chapter 16
“Huh? You just said it’s for kids….”
Baron quickly shook his head.
“It’s a fairy tale book, so of course kids read it. And I’m a kid.”
“?”
“You’re going to read me a fairy tale and give me a goodnight kiss, right? Then tuck me in after I fall asleep and pat me gently.”
‘Ah.’
I finally understood his sudden change in attitude, so bold it was almost shameless.
Oh my, our little cutie! It’s not the fairy tale you like — it’s that your big sister will read it to you sweetly!
I almost burst out laughing because he was so adorable, but I held it in, thinking he might get embarrassed if I laughed.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Baron couldn’t hide the smile tugging at his lips as he looked over the books.
“Okay, let’s pick one quickly. What kind of book do you like, noona?”
He pulled out a book and opened it.
“This one has a baby rabbit.”
The bookstore lady, who had been watching us from the side, smiled warmly.
“That one’s for four-year-olds. How old are you?”
“I’m seven.”
“Hmm, kids your age these days like… this one. It just came out recently, and we happen to have it. You’re lucky.”
She recommended three thin secondhand books.
“This one is the most popular Northern Gate illustrated fairy tale. This one is The Headless Magic Knight. And this one is The Princess Who Fell Into a Book.”
They had hard covers, but the pages inside were worn and frayed at the corners.
“They’re so popular that they ended up like this.”
After thinking it over, Baron and I chose the Northern Gate illustrated fairy tale.
The system was that if we bought it, read it carefully, and brought it back clean, they would return most of the money, keeping only the rental fee. So we had to take good care of it.
On our way out, I suddenly thought it would be nice to get a book for myself too.
‘Oh right, there’s a public library nearby.’
I couldn’t borrow books on my own because of identity verification issues, but if I went with Baron, it might work.
“Baron, should we go to the public library and borrow books? You get one, and I’ll get one.”
Baron nodded happily.
At the library, I chose a book about the history of the Empire. What I knew came from a novel, so I needed more information beyond that.
Baron had disappeared for a while, and when he returned, the book he chose was noticeably thick. But I couldn’t read the title.
‘Huh? A foreign book?’
After leaving the library, I opened the book Baron had borrowed. It was filled with foreign text and strange diagrams I didn’t recognize.
“Baron, can you read foreign languages?”
“Yeah.”
He answered so easily that I was surprised.
Do noble children learn foreign languages that early?
I flipped through a few pages. It was packed with unfamiliar letters, even denser than the Empire history book I chose.
“Y-you’re going to read this?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“There are so many words. It looks like a professional book.”
“You mean it makes me look smart?”
Baron shrugged and closed the book I was holding.
“So, what book is it?”
“Well…”
He rolled his eyes for a moment before answering.
“Frogs.”
“Huh? Frogs?”
“Yeah. A book about how to catch frogs.”
“How to catch frogs?”
I stared at the thick hardcover in his hands.
That big book is about catching frogs?
Seeing my reaction, Baron pouted.
“Maybe you don’t know, but there are actually a lot of frogs in this world. If you want to catch different kinds, it’s better to have more information.”
“What are you going to do with the frogs?”
“Well, that’s a secret for now. Anyway, let’s go.”
I didn’t know why he wanted to catch frogs. Maybe “frog hunter” was one of his future dreams.
‘Is it like how kids say they want to grow up to be a police car or a dinosaur? Still, that book looks way too advanced for that.’
But Baron was born a noble. Maybe he was just different from ordinary children.
After stopping by a restaurant for lunch, we headed home.
Both of us were carrying things, so I couldn’t carry Baron on my back this time.
Should I talk about frogs since he likes them?
Tree frogs? Brown frogs? Toads?
Wait… do the frogs I know even exist in this world?
While I was thinking, Baron spoke first.
“When are you going to buy clothes for yourself?”
“Huh?”
“Your clothes are really worn out too. If we hadn’t bought my pajamas and groceries today, we could’ve bought at least one outfit for you.”
I shook my head. I had found two old outfits in the cabin, but they were fine after washing. And today, I definitely needed to wash Baron’s clothes.
“Hey, you only have that one set of clothes. At least you need pajamas so I can wash them.”
“You don’t have to worry about my clothes. I’m clean.”
I glanced at him.
Since the day we met, he hadn’t changed clothes even once, but he still looked neat, just like he was wearing new clothes.
Maybe because he was a noble child and had naturally tidy habits, his clothes didn’t get dirty easily.
That would make laundry easier, but still — having only one set of clothes was inconvenient.
“Even so, there’s a limit. You just can’t see it, but there are probably tons of germs. And if we didn’t buy groceries, you’d be eating conch and crab again today.”
“I won’t starve.”
“Kids need to eat balanced meals to grow well.”
“I’m really fine.”
“You’re not. Listen to your noona. I’ll make you a special dish today.”
At that moment, I saw a seagull flying across the blue sky.
The scenery was so beautiful. On the peaceful beach road home, it was just Baron and me.
Feeling happy, I started humming.
As I hummed, my steps became lighter.
“What song is that?”
“Oh, it’s a children’s song. Want to sing it together?”
“I don’t know it.”
Of course he didn’t. It was from the world before I was reincarnated.
“It’s easy. You’ll learn it quickly. Listen carefully. It’s called Baby Goat.”
Baron’s eyes widened as I sang.
He memorized it after hearing it just once. After humming it together a couple of times, he started singing it loudly and excitedly.
We jumped up and down together and spun around in circles.
Before we knew it, both of us were laughing. We didn’t hold back — we laughed as much as we wanted while heading home.
With the blue sea behind him, Baron’s bright smile looked so cute and lovely. Being able to sing together again and again, enjoying the world like this—
I felt truly happy.
.
.
.
After singing to our hearts’ content, we reached near our house.
The empty lot next door was now bustling with workers and construction equipment. Just yesterday, it had been an empty space similar in size to our land, but now the framework of a house was already built.
“Hello, Baron-nim, Miss Hailey. You both look very happy.”
Raven, who had been inspecting the construction site, greeted us warmly.
“Hello, Mr. Raven.”
Baron simply raised one hand in greeting. His face was expressionless again, as if he hadn’t been laughing excitedly just moments ago.
Raven walked over and looked at the things we were holding.
“Oh, it looks like you went shopping. And borrowed books too. Are you interested in the Empire’s history?”
“Yes. There’s still a lot I don’t know.”
Raven’s gaze soon shifted to the book in Baron’s hand.
“Mr. Raven, can you read foreign languages too?”
“As a merchant, that’s basic.”
“Baron says he can read foreign languages too.”
“Ah, I thought he looked clever. So, Baron-nim, what book did you bring?”
Raven’s expression changed slightly when he saw the title. Baron, however, asked calmly:
“Raven, do you know this frog book?”
“Frog… book?”
“Yeah. I told noona it’s about how to catch frogs, but she didn’t seem to believe me.”
Raven glanced at me, so I just shrugged.
“I just wasn’t sure if tree frogs and brown frogs matched that kind of cover. I wondered if it really was about frogs.”
“Well. The title does say that.”
Raven took the book from Baron and flipped through a few pages. After reading briefly, he nodded.
“It is a frog book. However, not harmless frogs like that. These are the ones that appear near the Gates… This page says that the red frog releases a strong poisonous mist, so you must prepare antidotes before trying to catch it.”
My head started spinning.
‘P-poisonous frogs? And they release poisonous mist?’
