Chapter 2

Part 2: I Became a Duke's Bastard (2)

Three days later.

Right after the other maids finished their shifts.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

In front of the pale-faced Kanna, I burst into tears again.

If it didn’t work the first time, I would keep doing it until it did.

Every time Kanna was on duty, I cried my heart out.

Of course, people's interest gradually waned over time, but they never left me alone at night.

And the looks directed at Kanna became increasingly strange.

“Doesn’t the young master and Kanna get along?”

“It only happens when Kanna is in charge.”

When Kanna wasn’t around, the other maids would gossip more often.

“Maybe Kanna is doing something wrong when she’s alone?”

Some maids even started to spread subtle rumors.

And after I burst into tears for the fourth time.

Kanna was eventually transferred to another place.

‘It was tough.’

I soothed my sore throat and bid Kanna farewell in my heart.

‘I hope you die somewhere far away.’

That day, a new message window appeared before my eyes.

Yes! Yes!

It popped up. This is a save point.

Indeed, dying doesn’t always send you back to the beginning.

When a death situation is resolved, a new save point is created at that moment.

Thank goodness. It was really fortunate.

If I had to go back to the beginning every time I died, I would have given up.

Starting over as a baby every time, there was no hell like that.

“Oh, the young master is smiling.”

“It’s not the strange smile from before.”

“Does he really dislike Kanna?”

The maids gossiped, but I didn’t care at all.

Now, a peaceful baby life was about to begin again.

But such premature thoughts were shattered before a day had passed.

“From today, a new maid, Louise, has been assigned here.”

The new maid who replaced Kanna glared at me, trying to avoid the others' eyes.

I might be mistaken, but she didn’t look like an ordinary maid.

Of course, things wouldn’t end just because Kanna was gone. If one weapon breaks, you just use a new one.

As long as the person behind the assassinations didn’t stop, the assassins would keep coming.

I closely watched the new maid.

However, the new maid didn’t show any unusual movements.

Her expression didn’t darken, and she didn’t take any unexpected actions.

And when she was on duty for the first time, she quietly sat in a chair and spent the night.

‘Was I mistaken?’

I sighed in relief.

Of course. Assassins wouldn’t always come in the form of a maid.

After a tense night, I could finally relax.

‘I need to be careful, but I can’t stay tense all the time. There are no assassins. If I keep this up, I won’t even grow tall.’

As time passed peacefully.

Four days later.

I was kissed on the pillow again. Of course, my nose was also blocked.

Damn.

I died again.

Already the second time.

The only fortunate thing was that I returned to a different point in time.

“Kanna has been reassigned as of today.”

I stared blankly at Kanna, who was saying goodbye.

The pain of death never became familiar. Even though I was a baby and should have found it hard to feel pain, and I just suffocated to death.

I didn’t want to experience the emptiness and futility of dying again.

But.

‘Damn, do you think I’ll give up?’

Once I died, I could at least figure out who the culprit was.

And once I knew the culprit, I could prevent the next death.

The next day, I glared back at Louise, who was secretly watching me.

“Oh, how cute. The young master is staring at Louise.”

Louise’s eyes widened, and the maids gossiped.

“It seems the young master likes Louise. Would you like to hold him?”

The head maid’s words made Louise approach the baby crib.

No! I object!

Seeing Louise pick me up, I had no choice but to use my ultimate weapon.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“What, what should we do?”

“Oh, he’s not used to it yet. Here, give him to me.”

After the head maid took me back, I stopped crying.

Time passed, but nothing changed.

Four days later.

Louise was alone on night duty again.

Nothing would change.

I burst into tears again.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The crying every four days.

In the end, the new maid had to leave as well.

After that, the maid was replaced again.

Strange rumors started to spread in the mansion.

“Did you know that all the reassigned maids quit?”

“It seems they all disappeared after quitting.”

“Disappeared?”

“Some families left their homes, and some children lost contact.”

“Could it be…?”

The gossiping maid whispered with a pale face, and another maid shook her head quickly.

“Surely they didn’t die? They must have left the territory for some reason.”

“But they all left from here…”

The gossiping maids glanced at me, who was lying in the bed.

All of them disappeared. Could it be that they were dealt with?

There are only a few people in this duke’s household who have such power…

All the people who came to mind were currently, and would remain, far beyond my reach as a mere bastard.

* * *

“Did you fail to even attempt it this time?”

“Yes. The baby cried again, and I was eventually chased out.”

“Already the third time…”

“It could be a coincidence, or the baby might have been startled by the amateurs’ killing intent.”

“Or there could be another reason. He might have awakened a new ability.”

“A lot of time is still needed for the awakening day.”

“Well, it’s just a hypothesis.”

“Should we continue?”

“No. Three times is too many. Rumors are already spreading. We’ll stop sending maids. Let’s try a different method next time.”

