Once Ferris woke up and saw her mother, she instantly broke down.
They spent quite some time in each other's embrace. She simply stroked her daughter's hair and occasionally consoled her.
"Prince Falk had taken a number of girls with him to one of his private properties. When he found out that one of them had gotten pregnant, though, he immediately sought us out."
"I don't know what happened. I only remember him cutting me open and... Huh?"
Feeling her stomach and realizing she had no injury, Ferris threw off the covers and pulled up her gown.
There was no trace of anything even similar to a cut.
"...impossible..."
Veronica Eslon, her mother, gave her shoulder a squeeze and then stood up.
"Either way, Prince Falk tried to kill you. He'd want to keep the matter a secret from everyone, so it makes sense that he acted on his own. None of his father's people are loyal to him, so you don't have to worry about anyone coming here."
Veronica stood up and looked at her daughter one last time.
"Try to get some rest. The little one will be here any minute."
Then she left.
Ferris couldn't fight the smile that crept up on her face, but she also couldn't stop the tears that came.
The day became night, then day once more. Like this, time passed.
When the moment came for Vorya and the boy to be born, the process took almost ten hours. It wasn't all too strange, so no one thought much of it.
The reason for this extended period was actually due to Vorya's last minute panic. He had been preparing to be born as a girl, but a sudden wave of anxiety overcame him.
He had a feeling that, once they were born, they would be assimilated into the child's consciousness and lose their sense of self.
He was afraid of such a thing.
Ferris was not in that much pain, but she was getting annoyed.
When her daughter was finally born, all were amazed to see a number of black characters on her arm. They weren't removable and no one knew what caused them.
When Veronica saw them, she merely shrugged and said that it was a very weird birthmark.
Like this, the Eslon family saw the addition of the new baby girl, Leo Eslon.
Leo Eslon, the little blond haired baby girl, was an unnaturally shrewd newborn.
From the moment she was born she appeared to be calculating and observant. She also had a very clear opinion on people.
Her face would light up when she was being held by Ferris, Veronica or a pretty maid, but the older maids, the less pretty maids and the butler couldn't hold her without her fussing.
She refused the mixture in the bottle and only accepted Ferris' teat. Leo was also quiet. There was little to no crying, even when she was left alone for hours.
What was worrying for most of the maids, and Ferris, was that Leo hardly ever slept. It was like she didn't get sleepy.
The butler, Sabien, took a liking to Leo. Sadly, Leo all but detested him. However, at some times, he was able to attract her attention with a toy or funny face, which delighted him.
Despite the fact that she looked at him like he was an idiot, Sabien didn't mind at all; she wasn't crying, at least.
Veronica also paid little mind to Leo.
This was not for any reason in particular, but because she was also quite busy.
At times, late at night when everyone was asleep, she would visit Leo and read all sorts of things to her. Theoretical knowledge, philosophy, geography; she would randomly pick a topic for each night.
Veronica became greatly interested in Leo, and thus she kept at it for weeks.
She continued to read all manner of things to Leo. Fairy tales, reports - even realistic stories with complicated plots and various economical issues.
She would even discuss the society sometimes, and Leo would 'coo' and giggle as she spoke.
As such, Veronica came to understand that her 'Little Leo,' which was what she called her, was beyond unusual.
One night, she was discussing the issue of people dumping trash into canals and such, which no one did anything about. It was then that she noticed Leo's face undergo an unprecedented change.
Leo appeared to be frustrated, or perhaps enraged. However, there was also a look alike that of someone reflecting on the past.
Veronica removed the strands of brown hair from her face, looking closely at Leo.
When Leo realized she was being stared at, she casually reassumed her usual calm look.
Veronica would never forget the pain and anger she had seen on her granddaughter's face that night.
That image would stay with her forever.
Leo grew slowly, a testament to the quality of her growth.
Whereas other children grew in size, Leo grew mostly in mental strength.
This was because of the power of the consciousness in her head.
As she grew, it melded with her own, becoming her just the same as she became it.
Leo and that nameless boy were now one. As for Vorya, he faded into her mind where he would be nothing more than the voice in her head.
He was still an independent existence, but small changes were made to him in that he was now a part of Leo's mind: her subconscious.
It may be wrong to call Leo a girl or refer to her as 'her,' but who cares? I'm the author.
Leo's mental fortitude grew to the point that she could perfectly control every limb, and her thoughts were as complex as those of a child entering adolescence-- of course she never shared those thoughts.
She kept her prowess hidden from everyone ...but Veronica.
One night, as Veronica was ranting about a noble that tried to buy off one of her vegetable suppliers, Leo laughed and responded.
"Wow, talk about a loyal friend."
Veronica chuckled and nodded, absentmindedly. When she realized what had happened, she stood up so suddenly that she sent her chair sliding backwards on the marble floor.
"I figured you'd talk at some point... But you're barely a year old."
