Hm.
Yeah.
That probably wasn't a good thing.
Roksu Henituse sat peacefully in the garden with his picture book, watching from a distance as his sister threw stones at his brother who'd climbed up a tree to avoid them. For all their unusual maturity, Cale had a natural inclination towards aggravating the people around him for nebulous purposes and Penelope had a natural inclination towards not taking his shit.
Roksu traced over the word in the book that had caught his attention.
<Hero>
A silly and simple word. Childish in nature. A word that described a person who saved others.
Roksu reflected that he'd known a lot of heroes in his lifetime. He'd also seen a lot of them die. Becoming a hero sort of lost its appeal after you'd seen that enough times.
Roksu wasn't yet four years old, still stuck in the treacherous age known as three. After the troublesome twos but before you were old enough for anyone to acknowledge your personality or deem you worthy of teaching. Just a toddler.
His brain still hadn't quite worked out how to connect and organize memories in any meaningful fashion but Roksu had been putting a certain amount of effort into it. Perhaps it was because of the headaches that he was so motivated. Roksu really didn't like headaches.
But his ability had been cataloging memories before his brain was ready for it for years now. It really made a person question where memories truly were contained, the soul or the mind.
Roksu's current hypothesis was that they were stored in the soul but sorted out and organized by the mind. That would at least neatly explain his current situation.
Roksu was already at least partially aware that some of his memories did not belong in his current lifetime. Especially since he was supposed to be three, not thirty-six.
It hadn't really quite clicked though. There was something about the brain of a child that led them to be pure curiosity contained inside of a purely incurious existence.
A child would ask why until their throat was raw but they would frequently accept even the most unbelievable of explanations without argument.
Since Roksu was not in fact one of nature's curious cats because he valued his life, satisfaction be damned, he was also extra uninclined to even ask why for a short eternity.
A child could simply just accept that there were two sets of memories inside of them and not once question whether that was a strange or bothersome thing. In that sense, a child's development boiled down to what they considered normal.
For Roksu, it was his normal state of being. He'd like to stop having headaches and thus he needed to organize these thoughts cohesively.
That was as complicated as it got for him.
<Hero>
Roksu watched without much surprise as Penelope knocked Cale out of the tree and proceeded to show him exactly what she thought of his prank.
It was such a strange trigger but he supposed it made sense as it pertained to his current circumstances all too much.
Cale Henituse.
The Birth of a Hero.
The Roan Kingdom.
Roksu let out a deep and long suffering sigh, leaning back onto the grass and staring up into the sky.
A gentle wind caressed his cheek and he wondered if that was the sky's way of mocking him. His chubby little hand reached up to the expanse of sky above him as he slowly but surely sorted through the memories that were arranging themselves neatly in his mind at his behest.
Was this what it was like to be an amnesiac who just recovered their memories? That wouldn't make much sense though. He'd never actually lost any of his memories. He just couldn't understand them. Maybe that was how children survived the boredom of being a baby. Roksu now had literal months of times cataloged from his infancy when he had no control over when Record activated. Some of them were pleasant memories, some of them were unpleasant, but the vast majority were mind numbingly boring.
'So I died...'
He wondered if his team did alright without him. He hoped they did. He wasn't close to anyone but he didn't want any of them to die. They ought to have been fine though. Vice leader Kim Min Ah was there and she was more than capable of taking over command.
It wouldn't do him any good to worry about that now. It was over three years in the past and inside of a whole other world.
The Birth of a Hero.
He didn't quite want to believe that. He had to, obviously, as it was clearly the reality of the matter but geez he was basically living in a world that was a ticking time bomb before war spread across the continent.
Although he supposed that even before the apocalypse, earth wasn't much different in that way. And he had the advantage of actually knowing when, where, how, and who the war would crop up from. Which wasn't an advantage he'd had on earth
However, knowing about it carried a certain level of responsibility. If he didn't know anything, he wouldn't have to do anything about it and he could live the next eighteen or so years in blissful ignorance.
'I should create a safe place to camp out while the war happens, let the plot do its thing, and then come out when it's over.'
If only he'd read past volume five. He knew an awful lot about the start of the war and very little about the actual progression of it. And absolutely nothing about how it ended.
'It's none of my business.'
He heard Cale squawk in distress as Penelope finally got through to him that there wouldn't be a next time.
'...Penelope has to be from Korea too.' He thought half heartedly, understanding now why they'd always had a 'secret language' that only they could understand. They'd actually already started teaching Cale the basics and he was picking it up quickly.
It was amazing how quickly children could pick up a language. Although he'd heard Cale and Penelope speaking it all his life, whether he was aware or not, that had to help matters somewhat.
Cale Henituse, the lout of Count's family, was destined to get beaten half to death by the protagonist. He also didn't have triplet siblings.
Roksu sighed.
That simply wouldn't do.
'...Cale's probably not a real child either?'
