“Oh my goodness…”

Yvonne covered her mouth with both hands.

She carefully reached out and took Charlotte in her arms.

Charlotte flailed her arms and then hugged Yvonne’s neck.

As expected earlier, Yvonne was delighted to see her rolling over.

The warm, soft touch naturally brought a smile to Yvonne’s face.

“Charl, have you already succeeded in rolling over?”

“Awoo…”

“Growing so quickly that you can roll over already. Time really flies.”

Yvonne detached Charlotte from her embrace and laid her back in the crib.

When Royan and Chesar heard the news belatedly, they were also excited.

“Mother, Charl is definitely a genius.”

“Of course, Royan. No other baby babbles and rolls over as early as our Charl.”

The servants’ reactions were similar.

Everyone was talking about Charlotte, busy listing various reasons why she was a genius.

“It feels like just yesterday that the young lady was born, and she’s already rolling over.”

“I know. That’s our young lady for you.”

In truth, whether Charlotte rolled over early or late, the people of the Riesta Ducal House would undoubtedly call her a genius.

From the beginning, everything Charlotte did was special to them.

As more time passed, Charlotte began to crawl around.

So they laid thick carpets on the floor to make it easier for her to move.

“Young lady, look over here!”

Janet shook a golden rattle back and forth.

At the jingling sound, Charlotte quickly turned her head and began crawling toward it.

Although it was difficult, she really wanted to reach Janet, who was looking at her with sparkling eyes.

“Young lady, just a little more!”

When Charlotte arrived in front of Janet, she held out the rattle.

‘It’s pretty, all sparkly.’

During her time at the orphanage, most of her memories were of being cold and hungry.

She had never once owned a rattle or doll like this.

She decided to fully enjoy now what she couldn’t have when she was young.

When she gripped the rattle and shook it, it made a clear sound.

Seeing Charlotte’s interest in the rattle, Janet smiled contentedly.

“Young lady, you mustn’t put the rattle in your mouth. Understand?”

“Awung.”

“You answer so well, our young lady.”

She crawled around different parts of the room.

It was somewhat frustrating not being able to walk yet, but there was nothing she could do about it.

The room was filled with Charlotte’s toys.

There were dolls, various sparkling rattles, blocks, and toy houses.

Thanks to these, Charlotte played with different toys every day without getting bored.

Janet watched her with a satisfied expression.

“Soon you’ll be sitting up by yourself and eating solid food.”

How cute would it be when she started toddling around?

Janet grinned as she looked at Charlotte.

‘It’s soft.’

Charlotte hugged a large rabbit doll.

The soft fur felt so nice that she could hold it all day.

Seeing Charlotte hugging the rabbit doll, Janet approached her.

“Young lady, do you like that doll?”

“Awuu!”

“Next time, I’ll make a doll for you myself.”

She wanted to say thank you, but all that came out was incomprehensible babbling.

Still, Janet seemed to understand everything, nodding and promising to do her best.

‘I want to be able to speak properly soon so I can call her directly.’

Charlotte, who had been staring at Janet, spread her arms wide.

Janet naturally picked her up and patted her back with a happy expression.

Being selected as Charlotte’s nanny after fierce competition was the greatest fortune for her.

“Ah, our young lady…”

Her soft, chubby cheeks would dent slightly when poked and then bounce back.

Janet rubbed her own cheek against Charlotte’s.

The fluffy, fresh scent made her feel at ease.

Janet closed her eyes and fully savored the present happiness.

* * *

“Charl, say ‘ah.'”

At Yvonne’s words, Charlotte promptly opened her mouth.

She had tried to eat by herself, but kept dropping the spoon, so Yvonne was feeding her.

With a contented expression, Yvonne scooped up some baby food and put it in her mouth.

“Charl, is it delicious?”

“Bababa!”

“Yes, yes. You say it’s delicious? I’m so glad you’re eating well.”

Charlotte could now sit by herself and eat solid food.

In just a few more months, she would be able to stand while holding onto things and walk.

“Charl, can you say ‘mama’? Mama!”

“Ammm!”

She felt a bit disappointed that Charlotte couldn’t yet say “mama” or “papa.”

But it was alright.

Though she didn’t know when, Charlotte would certainly speak eventually.

Unlike what Yvonne thought, Charlotte felt frustrated.

She could already use plenty of words, but being in a baby’s body prevented her from speaking properly.

When she moved her mouth trying to practice pronunciation, Yvonne thought she wanted more food and quickly held the spoon to her mouth.

“Here, Charl, shall we have one more bite?”

Finally giving up on speaking, Charlotte opened her mouth and accepted the food.

Beside them, Janet was holding a recording stone, documenting Charlotte eating her baby food.

