Chapter 43: I Want to See You
There was something strange about Rodelo’s words to Shasha—the words he spat out and left behind, saying she had deceived him.
“Should I check on it later?”
But there was nothing I could really say to a child whose heart was still completely closed. I couldn’t exactly grab a fleeing child and say, “Hey, you do have memories, right?”
“Unnie.”
“Hm?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.”
“But he left… Piggy…”
Shasha looked at Rodelo sullenly. I reached out and stroked Shasha’s head.
“She’s just shy for now.”
“Guronka…”
“Next time he comes, let’s treat him well.”
“Okay! I’ll even save some chocolate cookies especially for him.”
Would he really come back? I couldn’t be sure. After all, he had left Shasha with nothing but harsh words—calling her a liar, saying she had deceived him. Yet Shasha hadn’t seemed upset in the slightest.
“Well, from Shasha’s point of view, she never lied, and she never deceived Rodelo.”
In fact, Shasha was simply puzzled by why Rodelo had suddenly left.
That day passed with her barely paying attention in class.
And the next day, and the day after that—Rodelo didn’t come.
Every day at snack time, Shasha would clutch the cookies in her hand tightly, sitting at the tea table with a disappointed expression, waiting for Rodelo.
She had even brought the pen she cherished to study with him, but her face was full of frustration.
“Unnie.”
“Hm.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like me.”
“Rodelo?”
“Yeah… Piggy… I was happy to have a friend…”
Shasha fiddled with the neatly wrapped chocolate cookie in her hands, looking quite forlorn.
“Hmm… Do you want to see Rodelo?”
“Not a lot…? Actually, a lot… I really want to see him.”
Seeing Shasha’s sullen expression, I looked past the bushes.
“She says she really wants to see you. Rodelo.”
“Yeah… I really do. He was the first friend I ever had, after the rabbits. I said a few mean things, but… still.”
Then the bushes rustled, as if the rabbits themselves were moving.
“If he comes too late, Shasha won’t be able to wait. It’d be good if he came right now.”
“No, I can wait…!”
Shasha opened her mouth as if to argue, but I shook my head at her.
“Unnie…?”
The bushes, which had been quietly swaying, suddenly shook as if expecting us to say that.
“Did you really… want to see me?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Shasha whipped her head around.
“Piggy!!”
“…Hey, could you stop calling me Eye-Rabbit and Piggy? It really makes me sound like a pig.”
“Hmm… then what should I call you?”
Shasha smiled brightly, happy that her friend had returned, but Rodelo couldn’t. He fidgeted, as if he had a lot to say but couldn’t.
“No, I’ll allow it.”
“Alright, Piggy! Why are you so late? I’ve been waiting!”
“…Are you… okay?”
“Why?”
“I said some bad things.”
“Did you?”
Shasha’s eyes widened, staring at Rodelo seriously, clearly not understanding.
“You called me a liar… said I deceived you, and left angry.”
“That’s right! I did!”
“But… it didn’t hurt your feelings?”
“Why would it?”
“Huh?”
Shasha looked at Rodelo as if she hadn’t been hurt at all.
“I didn’t lie! And deceived? I don’t even know that hard word, but I didn’t do anything. So calling me Piggy can’t hurt me!”
Rodelo let out a small sigh.
“That’s true. You didn’t do anything… So what I said didn’t affect you at all. And I didn’t even realize…”
He fiddled with his words and hung his head.
“I was really the worst.”
“Huh? Yeah, you were the worst!”
“…Hey! You really have to say that?”
“I waited for you so long! I didn’t eat my favorite chocolate cookies every day just to give them to you!”
Rodelo, who had been about to argue, looked dumbfounded at the cookie Shasha thrust toward him.
“You… saved it for me? You waited?”
“Yes! You looked so sad, I waited to give it to you. I don’t give it to just anyone.”
Like it was no big deal to be around someone her age, Shasha laughed at Rodelo.
No child would cling and demand attention like Shasha did, and no prince would force his way into a child’s weakness like that. They probably couldn’t even imagine that cruel future anymore.
Because now, they were sharing their hearts—as friends.
Making sure that their emotions didn’t dry up and cause harm.
“…What is this… Who would want to eat this?”
“You don’t want it? Tch. Fine.”
“No, you eat it. I… being a prince, I eat a lot of this kind of thing! So eat it and get all plump!”
“Deal!”
Shasha cheerfully shoved the cookie into her mouth.
“Hey, don’t just eat it right away.”