Penelope was easier to pin down. She was clearly in the same situation as Roksu, more or less, but who was Cale? Not Korean, had he regressed? Or was there another soul in Cale's body?
That would be complicated. He didn't know how to begin untangling that mess.
There was the pressing question of why the three of them had been reborn as babies but Roksu really wasn't the sort to ask why. Frequently that question led to answers that you didn't want to know.
Ignorance really could be bliss.
Penelope and Cale's faces peeked down at him from above, obscuring his view of the cruel sky above.
"You okay?" Penelope asked.
"Need to take a shit?" Cale added, his crass language as useful as ever.
Roksu wished that he hadn't recorded so many diaper changes as a baby. Now just about every time he used the restroom he was sure to get reminded of that particular mortification.
Oh well, he'd been a baby. That's what babies did.
"I remembered something bad." Roksu said honestly.
The pair sat at his side and it really was amazing how they really didn't need to do or say anything to calm him down. Just sitting near him was enough.
Yeah. There was no way he was going to let Cale get beaten up by the protagonist. He'd figure out another way to introduce Choi Han with his initial party for travels.
"Wanna talk about it?" Cale asked.
They were fighting so much a moment ago and now they were sitting calmly beside each other. For Roksu, he knew that was normal. It was a part of being siblings. For the thirty-six years of being an only child of Kim Rok Soo, it was strange and interesting. He got over the cognitive dissonance easily though through his normal tactic of that's just the way things are.
Roksu thought over Cale's question seriously, closing his eyes as he poured over his thoughts. It probably wasn't a good idea to say too much just now. Roksu's brain hardly had the capacity to deal with and organize his memories and he could feel another headache coming on from his efforts. It was likely that their memories would organize themselves naturally with time.
He didn't want to freak them out.
"Maybe later." He said finally.
Penelope poked his cheek and he glanced over at her. She had a worried little frown and furrowed brows. "Another headache?"
She was good at reading him. He nodded truthfully.
"Don't push yourself." She commanded.
She was really good at reading him.
"I'm not." He lied and avoided her wrathful stare.
Cale touched his forehead, feeling for a fever and smiling in relief when he felt none. "We should probably head inside soon."
The gentle sky was beginning to dim as the horizon brought hughes of orange to dance up inside of clouds in a pas de deux of day and night. Soon stars would peek out from the darkness of the sky and ask for all the wishes the people below could offer.
They wouldn't grant a single one though.
"Yeah." Roksu agreed and sat up.
He didn't notice it quite as much before but he was now hyper aware of how poor his motor control actually was. 'Right... hand eye coordination is something you get with practice.'
No one was born with the ability to perfectly control their meat shell. It made a lot of sense to him now why children always seemed so uncoordinated and slow. Even with all the memories in the world of how a body was supposed to move, he still found that his body wasn't quite capable of listening to him perfectly yet.
"You're overthinking something again." Penelope accused, offering him a hand to help him stand up. Roksu accepted it without issue.
'Rude kid.' He smiled to himself though. It was a good sign when Penelope was being outspoken. When she was really uncomfortable or unhappy, she'd shut down.
She'd probably had a rough life of her own.
The three toddled back towards the house with the servant who'd been watching over their garden playtime trailing after them quietly.
'...I'll have to do something about the father situation.' Roksu thought dispassionately.
Deruth Henituse hadn't made a great first impression on him. But he knew well enough from experience that grief hit everyone differently and while he was perfectly comfortable growing up without a father figure, Cale wasn't.
He wondered if that's what made Cale the way he was in the original book. Neglect and grief from a young age.
Yeah. He didn't think very highly of Deruth at all.
"He's really just going to keep zoning out like that."
"I'm pretty sure he's up to something."
"That would make sense. Do you think it's another scheme to get the sweets tin from the second kitchen?"
"Nah, he's still too scared of what the cook said to him about it."
"He's really a scaredy cat about some things."
"More like a mouse. Ron said that he squeaks when he gets too scared."
"...why exactly is Ron scaring him? I swear that butler is a sadist."
"It's his way of showing affection."
"Read my lips, Cale. That's what sadists do."
"You're just mad that he beat you in a staring contest."
"That wasn't a staring contest. I was glaring at him."
"He still won though."
"Congratulations. He beat a three year old. Should I throw him a party?"
"I think a party for Ron would be nice actually. We should Roksu in on it. Think about it–wouldn't it be gratifying to see Ron surprised for once?"
"You're getting off topic. The primary concern right now is Roksu."
Roksu sighed. "You guys know I can hear you, right?"
"Shush, Roksu. We're talking about you." Cale chastised, nudging his little brother playfully.
Roksu rolled his eyes but he felt the weight on his shoulder lighten somewhat with their teasing. He had plenty of years to prepare for whatever the future held, a near perfect recollection of the first five novels, and two unlikely allies that he probably couldn't shake off if he tried.
Sensing the tension leaving Roksu, Penelope smiled to herself.
