《Please Give Me the Pacifier》 Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 ¡°At the Senate¡¯s decision, Hella will now hereby be banished.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re banishing me?¡± I twisted the tip of my lips. What the hell is that bug talking about? I picked those bastards from the floor, taught them magic, placed them in their positions and this is how they return my grace? ¡°Your magic is too dangerous and your actions are full of resentment. More and more people grow afraid of your cold-blooded ways.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hella, if you follow the decision silently then we will not collect your life. However, your mana heart that gathers the surrounding mana will be destroyed, this is to make sure that you will remain quiet for the rest of your life.¡± I am completely speechless. A heat boiled inside of me. Whiteness spread and contracted continuously in my eyes. Melain¡¯s words did not really mean to keep me quiet for the rest of my life. Was it really just being an old man behind the scenes and living quietly. He¡¯s just a few years younger than me. Anyway, he was the first disciple I brought up, a family, a friend and at the same time a companion who lived and died together. He¡¯s the only person who has taken plenty of precious and valuable formulae from me. ¡®How dare you¡­ Who dare set me up in this land of sorcerers, Cillophia?¡¯ ¡°Am I crazy? No, are you crazy?¡± I snorted and stomped my feet at their ridiculousness. Then the ground creaked loudly. Only Melain, who sentenced me to death, stood still as the tower shook as if it was in an earthquake. I looked up at him with chills in my eyes as I slowly released my mana. Following my will, a black magic circle was drawn on the floor. ¡°I gave you a chance, Hella. I honestly wanted you to take it.¡± Rustle¡ª Melain took the gap when I was distracted by him and he hooked the chain that scraped by the floor on me. It was extremely fast that I wasn¡¯t even able to respond at all. As if on instinct, I tried to step back as something like a green vine twisted around my ankles. My body which was trying to step back, lost its balance and stumbled badly. At that moment, a white chain came up and aimed at my limbs. My eyes widened when I tried to break the chains with my magic. The mana that I have gathered to cast my magic was dispersed in an instant. ¡°Melaaaaaain!¡± My eyes were bloodshot as I screamed his name out. I glared at Melain as I struggled against the chains that tied my limbs down. ¡°You, You¡­¡­ This is¡­!¡± ¡°Did you recognize it? This was what Hella was making. I have completed it.¡± His eyes bent in crescents as he softly informed me. ¡°Ah, yes, I didn¡¯t inform you about that. What you were doing was very dangerous. Everything you did was a threat to us.¡± As he spoke, he took the wand from Hella¡¯s hands. ¡°Get ready.¡± Melain gave down the orders with great familiarity. The sorcerers followed his orders as if it was only natural. It seemed like they weren¡¯t bought in just a day or two as there was no hesitation in carrying out his orders. ¡°Ha¡­¡± I fell down on my knees without strength. I felt the emptiness as my strength slowly left me from my legs. We were still laughing, chatting and drinking just yesterday. The back of my head was numb as my warm blood ran through my veins. I was so angry that I became speechless but what I¡¯m experiencing today is real. I couldn¡¯t even express my hostility with my neck tightly bound. I found it very funny. I was ridiculously stupid, up until last night I was still laughing and drinking with that guy. My finger pointed without moving at the man standing on the dais blankly. The black magic circle that I drew slowly disappeared as my mana was ruined as a shining blue and white magic formation started to form. There were at least eight sorcerers involved in the creation of the new magic circle and four assistants who replenish their mana. ¡®Magic dissolution¡­¡¯ Judging from the formation, it was a complete dissolution of magic. I can feel the will to completely erase every trace of mana existing in both my body and soul. I don¡¯t know this magic circle at all. I glanced at the magic circle that was being drawn at the place where I fell down. They probably met secretly every night behind my back to quietly study and finish this magic circle just to get rid of me. And every morning you would all greet me as you pass by, bowing down to me and facing me to give your reports. ¡°You¡­ How can you do this?¡± I ask them from where I sat as I proudly raise my head. Melain had his mouth tightly shut as he looked down at me coldly. He was originally a guy who was quiet and composed. But was it still necessary to continue to keep your mouth shut in this situation? The moment I looked down again, a bright light came out of the magic circle and penetrated my body. My body faded away. It didn¡¯t burn like fire but the light turned me into beautiful white ashes, falling like a broken sand castle. The light penetrated my body as it started to slowly erase my entire existence. Magic Dissolution, the magic I made to control criminal sorcerers was the magic used to subdue and completely erase my existence. I watched as my legs broke and disappeared like light, only when half of my body was gone did I slowly raise my head as I once more asked myself my unanswered question. I had no intention of stopping this whole situation that was both shocking and ridiculous. I looked around slowly. No one took pity on me or tried to save me. Was this how I lived? I turned to look at Melain who was standing still on the dais. Kwaaang¡ª! The building shook violently as it exploded. ¡°Aack!¡± ¡°Archmage Melain!¡± Melain looked at the disheveled array and slowly picked up his wand. He started chanting an ancient spell as he faced me. As he faced me alone, a black energy wound around the remaining half of my body. My eyes that were reflected on the blue marble were dyed red. ¡°As long as I can come back to life, even if I turned into an undead, I will certainly kill you.¡± Melain did not say any words but his eyes never left me. I gritted my teeth as I forced a laugh. The pitch black energy surged dangerously. The building was now filled with Melain¡¯s blue magic and the black energy surrounding me. ¡°I will curse you, Melain. I¡¯m cursing you.¡± ¡°Your mana is gone, you can¡¯t do anything. You have now become the helpless, useless man that you have thought to be terribly insignificant.¡± ¡°¡­Are you being sarcastic right now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stating the facts, Hella. The spells and black magic that you are very proud of are useless if you have lost control of your mana.¡± Melain¡¯s rigid expression relaxed as his eyes slowly closed. That bastard was talking as if I was a complete villain. So, what do I think? I¡¯ll kill that shit. In time, once I get reborn. I¡¯ll kill you the same way you did to me. He betrayed my kindness and took my life. He took my most precious thing without a word. ¡°You don¡¯t even have the time for that anymore.¡± ¡°Ha! Even if this body was crushed to death and I get reborn as a lowly demon, I would surely devour you to death!¡± ¡°Goodbye, Hella.¡± Despite my words, Melain still calmly declared his farewells. How can he just say his goodbye like nothing happened? What was I to him. I thought that he was a good colleague and partner. ¡®Evil, I¡¯ll kill that damn bastard!¡¯ The last thing I saw was a formless body in a deserted room. Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 A bright light suddenly poured out in the dark of the night. My spirit has been floating in the dark for quite a long time, this was quite an unexpected situation. My eyes couldn¡¯t adjust when a bright light poured out in the darkness. ¡®What the hell?¡¯ Am I finally going to heaven or hell? Whether it be heaven or hell, I have to be reincarnated to get my revenge. My eyes that were closed for a very long time slowly opened. I saw a ceiling. ¡®Huh?¡¯ What, that ceiling is terrifyingly high. Who made a house this high? I¡¯d have to fly just to light a candle on that ceiling. Was it possible because I¡¯m in the afterlife? ¡®I don¡¯t think I was born as a giant.¡¯ I moved my arms to get up. To be exact, I tried to support myself on the bed with my arms but something was short. ¡°Bu?¡± Bu? What the hell is bu? I swung my arms in the air and I saw a chubby arm that was like an octopus tentacle. My mouth opened in embarrassment as both of my arms swayed. ¡°Abuuth?¡± Ah, who¡¯s the one who kept making this noise¡­! ¡°Abu, bu! Buu!¡± Oh¡­ Nyaa¡­? Why did it feel like it was very close. This voice. This unbelievable voice. Whose voice was it? And this extremely embarrassing slow body. I can¡¯t even talk properly¡­ It¡¯s as if I was a child¡­? ¡®Eh?¡¯ Eyy, that¡¯s impossible. ¡®Did I really reincarnate?¡¯ No, there¡¯s no way that it could be true. Besides, if I was reincarnated then wouldn¡¯t it be strange that I still retained my memories? That¡¯s scary. Or¡­ Perhaps I was lucky to be alive and I¡¯m just having difficulties with my body¡­! ¡°Oh-hyu!¡± At that moment, a huge face appeared over the bed. ¡°Abuuack!¡± Oh my gosh! That was shocking! That was a huge face. No, was I small? Was it something like a giant? Or was I really a baby? I couldn¡¯t talk and I couldn¡¯t move¡­ was I really a child who couldn¡¯t do anything? ¡°You are being noisy, just keep this in your mouth.¡± The woman looked like a maid. She put something in my mouth as she pulled the covers and started dusting right next to me. Dust, dust¡­¡­ Dust!! ¡°Ahpoo!¡± I sneezed loudly. No, was this how you handle a kid? Weren¡¯t kids the nation¡¯s most valuable assets? Didn¡¯t you know how precious a young sorcerer is? No, which house would hire a maid like her¡­? ¡°Is it really true that I would watch over the child this week? I can¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡®¡­The Empire¡¯s language?¡¯ Chup, chup, I sucked hard at what was in my mouth as I tilted my head. Cillophia would not hire someone that speaks the Empire¡¯s language. The common language used in Cillophia was the ancient language. The Empire¡¯s language has its own distinctive tone and accent for each and every country. In particular, her accent was unique to the Empire and its outskirts. Chup, chup. Omg, my arms moved. I was finally able to move it a bit. I struggled very hard just to turn myself over. I used all of the strength in my arms and legs to raise myself up. My head was a bit heavy so it repeatedly dropped forward. Chup, chup, I sucked hard at my pacifier as I grabbed the bars on the baby bed. It felt like I was in jail since I couldn¡¯t get out but I could still see the outside. ¡®Ho, I really became a baby¡­¡­?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t get rid of this feeling of faintness as I suck on my pacifier. ¡®My¡­ Life!¡¯ All my life I have been working diligently, did I finally come to live a comfortable life. How could this even happen? I was a dried up skinny kid who lost everything. The oppression has filled me with anger. I shook my limbs, grabbed my hair from my shaking head and buried myself on the bed as I denied my reality. After trying to deny my reality for quite some time, I slowly lifted my head and looked around. ¡®¡­¡­Why is it so empty?¡¯ All I had in this empty room was a crib and an old unused bed. There were no decorations, no vases, and even people weren¡¯t present. The only person was the maid who was dusting beside me. ¡°Oh my, what¡¯s this? Did you turn just now? But you¡¯re still a half-blood¡­¡± Oh no. It seems like I was born in a troublesome family. But no matter how I look at it I was far from being a newborn? Don¡¯t tell me I wasn¡¯t even reincarnated? What month and year was it now? ¡®Am I in the Empire?¡¯ Of all the places, why was it the Empire. There were a lot of places that use the language of the Empire, but the first thing that would come to mind when hearing this particular accent was the Heiron Empire. It seems like I was born in a humble family¡­ ¡®The room seems fitting.¡¯ I wouldn¡¯t know either way. What¡¯s important right now was that I am alive and I have my memories. That, and I know that I¡¯m stuck in a crib and I am not treated very well. Earlier it felt like I was a bit dazed but now I could feel myself getting dizzy. I sucked hard as I felt the dizziness threaten me. My grip was slowly getting loose as my hands became weak so I let go of what I was holding. Standing on all fours was my limit. My legs shook and my body trembled as soon as I relaxed. I ended up lying on my stomach. ¡®I won¡¯t be able to move around like this.¡¯ In the first place, where am I? I want to collect more information. ¡®No way, you¡¯re not telling me that they¡¯ll continue to keep me here, right?¡¯ This narrow¡­ suffocating, and small crib. Wasn¡¯t that awful? ¡°Abubu, chup!¡± You there, look at me. I need you to put me down. No, what the hell were the caretakers doing, why were they terribly negligent with their jobs? It was useless, no matter how much I buubuu and cry they won¡¯t care. ¡®Their ears are completely plugged.¡¯ My frustration and anger soared. ¡°Abuubuu!¡± I kept on struggling and screaming until I saw a vase with no flowers in front of the window. Could I use some mana? I wasn¡¯t able to check before so I quickly turned to my side to confirm it. I closed my eyes and tightly clenched my fists as my legs and body shook strongly. Uuugh! Ugh! I thought that both the sound I produced and my posture were kind of weird but let¡¯s just pretend that I didn¡¯t notice. I tried to move the non-existent mana inside my body as I groaned like I was suffering. Smash¡ª! ¡°Gosh!¡± I heard the maid shriek as the vase was smashed to pieces. I opened my eyes in a jolt. My face was dripping in sweat, didn¡¯t you know. Fortunately, I could still use magic. I breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡®It¡¯s a relief.¡¯ At first I thought the mana was completely gone. It turns out that I just wasn¡¯t able to feel it because a baby¡¯s senses were dull, I would be fine soon. ¡®I should first find out where I am before I take off.¡¯ Once I got all the information then I would prepare my escape, then run and somehow go back to Cillophia and get rid of all of those traitors. ¡°My god, you were just fine a while ago so why did you fall in a broken mess now.¡± The maid grumbled that it has nothing to do with her, sighed, turned around and left me all alone in the room. I supported myself on all fours again. How old was I? The stiffness of my muscles shows that I haven¡¯t used them for quite a long time? ¡®In terms of development¡­ I should be about 10 months old?¡¯ I¡¯ve learnt a lot from a book about the human body and its growth development, but it wasn¡¯t very clear. So why were my arms and legs very weak? ¡®What revenge¡­¡¯ With a body like this, it would definitely be hard to get to Melain. I have to at least have this body grow up before I could achieve my dreams and face against Melain. ¡°Ehoo.¡± I sighed loudly even though I¡¯m still a child. By the way, they wouldn¡¯t continue to keep me in this crib right? Let¡¯s get out of here first. I closed my eyes and desperately tried to lift my body up. After plenty of groaning, my body floated up. ¡®Well then!¡¯ I opened my eyes and immediately gulped in fear. ¡®Out of the bed¡­ and on the floor¡­¡¯ If I relaxed just a bit of control over my mana, I think that my face would definitely smash on the marble floor right away. My eyes tightened as I desperately tried to move my body. ¡®There, I did it¡­¡¯ Luckily, I didn¡¯t smash my face on the marble floor. With a pacifier in my mouth, I worked hard to move my arms and legs towards the door. I have to quickly get out of this room and find out where I am. ¡®My knees hurt.¡¯ This baby was completely disregarded. Which mansion wouldn¡¯t have at least one rug installed? I scoffed at them as I approached the door. ¡°Gasp, what is this? How did you get out of there? I¡¯m going crazy!¡± ¡°Buuu¡­¡­¡± Ah, I forgot that there was a time limit. I didn¡¯t even consider getting caught by the maid. When the maid lifted me up, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. ¡®Silver¡­ eyes?¡¯ My eyes were wide open as I hanged on the maid¡¯s arms with the blackmail-worthy pacifier dangling on my neck. I saw a thin child with silver eyes and dark blue hair. ¡®¡­¡­Silver eyes? Heiron Empire?