Chapter 7
“I’m going to sleep, so no one is allowed to come in!”
I told the nanny and maids I was taking a nap.
Just in case something happened, I didn’t forget to stuff pillows under the blanket to make it look like someone was lying there.
“Since it’s the first time, I’ll probably just greet him and come back, right?”
Fortunately, the Duke’s residence was close to the Imperial Palace, so if everything went well, I might be able to go and return without getting caught.
I hurriedly packed the items I had prepared for Leonhardt into my rabbit-shaped bag.
When I slung the now bulging rabbit bag over my shoulder, it felt like my already small height had shrunk even more.
“It’s too heavy.”
The strength of a six-year-old was truly pitiful.
But the determination of my soul belonged to an adult.
“Still… Leonhardt, who’s as helpless as a rabbit, is waiting at the Imperial Palace.”
I widened my eyes and took a step forward.
Taking the first step had been difficult, but little by little I began to adjust to the weight.
“Hah, I’ll be late at this rate!”
After checking the time, I even started running—slowly, but still running.
* * *
“He’s not here yet, right?”
Having successfully reached the stables without being seen by anyone, I looked around carefully.
Neither the coachman Hans nor Lester was in sight.
First, I tossed my rabbit bag into the carriage.
Then, after stepping back a few paces, I ran forward and practically jumped onto the carriage step, which was quite high for my height.
“Phew, success.”
After that, things became easier.
I climbed over the doorway and managed to get inside the carriage, picking up my rabbit bag first.
Looking around, I moved toward the seat near the coachman’s area.
‘Lester usually sits over there.’
My target was the hidden compartment beneath the seat.
It was a storage space used for long journeys, large enough to fit a six-year-old child and a bag.
I tried to undo the latch that kept it closed so it wouldn’t open while the carriage was moving.
Because my fine motor skills weren’t fully developed yet, it took quite a while.
“Huh? Why won’t this open?”
I was wiggling my slightly tingling fingers after putting too much strength into them when I heard someone approaching.
“Why me when my older brother is here!”
It was Lester.
At that moment, some kind of superhuman ability awakened.
The latch that hadn’t budged no matter how hard I tried suddenly came loose.
“Ah, got it!”
I silently cheered and tossed my rabbit bag inside first.
Then I crawled into the space under the seat and shut the door with all my strength.
Thankfully, the hinges were well oiled, so it didn’t make much noise.
As I twisted my body slightly to find a more comfortable position, I heard Lester climbing into the carriage.
The timing had been so close that if I’d been even a little later, I would have been caught.
Thump! Thump!
Perhaps because I was so close to the floor, the sound of Lester’s irritated footsteps echoed loudly.
Startled, I widened my eyes and covered my mouth with both hands.
Fortunately, Lester’s bad mood didn’t last long.
After he sat down across from the seat where I was hiding, everything became quiet.
‘Well, he’s probably just sitting there sulking and glaring out the window.’
After Hans’s voice was heard, the carriage slowly began to move.
Only then did I notice the smell of wood and old dust.
Rattle, rattle.
And the vibrations from the floor.
The environment felt so rough it almost made me nauseous, so I reached out and grabbed one ear of my rabbit bag.
‘What kind of trouble I’m going through because of you.’
After kneading the rabbit ear hundreds of times—imagining it was Leonhardt’s instead—the carriage eventually arrived at the Imperial Palace.
“Nice to meet you, Young Lord Rodrick. I am Andrew Lombran, the chief attendant of the Crown Prince’s Palace.”
It seemed someone had come out to greet them, judging from the calm voice of a middle-aged man.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
Lester’s voice followed.
“I’ll guide you.”
Perhaps noticing Lester’s less-than-pleasant mood, the chief attendant didn’t prolong the conversation and quietly began leading the way.
I had to strain my ears to hear the faint footsteps before Lester whispered:
“I’ll be out soon. Don’t go far—wait nearby.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
After Hans responded, I heard Lester’s footsteps fade away.
“Now’s my chance.”
I rolled out from beneath the carriage seat.
