Chapter 1316 – ##16_Malika’S Adventure
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1.
Time really does fly by.
You’d feel it even more if you measured your child’s height growing taller and taller next to the calendar. You’d probably think, “Wait, this doesn’t make sense?”
That was how Siwoo felt looking at Malika.
“Miss Malika?”
Malika, who was engrossed in a magic book that would probably weigh more than her if you stacked three of them, primly swept her side hair. Her small head with its fluffy, abundant blonde hair and the slightly pointed ears peeking out from it were very much like Amelia. He couldn’t help but wear a full-fledged dad smile.
Perhaps because she inherited the genes of both Siwoo, a genius, and Amelia, also a genius, Malika possessed genius-level talent and intelligence. Her vocabulary for everyday conversation was very advanced, and she had already started reading quite professional-level magic books.
Siwoo, who was hailed as a prodigy since childhood, only began to understand differential equations at the age of seven.
He was always amazed whenever he saw his bright daughter, but he always realized one thing…
A child is still a child.
“What is it, Duke Hessed?”
Her clear pronunciation was impossible to believe for a four-year-old. The little squirming thing wrapped in swaddling clothes had grown into such a cute young lady.
Siwoo bowed, exaggerating slightly like a stage actor.
“There is a picnic scheduled for noon today. Is your schedule clear, Miss Malika?”
“Hmm… Let me check. I am a very busy person, you see.”
Malika seriously furrowed her delicate eyebrows and flipped through her notebook. That also looked just like a tiny version of Amelia.
“Lucky for you, I happen to have time at noon.”
“Then, I will come to escort you again at that time.”
“Please prepare properly, Duke Hessed. Marshmallow-melted cocoa, club sandwiches, and cookies.”
Malika’s plump cheeks twitched as she dropped her prim demeanor for a family picnic. Malika, who had found Amelia baking picnic cookies in the kitchen, immediately gave instructions.
“Mrs. Amelia, would you please prepare an outing dress? I think sky blue, like the sky, would suit me.”
“You rascal, didn’t I tell you not to call me that? Don’t roll around here, let’s prepare for the picnic with your dad.”
“Malika is a princess, so she doesn’t do such chores.”
When Amelia, wearing a white apron, pretended to flick her forehead, Malika’s cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish. Amelia also scolded Siwoo.
“Siwoo, don’t spoil her too much and scold her sometimes. Malika thinks she’s a real princess, you know?”
“Mrs. Amelia, be careful with your words. Malika is indeed a princess. Isn’t that right, Duke Hessed?”
“That is correct. Mrs. Amelia, please pay your respects to the noble Princess Malika.”
“Siwoo, stop playing around and go pack the cookies.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Amelia glared at him with a look that said he was hopeless as he sided with Malika, then chased him away.
As you can see, Malika was currently suffering from princess syndrome.
She only looked for voluminous dresses or tulle skirts and even stole Lulue’s tiara, which was bigger than her head, and wore it all day long. Once, she messed up Amelia’s dressing table, and another time, she suddenly gave Siwoo the role of ‘Duke Hessed, the princess’s fiancé.’
I looked it up, and it said that it’s a natural phenomenon that appears in girls between the ages of 4 and 7, but Malika was showing an astonishing level of reproduction due to her unique high intelligence, which was quite a sight to see.
“How dare you, Mrs. Amelia.”
“What is our princess’s full name?”
“My full name is Malika Marigold.”
“Is that so? My full name is Amelia Marigold, so I must be the queen? If you’re a princess, you should listen to the queen, right?”
Amelia tried to reason with her daughter using the method she had used to subdue Malika before.
But she underestimated her opponent.
Malika was a genius who could even mock the gods. She wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
“Mrs. Amelia? You’re mistaken. My real full name is ‘Malika Bellaminda Seresta de Marigold von Hessed und Gehenna.’ It’s difficult to see us as the same queen just because we have the same last name. Perhaps you’re a distant, insignificant branch of the family.”
Likewise, Amelia had experienced Malika’s cunningness more than once or twice.
“Miss Malika? ‘De’ is a preposition used in French, and ‘und’ and ‘von’ are prepositions used in German. But that’s strange. How can they be in one name?”
“I, I, I also, I, know. But I am a princess who is a mix of French and German.”
Malika, who was picking up words here and there as if she had heard or read them somewhere, was flustered when her loophole was pointed out.
“Then, is Miss Malika really a princess?”
“Of course.”
“And also a mix of the French and German kingdoms?”
“Natürlich!”
Malika, with her chin up, made a typical innocent face of a child. Amelia’s eyes widened as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
“Oh my goodness…! Miss Malika, I have committed a great discourtesy. Would you please forgive me?”
“Ignorance is not a sin. I will generously forgive you. Be careful with your behavior from now on, Mrs. Marigold.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Good. Go and prepare for the picnic.”
Malika wore a triumphant smile in front of her mother, who had knelt on one knee.
But it didn’t take long for Malika’s innocent smile to crumble.
“Oh dear, I made a mistake.”
“A mistake? What mistake are you talking about?”
“A little while ago, I accidentally put some freshly baked, warm ginger cookies in the noble princess’s picnic basket….”
