7 Years Old: Chapter 29 â His Highness and the Trivial Truth
Translator: Krrizis
Editors: Nahct and Wafflez
ăLiz!ă
After the duel was over, His Highness came barging into the room.
As Father seems to be in a discussion with His Majesty, I borrowed a guest room and, having moved, was slowly unwinding in the room alone. ăA little girl shouldnât have to overexert herselfă, said His Majesty and he graciously loaned me an excellent first-class guest room. If I wanted to, I could even stay for the night.
Your Majesty, what are you implying? Is it wise to leave the decision to stay the night to a young girl? Well, I had heard that it might have to do with a retaliation from someone. Although I would still turn the tables on him.
Gilles and Father went to deal with the matter and somehow ended up meeting up with Lord Zeraisâs father. In other words, it was a ăYour son made a pass at my daughterăsort of complaint trip. Most of all, it was to end the attempt.
*******
That was good and so, I didnât mind the encounter with His Highness.
However, I didnât want to be seen playfully leaping and bouncing on the bed.
âŚ.. But, see, isnât it a momentary yearning to leap about on a super soft and fluffy bed? The soft and fluffy feel canât be compared to the one at home. Canât I enjoy it? Itâs not like I have dirty feet. Iâm just reverting back to an innocent childlike state for a bit.
ăErâ- Erm, Your Highness, what can I do for you?ă
In a panic, I corrected my seating posture while my hands smoothed the dishevelled skirt back into place. âŚ.. Ah ah, I wanted to run away and hide my face in shame. Calming down, I thought it was a silly thing to do, even for me.
His Highness stared at me with his mouth wide open before he gradually began stifling a laugh. Feeling a needless overwhelming shame, my face turned red as I glanced downward. âŚ.. If only I could somewhat turn back time.
ăIf youâre that interested, then itâs fine to come over and play whenever you likeă
ăPlease donât te-tease meă
IâI have a hunch that itâs the first time His Highness has beaten me. Having been seen, there was no room to retort. Just looking at his smiling face irritated me.
ăFirst of all, good job, Liză
Whilst I kept silent from embarrassment, His Highness slowly compromised by sitting down beside me. As it wasnât a sofa but a  bed instead, it left a somewhat complicated feeling. Weâre kids, however, so itâs ok.
ăI didnât think Liz was that strongă
ăItâs only because his abilities were lackingă
ăEven so, Liz is strong. More so than meă
His Highness grinded his teeth while feeling vexed, grasping a sizeable amount of bedsheets tightly in his hands.
Members of royalty generally have high levels of magical power. His Highness, too, is not an exception. It was presumptuous or rather, a far outcry to compare our skills based on the outcome of todayâs duel with Lord Zerais.
For His Highness to embrace such an inferiority complex, it seems that my magic abilities are high. Even though I didnât give it my all during the duel, it still left His Highness feeling frustrated.
ăItâs good that Liz isnât going to be that bastardâs bride but, as a man, itâs complicatedă
ăThere is that and also because I would like to be excused from something like marriageă
ăItâs thanks to Lizâs strength that you were able to avoid the worst-case scenario âŚ.. However, you being stronger than me leaves me with mixed feelingsă
ăYour Highness also has magical talent, and havenât you been diligently training without playing truant for three years?ă
When I first met His Highness, he said that he would endure his training and studies. It seems that promise wasnât a lie. I heard from Father that he put up with the extremely strict coaching everyday. Merely because of that promise. Because of something that I had said on a whim.
Father said I had a lot of influence over others. Though some things arenât easily discernable, whenever Iâm involved with someone, the person and everything about them seems to change. For example: His Highness, Gilles, and Maria. To them, if they hadnât met me, their future would have been drastically different.
Even so, Iâm only just encouraging and supporting them.
ăâŚâŚ If Liz wasnât around, perhaps my self-awareness wouldnât have sproutedă
ăYouâre overestimating me, Your Highnessă
ăNo, if Liz hadnât scolded me, I wouldnât have worked this hard. ..⌠I wouldnât have bothered even in the future. Youâre remarkable for that, Liză
Lowering his eyes, His Highness slowly took my hand. His Highness was just three years older than me; his palm which was bigger than â I thought as it slowly began to wrap around mine.