¡¯ There was only one family that comes to mind when both these things were put together. A somehow disturbing thought crept in my mind. ¡°Phew, how in the world were you able to get down from there? Did you roll?¡± Why were you asking a 100-day old child, could I even answer that. ¡®Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s stupid?¡¯ I looked at the maid with pity but the maid turned my body over and over again. She then sighed with relief when she saw that I wasn¡¯t bruised. ¡®Hmm, it seems like I¡¯m still a bit of a valued child.¡¯ Anyway, there must be something since the maid was taking care of me and was checking if I had bruises, right? Silver eyes weren¡¯t that common in the first place. I have been wandering around before and it was rare for me to meet someone with silver eyes. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me.¡¯ I strongly shook my head trying to deny my thoughts. The maid looked at me strangely as she roughly covered me with a blanket. ¡°Please stay like this.¡± She then took my pacifier away. ¡°Abuuuu¡­!¡± My pacifier! Give me back my pacifier! I tried to reach out with my hands but I stopped with my movements. My eyes widened. Just now, there was something that came to mind when I thought about things further¡­¡­ ¡®Heiron¡­¡¯ There was something about the Heiron Empire. ¡®What was it?¡¯ My mouth opened unconsciously. I yawned loudly as my eyes became heavy. I saw the maid putting my pacifier on a nearby window frame. ¡®The pacifier is over there¡­¡¯ All I could think about was biting on it. It wasn¡¯t even funny. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Translated by: CC Raws Provider: ANIMU Lyf Please support the Author by buying her book or reading at the raw site. After I stopped my useless struggle, I realized quite a lot of things after spending plenty of time observing and staying in this shitty room. First, the maid changes every week. It was like they were assigned to the bathroom in a way that they were making their best efforts to delay and lessen their time watching after me. Second, most of the maids do not care about me. They did not seem to like me very much. It was quite hard to listen to the maid¡¯s gossip since there was only one maid coming in every time. Third, somehow the old and filthy pacifier in my mouth always keeps me sane. I would always be sleepy if I wasn¡¯t biting on it. I realized this after three attempts. Fourth, most of the maids have different personalities and work ethics but they usually come in to feed me at a certain time then they would only come back after four or five hours. Fifth, I still don¡¯t know who I am. I¡¯m confident about me being 10 months old. My status was not that low but I was also not welcomed. Sometimes I could hear them saying something about a half-blood something and a young duke. From how they said it, I think I might be related to that young duke person or something. Sixth, I¡¯m probably a part of the Clown ducal family of the Heiron Empire. I¡¯m about 97.8% sure about this. Seventh, after collecting all the stories and conjectures I am probably a baby that¡¯s related to the young duke, Sharendt Clown. I¡¯m probably not Sharendt¡¯s child since they have called me half-blooded a couple of times. I¡¯m probably an illegitimate child at best. Eighth¡­ No, then am I the child of that crazy, cold-hearted bastard Sharendt Clown? No way. Then I¡¯d rather be the child of the head of the family, Deshar Clown. I can even give you some affection. You can even call me a late child. Ninth, in conclusion I hate Sharendt Clown. Tenth, if it was Deshar Clown and not Sharendt Clown then does that mean that we are siblings¡­¡­. No, let¡¯s stop it here. Right now I have strongly decided to stop my observation diary. If I continued to think about it more deeply my imagination would definitely run wild. Anyway, the way they treat me now was completely terrible so my first agenda would be to get out of this house. I would then go to an orphanage somewhere where they wouldn¡¯t hold me back. But to do that, I have to be able to use magic first. Right now, most of the mana in my body was lost and the only trace left was the mana that I have generated recently. However, I could use minor floating magic with this amount. To be honest, it would be faster if I found someone to take care of me but it was troublesome to find new parents. An orphanage would be the best choice for me. There would be no lingering affections and no weaknesses. A family was nothing but a weakness. Damn! I didn¡¯t want to be born into this broken family [1] and be raised secretly. After experiencing things for a month, I have already realized that I was being ignored. They washed me but they did not wash me well. They only used a wet towel to clean my body. They also gave my meals inconsistently. Sometimes they would give me one meal in a day. Fortunately, I was still a baby who could only lie down so I could still endure it. But I still haven¡¯t gotten used to it since I was treated quite better in my last life. Tsk, starting today I would be going around the place. The Clown ducal family of the Heiron Empire was well-known for their silver eyes. To be honest, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to figure out the existence of this body since I was in Heiron Empire and my eyes were silver. There were quite a lot of tales about the family that possess mysterious silver eyes in the Heiron Empire. Once there was a heavenly race with beautiful silver eyes that descended from heaven and fell in love with a man. As a result of their love, the human and the beautiful woman covered with silver scales gave birth to a child. Surprisingly, the child was born with silver eyes that never existed in the human world. Ever since then, with the strong bloodline of the heavenly race, the descendants of the family in every generation have always been born with silver eyes. And one of their descendants were said to have made great contributions to the establishment of the Heiron Empire. The first emperor greatly admired their loyalty and regarded them as his close friend. He gave them various privileges including their family name, Clown. Right now, I¡¯m not sure whether it was real. However, thanks to that information it was quite easy to find out who I am. Whenever the Duke of Clown and Cillophia ran into each other there would always be a big confrontation. The sword could not defeat any of us, however there were occasions when the sword could defeat magic. Anyway, a lot of the Empire¡¯s military secrets pass through the basement of Duke Clown so if I do well then I could be able to get a few out of here. It would be better if I could steal some classified documents before I escape from here. ¡°Well, don¡¯t cry because it¡¯s noisy just stay there quietly and go to sleep.¡± ¡°Abuuung~¡± Maid number 4 tapped the side of my pacifier then turned around to leave. I think I¡¯m going to have a stomachache because of this jet-black pacifier. It was very obvious that you don¡¯t know how fragile a baby was. ¡®I¡¯m going to wipe it off.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t continue to suck on this filthy thing. But if I don¡¯t suck it then I wouldn¡¯t be able to think. I waved my hand and used magic to quickly get myself out of here. I clenched my fists and squeezed my whole body tightly as I let out a ¡°kkeung!¡± sound¡­! My body floated up. My posture is a bit embarrassing but this is the pose that could release the most power. I¡¯m just a bit embarrassed. My face blushed fiercely as I waved my hands while I slowly approached the floor. Fine, I know it was embarrassing. I tried to suppress my emotions since I was alone but in the end my cheeks were flushed in shame. I crawled on all fours without any trouble. Of course I could stand with the bars but my posture was very unstable. Anyways, it was much more comfortable for a baby to crawl. I was able to crawl through the gap since the door was not closed properly. Finally! After a month, I could finally breathe in fresh air. My face naturally brightened. There was even a long carpet outside so my knees didn¡¯t hurt. My legs worked diligently as I looked around. It seemed like I was on the 2nd floor so I carefully went around and went straight for the stairs. I looked down the stairs and with a twitch of my butt I slowly placed my feet down and made my way down the stairs, one step at a time. ¡®This feels so awkward because my body is small.¡¯ However, I need to know the structure of the house so I could get some information. I couldn¡¯t help but imagine the sight of Duke Clown who would be devastated with the loss of information. Chup, chup. As I sucked diligently at the pacifier in my mouth, I safely arrived at the foot of the stairs. With my four limbs working hard, I looked left and right again. ¡®I¡¯ll hide behind the pillar first.¡¯ Compared to when I crawled from the marble floor in my small room I was very comfortable since there was a rug outside. That was why I was twice as fast compared to my usual speed. ¡®It¡¯s like I casted a speed reinforcement magic on myself.¡¯ I pulled my arms and legs diligently as I tried to hide myself behind the pillar. ¡®So the exit was over there.¡¯ I should first go outside and look around. My pacifier really sticks to the sides of my mouth. How to say it, I think it has become quite relaxing. I never thought that I could feel relaxed with a pacifier at my age¡­¡­ ¡®It¡¯s a little stiff.¡¯ It would be much nicer if I could add some ingredients and slime liquid to make it clean. One of the properties of slimes was self-purification which made it very easy to manage and maintain. ¡®I should develop it later.¡¯ As I thought about it I suddenly whipped my head up. By the time I tried to develop it, I would probably already be a little girl or maybe even an adult. So why did I even think about it? I¡¯m probably tired so I started thinking about crazy things. I sighed deeply as I looked at my short arms and legs. Pububu, maybe it was because I bit hard on my pacifier that some of my saliva splattered out. ¡®Let¡¯s just go.¡¯ I should go outside while the road was still quiet. Once again, I started to use my limbs to look around and was quite surprised with how large things were. However, my arms and legs cramped with pain because the road towards the exit was marble. ¡®Phew, finally¡­ the air outside.¡¯ I almost shed tears of joy. The maids didn¡¯t ventilate my room even once. To be frank, I¡¯m only this healthy because I always purified myself with magic. ¡®However, I¡¯m not sure if I purified myself well.¡¯ Anyway, I¡¯m going to have to start dealing with this filthy and smelly pacifier. FOOTNOTES [1] ??? ???? this was the phrase. Lit. Soybean powder house. Which means that the house/family is broken or can easily be in a mess like a soybean powder. Some things to take note of, Heiron Empire was first written as ??? (Heiron) but it suddenly became ??? (Heirun) in this chapter. However, I still maintained Heiron for consistency. For the names¡­ Sharendt Clown was written as ??? ??? and Deshar Clown was written as ??? ???. If you have any suggestions for these names do drop by the comments section. Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4 Translator: ChubbyCheeks Raws Provider: ANIMU Lyf ¡®There¡¯s a pond outside.¡¯ I should go and wash my pacifier or mold would grow on it. ¡®What is this made of in the first place?¡¯ I stayed for quite a long time in the tower and was not able to go out of Cillophia recently so I have become a stranger to the outside world. ¡®Slime¡­¡¯ I would definitely be more comfortable if I could get my hands on one. I crawled across the road with all my might. When I stepped outside, I saw how much larger the mansion was. Frankly speaking, I could see it at a glance even when I lied down with my small body. ¡®It¡¯s too large.¡¯ I don¡¯t even know if it would take me a whole day to go around it. But there was something that I knew¡­ I have to wipe my pacifier first. I spotted a fountain not far from where I was lying down with my pacifier in my mouth. ¡®Thank goodness, I don¡¯t have to go to the pond.¡¯ My arms and legs worked hard as I crawled in a straight line towards the fountain. ¡°Hashwi¡­!¡± Shit! It was too far! It just looked close but in reality it was quite far. I naturally ran out of breath. As I huffed and puffed, the pacifier kept on falling out of my mouth. ¡®Pacifier, no!¡¯ I quickly stopped myself, set my butt on the ground, stretched my legs out then pressed the pacifier back with both of my hands. ¡°Eopuu¡­¡± I held the pacifier in my hands as I breathed roughly. Somehow the ground felt hot. What season were we in now? How long has it been since I was betrayed? I felt a sense of giddiness when I tilted my head back to watch the clear blue sky. ¡®¡­Is it autumn?¡¯ I closed my eyes in a reflex and shook my head hard to remove my dizziness. I tilted my head forward when I felt that I was about to fall back. ¡®I, I almost died.¡¯ There was a high possibility that a light hit to my head filled with soft hair would result to my head not functioning properly. I stroked the back of my head in happiness as I kept my precious head and hair safe¡­ ¡°Kkeung¡­¡± Smooth¡­ Soft¡­ Hair¡­! Let¡¯s stop. It¡¯s short. I leaned my body forward as I hurriedly pressed forward. Fortunately, I was finally able to arrive in front of the fountain thanks to my hardworking arms and legs. Then I stiffened. ¡°Hashwi¡­!¡± Shiit, no one said to me that it was this high! Even if I stood desperately I couldn¡¯t even see a drop of water. ¡®How much time did I spend just to get here¡­¡¯ My mind drifted off. The way back felt even more distant. I wanted to challenge it first so I gripped the marble surrounding the fountain and pulled myself up to a stand. Burble, burble, burble, I heard the sound of water flowing down from the fountain. *** ¡°¡­What the hell is that?¡± ¡°Duke, I think that it¡¯s¡­ a baby?¡± The attendant beside him bent down and answered him. The Crown family attendant raised his head and saw the duke, Deshar Crown, turned his head sharply with a frown. The attendant immediately shut his mouth up when he saw the sharp glare in his eyes. ¡°Do you think I asked that now because I don¡¯t know what that is? I¡¯m asking why a baby is walking around here.¡± ¡°That¡­¡­ Please excuse me.¡± The attendant bent his waist down. The mansion¡¯s butler was too slow them so he sent a servant to follow closely beside Deshar Crown. ¡°Whose child is that. Whose bastard¡¯s child is that! Who takes care of a child like that!¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the child of the departed young master.¡± The butler observed the child¡¯s appearance closely and smiled lightly. However, none of the people who were talking came forward to help the child. At the words of the butler, Deshar Crown¡¯s expression turned blank. He watched the small lonely back of the child as if he had heard something completely unexpected. ¡°¡­What? Wasn¡¯t she still a baby?¡± ¡°Yes. Come to think of it, it seems that she¡¯s still just a few months old. She can walk so early.¡± ¡°So what is it doing right now?¡± Deshar Crown rubbed his beard lightly as he spoke. Contrary to his gray hair and beard, he had a strong and muscular body. He had wrinkles on his face but his expression remained fierce as always. Over the years his pale silver eyes looked almost gray, however his skills were still alive and breathing. ¡°Father, what are you doing standing over there?¡± ¡°Sharendt.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The man had a sharp expression on his face. His voice sounded sweet but his eyes were glaring sharply. His every move was domineering but filled with dignity and class. The man¡¯s glare relaxed. He followed the direction of Deshar Crown¡¯s gaze. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Your younger brother¡¯s orphaned child.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± It was a small exclamation but anyone could feel the laughter hidden beneath it. He ran to who knows where with a mysterious woman and even had a child. He couldn¡¯t even protect himself and ended up dead with only the newborn child returning to the mansion. ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± There was not a shred of consideration for the title referring to the child. Without anyone helping her out, Celina finally succeeded on getting up on her feet. However, she stumbled as if her legs were not working properly. ¡°That, that¡­¡± Deshar Crown stepped forward in shock, coughed in embarrassment, and withdrew again. When the child wobbled everyone watching her became nervous. After a long time, the child who was flapping around trying to balance herself finally stood up while holding onto the fountain. ¡°The maid doesn¡¯t seem to be doing her job properly.¡± At Sharendt¡¯s cold words, a maid standing nearby crouched down. It wasn¡¯t specifically aimed at her but the words were so harsh that she felt that it was directed at her. It was so cold that the maid was frozen in her place. ¡°Take it easy, Sharendt.¡± ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Deshar Crown¡¯s words dispelled the cold energy hovering around Sharendt. A cold smile appeared on Sharendt¡¯s lips. Deshar Crown glanced at Sharendt and clicked his tongue. ¡°Father has become too soft-hearted.¡± ¡°You¡¯re way too sharp than what you need to be.¡± Sharendt shut his mout quietly at Deshar Crown¡¯s words and narrowed eyes. In the meantime, Celina finally learnt to support herself with one hand as she held her pacifier with the other hand. Celina struggled hard with her short limbs. She somehow wanted to wipe the tip of the nipple so she desperately tried to rub it on her chest. But no matter how much she wriggled her hands it was just short, way too short. ¡°Ashwi!¡± Sharendt clicked his tongue when he heard the young voice filled with slight irritation. ¡°What is she doing? Why is she not being taken to her room right now?¡± A cold order was issued. The butler bowed his head then beckoned to the maid. The maid who was standing quietly behind them ran towards the child. At that moment, the child¡¯s eyes turned to where Deshar Crown and Sharendt were. She sat down on the floor again with the pacifier in her mouth and when she found the maid running towards her, she jumped from her seat. She glanced at Sharendt and Deshar Crown, turned around and with the sound of sha sha sha she started to crawl away quickly. ¡°It¡¯s like a cockroach.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sharendt smiled. The corners of his mouth were curled up but his eyes were not smiling. Deshar Crown opened his mouth in surprise but soon clicked his tongue. It wasn¡¯t the right thing to say, but the analogy was quite undeniable. ¡°Father should let it go. You know that a half-blood cannot carry the name Crown. In the first place, it¡¯s completely unsettling that the blood of the direct family runs in its veins¡­¡± Sharendt told Deshar Crown, who was watching the direction of where Celina disappeared to, with a smile. Even before, Sharendt, who boasts a thorough pedigree, was never willing to accept his only younger brother. His reason was because his conducts was light and prodigal. Sharendt hated him for ignoring his rank and hanging out with anyone. And Deshar Crown was also a man whose blood was very important. He considered a blood that was diluted as something that was not important. For this reason, only a child born from a pure blood and from a prominent family could inherit the family name of Crown. It was their long standing tradition. An unwritten rule that has never been broken. ¡°You don¡¯t have to nag in front of me, I know it already.¡± With a frigid expression on his face, Deshar Crown once again moved away. Chapter 5 I couldn¡¯t reach it. It was a fact that I realized the moment I struggled to get my butt off of the ground and stood up. With that height and this short arm, even if I tried for quite a long time I wouldn¡¯t be able to touch the water let alone wash my pacifier. ¡®No, if my luck is good¡­¡¯ I could probably use magic to soak my pacifier then take it out. I thought that I would want to at least try and attempt it but my body did not move at all. The reason was simple. Because I couldn¡¯t concentrate while I was standing up. I barely got up so I did not want to lie down on the floor and use magic in that embarrassing posture again. ¡®I¡¯m definitely going to be embarrassed because it¡¯s the middle of the day.¡¯ No matter how I tried to deny it, it was still a bit embarrassing to lie down and do magic in that posture. I ended up biting it off of my hand after struggling desperately to clean it. My shaking and trembling legs were pathetic. I guess I enjoyed my meals very much that I ended up having chubby arms and legs. But maybe it was because they were chubby that it was hard for me to see a drop of water, let alone touch it. I could only hear the gurgling sound of the water. ¡°Ashwi!¡± Shit! It¡¯s driving me nuts! Why was my voice this stupid! I was about to stomp my feet but when I saw my bare feet, weak legs and the hard ground the thought completely disappeared from my mind. ¡°Ehhuu.¡± I sighed and dropped myself down on the ground with the pacifier in my mouth. I¡¯m exhausted in so many ways. I turned my head around as I sucked on my pacifier with a chup, chup. I felt like someone was eyeing me from somewhere. When I turned my head I saw a bunch of people huddled around watching this place. ¡®¡­I¡¯m so glad I didn¡¯t use magic.¡¯ If I really did magic in that kind of position while I was lying down, I would definitely be a laughing stock. I slowly breathed a sigh of relief. As I watched the figures closely I could faintly see the outline of those people. That¡­ ¡®They are Deshar Crown and Sharendt Crown.¡¯ Fortunately they don¡¯t look much different from when I last saw them. Which meant that there was a high probability that not much time had passed yet since I died. When I thought about the past, I was able to use the lower magic circle when I was around 5~6 years old. Plus, I have already experienced it once so I should learn it faster this time, however I might not yet be strong enough to use intermediate magic circles. If I ever got out of here then it wouldn¡¯t hurt to make a living alone. Once I could roughly use my magic then I would make food and mana stones and sell them. Then I would be able to copy the information here earlier, put it in a separate space then jet out of here cleanly. Then I would go back to Cillophia and clean those traitors away. Once I have swept the Empire clean of them then I would take back my position as the Magic Tower¡¯s Tower Master. ¡®Sharendt Crown is a bit troublesome.¡¯ He has a good head on his shoulders and was capable of judging the situations clearly. He was someone who knew how to find the gap and deal with magic. I heard that he was in his mid-thirties¡­ ¡®I met him first when I was 16.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a joke when you say that he ignored people. In addition, he did not even put commoners in his eyes. It felt like I was dealing with a conceited man who has both dignity and lineage. He probably graded people based on his own system and only interacted with people above a certain level. ¡®Deshar Crown¡­¡­¡¯ Compared to Sharendt who was a bit troublesome, he was someone who was harder to deal with. I met him as a representative of Cillophia before, however I was often pushed back by his words. Maybe it was because I was young and lacking in experience. Since Cillophia was a newly established kingdom, it needed to have diplomatic relationships in many different ways. And frankly speaking, it was truly difficult for Cillophia to establish a diplomatic relationship with the Heiron Empire. It was possible to produce plenty of goods with Cillophia¡¯s fertile land and thriving manpower. But the fertile land only came to be because of magical powers. It was definitely possible to get plenty of native plants and animals however it was necessary to have a special environment for it. So it wasn¡¯t really necessary for us to lose in our exchange with them. However, Cillophia was only recently established by the people who they usually cursed as ¡®witches.¡¯ So I tried to not show any anger and just tried to stabilize our situation. The first to reach out to us was Heiron Empire. Even if they were the ones to reach out a helping hand, Cillophia shouldn¡¯t be in a situation where they would be stuck in a very desperate situation. So I tried to put off the negotiations desperately. However, everytime I did so I was always pushed back by Sharendt Crown¡¯s words and by Deshar Crown¡¯s momentum. ¡®It looked like everything I heard from them is just right.¡¯ That was why everytime it happened I had to think for a long time before I could give them my answer. In that way, I could prepare myself in dealing with them. Then I had to think about the next diplomatic meeting again and again. It was the only way that I could make up for my lack of experience. It was after all my precious country that I had to protect. I slowly lowered my gaze. ¡®Huhu, this time I will definitely win.¡¯ I believe no one will be crazy enough in their family to steal the military¡¯s classified documents. Just thinking about it made me feel better. I was smiling slyly when I spotted a maid with a scary look in her eyes to the side. ¡®T, those¡­ cowardly bastards!¡¯ It was quite obvious that those Crown bastards sent her. I hurriedly crouched on all fours and started to move my limbs. ¡®Let¡¯s run away.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t able to do it here so I have to go to the pond next time to wash my pacifier. ¡®It¡¯s filthy!¡¯ If I kept on chewing on this then I would definitely get sick! The only magic I could use as of now is gravitational magic. And it was a magic that I could barely use. I have to focus all of my attention on it and I even needed to make an embarrassing pose just so I could execute it. ¡°Abuuu!¡± And this strange noise always had to come out of my mouth. I made fun of my arms and legs but even if they hurt I couldn¡¯t get caught. I definitely would not continue to suck on this dirty pacifier! ¡°W, wait! Stop right there!¡± Why should I stop if you said so? Is that maid stupid? I gave a mean smile as I worked my arms and legs harder. However, my body suddenly started to float. My face twisted in annoyance as soon as I realized my body was hovering above ground. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ I¡¯m a hundred day old child. No matter how fast I ran, the maid would catch up to me in a matter of steps. I looked down as my body started trembling. Ah, shit. I¡¯m dying of shame. ¡®Hella¡¯s dead.¡¯ My god¡­! The maid carried me sideways and quickly pushed me to the bed. My god¡­! The maid sighed deeply. She glared at me as she brought a heavy blanket and covered me with it. She placed it as if to keep me from moving. And sure enough, the maid pressed me hard when I struggled. My god¡­! ¡®I can¡¯t believe this shit is treating me like this!¡¯ ¡°How the hell did you get out of here. Did you break it? I got in trouble because the young master called me out! They should have just abandoned this half-blood!¡± She looked as if she was brimming with resentment. Did I come out of a third-rate novel? I was so pathetic that I even forgot to wash my pacifier and just looked around the room. I probably knew what my face looked like right now. I probably looked like an idiot who looked so jealous and inferior. Someone who couldn¡¯t control their emotion. ¡®A pathetic bastard.¡¯ Humans were stupid anyway. I sucked on my pacifier fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m so unlucky.¡± The mirror reflected on me. Chup, chup, chup. Slap¡ª! The maid slapped me hard on my forehead when I sucked hard. My tears welled up in pain. I was so angry that I struggled fruitlessly. ¡®If only I could use a bit more of my magic¡­¡¯ I¡¯ll definitely squeeze lemon in your eyes! No. I should turn her into a frog and let her eat flies. ¡°Uuuuugh¡­¡± I felt sad and annoyed. It might be funny, but I was getting angry that I am being treated like this by a petty servant. The maid kicked my crib and went out of the room when she saw that I was going to cry. ¡°Abu! Waaah! Waaaaaaaaaah! Ooooo!¡± I¡¯m pissed off! I¡¯m annoyed! Damn it! I kept on struggling with my arms and legs but I couldn¡¯t take off the heavy blanket because of my sausage-like limbs. Besides, I was feeling too hot. It seemed like I had a fever and my mind was feeling stuffy. ¡®Is it because I¡¯m still a kid?¡¯ I¡¯m definitely going to burn myself to death. Am I a chicken or what? Are you grilling me to death! After I struggled for quite some time, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little weak. I closed my eyes hard. ¡®Just a little bit¡­¡¯ It was so heavy that it was making it twice as hard for me to use my magic. ¡®If it was before¡­ I can move this with just a roll of my eyes.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t believe myself. I have put myself in this embarrassing situation. ¡°Uuuuuugh!¡± I managed to push the blanket aside after struggling hard with my arms and legs. I barely managed to get out of that heavy mass of a blanket. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Clack. It suddenly felt empty when I relaxed my mouth. ¡°Ahwoo?¡± My tongue suddenly shrank. My mind became dizzy and my eyes slowly closed. ¡­¡­N, no way¡­¡­ I could see my pacifier rolling on the floor. They probably haven¡¯t swept it properly yet, the floor in my room was filled with dust. ¡°Hashwi¡­¡± Ah, shit¡­¡­ I¡¯m screwed. It got dirty again. At this rate, my pacifier would definitely turn black, right? I don¡¯t even know what it¡¯s made of but I¡¯m pretty sure it wasn¡¯t supposed to be gray. ¡°Shyoo¡­¡± My pacifier¡­ Bang, my face drooped down. My vision started to swirl and I suddenly felt faint and I finally reached out my hands to my pathetic face. That was the last memory I had before I fainted. Chapter 6 ¡°Abuu!¡± There wasn¡¯t anything in the air but I still shook my hand hard. I should probably do something, but I¡¯m not sure about what I should do. ¡°Sigh, you¡¯ve been a bit quiet lately.¡± The maids all came here so suddenly just to complain but I did not understand what they meant. I was so bored so I placed my thumb in my mouth. ¡®Now that I¡¯m sucking something, I start to think about the things that I forgot¡­¡¯ ¡°Abubu! Buwaa!¡± ¡°Ah, hyuu. Don¡¯t be noisy. Just please be quiet.¡± Something was placed in my mouth as I was starting to get annoyed. I was shaking my hands and feet on the air without a care in the world. When I felt that there was something placed in my mouth, I instinctively sucked on it with a chup, chup. Then I suddenly came to my senses. All of the bad and embarrassing things I have done passed through my mind. A bitter sound came out of my mouth as I remembered laughing at nothing at all. I even shook my arms and legs just to check if there was something in the air. ¡®My pacifier¡­¡¯ I have to protect my pacifier. When my pacifier was gone, time would fly past and I would just lie down and stare blankly on the ceiling. ¡®How much time has passed again since the last time I had my pacifier?¡¯ This was a big problem. If I am not sucking on my pacifier then my brain wouldn¡¯t work at all. I wouldn¡¯t have any time to eat, play or rest at all. I should quickly train and increase my mana. Then I will quickly take the information and run far away. After that, I will go back to Cillophia, get my revenge from those traitor bastards then live my life freely as a young man. ¡°Even if you¡¯re a half blood, it¡¯s good that you were born in a good family. You won¡¯t have to work and just need to live your life.¡± Has she ever tried being stuck in this filthy, prison-like room that was full of dust? Even pigs who were meant to be fattened and slaughtered would exercise more than I do! In addition, I¡¯m still unaware of how far and isolated this room was. It took me a long time just to find the staircase! I wanted to scream at them so badly but all that came out of my mouth was ¡°Abuu.¡± or ¡°Abuuuuuuu¡­¡± and also ¡°Abububu!¡± so I just gave up. ¡®I¡¯ll definitely wash my pacifier today.¡¯ The only reason my head was not going in circles was because of this baby essential, this dirty pacifier of mine. ¡®How long have I been stuck in this dust bin?¡¯ I sniffed my nose around. I could smell the musty air. It smelled like mold. ¡®There¡¯s probably mold somewhere in here, right?