WAACD 03

Chapter – 03

The Birthday Celebration

Hello there, it’s me, Hikari-chan.

Before I knew it, I’d turned four years old.

Huh? What about the Second Princess’s birthday celebration?

Hahaha, I was asleep the whole time so I don’t remember it.

It’s asking too much for a one-year-old toddler to stay awake through an entire birthday party.

After that, I was raised while being doted on by both parents, and before I knew it, the Third Prince’s birthday celebration was right around the corner.

Apparently the Third Prince is one year older than me, and as a count’s daughter, I’m naturally a candidate for his engagement.

—

Seriously… how did it come to this?

—

“Mother…”

I looked at Mother with uneasy eyes.

Sensing something, she hugged me and said one thing:

“You’re adorable, Hikari. More than anyone else, you’re the cutest!”

“…”

That’s not it! I don’t want to go!

—

Why does a former high school boy have to attend a five-year-old prince’s birthday celebration?!

And in the form of a little girl!

This is so humiliating in so many ways!

And yet, my mind and body are that of a four-year-old girl, and there’s a part of me that feels completely reassured by that one line!

“…I’ll do my best.”

I don’t even know what I’m trying to do my best at, but I’ll just fire myself up for now—

Suddenly, the door swung open with a *bang*, and there stood Father with a wild look in his eyes.

“Hikari! Ah, how adorable you are, Hikari!”

Father knelt down dramatically and touched me as carefully as if he were handling something fragile.

“Fah-tah! Does it suit me?”

I twirled around on the spot.

“Aaah, Hikari! It suits you perfectly! You look just like your mother!”

“Thank you very much! Fah-tah!”

Honestly, as a guy, there’s no dress I’d ever want to wear, but for some reason, I felt drawn to the same yellow dress as Mother’s, so I followed my instincts and chose it.

Since I don’t know the tropes of noble lady stories, the safest bet is probably to blend in with the group of young ladies and squeal along with them.

*(Sigh… why am I even worrying about this…)*

Damn it, if that goddess had properly reincarnated me, I wouldn’t have to go through this.

Anyway, I’ll just face this birthday celebration with the mindset of “as long as I get through today, anything goes.”

—

＊

“Everyone, thank you for coming to my son Leon Oristina’s birthday celebration today!”

A middle-aged man wearing a stereotypical crown and red cape raised his voice and took the lead.

The little boy next to him must be the aforementioned “Leon” or whatever.

Whoa, a blonde shota.

“…Mother”

“It’s alright, Hikari. You’re the cutest one here, you know?”

“…”

If I thought that shota was cool, I might be beyond hope.

Seriously, I should just die again.

Well, my form after dying is what I am now, though.

—

While I was agonizing internally like that, the King’s speech ended, and the area became lively with young noble sons and daughters chattering.

“Go on, Hikari?”

“Yes!”

I barely had any friends in my past life and was socially awkward, but now I couldn’t be more excited.

That’s just how a four-year-old’s heart works—social awkwardness doesn’t exist.

Letting go of Mother’s hand, I walked slowly and joined the crowd.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Hikari! Nice to meet you!”

Even though someone suddenly talked to me, I could respond without being nervous.

How wonderful is a four-year-old’s social skills! My past self would be crying buckets!

“I’m Ariah! Nice to meet you too!”

We exchanged formal little ladies’ greetings and smiled at each other.

She’s a girl with beautiful sky-colored hair. So cute!

—

“Hey, Hikari, let’s go greet Prince Leon!”

“Eh, Ariah!”

Before I could say anything, Ariah grabbed my hand and pulled me along, and the two of us walked up to the crowd around the Third Prince.

“We can’t see very well, can we?”

“Yeah.”

It seems we were both late to the party.

Well, I don’t really mind, but Ariah looks awfully disappointed.

“Hello everyone, I’m Leon!”

He gave a brief greeting to the crowd of young ladies, and a chorus of “KYAA—!!” echoed around.

And then—

“KYAA—!”

Both Ariah and I squealed too.

*(Huh? I squealed? Me? At this shota?)*

I couldn’t believe my own actions and froze with a stunned expression.

And in that situation, the Third Prince’s eyes met mine—even though I should have been buried in the crowd.