A few days have passed and the storm calmed down. By storm, meaning the trouble a certain little bun had brought who was now able to sort out her thoughts.
She's now lying on a little bed, looking up towards the couple who seemed to be her parents. They were looking at her with love and her father was even playfully poking at her cheeks.
'Reincarnation huh? This world didn't seem normal as it seem. I've never seen a normal human being with golden-white hair and purple eyes. Are they even human?' she thought to herself, looking at the couple as she grasped her father's finger to stop his unnecessary assault to her cheeks.
'Well that aside, if my parents are this gorgeous, does this mean I'll look as beautiful as them? Am I escaping the ordinary, dull life?' she thought as she imagined her future life in delight, 'Would I be able to create a harem with these looks? Hmm, It doesn't seem impossible, fufufu~'
She still couldn't understand what the people around her are talking about, however, she could recognize a word that her parents would repeat whenever they look at her.
"Nara..."
"... Nara..."
'So my name in this world should be Nara, right? Sounds pretty.' Nara thought and gave her parents a thumbs up.
There was a sound of a door creaking and the couple looked up when they heard the sound of footsteps. Both of their eyes lit up and they sounded enthusiastic towards the people who entered the room. Being a baby she is who is unable to move the way she wanted to, she couldn't raise her head to see who the visitors were.
Nara waited for a while as her parents beckoned the guests. She heard the footsteps coming closer and three boys of varying ages appeared in her sights. The boys held their breaths as they looked down on her, while Nara just stared at them and blinked.
It was just a simple gesture, but with her doe eyes and slightly rosy cheeks, she looked adorable blinking slowly and the three of them blushed.
The tallest and the one who seem the eldest of the three tried to avert his eyes and coughed in his hand to hide his embarrassment as he shift his eyes back and forth, while the two younger ones leaned over the bed and started fussing around her.
With the noise and the unintelligible chatters around her, her brows furrowed and she pouted. 'Ugh, so noisy. Who are these boys? Is this the first time they saw a baby? Youngsters are so energetic nowadays.' Nara thought, ignoring the fact that she just reincarnated as one of the youngsters she just mentioned.
The eldest of the boys seemed to have noticed her discomfort and frowned. He stepped behind his brothers and hit both their heads. The two younger boys held their heads and glared at the tall boy. Then they start bickering and pointing at each other. The couple spoke little but then shook their heads in defeat.
The tall boy harrumphed and went to the head of the bed. Nara looked at him curiously but was surprised when the noise suddenly stopped and she felt warmth at the sides of her head. The tall boy was covering her ears with his hands. His hands were so big that they almost covered her whole head.
The tall boy was glaring at the two younger boys who's being rowdy and noisy before he realized that the little bun was staring at him, so he looked down and stared back, a faint blush returning to his cheeks. The little bun blinked a few more times before a huge smile broke out on her face and she let out a giggle.
The room fell silent as the tall boy flinched and his face flushed red. The sound of the baby girl's laugh was angelic and her smile seemed to make the room bright. It was like their ears were blessed with a wonderful symphony that made their hearts melt. Soon, the two boys and the couple broke out of their reverie and instantly turned to the tall boy. The couple was looking at him with teasing smiles while the two younger boys were glaring and scowling at him. It seems like they can't accept that the little bun gave him her first smile.
Upon seeing everyone's reaction to her 'unexpected' smile, Nara was surprised. She had an inkling that these boys were her brothers, and she liked this tall one the most. He noticed that she was uncomfortable with the noise so he covered her ears and the gesture of this cold-looking youth just felt sweet, so she tried to convey her thanks by smiling at him as she couldn't speak. She did not expect that they would react like this.
'Does this family have some kind of a daughter and sister complex? Should I be worried?' Nara paused and reconsidered the possibility but immediately disregarded it. 'But then no one has ever doted on me before. Hmm, maybe this is not too bad.'
She then brought her hands to the side of her head where the hands of the tall boy are. Nara grasped his thumbs and started playing with them, all while giggling. The two younger boys seemed defeated by this sight and began biting at their sleeves in envy with tears in the corner of their eyes. Meanwhile, the woman said something that made the man beside her laugh. The tall boy purse his lips, but it couldn't hide how his eyes grew warm.
'Hmm, this family isn't so bad after all.'
------
Months passed from when Nara was reborn as a baby. She started to recognize some words from her parent's conversation and the storybooks that her brothers read to her. Being the 'genius' that she is, she was soon able to somewhat understand the new language.
"Young Miss? Young Miss, where are you?" a woman's voice called, which she recognized as Sylvia's, her nanny.
Nara stopped crawling and moved away from the source of the voice. She puffed her cheeks as she tried to go as fast as her short, chubby limbs could carry her, trying to avoid being seen.
As she grew more accustomed to this world, she was also able to gather bits and pieces of information about this world from their maids' conversations. Although she couldn't understand some of the contexts of their topic, she was able to catch some of the information about her family.
