My days in the new world called Nisia is going all well and dandy, a slow life can heal the wounds that stick to the heart, especially when there are a lot of people who care for me. 

         By the time I became two years old I could, piece a lot of information on my family, like my father who is a 'count' of the Arnheld region and his name is Thwain lerno Arnheld and my mother is his concubine who he loves dearly. Leena my mother also loves him and is a dutiful wife who supports and serves her husband faithfully.

        I also have a stepmother and a stepbrother who is younger than me by a year. I have not seen stepmother or stepbrother but I heard about them from the maid who is responsible for taking care of me, her name is Marice and she talks a lot of things to me about things like her job and her family and also about her love life and more importantly the stories and events in this world. She once told me a about about a rumour that talking to a baby can make the baby grow up to be a fine adult with great intellectual capabilities, so she wishes me to be like my mother when I grow up.

          There was this one event when I was born, it was during that time when a tragedy struck, even though I did not understand it, Marice was once rambling on about how my father could not be present to welcome me into this world because a Coalition of beasts on the west border had started an unprovoked attack against our Empire and that father, had stepped up to lead the military campaign to quell the attack.  

        This earned him a Meritious Award and a possible promotion in court rank, but he refused it, to return to meet his newborn daughter. The award ceremonies take about a month at the least to prepare, so my father came back to his territory. Since then we spend some quality time when both my parents are free from their duties.

           The customs of this world are quite different, the people view sex peculiarly from earth standards. 

        If both parties reach a consensus, where the party initiating the sex has to pay for something of an equal value and by the agreement, the party receiving has to follow the requests of the first party. What's more absurd is the requests could vary from casual sex to impregnation, if the case of pregnancy is confirmed then the party who initiated the sex will have the right to the unborn child willingly or unwillingly.

    It was a law that came to be after the population of humanity fell a great deal after the Great War for the planet where the humans were pitted against the Great Tribes for the domination of Nisia. As the population got low the law was passed on making sex ubiquitous as a measure to regain the glory of humanity.

      There are exceptions to this and when oathbound in marriage through the oath of 'chastity in marriage ' one could only have partners only with who they are married. Marice mentioned how father and mother are oathbound but stepmother is not. So I guess she can have sex with probably anyone. 

         That was the truth regarding the birth of my stepbrother, who is the son of some other noble and my stepmother got married to my father to make connections with his family. This might have been outrageous back on earth, with how much adultery the people in this world indulges in, but even then, as it is the norm of this world the people feel as if all of this is like another Tuesday. 

        From all the information I gathered through Marice's incoherent chats with me, most of the topics are just beyond me. The most baffling thing I encountered was that the nobles can have sex with other nobles as a means of socialising, it is fully supported as well but during meets like these impregnation is frowned upon as it is not considered in etiquette to make a Noble lady pregnant in official meetings in Noble society. 

        Most people in this world view pregnancy as a sort of sacred act that is blessed by the will of the world to ensure the longevity of the species so, it has to be done on an intimate occasion.  

      As far as religion goes there is only one religion that is publically propagated and everyone follows it. 

         [I guess I'll have plenty of time to adjust to the world ]

I sigh in my mind when thinking about how different this world is. 

           A few weeks later when Marice took me on to walk around the mansion. We encountered a woman with long black hair that went up to her waist, and an enchanting face with a lovely smile on her face, wearing an exquisitely made gown that covered her fair skin without showing much of her smooth supple skin. 

      When she turned her head to see me who is being held by Marice ,her smile widened. As she approaches us, Marice gently bows down her head and greets her. 

" Greetings to Mistress Ashlyn, hope you had a pleasant journey from hokewell"

"Marice I assume, the journey has been so- so and seeing this bundle of joy, she is indeed the daughter of Leena, she very much looks like her"

     Maurice becomes excited to know that the Lady knows her name. 

         The Lady then continues,  

" Well then, can I not hold my daughter for some time, to make up for the times I missed her"

[ Ooo, so it's my stepmother, she's not like I imagined her to be like. ]

   She took me in her arms and gives me a slight hug and little kisses on my cheeks. I could hear her sigh

" haaa , my whole family is male-dominated and my wish of having a little sister was never fulfilled but hey I got the cutest little thing that is my baby daughter, so don't worry mommy will take care of you.."