Chapter 16
The Prince Died, So We’re Starting Over!
To grow properly, I had to put on so many layers of clothes I couldn’t even count them.
In this world, they didn’t even know how to sew pockets into skirts, so you had to tie a separate pouch under your clothes.
Just trying on a single dress meant tying and untying ribbons dozens of times.
By the time I’d tried on my fifth fitted gown, I would’ve rather been one of the marble tiles on the floor.
“Ah, Anna!”
“Yes, milady?”
“I—I need to go to the restroom!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. Abandoning Anna and the tailors, I bolted.
Fearing Anna might catch me, I ran and ran through the long hallway.
Thankfully, the servants wandering around didn’t care if I dashed past.
They all looked pale and exhausted anyway—understandable, since the workload had exploded recently.
After turning two corners and climbing three staircases, I spotted a familiar figure.
The Third Prince.
He was walking briskly at a distance, carrying a stack of books in his arms.
His steps were so straight and proper that they drew my attention.
Should I call out to him?
He was far enough that unless I deliberately raised my voice, he wouldn’t notice me.
I followed quietly, hesitating whether to call his name.
There was no one else in the corridor but us.
He walked quickly—as if he’d disappear if I didn’t hurry.
He’s gotten good at walking, I thought.
Not long ago, he used to stumble around like a newborn foal, and now look at him—he’s grown so much already.
Other people’s kids really do grow fast…
I crept along behind him, lost in silly thoughts.
Then suddenly, from the opposite side, a servant appeared—
and something very strange happened.
“Ow!”
The prince, who’d been walking perfectly fine a moment ago, suddenly tripped and fell flat on the floor, his face crumpling into a pout.
Startled, the servant hurried to gather the books the prince had dropped.
The prince just stood there, sniffling like a child until the servant was done.
“Thank you. …And what you just saw is a secret.”
He gave the “order” in a voice completely devoid of royal dignity.
Then, hugging the books tightly to his chest, he toddled off—
literally toddled, like a baby duckling.
What the heck? Did he fall on purpose?
He was walking perfectly fine just seconds ago—almost power-walking!
“…What is he doing?”
The words slipped out under my breath in disbelief.
But the prince didn’t hear me and continued waddling away.
The servant offered to carry the books for him, but the prince stubbornly refused.
Eventually, the servant gave up and turned to go his own way.
Unfortunately, that path led directly toward me.
For some reason, I had a bad feeling about being caught here.
If anyone found out I’d been spying, it couldn’t be good.
I spun around and darted down the opposite corridor—
“Milady!”
—and ran straight into Anna, who had been frantically searching for me.
And thus, my brief escape came to an end.
“Anna.”
“Yes?”
“Was there anything strange today?”
“Oh, milady, honestly! No, nothing strange at all. His Highness spent the whole day in the library again, reading as usual.”
Since that day, I’d developed a new habit—
asking Anna every night how the Third Prince’s day had gone.
It made her misunderstand me completely, but I couldn’t stop.
The prince’s behavior was just too suspicious.
“What kind of books did he read today?”
“Well, I don’t know what he read in the library, but I did hear the titles of the books he brought back to his room. ‘Mama Duck Loves Baby Duck,’ ‘Nooo, I Don’t Wanna Eat Veggies,’ and ‘Brave Little Deer Titi.’”
“…What’s with those titles?”
“They’re children’s books, milady. You read them yourself when you were little.”
“I did? When?”
“Oh, probably when you were three or four.”
Suspicious thing number one:
The Third Prince reads books that even a five-year-old would find too childish.
For reference, yesterday’s reading list was ‘A Chick Hatched from an Egg,’ ‘The Wizard and the Little Fairy,’ and ‘Mom Is the Best in the World.’
Just from the titles, you could tell they weren’t meant for an eight-year-old.
But oddly, none of the servants at the Rudbeckia Palace seemed to find this strange.
“…Don’t you think that’s weird? Those books are way too babyish for an eight-year-old.”
“But everyone has their own tastes, right? Personally, I think it’s adorable that His Highness reads books that suit him so perfectly.”
“Hmm…”
Suspicious thing number two:
Aside from me, no one else seems to notice how odd the prince’s behavior is.
But I could guess why.
He looked so childlike that no one could take him seriously enough to be suspicious.
For an eight-year-old, he looked very young.
He was already a head shorter than most boys his age, and so thin he looked fragile.
Honestly, he looked more like a toddler than a child.
I, on the other hand, was slightly taller than average for my age, so when we stood together, we looked like we were two or three years apart.
Maybe that contrast made others even less likely to question his behavior.
“…Still weird.”
“Again? What this time?”
“How does he trip every single day? The only reason the servants even saw those book titles is because he fell again today!”
“Well, that’s true, but maybe the books were just too heavy for him?”
“They’re thin picture books!”
“Yes, but His Highness is, well… a little small, isn’t he? No offense, but honestly, I’m impressed he manages to walk at all with those skinny legs.”
“Ugh…”
Suspicious thing number three:
The Third Prince falls down every single day—and only when someone’s watching.
Why is nobody else suspicious of that?
It was enough to drive me insane.
“Anyway, milady, let’s stop talking about His Highness and get some sleep, okay? You’ll grow faster if you go to bed early.”
“…Fine. Good night, Anna.”
But maybe… maybe I was overreacting.
Lying in bed alone, I sometimes wondered if I was the strange one.
Maybe Anna’s reaction was normal, and I was just being paranoid.
After all, I was the only person in this world who knew it was the setting of a novel.
That knowledge was both a blessing and a curse.
Knowing the truth meant I could prepare for the future—but it also made me question everything.
If I didn’t know that the Third Prince was supposed to be the story’s secondary male lead,
I might have thought he was just a cute, pitiful boy too.
‘…Fine. Enough overthinking. I’ll just check for myself.’
Whether he was actually suspicious, or whether I was seeing things that weren’t there—
I wouldn’t know until I found out firsthand.
Suppressing my restless thoughts, I forced myself to close my eyes.
The prince always went to the library right after breakfast, they said.
So I’d have to get there before him and hide.
“…Anna.”
“Yes?”
“Wake me up early tomorrow.”
“How early?”
“About an hour earlier than usual. I want to drop by the library after breakfast. Promise you’ll wake me?”
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
I heard Anna stifling a giggle from the next room.
She thought I was hopelessly lovesick—suffering from my first love with the Third Prince.
Ridiculous.
I mean, seriously—how old did she think I was, to fall for an eight-year-old boy?
No matter how he grew up, he’d always look like a kid to me.
Still, I let her keep her misunderstanding—it made gathering information about him easier.
So instead of correcting her, I quietly went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual and sneaked toward the library, careful not to be seen.
I passed a few servants in the hallway, but strangely, none of them seemed to notice me.
‘Wait—no way!’
Could I have a natural talent for hiding my presence too?
Wow. Just how perfect was I, really?
Too much perfection makes you seem inhuman, they say…
Even I was amazed by my growing list of talents.
I was busy basking in my own brilliance when I suddenly heard the library door creak open.
Startled, I dove under a nearby table.
“Will you be reading here again today, Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
“Please don’t wander off this time, and make sure to return before mealtime.”
“I understand.”
Through the door, I faintly heard the prince talking with someone—
judging by the smug tone, it had to be that annoying servant, Anchovy or whatever his name was.
After a few more words of caution, the servant shut the door and left briskly.
He really was an insufferably cheeky attendant.
