The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 1
The problem was that the handwriting seemed to be that of a seven-year-old child, all crooked and uneven.
When I opened my eyes again, I was beneath a ceiling covered in cobwebs.
With a bewildered expression, I slowly lowered my gaze.
The walls and floors were covered in all sorts of doodles. Toys were scattered about here and there. Several empty plates were placed on the table.
“Alright, kids. Let’s pray.”
A familiar voice rang above my head.
I raised my head to see a gentle smile on the face of a woman.
“Today, we are thankful for the plentiful food provided for our Eve Hill family….”
Only then did I notice my surroundings.
I was seated in front of a large round table, alongside other children with closed eyes and folded hands.
‘…Wait a moment.’
Children?
A wooden nameplate affixed to the nearby wall caught my wide eyes.
It was covered in black smudges, with edges worn from age.
〈Evehill Orphanage〉
“…Ah.”
An exclamation escaped my lips.
“Anellia, what’s wrong?”
The woman across me asked, but I couldn’t answer.
I knew this woman.
“Lia?”
Despite my will, my head gradually drooped.
And then, drip, drip.
One by one, wet spots spread over my pants.
“Huh…”
This wasn’t a dream.
Not a hallucination or anything like that.
My name is Anellia.
It seems like I’ve regressed in some way.
As I sobbed, the woman carried me into a room.
My gaze dropped involuntarily, and my body tensed reflexively.
‘…I had anticipated it, but…’
The hand in my field of vision was incredibly unfamiliar.
A shrunken body.
The fingers were stubby, and the were so small, they resembled thinly cut pieces of paper.
‘How many years back have I gone…?’
Considering I was still staying at the orphanage, I seemed younger than the five-year-old I had been when adopted by the Longton family.
‘It must be a return to the past, right?’
I glanced at the woman again.
Then, the confusion subsided.
Yes, there was no way I could forget or mistake this face.
‘It’s unmistakably Teacher Ann.’
Teacher Ann was the one who had taken me in when I was an orphan in my previous life.
She was the one who raised me at this small orphanage on the outskirts of the system.
Until I was adopted by a prestigious noble family when I was around five years old.
“Anellia, be happy. You can do it.”
I still remember the words Teacher Ann had said to me as I left this place.
At that time, I believed those words like they were made of steel.
I didn’t know what the future held.
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts.
The person who had adopted me in my previous life was Duke Lambert Longton, a powerful figure from one of the most renowned families in the Taranta Empire.
He had three sons, all of whom adored me even more than their blood relatives did.
Only until his real daughter, Hiyana, returned when she turned twelve.
I composed my expression and raised my head.
I tightly grasped the hem of Teacher Ann’s clothes and spoke with a voice strained from crying.
“Teacher…”
“Yes, I’m here, Teacher is here.”
“Lia, I want to see the calendar.”
“Huh?”
Teacher Ann had a bewildered expression.
But there was no other way.
‘First, I need to confirm what time it is right now.’
“If you could show me the calendar, please? Lia wants to see the calendar.”
Teacher Ann, who had hesitated for a moment, soon retrieved something from a shelf.
It was the calendar I had asked for, made of thick paper bound with a ribbon.
But the moment I received it.
“Oh my, our Ria. Did you want to meet him so soon?”
The teacher smiled as if she couldn’t hold back.
“It’s Duke Longton. Since he’s going to be your father, you wanted to meet him soon, right?”
She slightly parted her lips and then quickly lowered her head.
It was to hide her pale, sickly face.
“Yes, um…”
Indeed.
It seemed I hadn’t regressed to a particularly favorable time.
