Chapter 3

3

After spending a month in this wretched room, I gave up my futile rebellion and, after closely observing every move in the room, I realized a few things.

First, the maid changes every week.

It seemed as if they were passing the responsibility of taking care of me to each other, like a bathroom duty roster.

Second, most of the maids don't pay much attention to me.

They don't seem to like me much. It's also hard to eavesdrop because there's usually only one maid who comes in and there's no chattering.

Third, for some reason, I can only think clearly when I have that old, dirty pacifier in my mouth.

If I don't have it, I keep falling asleep. I realized this after three attempts.

Fourth, although the maids' personalities are mostly different, they usually don't come in for four to five hours after bringing me a meal.

Fifth, I have no idea who I am.

I'm pretty sure I'm about ten months old. And while I'm not of low birth, I'm certainly not welcome either.

Sometimes I hear stories about "half-breeds" or "young lords," so I seem to be related to some young lord.

Sixth, this place is likely the Clowen House of the Heiren Empire.

With about a 97.8% probability.

Seventh, putting all this together, I am a baby related to the young lord, Sharent Clowen.

Since they call me a "half-breed," I don't seem to be Sharent's legitimate child. At best, I'm probably an illegitimate child.

Eighth, no, I can't be the child of that cold-blooded bastard, Sharent Clowen, right? No way. Rather, I hope I'm the illegitimate child of the head of the house, Cesar Clowen. A late-born child.

Ninth, in conclusion, I don't like Sharent Clowen.

Tenth, if by any chance it's not Sharent Clowen but Cesar Clowen who is my father, then Sharent Clowen and I are... siblings? No, let's stop this.

And now, I have decided to solemnly finish this observation diary.

Thinking any further will only lead to terrifying imaginings.

Anyway, my current treatment is absolutely terrible, and my top priority is to get out of this house.

After that, I need to find an orphanage that won't bind me.

To do that, I need to be able to use magic.

I've lost most of my magic power and now only have a trace amount that my body generates on its own.

But with this, I can only manage minor levitation spells.

Actually, finding someone to take care of me would be faster, but finding new parents would be troublesome.

An orphanage is just right for me.

It won't leave me with any lingering ties or weaknesses.

Family is nothing but a weakness.

Damn.

I don't want to live with the secrets of my birth in such a messed-up family.

Through a month of experience, I realized that I am being ignored.

They bathe me, but they don't do a good job, and they dry me with a wet towel.

They give me meals without any company.

Sometimes they only give me one meal a day. Fortunately, as a baby who can only lie down, it's bearable.

However, I'm not used to such treatment, probably because I've been treated well recently.

So, from today, I need to start exploring.

The Clowen House of the Heiren Empire is known for its silver eyes.

Thanks to this, it wasn't difficult to deduce that I'm in the Heiren Empire and that I have silver eyes.

There are many legends in the Heiren Empire, one of which is about a family with mysterious silver eyes.

One day, a beautiful silver-eyed celestial being from the sky fell in love with a human.

After the beautiful woman with silver scales and the human shared their love, they had a child.

Surprisingly, the child was born with silver eyes, which were not supposed to exist in the human world.

After that, the descendants of the celestial being, whose blood was strong, were born with silver eyes.

One of these descendants made great contributions to the founding of the Heiren Empire.

The first emperor, deeply impressed by his loyalty, treated him as a close friend and granted him the name Clowen, a title, and various privileges.

The celestial beings may or may not exist now, but thanks to this, it was easy to figure out my identity.

The Clowen House often clashed with the Silphia and had frequent skirmishes with me.

They were a family that no one could defeat with swords, and they often won against mages even while using swords.

Anyway, many of the empire's military secrets are said to pass through the Clowen House's basement, so I might be able to steal a few.

It would be perfect if I could steal confidential documents before escaping.

"Stop crying and just play quietly and go to sleep."

"Ah-buung~"

The fourth maid tapped the pacifier in my mouth with her finger and turned around.

The black pacifier looks like it will give me a stomachache.

She clearly doesn't know how fragile a baby is.

'I need to clean it.'

I can't keep sucking on such a dirty and filthy thing.

But if I don't, I can't think.

I waved my hand to get her to leave and used magic familiarly.

Gripping my fists tightly and tensing my legs and body, I groaned, "Ugh!" and...

My body floated up.

It's an awkward position, but this is the most efficient way to use magic.

It's a bit embarrassing.

I blushed as I flailed my hands toward the approaching floor.

I know it's embarrassing.

I tried to calm myself, but my cheeks turned red from embarrassment.

I crawled on all fours, trying to act like it was no big deal. Of course, I can stand a little, but my posture is very unstable.

In many ways, it's easier to crawl as a baby.

Thanks to the door not being properly closed, I could crawl out through the gap.

Finally!

The fresh air outside after a month brightened my expression.

There's even a long red carpet outside, so my knees don't hurt.

I moved my legs vigorously to look around.

It seems to be the second floor, so I carefully found the stairs to the first floor and went down without being noticed.

I looked back, took one step down, wiggled my bottom, put my feet down first, and then went down the next step.

'Being small is inconvenient.'

Still, I need to know the house's layout to gather information.

I can imagine the Clowen House's bewildered look when I steal their information.

Squish.

Sucking on the pacifier in my mouth, I successfully made it down the arched stairs.

Standing on all fours on the floor, I moved my gaze left and right.

'Should I hide behind the pillar?'

Unlike the narrow room with marble, the outside has carpets everywhere, making it comfortable.

Because of this, my speed is twice as fast.

'It feels like I'm using a speed enhancement spell.'

I moved my arms and legs vigorously and hid behind the pillar.

'That's the exit.'

I'll go out that way and take a look around.

The pacifier really sticks to my mouth.

It seems to give me some mental comfort. I never thought I'd find comfort in a pacifier at this age...

'It's a bit hard.'

It would be much cleaner and better if I added a few ingredients to slime liquid to make it.

One of the properties of slime is self-purification, making it much easier to manage.

'I'll try to develop it later.'

While thinking, I suddenly lifted my head.

By the time I develop it, I'll probably be an adult or won't need a pacifier anymore. Am I getting tired? Maybe I'm a bit crazy.

I sighed deeply, looking at my tiny arms and legs.

Puff, puff, because I had the pacifier in my mouth, I drooled a lot.

'Let's go.'

The path to the exit became quiet.

I looked around and moved my arms and legs vigorously again.

The path to the exit was made of marble, so it was a bit painful.

'Finally... the fresh air.'

I almost shed a tear.

The maids never ventilate the room. I'm only this healthy because I use my magic to purify my body.

'Not sure if it's really purifying, though.'

Anyway, I need to do something about this dirty, smelly pacifier.