¡± Bodies that have mana would often naturally purge and purify themselves of impurities. This was one of the reasons why mages did not get sick easily. Sometimes, they did not even get sick at all. A disease would only manifest if the mana was not circulated properly or the mana overflowed. ¡®I have to be careful too.¡¯ If the mana was circulated too rapidly, or it expanded quickly, then it would definitely damage this body. ¡°Stay quietly like this today, too. Well, it seems like you¡¯ve been as quiet as a lamb this week.¡± ¡°Abuu!¡± I swung my arms and legs like I didn¡¯t know anything. But when I heard her words I froze. ¡®One week¡­?¡¯ One week, what did she mean by one week? It was like a bolt out of the blue. Were you telling me that I have been doing this silly thing for a week? I have gone without my pacifier for one whole week? ¡®I just ate, slept and pooped? I ate, slept and pooped for a week!¡¯ The door closed with a click. I desperately tried to keep the door open as I clamped my mouth shut on my pacifier. I maneuvered my so-called mana operating posture. It was the hardest and required the most strength from my lower body. However, it was also the position that could let me use my mana in my most comfortable state. ¡®This pose is just¡­¡­¡¯ Let¡¯s just stop thinking about it. My body started to float up. It was definitely because I haven¡¯t used it for a week, that was why my mana was a bit hard to use. My body and my mana did not move like I wanted it to. With a bit of an agonizing moan, my body safely landed on the marble floor. ¡°Buuuu¡­¡­¡± The sound that came out as I looked at the closed door with the pacifier in my mouth was a bit weird. Anyway, this was my next hurdle¡­ the door. Unlike the last time, this time, the door was firmly shut. It was necessary that I carefully operate my mana to open the door. First, move my mana to hold the door handle. Then, once I have firmly grasped the door handle, I should press down hard with my gravitational magic. It sounded easy but the control and concentration needed in this operation was extremely difficult. Especially with this body of mine. I am now a baby so my control over my mana was quite abysmal. I looked left and right before I slowly laid my body down on the floor. Then, I raised my arms and legs towards the sky and slightly folded them in. Finally, I closed my eyes and started to think about the door. I imagined myself putting mana in it. ¡°Uhhboo¡­¡­¡± An ugly moan came out of my mouth as I felt a drop of cold sweat run down my small face. I made the mana crawl on the door like how a worm crawled on the ground. I have to have strength¡­¡­ ¡°Kkeung!¡± I held it tightly, and then¡­ Click. My eyes opened the moment I heard the sound of the door opening. Oh yeah, I finally opened it! As expected, even this small body couldn¡¯t stop the greatest existence in this country. Chup, chup. I should definitely wash my pacifier as a reward for myself. My heart tightened nervously as I thought of washing my pacifier. With my pacifier in my mouth, I poked my head through the crack in the door to check for the presence of others. I looked around carefully for a long time. There was no one around. I already memorized the way to the staircase since I saw it before. So it was quite easy for me this time. Last time, I thought that the pond was farther away so I decisively chose to go to the fountain, but¡­¡­ ¡®I will not be caught today. And I will definitely go to the pond this time.¡¯ Usually, the pond was located in the garden. If that was the case, then I could go to the forest. I¡¯m definitely going to wash this smelly pacifier this time! My eyes were fierce as I quickly rushed towards the staircase. It was a relief that no one was coming up the stairs. I hurriedly turned around and placed my butt out. Then, I lowered my lower half on the next step. It was easier this time since I had experienced it already. I placed my arms on the higher step and placed my legs on the next step. I thought that it would be scary since I could fall down but it was quite simple. One step down, two steps down¡­ I kept on going down until I found myself on the floor. Like what I did the last time, I crawled hurriedly behind the pillar to look around. I have to avoid the maids so I would not get caught. ¡®I have to clean my pacifier.¡¯ I can¡¯t live with this smelly shit anymore. No one even knew how I felt with this double whammy. I have to suck on my pacifier to think, and I still have to suck on my pacifier just so my head would not turn blank. I leaned on the pillar for support as I rolled my eyes and nodded at my thoughts. Of course I wasn¡¯t standing. My legs were too soft for that, however I was on all fours. If I can just freely use my magic then this whole mess will just be completed in one simple flick of my fingers. ¡®My magic¡­¡­¡¯ How could they do this to me, and to think that I was on their side. How did I become a child? If I was a five or six year old child then I would not complain. But of all things, why was I reborn as a child who was not old enough to know how old she is¡­! I sighed deeply. The corridor turned quiet after I finished sighing. It seemed like the mansion doors were usually open. I quickly crawled through the hall and slipped out of the mansion. ¡®Let¡¯s go that way!¡¯ This time I had no hesitations. I can¡¯t take it anymore, I can¡¯t continue sucking on this pacifier that looked like it was left in a dust bin for years! My limbs were throbbing in pain after passing through the marble floor. But I was finally on the grassy land! ¡®It hurts.¡¯ I heard before that a child should not crawl on hard places but¡­ ¡®My situation is a bit pardonable.¡¯ No one would be more neglected than a half blood born in a proud aristocrat¡¯s family. The throbbing on my knees and palms slowly abated once I stepped on soft soil. However, it started to tingle when I pressed on the grasses. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll definitely be the world¡¯s greatest mage of all time!¡¯ Then you could step on the Heiron Empire and the Duke Crown. As long as I am in this body, then I would make all of these wishes come true. My nose suddenly twitched sharply. ¡®¡­¡­Come to think of it, I think my nose is a bit flat. ¡® I rubbed my nose with my dirty hands then slowly hid in the grass. Just in case, so I would not get caught. I noticed that there weren¡¯t that many people who came here, I crawled from the front hall up until the garden but I did not see anyone. ¡®Should I make this place my hideout and washing place for my pacifier?¡¯ It was good that it was quiet. My knees were now less painful so I started to crawl a bit farther. As I crawled further inside the garden, I could see the pond from afar. The garden was like a castle garden with how big it is, flowers were even blooming everywhere. ¡®Found it!¡¯ I finally found the pond and there was water that was within my reach. I crawled quickly in happiness. I could finally say goodbye to this smelly dust pit of a pacifier. A dragonfly flew past me in a swish. What, why are you looking at me? Are you laughing at me¡­¡­ ¡®Was it just my delusion?¡¯ It should be a delusion. No matter how much I thought about it, it wasn¡¯t possible for a baby to talk to a dragonfly. She¡¯s wrapped up in a sense of inferiority since she¡¯s too slow and too sensitive¡­¡­ ¡®I have an inferiority complex?¡¯ If you thought about it, this was a strange accident. Dragonflies flying and splashing water near the pond was just some sort of strange accident¡­¡­ ¡®I¡¯m not that unlucky, am I?¡¯ I sat in front of the pond. Then I reached out for a small pebble and threw it in as hard as I could Plop. It dropped straight down to the ground. I couldn¡¯t even draw a parabola and throw it near the pond. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I did not know why, but the sound of the dragonflies flying was annoying. I roughly grabbed on a fistful of anything around me and threw it out without even looking at it. Plop, plop, plop, plop. How could I not draw even one parabola. Was a baby really this weak and stupid? ¡°Hashwi!!¡± I¡¯m so annoyed! In the end, I threw a handful of dirt. But it ended up just rippling the clear pond water. And the dragonflies just kept on flying over me. ¡®¡­¡­Aiming magic.¡¯ I could aim by compressing the air via gravity magic and release it suddenly then it will blow away. Then these guys will definitely fall to the ground and faint. Unfortunately, I did not have the capacity to concentrate well plus I also did not have enough mana to do so. I stared at my failed throws and the flying dragonflies for quite a while. I bowed my head in thought. ¡®It¡¯s still water.¡¯ I could finally wash my pacifier. I danced happily in my head as I held my pacifier with both of my hands. I could finally wash my pacifier with water on the side¡­¡­ Side¡­¡­ Chapter 7 ¡®It¡¯s out of reach.¡¯ Was this child¡¯s body really lacking in flexibility? Or was this child¡¯s body too short that there was no spine at all? ¡®Why can¡¯t I even bend my back forward?¡¯ My arms were so short that I couldn¡¯t even reach out towards the pond while I was in this sitting position. If I lower my body even more than this then I¡¯m afraid that my whole body would lean forward because of my heavy head. Then I would probably fall into the pond which would lead to a bad ending. Once I fell in the water then I would definitely lose concentration and I wouldn¡¯t be able to cast any gravitational magic. ¡®To make matters worse, I already have to concentrate so much right now.¡¯ I rubbed my eyes strongly. If I don¡¯t find a way to clean my pacifier right now, I will definitely lose this chance to wash it again. No matter what I would do, there was no way that I would be able to find some support for my body. I couldn¡¯t also put a dog collar on my neck so I could support my neck and body and reach out with my arms. As I sat in front of the pond with my short arms and legs I suddenly thought of an idea. If I could not do it while I was sitting down then maybe I could do it while I was lying down. ¡®Ah, I¡¯m really very smart.¡¯ No other newborn could ever think like this, right? I immediately bit on my pacifier and lied down on my stomach. I shouldn¡¯t reach too far out so that my pacifier wouldn¡¯t fall in. I also have to suck on it once in a while so my thoughts would remain in order. Once I laid down and reached out with my short arms, I was finally able to touch the water and shook it. ¡°Abaaa!¡± Oh yeah! It¡¯s a success! I clenched my pacifier tightly as I dipped it in the pond. In my excitement, I got water on my clothes. My arms were even wet but I did not give a damn. I would finally be able to suck on my pacifier that has been washed clean with water¡­ ¡®I won¡¯t be able to wipe it?¡¯ How old am I right now? ¡°Ashwii¡­¡­¡± I was so annoyed. I used one arm to lift it off of the ground as I rubbed my pacifier with my other hand as hard as I could. This newborn child seems to have no strength at all. The pacifier kept on slipping from my hands. I just wanted to wipe it clean but I feel like I was not getting it clean at all. However, I still felt relief that it has touched the water for once. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡°Buuaaack!¡± I accidentally threw what I was holding onto in surprise. Ah, my pacifier flew out. ¡°Why did you sound like a pig¡­¡­¡± Heok. No way. My pacifier. An enemy attack was not important. What was important right now was¡­ My pacifier was flying in the sky in a parabola. I was trying to throw like that earlier but it did not even fly at all! My pacifier flew an unprecedented height. I tried to rush to catch my pacifier. I could see two legs standing near me, but I did not care. I first have to find my pacifier to survive. Plop. Roll, roll, roll. I ran towards it like crazy¡­¡­ Luckily I could pick up the pacifier that fell from the sky within 3 seconds. A wise man once said this before¡­ Food that fell on the ground is not dirty if you pick it within 3 seconds. I was able to pick it up in 2 seconds so it was definitely safe. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Oh, I have never heard such a rude way of speaking. It was a young voice. I made sure that the smell was completely gone from my pacifier before placing it back in my mouth. Then I turned around and looked at the one who was speaking. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Where have I seen this face before? Those sharp eyes and those black hair. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ he looked a bit like Sharendt Crown. Come to think of it, I think I heard from somewhere that Sharendt Crown had a child. Or maybe not. ¡®He has a runny nose.¡¯ He¡¯s still a bit young. He might grow tall faster than I do but he will not be able to stand on his own two feet faster than I do. He looked to be about five years old, at that time I had already mastered low-leveled magic circles and had exploded the annex as if it was as easy as dressing up. ¡°There was a kid like this here? Are you from the branch family? But you can¡¯t be here if you¡¯re from the branch family. You¡¯ll be in big trouble if my father finds out.¡± Wasn¡¯t he so much better than what I thought? He doesn¡¯t sound like he¡¯s from Sharendt Crown¡¯s blood and tears. He was called as the ¡®Iron Blooded Devil¡¯ after all¡­¡­ They say that his blood was literally made out of cold-blooded iron. He did not hesitate to cut down his allies, more so his enemies. Of course he completely ignored me, if I wasn¡¯t born from a humble family then he would have definitely have dealt with great mage Hela. That was just how he was. But for me, I did not care whether you have the blood of the royals or you were from the slums. As long as you have the capabilities then I would cherish your talents. For him, even if they were capable as long as the blood that runs through them was bad then they wouldn¡¯t care about you. He thought that only people with high standards deserved to speak to himself. ¡®That was why he sent me that evil maid.¡¯ I realized that when I saw the maid¡¯s temper. Ah, this maid was sent by Sharendt Crown. ¡®I wish I had no blood connection with him.¡¯ It always gave me the goosebumps whenever I think of the possibility of him being my parent or brother. ¡°Abuu.¡± Go and mind your own business. I roughly waved my hand towards the boy who looked like Sharendt Crown as I crawled my way back to the pond. I picked it up in 3 seconds but I still feel a bit uncomfortable so I wanted to wash it again. I have been sucking it ever since but I felt like the smell was going away the more I wash it. I laid flat on the ground to dip my pacifier in the pond again. ¡°You can¡¯t be here. My father hates kids.¡± No shit. Tsk, tsk. He grew up with someone as cold-blooded as his father so it was no wonder that he was rude and had this way of thinking. I wanted to answer him intently but since I could not do that, I just ignored the punk. ¡°Do you want to get kicked out? The servant who came inside father¡¯s garden without permission last time got his tendons cut off and was kicked out.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Abuuu?¡± He was kicked out and got his tendons cut because he entered this bare garden? ¡®What kind of madman is that¡­¡­¡¯ No, it was just a matter of fact. Even the rumors about how mad and crazy Sharendt Crown was spread out in Cillophia. And Cillophia was even considered to be the country that was the most uninformed about these types of matters. Every time there was a diplomatic meeting with the Empire, there would be a flood of people who would abstain or went absent just because of Sharendt Crown¡¯s presence. Even mages would shut their mouths once Sharendt Crown opened his mouth to speak. Anyway, that was the reason why it was always me or that bastard Melain who deals with the Crown Family¡­¡­ Ah, let¡¯s stop thinking about that. I get depressed whenever I think about it. Anyway, I have to get him good, no matter what. I would definitely snap him in half with my own damn hands. It was, after all, my job to pick up those blooming flowers since I was the one who planted them with my own hands. ¡°You might not understand because you are still a baby but my father is really scary. You absolutely should not get caught. Only authorized people can come in here. Father personally took care of this place and prays here.