Rosé looked into Sera’s eyes as if she was asking ‘Really?’ and at this, Sera nodded firmly.
Then it couldn’t be helped! Rosé approached Ferre stiffly like a plank of wood. Then, she reached out to hold Ferre’s sides, at an arms’ distance.
Sera wiggled her finger again, saying no once more. Eventually, Rosé sighed and hugged Ferre tightly.
“Now, after hugging, please say sorry.”
“Sorry for hitting you, Ferre.”
“It’s okay. I’m also sorry I didn’t do what you said, Rosé.”
Rosé and Ferre had become more relaxed now that they’ve hugged each other. The twins giggled and smiled as they faced each other. In the end, Rosé sincerely hugged Ferre.
Sera was overcome with the urge to burst into laughter as she watched the adorable apologies the seven-year-olds were saying, but she bit her lower lip and endured it.
As she watched them, the way they apologized was so cute that she just wanted to squeeze their cheeks.
“Good job, Your Highness Rosé. Then, I should keep my promise, too, right?”
Sera placed the twins inside the wagon. They were heavy, but she did her best to push them around the Star Palace several times, enough to appease them. However, it didn’t seem like they were satisfied.
“Hmm. I don’t wanna study. How ‘bout you, Ferre?”
“Yeah. I don’t wanna study either. Let’s keep playing carriage.”
“We can’t.”
Two pairs of protesting eyes shifted towards Sera.
“Instead, if you study this time, there will be more fun games waiting for you.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
As if slowly starting the engine, Sera went back and forth a couple more times to steer the wagon towards the right direction, then pushed it while running forward, straight into the study. It was like she had forgotten that this was still a corridor inside the Star Palace.
“Wahh! It’s so fast, so fast! Go faster! Faster!”
Rosé and Ferre shouted at the same time. Rosé’s long silver hair and Ferre’s ruffled golden hair fluttered in the wind, revealing their foreheads.
* * *
The maids bathed Rosé and Ferre, changing them into their pajamas. Then, they were brought to Sera. The twins held each other’s hands tightly, and each of their other hands were holding a rabbit ear and a monkey’s arm respectively.
After taking a bath, they still had slightly wet hair, and their cheeks were rosy from the lingering heat. They were like perfect baby angels.
Luckily, the twins fell asleep easily. As soon as she read a book to them in a gentle voice, the two quickly fell asleep lying next to each other.
The maids, evidently good at their job, brought soft blankets and pillows and carefully moved Rosé and Ferre to a more secluded side of the study. If they carried and moved them back to their bedrooms, the head maid knew that Ferre wouldn’t go back to sleep again.
Just the sight of them sleeping face to face under a cozy blanket was too adorable. The children’s tummies went up and down as they breathed evenly, and the subtle scent of soap made them smell like babies.
‘They look a lot like His Majesty Helios, too. Even though they’re still young, their beauty is no joke.’
Sera carefully stroked Rosé’s hair, careful not to wake her, and the silver hair seemed to tickle Rosé’s face. With the twins’ eyes gently closed, they showed a very different expression than what they showed while they were awake.
The four maids in charge of Rosé and Ferre stood some distance away, surprised by the sight. When Sera approached them, they whispered to her.
“I’ve never seen them go to bed this fast.”
“Right? I can’t believe they’re sleeping so peacefully this time. I couldn’t put them to bed no matter how much I tried.”
“I think it’s the first time in one hundred days that they slept like this without putting up a fight. What’s your secret?”
“I hope they sleep like this every time! Lady Sera, you’re amazing.”
Each of the maids expressed their quiet excitement, clapping their hands silently. As they were complimenting her, they suddenly realized how pale Sera’s complexion was.
“You must be very tired since you had an intense first day of classes.”
It was all thanks to this active class that she thoroughly prepared the night before. She intentionally focused on making her students’ bodies move actively. This was so that Rosé and Ferre would later be so tired that they wouldn’t resist if she said it was already time for bed.
Sera also had a hard time after moving around so much, but she did her best while thinking, ‘I can rest tomorrow!’ Having only three classes a week was a great thing since it meant that she could take time off work the next day.
“But what time do Their Highnesses usually go to sleep?”
Nine o’clock was already too late of a bedtime for seven-year-old children. Sera thought that the most appropriate bedtime for children their age was at seven or eight in the evening. That’s why she only had classes during the last session of the day with twelve-year-olds, but these children…
“We don’t know that either. Their Highnesses never sleep unless His Majesty comes to tuck them in.”
“Then what time does His Majesty usually come?”
“Around… Maybe around eleven or twelve at night? There are also times when he comes even later.”
Then they’re nocturnal. Sera couldn’t believe that these seven-year-olds were usually awake until midnight.
With her lips pursed, Sera expressed her pity. Not just for the kids who couldn’t sleep because they waited for hours, but also for the maids who likewise couldn’t rest as they comforted the twins.
“The two would wait for His Majesty until he comes?”
“Yes. And they don’t even want to sleep in their own rooms. That’s why His Majesty always carries them and takes them to his bedroom. I heard from people working at the main palace, but it seems like even His Majesty couldn’t sleep until dawn due to him soothing Their Highnesses.”
“Oh my…”
Sera let out a short sigh. Now, it was also understandable why Helios desperately wanted to hire Sera as their tutor.
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the Emperor if he told her that he couldn’t sleep because his younger siblings cried every night. But when she heard it from other people, Sera felt that this family’s situation was even more pitiful.
‘His Majesty’s already busy enough with work, and he doesn’t have an extra body to use to raise his siblings.’
There was a reason why his eyes were underscored by thick purple shadows.
“But Lady Sera, you had a hard time today, too. You were so busy that you couldn’t even wash up. Oh, what should we do?”