Being Loved for the First Time Chapter 10

“Even I haven’t kissed our Anastasia’s hand before! And you…!”

 

My brother stared at Mikhail with a terribly aggrieved expression.

 

“…You never told me.”

 

“Even if I didn’t! You shouldn’t just go around touching someone else’s little sister like that.”

 

“But you’re the one who told me to be polite, Damian….”

 

Mikhail looked back at my brother with an aggrieved expression of his own.

 

For me, watching from the sidelines, it was simply fascinating.

 

‘To think my brother could act so childishly….’

 

Under ordinary circumstances, he was someone who never even raised his voice, let alone became so flustered.

 

Sometimes I thought words like ‘calm’ and ‘mature’ had been invented specifically for him.

 

In the face of such a rare sight, a first kiss on the back of my hand was nothing important.

 

Besides, I was still a baby.

 

‘Things that happen when you’re a baby don’t count, anyway.’

 

Most people couldn’t even remember them.

 

Mikhail was still young, too—he was six, a year younger than my brother. Apparently his birthday was in February—so there was a chance he’d have forgotten all about it in ten years.

 

In any case, the bickering between Mikhail and my brother didn’t last long.

 

Both of them were unusually mature for their ages.

 

‘The only one who really acts her age is my sister.’

 

Frankly, I was relieved that they weren’t particularly childlike.

 

Because the least childlike person here was me.

 

Only after receiving a firm warning from my brother that physical contact was forbidden was Mikhail allowed to approach me again.

 

He bent down halfway and met my eyes.

 

“How fascinating. You’re so small.”

 

Mikhail murmured as though he were examining some newly discovered life-form.

 

“Our youngest isn’t something you can touch carelessly.”

 

“I told you I won’t.”

 

Mikhail gave my brother a weary look and turned back toward me.

 

“Really small.”

 

I know perfectly well I’m small, so could you stop saying it?

 

He rested his chin on both hands as he looked at me.

 

His violet eyes were filled with curiosity about me.

 

So I stared right back at Mikhail.

 

After all, there was something I wanted to find out.

 

But….

 

‘I can’t tell. Well, I’ve accumulated nearly two thousand years of memories. It’s harder to recall things now.’

 

If someone had left such a strong impression, I probably would have remembered who he was the moment I felt that sense of ‘longing.’

 

I decided to leave it alone for now.

 

Important things had generally come back to me when the time was right.

 

Mikhail kept watching me as though observing something, so I finally grew tired and turned my head away first.

 

“Wow, you can move your head, too?”

 

Of course I can. Do I look like a doll or a statue to you?

 

“Baby, can you stand up? Can you move your hands? Look over here.”

 

He continued showering me with questions.

 

Crawling a little closer toward me, he focused on my hands and marveled again.

 

“How can you be this tiny? It’s like someone stuck little marshmallows onto you.”

 

Mikhail looked as though he desperately wanted to touch my hands and cheeks, and finally asked my brother again.

 

“Can’t I touch the princess just once?”

 

“No.”

 

“But she looks so soft.”

 

“Our Anastasia isn’t modeling clay for you to play with.”

 

“I didn’t say she was. It’s just amazing that something this small can move around. And she doesn’t even cry.”

 

My brother sighed at Mikhail’s words.

 

“Mother is worried about that. Our Anastasia is so gentle that she almost never cries.”

 

“Is that something to worry about?”

 

“Of course it is!”

 

Despite my brother’s response, Mikhail only looked puzzled.

 

I agreed with his confusion. Then again, neither of us really knew much about babies.

 

Unconcerned by my brother’s words, Mikhail looked at me with fascination and spoke.

 

“Still, apart from that, she seems like an ordinary baby. Small, and really small….”

 

“What?”

 

My brother shot Mikhail another incredulous look.

 

“Why?”

 

Exactly. Why was my brother acting like that?

 

I gave him the same questioning look as Mikhail.

 

Then my brother frowned and spoke seriously.

 

“How could our Anastasia possibly be an ordinary baby?”

 

“Then what? Is not crying some kind of disease or—mmph!”

 

“Watch your mouth, Mikhail. Of course it isn’t!”

 

My brother glared at Mikhail, then declared proudly,

 

“Our Anastasia isn’t ordinary. She’s an extraordinarily cute, lovable, angel-like baby.”

 

“….”

 

Both Mikhail and I fell silent.

 

Sorry, Brother.

 

Even I can’t take your side this time.

 

***

 

Mikhail was none other than the sole heir of the Leventis Grand Ducal House.

 

Unlike my brother, who was expected to inherit the family but hadn’t yet been formally confirmed, Mikhail was actually addressed as the ‘young grand duke.’

 

He was my brother’s childhood friend, and apparently already displayed exceptional talent with the sword, despite his young age.

 

Wasn’t it amazing? I’d barely met him, and yet I already knew this much about him.

 

‘Why is it that I keep learning this sort of information first?!’

 

When I still knew so little about my own household.

 

The maids, who never gossiped about the ducal residence, had occasionally talked about Mikhail, and that was how I’d learned these things.

 

That was how often Mikhail visited the mansion.

 

Especially….

 

“Baby, I’m here. Have you been having fun?”

 

My room.

 

His hair was a little damp, as though he’d washed up after practicing swordsmanship.

 

His usually neat hair lay flatter than before, lending him a curious air.

 

‘Even his demeanor really isn’t that of a six-year-old.’

 

In quite a different way from my brother.

