IPHW 08

“Cute little daughter of ours. Were you curious about magic?”

“Yeah! Yeah!! Are you going to show me?”

“Well, it can’t be helped…”

Mother let out a small sigh. That sigh was practically a sign that she was giving in to me. I, who had been clinging to my father’s neck, stretched my arms toward her without caring that my body tilted.

Because of my big head, even just stretching my arms made my body tip easily toward her. Normally, Mother would have hurriedly caught me with her arms—but this time, she didn’t move at all.

Uh-oh. If this keeps up, I’m going to fall!

A wind rose from below and pushed my body upward. Ah, ah, ah…

“Waaah!”

I’m floating!

Am I crazy?!

I’m really floating!

But rather than feeling like my body was floating, it felt more like the wind itself was supporting me.

Either way, who cares. I’m flying. I’ve achieved humanity’s dream! My spine tingled and my eyes snapped wide open. This is insane. So fun. Roller coasters or pirate ships couldn’t even compare.

I flailed my arms and legs like I was swimming in midair. No matter how much I struggled, my body wouldn’t move freely—it only shifted according to Mother’s fingers. Then she pulled me into her arms and sighed.

“You’re fearless. Look how excited you are.”

“She takes after you.”

Father said, trying to hold back laughter. Mother glared at him.

“It’s not just because of me. You’re not exactly normal either.”

“What do you mean? I’m just an ordinary man.”

“And how do you explain the fact that you were top of the knight training corps in school?”

“That was a long time ago.”

“And who still visits the knight order occasionally?”

“Are you spying on me?”

“You’re the one who said it.”

“Don’t treat me like a stalker…”

Father only shrugged, but no matter how cool he tried to act, it didn’t work.

Are they really living proper public lives outside?

“Soon we should introduce Shana to the outside world.”

“She’s only three years old.”

“But our Shana is smart.”

Father said this as if stating something as obvious as the sun rising in the east.

I felt a little embarrassed listening.

‘It’s just because I’m a reincarnator… I’m not really smart in a genius sense…’

My memory was good, but that probably wasn’t the standard my parents were referring to.

My vocabulary and sentence construction were likely beyond what a normal three-year-old could manage.

I tried to act like a child, but I wasn’t very thorough about it.

If a reincarnated adult truly acted like a baby, that would be more of a problem.

“We can’t keep Shana locked up forever. You know that. We’ve already received thousands of letters from your family.”

“…That’s true.”

“I understand you suspect your parents because of that incident…”

“I don’t suspect my parents. It’s just that we don’t know what might be hidden there. So I don’t want to go to the estate.”

“So you do suspect them, don’t you?”

“It’s different. I believe in their innocence.”

“What about your relatives? Your siblings?”

“….”

I blinked. Mother’s green eyes flashed coldly. Who would believe a claim of innocence after seeing those eyes?

Ah, right. The one who tried to abduct me was my mother’s former nanny…

I heard the culprit disappeared afterward. But that was just what I was told—no one knows what really happened. Somehow it doesn’t feel like they would have just left it alone…

“We can’t keep Shana locked inside the manor forever.”

“I don’t want outsiders approaching her.”

“So you plan to keep Shana locked away for life?”

“….”

“She needs friends her own age.”

“….”

“Besides, His Highness the Prince keeps saying he wants to meet her.”

Ah, that blond kid. What was his name again? Raven?

“His Highness is our benefactor.”

“I know. We can allow his visits now. Shana is old enough, and the barriers are strong enough.”

“…Even so, you still suspect them. The Prince will be pleased, though.”

Over the past two years, I wondered how Raven had grown. I listened closely with sparkling eyes, holding my breath. Mother noticed and sighed helplessly.

“Look at Shana. She’s understanding everything we say and reacting so brightly.”

“Whose daughter is she?”

“Mine.”

“She’s my daughter too.”

“You two had her together, yet you still argue over that…”

“Shana, let’s go to the garden. I’ll show you lots of interesting things!”

“Anais, let’s go to the training ground.”

“I won’t show her anything dangerous.”

