159 - The Last Day of Being Nine
I sat up with a rustle and let out a big yawn. As I was shuffling around on the bed, Kalisa, sensing that I was awake, opened the canopy for me.
"...Good morning, Tina-sama."
"Good morning, Kalisa."
With the arrival of early summer, the fabrics of clothing grew thinner. It was a truly delicate season, still a bit too chilly to switch entirely to short-sleeved summer clothes, yet the spring things made one sweat lightly. Just like the spring clothes, the clothes I had outgrown over the year as I grew taller had their sleeves and lengths adjusted, or were newly tailored. Today's one-piece was a refreshing mint green. I sat properly, observing Kalisa's hands through the mirror as she braided my hair into twin-tails, and I thought.
Starting tomorrow, I will be ten.
In other words, today is the last day of being nine. Being ten versus being nine is a difference of a mere one year. Moreover, from my perspective, it is nothing more than the difference between today and tomorrow.
Actually, it is hard for me to grow on the inside, is it not?
Because I have memories of my past life, I am already somewhat developed from the start. Because of that, I can hardly be called an ordinary child, so it would be difficult to naturally grow into an adult step by step.
And that is bound to cause trouble someday, I am sure.
Sometimes I deliberately act childlike, but the time to put away those performances will surely come someday. My inner self cannot grow in step with my body's growth, but those around me will surely demand behavior befitting my age.
Maybe I should just consciously change my behavior at each milestone?
For example, while my age is in single digits I can really be seen as a child, but once it hits double digits, I feel like adolescence is within reach. At the very least, I should not be at an age where I sit on a guardian's lap or get carried around.
Let me try consulting Hermine-sensei about this.
Hermine is a tutor who came here to help me acquire the manners of a lady. If I consult her about wanting to learn behavior befitting a ten-year-old, she would likely listen.
Thinking "strike while the iron is hot," I went to visit Hermine's room, but I got scolded a little, told it was too early to visit a lady's room. Because a woman takes time on her appearance, I should not visit early in the morning just because my own appearance was in order, she said.
I had never been conscious of that. Hermine-sensei always has her appearance in order, after all.
For Hermine, who always has her hair neatly braided and fixed with hair product, I simply could not imagine a state where her appearance was not in order. I had seen her in a slightly different style at the Divine King Festival, but basically Hermine was always the very picture of a proper lady with her appearance immaculate. Somehow I had just assumed that even if I visited first thing in the morning, she would already be fully dressed and ready as always.
"Leo... do you know how old I am now, deshu ka?"
I was thinking about how to broach the subject, so I tried bringing up the topic of age, but Leonardo, who had been drinking his after-meal tea, froze mid-motion. I wondered if something was strange from the way his black eyes began to wander in the air, but nothing in particular came to mind. So I decided to wait for Leonardo to say something, and as I stared fixedly at him, he opened his heavy mouth with an expression filled with indescribable bitterness.
"You turned... ten... right?"
"Why do you sound so unsure, deshu ka?"
I corrected Leonardo, who answered haltingly and with the wrong age, saying "I am nine, you know." Upon being told of his mistake, Leonardo clutched his head and buried his face in the table, muttering about whether it was a trick question.
Huh?
I had no memory of giving a trick question. But in any case, I wanted to move the conversation along, so I needed Leonardo to recover quickly.
"Why did you think I was ten?"
"Last year, Tina said the same thing, did she not? 'Do you know how old I am now?'"
I could not remember right away, so I asked for details, and it was apparently around this time last year. When I first went out with Leonardo, I had apparently said to him, "You turned nine without even knowing it, you know."
I am sorry. Well, if your cute little sister pulled a trick question like that on you, you might think it was another trick question this time too.
Understanding why Leonardo had fallen into such distress, I reflected a little. Just a little, really.
"In other words, you forgot my birthday again this year, did you not?"
Him getting my age wrong meant that was the case. That really was a bit sad, I thought, pouting as I stared at Leonardo. Leonardo, realizing he was being blamed this time, put up a stubborn resistance.