Since the stone only needed mana infused once, the recording continued uninterrupted even as Janet held it.

Eventually, Charlotte finished her bowl of food, and Janet handed the recording stone back to Yvonne.

Yvonne put the stone with the saved recording back in her pocket.

“Charl, are you full?”

“Bubu!”

She really was full.

A small baby’s body got full quickly even without eating much.

Yvonne took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the food from around her mouth.

Her touch was very gentle, as the soft skin could easily be injured with just a little too much pressure.

Janet naturally took the handkerchief to wash it.

“Charl, shall we go for a walk with mama?”

Her ears perked up at the mention of a walk.

Being confined to the room felt stifling, so Charlotte looked forward to walks with Yvonne the most.

She flapped her arms eagerly to go outside, making Yvonne chuckle.

After dressing her in a newly purchased outfit, Yvonne carried Charlotte out to the garden.

With winter just a few months away, cool breezes were starting to blow as the sun set.

Still, it was warm during the day, so Yvonne was trying to take walks during daylight hours as much as possible.

As they strolled slowly through the garden, a small butterfly fluttered in front of Charlotte.

The butterfly was so pretty that she naturally reached out her arms.

However, the butterfly kept dodging around and eventually flew away.

Feeling disappointed as the beautiful butterfly disappeared, she stared blankly until Yvonne’s voice reached her ears.

“Oh, Charl, are you disappointed that the butterfly flew away?”

Yvonne smiled softly and raised her hand.

A small magic circle appeared above her hand, and soon after, a magically created butterfly fluttered toward Charlotte.

“Woah…”

It was fascinating to see a butterfly suddenly appear in midair.

Curious about how she did it, Charlotte looked at Yvonne.

She smiled and took Charlotte’s hand, opening it.

The butterfly fluttered down and landed on Charlotte’s hand.

The ticklish sensation made her curl her hand, causing the butterfly to flutter away again.

“Charl, do you like it?”

Unable to say thank you, Charlotte buried her face against Yvonne’s chest and nuzzled her.

Suddenly feeling sleepy, she yawned widely, prompting Yvonne to speak.

“It’s already time for your nap. Let’s go inside and sleep, Charl.”

Yvonne waved her hand to make the butterfly disappear and hurried back into the mansion.

Lying on the soft bed naturally made her drowsy.

“Just keep growing up healthy like this, Charl.”

Charlotte drifted off to sleep as Yvonne planted a kiss on her cheek.

* * *

Tension filled the room.

The family, gathered together after a long time, was watching Charlotte with bated breath.

‘This time I’ll definitely succeed.’

Although it was burdensome to have everyone staring at her, Charlotte slowly stood up while holding onto the table leg.

‘I did it!’

Taking a step or two, she was met with applause from the entire family.

“Oh my, Charl!”

“Charl, over here!”

“No, Charl. Come here!”

“No, Charl. You should come over here.”

Not knowing which way to go, she became confused and ended up falling down with a thud.

The family jumped up in surprise and rushed over to Charlotte.

“Charl, are you hurt?”

“Mma! (Mama!)”

“Yes, Charl.”

Yvonne took Charlotte in her arms.

After practicing diligently, she could now pronounce “mama” somewhat correctly.

Knowing this, Jackal had asked Charlotte to say “papa,” but she had failed repeatedly.

‘I’m sorry, Papa.’

While “mama” was relatively manageable, “papa” was too difficult and required more practice.

Whenever she called Yvonne “mama,” she always hugged her.

“Charl, does it hurt a lot?”

It didn’t actually hurt enough to cry.

But because she liked being comforted by Yvonne, Charlotte burrowed into her embrace.

Just then, Jackal tilted his chin and spoke.

“Charl was trying to come to me. Her body was turned toward me.”

“No, Father. Charl was trying to come to me. She looked at me right before she fell.”

Royan immediately challenged that statement.

Then Chesar jumped in with his own claim.

“No! Charl was looking at me from beginning to end. So she was trying to come to me.”

It was an assertion without any room for compromise.

Yvonne shook her head.

‘None of them are right…’

Cradled in Yvonne’s arms, Charlotte thought absently.

Yvonne cleared her throat and interjected.

“Charl’s birthday is coming up soon. What are we planning to do?”

“Obviously, we should throw a lavish birthday party. We’ll invite all the nobles to show them how lovely our Charl is.”

Jackal looked extremely serious.

Yvonne agreed with his suggestion.

“Let’s open the largest hall in the mansion. Since Charl is still young, what if we just show everyone how lovely she is and then exit?”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

At the mention of a birthday party, Charlotte’s heart beat a little faster.

‘My birthday party…’

Having never celebrated her birthday before, this would be her first time.

Charlotte found herself looking forward to her birthday for the first time in her life.