¡± That cold-blooded man made a garden? It was quite old-fashioned but of course this image did not sit well with him¡­¡­ ¡®No matter how I think about it, I don¡¯t feel like that neat freak of a human being did something like this.¡¯ This place was a bit fancy and elegant, and it showcased the flamboyant and curious antiques of the nobles. It really doesn¡¯t suit the sleek and cold Sharendt Crown. ¡°My mother liked this garden.¡± Huh, why are you smoothly saying your private life to me like this? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m a baby? Please don¡¯t talk to me about something so sentimental so suddenly¡­¡­ Uhh, my tongue is short. ¡°Habuu¡­¡± Idiot. I tried to speak clearly. If he was the son of Sharendt Crown, then he would be fighting Cillophia once he got bigger. It was absolutely unnecessary to teach him how to hunt as it would bring me more danger. ¡°I heard that he had a big fight with my mother and they got divorced.¡± But I don¡¯t want to know these things? I did not want to know about Sharendt Crown¡¯s story of how he got in a big fight during his marriage. I turned around and looked at the pond. My reflection in the pond was definitely far from adorable. My arms and legs were dirty and there was a gray pacifier in my mouth. I felt a bit sorry for myself. ¡°But I liked my mother. I want to see my mother¡­¡­¡± I looked blankly at the child who suddenly squated down with tears in his eyes. I rolled around on the ground. When I turned over his direction, what I saw was a little Sharendt Crown. The child¡¯s round eyes sank before I knew it. ¡®Children have soft spots for their parents anyways.¡¯ I thought that he would be different since he was raised by that jerk Sharendt Crown. But it seemed like it wasn¡¯t the case. There were parents that were incapable of taking care of their kids. It seems that he still did not know that giving and showing someone affection could become his weakness. ¡®You will realize this soon.¡¯ This was one of the reasons why Sharendt Crown cut his relationship off with his wife. I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know how to comfort kids and I know that even if I comfort him he won¡¯t get comforted at all. I would be lying if I told a kid that it was fine even though it wasn¡¯t fine. ¡°Huh? Hey, where are you goinf? What if you get caught.¡± I just stared at little Sharendt Crown as I passed by him. I crawled around. I thought that maybe I should go back home early today before I got caught. Crunch, crunch. That was a stiff gait. It sounded like a heavy step of someone wearing a heavy heel. It was the sound of footsteps. ¡®I crawled too late!¡¯ I lied down and rolled to the side. I pushed myself towards the bushes in that condition. After hiding safely in the bushes, I turned my head and looked at the man who came. It was someone I was familiar with. It was that man that was so wound-up that his steps were like he was in the military. It was Sharendt Crown. ¡°Ahoo.¡± I sighed loudly. It would have been a disaster if I was caught. My tendons that haven¡¯t grown yet were almost cut off. As I watched Sharendt Crown from a distance, I quickly moved my arms and legs and crawled away from there. I was desperately crawling away when I felt someone looking at me from behind. I moved my arms and legs faster when I felt that chilly gaze. My palms and knees were even hurting a bit. ¡®I wonder if they will bruise.¡¯ It couldn¡¯t be helped, I just would not go out for a few days. I have to crawl for quite a long time so I have to find a way to crawl faster. Ah, also I have to learn how to do it where it¡¯s not painless. This would be quite a long journey so I should suck on my pacifier diligently¡­ I continued to crawl my way back to my room. Chapter 8 Rustle, rustle. There were obvious traces of the grass being swept and flattened. One could even hear a rustling sound. He turned his head to look for the person who intruded without any fear for their lives. ¡®¡­¡­That¡¯s the kid from last time.¡¯ The stain of the Duke of Crown that the trash brother of his left behind, a half-blood with the blood of his trashy brother and the blood of a dirty nobody. Sharendt Crown thought of pulling the sword on his waist out for a moment. ¡®I can say that I thought it was an intruder so I killed it by mistake, right?¡¯ A cruel thought flashed through his mind. ¡®But I know that Father will not sit still for that.¡¯ Sharendt Crown respected his father who did not change even if he was growing old. A respectable person deserves my respect. ¡®¡­¡­My hands are itching to hold it again.¡¯ He thought that he could just turn it all up and take out all of the trash. It gives me the goosebumps just thinking about dirty blood entering my territory. Sharendt Crown entered the garden with an obvious look of displeasure. ¡°Caishan Crown.¡± ¡°¡­¡­hiccup. F, father.¡± Caishan, who was crouching down while he was hugging his legs, stood up in a flash. He quickly patted the dirt off of him and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry. I came in even if you did not give me any permission.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. There¡¯s no reason why you can¡¯t come in here.¡± The boy looked as if he was in low spirits while Sharendt slowly glanced around his surroundings. The well-kept garden was ruined here and there. There were weeds and dirt pulled out and strewn everywhere. There were even obvious drag marks all over the place. ¡°Were you alone here?¡± ¡°No, there was a baby.¡± ¡°What did it do?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­ I think it was splashing the water around.¡± Splashing the water? Caishan tilted his head as he tried to remember it clearly. I think there was something in her hands while she was splashing the water¡­ Caishan¡¯s eyes widened when he remembered about the thing that flew up in the sky and fell to the ground in a plop. ¡°What do babies put in their mouth? I remember her cleaning it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Was it cleaning a black teat?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so.¡± Sharendt reached out and patted Caishan¡¯s head. He knew that his son misses his mother. But bringing in a woman who has already broken off all ties with the house was a complicated matter. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡­ Father.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Are you going to punish that baby? Are you going to kick her out?¡± Caishan asked with a worried look on his face. He was not raised to be soft-hearted but Caishan grew with a bit of softness just like his old grandfather. Sharendt, instead of answering his questions, just pointed his chin out. ¡®¡­¡­It came all the way here just to clean its black teat?¡¯ As far as he knew, the distance from its room to this place was quite far. Is it a fluke, or is there really a reason for it? ¡°They are neglecting their duties.¡± He thought that he should dismiss the maids responsible for it. Sharendt narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue when he saw the dirt and weed pulled out of his garden. Anyway, he didn¡¯t like the idea of it breaking in and intruding his territory. *** I opened my eyes wide along with the bright sunshine. ¡®Uhm. Today too, as the sun shines brightly the smell around me still stinks.¡¯ Usually, people would place the crib where the sun¡¯s rays would not reach it. ¡®Won¡¯t I get burned like this?¡¯ The autumn sun is enough to ripen the grains, you know. I don¡¯t even know if there is such a common sense in these maids brains. ¡®They should at least know a bit of the basics.¡¯ After I have washed the teat. Even if I bit it all night I still woke up to a pleasant morning. I had to keep on biting on my teat since my gums have started to become itchy. ¡®I don¡¯t even have my front teeth yet.¡¯ I was not quite sure if there was an upper or lower teeth already but I was already getting a bit tired of drinking milk everyday. It would definitely be nice if they brought me some snacks. Groowl¡ª My belly clock rang loudly on time. ¡®My meal is getting a bit late today.¡¯ I thought about it as I shook my arms and legs in the air diligently as an exercise. It was an exercise to build strength in my arms and legs. My belly started to uselessly growl again as I exercised. I felt strange when I realized that my belly growled twice so I lowered my arms and legs. ¡®Did I eat yesterday?¡¯ It was good that I got back in the room without being noticed but I couldn¡¯t remember eating yesterday. I also haven¡¯t seen or heard the maid who always woke me up ever since dawn today. What¡¯s this? Don¡¯t tell me that they want to kill me by starving me? Eyyyy. Of course, the room was located in a corner where it could easily be forgotten, and the maids even thought of this place as disgusting and I only have a few cloths and clothings¡­¡­ And this place might be a bit dirty but¡­¡­ ¡°Kkeung.¡± I stretched out my arms and grabbed on the jail-like railings of my crib as I pulled myself up and planted my butt on the bed. No, this doesn¡¯t mean that I will let myself starve to death in here. ¡®Death by starvation is the second worst type of punishment after burning!¡¯ Don¡¯t tell me it was because of Sharendt Crown? Did he realize that I entered his garden so he ordered the maids to starve me to death¡­¡­ If it was necessary, that mean bastard would definitely do every means needed to achieve what he wanted to do. ¡®Even Deshar Crown would get touched by a child.¡¯ Then Sharendt Crown was the one who could be so determined to starve a child to death. I never knew that it would be this sad once I became a baby. ¡®You¡¯re going to be next Sharendt Crown, I¡¯ll deal with you once I dealt with Melain.¡¯ You dare to order them to not give me meals, was it to stop me from from growing up? Kkeung. I stretched my body hard as I let out another weird sound. If I wanted to survive longer then I have to move less or not at all. ¡®Let¡¯s save up some strength and see if we could have some breakthrough.¡¯ Was this the maid¡¯s small revenge? Don¡¯t tell me they noticed that I was gone? I lied flat on my back. At this point, once I use my mana then I would definitely be using a lot of strength. Should I wait to see if they just forgot for a moment. Maybe they would be back later¡­ ¡®Shall we wait for a bit then?¡¯ I crawled around the narrow crib and stared at the door. I was hoping that it would open soon. But the morning passed by¡­ And lunch time came by¡­ I did not feel any signs of any person moving until the sun that started to set greeted me. ¡°Abuuuuuuu!¡± This can¡¯t go on! They were starving me to death! How could I live if they wanted to starve me to death?! I¡¯ll survive even if I have to eat grass. I would not want to die until I get my revenge. ¡®I think there¡¯s a little fruit somewhere around here yesterday.¡¯ Or I would look for the kitchen and steal something from there. I can¡¯t starve to death. I also needed to get something that would give me water but¡­ ¡®First, I have to be a bit more precise with my mana.¡¯ In my case, the extent on which I could float objects with my mana would not be helpful to me at all. I never even thought that I would be threatened with the thought of survival since I¡¯m a baby. ¡°Hashwi!¡± I was so annoyed that I even banged on my bed with my arms and legs. I cried in my head so no one would hear or recognize my annoyance. ¡®I miss the good old days.¡¯ What did I do back then¡­ I think I might have rolled on the floor after discovering I have magic. Being a magician had a lot of advantages. They would even treat you better once they knew you had magic. I bounced on my seat when as my eyes shone brightly. ¡®First, I should go back to that garden again.¡¯ There was something there that looked like a round fruit. ¡®I don¡¯t know what it is but it looks like a fruit so it must be edible.¡¯ I would try a little bit then hide a handful if I found it okay. I figured out what to eat for now, then should I find out how to collect water then look for the kitchen next? Once I could control my mana precisely then I could pick out fruits like apple straight from the trees while I¡¯m on my way. Grooowl. My stomach grumbled loudly once again. I looked down and shook my head hard. If I became hungrier than I am now then I wouldn¡¯t be able to control my mana. Then I wouldn¡¯t be able to get out from here. I should first get in position. ¡°Kkeung.¡± My body trembled when I tried to put strength on my legs. I could now drop on the floor skillfully after some floundering to get in position. I felt a sharp pain on my palms and knees once they touched the ground. ¡°Ah!¡± I saw my palms getting tinged with several red spots. When I rolled around and stretched my short legs, I saw that my clothes were torn and there was blood staining it. ¡®I can do this!¡¯ It was all about getting stronger anyway. Even if a baby was injured they would also get calluses once they get used to the pain. Chapter 9 ¡°Oooouuuh¡­¡± I crawled hard on the marble floor but it was at a speed three times slower than before. Ah, It hurts a lot. I would rather sneak into the kitchen than pick fruits from the garden with these short limbs of mine. It would not be too late for me to collect those foods after I have filled my stomach to a certain extent. ¡®Well, there definitely should be some sort of fruits in there.¡¯ I haven¡¯t memorized the mansion¡¯s structure yet but it was still a castle so I was pretty sure that it would have the same structure as the others. The cooking area was usually located on the first floor so I should move around and look for it there. And there should definitely be a place where the kitchen could communicate and exchange with the outside. This fact reduces the area that I should look for. I should go and look for it towards the corner or at the ends of the hall. The more I looked at this mansion, the more interesting I think it was. I believe that this was the main mansion, but people were not usually seen here. Actually, except for the maids who came to my room, I couldn¡¯t hear anybody else. Chup, chup. It was such a quiet mansion that no one would even notice me even if I crawled openly. Sometimes, people would pass by. But no one noticed me after I hid behind an ornament or a flower pot. It has been 30 minutes since I crawled with this small baby body of mine when I finally found a door that was emitting a delicious smell. The door was tightly closed but it was not that difficult for me to open it now. Let¡¯s look from left to right! Now let¡¯s lie down on my back! Then let¡¯s lift my limbs and tighten them strongly! The mana started to move in my body. The doorknob moved slowly, turning with a click, click sound. I opened my eyes that were closed tightly. The doorknob looked like it was almost opened by someone. It was already halfway opened but it was still not enough to open the door. ¡°Kkeung¡­!¡± It wasn¡¯t until the weird embarrassing sound came out of my mouth that the door opened with a click. I quickly rolled around and stood up on my arms and legs. A savory smell wafted out from the gap with the door. ¡®Ah, but what does a baby eat?¡¯ They usually gave me milk powder. ¡®I already have some front teeth so maybe I can eat some fruits?¡¯ I recently had my two front teeth and a lower tooth that came out. With how this was going my pacifier would become softer. ¡®This cheap wooden pacifier!¡¯ Was this how much I was neglected? I still couldn¡¯t get my hands on some slime right now so I have to make do with washing it with water. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me that I still will suck on my pacifier even if I grow up?¡¯ That would be extremely terrible. The chefs were taking a rest in the kitchen. I was hidden behind the counter so I wouldn¡¯t be seen unless I intentionally placed my round tummy on the counter or they turned around and looked down. The kitchen was filled with the savory smell of the boiling soup. My mouth was watering at the smell but it wasn¡¯t like I could eat hot soup right now. I titled my head as much as I could. My eyes rolled from side to side to look around. Luckily, I saw some potatoes and apples piled on one side of the room. It would be a bit hard for me but if I throw it up and down for a few times with my mana then wouldn¡¯t it be crushed? ¡®Then that will definitely make it juicy.