"No, I did prepare a birthday present for you this year. It is just that it does not look like it will arrive in time..."
"That is fine, deshu. It is not like I am asking for a present."
I ended the conversation there, saying "It is not like I am Teo." If this continued, I would be stuck listening to Leonardo's endless excuses about forgetting his little sister's birthday, and the conversation would not go anywhere.
"I was thinking of asking Leo... Since today is my last day being nine, can I spend the day being spoiled in ways that are allowed for a nine-year-old?"
To be specific, I declared that I would cling to him all day like when we were in the city of Mandez. I also subtly managed to remind him of my correct birthday, so I hoped my brother would make use of that next time.
"Like when we were in Mandez? Being spoiled?"
"Yes deshu. Like reading a book beside you while you work, or eating snacks together."
For Leonardo, who always shuts himself in his room glaring at his desk, having a child stuck by his side for a day might feel a little inconvenient. It was a proposal that seemed to have no real harm.
Leonardo probably thought the same. He laughed and said that much of a request was very welcome.
I decided to put into practice, on the last day of being nine, every way of being spoiled that was allowed at that age, as many as I could think of. But the spoiled actions I consciously took were all quite orthodox. I was someone who could not even straightforwardly act spoiled with my parents to begin with. Even when I consciously thought "Let me be spoiled!" there was no way I could be spoiled exactly as I intended.
But, okay! I will be spoiled as much as I can think of! Because it is my last day being nine!
First, I demanded to be carried when moving around, and during work time, I sat right next to him and read books. When I got bored of reading, I sat on his lap and deliberately peeked at his documents, getting scolded, or fell asleep like that and disturbed his work. Deliberately being spoiled was surprisingly busy. I even did something that even I found hard to understand, I handed over the plate of baked treats Kalisa had brought, letting Leonardo feed them to me by hand. By the time the sun began to tilt, Leonardo, who had been thoroughly spoiled by me all day, wore a slightly tired expression and asked, "You do not usually say anything, but were you really wanting to be spoiled like today all along?" Well, after being spoiled this much, he might think that.
"Today is the last day I am nine, so I am just doing as many of the things allowed for a nine-year-old as I can think of, deshu."
Saying that deliberately being spoiled was surprisingly tiring, I leaned my weight against Leonardo's chest. I planned to occupy his lap for the rest of today, a place I intended never to experience again starting tomorrow.
"You do not have to say it is because it is the last day of being nine. You can be spoiled anytime."
"Hermine-sensei would scold me for that, deshu. She would say 'Act like a lady.'"
The reason I could stick to Leonardo all day today was because I had consulted with Hermine in the morning. Under a declaration that I would reform once I turned ten, I told her that since it was my last day being nine, I would be spoiled by Leonardo with all my might. So today, even if I clung to Leonardo to the point of being somewhat unsightly, Hermine had agreed to turn a blind eye.
"You are quite thorough."
"Hermine-sensei taught me that groundwork is important."
Originally, that lesson was not meant to be used this way, but rather for building connections when navigating noble society, or as a skill needed when managing a household as its lady. But I put it into practice this time, as practice for when I would need it for real someday.
Saying "Let us sleep together tonight," I was spoiled by Leonardo until I genuinely fell asleep. I got his full attention. Without a doubt, I think this was the most spoiled I had ever been in my life. More than I had ever been by my parents in this life.
The day after being thoroughly spoiled by Leonardo, I became ten years old.
Just because I turned ten does not mean anything changes dramatically. For me, it is just today continuing from yesterday.
It had been a really long time since I had woken up to see someone other than Kalisa as the first face I saw. When I said "Good morning" to Leonardo in a still-sleepy voice, he returned the greeting. Then, since I received the first blessing of the morning with "Happy tenth birthday," I got happy and sent my brother (Leonardo) plummeting to hell.
"Now that I am ten, Leo, you are forbidden from carrying me starting today."
Tina is contrary sometimes.
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