She was still hesitant about the concept of brothers but she was okay with Roksu and Cale. They weren't a threat and even when they (really just Cale) were being annoying, she was able to speak up for herself and feel heard.
Or just throw rocks at Cale. Both were equally satisfying.
Roksu was still worrying her though. She couldn't put her finger on exactly why but his atmosphere had subtly changed in a single afternoon. He was still clearly the Roksu she'd always known but...
There was just something different.
Even without the analytical skills of an adult, Penelope had an instinct for this sort of thing. She'd grown rather adept at reading the people around her over the years as a matter of survival... The incongruent memory made her head hurt briefly before fluttering away into the abyss it had come from.
Still, it was an impactful enough moment that it would become one of Penelope's earliest memories that wouldn't disappear as she aged. The moment when she noticed something changed about Roksu and worry gnawed at her gut.
"What book were you reading earlier?" Penelope asked. She wanted some clue as to the cause of the shift.
Roksu shrugged, passing her the fairytale. "Just a story about a prince rescuing a princess from a dragon. The prose could use work and the concept is cliche."
Penelope agreed. She gave the cover a critical once over before dismissing the clue as a dead end. "Prince's are overrated."
"Right?" Cale agreed a bit too eagerly. "Who the hell needs a prince?"
"It would have been more interesting if the princess rescued herself. Or maybe just befriended the dragon." Roksu said thoughtfully. "Dragons aren't mindless beasts."
"The entire structure of a monarchical society is also rather out-dated. It'd be better if they had a different form of government." Penelope said reflectively to Cale's question.
Cale quirked his head at her cluelessly. "What other types of government are there?"
"I never really studied political science but off the top of my head there's democracy which would be more modern, authoritarian which is pretty close to a monarchy by estimate, aristocracy, oligarchy, communist..." She frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm not really fond of any of those governments. They're all pretty flawed when it comes down to it."
Cale shrugged. "I've never even heard of them. Where'd you learn all that stuff?"
Penelope furrowed her brows in concentration but even if she was fully aware of her previous life, there really wasn't any solid memory to draw from. It was the sort of knowledge she'd just accumulated over time. Some of it through school or the news or just trending topics but no one memory provided an answer. "...I'm not sure actually."
Cale nodded sagely. "I know the feeling."
He really did. There were plenty of moments in his life where he just knew things and he had no idea how or why.
Roksu chanced a glance at the servant who'd followed after them as they made their way to the play room. He had a queer and uncomfortable look on his face. Roksu felt some pity for him, he could only imagine how creepy the three of them must seem.
What three year old seriously contemplates dismantling monarchy and replacing it with a different form of government?
"When you remember where you learned that, we should talk about it." Roksu told Penelope absently.
She nodded and looked back to the picture book with some distaste. "I couldn't imagine marrying a prince just because he rescued me."
Cale nodded. "I couldn't imagine marrying a prince. It would probably get really annoying."
Roksu shuddered at the thought. "...all the responsibilities..." He might have entered a brand new life but his slacker dream still lived on. He didn't want to put in the work helping to run a kingdom.
Penelope raised an eyebrow at them. "So, you're more concerned with marrying a prince than a princess?"
Cale gave it some thought. "Hmm... I wouldn't want to marry a princess either."
"I just don't want to be involved with royalty at all." Roksu said.
Penelope considered the question as well, despite having been the one to ask it. "I think a princess might be less bothersome? I get along better with girls."
"Marriage isn't friendship." Roksu pointed out.
"Who said anything about friendship?" Penelope gave him a look and he backed down.
At least the subject of conversation was a bit more childish, even if their perspectives on the matter were notably more mature. Roksu could see the servant look less perturbed.
"Who would you want to marry then?" Cale asked. "Since we all agree royalty would suck."
"...a normal and dependable person?" Penelope said. "No one who's violent. I have no interest in those who cause trouble for others and I have no desire to be someone's target for frustrations."
"Do I have to get married?" Roksu asked. He'd gone thirty-six years without it and he was pretty comfortable without romance in his life. "I think I'd be better off alone."
"You two are boring." Cale pointed out while rolling his eyes.
"Then what about you?" Penelope asked, her critical eye daring him to come up with a better answer.
There was a pause while Cale considered the question.
"...I can't really imagine anyone wanting to marry me." He laughed, shaking his head.
Roksu and Penelope gave him a look.
"...he's definitely the type to fall for the stupid prince who slays the dragon." Penelope said dryly.
Roksu nodded, a bit concerned by Cale's answer. "He'll jump into the arms of the first guy who shows him affection."
Cale flushed, glaring at his siblings. "I would not!"
Before the argument could escalate into what would have likely resulted in another round of hypothetical questions and criticisms about future love affairs, Ron entered the playroom dutifully.
"It's dinnertime." He announced and the siblings easily let go of the topic, lining up to follow Ron to the dining room.
It was overall a very typical day for the siblings where absolutely nothing of great importance happened. Still, it was notable as the day when things began to change.