¡¯ Well, I should first fill my belly then I would go and get some small berries from the trees outside. One potato and one apple floated in the air. This posture was¡­¡­. Let¡¯s just skip this part. I was lying on the damp kitchen floor but I¡¯m already very hungry. After I placed the potato and the apple on the floor, I suddenly got distracted again. I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry both of them back. After I deliberated for a long time, I whined and placed the apple in my clothes. I couldn¡¯t hold it with my small hand so I used both my hands to push it in my clothes but it still did not work well. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I tried hard to press down the words that wanted to come up despite my growing annoyance. The apple was too big for a baby¡¯s hands. No matter how hard I struggled with my hands, I still couldn¡¯t place them in my clothes. Usually, one would hold it with one hand while the other hand would stretch the clothes and pull it out so the apple would go in but in the first place, that was already impossible for me. I couldn¡¯t even stretch my clothes so the innocent apple ended up rolling on the floor. Plop. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Plop. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Who would realize my efforts of using my own body to try and make sure that the apples would not make any noise every time it would fall. My clenched fists turned white as my whole body trembled. I relaxed my twitching eyes, took two deep breaths and gently laid down the apple. Then I switched targets and targeted the potatoes. Plop. Roll. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Plop. Roll. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Things did not change that much whether it be an apple or a potato. Damn. It always rolls over. After staring at the potato and apple I eventually slipped out of the door with an apple in my mouth. I gripped my fingers tight on my pacifier just so it would not slip out. With an apple as big as my head clasped on my two front teeth, I felt horrible as I crawled my way down the hall. I did not know how much it fell down since my mouth and teeth were so small. Eventually, I was so annoyed with how much it fell down that I almost used my mana. In the end, I only made a bit of a progress at the expense of my sanity. I was extremely stressed and irritated. I could now gather my mana in one place. So I scraped the mana that I did not need for my comfort on the floor and saved enough for my teeth. Gathering the mana in my teeth allowed me to carry the apple without dropping it. However, I still needed to stop every so often to suck on my pacifier. Anyway, I worked hard amd eventually came back to my room. I expected the maid to come and go but no one came. It was a tough day. *** ¡°Ahooo¡­¡­¡± I looked down on the floor. I was very proud of the food that was scattered in the room. No one has come to this room for the past 2 weeks. It was quite amazing. If I were a normal baby then I would have already been dead. No matter how uninterested you were you should not be so indifferent to a child of nobility. The maids could never play with the life of a child of nobility what more to think of revenge. So I thought that there might have been something that went missing in the middle of the work process and delivery. Of course, the maids were still no good anyways. But thanks to the food that I have collected over the past 2 weeks, I have now become very rich. But I still have a bit of a problem with my bowel movements, this¡­¡­ I took care of it myself. I did not want to think about this anymore. It was a humiliation that should have never happened in the life of the great sorceress Hella. ¡®Kgghk¡­¡¯ Tears started to well up in my eyes. My life is a bit sad. Well that was it, and I¡¯m glad that there wasn¡¯t any immediate threat to my survival yet. I collected some leaves from the trees so I could place some small red berries on it. I even collected some flowers so I could suck on some nectar. I also used my gravitational magic and moved my bed to a place where the sun was not directly shining on it. ¡®It¡¯s time for my walk.¡¯ I also lived my life on a regular schedule. I went out for a walk regularly, this was so I could grow up safely and healthy. I did this so I could get some fresh air and even clean my pacifier. I wondered if it was wrong to say that babies grew up fast but my gums were so itchy that I thought that it was already time for me to have another tooth. And since my gums were always itchy, the time for me to suck on my pacifier have become longer. I came out today to slowly look around my surroundings. The humand and nature were quiet today too. In fact, I think that it was better and more natural for this place to be like this. Since I could move around for a long time without anyone knowing. However, there were still calluses that formed on my hands and knees. Now, even if I crawled on the floor I wouldn¡¯t feel any pain at all. I crawled towards the backyard today with familiarity. I have been living alone for the past 2 weeks so I have to get to know the surroundings of my own castle. I already knew how to hide behind bushes and move out of sight easily so other people wouldn¡¯t be able to spot me. ¡°Huhuk¡­¡± Today, I was crawling around in Sharendt Crown¡¯s personal garden when I heard a weird cry. I paused for a moment before continuing to crawl again. Actually, all of the fruits and flowers in my room where stolen from here. There were a lot of things in Sharendt Crown¡¯s garden. There were ornamental things and even delicious things that were good for babies. It was a very good food warehouse for me. I peeked at the spot where I picked some flowers from before. The stem was a bit conspicuous. ¡®¡­¡­Did I get caught?¡¯ Sharendt Crown was a very scary bastard. It seemed like even the hidden flowers were found. I even purposely cut from the innermost part of the tree so it wouldn¡¯t be noticed easily. Perhaps, if I took more advantage of this place then that bastard would really wring my neck dry. ¡®I can hear that guy crying again.¡¯ I ran into him once but he pretendes not to know me and just left. ¡®If this bastard¡¯s here then I can¡¯t pick any fruits and I can only wash my pacifier.¡¯ I did not like this little boy at all so I glared at him. ¡®I don¡¯t even know his name.¡¯ I was sure that he introduced himself to me. Anyway, one thing was for sure. This guy was Sharendt Crown¡¯s son. Well then, I could just call him ¡®Sharendt Crown¡¯s son.¡¯ I could hear him sniffing. I could even feel the hot glare of Sharendt Crown¡¯s son but I purposely did not look at him. It¡¯s annoying, it¡¯s really annoying. I did not want to listen to Sharendt Crown¡¯s failed marriage and divorce again. ¡°Heuk. L, little kid. Are you busy?¡± I wasn¡¯t looking at him but perhaps I felt sorry for this brat who talked to me. I roughly laid down on the ground and dipped my pacifier in the water. My limit was to dip it since my hands still had no grip. ¡®I don¡¯t know if this is working but I still have to clean it.¡¯ A sigh came out of my mouth. Then I heard whimper. Sharendt Crown¡¯s son sniffed loudly and crawled towards me. His hair looked curly from up close. Sharendt Crown¡¯s hair was straight so he probably got his curly hair from his mom? After I recalled some questions, I avoided Sharendt Crown¡¯s son. ¡°H, hey. Baby. Do you want me to clean that for you¡­?¡± No, I¡¯m trying to avoid you. But it was a pretty good offer. And my hands were already starting to hurt from trying to wipe it clean. So I took the pacifier out of the water, sucked on it for a bit, then quickly placed it on the waiting hands of Sharendt Crown¡¯s son. Chapter 10 Fortunately, Sharendt Crown¡¯s son has a stronger body and a better grip compared to mine. Even if he was also a kid, he was still different since we were in different sizes. ¡°Uh¡­ uhmm¡­¡­ it¡¯s not getting cleaned well.¡± I sighed deeply as I watched Sharendt Crown¡¯s son try to wipe my pacifier. ¡®As expected, it was already really old.¡¯ But maybe it was because he was a lot stronger than me that was why it was cleaned a lot more compared to when I did it before. ¡®I really can¡¯t find any slime fluid anywhere.¡¯ In fact, slime fluid could be received if you caught a low-leveled slime from ruins managed by the tower. I was quite sad that my circumstances wouldn¡¯t allow me to achieve what I wanted. ¡°Well, is this enough?¡± I squinted my eyes as I looked closely at Sharendt Crown¡¯s son after I received my newly cleaned pacifier. I was quite satisfied since it was a lot cleaner than before. I thought he was just a crybaby but he was more helpful than what I thought. I looked at the slightly wet(?) pacifier, nodded my head in satisfaction, and once again placed it in my mouth. As I sucked on my pacifier quickly, Sharendt Crown¡¯s son crouched down and hugged his knees as he watched me intently. ¡°You know that you really shouldn¡¯t keep coming here, right?¡± ¡°Abaaa~¡± I answered him insincerely by waving my hands up and down to answer him. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. I couldn¡¯t even pick any fruit today so I would be going home early to take a nap. I wouldn¡¯t know about this kid but I definitely needed a full nap. I kept on complaining about the maid that raised me before but right now, I was the one who was raising myself. I crawled back home but Sharendt Crown¡¯s son followed along. He was crouched down as he walked beside me but no matter how fast I crawled I couldn¡¯t shake him off. The moment I wanted to turn my head and tell him off with a babble¡ª Keuwoooooo! I heard a loud cry that came from the sky above us. My ears perked up. This was a very familiar cry. And it was a cry that shouldn¡¯t be heard here in the first place. ¡®Gryphon.¡¯ I easily figured out which creature was giving out such a cry. The gryphon was both the gatekeeper and the watchman at an intermediate ruins. ¡°Huh? Whot ish dis?¡± I heard a childish voice come from the person following me. His lisp came out because of his excitement. I calmly patted Sharendt Crown¡¯s son¡¯s ankle. ¡°Wow! Whash dis!¡± Run, dummy! Unlike their huge appearance they were good at targeting small creatures. Even small creatures that moved. I tugged at the hem of Sharendt Crown¡¯s son¡¯s pants but it seemed that he couldn¡¯t understand what I was trying to say. ¡°Huh? Baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I don¡¯t know. I already tried my best to persuade him so there wasn¡¯t any more reason for me to try harder. I quickly let go of Sharendt Crown¡¯s son and crawled behind a tree to hide. ¡°Keuwooooooooo¡ª!¡± When the gryphon cried for the second time, the people that were hiding began to appear one by one. ¡°What in the world is this¡­¡­ Why did such a beast appear here?!¡± I could hear Deshar Crown¡¯s angry roar from somewhere. In the meantime, I also thought that it was a bit surprising that I couldn¡¯t hear any other shrieks and shouts of fear. Are all of the people in this estate that well-trained? As it leisurely flew in the sky, the cries of the gryphon grew louder. If the cry that it let out before were just empty threats, it¡¯s cry right now was definitely filled with bloodthirst. The eyes of the gryphon that was flying high with its wings spread out glinted sharply. Once it confirmed its prey, the gryphon sharply descended towards Sharendt Crown¡¯s son. ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± ¡®I knew that it would do that.¡¯ That¡¯s why I told you to run away. Sharendt Crown¡¯s son was so stunned that he was unable to move. It was probably because he had never experienced something like this before. But there was still that talented veteran, Deshar Crown, so I was pretty sure that they would be able to do something about it. ¡°Caishan, come here.¡± I could hear a soft, smooth and sweet voice coming from behind Deshar Crown. It also sounded arrogant at the same time. The owner of this sweet voice that was like dripping honey was someone that I was familiar with. ¡°Fa, father!¡± The terror-stricken expression on the face of Sharendt Crown¡¯s son vanished and was quickly replaced with a bright smile. Sharendt Crown¡¯s son with his puffy red eyes quickly ran towards him and hugged his legs. Sharendt Crown carried his son in his arms and smiled softly at him. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I was in fact really surprised when I saw their figures together. Sharendt Crown was a cold-blooded man so I thought that he would also be cold towards his own family. Being called a family with someone like him was both a disturbance and a threat to me. ¡°Just stay with father, okay?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s son answered his father bravely as he was placed in front of Deshar Crown. ¡®Sharendt Crown.¡¯ Before I knew it, he had already placed his son down and was already swinging his spear lightly. He could easily wield the sharp Giant Spear in his hands. He didn¡¯t even need to execute large movements to swing the spear. His movements were both graceful and deadly. For someone like me who was well-versed in magical warfare and not physical combat, it looked like Sharendt Crown was standing on a higher ground compared to his enemy. ¡°I¡¯m afraid this insignificant little beast has lost its way for far too long, father.¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s smile was murderous as he imagined the gryphon¡¯s dark ending to its life. ¡®The rumors that are surrounding him did not seem to be false at all.¡¯ I heard that he has a brutal character and that he played with weapons as if they were toys. It also looked like the rumors about him acquiring some sort of relic by sacrificing plenty of people weren¡¯t groundless. If he were the one that would fight that, then I believe that my life would be saved. Since I felt more relaxed, I looked around my surroundings. The gryphon felt the strong pressure that was emitting from Sharendt Crown¡¯s glare. It quickly dodged the attack from Sharendt Crown and increased the distance between them. ¡°What the hell are the mages from the tower doing! Aren¡¯t the ruins under their jurisdiction!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe because they lost their master so they lost their paths and couldn¡¯t control it anymore.¡± As I listened to Deshar Crown¡¯s angry voice, I hid myself further inside the bushes. The master that could control the tower that they were talking about was probably the dead me.. This is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. It wasn¡¯t that hard to get back to my room when everyone was looking at the gryphon. ¡®Anyway, why aren¡¯t those administrators working properly?¡¯ Just like what he said earlier, the gryphon was under the jurisdiction of the tower. But it seemed like they weren¡¯t managing it properly. Usually, there were a set of personnel that would always be present to guard those ruins. The ruins. That was right, ruins existed in this world. And there were relics inside of each ruin. There were no records of where and how these ruins and relics came to be. No one knew why or how it existed but it already was something that existed from a long time ago. In addition, there were also monsters that ran out of these ruins. It was something that everyone considered only natural but there were still relics inside those ruins. The problem was¡­ In order to get those relics, one had to go through the entrance of the ruins and go down each level one by one until one reached the final basement of the ruins. They also have to run through countless monsters and traps just to get to the relics. Those relics contained very special powers. Some stories about these relics were also written in the old literature. There were relics that could control other people¡¯s minds, relics that could command monsters, relics that could mete out curses and even relics that could heal or purify others. There was a case where the person obtained the relic became extremely strong, there was also a case where their cooking became extremely good. When I heard about the latter case, I thought that it was a bit cute but I also heard that once someone tasted their food then they would get addicted. It was just like those people took a terrible drug that they wouldn¡¯t be able to live if they did not eat that food. However, there were still plenty of people who desired to control the life and death of others. But the walls that usually surround the ruins were so high that no one could dream of jumping over them. There were mainly two types of relics that were usually found in the ruins. One was a sacred relic that could be considered to have the highest quality of the holy spirit, or an evil relic that had the same quality as that of the sacred relic. Currently, there were only eight relics that were made public to the world. This number was very small considering the fact that the disclosed number of ruins were thirty seven. That goes to show how hard it is to go inside one and come back alive. Heiron Empire currently has three sacred relics in their hands. One was in the hands of Duke Crown, the other one was in the hands of the Imperial family and the last one was kept in the temple. I heard that the relic that was kept in the temple already has an owner. As for the one that was in the hands of Duke Crown, there was too little information about it so I did not know if someone already owned it or if it was just kept in the storage. And I was told that the one in the hands of the Imperial family still hasn¡¯t found its owner. The tower and its administrators also had two evil relics and one sacred relic in their possession. One of the remaining two relics was said to be a sacred relic owned by a kingdom across the sea. The other was rumored to be an evil relic that was owned by an empire built on the barren desert. ¡®If someone was fired then they will probably work properly.