It's been six months since I reincarnated. I've finally started crawling—well, at least I'm trying to crawl my way out of this cradle. But the maids here are so vigilant, it'd be tough even for Houdini to escape.
I've also started picking up the local language. It was so easy it actually frightened me. Am I a genius or what?
My name in this life is Silas. Silas Elwood. My nickname is "Si".
Sounds like the name of a mid-boss villain who gets his ass handed to him by the protagonist.
Now that the frequency of breastfeeding has decreased, I can say goodbye to feeling mentally drained all the time.
My father, Calhoun Elwood, comes to see me often. He seems to be a good man. Maybe having two wives is very normal in this world. I'm not against polyamorous relationships; in fact, I respect anyone who can maintain relationships at all. I know—it's a low bar for earning my respect. But Calhoun treats both his wives with love and respect.
My mother, Silvia, and my stepmother, Charlotte, have been sticking to me like glue lately. They gush over the fact that I'm crawling.
"Oh my god, Silvie, he's smiling" said Charlotte.
"He's so cute isn't he" Silvia responded proudly.
Please, ladies, one at a time.
Apparently, they were childhood friends with Calhoun—at least as far as I can gather from their conversations. Surprisingly, all three of them are 19, which came as a shock to me. At that age in my past life, I was just floating through life without a clue about what to do. And yet here we have Calhoun, Silvia, and Charlotte already achieving so much. Calhoun is a Marquess in the western part of the country of Bryonia. Silvia and Charlotte manage the household finances and internal affairs. I've seen them talking to the maids and the head butler about various things. Calhoun is a lucky man to have these two as his wives.
"You should try a bit harder with Cal to have a baby too, Char" Silvia said gently.
"Yeah, seeing little Si makes me want to give him a baby brother or sister" Charlotte replied with a smile.
"You can use my nights with him if you want" Silvia added teasingly.
"Really? I love you, Silvie. You should join us sometime too" Charlotte said with a gleam in her eyes.
"Maybe" Silvia murmured with a coy smile.
What's this? Is it really appropriate to talk about this stuff in front of an infant, Mommy?
Sure, most babies wouldn't understand a word… but come on—I really don't want to hear about my parents' sex life.
A few weeks go by, and I've developed a new habit. Everyone's done it at some point in their life—anyone who says otherwise is lying. Right? It's not that big of a deal... okay, maybe it is.
It started out small—I've been doing it since I reincarnated—but over time, it turned into a full-blown habit. Honestly, it's not my fault. It gives me comfort.
The act itself feels more like a calming ritual than anything else.
That's right. I'm sucking my thumb.
My new habit gives me both anxiety and comfort.
What if it turns into a full-blown addiction?
What if I never stop sucking my thumb?
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little—but it feels like a big deal to me.
These days, the maids often take me out of my room. The one in charge of me is named Hilda—a cheerful girl from the countryside who's always talking about food and Silvia. She speak to me constantly and sings rustic songs as she worked. She's fun to be around, always bright and positive. I don't mind spending time with her at all.
Unfortunately, all I can say in response is "gagagoogoogaga."
As it turns out, my house is actually a mansion—your classic noble estate straight out of a fantasy show, complete with way too many plants surrounding it. One day, Hilda was carrying me through the halls when she stopped to point at a family portrait, telling me who my mama and papa were. It was cute seeing her explain it.
It was oddly heartwarming. She talked about them fondly—especially the ladies of the house—and mentioned how they always pay her well, enough to feed all her siblings. The way she spoke about them, with genuine admiration, lifted my spirits.
So I smiled at her.
And, of course, she melted right on the spot.
Hehe… I've got the makings of a lady-killer.
Seriously though, I sleep all the time. This is very inconvenient. In my past life, I was always awake to finish all my games. The next day, I'd get all sleepy at work and my supervisor would always get angry at me.
Now I have no entertainment in this world.
As I was thinking about it, Hilda stopped at a plant in the corner of the room.
"Oh yes, Master Calhoun has said to water the plants regularly," she said as she closed her eyes.
What's this? Is she going to use telekinesis to transport water here?
And suddenly, a ball of water appeared in her palm. She used it to water the plant.
Yes—it's as I guessed. There's magic in this world.
Yes, magic. Now things are getting interesting.
Excited, I tried copying Hilda—closing my eyes and willing the magic into existence.
Nothing happened.
Maybe I don't have enough MP to cast spells yet. If that's the case, I'll have to wait a few more years to actually use it.
Still, it gives me hope—hope that I'll be able to do something fun with it someday.
It was getting close to nighttime. Hilda was getting me ready for bed. When we passed a window, I saw a forest outside.
Seriously? We live in the boonies? Maybe it's going to be harder to live like this. I would've preferred living in a city. It would be easier to make money and offer much better luxuries. I lived a poor life in my past one, so I want to be as rich as I can in this new one, even if I get booted out from this family. After all, money is important.
After all those thoughts came to an end in my head, it was finally time for me to go to bed. Hilda handed me over to Silvia, who was lying in bed. Her hair smelled lovely—she must've taken a bath and conditioned her hair. And after that, I was subjected to excruciating torture by my own mother.
That is, I was once again getting breastfed.
What part of "nana" are you not getting, lady?
After the satanic ritual, she placed me in the cradle. It really is an exhausting life. I didn't ask for this, but somehow… I don't hate it.
Somehow, I think this new life is going to be fun.