“What? You are forbidding me to visit the youngest princess-”
“Yes. Don’t come!”
My brother’s forceful way of speaking felt unfamiliar.
‘Brother?’
Both I and Mikhail looked at him in surprise.
“If it weren’t for you, Anastasia wouldn’t have been in danger!”
“Damian, I didn’t do it on purpose. She didn’t even get seriously injured-.”
“Enough! Just go!”
It was truly an uncharacteristic behavior from Damian.
‘The older brother who would gently ask why I scribbled on my favorite book… … .’
He didn’t even give Michael a chance to explain.
“You… … .”
Mikhail briefly opened his mouth and looked at my brother.
But my brother quickly turned away, not wanting to make eye contact with Mikhail.
‘No, Michael, why are you so quiet too? You used to follow me so eagerly whenever I turned away from you like this.”
Mikhail just stood there, as if he was nailed to the ground, looking at me with a very lonely expression.
He parted his lips a few times, wanting to say something, but my brother’s rejection was too strong.
How long did the uncomfortable silence continue ?
I couldn’t tell, but it was Mikhail who broke it first.
After letting out a shallow sigh, he said, “Yes. You are lucky to have a younger sibling.”
At those words, Damian, who had been ignoring Mikhail, turned around with a somewhat regretful expression, as if he had just realized something.
‘You look upset, even after saying it.’
Not only my brother, but also Mikhail.
The awkward silence filled the room once again.
‘These two people are both children, but they don’t act like children.’
If they were ordinary seven-year-olds, they would have endlessly fought, asking one another to apologize.
However, they were both way more thoughtful than their peers.
No, perhaps their consideration for others was even better than that of some adults.
‘If we leave things like this, the rift between them will only deepen.’
If one of them decided they could no longer stand the silence and left, it might be the end for their friendship.
Besides, I was no fool.
The reason my brother was behaving like this…… It was because of me.
Ha, I never dreamed that one day I’d be having such thoughts.
‘It’s not like I am the main character of some drama ‘
This was more inimaginable for me than a hundred reincarnations.
Despite everything, I wasn’t stupid enough to not notice my brother’s discomfort.
* * *
It happened a few days ago.
That guy kept following me around, annoying me.
So, one word escaped my lips.
‘Hey, miai-‘
‘You want me to go away? But, wait. Did you just say my name?’
Yes, that one word was the root of the problem.
‘Did you hear that, Damian? The princess said my name!’
‘what… … ?’
Without any awareness, Mikhail bragged about what happened to my brother.It’s a shame, but I haven’t been able to pronounce my family’s names properly yet.
However, when I saw my brother’s shocked face that day, I decided to try harder.
‘But -pa- was the only thing that came out.’
Why did the vowels that usually come out easily not come out in times like this?
It was truly amazing how baby’s oral structure worked.
In fact, before that, I had mumbled on terms like sister (-ni!), dad (-pa!), and mom (-maa-) alone before, but it never came out correctly so I never called them out loud.
Of course, seeing Damian’s betrayed expression after I had called Mikhail’s name for the first time that day, I immediately changed my mind, and called him ‘brother’ right away.
Moreover, on that same evening, even though it was awkward, I did my best to do the same for the rest of my family.
‘Until now, I didn’t talk to other people until I was able to articulate somewhat accurately.’
When I first grew up, I rarely interacted with other people, and even if I did, it wasn’t pleasant.
‘So I didn’t say long sentences until I was four or five years old.’
And even at that age, I still made some mistakes, so I tried not to speak for too long.
Of course, I practiced diligently every day on my own.
I knew very well that if I didn’t use those muscles, there would be no improvement.
Since it was going to be the first time, I wanted to call them with carefully polished words. I wanted to leave a beautiful memory in their mind, not me making a mess.
On the other hand, I didn’t care about how I said Mikhail’s name, he wasn’t family, only some kid who kept bothering me.
So, I’ve only been practicing alone so far… … .
‘I never thought my brother would be so affected by it.. … .’
Anyway, the family was in a complete mess, they showed a greater reaction than I expected.
‘Are you calling mom now? Anastasia? My baby can already say mommy?’
A clear joy appeared on my mother’s usually calm and elegant face.
She looked happier now than when I first smiled or even when I was born and cradled in her arms.
‘Now, now…. Did my youngest call me dad? Our youngest has already grown this much? Aren’t you growing too fast, my daughter? Sigh… … .’
Father’s eyes welled up with tears, just as I expected.
He cried while asking me not to grow up too quickly.
‘Sasha, did you just call me ‘elder sister’? This is it! Sasha called me sister. My baby sis called me sister!’
Laurencia was so excited, she repeated the same thing over and over again in her unique, and adorable way of speaking, as if her pronunciation was still a bit off.
As for my brother….
‘Anastasia. You are my sister, after all.’
He hugged me tightly, forgetting the disappointment he felt moments ago.
As if everything was now alright.
Meanwhile, Mikhail, unaware of what was going on, looked utterly perplexed.
* * *
To be honest, I didn’t want to label Mikhail as a bad kid.
‘He probably doesn’t know any better, just like me.’
If I were in his position, wouldn’t I have done that?
No, I might actually have been more clumsy than Mikhail.
‘I didn’t want to form relationships in the first place.’
Because I didn’t want to be hurt or hurt others.
But Mikhail had no reason to be like me.
