Chapter 1 – First Encounter  

Saint Esna’s Feast Day.  

Most of the students at Verka Academy had left for their hometowns to spend the last holiday of the year with their families.  

Alice Tosman, her closest friend and roommate, had also taken the train back to her estate just the day before.  

Only a few remained at the academy.  

She was among them.  

Her hometown, the Barony of Belote, where she had been born and raised, was near the southern border of the Kingdom. It was too far to visit and return within a week.  

But that wasn’t the main reason she stayed.  

It was the absence of her family.  

Ever since her mother passed away when she was eight, her family had never been fully gathered for Saint Esna’s Feast Day.  

For her father, who ran a toy business, the feast day was the busiest time of the year. Her two older brothers, who were attending the academy, were also preoccupied with their studies.  

She still vividly remembered her first Saint Esna’s Feast Day after her mother’s passing.  

She had cried bitterly, feeling lonely and desolate, while her nanny tried to comfort her. But the nanny could never fully replace her mother.  

Every year, as she spent the holiday alone, she felt as though there was an empty hole in her chest.  

Rather than staying alone in the mansion, being at the academy, where at least a few people remained, seemed better.  

So ever since enrolling in the academy, she had spent every Saint Esna’s Feast Day there.  

Even though she was still alone at the academy, she no longer felt bitter or lonely—perhaps she had grown used to it.  

Instead, she was excited at the thought of finally catching up on sleep after weeks of sleepless nights preparing for final exams.  

That was, until the mysterious baby appeared in her room.  

“Haa-woo.”  

No matter how many times she rubbed her eyes or pinched her cheeks, the baby squirming on her bed didn’t disappear.  

It was an impossible and absurd sight.  

Goodness. This must be a nightmare.

A nightmare on a sacred feast day, no less.  

‘This is definitely my room.’  

If it were a strange room filled with baby toys, she could have convinced herself it was a dream. But this was an undeniable reality.  

‘How did it get in here?’  

Verka Academy, as a prestigious institution for nurturing important talents, had strict security measures to prevent unauthorized entry.  

It wasn’t just a matter of placing guards everywhere. The entire academy was protected by magical barriers that prevented anyone without permission from entering.  

And in the unlikely event that someone managed to infiltrate, warning spells were installed throughout the premises to catch them.  

Yet here was a baby, without any sign of an adult, appearing out of nowhere.  

It was impossible.  

What was even stranger was that there were no signs of intrusion.  

Her room was exactly as she had left it before going to bed the previous night.  

‘Did it fall from the sky?’  

The baby, seemingly oblivious to her turmoil, was now chewing on her blanket with his gums.  

Despite being in an unfamiliar place with a stranger, the baby showed no signs of fear.  

Watching his carefree demeanor, she couldn’t help but ask,  

“Who… are you?”  

It was a silly question. There was no way such a tiny baby could answer her.  

Yet she asked again.  

“Where did you come from? Where’s your mother?”  

“Bwa.”  

As if understanding her questions, the baby looked up at her while lying down. His mouth hung open, as though deep in thought.  

Transparent drool dripped from his parted lips.  

His eyes, which blinked slowly, had faint double eyelids and slightly upturned corners, reminiscent of a cat.  

‘This face… it feels familiar somehow.’  

Just as she felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu from the baby’s gray eyes staring at her, the baby smiled brightly. The overlapping face she had seen in her mind vanished in an instant.  

“Ma!”  

The baby flipped over and moved toward her.  

“What? Wait, wait! Don’t come here!”  

Startled, she scooted backward, but the baby moved faster than she expected. It grabbed her thigh and stood up.  

Before she could stop it, the baby quickly buried his face in her arms.  

Her chest warmed instantly. A faint smell, like sour milk, wafted up.  

“Hold on, Little One!”  

She firmly grabbed the troublemaker’s waist with both hands.  

‘Little One.’ She muttered it unconsciously. The words felt natural as it slipped from her lips.  

Yes, from now on, your name is Little One.  

“Hababa!”  

Seemingly thinking she was playing, Little One let out a high-pitched squeal and bent his knees as if preparing to jump.  

Afraid it might fall off the bed, she pulled Little One into her arms.  

