A year had passed since the day Jack was reborn.
He had grown comfortable in his new surroundings.
But, there were a few issues.
Redoing life from the beginning was not appealing, especially given the fact that he had to be breastfed.
At first, he thought it was kinky, until he remembered it was his mother.
He also had to do his business in a cloth diaper, which he hated.
Plus he had to be bathed by hand, meaning that the maid who took care of him saw his body fully exposed.
Speaking of maids, the woman who took care of him the most was Elise.
Elise was a very patient and kind woman.
She was rather tall, around 180 cm.
With bright blue eyes and long brown hair that she kept in a ponytail.
In the mornings she would enter his room with a new diaper and bottle in hand.
She would change him, feed him, and burp him in that order.
She followed that up by putting him in a new set of clothes.
Then, after placing him on the floor Jack would follow her around the house as she did her chores.
Jack could walk at this point, but his knees buckled so easily he found it easier to crawl.
During these small adventures with Elise, he began to get a rough layout of the house.
Jack knew it was a large manor or mansion.
On the first floor, there were multiple rooms.
Like kitchens, dining rooms, common rooms, and utility rooms.
The second floor was home to bedrooms and personal studies.
As for the top floor, Jack believed it was empty.
He hadn't seen anyone go upstairs for any reason.
There was also a courtyard in the middle of the manor, where a large and thick oak tree stood tall.
Its branches are covered in white leaves.
Moving on from the layout of the manor to the people that lived in it, there was his father who had two wives.
His mother and a woman with green eyes.
Jack's father had four children.
Two boys with green eyes both the sons of a woman with green eyes.
Their names were John and Felix.
And his mother with her two children, the girl with purple eyes who Jack learned was his sister, and himself.
The staff that managed the manor was small, with around ten maids and one butler.
Jack didn't get to see outside the mansion much.
He did get to look outside from the windows.
In the far distance was a large town or city that was always bustling with activity.
His view was never great however, as the mansion was on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a large golden gate.
— — —
A few days later.
Elise was cleaning his room as usual, her movements swift and precise as always.
Jack found himself drawn in by how she moved so quickly.
It was as if she were a hot knife cutting through butter.
It frustrated him, seeing her move so freely while he was stuck in his stupid baby body.
He made a frustrated noise as he threw away one of his toys.
Elise paused in her cleaning.
"What's wrong, my Lord?"
She asked—approached him.
She picked him up off the floor and walked towards the window in his room.
Jack shifted his gaze to look out of the window.
Before him was a large field of green grass, with a golden gate surrounding its edges.
There was a cobblestone path that led from the front door to the gate.
Beyond the gate was a paved road that cut directly through a forest.
It was the same sight he'd always seen time and time again.
Elise looked at him with a warm smile as Jack continued to look out the window.
"Hmmm, are you getting too old for this, my Lord?"
Honestly, it's starting to get frustrating how much I've seen this sight.
"Yes," Jack replied.
Elise's eyes slowly widened as a creepy smile appeared on her face, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Did you just say your first word?"
Her voice was full of awe.
She brought him close to her chest, squeezing him tightly.
"Say it again!"
Elise barely contained her excitement.
Jack looked at her and smirked—a plan began forming.
If Jack showed great potential and maturity from a young age, then maybe, just maybe, he'd get out of this mansion a little faster.
Jack replied again, with a clearer tone.
"Yes."
Elise giggled as her grin grew from ear to ear.
She ran towards the door and into the hallway.
"Your mother has to see this!"
She exclaimed.
As she sprinted through the halls other servants turned to look at her.
Their faces were etched with confusion.
This is bonkers.
If Jack had known then that talking would get this kind of reaction, he would have done it sooner.
Elise finally reached his mother's study, knocking on the door.
A voice from the other side spoke.
"It's open."
It was his mother.
Elise twisted the brass doorknob.
With a faint click, the door slowly opened, revealing his mother and sister.
Jack's mother was sitting in a wooden chair behind a desk filled with paperwork, and his sister was in the corner reading a book.
"My lady, the young lord can speak!"
Elise exclaimed as she stepped inside.
Jack's mother raised an eyebrow, holding out her hands.
Elise gently placed Jack into his mother's arms.
She looked down at him with a smile.
"Well, I'm waiting."
She whispered.
Jack put on a determined expression as he spoke.
"Yes."
His mother's eyes widened.
She looked up at Elise, then quickly back at him.
"Again."
"Yes."
His mother was dumbfounded, she looked back up at Elise.
"Is this normal?"
Elise nodded, "Yes, but usually they don't show this high level of understanding!"
Her face was beaming with joy.
Jack's mother looked back towards him, her gaze full of curiosity.
"What would happen if we started teaching him now?"
Her question was rhetorical, but Elise answered it anyway.
"He'll be a genius, he might even reach the level of Queen Charlotte!"
Jack's mother's face soured, "Do not mention that woman's him in this house."
Elise quickly bowed her head. "My apologies."
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Well, that's not good….
Abruptly his sister clapped her book shut—standing to her feet.
"I'll teach him, so he ends up like me!"
She said proudly, her purple eyes full of pride.
"I'm pretty smart."
Jack's mother turned to face her with a smile, "Of course Ava, he's all yours."
— — —
Another year has passed.
Jack's body continued to grow stronger, allowing him to walk without falling.
He felt good being able to walk properly again.
But it also made him realize something.
You never know how much you'll miss something until it's gone.
That resonated with him, especially given how he kicked the bucket in his previous life.
Ava was a very active girl when it came to teaching and playing.
Jack spent most of his time trying to run from her.
Like he was currently.
"Alexander Von Daname!"
She shouted as she chased him down the halls.
She's using my full name, I'm definitely in for it now!
Alexander cried as he ran on his stubby little legs, his massive head causing him to wobble in all sorts of directions, and eventually, he fell.
His massive head hit the carpet floor with a thud.
"Alex!"
Ava yelled in panic as she ran to his side.
Dropping to her knees, she helped him up and began to check his head.
"I'm ok Ava."
His voice was muffled as Ava pulled on his cheeks.
"You can barely walk, yet you're trying to run like an animal in distress, you know better than that, don't you?"
Alexander nodded.
"So you gotta promise me you won't do it again, otherwise I'll stop massaging your ears."
Ava wiggled her fingers as she raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face as she stared him down.
Alexander shook his head.
"No."
He pleaded as he took a few steps forward.
Upon taking another step forward he tripped over Ava's dress, causing him to fall over her knee.
Ava instinctively wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her.
"You're such a goofball you know that?"
She teased, shifting him around in her lap until his back was against her chest.
She raised her hands to his ears and began to massage them.
Alexander's eyes began to roll back.
"Does that feel good Alex?" Ava asked with a smile.
"Yep," he replied with satisfaction in his voice.
Ava giggled as she continued to work on his ears.
How did she even find out she had a talent for this sort of thing?