Because he’s an actual six-year-old boy.
And so was my brother.
But no matter how understanding and considerate I was, I couldn’t tolerate everything.
My family was very affectionate towards one another, so they were my priority.
‘No matter how close Mikhail was to us.’
Strangely enough, Mikhail enjoyed coming to see me, so my brother had endured and sacrificed a lot.
‘More than Michael thinks.’
Damian used to love reading books to me and my sister after his lessons.
‘When he did it for the first time, my sister cried because the book was so thick and difficult.’
But after that, he carefully selected children’s storybooks with lots of pictures and fewer words that my sister and I would enjoy.
During the quiet hours of the day, my sister and I would take a nap while listening to the soothing sound of my brother’s reading voice.
And around snack time, my sister’s precise belly-button clock would signal her, saying, ‘Lara, it’s snack time.’
With time, this became our little ritual.
But after Mikhail started to visit regularly, my brother willingly gave up on our time together.
‘The reason my brother is late coming to my room is because he stopped by my sister’s room.’
Mikhail always went home before dinner time.
And in his own way, my brother has been considerate of him, who has no younger siblings and only had his grandfather.
Mikhail liked me, and found baby me fascinating.
‘As expected, I should have been more patient… … .’
Once one’s body grew enough to walk, there would be more one can do for one’s family.
I was impatient too.
Anyway, my brother endured in various ways, but today Mikhail took over my first steps away from him, so when he heard that I fell, he exploded.
‘But even then, I could see that both my brother and Mikhail are reflecting on themselves.’
My brother felt guilty for not being considerate enough, and Mikhail believed that he had been careless.
‘Ugh, it would have been easy if I was a normal baby.’
Even in the midst of this, it was clearly visible that there was discomfort and consideration between them.
I’ve always been a person who walked on eggshells around others, so even though I didn’t know much about other things, I could feel the awkward atmosphere.
‘It can’t be helped.’
This wasn’t my preferred way to fix stuff, but I wasn’t without fault here either.
Besides, if they continue to fight like this, these two will definitely have a long-lasting grudge.
We needed to be mindful of each other.
Grand Duke Levantes asked my parents to look after Mikhail, so if this developed into a bigger issue, they would be put in an uncomfortable position.
‘Just close your eyes, and cry,’ I said to myself.
What else can I do in this ordinary baby body anyway?
It was something I would never have done in my previous life, but I wasn’t stupid foolish enough to not acknowledge how much these two people valued me.
So, I braced myself, and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Waaaahhh-!”
“Anastasia?!” my brother screamed in shock.
“Baby?!” Mikhail exclaimed.
“Miss!”
Everyone in the room was startled by my sudden outburst.
I usually let myself cry once a week, and it never went beyond a whimper. This was the first time I cried so loudly since the doctor saved my life.
“Uwahhh, ieeeuuu.”
Speaking while crying made my pronunciation even more garbled.
But both my brother and Mikhail realized that I was trying to tell them something.
My brother looked at Mikhail without hesitation.
“Let’s stop. The baby doesn’t like it…”Mikhail said with a solemn expression.
And these two clever boys immediately figured out what I was crying about.
“Anastasia, I was wrong. Big brother was wrong.”
“I was wrong too, baby.”
‘No, apologize to each other, not to me,’ I lamented, staring at my brother and Mikhail alternately, hoping they would get it.
And it was Mikhail who understood first, and opened his mouth with a shy expression.
“… … “I’m sorry for putting your precious little sister in danger.”
At his words, my brother patted my back as I sobbed, and replied, “Me too. I’m sorry I told you not to come again… … . I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about not having younger siblings… … .”
He seemed particularly regretful for having touched the family topic.
They were both such straight-faced children.
They were so similar that it wasn’t surprising for them to be friends.
What surprised me was the words Mikhail said next.
“You know, Damian. I don’t have a younger brother, so I don’t know much. Could you teach me?”
“uh… … .”
As soon as the words ‘I don’t have a younger brother’ came out of Mikhail’s mouth, my brother’s face suddenly hardened.
And upon seeing this, Mikhail quickly waved his hand and corrected his words.
“I’m not being shady about what you said to me. It’s just……I truly don’t know. If you tell me, I will do exactly as you say,”the boy explained, scratching his cheek as if he was embarrassed.
“When you told me to be courteous to the princess, I did my best to be respectful. I also didn’t touch her without permission, when you asked me not to do it.”
Oh, so that’s why he no longer impulsively held hands.
“So please tell me, I..I really don’t know what’s dangerous for a baby or not.”
Mikhail carefully approached us, and humbly extended his hand out.
“huh?”
This kid really had a big heart.
My brother, momentarily surprised, stared at him for a while before taking his hand.
“Umm..I’m truly sorry too, Michail,” Damian said again.
“So, have we reconciled?”
“Yes.”
“Is it ok for me to continue visiting your sister?”
At his question, my brother looked conflicted for a moment, but eventually responded with a faint smile.
“okay.”
With that answer, Mikhail, who almost lost a lot today, seemed genuinely happy as he smiled brightly without any hint of grudge on his face.
* * *
“Help…me”
A voice that sounded like it was going to break rang in my ears.
‘This..What is this sound?’
I had fallen asleep, relieved that Mikhail and Damian had reconciled.
But for some reason, there was a newborn baby tightly tied up right in front of me.