‘I can’t handle this.’  

An instinctive warning rang in her head. This was something she absolutely couldn’t solve alone.  

She needed help to uncover the baby’s identity and to take care of it.  

But there were few people left at the academy.  

In this frustrating situation, only one person came to mind.  

‘Felix Christian.’  

Though she hated to admit it, he was her childhood friend.  

Currently, he was the only person she knew who had stayed at the academy.  

Entering the boys’ dormitory would earn her demerits, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.  

“You, stay here for now.”  

She managed to set Little One down on the floor, despite his attempts to cling to her, and rushed to the bathroom. After quickly washing up, she changed out of her pajamas.  

That’s when she noticed another problem.  

“Little One, what’s with your clothes?”  

It was the end of the year, so the weather was cold. Yet Little One was dressed in thin indoor clothes suitable for summer.  

“Baa?”  

“Not ‘Baa.’ Why are you wearing those clothes? Did you come from the continent of Genoa?”  

She had heard that the seasons were opposite on the continent of Genoa.  

Of course, traveling from Genoa to here was impossible.  

Unaware of her concerns, Little One simply smiled at her.  

“Maa?”  

“Never mind…”  

Yes, there was no point in asking.  

Instead of arguing with Little One, she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around the baby.  

It took some effort since Little One resisted by kicking, but she managed to bundle it up.  

Holding the now sulky-looking Little One, she placed another blanket over his head.  

‘It looks suspicious, but there shouldn’t be anyone around.’  

Reassuring herself, she stepped out of her room.  

It was the moment she quietly entered the men’s dormitory with Little One wriggling under the blanket.

A familiar voice called out from behind her.

“What on earth are you doing here, Elena?”

It was a senior from the same magic department.

“You know that a female student entering the men’s dormitory will earn demerit points, right?”

All she could do was turn her back to him and laugh awkwardly.

“Ha, ha, ha. Good morning, Senior. What about you? What are you doing here at this hour? Didn’t you go back to your hometown?”

“Well, since I’m about to graduate, I didn’t think it was necessary. I also need to work on my graduation thesis.”

“Oh, I see. What’s the topic of your thesis? You seem to have a lot of interest in herbs; are you writing about herbal studies?”

“I’m planning to write about transformation magic rather than herbal studies. But more importantly, do you realize how awkwardly you’re trying to change the subject?”

“Did you feel that way? That’s not true. I was really curious, so I asked.”

“Alright, I’ll believe that for now. But what about you? What are you doing here at this hour?”

He paused his steps momentarily, then smiled mischievously.

“Don’t tell me I just caught you in the middle of a secret rendezvous?”

“No!”

A rendezvous? What kind of nonsense was that!

Startled, she trembled without realizing it. Perhaps startled by her reaction, Little One kicked his legs and rustled under the blanket.

“Ha-woo.”

“Shh, stay quiet. Not yet.”

She gently patted Little One’s back. She could feel Little One drowsily resting his face on her shoulder.

“I was joking, but you’re really jumpy. So, if it’s not a rendezvous, what are you actually doing here?”

The senior approached her again and asked. She hurriedly began climbing the stairs, one step at a time.

“I was running an errand for a professor.”

“An errand this early? Which professor?”

“That’s a secret. And I was planning to deliver it early in the morning and then enjoy the festival.”

“Is that so?”

The senior didn’t seem convinced by her clumsy lie.

He approached faster than she could climb the stairs, his eyes suspiciously focused on her chest and stomach, which were bulging noticeably.

“What’s that?”

“A book… Yes, a book! I’m running an errand to deliver a book to Felix.”

He tilted his head quizzically.

“It doesn’t look like a book. And why is it covered with a blanket like that?”

“It’s winter. I didn’t want it to get frosted on the way.”

As he listened to her awkward voice, the senior moved closer to her, his gaze still fixed on the bulging blanket. At that moment—

“A-woo-ah!”

Little One wriggled again under the blanket. Startled, she let out a sharp scream, and the senior’s face turned to one of surprise.

“What is this? It’s not a book!”

“Well, this is…”

Before she could even attempt to explain, Little One kicked and squirmed, causing the blanket to slip off. Then, Little One raised his head.

“Kyaaa!”