Chapter 7
“What… what….”
The child stammered, utterly flustered.
Such a tiny thing, and already so cheeky. Judging from how they had called me a thief without knowing anything and even struck my hand, they were all looks and no character.
I lifted one corner of my mouth in a smirk, and it seemed to irritate the child—they clenched their lips tightly. Now, what would they do? Would they start crying that they were wronged, claiming innocence? I guessed they might, being only about a year older than me.
But this child’s pride was stronger than I expected. Instead of crying, they erupted in anger and shoved me.
“Don’t say weird things! Let go of my hand!”
Perhaps because they were taller, their push carried more force. My fragile six-year-old body tumbled backward, tears stinging as I fell.
Ouch… ouch… ouch…
Luckily, the grass was soft, so I wasn’t seriously hurt, only rolling across the ground. Who knows whose child this was, but their nature seemed rotten to the core.
I groaned and pushed myself up. The child froze, staring down at me.
“Wh… what?”
They had pushed me, yet now they looked confused. It was the typical expression of a kid surprised by the consequences of their own actions. Considering their age, it was plausible. But I, being a child myself, felt a little mischievous.
I stood up, dusted my dress, and pushed them back in return.
In my previous life, I might have whined lying on the ground, but now I could return what I received.
“Ah!”
The child toppled backward, screaming. Honestly, compared to the force they had used to shove me, sending me sprawling, landing on their rear was generous.
I brushed myself off and spoke to the child, who looked up at me with teary, shocked eyes:
“I’m just returning the favor. Don’t take it personally.”
“You… you know who I am…”
“I don’t care who you are. Just listen carefully.”
Placing my hands on my hips and approaching menacingly, the child shrank back, intimidated. I gazed into their large eyes and warned them clearly:
“As I said before, don’t touch others recklessly. Hitting, shoving—where did you learn such bad habits?”
“….”
“If you want to grow into a respectable adult, fix this habit. I’m giving you sincere advice. Correct it while you’re young, or you’ll keep doing it when you grow up.”
The child stared blankly. Proper early guidance is essential to raising a decent adult. Pampering bad behavior could easily produce violent teenagers who everyone fears. I knew this well from observing the Pedro family. Their eldest would grab my hair, twelve years younger, whenever annoyed, all because the eldest daughter had been overindulged.
This angel-faced boy—or girl?—needed guidance now, while they were still young.
“Now, I’m leaving, so don’t do this to anyone else.”
“Wait…!”
The child clutched at the hem of my dress as I turned to leave. I looked at them, silently asking why. They hesitated, mumbling.
“Yoou….”
Before they could speak properly, the sound of running footsteps approached.
Three women, neatly dressed, were rushing toward us. Among them, the best-dressed one locked eyes with me briefly, grabbed my dress, and looked down at the child, her expression full of shock.
“Your Highness!”
Her scream sent a shiver down my spine.
Linda, the nanny of the Sixth Prince Hegeion, gasped when she saw a girl clutching a dress and sitting on the ground with the prince. She had come to visit the Dowager of the Leiphire family and, while distracted for a moment, the prince had disappeared, prompting a frantic search.
Although she assumed nothing serious would happen in a duke’s house, the prince’s absence made her anxious. The Dowager had even sent servants to search the estate. Following a voice in the garden, Linda finally found Hegeion.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
Linda shoved the girl aside and helped Hegeion to his feet. The girl stumbled back, but Linda’s attention was entirely on the prince, checking him for injuries. Hegeion, trying to keep his balance, glanced at the girl who hadn’t fallen.
“Why were you sitting on the ground? Did you fall?”
Linda’s face fell with worry. If she were found negligent in caring for the prince, she would face severe reprimand.
“Or… did someone push you?”
Remembering the girl, Linda turned sharply. The small girl with dark hair and violet eyes flinched at Linda’s gaze.
‘Who is this girl?’
The little girl looked feisty even at a glance, and Linda frowned.
“Did you push him?”
Linda asked fiercely. The girl glanced at Hegeion, then clasped her hands politely and answered calmly:
“Yes, I’m sorry… I didn’t realize he was Your Highness.”
