IWBAACTWITOS Chapter 6

At the words asking if she should throw it back up, Roxana judged that this couldn't go on any longer and hurriedly covered Thalia's mouth. Roxana had momentarily forgotten that when Thalia's mood became unpleasant, she became a disaster with her mouth.

'She takes after Julian, definitely.'

The way she silences others with cold expressions and words is exactly like Julian. Whether she was dissatisfied that her mouth was covered, Thalia stuck out her tongue and licked her palm. However, for Roxana, having her hand covered in saliva wasn't a problem.

"Tilly."

The purple eyes full of mischief glanced at Roxana, then huffed and turned away. Though she didn't know why Thalia was angry, her reaction when sulking was exactly the same as Julian's.

'As if anyone would doubt she's Julian's daughter.'

"You can't say things like that to a friend."

"Mmph, mm mmph!"

Though her pronunciation was muffled because her mouth was covered, Roxana could understand what Thalia was saying. She was asking why that kid was her friend.

'Is this going to be another failure?'

She remembered Thalia saying this would be the last time. Actually, she had tried various methods to make friends for Thalia, but it was failure after failure because Thalia kept running away. She couldn't understand why she so disliked playing with children her own age.

When she first saw Aegis, her reaction wasn't bad, so she thought this time would be okay. When Aegis smiled, she could see Thalia's mouth hanging open, completely entranced. Roxana continued to cover Thalia's mouth while watching Aegis's reaction. Aegis was just staring at Thalia with wide eyes. He seemed quite shocked by her harsh words.

'Well, there probably wasn't anyone around him with this kind of attitude, using these kinds of words.'

"Tilly, let's talk with mommy for a moment. Excuse us for a moment."

Before Charlotte and Aegis could react, Roxana tucked Thalia under her arm and hurriedly left the scene. When they had gotten some distance away, Thalia flailed her arms and legs wildly, and Roxana sighed and put Thalia down.

"Tilly, why are you angry again?"

"I'm not angry."

"Then are you annoyed?"

"......"

When Thalia didn't answer and puffed out her cheeks, Roxana smiled slightly and met her young daughter's eye level.

"Mommy won't make you marry anyone, even if it's His Highness the Prince, if Tilly says she doesn't want to."

"I know."

"You know well, so why are you being ornery? His Highness the Prince doesn't really want to marry Tilly, he just wants to become close."

"...That kid is a bit strange. We came to the imperial palace for nothing."

At that honest answer, Roxana closed her mouth. As the silence lengthened, Thalia scrunched up her face and pulled the rabbit doll's ears, tormenting it.

"Unlike our house, there are many people in the imperial palace."

"...Yes."

"His Highness the Prince doesn't yet know what to accept and what to filter out. But people only treat him as His Highness the Prince, not as the child named Aegis. He has many friends, but no real friends. That's why Her Majesty the Empress and mommy and daddy arranged for you two to meet. Because you both don't have real friends."

At those words, Thalia let out a deep sigh. Thalia knew that in the original story, the only person who could be called Ash's real friend besides the male lead was the sub male lead.

'That's why he gave up on Royna and even risked his life to save Yan.'

The one and only friend in the world, Aegis who loved the male protagonist as much as the female lead.

"Do you think we can become friends because we're children of the three families with abilities?"

"......"

"Or do you think we should become friends?"

When Roxana showed a momentarily flustered expression at the second question, Thalia slightly frowned before letting out a hollow laugh and speaking coldly.

"Mom, I'm not a child who doesn't know anything."

At those words, fear spread in Roxana's light green eyes.

'Again.'

Thalia sometimes, very occasionally, had a strange face. It seemed like something she usually hid would seep out bit by bit, making her want to struggle and escape far away somewhere. Roxana was so afraid of that. From the time Thalia first called her 'mom', that anxiety had continued to follow Roxana around.

While calling everyone else by their names, Thalia had been the latest to say 'mommy' and 'daddy', and when she first called her 'mom', it was so obvious that she was calling her reluctantly. Under the purple gaze that was staring at her intently, Roxana hid her fear and called Thalia.

"...Tilly."

"What?"

"Holding a rabbit doll and saying things like that just makes me think you're really just a little kid."

"...Well, I am a little kid."

"Earlier you said you weren't a child who doesn't know anything."

