The Two Babies Changing the Original Story Chapter 19

‘Why! Why! For what reason!’

No one had known about this surprise visit.

When the gatekeeper delivered the message that “the princess has come to visit the sick,” the very first thing Marundial thought was: I should fire that fool immediately.

When the butler—who’d rushed out just in case—shouted, “I–It really is a carriage with the royal seal!” Marundial wondered if he was still drunk from last night.

Then he ordered them to let the visitors in and went out to the entrance himself. The moment he confirmed the royal carriage with his own eyes, one stupid thought crossed his mind:

Was there another member of the royal family besides the princess?

But the person who stepped out after the door opened was indeed the kingdom’s one and only royal, Princess Elia.

“I heard you were sick, so I came!”

“Sick? Wh—Who else could it be? Yes. I’m sick. Very sick.”

“You don’t look sick.”

Ellie stared wide-eyed up at Marundial’s face.

“You can’t see it, but the inside hurts.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes! It hurts terribly! Agh! Agh!”

At Marundial’s atrocious acting, the servants shut their eyes and turned their heads away.

“You don’t look sick…”

Only Ellie gave her honest impression.

“I know it’s impolite to come unannounced while you are bedridden, but Her Highness’s concern for you was too great, and she insisted on coming. Please forgive the discourtesy.”

Marquis Simon politely took the lead.

Marundial glared at him as if he had been slapped awake.

The princess was just the excuse—obviously Marquis Simon was the one pulling the strings.

You scoundrel!

But with the princess staring right at him, he couldn’t exactly grab the man by the collar.

“…Not at all. It is an honor. Though humble, please, come inside.”

Marundial had no choice but to invite them in.

But Ellie did not move.

“Your Highness?”

“The order got mixed up!”

“This!”

Ellie thrust the bouquet toward Marundial.

She had originally meant to give him the bouquet before asking if he was sick, but things had gotten tangled.

Giving it only after entering the parlor would be too late.

“Oh. Thank you.”

Marundial smiled kindly and reached for the bouquet.

Bouquets were common. He wasn’t particularly grateful.

But she was a child, so he put on at least a half-hearted expression of being moved.

“That’s quite a large bouquet. Is it for me?”

“Mm-hmm. It’s my wish for you to get better soon.”

“Thank you. I feel I’m already improving.”

Marundial accepted the bouquet.

“?!”

But the bouquet was heavier than expected.

What kind of bouquet weighs as much as a lump of metal?

It was impressive the child had been holding it.

He looked down into the bouquet.

…Hm?

On closer inspection, it wasn’t an ordinary bouquet.

The ribbon tying the flowers gleamed especially brightly. And it wasn’t an ordinary ribbon.

Gasp…! T–This is—!

Marundial’s eyes flew open.

It was a golden ribbon.
And the ornaments attached to it were made of solid gold and gemstones.

It was definitely something that should have stayed locked inside the royal treasury.

An outrageously precious item.

Why this? How did this end up here…?

Marundial worried before he felt pleased.

Was this a clueless princess’s mistake? The scheme of Marquis Simon and Madam Laval? How was he supposed to interpret this?

Then Ellie beamed at him.

“It’s my wish for you to get better soon!”

“!”

It wasn’t the princess’s mistake.
Nor the adults’ scheme.

It was the princess’s own calculated move.

A gift that both warned and persuaded at once: I’ve given you something valuable—now work for me.

Who advised her?

Even if she had been advised, it wasn’t easy for a child barely seven to understand and execute such meaning.

But the princess acted as though it had been entirely her own idea.

He thought she was just a spoiled, whiny child, but… perhaps she had a sharp side after all.

Marundial’s assessment of Ellie began to shift.

“Shall I put it in a vase?”

A servant approached to take the bouquet.

“N–No!”

Marundial hastily pulled the bouquet to his chest.

“How could I entrust to someone else the precious bouquet that Her Highness personally brought! I! Myself! Will hold it dearly!”

