Chapter 8
Chapter 8
==
When I was young, Icarus treated us like Mother's precious porcelain.
Extremely valuable and a big problem if broken...
'Icarus himself didn't really understand the meaning of those porcelains.'
He only knew that Mother would be disappointed if the twins were sick or hurt, but he didn't realize that the twins also had thoughts and feelings.
'Mother tried to teach him that, but it didn't work out well.'
Before Icarus left the Separate Palace, he gave me a faint smile once.
"Have a good day, Your Highness."
This was a decent start.
I had just elevated my value from 'expensive porcelain' to 'porcelain that really likes Mother.'
Since I didn't spend time on preparation, the day at the detached palace was as sweet as honey.
At first, I wondered if I really had to repeat this difficult life...
'It's not as bad as I thought?'
Even four-year-old Rosa would be easy to handle; if the plan goes well, I might actually live a life befitting a princess this time.
'I don't have anything to do anyway, should I check the plan?'
I pretended to draw and sat at the desk, quietly unfolding the plan.
'Save Gabi. Receive the oracle. Get revenge on Rosa. Recruit Dad...'
I alternated between reading Rosa's hateful name and 'Receive the oracle' when a question popped into my head.
'When did I get my Healing Power?'
Considering the time Rosa gave me the Scent pouch, my Healing Power and poison resistance must have manifested before I was seven.
No matter how hard I thought, all the memories of me getting hurt were from when I was very young.
'Then maybe... do I already have it?'
I pondered and added one more thing to the plan.
"HP Test"
Once I wrote it down, I became unbearably curious.
'Testing my Healing Power is something I can do right away, isn't it?'
There are many ways to get hurt.
Biting my finger, hitting it on the door...
Ugh... wait a minute.
'Just thinking about it already hurts.'
I had hardly ever been hurt in my previous life, so I'm especially scared of seeing blood.
'Also, there are still three years until I turn seven.'
Maybe my Healing Power hasn't manifested yet.
If that's the case, I couldn't rashly hit my hand.
Of course, Mother could heal me...
'How can I get hurt slightly without being noticed?'
I looked around, but as it was a room for a young princess, there were no sharp-edged furniture.
I can't go out of the detached palace... and even if I fell in the smooth corridor, I don't think I'd get hurt much.
'Should I bite my tongue so no one can see?'
While I was having terrible thoughts, Gabriella suddenly spoke.
"By the way, Your Highness..."
"Yes?"
"A few days ago, it seems that Rosa saw a kitten while she was at the Main Palace."
"A kitten?"
Gabriella nodded.
"Yes, she saw it in the garden. A black kitten with white spots. Judging from Your Highness's letter, cough, Rosa seems to have touched the kitten."
Ah, that cat...
The black cat was one of the friends Rosa started to make suddenly when she was around four years old.
'Just like the Hestia siblings.'
But unlike the Hestia family, who stayed by Rosa's side for life, the cat didn't last long.
'Since I avoided it every time, Mother couldn't just let it go.'
If the princess played happily with the cat one day and avoided it the next, it would be strange.
'Anyway, it's that cat again...'
I'm both relieved and afraid that our lives are flowing the same way as before.
'Can I change it?'
Can I accomplish everything as planned...?
Gabriella, perhaps because this hadn't happened often, added with a slightly troubled face.
"If you see the kitten, could you say hello, Your Highness?"
I nodded so Gabriella wouldn't worry unnecessarily.
"Okay..."
"That's a relief."
Gabriella smiled, looking relieved.
A cat that was neither particularly beneficial nor harmful.
Gabriella is much more important than that.
'I need to reduce even one more thing that Gabriella has to worry about so she can get better quickly.'
Also, I need to find an easy and safe way to get hurt somewhere.
The next day, morning, Ruelle Palace's glass greenhouse.
It was a day without classes.
I held Beatrice's hand and looked at the Spathulata pot placed at my eye level.
"Your Highness, what does this plant eat?"
"Bug."
As soon as I answered, Beatrice squatted down next to me and giggled.
"That's right, Your Highness. You remember well. Shall we observe if it caught any bugs? I wonder how many it caught today?"