"I said I wasn't a child who doesn't know anything, I didn't say I wasn't a child."

When she pretended not to know anything like this, just acting like she was soothing a willful young child, Thalia would always step back and return to her usual self.

"So, do you not want to become friends with His Highness the Prince?"

"......"

"Tilly, if you don't want to, I can't force you. Since you said this was the last time, I won't try to forcibly make friends for you anymore. If you don't want to, let's just go home."

"I'm not lonely even without friends."

'No matter how good friends I have, they can never be real to me.'

The words that she wanted to go home right now were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't go home anyway. So the thought that it wouldn't be bad to play with the friendless sub male lead for a while occurred to her, and Thalia smiled brightly to reassure Roxana.

"But if Ash is lonely, I can become his friend."

When we finished talking with Roxana and returned, Ash had a gloomy face with his mouth full of strawberries. Julian and Charlotte were offering Ash strawberries and comforting him. When our eyes met, Ash hurriedly wiped the strawberry juice from his mouth and hands. Then he held out a basket full of strawberries and apologized to me first.

"Sorry, Thalia."

"For what?"

"For saying let's get married because I gave you strawberries. Even if you don't like marriage, friends are okay, right?"

"......"

'What, he's super cute.'

Who would have known the sub male lead's childhood would be this cute? I picked up the most luscious strawberry from the basket.

"Say ah."

When I fed him directly, Ash showed a shy smile but eagerly accepted it. His chewing mouth was so cute that I kept putting in strawberries, and Ash couldn't even say to stop and diligently ate all the strawberries I gave him.

When Ash's cheeks became puffy, I stopped giving him strawberries and giggled. Starting with my laughter, everyone who had been watching us began to laugh. It was because the sight of Ash's doll-like face turning as red as strawberries was incredibly cute. Not even knowing he was being laughed at, Ash earnestly chewed the strawberries and showed me a smile.

"Um, if it's not rude, can I call you Tilly?"

"...Huh?"

Calling someone by a pet name was something that wasn't easily allowed unless you were really close friends. Asking if he could suddenly use a pet name when we had just met today was, strictly speaking, rude. However, what surprised me wasn't that part. I couldn't believe a 5-year-old was using the word 'rude' and being courteous.

The polite and gentle sub male lead - seeing the character I had created confirmed gave me a strange feeling. But I didn't have time to think deeply about it. As my silence grew longer, I could see Ash trying to hide his increasingly gloomy expression. Since I was already calling him by his pet name in my mind, I felt bad about refusing.

"Instead, I'll call you Ash too."

"Yes, good!"

Seeing Ash's face immediately brighten at my permission, I smiled like a mother and extended my hand to him. Ash seemed to not know what to do with the strawberry basket he was holding with both hands, fumbling for a moment before entrusting it to a maid and taking my hand. Ash, whose birthday was a few months earlier than mine, was taller and had slightly bigger hands than me. But no matter what, they were still the hands of a five-year-old that couldn't compare to adults.

"......"

"What's wrong?"

"Your hands are small."

"Yes, Tilly's hands are small and cute."

I was saying Ash's hands were small, but Ash interpreted it as my hands being small and agreed with me while squeezing my hand tightly. Feeling the fond gazes of the adults watching us, I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment.

It wasn't my first or second time seeing doting parents, but watching the doting parents being pleased about their first friend made me strangely embarrassed. To escape the adults' gazes, I suggested to Ash that we go play. Charlotte, who had been wearing a happy smile, clapped her hands and agreed with my suggestion.

"Yes. Will Ash show Tilly around the garden?"

"Yes, mother."

Ash, who answered Charlotte nicely, took my hand and led me somewhere. Looking at Julian and Roxana waving and telling us to have a good time, I strangled the neck of the rabbit hanging from one arm. The goal of breaking off the engagement was achieved without even having a chance to torment the sub male lead thanks to the adults' appropriate handling, and all that remained in my hand was the little sub male lead.

Ash was so happy about something that he smiled brightly every time our eyes met. Though Aegis was originally a character whose default was a fresh smile, the smile Ash was making now looked less fresh and more like a puppy that drools everywhere.

Every time I saw that smile, my ugliness for trying to torment such an innocent little kid pricked my conscience. I sighed at the peacefulness while touring the garden beautifully colored purple.

'I want to go home.'