Baby Pharmacist Princess - Chapter 99

“Yes!”

Finally, with Sihat’s hand helping me up, I managed to climb onto the billiard table. As I straightened my skirt and swung my legs slightly, I realized that, unlike me, Sihat’s feet touched the ground easily.

I knew he was tall, just like my twin brothers, but…

‘Wow, the height difference is huge.’

I never really noticed it before, but suddenly it hit me all at once. The ticklish feeling in my chest had spread all the way to my stomach, making me feel strangely giddy.

In a rush, I blurted out something to distract myself.

“Oh, right! I made some jelly vitamins. Do you want to try them? I’m holding a tasting event tomorrow, but I want you to be the first to taste them.”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“There’s a strawberry flavor too. I know you like strawberries—I saw you picking them out at the party last time.”

“Is there no cherry flavor?”

“Uh… no, actually. There isn’t.”

“That’s too bad. If there were, I’d eat it every day.”

Sihat whispered in a sweet, low voice.

But why was he staring so intently at my lips while saying that?

‘Am I overreacting? Maybe I’m reading too much into it.’

Maybe Sihat was just speaking innocently, as a friend, and I was the one making a big deal out of it.

I had to find out, but asking him felt daunting…

Gathering my courage, I muttered the question that had been on my mind for a long time but I hadn’t been able to ask.

“Sihat… in the future… do we… get married?”

“Married?”

“Yeah. I know you can’t reveal the future, but… I can’t help wondering why you came back from the future as a child.”

Phew! I said it!

And I said it confidently, without stuttering!

“Are we just friends? Or… something more?”

I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye while asking, though. Instead, I pretended to study the row of cue sticks on the wall as I waited for his response.

My heart was pounding with anticipation, yet part of me didn’t want to hear the answer at all.

With every second that passed, my heart raced faster, but I couldn’t let it show.

“Friends, huh…”

Sihat’s voice trailed off as he kept his gaze locked on me, drawing out his words in a thoughtful tone.

Why did he sound so cryptic?

“Shuya.”

That’s when it happened.

Sihat reached out his hand to me. Hesitantly, I placed my hand in his, and he gently rotated our palms until they were pressed together.

It was obvious even to the eye that his hand was much bigger than mine.

“Friends are only friends up to this point,” he said, pausing briefly before interlocking his fingers with mine.

His long, elegant fingers slid between mine, and he clasped my hand firmly. With a playful smile, he whispered, “But from here on, it’s more than that.”

“Ah.”

“I want to be more than friends with you, Shuya. I never intended to stop at being just friends.”

He’d just been waiting for the right moment.

I understood the words he left unspoken, and my face flushed a deep red.

Suddenly, my heart was pounding so hard that my chest ached, and my mouth went dry from the nerves.

In my life as Yoon Chaeri, I could barely recall if I had ever been this close to anyone, let alone dated anyone.

The room spun around me, and I felt dizzy.

“And friends don’t get jealous when other boys try to flirt with you.”

Sihat lightly tapped my nose with his other hand.

Snapping out of my daze, I slowly processed his words.

“Sihat… you get jealous?”

“Of course I do.”

“But I thought popes weren’t supposed to get jealous.”

Dazed, I thought back to all the young noblemen who had approached me earlier in the day.

Had Sihat seen all of that?

“I… almost killed them, honestly.”

At that moment, the smile vanished from Sihat’s face, sending a chill down my spine.

Startled, I swallowed hard and listened carefully to his next words.

“Your father and brothers are fine. They may dislike me, but it’s because they’re trying to protect you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And I’d do anything to protect you too. If I ever became a danger to you, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw myself into the ocean.”

“…”

“But watching those foolish boys flirt with you when they have no intention of protecting you? That, I couldn’t stand.”

I wanted to tease him about whether a pope should be saying things like that, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Once again, I wiggled my toes inside my shoes.

I hadn’t even run anywhere, but I was out of breath. I felt like I might faint if I didn’t do something, so I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted loudly.

“Sihat, wait! Is this… a c-confession?!”

Squeak!

Ugh, why did my voice crack at a moment like this?

