About a year has passed since my birth.

I, Mercedes Lodengrimm, am finally able to walk and talk, with some difficulties applied.

"Young Miss! Where are you?"

"Ober here, Savrina!"

Waving my hand to my maid, Sabrina, she runs towards me and sees the mess that I'm in.

"Young Miss, you're playing in the dirt again!? I've told you many times not to do that, didn't I?"

Yeeeeaah... you see Sabrina, when you tell a child not to do something, they'll do it. And I'm a child right now, so I'm gonna act like one!

"Sowwwy~. Here, I vound dis!"

"Hm, what is it?"

Placing the thing I'd found onto to her stuck out hand, Sabrina jumps and panics in fear.

"Kyaaaa! B-b-bugs!?"

As I watch her jumping around with a big grin on my face, Sabrina trips on her own foot and falls. Revealing her butt out to me.

So it's purple today, huh? Nice. Oh wait, I should check if she's okay.

"Are yu alwight, Savrina?"

In response to my question, Sabrina pulls my cheeks and stares at me with a pout on her face.

"Apologise, Young Miss."

"S-sowwy..."

Standing up and swiping the dirt off her maid outfit, Sabrina picks me up and carries me into the house, heading straight for the bath in order to clean the bigger dirt off me.

Sabrina Nel. Age twenty-two. She comes from the Nel household, a Baron family living in the countryside of this kingdom, who has sent her to work for our ducal family. A pretty common thing for lower ranked nobles to do apparently.

She has light brown hair at medium length, and dark brown eyes. Possessing an average build for women to have, with an average height and average look.

Basically, she's average. However, she is kind and caring not only to me, but to others as well. Even if I teased her like earlier, she would still forgive me after pulling my cheeks, or just a flick to my forehead. And because I do not want to make her hate me, I would just stop afterwards and apologise like I'm supposed to.

Personality over appearance, baby. That's who Sabrina is!

While Sabrina is carrying me to the bath, my father appears from the right of the corridor and nearly bumps into us.

"Ah, good afternoon, Your Grace."

"Good afternoon, Sabrina."

"Gwood aftanoon, daddy!"

"Gwood afternoon to you too, my sweet baby girl~! Wait. why are you covered in dirt?"

"The Young Miss was playing in the dirt again. I'm about to clean her in the bath."

"Is that so. Then, I'll do it."

"Eh?"

Taking me from Sabrina's arms, my father pats my head as I look at him.

"Come come, sweetie~. Papa's gonna bathe with you, okay? Okay."

Seriously!? Well, not that I mind... I am only a toddler after all.

With Sabrina dismissing herself, it is now my father who will be bathing me.

Dammit, daddy! I know you're good looking and all, but I wanted to bathe with Sabrina instead! Not that I can say that now...

Entering the changing room, he puts me down and undresses himself first.

Holy mama! I knew he has muscles hiding beneath the clothes, but to think that they are that defined! Just how much do you have to train to get them eight pecs, yo? They're insane!

Shit, calm down, me. I might get a nosebleed at this rate.

Putting his clothes aside, he then takes off mine and tosses all of them into the laundry basket. Carrying me in his arms afterwards and enters the bath, a meaningless huge space with only a large pool of hot water where an angel statue is spraying out more, and a scrubbing area next to the said pool.

Sitting on one of the stools, my father begins to wash my body with a bucket of water and soap, while I just sit there and do nothing.

Oh, and by the way, I also know what I look like now.

Most of my genetic traits were inherited from my mother. Namely the dark skin, her black hair, and purple eyes. Just purple though, for I do not have heterochromia.

On the other hand, it seems like the shape of my eyes and other facial features, were mostly inherited from my father.

In conclusion, I am cute- Ah!

"Daddy... soap in mah eyes."

"Oops, sorry. Let me wash that off."

After washing my body, my father washes his too, as we enter the bath water together.

My father begins patting my head. Which I do not mind, it feels good, you know. But because of that, and the warmth of the bath water, my body begins to relax itself completely whereas my mind dozes off.

???

Oh? It seems like Mercedes fell asleep. Well, She is still growing after all.

"But still, to think that a year has passed already, huh..."

On that day, my son, Frederick, and I were devastated when we heard from the doctor that Mercedes has died right after her birth. Causing my wife, Evelyn, to cry for hours end.

Although I didn't show it, I was shaken by that fact like everyone else. And because of that, I couldn't console my wife and had Frederick do it instead.

However, when Sabrina came to me and my family with a shocking news, we couldn't believe it until we saw it with our very own eyes.

"My daughter is alive. That's impossible!" I thought. But that was the reality nonetheless, which I'm glad it happened really.

"It must a miracle from the Gods." Evelyn said. Which I wholeheartedly believed she was right, even now.

There were no other ways to explain otherwise, as even magic could not revive someone from the dead. Only a miracle from the Gods can perform such a deed. Miracles which had happened before around the world.

And that is why when I held Mercedes in my arms for the first time, I made a vow, like I did when Frederick was born, that I'd make sure to protect her and keep her happy, until the day when she is grown up and is able to become independent of herself.

After relaxing in the hot water for some more time, I decided that it's enough and carry Mercedes with me, out of the bath. Drying her and my body, before putting on our clothes which was folded nicely in the corner by a servant. Carrying Mercedes back into her room and lays her on the bed, giving her forehead a kiss, tucking her in and then exiting the room with the door closed behind me.

Walking down the hallway, I could hear the sound of the doors to the main entrance opening.

It seems like Evelyn and Frederick are back.

Heading to where they are, I look down to see them back with many items.

"Welcome back, both of you."

"I'm home, darling~!" "We're back, father."

Evelyn jumps at me, giving me a hug whereas I look at the stuffs they've bought.

"You'd sure got a lot of things, huh?"

"Of course, dear! Because tomorrow is a very special day. We bought a ton of things, in order to make it big for our daughter!"

Yes, that's right. Tomorrow is Mercedes's first birthday. And although there are only us and the household servants involved, we are still going to make tomorrow the most memorable day for her. So memorable, that she would not forget about it, even after she grows up.

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