My New Life As The Duke's Daughter

“Ah! Why are they taking so long?!” Hamstell complained while massaging his neck. He sat on the table with his vexed expression.

“Let’s just wait for his excellency. I’m sure he’s enjoying himself right now,” Kenrick yawned. 

Gah. Whenever I look at his handsome face, I feel so sleepy too. 

My eyes widened when he glanced at me. A slight smirk formed through his face. He shifted on his seat and watched me thoroughly. And again, I’m starting to get uneasy. 

What is he doing? If I am just older I will consider those stares of him flirting. 

“Look at that. You’re not crying anymore. Are you enjoying my view? Little dodo?” He said looking so full of himself. My expression goes blank because of that.

I never thought about him to be this arrogant. Well I guess, it comes to their blood. The idiot Hamstell and him are cousins so what do you expect?

“She’s so silent and well behaved. Not like before when she’s still in Hamstell's hands. I guess she’s scared to look at your face, Hamstell,” Kenrick chuckled while giving Hamstell a teasing look. 

No. He’s not scary, he’s disgusting.

“What?!” Hamstell scoffed. “You’re sleeping earlier so you didn’t see her smiling at me.” 

Kenrick’s brows furrowed. “She did?” He stared back at me with his cold expression. It made me twitch. Unlike before, his eyes became so dreadful. 

He stood up and in just a snap of seconds, I found him in front of me, nearly close. Letting out a very grievous look, he caressed my cheeks. His eyes turned bloody red! 

I gasped inwardly when I felt a sudden numbness on my body. I can’t… I can’t move a single thing!

“Stop it, Kenrick.” Said Parker who’s holding me.

“People said that it’s hard to please a child. So how come a ruthless Hamstell made you smile, huh?” He grinned.

Anxiousness fired up inside me. If Hamstell is scary, I think he’s scarier. 

“Stop putting a spell on her, Kenrick… I’m warning you.” Parker’s voice changed! Now if Kenrick is scarier I think Parker is SCARIEST! I can’t take it anymore! Why are they all like this?!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE DOING TO ME?! WHY AM I HERE?! THIS IS AN EARLY SUFFERING!

Kenrick looks up to Parker. He tilted his head before sighing. He closed his eyes and I started breathing normally again. My body felt so weak but thankfully, I can now move a little. What… What on earth did he do to me? Did he really cast a spell?

“I am just trying to read her mind but it’s strange that I can’t go in…” He shrugged and went back to his seat. “Ah. Nevermind.”

“You can’t go in?” Asked the bookworm guy. I saw how confused his expression is while looking intently at Kenrick. 

Kenrick nodded. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe because she’s just too young to read for.”

“What?” Said the bookworm guy. I suddenly felt his dagger stare towards me. Gah! I hate them for making me feel this way too harshly.

“You can even read a one year old child’s mind so how come you can’t read hers?” He muddled.

I blinked innocently when I felt their strange stares towards me. Ahm… w-what should I do? W-what did I do?! It’s not my fault if they cannot read me?!

Later on… I found myself letting out a wide smile at them. This is just too awkward.

This whole thing made me so skeptical. I thought some of them might scold me or threaten me again but they just looked away! 

How could they ignore my charms like this?! 

The silence was broken when a knight looking guy barged inside the office. He’s huffing and catching up in the air. It looks like he ran a hundred kilometer dash. He looks so messed up! 

“My Lord’s… T-the Duke ordered me to take you all to the training arena. He was already waiting—”

“What?!” Hamstell said out loud, making the poor knight loss his color. Poor thing. 

“Y-yes—”

“Did he just make us wait here for nothing?!”

“S-sir… h-he is just taking care of something—”

“Whatever. I didn’t ask for you to explain.” 

I guess this is how he treats people. Being so harsh and cruel. 

With his hands in his pockets he walked out without saying anything. The guy who’s standing on the door before has gone too. Even the bookworm guy! Kenrick and Parker are the only people who're left here with me.

Kenrick stayed looking at me with his piercing eyes. It’s making my stomach go crazy. His eyes dug inside me, too. I want to look away but it’s just… 

“Why can’t I read your mind?” He asked out of nowhere. 

“Adaduuu~” (I don’t know) And why would I let you?! You’re invading someone’s privacy if you keep on reading people’s mind! That’s just not right. 

“You’re confusing me…” He said while shaking his head.

I heard Parker sighed and stood up, carrying me through his arms. I grip on his shirt, not wanting to let go. My eyes shifted upward to look at him. I saw him letting out a sweet smile that made me do the same.

“You’re drooling, again.” He said. I felt my face burn up at his response. Duh. I’m still a baby so it’s normal.

He wiped my lips with his handkerchief. I felt a sudden butterfly tingling inside my stomach.

He smiled wide after that. “Done. I should put you to your cabin. You look so sleepy.”

I blinked and shifted on his shoulders as he walked his way outside the Office. As my nose started to sniff his scent again, my eyes also lost its strength. I felt a sudden heaviness through them. But before I could move on to sleeping, I heard a trembling voice from a woman.

