IPHW 03

“Not sleeping again, are you? You bad little thing.”

Hey, you’re a baby too.

“You’ve kicked off all your blankets. Haaah.”

“Waaah….”

“What, you’ve got complaints? I even came all the way here kindly to see you.”

The difference in age wasn’t that big, yet she acted like a grown-up. I didn’t like that. You’re a kid too, you know. From my perspective, everyone’s just a baby or a child anyway.

Through the bars of the crib, I could see the child’s face.

My eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness, but not enough to make out details clearly. The features were still blurry.

What a shame. I was missing out on some visual enjoyment.

“You didn’t say anything about the wolf you were with.”

How old are you, anyway? You speak quite well.

“I figured there’d be chaos if I did.”

Clever, too.

“Ah, not you—me. I’d get scolded for going somewhere dangerous.”

Looks docile, but seems like a troublemaker.

“That wolf… it had been shot in the leg with an arrow, right? I followed the blood trail.”

“Hng?”

“But when I saw it later, it was perfectly fine…”

“……”

“You, right?”

“Ueh?”

I know nothing.

“You said healing magic can only be used by high-ranking priests.”

Suddenly, the prince’s handsome face leaning on the crib became much clearer. He was cute and good-looking, but there was something vaguely sinister about him. Ha, haha… so this is what it means to be a prince. You’ve got quite the presence, kid.

“How did that happen? Hmm?”

“…Uwaaa….”

As expected, a baby’s strongest weapon is crying!

“Don’t pretend to cry.”

Ah, seriously, what do you want me to do?

I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry, so my expression must have looked strange even without seeing it. I hadn’t even seen a mirror yet, but this guy didn’t even blink at my cuteness. Cold-hearted…

“I’m sure you understand everything I’m saying, right? I heard from the duke you’re only three months old.”

Gasp.

“See? You understand. That makes you even more suspicious.”

“……”

“You are suspicious—but I’ll let it slide.”

The child smiled slightly. Thanks a lot…

“I picked you up, after all.”

‘Picked me up’? I’m a person!

“I was going to raise you myself, but it’s a shame your parents showed up.”

So you didn’t actually rescue me…?

Kids can’t raise kids! Leave it to the adults! You might be a prince with lots of money, but childcare requires more than that!

“Now that you’re safe, go back to sleep well.”

As if he had come just to say that, he reached out his short arm and tapped my head.

“Ow… ah…”

“I’ve been kidnapped quite a lot myself.”

It honestly hurt a bit because he couldn’t control his strength.

But his satisfied smile was so cute that my complaints melted away like snow.

‘So that’s all you came to say.’

You’re a baby too. Barely five years old, if even that.

‘For a kid, he’s surprisingly composed. And arrogant too.’

Is that what happens when you’re raised as a prince with intense education from an early age?

Kids should act like kids.

…No, wait. That would mean I have to act like a kid too.

Well, there are mature kids too. I lowered my standards. Fine, be as grown-up as you want, kid! The more you act like that, the more holes there’ll be in your blankets when you grow up! I know from experience!

“Oh, I brought something annoying with me.”

I can tell—this “annoying thing” is definitely a person.

“I should go. Sigh…”

The child sighed and looked tired.

Watching him walk away in small steps made me realize how young he really was. The distance made it obvious how small he actually was.

And I’m even smaller than him right now.

“Right.”

He stopped and turned back.

“My name is Raven. Remember it, got it?”

Right, like a three-month-old baby would remember that. I should probably not respond.

“Hey. Answer.”

“……”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll—”

“Baah! Baa!”

Ugh, my dignity…

A few months passed after that. About three months, I think.

“Hang in there, Lady Shana!”

I grunted and pushed with all my strength. All my strength!

I did it! I moved on my own! Even if it was just crawling like a caterpillar!

“Wow! Woooow!”

“Everyone, applause!”

“Waaah!”

Clap, clap, clap. A wave of applause poured down on me. At the same time, my body gave out and I collapsed flat on the floor.

“Haa… hu….”

“Lady Shana, are you tired? Here, here. Would you like some water? Or should I carry you?”

“Maria, let her rest like that.”

Their reactions were as if I had just won a gold medal. Even when I rolled over for the first time, they were like this…

Maria and Bailey looked like they were about to cry from emotion. Don’t cry… I just crawled a little…

“Sniff, sob, Lady Shana… you’ve grown so much already…”

I just crawled…

“You’re only six months old, but you already seem so mature!”

A mature baby crawling on the floor would be a disaster…

“And not only that, Maria. Our Lady Shana already understands what we say!”

“Exactly! Isn’t it amazing?”

“On the day she turned five months and a bit, she even said ‘Baaah!’ to the Duke!”

“Th-that’s incredible!”

These people are trying to kill me from embarrassment…

“And to the Duchess, just a week before that, she already said ‘Maaah!’ She’s a genius!”

“Exactly!”

I want to cover my ears.

Whenever I move, I unintentionally make sounds like “kkyu!” or “baah!”—nothing dignified—so I try not to make any sound at all.

“But she never speaks in front of us…”

“Maybe she doesn’t have friends her age…”

“That’s not something you should say. You know how carefully we were selected…”

“I know…”

“The Duke would never compromise on Lady Shana’s safety. No possibility of danger is allowed until she grows a bit more…”

“But doesn’t that make her lonely?”

“We’re here so she won’t be lonely.”

I’m not lonely. That’s the problem.

They were actually making things worse by trying to give me “friends” and surrounding me with other babies.

‘What kind of friends can you make when you can’t even communicate…’

With Bailey, Maria, and Ella constantly talking beside me, I wasn’t lonely at all—if anything, it was overwhelming.

They were caretakers assigned to me while my parents were busy. Bailey, in particular, was like a wet nurse who had given birth around the same time as my mother.

My mother was frail and didn’t have enough milk, so I often drank Bailey’s instead.

Feeding is sacred. I’m not embarrassed. Nope.

‘I hope she’s not sick…’

My previous mother had also been weak and often ill. Is it fate that the mothers around me are always frail?

‘If I could heal her like I healed that wolf…’

I wanted to use whatever “healing magic” that arrogant kid Raven had mentioned, but I hadn’t been able to do anything since then.

‘Realistically, how often is an injured person around a baby anyway?’

And I wasn’t just any baby—I was the kidnapped infant daughter of a duke, abandoned in a snowfield at three months old.

Right. A duke.

A real duke…

This was a fantasy world.

In the Bayard Empire, the largest territory on the continent of El Campara, I had been reborn in the Wentworth Ducal House.

My name was Shana Perry Wentworth.

A six-month-old infant… the very definition of a treasured noble daughter.

“Quickly, bring the Duke and Duchess! We must show them Lady Shana’s crawling!”

“Yes! I’ll go at once!”

Maria ran off quickly. It had already been three months of this life. I wasn’t going to die of embarrassment. I’ve grown stronger!

“Alright, Lady Shana! Shall we lie you down again?”

“Baaah!”

I may have grown stronger… but I still hate the crib!