The Two Babies Changing the Original Story – Chapter 20

Author: Asternkm

But even though the princess turned out to be surprisingly sharp, Marundial couldn’t change his stance all at once.

He still pushed for a regent.

“A regent is usually an adult closest to the royal family. A relative, for example.”

Ellie tilted her head.

She had stood alone at the funeral.

Because there were no other royal relatives left.

“I don’t have anyone.”

“They’re not a direct relative, but among the nobles who could run the country without ruining it, there is a distant collateral branch of the royal family. The Whitten duchy.”

It was embarrassing to even call them collateral—more like the branch of a branch of another branch—but lineage was flexible depending on who claimed it.

“What did you just say? Are you insane?! No matter how you twist it, you end up with the Duke of Whitten!”

Marquis Simon slammed the table before Marundial even finished speaking.

Ellie and Madam Laval jumped in shock.

“How much did you take from him?! Those bastards who’ll sell off the country! That man is obsessed with money! Why don’t you just wrap up the nation and gift it to him?!”

Even after flipping the table, Marquis Simon couldn’t calm his fury and continued to roar.

Marundial responded coldly, as though he’d expected this reaction.

“A man obsessed with money will work properly if you simply give him money. It’s better than someone incompetent who ruins everything. Better to buy the country’s safety than let it be destroyed.”

“You think the Duke of Whitten wouldn’t sell the country?!”

“No matter what he is, he’s still the head of the prestigious Whitten family. Would he really sell the nation? Without a country, the duchy doesn’t exist either!”

While listening to the pointing fingers and heated argument, Ellie recalled the Duke of Whitten.

The Duke of Whitten?!

A truly, truly important—and extremely dangerous—person had appeared!

That was…

The one who overthrew Princess Elia and stole her throne!

In the beginning of the story, the Duke of Whitten appeared to be a wonderfully kind person.

He held parties every day for Princess Elia, showered her with pretty dresses and jewels.

Because of that, Princess Elia lived happily until she was twenty-two.

But she had no idea what was happening to the country. She didn’t know the nation was weakening.

People’s lives became miserable, riots demanded her abdication from every corner, and in that chaos, foreign nations invaded.

Even then, Princess Elia still knew nothing.

Though the Duke of Whitten had called all these disasters upon the kingdom, the blame fell on Princess Elia—and she was exiled.

Absolutely, absolutely never let the Duke of Whitten handle anything!

In the book, Princess Elia had been alone.

Madam Laval existed, but she knew as little about politics as Princess Elia. She had no power to shout like Marquis Simon, flipping tables and fighting back.

But now Ellie had Marquis Simon.

“But the only family who understands the state of affairs and can keep the nobles in line is the Whitten duchy. Is there anyone else? Can you recommend someone?” Marundial pressed.

“Who says a regent is even necessary for the country to function?! And Whitten—Whitten isn’t even a noble in the real sense! That bastard is a merchant!” Simon barked.

“No, but excuse me, Marquis Simon—why are you speaking so informally to me?!”

“You’re spouting nonsense! Is now the time to complain about half-polite speech?!”

They were seconds away from grabbing each other by the collar.

“Listen to me for a moment,” Ellie tried.

But the two didn’t hear her.

“How old are you, huh?!”

“Oh? Funny, the youngest one here is Her Highness, so what exactly is your point about age? Is that what we’re doing now?!”

“Everyone…, the princess is trying to speak….”

Madam Laval tried to mediate, but her voice didn’t reach either man.

Ellie crossed her arms and glared at the two disgraceful adults.

Her brother had once told her:

When words don’t get through, sometimes you have to show it with actions.

Whenever she fought with her brother, there was one secret technique that guaranteed Ellie’s victory.

She took a deep breath. Then, in the next moment, opened her mouth wide and tightened her stomach.

“BWEEEEEEEEEHH!”

From Ellie’s mouth burst a sound like the sharp steam-whistle of a boiling kettle. It was almost like a dolphin’s cry or the scrape of a fork against a plate.

But unlike those short, fleeting sounds, Ellie’s shriek could continue as long as her lungs allowed.

“BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!”

“Ugh!”

“Y-Your Highness?!”

Ellie possessed a remarkably powerful voice. Her “bweh” wasn’t like an ordinary child’s cry—it was harsher, louder, more ferocious.

Before her shriek had even finished, the adults’ argument stopped dead.

“…Hoo.”

Ellie shut her mouth with a small exhale and stared at the two adults now staring back at her.

“Now listen to me!”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”

“…Y-yes…”

Both adults obediently answered and fell silent.

Her dominance was complete.

Panting slightly from producing her dolphin-scream, Ellie took a moment to recover.

The two adults, their eardrums still ringing, waited meekly.

Finally, when Ellie caught her breath again, she planted both hands on her hips and declared:

“I’m not having a regent!”

“But, Your Highness—”

“Instead! I’ll have someone to teach me.”

“!”

Marundial fell silent.

Ellie did not miss the moment his eyes changed.

“And how is that different from having several people acting as regents?” he asked, as though giving her a test question.

“It’s different. I’m the king, and I’ll be doing the work! I’ll just ask when I don’t know something.”

“Hm… But if several people speak to you at once, you may not know which advice is best. You could go back and forth and become confused—and make the worst choice.”

Even with Marundial’s attempts to scare her, Ellie didn’t waver.

“That’s still my job, because I’m the king. And I’ll take responsibility.”

Even with a regent, the country was ruined in the story, and war broke out. Princess Elia was exiled and became a beggar.

No matter how badly Ellie failed, it couldn’t be worse than that. And she’d certainly do better than the Duke of Whitten, who cared only about filling his own coffers.

But Marundial wasn’t going to be swayed that easily.

So Ellie threw out another gambit.

“If you don’t believe me, then give me a test!”

“A… test?”

Marundial wondered if he’d heard correctly.

“Yeah!”

Her brother sometimes quizzed her.

Ellie, how do you read this?

Ellie, what goes into this dish first?

Ellie, which mushrooms are the ones that’ll kill you?

He said he did it to check whether she understood the important things she needed to know to live.

So why would ruling a kingdom be any different?

“Check if I learned the important things properly!”

“Hm… A test for the king…”

Marundial murmured.

It was an outrageous suggestion—one only a princess herself could make. Who would dare propose “testing” a future monarch’s qualifications?

But if the monarch herself insisted, it was possible.

“Right! And if I pass, the teachers can stop teaching!”

“…Ho. That sounds reasonable.”

Kings had tutors. And a tutor was forbidden from directly influencing politics. So, in fact, this might be safer than installing a regent who controlled everything.

“Then how will we choose these teachers?” he asked.

There was the Privy College, but it taught only basic literacy and arithmetic. It wasn’t enough for real governance.

She needed teachers who could truly instruct a monarch.

But historically, royal studies were taught by the former king. To suddenly appoint someone to that role was difficult.

“Umm…”

Ellie couldn’t answer right away.

She had boldly declared her plan without having figured out the details.

She turned her eyes to Marquis Simon with a small gulp.

Me? Me?!

Surely it was his turn to offer a suggestion.

Under her silent pressure, Marquis Simon flailed for a moment—then raised his hand with sudden resolve.

“I shall do it!”