Veronica sat and watched as her granddaughter sat up and folded her tiny legs in her crib.
"Mm. I try my best to hide it from everyone else, but since Gram is my favorite... Heehee! Surprise!"
Veronica giggled quite girlishly, which was unlike her. The child, sitting with folded legs, seemed quite charming to her.
"It is a surprise, but it's not that shocking. I've never once thought you were normal." The moonlight passing through the window caused an enigmatic glint to appear in Veronica's violet eyes.
As she sat in her thin satin clothing, she leaned over to a short table near where she was sitting. On it were a number of books, but only one of them contained her bookmark; she reached for that book and brought it to her chest.
"When you were born, I first noticed the markings on your arm. I thought I was mistaken, but after a bit of research I realized I was not."
Veronica's eyes then narrowed into slits as she opened the book from where she had left her bookmark.
After that, she placed the book into the crib next to Leo.
"So tell me... Who were you before you were my granddaughter?"
At that instant, Leo's eyes widened.
Vorya was also shocked.
"She's onto us..." Though he was little more than her subconscious thought, he had enough of an effect on Leo's mental state to alert her.
She immediately began to think about whether or not the situation was becoming dangerous for her.
Thinking such, Leo regained her composure and cleared her throat. The high pitched harrumph was quite cute.
"I don't really remember what my past was like." Leo made a great show of being in pain, as if the loss of her memories was incredibly saddening.
After a while, Veronica's gaze softened and she sighed.
"I thought so."
At that time, Leo looked at the book Veronica had opened for her.
On the page were written characters, very similar to the ones on her arm.
As she perused the pages she became lost in thought; the boy and Vorya were having a subconscious discussion in her mind.
According to that book, those markings indicated either one of two things.
The person bearing the marks had crossed over from another world, but would either exhibit no strange characteristics, or would possess incredible talent in certain fields.
Other than that, little was known about the second possibility.
The records were all too ancient for anything to be certain. As such, Veronica was secretly hoping that Leo was that second possibility.
Leo on the other hand already knew.
That culmination of Vorya and the boy's knowledge was able to easily figure that out.
The boy was forgotten. He was truly forgotten.
To truly understand what that meant, one would have to comprehend the sophisticated nature of everything there is. Once you understood that, you would have to attempt to fathom what existing outside of everything would mean.
This is the nature of those that are forgotten. They are free to exist detached from all natural law, common sense, imagination. All these things are no longer able to bind them.
Leo did not notice the hopeful look in Veronica's eyes. She just read both pages and then closed the book.
"Alright, I'm tired Gram. I'm going to sleep."
Veronica took the book with an 'mm,' then she left the room.
Days passed by in the usual fashion.
Ferris spent almost all her time with her daughter, coming to learn that she was quite the young genius.
Leo did simple math like it was nothing, was able to understand exactly what Ferris was saying and could even say simple words.
Leo learned to read and write in a matter of hours, spending the days practicing her handwriting. With her immense mental fortitude, she became perfectly ambidextrous.
Ferris, Sabien and the staff were utterly perplexed. Such prowess on a child barely a year old was unheard of.
Ferris also realized that Leo had a very odd habit.
As she was giving Leo a bath, Ferris noticed that Leo's eyes were glued to her chest.
Of course, Ferris knew that Leo loved breast milk. What she didn't know was Leo loved her breasts even more.
The perky bright pink nipples sparkled due to the splashes of water, and the bountiful mounds were stuck in an almost perpetual jiggling with every move she made.
Leo was caught in a trance ...and beginning to drool.
Ferris laughed and flicked Leo's nose with her finger.
"You'll have milk when you're all clean."
That was not the only time she caught Leo in such a trance. It happened when she was changing her clothes, feeding Leo, or even just sitting around in her nightgown sometimes.
Leo would always have her eyes on Ferris' figure.
This was not limited to Ferris though. All the young and beautiful maids were subject to Leo's somewhat lascivious habit, but no one suspected that she was being naughty.
After all, a baby girl would have no knowledge of such things. Babies are supposed to be pure, are they not?
Plus, they were of the mind that it was only natural for a girl to eventually come to like boys.
Thus, Leo was welcomed into the various changing rooms, bathrooms and bedrooms with open arms.
Sabien was also getting some attention from her, which put him in a great mood.
Since Sabien was responsible for ensuring the maids were working perfectly and that their working conditions were up to the set standard, being with him meant Leo would see women all day.
There was once an aversion in her to the older and less pretty maids, but that soon vanished.
Despite the age, looks and body type of the maids, Leo was greatly interested in all of them.
As such, she would accompany Sabien during the day, then at night she would crawl into various rooms and indulge in their exposed bodies.
It was during such a night that Vorya interrupted Leo with a weird message.
"Requirements achieved. Infatuation skill tree unlocked."
Leo was enjoying the natural pillows of a well endowed maid when this message came from her subconscious. With a thought, she responded to it.
"What was that?"