Being Loved for the First Time Chapter 19

Fortunately or unfortunately, when Mikhail said those words, both the knights and maids were standing a short distance away.

—Choco, pretend you’re a doll!

I ordered Choco through telepathy to act like a stuffed toy, then pretended not to know anything and rolled my ball across the ground.

It was already mid-June, and the weather had grown warmer, so I often came outside to play during the day.

I could now walk fairly well on my own, and practicing walking outdoors was much better than doing it inside my room.

“Is it a doll?”

I desperately hoped Mikhail would lose interest in Choco.

‘No, even the mages couldn’t recognize him, so why can you?!’

When I showed no reaction and continued focusing only on my ball, Mikhail approached Choco, apparently intending to touch him.

Sigh. I couldn’t allow that.

It would be bad enough if Young Lord Leventis stared at empty space, but if he started petting the air, the knights and servants would certainly notice.

“Di-ya.”

“You’re saying it’s dirty?”

“Uuh.”

Ha. Seriously, how he managed to understand every word of my mangled pronunciation remained a mystery.

Even my parents, who were reasonably experienced at raising children, often admitted they had absolutely no idea what I was saying.

Mikhail looked puzzled by my answer.

“But it’s clean. And cute.”

Nevertheless, after I responded, he followed me as I chased after my rolling ball.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard you only like the doll Damian gave you.”

“Uuh.”

I decided to simply agree.

After all, the only doll I occasionally hugged was the stuffed animal Brother Damian had given me in hopes of seeing me smile.

“I gave you lots of similar things too. Don’t you like any of them?”

“Uuh.”

I answered his question halfheartedly.

“Then what do you like? That doll isn’t to your taste either?”

“Uuh.”

Why is this brat so talkative today?

Having caught up with the ball, I threw it again and watched it roll away while answering carelessly.

“Then is it yellow dresses?”

Where did yellow dresses suddenly come from?

“You don’t like rubies, right? I like them because they resemble your eyes.”

Even when I stopped answering, Mikhail continued chattering beside me.

No, seriously, are you really Mikhail Leventis, the young lord who’s famous for being quiet?

‘There’s no way Choco brought me incorrect information.’

Of course, I’d doubted my ears when I first heard it from Choco too.

Apparently, Mikhail Leventis had barely babbled at all until he was twenty-four months old, causing the grand ducal family considerable concern.

He really had begun walking at six months, but he hadn’t started speaking until after his second birthday.

And when he finally did speak, he’d said something astonishing.

‘Mother, Fatherr. I can waaalk.’

It was an unusually long sentence for a baby’s first words.

His first words hadn’t been “Mommy” or “Daddy,” but rather a declaration that he could walk.

Naturally, the grand ducal household had been thrown into an uproar once again.

They’d summoned numerous famous priests and physicians to thoroughly examine him and confirm that nothing was wrong.

‘I suppose it’s a relief to know this ducal family isn’t the only one that makes such a fuss.’

To be honest, I’d thought it terribly strange when my parents summoned so many doctors and priests just because I didn’t cry.

Perhaps, in this world, summoning numerous doctors whenever a baby seemed unwell was simply customary.

In any case, after finally speaking at twenty-four months, Mikhail became famous for remaining a boy of few words.

He rarely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary.

Especially…

‘After his parents passed away two years ago.’

That was why his grandfather, Grand Duke Leventis, had made a request of my parents.

He wanted to give his grandson, who was desperately trying to become an adult too quickly, the chance to experience childhood.

‘So it wasn’t simply about receiving an heir’s education.’

It was the warmth of a family’s affection.

In fact, Mikhail wasn’t particularly talkative even after coming here.

He conversed fairly often with my brother, but he wasn’t the sort of person who took much interest in others.

‘I’d wondered why Sister was unusually shy around Mikhail.’

It was because he spoke so little.

My sister Laurencia was extremely friendly, so she’d been the first to approach him when he arrived.

‘Miayiil? I’m Lara! Lara!’

But faced with that warm, enthusiastic greeting, Mikhail had simply answered—

‘Mikhail of the Leventis Ducal House.’

He hadn’t even displayed the ridiculously elaborate etiquette he’d shown me.

He’d merely stated his name.

Of course, my sister had continued trying to speak to Mikhail several more times afterward.

‘No. Don’t need it.’

‘I have lessons.’

‘Damian’s over there.’

Each time, he answered in the same stiff tone.

Even when my sister had emphatically told him to call her “Lara”—

‘Your Ladyship. Damian’s looking for you.’

‘Lady Laurencia.’

That unadorable boy behaved as though he’d built a wall of ice around himself whenever he interacted with my sister.

In other words, I’d gained yet another reason to find Mikhail irritating.

So it was only natural that my brother and the rest of my family were bewildered by his behavior toward me.

Even my sister, who was practically sunshine given human form, had stopped trying to talk to him.

‘So why on earth are you like this with me?!’

I sighed deeply as I picked up the ball from the ground.

“Baby.”