As soon as she heard the words ‘ginger cookies,’ Malika’s ears perked up, and she quickly grasped the context of the conversation, her shoulders twitching.
This was ominous.
“W-Why the ginger cookies…?”
“Princesses don’t usually eat snacks like ginger cookies, do they?”
“N-No, that’s not true. That’s just a rumor.”
“No, it’s true. How could a princess like snacks like cookies that leave crumbs everywhere?”
“No, no. It’s really okay! Malika doesn’t drop crumbs!”
Amelia, unconcerned, called out towards the kitchen.
“Siwoo! Are you packing the cookies?”
“Yes! Is it these special homemade cookies with a savory smell in this oven?”
“Take them all out! It seems like we should eat them ourselves instead of giving them to Princess Malika!”
“Yes, ma’am! Yay! How exciting! I’ll eat them all!”
Malika, whose favorite snack, ginger cookies, had flown away right before her eyes. Her black eyes, filled with shock, fidgeted and glanced at the kitchen.
“……”
But Amelia’s mischievous logic seemed quite plausible to Malika.
She wanted to keep being a princess, but she also wanted to eat cookies.
But the moment she insisted on the cookies, she would no longer be a princess.
As Malika was agonizing in this dilemma, Amelia subtly offered her a lifeline.
“Hmm, now that I think about it, Duke Hessed seemed to really like ginger cookies….”
Malika, who had tilted her head for a moment, quickly understood the situation and jumped up from her chair.
“It can’t be helped. It’s not because I want to eat them, but I have no choice but to pack the cookies for Duke Hessed.”
“No, no. How could a princess do such chores? Leave it all to us.”
“No, no, I’ll go and pack them quickly.”
“No, no. Just sit here.”
Malika ran to the kitchen, dodging Amelia who was chasing after her.
It was a peaceful afternoon.
2.
Even though the winter weather in Gehenna was relatively mild, it was still a bit cold for outdoor activities.
Still, the sun was very nice, and there was no wind, so it was perfect for a picnic.
Malika, who was bundled up in mittens and a scarf, headed to the river near Taro Town, riding on a wooden horse that Siwoo was pulling.
“Here, Malika. Take this.”
“Thank you, Duke Hessed.”
He spread out a mat that was almost as soft as a carpet and poured warm cocoa into Malika’s mug.
Until then, Malika, who had been acting like a princess, ate the crispy ginger cookies that she had almost said goodbye to and trembled her eyelashes as if in ecstasy.
“A magnificent delicacy, Mrs. Amelia. Excellent, Très très bon, Lecker!”
“Malika… are you going to keep doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending to be a princess.”
“How many times do I have to say it? It’s not pretending, Malika is really a princess.”
Siwoo and Amelia, amused by their prim daughter’s antics, looked at each other, smiled wryly, and whispered.
“Was Amelia like this when she was little?”
“No way.”
“She’s exactly the same when it comes to liking ginger cookies.”
“Really… It’s because Siwoo is indulging her so much that she keeps acting like that.”
In the ticklish atmosphere, the two people’s lips drew closer as if they were about to kiss.
Amelia, who was about to give him a light peck, hesitated.
It was because Malika, who had devoured a ginger cookie that was almost as big as her face, was tugging at Amelia’s scarf.
Her eyes were slightly jealous.
“Mrs. Amelia. I would appreciate it if you would stop flirting with my fiancé.”
“Flirting?”
“Mrs. Amelia is a married woman with a child, you know.”
“That child is you, Malika.”
“Still, please be careful. Duke Hessed is going to marry me in the future.”
Siwoo laughed heartily and placed his hand on Malika’s head, stroking it.
So this is what they mean when they say you’ll hear ‘I’m going to marry Daddy!’ once you raise a daughter.
I should record this.
“Malika, are you going to marry Daddy when you grow up?”
“Of course.”
In front of Malika, who had no doubt that it would happen, Amelia presented a cruel reality.
“Malika, you can’t marry Daddy. Daddy is Mommy’s.”
“Hmph, I can’t accept that. Mrs. Marigold, jealousy doesn’t look good on you.”
Malika didn’t believe it at first, but she was very sharp for a child.
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
“Really, I can’t marry him? Daddy? Really, I can’t?”
“Oh dear… That’s going to be a bit difficult.”
Malika, who had even abandoned her princess persona, asked one question in despair.
“But Daddy has a lot of Mommies….”
“Uh, um….”
For the record, this isn’t a diss on her parents.
She was saying that Daddy (Siwoo) has a lot of Mommies (wives who are like mothers).
“So… I thought that of course Malika would marry Daddy when she grew up….”
The picnic ended early that day due to Malika’s mood issues.
Back home, Malika mulled over the cruel reality in her bed.
What a bolt from the blue.
Any other child would have burst into tears, but Malika was much smarter than her peers.
“…Come to think of it.”
Her mom was a little strange when she said that.
Her mom must have lied because she wanted to have her dad all to herself.
That’s why she told Malika that she couldn’t marry him.
So Malika decided to find out the truth herself.
From her other moms.
The next day, Malika bravely set off on an adventure.
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