Seeing Marundial’s eyes glitter with shameless greed, Ellie smiled again.

Her brother had been right—again.

A person might dislike you, but no one disliked receiving gifts.

And thus, Step 1 of “Winning Over Marundial” passed smoothly.

He might have been blinded by the gift for a moment, but his deeply rooted beliefs wouldn’t flip instantly.

Since Ellie was, in truth, a very young child, Marundial’s caution was reasonable.

After ushering Ellie into the parlor, Marundial sat on the sofa and got straight to the point.

“To be honest, allowing Your Highness to ascend the throne immediately is dangerous in many ways.”

Still, he had abandoned his plan to maneuver behind her back.

Marundial wasn’t an evil man.
He was a bit greedy for personal gain, yes, but not the type to sell out the entire country.

Since Ellie had shown she could persuade people, he judged it safe to speak openly up to a certain point.

“Why?”

“Because Your Highness is far too young.”

“What’s dangerous about it?”

She asked when she didn’t know.
Ellie always had many questions—thanks to her brother’s education: Ask anything.

Though he was always busy, her brother answered her questions sincerely.
Even if every question came with a mountain of homework in return.

But his homework was always something Ellie enjoyed, so she didn’t mind.

“To begin with, as soon as tomorrow, the surrounding nations might attack Nerendis to try and take it. A kingdom ruled by a seven-year-old child is an opportunity they’d consider worth trying for. Your Highness would need to command troops to repel those attacks, and you’d also need to threaten other nations that if they invade, you will not stand by quietly. Could you do all that?”

“…….”

Ellie, so full of enthusiasm just moments ago, could not answer that question.

She had never considered the possibility that another country might attack immediately.

In the book, foreign invasion had happened much later—right before Princess Elia was dethroned.

But now the situation was completely different.

If Ellie walked a different path than Princess Elia, everything else would change too.

A war that was supposed to happen far in the future could be dragged forward to tomorrow.

Ellie inhaled sharply, fear gripping her.

The world was still far too big and too strong for her to handle.

Marundial watched her pale face and continued:

“Within the country as well, Your Highness must make proper judgments for everyone to live well. Someone might come saying, ‘I’ll give you sweets if you give me a castle.’”

“I don’t eat sweets!”

Ellie shouted in a panic.

“…Then let’s say dresses instead. If someone says, ‘I’ll give you a one-of-a-kind, custom-made dress just for you, so please grant me this and that,’ are you confident you won’t be swayed?”

“N–Nngh… Nnnngh…!”

She knew the correct answer was “No!”

But honestly, she would be swayed.

Even if not a dress, anyone could prepare something Ellie might like and present it to her.

Ellie understood what Marundial meant.

“But the king is me!”

“Yes, of course, Your Highness is the king. But what I’m saying is that, because it is too difficult for you to manage state affairs right now, you need someone to help take care of the country until you grow up.”

“You mean a regent.”

Marquis Simon cut in with a scowl.

“What other option is there? How could we place the entire nation in the hands of someone who has just turned seven?”

The atmosphere between the two adults grew tense.

Ellie glanced between them, then gathered her courage to ask:

“What’s a regent?”

“Ah…”

“…Ah.”

Marquis Simon’s flustered eyes, and Marundial’s I knew it expression—
Ellie disliked both.

Her eyes snapped wide.

“If I don’t know, then I study and learn! That’s what I was told!”

“Yes, but that takes time. And during that time, the nation might fall into ruin before anything can be done. A regent is someone who manages the country in Your Highness’s place until you are mature enough.”

Marundial explained calmly.

Ellie understood immediately.

“Then who’s the regent?”

Hooh…

Marundial raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

The more they talked, the more new sides of her appeared.

None of them were bad.

Her comprehension was astonishingly quick, and she even applied what she learned.

She lacked basic common sense only because she was still a child.
But judging from her ability to understand and reason through problems, she was no worse than an adult.

When did the spoiled little princess become this impressive?

Marundial’s gaze toward Ellie changed completely.