I made eye contact with the Spathulata, counted the number of flying insects, and held up four fingers.
"Four."
But Beatrice's eyes widened unexpectedly.
"Four? Your Highness, were you counting the bugs just now?"
I was flustered and retracted my fingers.
'Could it be that I couldn't count when I was four?'
No, couldn't I even count up to four?
Beatrice got excited and asked again.
"Four? Here, count again."
What is our four-year-old self...?
'A four-year-old who knows letters but doesn't know numbers...'
I seemed to have made a mistake, so I deliberately started counting nonsense.
"One, two, four!"
"Ah, so that's why four."
There was no sign of disappointment on Beatrice's giggling face.
Then she pointed at the flying insects helplessly stuck to the Spathulata one by one.
"One, two, three, and here! Four! That's right, four."
I pretended not to notice Beatrice subtly adding three and followed along.
"Four!"
Beatrice's laughter echoed in the glass greenhouse.
On the way back, leaving the greenhouse, Beatrice asked.
"Your Highness, how many foxes will Their Majesties catch?"
She seemed to be completely absorbed in number games.
Anyway, autumn in Ruelle is fox hunting season.
My parents left for a three-day hunting trip with the nobles, so they might catch quite a few foxes.
'Even so, what can I say, who can't even count to four?'
I roughly spread out all ten fingers.
"This much!"
Beatrice laughed again and started counting my fingers.
"One, two, three..."
Her efforts to teach me numbers were touching, but how long should I pretend not to know...?
'I should ask Gabriella how far Rosa can count.'
Before I knew it, we were out of the greenhouse and in the garden.
At that moment, there was a squeaking sound from somewhere.
Then, something pitch-black whizzed past us and entered the greenhouse.
"Huh?"
Beatrice's face crumpled.
It seemed we hadn't closed the greenhouse door properly when we came out.
"It looks like a cat...?"
Beatrice muttered to herself.
'Ah, that cat...'
If it were me in my younger days, I would have run back to the Main Palace by now.
I didn't want to bother confirming that black cat...
—Squeak! Squeak!
But the squeaking sound was somehow annoying to my ears.
Cats can't squeak, and come to think of it, it seemed like it was carrying something.
"Oh dear, it would be a disaster if it ruined the greenhouse! I should tell the guards to chase it out."
Beatrice said that and continued walking, but she eventually had to stop because I wasn't moving.
"Your Highness?"
"...I, I want to go back and see."
"Pardon?"
"Want to see the kitten."
Beatrice looked troubled for once.
"But... it looked very fast and fierce."
"...Still want to see."
"Oh dear..."
At that moment, Icarus caught our eyes.
'Ah, he's still on duty since it's morning...'
Beatrice didn't say anything, but she was probably as relieved as I was inside.
We silently turned back towards the greenhouse.
—Squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!
—Hyaak!
Truly mismatched sounds leaked out from the open greenhouse door.
Sighing, I re-entered the greenhouse, and a much weaker squeaking sound echoed.
—Squeak...
Beatrice hesitantly followed the sound, and Icarus, sensing the situation, came and stood guard at the entrance of the greenhouse.
—Haaak!
The cat was in the corner of the greenhouse, acting up, but when it saw us, it quickly picked up something that had fallen on the floor again.
It was clearly wary as it slowly backed away.
'It played with Rosa, they say.'
Perhaps it's an animal instinct, but the cat can definitely sense that Rosa and I are different people.
Then, the squeaking sound came again.
—Squeak...
Good heavens.
I frowned as I examined the cat's snout.
It seemed like it was holding a live bird.
'But isn't there something like smoke coming from that bird?'
I wanted to take a closer look, so I took a step forward without realizing it.
"Your Highness!"
Beatrice quickly came and grabbed my shoulder.
The cat looked around, searching for a way to escape, but this time, Icarus came closer and blocked it.
'For once, he's doing something useful.'
I shook off Beatrice and took another step forward.
Even if I've become smaller, I won't be afraid of a cat after being dead and resurrected.
"Kitty. Give, bird, here."
