-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Growing Pains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was a day about half a year before they were all to return to their home countries.
“Excuse me, Your Highness, Crown Prince Leo.”
“Ah, Lady Julia.”
“Um… w-will you accept this?”
The girl, her hair in two braids, shyly held out an envelope.
“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
The pretty boy called Leo gave a small smile before turning away.
“Squee!”
“Crown Prince Leo is so kind.”
“I’m going to write him another letter!”
Writing letters to ‘Crown Prince Leo’ had recently become a trend among the girls from various countries staying at the temple.
Even though they never received a reply, the girls wrote with fervent passion.
At the very least, they could receive a gentle smile and a kind greeting in return.
As soon as he rounded the corner, the boy called Leo let out a sigh. “Phew…” His cheeks ached from smiling so much.
He should have been used to it by now, but it was still exhausting.
Lellia rubbed her sore cheeks and headed for her room.
When she returned, she saw a large pile of envelopes on her table. Lellia added the letter she had just received to the top.
Just then, the door burst open.
“You said you were going to the library. You back?”
The first to enter was Calix. Behind him followed Griffith, Romeo, and Oscar in a line.
It seemed they had just showered after sword practice. The ends of their hair were all damp.
Lellia looked at them with a complicated expression.
*They’re huge.*
They had all grown so much.
The boys, who had once been close to Lellia’s height, were now all more than a handspan taller than her.
*Except for me!*
Lellia clenched her fists and trembled.
*Aren’t girls supposed to be taller at this age?*
It seemed a three-year age difference was not something to be ignored.
The official age of Crown Prince Leo, whom Lellia was impersonating, was twelve. The same went for the four boys she was close with.
But Lellia’s real age was nine.
It wasn’t that Lellia hadn’t grown at all. She had grown quite a bit while eating and living well here.
It was just that those boys had grown much, much more.
Even Oscar, who had been shorter than Lellia, had now surpassed her in height.
*It hurts my pride.*
And at some point, the frequency with which they called her ‘boss’ had decreased.
Even when they did, it somehow didn’t feel sincere. It felt more like they were teasing her.
*Is it because they’re all taller than me now…?*
I’m so mad… Lellia narrowed her eyes, glaring at them resentfully.
“Don’t tell me you were crying again.”
Romeo asked her with a mischievous smile.
“I was not crying!”
Lellia shouted before brushing past them and heading toward her bedroom.
Truthfully, it had been a little uncomfortable dealing with them because of something that had happened recently.
*Why did I do that?*
Lellia flopped onto her bed and clutched her head. Then, she recalled the recent event.