Responding late to that sudden interaction, I blinked my eyes before I looked into His Highnessâs face âŚ.. Ah, it was a good thing that I had looked and it was somewhat regrettable.
His hand demandingly gripped mine as His Highness leaned closer. I was caught by the painful pleading look in his eyes. Even though he was just a child, it was a shock as I felt slowly depressed by looking into his eyes.
ăâŚ.. Liză
To be honest, I have a bit of trouble dealing with His Highness. Although I donât dislike him, if I had the choice, I wouldnât want to be close to him.
Itâs because the opposite sex has been affectionately approaching me upfront.
Initially, I had thought that it was just the suspension bridge effect. It was simply that the man I had provided aid to had embraced that affection and misunderstood, or so I had believed.
Yet, for three years, he continued to approach me. Even if I saw the truth and was aware of the misunderstanding, I didnât receive him coldly.
In other words, this was unmistakably genuine affection.
ăDoes Liz âŚ.. dislike men like me?ă
Being asked in a whisper, I was unable to respond with words and could only shake my head in return.
My weakness is that Iâm weak to affection. Thereâs no self-interest; I donât reject when genuine affection is directed towards me. Itâs different if Iâm accepting, but I canât easily hate, dismiss, nor discard it aside.
Thinking about why I somehow have trouble dealing with His Highness, somehow unconsciously, I expected this type of detestable development to occur. It was impossible for me to come outright and flatly refuse him.
In the end, I am human after all and was conscious of His Highnessâs affection. Itâs one thing to receive affection, but another to embrace it. Whilst I do not have the same passion as he does, my love for him hasnât changed and I donât want to hurt the people that I love.
Towards a person who has gently and seriously voiced his affection, I canât so easily turn him down.
ăI know that Liz doesnât have any feelings for meă
ăâŚ.. Ssâă
ăBut Liz has yet to select anyone. Doesnât this mean thereâs still a chance for me to be selected?ă
Pulling a bit, his hands encircled my waist and back, embracing me tightly. Having never considered that a ten year oldâs speech and behavior could be like that, I felt extremely confused. His Highness, who is ten years old, was seducing the seven year old me.
Why has His Highness matured so much? Surely, Iâm to be blamed for it. An unbelievable ten year old who had matured and was romantic. He was usually an immature and conspicuous youth, but today, this ten year old had obtained an unimaginable charm.
ăHey Liz, wonât you give me a reward?ă
ăRe-rewardâŚ..?ă
ăFor the me whoâs working hard to continue persisting three years onwardsă
Smiling softly, His Highness moved closer to my face just like that. From thence action, I was unable to react.
ăâŚ.. Yourâ Your Highness, did you behave childishly three months ago deliberately?ă
ăHnn? Ahh, that. I was more or less serious, however âŚ.. Itâs better since Liz wouldnât mind if it was slightly childish. I was thinking of touching you more affectionatelyă
Upon hearing His Highness uttering such things as he whistled, I held my cheeks whilst my muscles stiffened. Fortunately, nothing came out of my lips, although this wasnât usually the case.
Rather, thâthis child has been acting, deceiving me as always. Even till now, Iâm certain he has always been acting.
Well, I canât say Iâve been deceived since I hardly meet up with His Highness. Behind my back, he has probably been growing up. Thereâs a saying â if you donât meet a man for three days, you should rub your eyes and look at him closely*. Even Ryomou himself was a surprisingly altered person.
ăIâIâm only seven, Your Highnessă
ăWell, Iâm going to be ten years old. To an adult, a three years gap isnât a big difference. There are also cases of nobles whom are tied together despite the ten year gap between themă
ăIs that a problem?ă, His Highness puzzlingly said, and I had to swallow the words with downcast eyes.
âŚ.. Iâve probably awakened a terrifying child. Itâs a crime of conscience and, like, really scary; what is this?