Mikhail crouched in front of me and met my eyes.

Was he doing it deliberately?

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

With his face slightly below mine and his gaze meeting mine, Mikhail looked remarkably beautiful.

“I really want you to call me impressive this time, and I want to see you smile too. Can’t you help me just a little?”

Help you with what?

For starters, I’d rather refuse any gift that came with ulterior motives.

If reincarnators were subject to something like an anti-bribery law, I’d gladly use that as an excuse.

But the words that came out of Mikhail’s mouth were something I hadn’t anticipated at all.

“Your birthday is coming soon, so I’ve been thinking really hard about what present to give you. That’s why. Okay?”

I see.

Before I knew it, almost a full year had passed since I’d been born as the youngest child of this ridiculous family.

Only one year.

When I’d desperately wanted to grow up quickly, time had seemed to crawl.

But now, for some reason, I suddenly felt reluctant to let it pass.

That life of barely twenty years, which I’d always accepted as inevitable.

Suddenly, it seemed terribly precious.

The morning of July 3rd dawned.

A year ago, in the summer, I’d begun my hundredth life feeling deeply disappointed.

‘But now I’m a little… excited.’

Was this really an emotion I was allowed to feel?

A birthday.

It had been so long since anyone had celebrated mine that I couldn’t even remember the last time.

In most of my lives, I hadn’t even known when my birthday was.

‘…There was nobody to celebrate it, and I never intended to celebrate it myself.’

A birthday arriving every year had felt like receiving another reminder of my approaching death.

Especially during lives when I’d struggled desperately to survive.

And the more people expected something from me, the more burdensome the passage of time had become.

‘But this time is different. Even I find it surprising.’

There was no heavy, gloomy feeling.

Instead, I felt an anticipation similar to what I’d experienced in my first life, when my friends had raided the school snack shop to bring me treats for my birthday.

This family had recklessly revived that small happiness inside me.

So much so that I was genuinely worried about what would happen later.

I thought I’d be happy even if we simply celebrated quietly as a family, exchanging a few words of “Happy birthday.”

No, wouldn’t that honestly be enough?

That was certainly what I’d thought.

But I soon realized how completely mistaken my expectations had been.

“Now, Anastasia. What kind of dress would our youngest, the star of today’s celebration, like to wear?”

Mother entered my room carrying nearly ten dresses I’d never seen before.

Three were pale yellow, a color everyone mistakenly believed I liked.

The others were beautiful dresses in all sorts of colors, beginning with white.

“Anastasia, this is a very important ceremony.”

A ceremony?

For a moment, I recalled the doljabi ceremony from my first life.

I’d never experienced anything similar in any of my other worlds.

Then again, I couldn’t actually remember taking part in my own doljabi during my first life either.

‘I heard I chose thread back then, but I died before I even turned twenty!’

Although, in a certain sense, perhaps the prediction had been correct.

I’d already lived for nearly two thousand years, after all.

Mother apparently noticed that my thoughts had wandered, because she waved her hand gently to draw my attention back to the dresses.

“They say the dress you choose on your first birthday determines your future partner.”

Partner?

That was something that had always been terribly distant from me.

“That partner might be your husband, or a companion you can trust to watch your back. Perhaps it could even be a friend.”

Mother gently stroked my cheek with a soft smile and continued in a whisper.

“When Mommy was little, I chose a pink dress. Now that I think about it, I believe the hair ornament I chose with it had emeralds set into it.”

Pink and green.

When I realized the significance of those colors and looked at Mother, her expression seemed to say, ‘As expected of my daughter. How clever.’

“Perhaps your father was destined to be Mommy’s partner from that very moment.”

It was such a lovely story, like something from a fairy tale.

“And your father is someone Mommy can trust and love more than anyone else. Thanks to him, I was even able to give birth to our beautiful youngest.”

Mother kissed my cheek and stroked my hair.

Her face seemed filled with a wish for nothing but happiness.

“So, Anastasia, I’m certain the first dress you choose will bring you a partner you can rely on for the rest of your life.”

If someone else in another life had said something like that, I would undoubtedly have thought it was utterly ridiculous.

Because I would never be fortunate enough to have such a person.

But when Mother said it, I somehow began to hope that perhaps I, too, might have someone like that.

Even if only for a short time.

Despite knowing better than anyone how frightening hope could be.

Mother gently encouraged me forward.

I chose my dress immediately.

The one I selected was white.

It was decorated with beautiful frills and lace, and a belt adorned with gemstones of many colors—amber, emeralds, rubies, amethysts, garnets, diamonds, and more.

Even the fabric, which had initially appeared pure white, shimmered with different colors whenever light touched it.

Of all the dresses Mother had prepared, it was the simplest in design yet the most colorful.

For some strange reason, I could clearly feel Mother’s intentions through it.

She wanted me to have many trustworthy partners in my life.

Throughout my hundred lives, it was perhaps something I’d desperately longed for, yet had never once dared to hope for or even wish for.

And now Mother was making that wish on my behalf.