Her downcast face might have inspired pity, but Linda was unrelenting. She stepped closer, hands on her waist, approaching the girl threateningly.
“Hah! Do you think claiming ignorance absolves you of touching the prince?!”
“…I really didn’t know. I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”
The girl tightly pressed her lips and bowed again in apology.
Hegeion, standing behind her, looked between his nanny and the girl, bewildered. Everything had unfolded differently than he expected, leaving him utterly confused.
“Linda, I…”
“Just a moment, Your Highness. As your nanny, I will thoroughly punish this child for daring to touch you!”
Hegeion tried to stop her, grabbing her dress, but she ignored him, moving toward the girl with raised hands. Seeing this, he held her dress tighter. This was not the scenario he wanted.
“Linda, stop!”
“Enough!”
Two commanding voices froze her in place. She focused on the authoritative, low female voice behind her.
“Dowager Leiphire…?”
Linda turned slowly. Indeed, the voice belonged to Helena, the former Duchess of Leiphire. She stood gracefully, red hair low, holding a black feathered fan.
“Perfect timing, Dowager. This child dared to push Your Highness to the ground!”
Linda, thrilled to have an ally, reported the incident to Helena, expecting the girl to be punished severely.
But Helena’s reaction was unexpected. Calmly, she surveyed the girl with cold red eyes, then spoke:
“Why did you push the prince?”
“Dowager, what good would asking do? She’ll just make excuses…”
“Madam Derfen, I wasn’t asking you. Be silent.”
Linda recoiled under Helena’s icy gaze.
Catarina blinked, then straightened, speaking in a soft, subdued voice:
“The prince thought I was a thief and pushed me… I didn’t know he was Your Highness, so I pushed back… I’m sorry, Dowager.”
Though her expression was haughty overall, her lowered eyes made her look like a small, trembling child.
Hegeion winced at her words. The whole incident stemmed from his misunderstanding.
“You dare blame the prince?! Trying to shift your fault onto him!”
Linda’s indignation flared as Hegeion was suddenly accused.
“Dowager, no need to hear more! Punish the child’s parents, not the child. Who knows if she’s actually stolen anything?”
Helena snapped her fan closed, signaling Linda to hold her tongue. Reluctantly, Linda complied.
Helena then turned to the girl:
“As Madam Derfen says, your words sound like you are blaming the prince.”
“No! Not at all!”
The girl shook her head vigorously, then continued in a soft, plaintive voice:
“I didn’t actually steal anything… but I understand why the prince thought I was bad.”
“Why? You say you’re not a thief.”
“But when Madam Derfen saw me, she also thought I was bad. So the prince must have thought the same.”
She subtly reversed the sequence of events, lowering her head as she muttered.
“Even if Madam Derfen misunderstood me, I shouldn’t have misunderstood the prince… it’s my fault. Please don’t punish her.”
She looked up at Helena, pleading. Helena, intrigued, studied her.
“What do you mean, you don’t want Madam Derfen punished?”
“You said earlier that the child’s parents should be punished for raising her poorly. As the prince’s nanny, aren’t you like a parent?”
The girl tilted her head innocently.
“Then if the prince misunderstood me, it’s your fault, Madam Derfen. I’m scared of that. I want you to be forgiven too.”
Her reasoning, though not formally structured, was crystal clear. Everyone understood: Hegeion’s push was not the child’s fault; it was the nanny’s failure. This clarified the chain of responsibility and the misunderstanding between Linda and Hegeion.
‘A clever child. Whoever their parents are, they’ve been raised well.’
Helena hid a smile behind her fan. She had quietly observed the playful struggle between Hegeion and the girl from the bushes.
Even knowing the truth from the start, she had watched to see how the girl would handle being falsely accused—and she was pleased with the result. The child had shifted blame wisely, requesting punishment for Linda instead of herself.
“Yes, you’re right. In the larger picture, this all started because Madam Derfen lost sight of the prince.”
Helena smiled gently, eyes twinkling over her fan.