“Understood.”

“We need to let the baby experience the world for a few more months.”

The secret conversation ended.

With those words, a small laugh echoed in the beautiful room.

* * *

‘Liberation!’

After the third maid left, I finally had a peaceful night.

The maid who came after didn’t try to kill me.

A peaceful night. A clear throat.

I could finally eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom happily.

But I couldn’t keep this up forever.

I had no choice.

I needed to become a genius.

“Aaa, abab.”

“You’re already babbling.”

“Abab.”

“But isn’t it a bit too early to be babbling?”

“Uuuu. Abaaa.”

My throat was sore from crying so much. It hurt so much.

But I needed to learn to speak as soon as possible.

So I kept trying to babble.

“Ababab…”

* * *

Time passed, and I was finally weaned off breast milk.

Although my mother didn’t breastfeed me directly, there was a wet nurse, which was common in noble households.

‘Hmm, the taste of baby food isn’t great.’

The taste of the first baby food I tried wasn’t as good as I expected.

In my previous life, babies would gobble it up.

Maybe the food culture hasn’t developed enough in this era.

I might need to get into spice trading when I grow up.

I thought I would grow steadily while eating baby food.

But was it a dream?

From one day on, I started to sleep more.

I was sleepy.

The time I was awake decreased, and I started to feel heat in my face and body.

It hurt, but the drowsiness continued.

It was strange.

The maids forced me to eat, but I vomited the food and started to lose strength and suffer.

My shocked mother called the doctor and a priest, but neither the doctor’s healing magic nor the priest’s holy spells could cure my aching body.

“What’s wrong with the baby?”

“I’m sorry, but the diseases of young children are not yet fully understood…”

The doctor kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Although healing magic had developed, the doctor was clearly a quack with no concept of hygiene. Indeed, in the medieval era, the infant mortality rate must have been extremely high.

Time continued to pass, but he couldn’t even diagnose the illness, let alone treat it.

“Aaa, it hurts, ab.”

My mother stroked my face with a pained expression as I cried out in a moan.

“If only you could tell me where it hurts…”

Her words made me cry again.

“Ab, it hurts, it hurts.”

‘My stomach hurts! My intestines are twisted! Damn, the food is bad!’

Unlike the doctor, I knew why my body was aching. But my cries were just heard as a baby’s wails.

On the last night when I lost all my strength.

My mother, who had stayed by my side for days, whispered to me.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you.”

She knew my illness wasn’t natural.

“Why doesn’t the duke come to see you when you’re so sick?”

My mother shed tears as she looked at my groaning face.

I couldn’t answer her.

With her words, it was as if the power was turned off, and my breathing stopped.

I died again.

A moment later, I clenched my teeth.

‘Damn! I was too complacent!’

‘Genius my ass. I need to become an alien or something!’

I returned to the moment after the third maid was chased away and practiced speaking desperately.

It was too late. No more excuses.

I needed only two words.

And I finally managed to do it.

“A, here, this is baby food. Huh, huh, it won’t be hot. Come, mama.”

That day, when I was given my first baby food.

I bit the spoon of baby food the maid offered and spat it out.

Ptoo!

The baby food splattered everywhere. The maids were surprised.

“Is the baby food not suitable yet?”

Of course! It wasn’t just unsuitable.

It was time to show the effort I had put in.

I gathered strength in my stomach.

I positioned my mouth and tongue.

I took a deep breath.

And I shouted.

“Mama!”

The maids were all surprised.

“No way?”

“Did you just say that?”

“Did you call for the lady?”

“I’ll go get her!”

The surprised maids ran around, and one rushed to bring my mother.

A moment later, when my mother rushed into the room, I shouted again.

“Mama!”

My mother and the maids’ faces lit up, but I wasn’t done yet.

And ‘mama’ didn’t mean ‘mom’.

“It hurts!”

“Mama hurts!”

I pointed to the splattered baby food with my tiny fingers.

The cute baby pointing and babbling nonsense.

My mother, the maids, and the mansion’s staff were all taken aback.

The duke’s son’s first words were not ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ but ‘mama hurts’.

It was enough to start another strange rumor.

But fortunately, my mother didn’t take her son’s words lightly.

Her expression hardened as she grabbed the remaining baby food bowl and gave orders to the maids.

“The doctor… no, the alchemist! Bring him here!”

“Alchemist?”

“There’s one in the territory, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Did you not hear the baby’s words? Bring him immediately!”

The maids were surprised but my mother, the duke’s concubine Amandine, gave another order.

“Hurry!”

“Y-Yes! Yes!”

Although she was a commoner and still a concubine, her position as the duke’s woman was not to be underestimated.

The maids rushed out, and my mother held my hand tightly.

Ouch. Too tight. My blood isn’t flowing.

“A, it hurts.”

I had no choice but to use the first words I learned again.