Life inside the Sunglay mansion moved in a restless, yet peaceful way. Every member of the household carried out their daily duties with almost mechanical precision. Kael’s room, as always, was cleaned thoroughly; the sheets were changed, the furniture was dusted, and the air was refreshed with soft scents.

  Meanwhile, little Kael rested quietly in his cradle… although his expression was far from calm. On his infant face, a clear look of frustration was forming.

  Damn it… do you really think I’m getting better? Kael thought, annoyed. We’ve already spent five months on magical training, and I don’t feel any change at all…

  // — relax a bit… do you really want to be like those generic characters who get absurd power and everything happens without effort? — //

  Kael sighed internally, a mix of resignation and irritation.

  Well, being realistic… that would be ideal, he replied. That way, anyone in this situation, even a generic character, would feel safe and calm, thinking their life wouldn’t be affected…

  // — what a shame, because you’re useless and can’t do that, so keep training. But if you want to see some progress, try lifting your head… — //

  Hearing that last part, Kael began to notice something different. With effort, little by little, he realized his movements were more stable than before. His light muscles, still weak but growing, were now able to keep his baby head steady.

  Hey… you’re right, he thought, surprised. I can already control my body a little… My legs and arms still don’t have enough strength to try walking… but I’m pretty sure I can… crawl!

  With effort and focus, Kael managed to roll over until he was face down. The movement was clumsy, slow, and exhausting, but successful. After another attempt, he managed to keep his balance, holding his head up and supporting his small body on trembling hands and feet.

  The timing was perfect. All the maids had left at the same time to replace cleaning supplies and change the dirty water before continuing to mop the corridors.

  // — reckless little brat, what do you think you’re doing? — //

  With a skill worthy of someone used to climbing fences, Kael managed to grab the edge of the cradle. His fingers clung to the wood awkwardly, but with determination. With a small push, he fell onto the low bed the maids used to watch over him at night. Improvised ninja-level falling techniques made his tiny body roll smoothly before sliding off the edge and dropping from a very small height onto the floor, unharmed.

  Ha, ha, ha… Kael thought proudly. Don’t think this is a useless skill from my old world. When you live in a neighborhood where a well-made rag ball is your only toy, if it falls into a neighbor’s house and you threw it, you must honor the pact and go get it back.

  And after this display of great skill, with a clearly mischievous look for someone his age, Kael successfully carried out his operation: leaving the cradle and escaping by crawling into the unknown. With surprising speed and ability for a baby, he slipped through the corridors, checking every corner, avoiding shadows, dodging guards and maids with an almost insulting level of cunning.

  His great feat, flawless as it was, would not take long to be discovered.

  One of the maids returned to the room, carrying the necessary tools to continue cleaning. As usual, she first went to check on the young master… and then her face turned pale. Her eyes widened, and in a thin voice filled with panic, she spoke to the maid walking behind her.

  “Hey… the young master isn’t here…” she said, feeling her heart race. “Please tell me another caretaker was supposed to come get him…”

  “No…” the second maid replied, also alarmed. “We’re the only ones assigned at this hour…”

  “GUARDS!” the first one screamed with all her strength.

  In the blink of an eye, the guards were alerted. One of the emergency codes—new and almost unknown—was activated immediately.

  White Code! The young master has disappeared!

  Not even thirty seconds passed after the alert before the most important figures of the household gathered inside the room. The atmosphere, once orderly and quiet, became tense, heavy with urgency and worry.

  “My lady, I am deeply sorry!” one of the maids exclaimed, almost in tears. “I swear we only stepped out to replace the water so we could continue cleaning, and in barely three minutes of absence, the young master was already gone…”

  Stolen story; please report.

  Caria observed the scene with a serious expression, but without harshness. Her gaze was firm, yet empathetic; she understood the fear filling the room.

  “I understand,” she said in a controlled voice. “But apologies solve nothing. Servants, guards… the young heir is missing. Search for him immediately!”

  Holley, Tana, Ken, and Laret rushed out at impressive speed, beginning to check every corner of the mansion, from the most visible corridors to the most unlikely spaces.

  Meanwhile, Enta remained in the room, carefully analyzing the scene. His eyes moved between the cradle, the low bed, and the arrangement of the furniture, trying to mentally reconstruct what had happened. It was then that Redda appeared beside him, silent but attentive.

  “Young Enta… you seem troubled,” she said calmly.

  “I am analyzing the scene,” Enta replied. “Every possibility must be considered…”

  “What are you implying, Enta?” Caria asked, turning toward him.