¡¯ I got annoyed for no reason at all. I continued to crawl along the hallway in a bitter mood. Chapter 11 I didn¡¯t bump into anyone on my way to my room. I squeezed my body through the door, then used magic to close the door. I wanted to eat some sweet honey and fruits since I was in a foul mood. Well, he has people to protect him. When I showed him generous tolerance, he just kept blinking like an idiot. But when his father came, he ran towards him all cheerful. Idiotic people. I looked down feeling disappointed. My knees hurt. To make matters worse, my knees hurt which annoyed me. Even though I trained my knees, it still hurts. I crawled to the centre of my room and I sat my butt down. I stretched my short legs and saw my dirty outfit. I wiped my overworked knees with my small hands. Ouch, it hurts. My knees aren¡¯t going to fade away like this, right? I pat off the dirt that was on my hands and got some fruits. The red fruits on my legs looked delicious. Kawwww-! I could hear the painful screams of the gryphon. It¡¯s clearly being subjugated right now. Even though I¡¯m only listening to its cries, it¡¯s such a painstaking cry that made my body tremble. Who cares what¡¯s happening. I grabbed the red fruits and shoved them in my mouth. I shoved so many in that the juices started to drip from my mouth. And though, juice kept dripping down my face, I felt much better. Nom nom, I kept on munching and swallowing the fruits. Clack clack. The window made a loud noise and started to shake. Even someone like me, who¡¯s ignorant of the outside world, got shivers down my spine from that sound. Before I could turn to look, all the light that shined through the window, completely disappeared. It¡¯s as if something is covering the window. ¡°Grab it! It¡¯s heading towards the estate!¡± ¡°It¡¯s trying to get it!¡± The voices from the clacking windows seemed to be in a hurry, but why? As I held onto the red fruits in my hands, I was barely able to turn my fragile head. Actually, my head couldn¡¯t turn well in general, so I had to wiggle my butt around to correctly face the window. In front of the window was a mysterious, yellow-eyed beast covered in blood. Its four beastly legs were covered in fur. The beast appeared to be rugged and strong but had injuries all over its body. The gryphon was panting and glanced into my room through the window. Kaww? The gryphon tilted its head. It wasn¡¯t cute though, instead, it sent shivers down my spine. That¡¯s what gryphons do when they¡¯re assessing their opponent ¡ª when it¡¯s deciding whether its food or an enemy. And¡­ I¡¯m screwed. That carnivorous gryphon decided that I was food. As long as it was meat, they didn¡¯t care if it was an animal, beast, or a human. Gryphons have extraordinary vision and smell and are obsessed with the color red. They even learned that fresh new meat will drip fresh red liquid. (1) And currently, I am¡­ Aren¡¯t I completely covered in red? My mouth and hands are covered in the fruit¡¯s red juice and I probably smell pretty fragrant from the fruit too. I immediately shoved all the fruits in my hands into my mouth. The gryphon quickly tilted its head left and right. It seems it¡¯s still deciding what I am. I grasped the situation and placed my sticky, fruity hands on the ground and tried to crawl away but the moment I did, the gryphon screeched. Kawwww-! I quickly headed for the door. Slam-! Shatter! The window shattered into pieces from the loud screech. The gryphon peeked through the window with its giant head. Thankfully its body was too big to enter the room through the window. ¡­or not. It broke through the wall around the window. I tried to quickly escape but the door was locked. I would have to use magic if I wanted to open the door, but I didn¡¯t have any more power left since I already used quite a bit today. Also, to use magic, I have to be in a specific position in order to concentrate, but I can¡¯t do that in this situation. What do I do? I need a way to drive away that gryphon. I know a lot about the gryphons¡¯ weaknesses, but none of them would work with this baby body of mine. Gryphons are weak to being stabbed inside their wings or mouth, or to a drastic change in temperatures below freezing. Ah, then¡­ I was ready to confront the gryphon. Among the many fruits and leaves I have here, is a smell that gryphons hate. If I mash them up, it¡¯ll be so potent that the gryphon will lose its sense of direction. After thinking it out, I looked at the gryphon. Chup chup chup. I hated myself because even when my life is in danger, I¡¯m still sucking on my pacifier. From my experience, gryphons have a disgusting and nasty personality. They won¡¯t immediately kill their prey. Instead, gryphons will place their prey between their legs and roll them around on the ground. They¡¯ll act like they¡¯ll let them live but once the prey is too tired and loses all hope, they finally eat them. I quickly crawled to where I left all my leaves, branches, and fruit. My knees were starting to be injured by the hard, marble floor and my brows furrowed from the pain. This leaf! The fruits I was eating, has a blue color when it¡¯s unripe. If I combine the unripe fruit and rose leaves together, it¡¯ll make the smell gryphons hate. It was a good idea to grab some leaves when Sharendt Crown annoyed me¡­! They say that gryphons are sensitive to smell and that this smell, will make them lose their sense of direction, and sometimes, even their sight. I held the fruit in one hand and the rose leaves in another. I just need to combine these together and then use gravity magic to throw it at the gryphon¡¯s face¡­! But what am I supposed to ground it with¡­? I blinked my eyes while holding on to the fruits and leaves. The gryphon quietly watched and blinked with me. Then it growled and tilted its head. I can¡¯t effectively use magic to ground these up yet. The most I can do are the basics, gravity magic, or magic to turn the door handles. To mash these up I¡¯d need rocks, or well, rocks¡­ something heavy like rocks¡­ Shit, I don¡¯t have rocks! I bundled up the rose leaves and fruit. I held onto the bundle and started to press on them. Drops. Pops. Drip. Are there rain droplets somewhere? It must be small rain droplets for it to be so quiet on marble floors. My face turned red from embarrassment. (2) I slowly lifted my stiff head. It was a small amount but it seemed like the gryphon started to feel weird. It began to violently shake its head left and right. I was relieved that it had some effects on the gryphon, seeing as it was possibly curling up from the pain. If I grind it a bit more¡­! Kaww! My short arms started to tremble. I bit my pacifier and clenched harder. My face started to heat up. Kwaa! Drop drop, every time a drop of juice fell, the gryphon started to struggle more. What a relief that it has a great sense of smell. I wish I could clench it a bit more. If I could squeeze it some more, I think the gryphon would collapse from the smell. A bit more¡­ Just when I thought that¡ª Crack. Something became wedged on the ground beside me. When I tilted my stiff head, I saw a sharp claw. Shivers went down my spine. I instinctively knew. I can¡¯t take down this gryphon with only these fruits and leaves. To be precise, there wasn¡¯t any time for me to stay here and squeeze these fruits and leaves. Using all my strength, I threw the bundle towards the gryphon but they all landed on the floor. The fruits rolled on the ground, its shape still the same as before. (3) Using both my hands, I pushed my pacifier deeper into my mouth and quickly started to suck on it. What¡¯s with this pacifier? The moment I started to suck on it, my rapidly beating heart began to slow down. The gryphon¡¯s body trembled in pain and its eyes were bloodshot red. It raised its front claws and slammed down. Shit, I made it worse. I quickly got on my hands and knees and tried to run away. It was miserable but this is all for my survival. If I can just survive this then Sharendt Crown will come and take care of the gryphon since this is his home. The gryphon¡¯s beak kept trying to grab ahold of me. Peck peck peck peck. Since the gryphon¡¯s sense of direction is a bit distorted right now, I used that to my advantage and move in a zig-zag pattern. I really was in a desperate situation. The issue was that my stamina is very low compared to the gryphon¡¯s. Yeah, I can¡¯t even squirm my body around for more than 3 minutes. In the end, I was caught by the gryphon¡¯s claws and it rolled me on the ground. Slam-! But then the door opened. Luckily he came right as the gryphon opened its mouth to eat me. ¡°What a waste of steps, how pointless.¡± Shivers. I could hear the sound of the wind being cut from his cold voice. Then I heard a noise much heavier than that. I instinctively closed my eyes. TRANSLATOR NOTES: 1. Red liquid is blood (just in case there¡¯s any confusion). 2. She thought it was raining but it was the fruit dripping juices 3. She tried her to best to squeeze them but it remained the same (an un-squeezed fruit) Chapter 12 Smack. Splash- I heard the jarring sound of flesh being ripped apart and something coating my body as I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was a large spear pierced inside the gryphon¡¯s mouth. The gryphon died without the chance to even scream. Its large corpse fell onto the floor with a loud thud, covering half the room. And I was on the floor drenched in blood. My clothes were soaked while my hands and feet were sticky. Only a few amounts of the food I worked hard to collect over the past two weeks are still edible. ¡°Haa¡­¡± A sigh came out. I¡¯m glad that I¡¯m still able to sigh. I threw the blue fruit that I held in my hand towards the gryphon¡¯s corpse. ¡°Fwack!¡± Fuck, that shitty piece of crap! I never thought it¡¯d be so pathetic to get help from Sharendt Crown. My body trembled from anger but then I felt someone staring at me. I didn¡¯t care about him staring at me so I continued to glare at the gryphon¡¯s corpse, deliberately making sure to not turn towards him. If I could, I¡¯d revive the gryphon and kill it over and over again! ¡°¡­cockroach?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was punching the gryphon¡¯s corpse with my fists but when I heard that word come out of Sharendt Crown¡¯s mouth I couldn¡¯t help but turn towards him. What, roach¡­? Cock, cock¡­ cock¡­ He just said the unthinkable thing. Who did he just refer to? (1) It¡¯s definitely not me. Is there a cock¡­ is that thing nearby? I quickly checked left and right. It¡¯s not here. I turned my head to face the bastard. We stared at each other for a long time, neither of us breaking eye contact. ¡°Sharendt! The gryphon¡­¡± We both turned our heads. ¡°Did you take care of it¡­ why is that thing here?¡± (the baby) What do you mean why?! This is my room! I glared at them for a bit then crawled towards the fruits and stared at them. I purposely chose both ripe and unripe fruit so I could eat some now and save some for later. A wave of sadness engulfed me. ¡°¡­¡± The apple I had worked hard to obtain was also in a bad state. The food that I had worked hard to get despite my knees being in terrible pain. It seems that it was harder for me to stuff down my emotions since I am younger now. But I couldn¡¯t allow myself to cry so I stared at the apple and sat up straight. Just because I couldn¡¯t beat a gryphon, my precious food is all ruined. I felt a strong gaze at my back but I blatantly ignored it. Suck suck suck Now that my sadness has subsided, I only felt annoyed and wronged. I shook one of my short legs and continued sucking on my pacifier. ¡°I asked why that child is here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know since it¡¯s not my business.¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s ignorant comment made me furious. I quickly turned my head and glared at him. A small smirk appeared on his face but then he turned away, seemingly uninterested. ¡°Also what happened to this room?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it was used as a hideout.¡± Deshar Crown frowned at the way Sharendt Crown spoke. He then looked at me with a dissatisfied face. I ignored him and grabbed all the food in my hands, sending the food to uneaten heaven, and mourned for them. ¡°Where is the maid in charge of her? She may be an illegitimate child but she still has Crown blood in her. What kind of state is that child in right now?! Kant, summon the maid in charge of her immediately!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Why are you getting mad for that child, father?¡± Sharendt Crown consoled the agitated Deshar Crown with a soothing voice. He glanced at me, seeing the blood on my body and the food near me. Did I get caught¡­? My back stiffened from the worry that he had figured out that I stole from his garden. ¡°Tch, no matter how cold-blooded you are, that child is still your little brother, Valian¡¯s, child. And Valian was my child so don¡¯t speak in that manner.¡± ¡°Time really is harsh. It made father so soft.¡± Sharendt Crown lowered his head with a disappointed look and slowly walked towards me. I glanced at what the two Crowns were doing and immediately looked down. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be worried but I ransacked Sharendt Crown¡¯s garden. I don¡¯t know Sharendt Crown will easily get over the fact that I stole from his garden. ¡°Anyways¡­ I knew you always stole from someone else¡¯s garden but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d been storing all those stolen goods here.¡± ¡°¡­Garden? My daughter-in-law¡¯s garden?¡± Instead of responding to Deshar Crown¡¯s words, Sharendt crown turned and smiled his signature smile. I raised my head up high to look at Sharendt Crown. He stared at me as if he was looking for something. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this thing is more starved than last time.¡± ¡°Starved?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s hand was headed for the back of my neck. He definitely plans to hold me by my neck and embarrass me. Swoosh. I quickly rolled my body and avoided Sharendt Crown¡¯s hand. Since my knees were injured, I flinched a bit but the pain wasn¡¯t much. I can just think of this as training. ¡°¡­¡± Sharendt Crown retracted his hand. I backed off some more and when I gained a bit of distance from him, I looked towards both of them. Sigh, do I have to find a new room now? I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s another empty room. As long as it isn¡¯t any further than this room. I¡¯m already dying from the pain of crawling on my knees. If my new room is even further, I think I might actually break my knees when that happens. ¡°What was this thing¡¯s name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After I heard Deshar Crown¡¯s response to Sharendt Crown¡¯s question, I slightly opened my eyes and walked on my hand and knees towards the door. I don¡¯t want to stay in a room that reeks of blood. I need to clean myself again. My wet clothes bothered me but they¡¯ll dry off. ¡°¡­Valian tried to tell me the child¡¯s name but I ignored him.