mouth.
It melted quickly, leaving me disappointed, but it was really soft and sweet. I looked at the emperor with shining eyes.
The emperor put more ice cream in my mouth. The ice cream I hadn't had in a long time was so delicious that I couldn't help but exclaim.
'Is this what happiness is?'
The emperor diligently moved the spoon every time the ice cream in my mouth disappeared. Soon, all the ice cream in the small bowl was gone.
"Here, this is the last one."
I bit the spoon brought to my mouth. Although it was disappointing that it was the last, I was happy to have eaten so much. After a while, when the sweetness and coldness in my mouth completely disappeared, I came to my senses.
I came to take revenge but was distracted by the ice cream and lost my purpose.
"From now on, having meals with Mabel won't be bad."
And the emperor had a huge misunderstanding. No, this can't go on. The emperor is a crazy person trying to make me the emperor! I had to express my opinion before it was too late. I slammed the table and shouted.
"Pappa, shieo!" (Papa, no!)
The emperor's eyes widened. He seemed shocked. Although I felt guilty for eating the ice cream, I quickly changed my mind.
I wriggled and got off his lap. Then, I jumped. *** Clang… The spoon in Esteban's hand fell to the floor with a loud noise.
Gustav couldn't answer. He firmly believed that a wrong answer would get him fired. Esteban's face was pale, having heard something he shouldn't have. Gustav picked up the fallen spoon and quietly backed away. He didn't want to get involved.
"Mabel… Mabel wouldn't do that."
Esteban drank cold water like he was drinking