After Breakfast
After finishing breakfast, Aliester had actually wanted to take his little daughter on a stroll to see the flowers or simply teach her something interesting that she might enjoy. But all of that was cancelled.
Instead, he chose to head to his study and lament his fate. With a downtrodden face, he buried himself in the documents on his desk, grumbling at Ryan, who was standing nearby.
"Why did my daughter have to grow up ahead of her time like this, Ryan?"
"Am I really that neglectful that she can talk like that?"
Ryan remained silent because he himself didn't know what to say.
Besides, it was clear that everyone in the palace had begun to wonder. Magdalena's words were overheard by some of the servants and royal cooks, who would, of course, spread the news to other places.
There's a saying that even walls have invisible ears.
And that saying holds some truth.
"Haah~"
Aliester let out a deep sigh several times. It seemed he understood the feeling of having a 5-year-old daughter whose brain was already too clever.
"I'm still single, never married... but why do I feel so burdened being a single parent with this body?"
"I hope Aliester is ready to accept his daughter who's growing up too fast."
"Please don't blame me, Your Majesty Aliester. I'm also shocked by your daughter's premature maturity."
"Now, I need to think about how to find a partner... Ugh..."
"I think my hair will fall out quickly like when I had trouble finding a job before."
Ryan could only offer a thin smile as he watched Aliester like that. As far as he knew, his master was a very serious person, even when working, and rarely mentioned his little daughter.
Even when Queen Helene was still alive, Ryan had only seen the king smile a few times.
Now, Ryan saw him smile more often, and it made him happy.
"The king is also human, after all," he thought.
Not long after grumbling to himself, Aliester tried to calm down and sat up straight, as he should.
"If I'm not mistaken, Prince Karez should be arriving soon, right?" Aliester asked.
"That's likely."
"In that case, please prepare some food and afternoon tea."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Ryan left, leaving Aliester alone.
Now, Aliester could continue his grumbling.
"I don't want my daughter to marry any man too quickly!!!" he shouted to himself.
--------
Meanwhile, in a library-like room similar to the palace, Magdalene was busy with a meeting with her teddy bear.
Viona and Selina were also accompanying her. The little princess sat in a chair with several stacks of books, accompanied by her teddy bear, Mr. Teddy, who had been presented with a picture book by her.
"Mr. Teddy, read this too, okay? We're looking for information."
"... "
Her two attendants exchanged glances before whispering to each other.
"Selina, can the Princess really read?"
"I'm not sure. I remember the Princess has learned to read, but if it's adult books with difficult language, it seems a bit..."
It's not without reason that her two attendants think this way. Currently, the stack of books on Magdalene's table do contain adult themes. Not negative things, but rather unusual topics for a 5-year-old child.
"How to be a good woman", "How to be the right partner for someone else", "100 ways to captivate the opposite sex", "What is falling in love?" and several other book titles.
Magdalene read them as if she understood everything. Viona and Selina approached the little princess, who looked serious as she read.
"Pr-Princess..."
"Do you understand all of this?"
Magdalene didn't respond and continued reading. It seemed like she really didn't understand, which was what her two attendants thought.
Suddenly, Magdalene asked them a question. "Viona, Selina, have you ever fallen in love?"
"Eh?!" The two of them were shocked by the question. The reason was because the one asking was a 5-year-old child.
Since when do little kids ask adults about love?! This was clearly strange, and both of them were aware of it.
Their faces turned red and even redder as Magdalene looked at them with a serious gaze. "In this book, it says that if you fall in love with someone, you'll get signs like a faster heartbeat and wanting to be with that person all the time. More or less like that. Have you two ever fallen in love?"
"Pr-Pr-Princess!!!"
--------
10 minutes later, after they calmed down and removed all the books near Magdalene, the two of them sat down next to the little princess.
"Finally, it's all cleared away," Selina said with a relieved expression.
"Why did you clear them away? Magda was still reading them."
"No, no, My Princess! You didn't understand what was inside, right? There were no pictures, Princess."
"... " Magdalene remained silent. But in reality, she could clearly read everything because her soul was no longer that of a child, but that of a mature career woman.
Viona and Selina asked Magdalene, "Princess, may we ask?"
"Why?"
"Um, that...what's the reason Princess asked us about...um...falling in love?"
Magdalene said, "Magda wants Daddy to fall in love with another woman. Magda knows Daddy still loves Mom, but..."
"Why is that? Isn't it good that His Majesty still loves the late Queen?"
"It's not good. Not entirely good!" the little girl said, insisting. "You know, at the party last night, Lady Bernadette grabbed and hugged Daddy's hand as she pleased, and Daddy was very angry."
"Eh?" The two attendants were shocked. They looked confused and didn't dare ask questions, instead continuing to listen to Magdalene's story.
"Daddy scolded her, and the woman chased after Daddy. You know what she said? She said she wanted to be the woman worthy of Daddy. Magda was so annoyed!!"
"It felt like the party was a matchmaking event for Daddy and Lady Bernadette!"
"Daddy can't marry someone annoying, and if he doesn't have a partner, he'll become the target of women like Lady Bernadette."
"That's why Magda wants Daddy to meet and marry a good woman. Daddy might be lonely now too."
Her two attendants could only look at each other with various questions in their minds.
Clearly, in front of them, Magdalene was just a 5-year-old child. But apparently, deep down inside, this little girl was the one who truly understood her parent's feelings. That's what they both felt.
Viona mustered the courage to ask, "Princess...do you yourself want His Majesty to remarry? Do you really want to have a new mother?"
"Um..." Magdalene looked puzzled and thought for a moment, "Actually, I don't need one, but I want the real Magdalene to have perfect parental love when she returns."
With full confidence, the little girl replied, "Magda wants a good mom like Magda's mom!!"
"And Daddy won't be lonely and won't be bothered by flirtatious women!"
Viona and Selina could only smile upon hearing the word "flirtatious" come out of the little girl's mouth.
"Where did Princess learn a phrase like that?"
After some light conversation, Selina said to Magdalene, "Oh, Your Highness, we need to get ready."
"Get ready?"
"Didn't His Majesty say that Prince Karez would be visiting?"
Magdalene didn't think about the visit at all because her focus was still on her father and their plan to find a new mother.
Just 30 minutes later, the Varseil Kingdom's carriage finally arrived at the palace.
--------
At the palace entrance, Prince Karez, accompanied by Aslyn, arrived carrying several items.
"I hope His Majesty doesn't feel disturbed by our visit, Lyn."
"Don't worry, Prince. Didn't you bring a beautiful gift for him and Princess Magdalene?"
"Ye–yes, you're right. I'm getting a bit nervous..."
As the door opened, Ryan and several other attendants greeted them.
After a brief welcome, they escorted them to a beautifully decorated room with flower arrangements. Aliester was already waiting with little Magdalene, who was holding Mr. Teddy.
"Welcome, Prince Karez and Lady Aslyn. I'm delighted you could visit."