Sitting on a chair, I remain still as I watch my beloved daughter, Mercedes, Prince Adrian, and Princess Aria drawing a portrait of me on their sketchbooks.

Earlier today, me, my husband, my son, and His Majesty, were surprised when the three of them came to me, asking for to be a model for their sudden drawing competition.

But because our house didn't have any sketching materials, my husband, Lucius, immediately had a servant to run down to the market district and buy three sketchbooks and some pencils for them. Returning back by the time it is nearly evening. Because of that, these three have only about an hour before Prince Adrian and Princess Aria return to the palace.

Not long after, an hour passed by already, resulting in the end of their drawing where they must now show it to the four judges, me, Lucius, Frederick, and His Majesty, King Licht.

Starting from Their Royal Highness's side, we take a look at how they drew me.

"Umm... These are..."

"...blobfish?"

"No. it's you, Duchess."

Eh. These two drawings... are me?

Suddenly, I spot my dearest Mercedes in the corner of my eyes, holding onto her stomach while crouched down.

"Are you okay, sweetie? Does your tummy hurt or something?"

"I-I'm fine, m-mummy. It's... it's nothing. Pfft!"

"Hey, what are you laughing at, huh!?"

"Father called our drawings good before, so don't you mock us!"

Upon hearing that from Princess Aria's mouth, Lucius, Frederick and I look at His Majesty, who turns his head away from us as we did that.

"Licht?"

"Hey, I was just doing my job as a loving parent, okay?"

Attempting to change the subject, he then claps his hands loudly and says, "Now let's see how Mercedes's drawing is next, shall we?"

Ah, my cute daughter's drawing...

I do not want to admit it, but a child's drawing is usually bad, like earlier. So what I'm expecting, is hers to be at least a little bet-

"Bless my soul! It's amazing, sweetie."

"Im-Impossible... Why is yours so good!?"

"You cheated somehow, didn't you!?"

"No I did not. Also, it's only a rough sketch of my mother, so I wouldn't say it's that good yet."

No no no. Don't phrase it like that, sweetie! My face, my hair my body, my breasts and my butt. They are all captured so perfectly well! There's no doubt about it, my daughter is talented in art!

Nodding to each other, we all agreed that Mercedes is the winner of the mini, art competition.

"It's not over yet!"

"We'll be back tomorrow!"

"Sure, see you two then~!"

Saying their goodbyes, His Majesty and Their Royal Highness left in their carriage.

Afterwards, Lucius asked Mercedes if she could finish the portrait of me, to which she happily accepts and immediately continues the work.

The next day, Prince Adrian and Princess Aria came by again. Challenging Mercedes to another drawing match, which they begin immediately but with a bowl of fruits this time.

Judge however, was only me because Lucius is at work in the palace and Frederick is helping him as his assistant. Whereas His Majesty immediately leaves, after dropping the twins off, and returns to the palace as well, to hopefully get some sleep as there were bags on his eyes earlier.

After some time, the three of them are done with their drawing and show it to me, where I lay them all out on the table for everyone to see. Which immediately caused Prince Adrian and Princess Aria to frown, as they already knew who the winner is. My daughter, Mercedes.

It would seem like our daughter isn't that close to them yet, dear. But knowing her, I'm sure they'll be great friends soon enough.

Prince Adrian and Princess Aria once again challenged Mercedes to the same duel. And again. And again. Repeatedly until the time for them to return home has come, which they then challenged her again on the next day...

"Your shading's a little light. Try and make it darker a bit."

"Got it."

"Okay."

Everyday since the first challenge, Adrian and Aria would continuously request another. However, because they showed no signs of improving after a month has passed, I decided to teach them some artistic skills and requested that they put the contest on hold.

And now after a week since their training, they have shown progress in their skills, as their art no longer looks like bad shit but is now a nicer looking shit. Basically, they still need to work on it.

Also, the finished portrait of my mother, is now hung in front of the main entrance of the house, for everyone to see.

"Here, these pastries are delicious as well."

"Mmmm~ you're right. It is good!"

"Just how did you get these, big sis!?"

"My maid is an excellent baker. Hahaha!"

More and more time has passed. My relationship with the twins has evolved from "nemesis" to "friendly rivals in art". Whereas they are now calling me their big sister, as a sign of respect to being their art teacher.

"Alright, break time is over. Let's continue drawing, shall we?"

"Yes, big sis!"

"Yes, big sister!"

...

"Argh! This is so hard!"

"Why must our hands be so difficult to draw!?"

Turning their faces to me, they pass me their sketchbooks.

"Show us how to draw it again, big sis!"

"Of course. But add it a 'please' next time, when you're asking for a favour, okay?"

"Okay~"

These kids' attitude have gotten better. And although sometimes they are still rude to others, they are also still young. Meaning that they can grow up to be better people, starting from now.

 

As we not only do drawing whenever they visit, but also playing around with the toys and board games. Nearly six months have passed since we first met, where it is only a few days away from my fifth birthday.

"Big sister Mercedes."

"Big sis Mercedes."

"Yes, Adrian, Aria?"

The twins have come to visit again. But unlike yesterday, they came with a fiery determination in their eyes, which immediately tells me of their intention.

Taking out a white glove from each of their pockets, the twins toss it at me, gently this time.

"We challenge you once again, to a drawing match!"

Picking up the gloves from the ground, I smile and ask them.

"Alright then, what are we going to draw?"

In response to my question, they point to the ground.

"The object we will be drawing..."

"...is the entire Lodengrimm estate."

Oh boy~. Now that's going to be difficult, even for me.

I'm not gonna type anything for this chapter. You all know what to do with that heart below, right?