“If we’re doing it, we should do it properly.”

“Alright then.”

Mother lifted me and kissed my cheek. Father kissed my other cheek. Then the two of them lightly kissed each other above my head.

What a loving couple…

‘We’ll probably have a sibling soon.’

I blinked and smiled.

“Shana wants a little sister.”

“….”

“….”

I miss Mina.

“Shield.”

As Mother extended her hand toward Father, who was holding me, a transparent barrier formed in front of my eyes.

This is insane…

It looked like movie special effects. Magic is incredible. So cool.

I reached out toward the shimmering barrier, but my short arms couldn’t reach it.

As a test, I threw some healing clay through it—and it passed right through without being blocked. So it only blocks harmful things?

Did they really want to protect me this much?

I watched Mother quietly as she cast layers of protective spells in a language I couldn’t understand. Even though she was the one showing off magic, she seemed strangely anxious.

“Anais, don’t overdo it. You’ll run out of strength before you even show everything.”

“Don’t underestimate me. This much is nothing.”

“I know how capable you are.”

“Then just sit there and watch.”

Mother said sharply.

The more I saw her, the more unexpected she felt…

With such a slender body and beautiful face, she was stronger than anyone here. It was so impressive I might fall in love all over again.

“Your Grace, I will join you.”

“Lord Lloyd.”

“Good day, Lady Shana. You are as lovely as always.”

A large man with a friendly face approached. I recognized him—at first I thought he was just a manor guard.

Apparently, his main job was protecting the estate, so calling him a “guard uncle” wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Go over there.”

“I would also like to enter the barrier. What if debris flies and I get hurt?”

“You’re wasting your build. Are you afraid of something like that?”

“Even big bodies feel pain.”

Lloyd said confidently. True enough—no one is immune to pain just because they’re big and strong.

“Then move back.”

“No. I won’t be able to see.”

“You’re quite the complainer. Why ask if you won’t listen at all?”

“I’m reporting to you since you are my lord.”

“Tch. Shana, don’t look at people like that. Just look at your mom and dad.”

“‘People like that’… that’s harsh. You know how much I care for Lady Shana…”

“Go see your own children.”

“They’re already grown…”

“I’ve heard they’re only a couple years older?”

“Boys grow fast.”

Lloyd laughed loudly. Father frowned and covered his ears, as if he couldn’t stand the noise. On impulse, I copied him and covered my ears too.

Father smirked.

“See? Even Shana doesn’t want to hear your laugh.”

“I don’t wanna!”

“…Lord Shana…”

The big bear of a man looked like he might cry as he covered his mouth.

“Lady Shana, you wound me… this loyal subject’s feelings…”

“You’re not her knight.”

“Well, true. But I’ll raise my twins well and make them her knights. They’ve been waiting to meet her.”

“You should ask Shana first.”

“They’ll be useful. I guarantee it.”

“If Shana doesn’t need them, then she doesn’t need them.”

I watched their playful argument and quietly smiled. Lloyd grinned.

“Of course, it all depends on Lady Shana. No pressure. If they’re useless, just discard them.”

“What a cruel father.”

“I’m confident in them.”

“You’re not doing your actual job…”

“My job is guarding the manor and Your Grace, so I’m doing it now.”

“Tch, smooth talker.”

Even while clicking his tongue, Father didn’t actually chase him away. He just tightened his hold on me.

“I’ll invite your twins to Shana’s birthday this time. Bring them.”

“Really?!”

“We can’t keep Shana hidden forever.”

“That’s a difficult decision.”

“I don’t want to expose our precious Shana to the harsh world…”

“…I understand…”

“If anyone has eyes, they’ll see how pretty, smart, and adorable she is. Then they’ll surely want her…”

“We can’t allow that.”

Their conversation was starting to head in a strange direction.

Before Father could say anything more absurd to Lloyd, I tapped his arm loudly.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look at Mommy!”

“I am watching, Shana.”

“…don’t look at me….”

“I am watching you.”

“Uncle Lloyd too… look forward…”

“I am looking forward, Lady Shana.”

Only don’t look at me… just look forward…