◇◇◇◇
When Luria emerged from the dark and narrow space, the world became bright.
However, it was blurry and unclear.
Luria was confused. She was supposed to be dead.
Why was she alive? And why couldn’t she move?
When she tried to speak,
“Wahhhhhh!”
a cry like that of an infant escaped her lips.
Had she become a baby? Was this reincarnation?
Legends, folklore, fairy tales, and records of ancient magicians—
could the phenomenon of reincarnation described in such texts have happened to her?
To grasp the situation, Luria cried, “Wah wah!” while observing her surroundings.
Though her vision was still blurry, she noticed fluffy orbs floating around her.
Moments after feeling something being cut from her abdomen, she was embraced by something warm.
“My sweet baby.”
“Wahhh! (Who? Mother?)”
It seemed that this person was her mother.
Though Luria couldn’t see her face clearly, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the mother who had cherished her until the age of five in her previous life.
The embrace was warm and smelled nice, and her voice was gentle and comforting.
Luria quickly grew fond of her mother.
“Wahhhh.”
Desperate to see her mother’s face, Luria unconsciously used a vision-enhancing spell.
Suddenly, her vision became clear.
Her mother had beautiful amber-brown hair and eyes.
But her mother looked pained.
“Hah…hah…ugh.”
Her breathing was labored, and she was shrouded by a sinister black mist.
“You’re such a good baby,”
her mother said in a gentle voice, despite her apparent suffering.
“Wahhh.”
“I’m sorry. I wanted to see you grow up into an adult, but…”
Luria ’s mother spoke as if she were about to die.
Luria tried to say something to her mother but couldn’t form words.
“Amalia…”
A man with striking silver hair and blue eyes, bearing the features of royalty from her past life, stood next to them.
“Wah! (Stay away!)”
Having been mistreated by royalty in her past life, Luria growled to warn him off, but the man gently touched her mother’s cheek, ignoring her protests.
“Look at her. She’s our precious baby.”
“She’s beautiful. But… you…”
“We’ve discussed the risks many times, haven’t we?”
“But…”
“Once I’m gone, this child will have no one but you.”
“Wah? (Mother, are you going to die?)”
It seemed her mother had resolved to face death. Was her condition that dire?
As a baby, Luria couldn’t fully grasp the situation.
She cried, “Wahhh!” while thinking about how to help.
She didn’t even know what the black mist was.
“Don’t say such sad things…”
“Stay strong. You’re her father, after all.”
The man, who seemed to be her father, was apparently crying.
Her mother repeated again and again that he needed to act as a proper father.
Then, her mother exposed her breast.
In this country, it was customary to nurse a newborn immediately.
It was believed to bestow the blessings of spirits from the mother to the child—a ritualistic act.
In reality, it wasn’t the mother’s milk that granted blessings.
Spirits naturally gravitated toward babies.
“Wahhhh!”
Sure enough, Luria could see countless floating spirits around her.
However, her mother firmly believed in the power of the ritual.
Determined to do one last thing for her child before dying, she prepared to nurse Luria .
“Hah…hah… Will the baby drink?”
“You don’t have to push yourself.”
“No, this is the last thing I can do for her…”
Her mother spoke with a tragic expression.
“Mmmph.”
Meanwhile, Luria , instinctively sensing the appealing scent, latched onto the breast.
Unbeknownst to her, she was hungry—likely a habit from her previous life, where she only ate once every three days and was always starving.
So Luria eagerly drank.
“Mmmph, mmmph…huh?”
She noticed that the black mist covering her mother was seeping into the milk and entering her body.
The thought of the delicious milk being tainted angered Luria .
“Wah! (Begone!)”
She focused on driving it away.
Though she knew logically that such an effort might be futile, she felt compelled to act on instinct.
Almost instantly, the black mist vanished.
With the mist gone, the milk tasted even better, and her mother seemed to breathe easier, though she wasn’t fully recovered.
If only she could use healing magic—but as a baby, that was impossible.
“Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph (Mom, please get better),”
she thought as she drifted off to sleep while drinking.
Her mother’s body began to emit a glow akin to receiving healing magic, but Luria didn’t notice.
She only felt incredibly tired.
“Mmmph, mmmph…”
Sleep overcame her, but her insatiable hunger drove her to continue nursing.
Afterword
◇◇◇◇ indicates a change in perspective.
The first chapter focused on Luria ’s first-person perspective, but the second chapter transitions to a third-person limited viewpoint of her.
Whenever you see ◇◇◇◇, it means the perspective has shifted before and after that point.
A single ◇ simply marks a scene transition or a shift in the timeline.
