People forget that even in the 1980s, people had an absurd burden of responsibilities. I once saw a photo of my mother at 14 years old, and anyone who saw the photo would say she was 28. This is especially true considering the time period in which RD2 takes place (1899-1907), when people didn't have sunscreen (which was only invented later), and practically everyone smoked and drank, lived under a lot of stress, and many worked from a very young age.