CH 175

Chapter 175

Translator: Yonnee

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When Helios finally mentioned the word ‘parents’ to them, this served as the push that Rosé and Ferre needed to make them see that sending Pororing away was the right decision.

Holding one each of Sera’s and Helios’ hand, the twins waved hard, for a very long time as they said, ‘Bye bye, Pororing!’ They watched until the baby squirrel’s tail disappeared into the thicket.

However, it seemed like it wasn’t only the twins who were saddened by their parting. Even after climbing up a tree, Pororing kept looking back at them.

A few days after that, the only place that had traces of Pororing’s stay was the dollhouse.

The twins stared endlessly at the dollhouse, which had no owner, but an unexpected blessing soon arrived. Jerome Brunner, son of Marquis Brunner, had finally arrived for a visit.

“Your Highnesses, can you come over here please?”

Sera was standing by the window when she saw something there, and so she called the children.

“Huh? Why, Sera?”

“What’s wrong, Sera?”

Rosé and Ferre had been lying on their stomachs until now, despondent as they sighed. They staggered as they got to their feet and trudged towards the window.

Sera smiled sadly, seeing the twins be so glum like this. They looked out the window as if they had no desire to at all.

“Look over there.”

She stepped slightly back so that the children could stand close to the window.

Now standing in the same spot Sera had been earlier, the twins got up on their tiptoes and stuck their heads out the window.

“There’s nothing there though?”

“I don’t see Jerome though?”

Rosé and Ferre lowered down their heels, and even the slightest curiosity that sparked in them for just a moment soon dissipated once more.

“Turn your eyes to the window frame, not out the window.”

Sera tapped on the wood.

What’s so special about that? The twins once more went up to their tiptoes to check, kind of doubting Sera’s words.

But they soon saw a variety of small fruits there on the window frame, as if they’d been intentionally collected.

“Peanuts?”

“Cherries?”

Rosé and Ferre tilted their heads to the side at the same time.

“Peanuts and cherries don’t fall out from the sky, so I wonder…”

Sera murmured softly, pretending that she didn’t know who brought them.

“No way!”

“Really?”

Putting the puzzle pieces together, Rosé and Ferre quickly began to collect the peanuts and cherries.

Their little fingers moved busily because they were worried that even one would fall out.

Their tearful faces were now full of smiles. Perhaps Pororing came by earlier, expressing his gratitude.

* * *

“Your Imperial Highness, Princess Roseline, and Your Imperial Highness Prince Ferreritan. I am very honored to meet you. My name is Jerome Brunner.”

As he was led here by a palace handmaiden, Jerome greeted Rosé and Ferre in a straightforward, polite manner.

He seemed much more mature than his peers—more than how he was rumored to be—as he didn’t even seem to be intimidated by this unfamiliar place, where he was in the presence of adults he did not know.

“Hiya. I’m Ferre.”

“H…Hi. I’m Rosé.”

Did they get startled because the boy with shiny black hair and red eyes was looking at them clearly? The twin prince and princess waved their hands stiffly, obvious that they were nervous.

“It’s our first time meeting each other as well, Teacher Sera. I am Jerome Brunner.”

Jerome bowed to Sera, who was standing behind Rosé and Ferre.

Even if a child were to learn etiquette from his parents, they often forget to greet the person in the back as well.

Sera admired Jerome’s good behavior, which was very unlike how a nine-year-old would act.

“It’s nice to meet you, Young Lord Jerome. I am Sera Popo, Their Highnesses’ tutor. I’ll be here on the sidelines as you three play today, so if you ever stumble upon any inconveniences, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Sera answered without letting her surprise show, then she soon sat at her designated seat at the back of the room.

It was good not to intervene in a relationship between children, and sometimes it’s possible to know more about them just by watching.

So of course, it’s only natural that an adult should be absent at times like this. As soon as she left their side, the children began to talk.

Firstly, Ferre was the most active when it came to befriending his peers.

“What do you like, Jerome? Me and Rosé like reading fairytales and playing freeze tag.”

“I like playing sudoku and chess.”

“Sudoku? What’s that?”

Already intimidated by the difficult sounding game, Ferre looked confused.

Jerome seemed to really be a much more mature child than Sera had expected. Mmh, well, calculating the gap between their birthdates rather than their age at new year’s, then Jerome was about three years older than them.

“It’s a math game.”

“Really? But chess is a game that Heli Hyung plays.”

“Is that so?”

“Uh… yeah. Maybe there’s another game we can play together?”

It seemed like Jerome was just as empathetic as he was intelligent, so he seriously considered Ferre’s request.

Frowning as he contemplated, Jerome eventually opened his lips to speak.

“How about making a spiral domino? I think we can all build it together.”

“Spiral domino?”

Ferre’s eyes glistened as he repeated the words he was hearing for the first time.

“Do you know the pattern that snails have on their shells? That’s a spiral. Teacher Sera, may I ask?”

As she was watching from the sidelines, Sera rose from her seat and stood upright when her name was called.

“Yes?”

“Are there any dominos available?”

Dominos. The Star Palace didn’t have that on hand amongst the toys here, but there were many other things that could be used as dominos instead.

“There aren’t any dominos, but we have similar wooden blocks. Would that be alright?”

“Yes, Teacher,” Jerome answered politely.

Sera gave the excited Rosé, Ferre and Jerome a big box. Inside were numerous wooden blocks, and there was enough that they wouldn’t find it lacking even if they made dozens of spiral dominos.

Soon enough, Rosé and Ferre went on to build their domino shape with Jerome.

Watching from afar, Sera realized one thing—Rosé was being unusually quiet.

“Je…rome? Why is this one lying down? It’s not like the others.”

Rosé had a bright red face as she tapped Jerome on the shoulder.

“Just in case we make a mistake, the dominos will only fall until the middle, and we won’t have to build it all again from the start. So even if you accidentally knock down one, Your Highness Roseline, it’ll be alright. We can just build it back up from here.”

Jerome explained as he pointed one finger at the dominos one by one.

However, despite asking that question, Rosé wasn’t looking at the dominos right now.

She’s looking at Jerome’s face.

With her mouth wide open.

‘Young Lord Jerome is definitely a heartthrob, too. He’s here with Their Highnesses, but his face still shines so brightly.’

Sera smiled amusedly at Rosé’s reaction. She must have fallen in love at first sight with Jerome.

Even for Rosé, whose standard of beauty was built upon the very high standard that was Helios’ face, Jerome seemed to fit quite well with the term, ‘breath-takingly handsome’.