I looked up at him in embarrassment, on the verge of tears, and Sihat chuckled softly before responding, much more seriously this time.

“Well, if this isn’t a confession, then what is? Besides, the grown-up version of a confession is still a bit too early for you, Shuya.”

“…!”

“If you count all the time that’s passed, I’ve already loved you for over ten years.”

Sihat pulled our interlocked hands toward him and gently pressed his lips to my fingers.

I was blushing so hard that I could feel my face turning the color of a ripe cherry.

Alone in the empty billiard room, just the two of us.

And here, I heard Sihat’s long-awaited confession.

At that moment, I was certain—our hearts were beating at least 200 BPM.

I couldn’t measure it, but I was sure of it.

“Over here!”

They were probably in a panic upstairs, with the birthday girl missing, but I wasn’t planning on showing up just yet.

I wanted to spend more time with Sihat.

I mean, I had just been confessed to! Surely, that warranted a bit more alone time?

So, Sihat and I teleported again, this time to the Glass Hall.

As the name suggests, the Glass Hall had a large glass wall in the center, dividing the room in half. It was a space where young nobles could practice socializing and having fun—one side for the adults, the other for the kids.

The doors were locked, of course, but was there any place Sihat and I couldn’t go?

“Everything’s already set up.”

“Yeah, I guess everyone wanted to rest, so they prepared everything as soon as they arrived.”

Tables, covered with white cloths, were arranged in a horseshoe shape.

Guests would use this space to pick up individual plates and tongs to try the jelly vitamins I had made.

They would fill out evaluation forms, rating things like taste, texture, and feel.

To prevent the jelly from melting or sticking in the warm weather, the room was kept nice and cool.

I opened one of the glass lids covering the jelly bowls and called out to Sihat.

“Shall we start with this one?”

“Sure.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t tried all 15 flavors myself yet.

I hesitated for a moment before suddenly offering a piece to Sihat.

“Say ‘ah.’”

“…!”

But to my surprise, Sihat started trembling, lowering his head as if overwhelmed.

He even buried his face in his hands.

“Sihat…?”

“You’re just… too cute. Were you trying to feed me?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll eat it. I think I might get a nosebleed at this rate.”

“Is it that serious?”

Still a little confused, I popped the jelly into my own mouth instead.

The tangy orange flavor spread across my tongue.

The texture was really chewy.

‘It tastes good, but it’s a bit too sticky. It’s going to mess with people’s teeth.’

This one was a no-go.

I immediately reached for the next jelly.

“It feels good to finally say what I’ve been holding in for so long. You were too young for me to say anything before.”

“I’m already eleven now.”

“That’s why I’m relieved. I kept thinking, ‘When will she grow up? When will that tiny baby finally grow up?’ I wasn’t sure you ever would.”

Sihat smiled as he fed me a strawberry-flavored jelly.

Apparently, it was okay for him to feed me, but not the other way around.

I couldn’t help but pout a little but still obediently ate the jelly.

“But Sihat, does that mean we didn’t get married?”

“Well… I wouldn’t make you unhappy, would I?”

Sihat’s response was a bit vague.

I reached for the next jelly bowl but stopped mid-motion.

“Then who did you marry?”

If it wasn’t me, then who?

Don’t tell me it was Alexandra!

“Shuya. Do you really think I’d marry anyone else?”

Before my imagination could spiral out of control, Sihat cut me off sharply.

‘Oh, so he didn’t.’

I breathed a sigh of relief and placed my hand over my chest.

“I was planning to run away at 18. I wasn’t going to foolishly die like the popes before me just because I became an adult.”

“Die? What are you talking about?”

“Pope candidates are executed when they turn 18. Then, a new pope is chosen.”

What?

I had never heard that before.

The sun that had been warming the sky earlier was now dipping below the horizon, casting a soft orange glow over the sea.

Sihat watched me quietly as I stared at him in shock. He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying.”

“Is that… how it’s always been? But… but in the game…”

That had never come up in the game.

There had been occasional moments like this—though not frequent—where the game and reality diverged.

For example, my magical cat familiars, who were currently lounging lazily nearby.

I clammed up, unsure of what to say next.

The sense that something was off was growing stronger.