Today, just like any other day,
“Daudaudaudaudau!”
Crawling at lightning speed, I zoomed around the room.
As usual, Dau was hopping happily around me.
“Da-u!”
“Au!”
Every morning and evening, Dau gets to go for a walk outside the mansion with the butler.
I’m so jealous.
Lately, Dau doesn’t even poop or pee indoors anymore.
Apparently, Dau uses those actions to mark territory, so doing them unnecessarily indoors is a no-go.
Even though Dau can’t talk, seeing that smug face makes me feel like that’s exactly what he’s trying to say.
While Dau is zooming around the room at high speed,
“Lady Luria, you’re truly skilled at crawling,”
the nanny says, watching me with gentle eyes.
I crawl over to the closed door and say,
“I want to go outside! Out!”
“Woof!”
Even though he already went for a walk this morning, Dau also seems eager to go outside again.
“Outside? Hmm.”
The nanny looked a little troubled as she picked me up.
“Outside! Out!”
“My, Lady Luria, you’ve started speaking so early.”
“Am I early? Out!”
“My own child still only says things like ‘ah’ or ‘uh.'”
“I want to meet!”
I want to meet the nanny’s child.
I need to apologize for taking the nanny’s milk and thank her.
The nanny is my benefactor, but her child is as well.
As I was thinking about such things,
“Oh, Lady Luria, are you hungry?”
“No…”
I was about to say no, but then I realized I was hungry.
I’d been so absorbed in my high-speed crawling that I forgot about being hungry.
Still, the nanny noticed before I did.
I’m so grateful.
“Here you go, Lady Luria.”
“Munch, munch, munch.”
I drank the nanny’s milk greedily.
After finishing, as I let out a burp, my sister came into the room.
“Woof woof!”
Excitedly, Dau ran over.
“Dau, you’re lively as always.”
“Woof!”
“You’re so good, protecting Luria.”
Dau wagged his tail happily at being praised by my sister.
Until recently, Dau used to jump on my sister too.
But about a month ago, he knocked her over while jumping, and since then, he’s stopped.
That’s how quickly Dau is growing.
I’m so jealous. I want to grow as fast as Dau does.
“Big sister! Sis!”
“Luria, you’re adorable as always.”
My sister stroked me as the nanny held me.
“I want to go outside! Out!”
I made sure to let my sister know too.
“Oh? Do you want to go outside with your sister?”
“Want to! Want to!”
“Marion, may I take Luria outside?”
Marion is the nanny’s name.
“Sure. I’ll come along as well.”
“Thank you.”
I was carried by my sister and taken out of the room.
“Da-u!”
“Luria, where do you want to go?”
“To Father! Father!”
“Hmm? Where might that be? I can’t understand what you’re saying, Luria.”
I think I’m doing pretty well for eight months old, but conversation is still tough.
“To Father! To Fa!”
“Do you mean to see Master?”
The nanny understood what I was trying to say.
I was so happy.
“Exactly! Yes!”
“I see. Father is working, though… if he has guests, we can’t disturb him, alright?”
“Got it! Guests!”
Afterward, I was carried by my sister to Father’s office.
When my sister knocked on the door and explained the reason for our visit, Father quickly let us in.
“Oh, Lydia, you’re taking care of Luria, are you? Thank you,”
Father praised my sister with a kind smile.
“Luria said she wanted to see you, so I brought her here!”
“I see. Luria, you’re as adorable as ever.”
“Father, hug me!”
Father picked me up.
“Kyah kyah!”
He rocked me for a while, soothing me, and I was satisfied.
“Dau, thank you for always protecting Luria.”
“Woof.”
Father patted Dau on the head, and Dau wagged his tail vigorously.
After leaving Father’s office, the nanny carried me as we strolled around the mansion.
My sister, being a child herself, couldn’t carry me for long.
“Let’s go that way!”
“Oh, you want to go there? That’s just the kitchen…”
I definitely wanted to see the kitchen.
If I grow up and find myself starving, I’ll need to know where to sneak in and grab food.
In my past life, I was always hungry.
Knowing where the food is gives me peace of mind.
“Let’s see it! See it!”
“Woof woof!”
Dau also seemed interested in the kitchen.
It’s no surprise, given Dau’s love for food.
“Alright, but we mustn’t be a bother. Can you manage that?”
“Of course, I can do it!”
“Woof!”
In the kitchen, which my sister led me to, the cooks were taking a leisurely break.
They had finished cleaning up after lunch and still had time before starting dinner preparations.
“My apologies, Lady Luria, but we can’t allow a dog in here.”
“Oh, you’re right. I didn’t think of that. Dau, wait here, okay?”
“…Whine…”
“Wait here, wait here!”
“Whimper…”
Leaving the sad, whining Dau outside, I was allowed to peek into the kitchen.
“This is where we prepare everyone’s meals. The food supplies are…”
The head chef kindly gave me a tour.
“Thank you, thank you!”
“It’s an honor, my lady.”
When I thanked him, the head chef gave me a deep bow.
Afterward, the nanny carried me as my sister showed me around the mansion.
It appeared to be a square-shaped building with a large central courtyard.
“Haah!”
In the courtyard, my older brother, Gilberto, was practicing swordsmanship.
“I want to watch!”
“You want to watch Brother practice? You mustn’t interrupt him, okay?”
Without entering the courtyard, I watched my brother’s training.
“Huff huff!”
I wanted to train too.
There’s no harm in building strength.
If anyone ever tried to put a slave collar on me, I might be able to resist if I were strong enough.
“Swing, swing!”
I mimicked my brother, waving my arms wildly.
“Luria, what’s the matter? Do you want to learn swordsmanship too?”
“I do! I do!”
“But girls don’t practice swordsmanship. Even I didn’t learn it.”
“That doesn’t matter!”
Girl or not, having strength and stamina is undoubtedly better.
As I resolved to build up my strength,
“Woof woof!”
Dau, watching my brother’s practice, also seemed excited.
“Dau, let’s train together someday!”
“Woof!”
I decided that once I grew up, I’d train with Dau.
Afterward, my sister took me to the library.
“Wow!”
“There are so many books, aren’t there?”
“Yes, lots!”
“I’ll read you a picture book next time, okay?”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Studying is essential.
Knowledge is key to survival.
“Do you have books about goats? Goats?”
“Goats? Hmm, I wonder if there are any.”
If there weren’t any books about goats, I’d ask Father to get one.
That’s what I decided.