Watching Rodelo, back and forth like a little frog, Shasha stuck her tongue out.
“Don’t say things like that. If you want it, say you want it. If not, say you don’t.”
Then she took a cookie from the small pouch in her hand and put it in Rodelo’s mouth.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah. Cookies from the prince’s palace are good, but these are… good too.”
“Saying it like that makes it even nicer!”
“I’m not nice! I’m… cool!”
“Ohhh. Really?”
Shasha laughed at him like she would at a little brother. It was hard to believe she had once been emotionally stunted; she was recovering quickly.
“I’m not a kid!”
“You are a kid.”
“…Anyway, the emperor told me how you’ve lived… I didn’t know, so I called you a liar. I felt so bad… I couldn’t come.”
Their conversation was between children, so I quietly stepped back and let them speak.
“Really?”
“Yes. But why can you go through that and be okay? I… I’m not okay…”
Rodelo was so kind, as if showing he wasn’t a bad kid, or as if to say his bad words had been a defensive mechanism.
“I still can’t let my guard down. It seems like someone connected to his mother is nearby.”
I stepped back and watched the children. At that moment, Ken approached me.
“That’s fortunate.”
“Ken. Thanks to you.”
“It’s not thanks to me. I just quietly let you know.”
Smiling awkwardly, he kept an eye on the children. We stayed at a distance to avoid them overhearing.
Since Rodelo was there, Shasha didn’t seek me out. I instead sat quietly, gathering the rabbits that were hopping around into a basket.
“Still, if it weren’t for Ken, we wouldn’t even know Rodelo kept coming here after that day.”
After Rodelo had left that day, I thought he would never come back. I thought Shasha and he could never get along, maybe I’d have to find another way. I took her words too negatively, thinking I couldn’t fix it.
But that wasn’t true.
After that day, Rodelo had directly asked the emperor about Shasha and me. Once he learned the truth, he became restless, lingering nearby.
Thanks to Ken, I knew.
Rodelo was hiding in the bushes like a rabbit. Even a little attention would catch the sound of the child sighing.
“I’m glad the two of them are getting along.”
“Yeah. I thought they could never bond.”
Even without me, they smiled at each other. Or more accurately, they bickered. Who ate more cookies, who ate less—just like kids.
Still, they fought and laughed in turns.
“What about Ron?”
Being with Ken again, Ron naturally came to mind.
“Ah, today’s a day off.”
“I see.”
Since Shasha said that, I hadn’t been able to meet Ron separately. I wondered if he really was imitating Ken, but for various reasons, he hadn’t come to the villa.
“Maybe this is Ron.”
According to Shasha, Ron and Ken parted their hair differently. I recalled that Ron always had a left parting, Ken a right one. And Ken had a mole on his neck.
“This is Ken.”
“Do you have something to say?”
“Ah, no… it’s just… watching like this, I feel it would be hard to tell Ron and Ken apart.”
“I think it’s easier than with others.”
His awkward smile seemed to confirm his identity. Ken looked like someone who had trouble smiling.
“It’s Ken, then.”
“Huh?”
“At least I can tell by the smile.”
“My apologies… I can’t smile well like others…”
Fortunately. I didn’t know why Ron was pretending to be him, but at least I had my own way to tell.
“I don’t need to tell Ken right now what Ron is thinking. He probably isn’t on Ron’s side, but I’ll watch anyway.”
I stared at him for a long time. Feeling pressured, Ken looked at the rabbits instead.
Shasha and Rodelo then approached us.
“Unnie!”
“Hm?”
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll be together. Piggy’s coming every day!”
“Hmm… I might have done something wrong… Just keep what we agreed on.”
So they’d study letters together. That alone was enough for today.
“Don’t worry. Then he can come starting tomorrow. Today, just play with the rabbits a bit.”
“Okay!”
Then he plopped onto the ground. Rodelo, who had been prickly like a thorny rose, now seemed more like a child.
There were more things to discover—about Ron and Ken, about Rodelo’s mother.
“I still don’t have anyone to truly trust here.”
Yet every day felt joyful. Living now felt more alive than when Isabella used Shasha’s money to buy whatever she wanted and throw it away.
“Alright! Let’s run around with the rabbits as much as we want today.”
Following the emperor’s wishes to build stamina, we ran around with the children for a long while.
In the garden, with sunlight pouring down, it was a lesson only among us. Not professional, not special, but somehow precious.
After an hour, the children had snacks and napped.
A normal day, an ordinary day.
But before three days of these lessons had passed, an unexpected visitor arrived.
