I Didn't Even Want To Live, But God Forced Me To Reincarnate! Chapter 26: The Royal Family (2)

After the queen, Shaula Schafer introduces herself, my eyes focused on the baby that she's cradling.

"Oh, and this baby here is my daughter. Her name is Leticia Dorothea seo Navarrete. Just call her Leti," she positions herself so I can see the baby.

The baby is looking back at me hazily, she looks like she's about to fall asleep any time soon.

Her green eyes are the same as the king's, while her hair is crimson just like her mother.

"She's so cute!" I thoughtlessly exclaimed. But she is indeed adorable. Her puffy cheeks and her tiny hands are so captivating, I want to touch them... but I try my best to refrain from it, as it may cause her to be alert and fail to sleep.

"Fufu, thanks for the compliment," the queen says, and then she cradles Leticia back.

"Hmmm, so you like kids, Lyra?" Dad is intrigued by my captivation to Leticia.

"What, planning to have another kid?" t.i.tus elbowed Dad.

"Nah, hmm, I wonder," Dad starts to think.

Uh, oh... errr... I wouldn't want to have a younger sibling just for my amus.e.m.e.nt's sake...? Or rather, Dad, please... don't think about it here... ...at least go and discuss it with Mom instead of wondering alone...

"Ahaha! As for me, I think these two are already enough... A lot of things are happening in this country, and imagine it combined with the chaos ensued due to me having too many kids, ahaha!! That son of mine is already causing a lot of confusion to me and Shaula... But well, good luck if you want another kid, Cyan!" The king says.

Hmmm?

So, the king decides to only have one woman, this time, as well?

Actually, having more than one woman is the special right of a n.o.ble, as it is clearly demonstrated with the case of my old family— and that right is even more so for the ruler of this country.

But I don't know why, for one reason or another, it has been a while since the king decided to take on concubines. The number of the concubines the kings had decreased per generation. Wonder why?

Also... in case of a female n.o.ble or female ruler... Hmmm, it's rare to have them, but... I think they can have more than one partner too, albeit it's rarer to see. Well, female head of family is rare to see in the first place as surnames are pa.s.sed via males.

However, most of the n.o.bles are now having only one partner—with the most I can remember having three partners... That is because the society has started to view marriage as something more sacred with monogamous concept, and that creating a harem seems to be frowned upon as time goes on.

The most contributing factor to that is how having many spouses and children would complicate the whole family situation and there is that famous heir compet.i.tion!!! That situation sounds awfully familiar, right?

But with how thing goes, I don't know about the n.o.bles having hidden lovers, though it is VERY possible, haha!

That is my recollection of my moral and etiquette education back then... The founder of this country only had a woman, while he clearly had the chance to establish a harem... especially during old times when the n.o.bles having many concubines were normal things.

It would be interesting to know what was in his mind during those time, but sadly he didn't write any of his own epic journey. Almost all of the doc.u.ments we have about the hero's journey were written by others, so who knows how accurate they are? They might be accurate for the main gist of the events, but not about the trivial things.

"And where is that son of yours, anyway? Studying, I pressume?" Dad asked, and his voice brought me back to reality.

"Nah, well... he has never tried to ditch his cla.s.ses and such... But when Leti was born, he started to ditch his cla.s.ses and even pulled many pranks. We have scolded him many times but he kept repeating it. Normally, he will be studying or reading some books during his spare time, but who knows?" The king shrugged his shoulders and sighed. His expression is really troubled.

He might as well be playing hide and seeks right now with the maids! And by hide and seeks, I guess it's a one-sided hide and seeks. The possible scenario is that the prince hides himself after running away from a cla.s.s or after pulling a prank, and then the maids are frantically searching for him. Yep.

"Worry not, the maids usually will find him even if he's doing other things... eventually... they should be escorting him here any time soon," the king frowns a bit.

Well, certainly he has made the king quite bothered by it. But then again, a child should act childish, so it is natural... The king and the queen can impose a harsh punishment, but they don't seem to be the kind of people to resort to that.

While waiting for the little prince to show up, the conversation is going on. I finally can establish that the prince was an obedient child before his little sister is born.

The queen and the king have advised him many times, and after that he would be obedient again... but that didn't come out long, and he'd start to be mischievous again. The cycle repeated again and again.

So, the king thinks it'd be wise to let him play with kids his age, so he can reduce his desire to seek the adults' attention. It will be a good thing too if he can start forging friends.h.i.+ps.

However, the real problem starts here. There have been attempts to introduce him to the maids or workers' children, but the prince expressed his boredom to them. The befriending missions have failed so far, and the prince is still being as mischievous as ever.

That is why, I was called as the king's last try, or so I heard. And it's also because I am the daughter of His Majesty's best friend.

If this doesn't work to calm the prince down, then the king will consider to give the prince a harsher punishment.

Which he hates to think about, judging from his expression when he's telling all that.

Which also means I have quite a big burden on my shoulders...?

Not long after that, the maids suddenly come with their exhausted expressions.

"Sorry for being late, Your Majesty. We are finally here." The most senior-looking maid bowed curtly and moved aside to show a sullen little boy.

His feature is exactly the same as his little sister—scarlet hair and green eyes.

The little prince glances over at us before he throws his face aside again.

"Thanks for the hard work. You are all dismissed, you must have been tired," the king responded.

"Thanks for putting up with our son," the queen added.

"N, no, it's out duty, after all!" The maid responded in a panic, and then along with her friends, they excused themselves.

Now, the ones left here are the royal family, Dad, and me.

"Luca, won't you sit down?" The queen asked, gesturing him to a seat next to her.

"Hmpfh," the young boy reluctantly obeyed his mother, but I can tell that he is quite happy.

"Lyra, let me introduce you. This is my son, Lucius Aideen seo Navarrete. Luca, this is the daughter of the Hartmann Duke, her name is Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. Since you two are at the same age, I hope you two can be good friends," the king introduced us.

The prince—Lucius-sama only throws a quick glance at me before he continues to look disinterested.

Hmm, this will be quite a challenge.

After a short conversation, the adults now want to discuss some serious matters, so Lucius-sama and I are dismissed. I can sense that Lucius-sama is slightly disappointed.

The queen wanted to call on the maids but Lucius-sama told her not to.

"Follow me, then," he said as he quickly walked away in front of me.

Not even waiting for me to follow him.

Not even glancing at me again to make sure I'm following him.

Do your best, me!!

Don't incur the wrath of the royal family, Lyra!!!