¡± Sigh. This body¡¯s owner is so pitiful. She seems to be dead but I¡¯ll help you now. You don¡¯t need to worry about those cold-hearted people. The world is a lonely place anyways. I can just give her a new name or recover my magic and look into her memories. Then she needs to grow up healthy. I need to wash first if I want to be clean. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I heard Deshar Crown¡¯s words and I leisurely left the room. Thanks to Sharendt Crown for busting the door earlier, I didn¡¯t have to work hard to open the door. But just as I was crawling out, a shadow loomed over me. When I looked up, the people I didn¡¯t want to see were all lined up behind me. I quickly turned my head. ¡°Duke, I have brought them.¡± A man wearing a tailcoat who I presume was the butler spoke. ¡°¡­I told you to bring the one in charge of that child. So why did you bring so many of them?¡± ¡°Th¡­ That¡­ We rotate on who gets to take care of the young lady, so there isn¡¯t a singular person in charge of her¡­¡± The most senior maid spoke while trembling. I couldn¡¯t leave the room because of all the maids who had entered the room so I am now stuck in between the maids and Deshar Crown. Shit¡­ Can I get out? I crawled all over but there wasn¡¯t a single space I could squeeze out of. I immediately turned around after feeling a glance from my side. I saw Sharendt Crown leaning against a wall with his arms crossed while he observed my behavior. I quickly turned my head. TRANSLATOR NOTES: 1. In Korea people are super terrified of huge cockroaches so sometimes we don¡¯t even call them cockroaches and just say ¡°THE THING HAS APPEARED!¡± Chapter 13 ¡°Did you not assign a head maid, Kant?¡± ¡°I did assign a head maid but she quit a while after. This rotation system probably happened after that.¡± Kant, the butler, calmly spoke without hesitation. He looked to be middle-aged and seemed to have worked here for a long time, so unlike the maids, he wasn¡¯t scared. He knew exactly what his master allowed and forbid. It¡¯s really nice to have a tool. Once I realized I couldn¡¯t leave the room, I crawled to a wall and sat on my bum. It¡¯s so comfortable leaning my back on the wall. I stretched my legs out and tapped on my painful knees. Why is that person staring at me like that? Sharendt Crown kept looking and smiling at me. I glanced at him and then ignored him. ¡°Did you know that this child was making a hideout here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± All the eight maids stood without uttering a word. Then finally Sharendt Crown¡¯s gaze drifted away from me. Uncomfortable. I wish they¡¯d stop talking already or make space for me to leave. Or for a dog hole somewhere¡­ Huh? A dog hole. There was a small hole in the wall. It might¡¯ve been made when the gryphon was on a rampage earlier. I closely examined the wall I was leaning against. I think I can get out if I try hard enough. It¡¯s so uncomfortable¡­ While Sharendt Crown is here, I should go to the garden and wash myself off. I looked at Deshar and Sharendt Crown and noticed they were staring at the maids, so I used this opportunity to put my head through the hole. ¡°It seems everyone has gone deaf.¡± Sharendt Crown said with the kindest voice and smile. People that didn¡¯t know better would¡¯ve been fooled by his voice and face. ¡°N-no. I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I also didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Me either¡­¡± I wiggled my body as I heard the 8 maids speak. I was able to put my hands on the other side of the wall but¡­ ¡°Hnng¡­¡± But for some reason, I can¡¯t get out¡­? Huh? No, there¡¯s no way. I used all the strength I could but my butt was stuck. No, there¡¯s no way my butt is this thick! I gave up on squeezing through the hole so I tried to get out but my body wouldn¡¯t move as I wanted it to. I was really stuck¡­ I don¡¯t like this. ¡°¡­When was the last time you took care of Valian¡¯s child.¡± Deshar Crown¡¯s voice became much colder and deeper than before. I didn¡¯t care if they were talking. If I can¡¯t get out of here, I¡¯m going to be a laughingstock. ¡°Two¡­ two months ago.¡± ¡°It was 6 weeks ago for me.¡± ¡°Me, I¡­ It has been about a month for me¡­¡± Everyone said with a stutter. I didn¡¯t know if their stutter was caused by their guilt if they were lying but their answers were all true. Well, at least they¡¯re not lying. I gave up on escaping through the hole. I relaxed my muscles and lied down. A part of the wall was uncomfortable on my stomach but I was still able to breathe. It¡¯s not like I resented the maids. It¡¯s a world ruled by the laws of nature, so the fault lies on the one that dies. The small may need the protection of others but they also need luck. It¡¯s obvious that someone born without authority, survival abilities, and a guardian, would die. ¡°Fwaking Gwad¡­¡± Shit, I really can¡¯t get out. No matter how much I flap my arms and legs I couldn¡¯t get out. I completely gave up then. Besides, seeing how they¡¯re interrogating the maids right now, I don¡¯t think they plan on starving me to death so they¡¯ll probably pull me out. ¡°So the last time someone took care of a baby that just started to crawl was 2 weeks ago! You must¡¯ve gone thoroughly insane!¡± ¡°We committed an unforgivable sin. We apologize, Your Grace!¡± ¡°So nobody came in this room for 2 whole weeks.¡± Sharendt Crown spoke his thoughts out loud with a kind voice. I couldn¡¯t see what was happening but I still felt the coldness of the room on my hips, so the situation inside must not be good. Why is he so mad? He was the first to throw me out. Ah, I¡¯m hungry. I should¡¯ve eaten more fruits earlier. I¡¯m glad at least two of my teeth came out, if not I wouldn¡¯t have been able to eat those fruits. But I mostly just crammed the food into my mouth. I actually barely touched the apple. I would if I could eat it. Slap-! I heard the sound of something hitting someone¡¯s cheek. I unconsciously flinched and became stiff. Who hit who? How brutal. Even if she is an illegitimate child, she still has noble blood running through her veins so you shouldn¡¯t have messed with her¡­ something like that? How funny. I can¡¯t laugh. I wasn¡¯t not laughing cause I could empathize but because¡­ if I laughed, the wall would press against my stomach. ¡°Kant, you are the manager of the estate. Is this how you manage?!¡± ¡°My apologies, Your Grace.¡± ¡°Then what did this child do for 2 weeks to survive?!¡± ¡°That¡­¡± It became as quiet as a dead mouse. I have my own arms and legs so I can go and get my own food. I only have my front teeth and gum but I can still eat mashed food. No matter how many times I think, I¡¯m still pretty amazing. -Is what I thought while stuck in the wall. I opened my hand and smashed¡­ no, I tapped the wall. ¡°Waah!¡± Ouch! Why is this wall so strong? I was already annoyed from being stuck but now my hand hurts too! I¡¯m hungry and my clothes are uncomfortable! ¡°Huh?¡± Just then my body was pulled backwards. My butt that had been stuck became comfortable again. The moment I got out of the wall, many eyes fell on me. ¡°Gah-¡± I turned to see the person grabbing my neck and the one person I didn¡¯t want to see was in front of me. I immediately frowned. ¡°Bleh¡­¡± I don¡¯t know what my distasteful face looked like to others but I knew he didn¡¯t like it. Sharendt Crown who always had a smile on was so agitated that his eyebrows were raised. I turned away from Sharendt Crown and looked in front of me. Deshar Crown was in front. I hated both sides. A stubborn old man or an annoying bastard. ¡°If nobody gave her food then did this child get her own food?¡± ¡°She stole a few flowers and fruits from my garden.¡± Deshar Crown made a ¡°Hah!¡± noise like he was in disbelief. ¡°Does this child look four? Kant, how old is this child?¡± If you¡¯re going to talk, put me down first. I can¡¯t even laugh at myself since I¡¯m just dangling here. It¡¯s not I¡¯m using floating magic, so why am I dangling right now? Did I have to see the maids and the Crowns in my current state?! ¡°From what I know, she¡¯s about 11 months old.¡± ¡°¡­11 months?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Grace.¡± ¡°A mere 11 months old left their room and stole fruits to keep in this room?¡± Deshar Crown spoke with surprise in his voice as I flailed my body. Talking is good and all but why are you doing this while holding my neck! ¡°¡­Yes. Valian, though he misbehaved a lot he was sharp and quick to adapt.¡± ¡°Abwah!¡± Do you think I give a fuck? Why are you guys talking about your life in front of me so calmly! Sharendt Crown¡¯s son also talked about Sharendt Crown¡¯s ruined newlywed life¡­ After I screamed and moved my body around, Sharendt Crown finally put me down like he was tired of holding onto me. ¡°You act so vulgar.¡± ¡°Wah!¡± When I screamed, Sharendt Crown made an annoyed face. I was on my hands and knees thinking about where I should go but then a shadow loomed over me. Deshar Crown came up close to me with both his arms reaching towards me. Hmph, you think I¡¯ll fall for that again? I puffed out air from my nose with pride and quickly reversed. I was very proud of myself for how fast I am able to walk backward. This is a reflex for those that lived avoiding people. Deshar Crown¡¯s hands floated in the air and his eyebrows frowned. Chapter 14 ¡°This little thing is quite quick.¡± I looked at Deshar Crown from afar. He didn¡¯t seem to be in a bad mood. ¡°It can¡¯t stay here forever so select a few maids to be in charge of her and prepare a new room.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Grace.¡± Kant respectfully bowed and responded. The butler gently walked towards me and reached out. If I accept, I won¡¯t have to go collect food but¡­ But receiving their help is quite frustrating. Though it doesn¡¯t seem like they plan on killing me. It¡¯s not like I can do anything in my current situation. I also need a new pacifier and someone who can clean it for me. Yes, my pacifier is the most important thing right now. And I¡¯m not going to be carried by someone with Crown blood so I should just compromise? I innocently let myself be embraced by the butler Kant. But then Deshar Crown¡¯s face grew weird when he saw that I didn¡¯t run away. It¡¯s quite comfortable being held like this. Deshar Crown continued to stare at me, maybe because he thought it was weird that I stopped screaming at him. ¡°Baba!¡± Deshar Crown frowned. ¡°What did she just say?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not certain but her pronunciation sounds like she said ¡®papa¡¯¡­¡± My mouth dropped at the butler¡¯s words. ¡°Idiwet!¡± I said with all my strength. Idiot, you idiot! No matter how much of a baby I am right now, I can still speak at this level! I flailed my body all over the place but nobody looked at me. After I stopped, I heard a chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t know how father interpreted that but I heard an insult.¡± ¡°Yah!¡± Correct! How unexpected of you! You got it right! Papa, you say. Don¡¯t say something so horrifying ever again. I continued to raise my hand up and down. Sharendt Crown laughed as he looked my way, then turned his gaze to Deshar Crown. ¡°Do you remember its name, father?¡± Deshar Crown furrowed his eyebrows even more from Sharendt Crown¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t care if they were reminiscing about the past, I just yawned and leaned my head on the butler carrying me so comfortably. He then lifted me up a bit higher so I could lean my head on his shoulders even more snuggly. Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t know my name either. Nobody has ever called me by a name since I came here. I didn¡¯t really care about the name. ¡°Kant, do you remember?¡± ¡°From what I remember, it is young lady Celina.¡± I slowly closed my eyes. My eyelids felt heavy. Was it because I was surprised? All my thoughts disappeared because I was comfortably leaning my head. As my body became heavier and heavier, something fell out of my mouth. The pacifier I was sucking on had disappeared from my mouth. I opened my eyes to see it rolling on the ground. Ah¡­ no¡­ That was the last thing I remember. *** ¡°I didn¡¯t know Valian¡¯s child was growing up like this. It was previously just a ball of blood.¡± ¡°It has been 10 months, father. Caishan also grew up this quickly.¡± Deshar Crown nodded as he looked at Sharendt Crown talk. The two Crowns turned their gaze to the quiet Celina, who was previously making a fuss from their stares. Her pacifier had disappeared so she was sucking on her thumb instead while she peacefully slept. Deshar Crown stared at Celina for a long time. ¡°This little thing is quite smart. Seeing as she actually used her brain to not starve to death.¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s index finger pushed Celina¡¯s forehead. The baby mumbled and grumbled then turned its head again to comfortably lean on Kant¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Also what did you mean when you said this child was picking fruits from the garden?¡± ¡°Exactly what I said. It impudently dared to enter my garden and harvested the fruits from the flower I raised myself.¡± A long, pale finger reached towards the sleeping child¡¯s hand and turned it around. Using his thumb and index finger to grab hold of the child¡¯s hand, he then turned the baby¡¯s palm to face upwards. Unlike a regular baby¡¯s hands, Celina¡¯s palm was covered in injuries. Her hand had injuries that seemed to be made by rose thorns. Sharendt Crown looked at her hand and silently furrowed his eyebrows. He let go of the child¡¯s hand. The muscles on his beautiful hand that seemed fitted to holding crystal wine glasses, grew redder. ¡°I thought of killing her and covering it up as an accident¡­¡± ¡°Sharendt.¡± ¡°I only thought of it, I didn¡¯t take action, father. Please don¡¯t speak that coldly. I got goosebumps.¡± Sharendt Crown gazed down and spoke in a low voice. Down his beautiful jawline, he held a slight grin. ¡°Anyways, I planned on killing her but I was curious of what she would do. I found it quite commendable that she would run away from me to survive, so I let her be.¡± This man nonchalantly said such a horrifying thing. If he didn¡¯t talk, he¡¯d probably be able to seduce every man and woman. Sharendt Crown took his hand off the child and cleaned his hand with a handkerchief. ¡°She may be half-blooded but this is¡­¡± Sharendt Crown¡¯s eyes moved slowly. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be ignored by maids that lack common sense.¡± Sharendt Crown said with a smile. With a smile as bright as a flower, it may have looked like he was complimenting someone if you didn¡¯t know the reasoning behind it. However, the maids that received his gaze shivered. ¡°If rumors spread that the child died of starvation, then the Crown family¡¯s reputation would be ruined once again¡­¡± Sharendt Crown slowly turned his gaze toward Kant who was holding Celina. ¡°I believe that you¡¯ll take better care of this matter so that this troublesome thing doesn¡¯t happen again in the future, butler.¡± ¡°I will keep that in mind, Young Grace.¡± Kant slightly bowed while holding the child. Sharendt Crown lightly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be checking up on Caishan, father.¡± ¡°Yes, he must¡¯ve been surprised so console him well.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sharendt Crown answered with a smile and lightly walked out of the room. ¡°And Kant, as he mentioned, call a doctor to check up on the child¡¯s health and give a report. ¡°¡­A doctor?¡± Kant whose facial expression doesn¡¯t often change, furrowed his brows a little. Kant made a weird face and accidentally repeated what Deshar said. ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡± ¡°No, I will do as you ordered, Your Grace.¡± Deshar Crown nodded. He had finished speaking but he stayed standing there for a while. He stared at Celina¡¯s back for a long time as she continued sleeping, then Deshar Crown left the completely ruined room.