That was how I became one hell of a noisy little baby. I wouldn’t cry, of course. Once I was able to speak, there was no need to cry, after all. Even when I could only make baby noises, I was able to communicate what I wanted with the tone of my voice, so much so that people often had fun with how talkative I was.
But then those noises became words. And those words became strings of words. I still hadn’t memorized a lot of verbs and adjectives, but I knew enough to convey what I wanted. When I did, whoever was around would respond enthusiastically, and that only increased my vocabulary further. They kept reading books to me too, so I was gaining all kinds of knowledge.
The speed at which babies could learn things was insane.
My recent experiments with using my mana had resulted in me discovering I could move magic tools, so I spent my time moving each of the magic tool toys dangling above my head, expelling my mana, and naturally, feeding my spirits.
The red and blue balls of light would joyfully dance to the tune of my toys while I strung words together, kicked at the crib, and waved my hands about. Think about how that must have looked—it was basically a scene from a horror movie. Anyone would have thought I was possessed by some demon. Even I did.
But because I was the daughter of a noble family, there was always someone by my side, and that meant that I at least wasn’t just staring at the ceiling talking to nobody. I would talk to my maids while being as expressive as possible, excitedly swinging my arms and legs around. I made sure to listen to what the maids were saying and respond properly so that no one would end up thinking I had gone absolutely insane.
I’d always been a lively child, and I was quick to learn how to roll over, so I was allowed out of the crib quite early as well.
It made me happy—my world had expanded just a little bit more. They’d already started carrying me out to the garden as well, so being allowed on the floor meant I was more than ready for the next level. I managed to start crawling within the day, and I was zooming. Freedom of movement was amazing!
The room was big, which only made me more excited to move around. Whenever my knees ended up all grazed from the carpet, I had my spirits heal them up for me and back off I went. I was on top of the world. I’d gotten so bored of doing nothing but sleeping up until then.
Thanks to all that crib kicking I’d been doing, my muscles had developed well for my age, so everything after came quickly. On my third day of crawling, I went straight on to trying to stand up with support—and aced it the first time. After that, I was able to stand, sit, roll around—I kept moving any way I could in order to strengthen my muscles further, and then at just six months old, I was already walking.
That first night I was able to walk, I cried. I was just so happy.
✦ ✦ ✦
Thanks to all my efforts, by the time I was a year old, I was able to hold a proper conversation—though I had a bit of a lisp, and my grammar wasn’t the best—and so long as someone held my hand, I was able to walk around the manor on my own two feet.
I was growing way too fast, wasn’t I? I must have seemed completely unnatural. But I just couldn’t hold back!
It turned out I’d made things worse for myself by doing that.
“She’s only a year old and yet she can already talk. The young lady might be a genius!”
“My dear little angel isn’t just adorable. She’s got talent too!”
“There’s not a single person in the world who could walk so steadily at this age.”
“Mm-hmm, not even Chris or Alan started walking this young.”
“She already has two spirits of different elements contracted to her as well. Lady Deirdre is a special little lady indeed.”
“Perhaps I should tell Her Imperial Majesty about all this at the next tea party.”
“The first prince is six this year, just as Chris is, while the second prince is two, yes?”
Oh crap. Was our family high enough in rank to be considered for marriage by the ruling family? Nuh-uh, no way could I marry into power like that.
It was always the women who were the face of the ruling family at social functions. I’d be expected to learn the proper rules and etiquette. Tea parties and soirees weren’t simply for leisure. Even modern Japan saw politicians meeting up at fancy Japanese restaurants—those were gatherings where history could be changed.
No way. I didn’t want to be in a position to change history. I’d definitely say something I shouldn’t.
Bearing the nervousness of standing in front of a large audience while wearing a suffocating dress, and on top of that having to speak tactfully and figure out the real intentions of everyone present at the same time? That would practically be torture! I had to think of a way out of this.