 

Mikhail Leventis had no parents.

 

His only family was his grandfather, the current Grand Duke Leventis.

 

And the Grand Duke was terribly busy.

 

For that reason, though I hadn’t known it until recently, Mikhail apparently spent roughly half of each month practically living in our house.

 

‘Under the pretext of studying together with my brother.’

 

But these days, rather than half the month, he seemed to visit the ducal residence for twenty days or so.

 

“Baby, if I give you this, will you smile for me today?”

 

And whenever his lessons ended, he came bustling into my room, presenting all sorts of things.

 

‘Another jewel.’

 

All kinds of jewels, weapons, sometimes flowers, as well as toys, lace, and silk.

 

The flood of gifts had begun with a question Mikhail had casually tossed out.

 

“Why doesn’t the baby smile?”

 

“Oh my, Young Grand Duke. Not just anyone gets to see our young lady’s smile.”

 

“That’s right! You’ll have to become very close to her before you can catch even a glimpse!”

 

The maids who’d witnessed my smile a couple of months earlier had answered triumphantly.

 

Although I’d waved the white flag, I was still a baby whose smiles were rare.

 

It was simply because I wasn’t accustomed to expressing my emotions.

 

In any case, from that day onward, Mikhail had begun bringing me whatever he personally thought was nice.

 

For some reason, my brother and sister also seemed eager to boast to Mikhail.

 

“Lara sees Shasha smile lots! Right, Shasha?”

 

“Anastasia really only smiles for her big brother.”

 

Mikhail had looked a little sulky at that.

 

But he never got angry with me or pressed me to smile right away.

 

‘He’s so unlike a child…. No, even adults rarely show that much patience.’

 

People tended to make their own expectations and then grow angry when those expectations weren’t met.

 

But Mikhail, whether out of stubbornness or because he thought it was natural, quietly kept bringing me presents.

 

Right up until today.

 

‘It’s strange, but….’

 

Did he have more money than he knew what to do with?

 

Well, of course he did…. His family was a grand ducal house, after all.

 

No, but even so.

 

I sighed softly at the ruby the size of my palm.

 

‘Who brings a present like this to a baby?’

 

Naturally, I had no intention of accepting it.

 

“A tiny little thing like you even knows how to sigh?”

 

A month had already passed since I’d met Mikhail, and he still looked at me as though I were some fascinating creature.

 

Besides, his descriptions of how ‘small’ I was seemed to be growing more emphatic every day.

 

Yes, keep saying I’m small, and I’ll want to smile for you even less!

 

‘It already feels as though I’m growing more slowly than I should. Is it because of him?’

 

He did possess magical power, after all.

 

Of course, I knew better than anyone that it was an unfair accusation.

 

Even though Mikhail had magical power, he didn’t know how to use a single spell.

 

‘What a waste. With that much talent, he could be rather useful later.’

 

All sorts of things would happen even before the apocalypse arrived.

 

Well, it wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with yet, when I was barely over eight months old.

 

If necessary, I could gently awaken his magical power once I grew a little bigger.

 

‘What matters to me right now is standing up!’

 

I wasn’t complaining that I hadn’t grown for no reason.

 

By this age, I ought to be starting to stand with support, or at least babbling a little more.

 

Yet my progress was still sluggish.

 

‘When am I ever going to conquer this sofa?’

 

Perhaps my sister had developed late, because not one person in the ducal household was hurrying me along with walking or babbling.

 

But this was my hundredth time being a baby!

 

Was it really all right for me to be this slow?

 

I fretted over the matter while ignoring Mikhail, who was following me on his knees—he was still forbidden from touching me.

 

By now, being observed by him was nothing new, so I tried not to pay attention.

 

But then.

 

‘Uh-oh?’

 

Just as I tried to pull myself upright using the sofa….

 

My body tilted backward.

 

Thump, roll—

 

‘Oww—’

 

Even with the carpet beneath me, my soft backside felt the impact.

 

And not only that—my back and head were about to fall backward as well—

 

“Ah, baby!”

 

“Eek, young lady!”

 

I nearly fell, but Mikhail demonstrated quick reflexes that were not entirely useless.

 

I felt his hand supporting my shoulders.

 

‘I… lost my balance?’

 

It was a shock.

 

Knowing how slowly my body was developing, I’d been careful in all sorts of ways.

 

I didn’t want my family looking sad because I’d injured myself, even slightly.

 

‘But because of the weight of my head, I…?’

 

Stunned by this unbelievable fact, I stayed still until the maids hurried over to pick me up.

 

“Young lady, are you hurt?”

 

“Were you badly startled? You couldn’t even cry—”

 

No, I was surprised, sure!

 

But not so surprised that I couldn’t cry!

 

‘I was just dumbfounded—’

 

Just as I started feeling wronged….

 

“I-I’m sorry, baby.”

 

I heard Mikhail’s voice.

 

He cautiously raised his hand as though he were guilty of a crime.

 

In it was the enormous ruby he hadn’t managed to give me.

 

‘It was you! You’re the reason I lost my balance!’

 

I immediately understood what had happened.

 

No wonder the area below my neck had suddenly grown so heavy when I tried to stand!

 

“I just wanted to give it to you. Really. I didn’t know you’d fall….”

 

That brat had slipped the heavy ruby into the hood of the little cloak the maids had put on me because they thought it looked adorable.

 

Mortified and furious, I shouted at Mikhail.

 

“You, ee-ah!”

 

I meant, ‘I hate you!’