With the rabbit bag—its ears now flattened from being squeezed—slung over my shoulder, I carefully opened the carriage door.
Lester had already followed the attendant, and before Hans could drive the carriage toward the palace stables, it stood still with no one around.
This was the moment I had been waiting for.
Once again, I tossed the rabbit bag down first.
Then, clenching my fists, I gathered my courage and jumped off the carriage.
A child’s body was light and surprisingly nimble.
After landing fairly smoothly, I grabbed my rabbit bag and hid among the hedge bushes.
Once Hans’s carriage had gone far enough away, I ran with all my strength toward the palace annex where Leonhardt lived.
* * *
After reaching the annex through a secret passage of the Imperial Palace—a route I had learned during my time as Empress—I carefully examined the building’s exterior.
“It looks better than last time.”
The moss that had grown along the shaded walls had been removed, and the faded paint seemed to have been redone, making everything look clean.
“Still, the inside is what matters more than the outside.”
Giving it a provisional passing mark, I headed inside the annex.
As before, there were no high-ranking servants or attendants assigned to direct imperial family members.
‘They’re probably hiding somewhere and slacking off.’
Well, that was the very reason I could come here in the first place.
“At least they cleaned.”
The last time I visited, balls of dust had been rolling across the corridor.
No wonder my nanny had thought it was an abandoned building.
But this time, no visible dust could be seen.
Like a picky mistress inspecting her house, I scrutinized the cleanliness while heading toward Leonhardt’s room.
“Why is his room on the second floor again?”
Walking on flat ground had been manageable, but climbing stairs while carrying the rabbit bag was exhausting.
By the time I reached Leonhardt’s room—climbing three or four steps at a time and resting for ten seconds each—I still hadn’t run into anyone.
Standing in front of his bedroom door, I knocked lightly.
Knock, knock.
The inside was quiet, as if he might be taking a nap.
Well, naps were important for babies.
But who knew when I’d get another chance to come?
So today, he’d just have to wake up.
“It’s me, Miella. Leonhardt!”
I knocked again and called out to him.
A moment later, the bedroom door opened.
Just as I’d expected—he had been sleeping.
Leonhardt peeked out through the doorway, his hair sticking up in every direction like a bird’s nest.
“Miella?”
Still half-asleep, he called my name with drowsy eyes.
“Yeah. Hi. Have you been doing well?”
I pressed down his soft-looking hair with my hand as I greeted him.
Leonhardt poked my arm with his tiny index finger.
“You’re real?”
“What, did you think there was a fake Miella?”
I chuckled and pressed his crown down again.
Even though Leonhardt was naturally strong, a two-year age difference at this age was still significant.
His neck shrank like a turtle pulling into its shell.
Watching him, I burst into giggles.
Then I asked,
“Can I come in?”
Even if the maids of the annex ignored Leonhardt, we couldn’t keep standing around in the hallway like this.
Leonhardt belatedly glanced around before opening the bedroom door wide.
I adjusted my rabbit bag once more and stepped inside.
“Give that to me.”
Following behind, Leonhardt noticed the rabbit bag I was carrying was quite heavy and held out his hand.
It was a very gentlemanly gesture.
The problem was that he was four years old.
“It’s fine. I’ll carry it.”
I couldn’t exactly make a kid the size of the rabbit bag carry the rabbit bag.
I bravely carried it myself and set it down on the carpet in the middle of the bedroom.
With his much shorter legs, Leonhardt walked toward me with determined strides.
“Give it here.”
His voice was childish, but his tone was exactly the same as when he was an adult.
Before the regression, I would have hated that unnecessarily serious voice.
But given the circumstances, it was simply funny.
“You won’t be able to lift it.”
I understood the disconnect between mind and body better than Leonhardt.
It was my first time regressing, but I was already making very good use of having an adult mind in a child’s life.
So I teased him deliberately.
Leonhardt tried to lift the rabbit bag as if it were nothing.
But of course, he failed.
“See?”
When I mocked him, Leonhardt pressed his lips together in displeasure.
His baby-fat cheeks puffed up.
I burst out laughing.