“I-I will take her to her bed, My Lord.”

Parker’s warm breathing touched my cheeks. “Okay…” After that, I don’t know what happened.

I woke up in a cabin again with sparkly toys dancing up above me. I slightly moved my body and saw a maid dressed woman sitting right next to me. She’s shaking something on a bottle. When I saw what it was, my body started kicking on this soft feathery bed. Feeling so excited. It’s milk!

The maid's face lit up in an instant. She looks so happy after seeing me awake. She ran her way through me while carrying a feeding bottle full of milk. 

“You’re awake now, little lady…” She smiled. I started scanning her face. She had beautiful amber eyes. Her skin is white and pale. She looks simply pretty. This is not the woman I saw talking with mama before. She's younger.

She put the bottle of milk in my mouth. She smiled when I reached the bottle to hold it myself. 

“You poor little one…” A slight spark of pity was written all over her. 

She sighed apologetically. “You’re like me now.”

I blinked my eyes innocently. Ha? What did she mean by that? 

“My Mom has been killed too after giving birth to me.”

K-killed? Her Mama?! I gasped inwardly as memories started to pop up inside my little head. 

D-did father really… killed her? Am I not really gonna see her anymore?! 

My baby body started to react. I started crying. My soul hiding inside this baby body is in total shock, cannot even think properly.

So, my past life and my life here aren’t different. Just by watching those moments that I’m with those scary guys from earlier, I’m sure my life here will be more cruel.

I thought in my next life, I will be living the opposite. A complete family, a better living, a happy life. I wished for it before I accepted the fact of dying. But I guess, I am still living in a mess up but different kind of world. 

How am I going to experience happiness if even Lord God is not allowing me to have it. 

This is just too much to take. In my past life, my Mom left me when I was at the age of 13 and here… I guess this is more pitiful. I haven’t spent more time with her. At my state being a baby, I’m sure I can easily forget her. Time will come that I will never see her even in my memories.

The maid decided to take me for a walk. I started to feel so gloomy even when the maid took me in a very spacious garden full of blooming flowers and butterflies. I don’t know but even my baby body isn’t responding at the beautiful sight.

“Look at that butterfly! It’s coming our way!” She excitedly said while pointing at a dark blue butterfly. It's so pretty. 

I mindlessly pulled up my hand to reach for it but in my shock, it landed on my cute winky hands. The butterfly looks so comfortable in it. It made me smile a little.

“Oh, the butterfly loves your scent.” Said the maid. I still don’t know her name so for now I will call her that.

“There’s this saying that once a butterfly lands on your hands, it means you’re precious and gifted.” She giggled. “My little lady is surely gifted!”

She’s comfortable to be with. I didn’t feel awkward the moment I saw her. Mostly, babies will cry when it’s not their mommy so I’m relieved that I manage to be soft to her. 

“Ma…mha…” I mumbled when the butterfly flew away. 

“Oh my… It flew away. Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s another one who wants to land on your pretty hands again.” She cackled.

We went to a flat surface where only bermuda grasses were growing. In the middle of it is a gold bench, facing a fountain with a woman dressed like a familiar person as a statue. We sat on a bench and a calming wind touched my exposed body. I stayed looking at the statue. It feels like I saw it before.

“It’s pretty, right?” She said, I glanced at her. She smiled wide and looked back at the statue.

“It is called La Trevi de Founteina. It is made by the talented Brinsley de Savi. He’s the son of the Viscount. He’s with you inside the office. The one reading a book.”

T-that guy?! He made this? 

“This fountain was rumored to be cursed…” She continued.

My mouth drops open. Now I am starting to feel so scared! 

If this is cursed… Why are we here?!

“They say that whoever tries to touch the water, will get burnt.”

I gulped hard and started moving. She chuckled at my reaction. “Don’t worry… for me that isn’t true. I’ve touched the water so many times. As a caretaker of this garden I can prove it.” 

My mouth opened. I looked at the fountain again and wondered so much. It isn’t true? If it isn’t true, why are people having those weird rumors then?

We didn’t stay there for long. She took me back to my room to change my diapers. She dressed me up again and let me play with my little dolls on the floor.

“It’s good that his excellency is paying more attention to you. I heard that he ordered his secretary to buy all your needs from now on.  Starting from dresses, accessories and toys.” She said,

“And he, the grandest Duke, also ordered me to be your official Nanny starting from today. As your mother’s trusted maid, I will do my best to do all her duties as a mother. So, be good to me, my little lady,” she giggled.

So, my father is really a Duke. At first I never believed it, but after realizing how people amazingly treated him with respect and all, I ended up accepting it instead. 

I guess, this new life is another journey for me to finish. This is my new world, and when we say new world it means new chances, new experiences. 

We never know… my life here might be different from what my mind says. 

I might lived my life here in luxury and with things that I never had before. 

I might experience the happiness I’ve always dreamt of from my past life. And also, there must be a reason why I’m here in the first place. I want to find that out when I grow up. I just need to be good and do my best to survive.

This is my new life… My new life as the Duke’s daughter..