âIf His Highness says itâs fine, then alright. Listen, Lelia-sama, you should accept his kindness, say thank you.â
He was annoying, so I pretended that I hadnât heard him. By the way, what should I do? I left Linus, who was still saying something and approached Nicoâs desk. There was something that I was interested in since I first saw it.
âWhathâsh thhish?â
It looked like a pencil. It was like a black crayon wrapped in paper so that your hands wouldnât get dirty. It was a little different from the pens adults used, and it was short to fit into a childâs hand.
âItâs a pencil.â
âPenciw.â
âIf you write like this on the paper then...â
âWow, ithâsh wiwe a pen.â
It was thin, but the lines are properly drawn.
âAnd, if you do this...â
When Nico rubbed the paper with a chunk of cloth lying next to him, the line disappeared.
âIth dishappeared!â
âYou can use it lots of times, I heard itâs an ex-exceptional item.â
âAmazing! Leth me borrow?â I pestered him a little.
âHmm.â
Nico generously agreed to let me borrow his pencil. I grasped the pencil correctly and drew a line.
âWow, I did ith!â
âBuufo.â
The person who was disqualified as a guard was behind me. I was impressed by the pencil, so I took the paper and tried to draw. A big mouth, small hands, big feet and a tail. I looked up at Nico. âWhat is this?â
âThis is... A Rug Dragon?â
âYup! Nico, amazing!â
I didnât care that a small voice said, âI canât believe you can tell with that,â from behind me.
âLei, youâre pretty good.â
âAi.â
Unfortunately, I couldnât borrow someone elseâs pencil forever. I reluctantly gave it back.
âYouâre finished with your greetings, havenât you? Then, Your Highness, letâs finish your studies for today. Weâre already late,â The tutor said. Nico looked bored as he adjusted his position on the chair. Then, what should I do? I turned to the adults.
Linus, 4 guards including Hans, two maids including Natalie, a total of seven people. There are a lot of them, so Iâm sure theyâve thought of something for me to do. I stared at them in anticipation.
Even though Nico had started studying his vowels, no one said anything to me. Everyone looked awkward because of my gaze.
Otou-sama said that they need to increase the guards and maids, thatâs why I had to wait for a week. In other words, they worked hard on increasing the guards and maids that they didnât think about what the Princeâs playmate should do.
I sighed and folded my arms.
âBuufo.â
It seems like they havenât thought of what I should do. I have to think of something to do if no one else will. Which means Iâve decided.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI wanth paper and a penciw, and a chair and deshw.â
âBring a childâs desk and chair! And a spare pencil and paper!â Linus soon issued orders, and people started moving around. I wonder if he can study like this. Nico looked over with interest, and he got lectured, âYour Highness, you havenât started writing yet.â I sighed a little. Of course, he wouldnât be able to.
âLinus-sama, we have the paper and pencil ready, but we canât find the desk and chair weâd prepared.â
Theyâre not well-prepared. You told Otou-sama he was late, but you havenât made the proper preparations. I looked up at the ceiling in amazement.
âThen, give me thhe penciw and paper.â
âBut you need a place to write... do you want to use an adultâs desk?â
âIthâsh fine, sho give ith tho me.â
I took the pencil and paper and moved next to Nico. Then, I laid down.
âSay, Leila-sama. You canât, as a lady, no, a baby, but youâre a girl, but youâre not yet?â
Linus panicked. But, I leaned on my shoulders, put my body up and began drawing with the pencil. My legs were bent to my knees. My hands wonât move how I want them to, so Iâll draw whatever I want.
âFwowersh, one, thwo, thhree, over here, wizard.â (Lizard)
Doesnât it look pretty good? But, Iâve already drawn a lot on the page. I picked up the cloth to erase it.
âRub ith outh withh cwothh. Draw a Rug Dragon. Ah.â
I ran out of paper and ended up writing on the floor. Oh my. When I was troubled, I saw someoneâs shadow on the floor.
âItâs alright, Leila-sama. Letâs wipe it off quickly with this cloth.â
âNathawie.â
âLeila-sama, so you like drawing?â
âAi. Buth thhereâsh no paper ath home.â
Natalie talked to me while wiping the floor.
âPaper and pencil are a little expensive, but commoners can buy them too. If you tell Master, then heâll get them for you straight away.â
âReawwy?â
âI think thereâs paper for Luke-sama to use. Letâs ask him.â
âAi!â
This will relieve my boredom a bit. Now, letâs draw carefully so I wonât draw outside of the paper this time.
âNow, Nico. Round face and yewwow eyesh. Chubby cheewsh and wipsh. And...â
*SMACK*
âHuh?â
I looked up because Iâve never heard this noise before, and Nico was holding his left hand with his right hand while looking down.
âFocus, Your Highness. If you donât focus, then you wonât remember your vowels. You are part of the royal family, so you must not be distracted by normal babies,â the tutor scolded, and in his hands was a small branch.
âNow, letâs write your vowels again.
Nico thinned his lips even more. The tutor hit Nico with the branch again because he wasnât writing.
*SMACK*
âIth hurthsh.â
There was a slight red line on my hand which was on top of Nicoâs. This hurts.
âYou canâth do thhath,â I told the tutor quietly. Hans tried to come to me, but another guard stopped him. Natalie has been standing behind me for a while. I kept my hands on top of Nicoâs and stared at the tutor.
âHe wonâth remember even if ith hurthsh. Donâth hith him.â
âBut His Highness doesnât remember these vowels even though weâve been at it for months. Even though heâs smart and remembers arithmetic quickly.â
Iâm stumped even if you tell me that. Doesnât he just like arithmetic and isnât interested in reading or writing yet?
âGive me branch.â
I held my hand out to the tutor. He reluctantly gave it to me. I stuffed it into my Rug Dragon pocket. Of course, it was sticking out.
âBranch prohibithed.â
âProhibithed?â
âYou canâth ushe ith.â
âProhibited, was it?â
I feel like the tutor had said, âWhat right do you have?â but I have no right. Itâs a request from a cute baby.
I removed my hand from Nicoâs and took his hand. Itâs a little red, but heâs not hurt.
âPain fwy away!â I chanted and blew on the red place. Then, I looked at Nico.
âDoesh ith shthiww hurth?â (Does it still hurt?)
âIt didnât hurt in the first place,â Nico, who had said that, was quite stubborn.