  “Calm down, my young lady,” Redda intervened. “Young Enta’s analytical mind always leads him to overthink things.”

  “Do you truly believe that, Lady Redda?” Enta asked, without taking his eyes off the scene.

  “I do,” she answered. “He is a healthy five-month-old baby. His muscles and limbs are already gaining strength. Given the position of the bed and the cradle, there is a high chance he managed to climb down without hurting himself and leave the room. And being a baby… he can’t be far.”

  “Wait, Redda!” Caria exclaimed. “Are you telling me Kael could have left on his own?”

  “Of course,” Redda replied naturally. “You may not know this, but when Laret was a baby, he did this kind of thing more than once. So much so that once he managed to reach the mansion’s main gate without anyone noticing.”

  “Wow… that really is impressive,” Enta murmured, visibly surprised.

  While the mansion was being practically turned upside down in the search for the young master, Kael, meanwhile, without much difficulty, managed to enter through a door that had been left slightly open. It was no ordinary room: it was the personal study of the great lord Garbard himself.

  From behind his majestic desk, noticing a small lump slowly crawling across the carpet, Garbard looked up and smiled with amusement.

  “But… what do we have here?” he said in an entertained tone. “Has my new work assistant already arrived?”

  “Brrrr… ha, ha, ha,” Kael babbled, pairing the sound with a wide, drooling smile that completely contrasted with the situation.

  “What a bold little fellow,” Garbard commented, watching the scene with clear amusement. “You’ve turned the entire mansion into chaos, and you come here calmly to drool on my carpet.”

  This is my only way to express myself and stay unnoticed as a normal baby, Kael thought. Ha, ha, ha…

  After several minutes of excitement and constant movement, the calm inside the office was abruptly broken. With a desperate and noisy entrance, Laret burst into his father’s study, visibly agitated.

  “Father, I apologize for the intrusion, but… you haven’t seen—” he began to say.

  However, his words froze in midair. When he raised his head, he saw his father signing documents with one hand, while holding a small being in the other, who looked at him with absolute innocence.

  “For the love of God!” Laret exclaimed. “We were searching for you all over the house! Father, why didn’t you say anything?!”

  “So you could suffer a little,” Garbard replied calmly. “He came to my office on his own, so I allowed him to help me review these documents. You deserve it for not knowing how to properly watch over your firstborn; this will teach you to reinforce the security measures.”

  Garbard placed the papers down on the desk and looked seriously at his son.

  “From now on, this behavior will only get worse,” he continued. “You won’t take your eyes off him for even ten seconds, and this little bundle of energy will already be rushing off to explore what is still unknown to him…”

  After notifying the others, calm slowly returned to the mansion. New and strict security measures were established, and the tense atmosphere began to fade. However, the most important thing—and the most terrifying one for Kael—was still to come.

  Despite being only a few months old, the punishment would be severe and merciless.

  A full line of women, perfectly organized, waited their turn. Each one had the mission of carrying out an individual torture on the young master for having escaped. That afternoon, little Kael learned the consequences of fleeing his cradle: his baby cheeks received the greatest punishment possible.

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  Meanwhile, somewhere in the city’s alleys, inside one of the many abandoned houses, a group of strangers whispered as they planned something.

  “The mansion is heavily guarded…” one of them said.

  “If we want to carry out the revenge, we must be extremely careful,” another added.

  “Wouldn’t it be enough to cause a disturbance and take the baby?” a third asked impatiently.

  “It’s obvious you’re new and don’t understand this kind of work,” the first replied with disdain. “This isn’t just any mansion, kid… it’s the Sunglay mansion. The soldiers of this house are highly capable and strong. They’re prepared to defend the city from the Indomitable Forest… and that’s just the minimum.”

  He paused briefly before continuing.

  “Inside that mansion, you have the very lord who wiped out all the houses that incited the revolution, and two heroes of the Great War… not to mention their guardians.”

  “Even the three of us together couldn’t face one of their guardians,” the second admitted. “Not even if we brought the whole gang…”

  “Relax,” the first intervened. “If we follow the plan exactly, we’ll manage to kidnap the heir.”

  “Is this job really worth it?” the third hesitated. “I understand the resentment of those houses that hired us in revenge for being destroyed, but… it doesn’t benefit them at all to take revenge on… on a baby…”

  “That’s none of our concern,” the second replied coldly. “Just do your job. We only care about the money… If they want to kidnap and torture a baby, as long as they pay, we’ll provide it…”

  After that conversation, the three men separated, each disappearing down a different path through the city.