Her family is surnamed Shen and most of the members of this family are powerful people with high positions both in the scholar and military fields. They hold a prestigious reputation and their fame is well-known throughout the country, mostly due to their military might.
Their home is also a dead giveaway of their fortune, as most of the decorations in the home look exquisite and expensive. The ornaments give a noble vibe that suits her parents, at the same time feeling warm and homey. It made Nara think that she hasn't even explored a tenth of the house due to many twists and turns.
Lumi, her mother, and Ozul, her father, were supposed to belong to some huge figures in the world she's in so they were always busy. They only had a few weeks of leave when Nara was born and when Lumi recovered, they immediately went out. Her brothers, on the other hand, are still going to school.
Luca, the eldest, is in his last year of junior grade while the two younger boys and twins, Kai and Uri, were in their first year and would soon take their final examination of some sort. She knows because they would sometimes talk about it during dinner.
The age gap between her and her brothers was about 13-10 years and it made her wonder why did they take so long to make her? Also, she has been brooding over the fact that she has three older siblings. She wanted a younger brother!
Well, not that she didn't like her brothers now who would occasionally dote and play with her. But they would always tease her when they have a chance. She couldn't help but shake her fist in indignation, wanting to fight for her rights and have her parents make another baby. Nara wouldn't admit that she wanted a younger sibling to bully so she wouldn't be the one who's always bullied.
'The youngest ones are the easiest to bully!' Nara always thought this despite being the only child in her past life. Unfortunately, she became the youngest in her new family after she reincarnated, with no one to take advantage of.
All these thoughts were pushed back in her mind as she heard Sylvia's voice once again. Nara scrunched her nose before crawling towards a laundry basket and diving inside.
Since no one from her immediate family is available, the ones looking out for her are these nannies wearing some sort of yukata with puffy skirts.
But why is she running away from this particular maid you ask? Because she doesn't like her.
Call her petty but she has the right to be petty when this nasty maid would secretly treat her roughly! Whenever this maid would bathe her, she would use an unnecessary amount of force. When she fed her, she would forget to give her the next bite that if she didn't make a fuss, she wouldn't finish her meal. What's more, this maid dared to give her a sneer and look at her irritably as she would slightly shove the spoon in her mouth.
She is only a baby, yet this shrew would mistreat her without a single ounce of guilt in her eyes. She seemed to even enjoy bullying her. This made Nara extremely repulsed at the sight of this maid.
Also, she noticed that whenever her family is having a meal, this nanny would stand on the side and steal glances at her father with dreamy eyes. Once, when her father was not looking, she even saw Slyvia slip the napkin Ozul used into her sleeves and replace it with a new one.
With this kind of vixen working in her home, how can she not be upset? She tried to fuss about whenever Sylvia got close in front of her family to warn them about this maid's intentions, but Lumi would just try to console her while Ozul only looks at her with lost and worried eyes, completely ignoring the starry-eyed woman serving them.
How can she have such a dense father? Can he not see how that vixen was trying to catch his attention? Shouldn't he banish this kind of maid to placate his wife? Nara knows that it meant that Ozul only had Lumi in his eyes and Lumi didn't seem to realize it as well, but it still makes her irritated that her parents were unknowingly housing a snake.
As she was hiding, footsteps came nearer to her hiding place before the voice of a raspy and shrilly voice followed. "Where did that wretched brat go? So troublesome!" it said.
Nara listened as she silently crossed her arms and did her best to not move or make a sound. She wanted to hear what colorful things would come out of this snake's mouth again.
After a few shuffling, she could hear Sylvia mumble. "Ugh, that brat pisses me off! Where did that thing go? She's like a rat that scurries around and hides in its hole. She's much worse than her brothers despite being the only girl. The father is so dignified and admirable, why did they birth such an unruly child?"
Slyvia continued huffing as she peek around the corner. "It must be from her mother. I just knew that woman is a wicked witch and is just trying to hide her true colors with that frigid mask she always puts on. She always thinks that she's above others just because a lot of men fawn over her. What did Master Ozul see in her? What's so beautiful about a woman who never smiles and is always glaring?"
Nara's eyes narrowed as she listened to the maid degrade her mother and worship her father. She also heard some spiteful words thrown at her brothers. She remained quiet until all the banging and scuttling died down and the door of the room slammed shut.
She waited for a few minutes before flinging away the bundle of clothes she hid in. She hopped off the laundry basket and sat on the floor, staring at the direction Sylvia disappeared to.
Nara knows that it hasn't been long since she reincarnated into this world and she still doesn't know much about it, but for the past few months of her life, her family has always been warm and loving towards her.
As an only child turned orphan in her past life, she had been lonely as she grew up, watching as families walk around parks and eat together in a restaurant. She's been dreaming to have this kind of familial love. The heavens were merciful towards her as she was given such a gentle and happy family in her second life.
Being blessed by these wonderful people, how can she sit still and watch as a lowly servant talk bad about her family, especially her mother, who's always been so affectionate and kind towards her? That pathetic woman can't even begin to compare to her gorgeous mother's nails.
'How dare you talk like that to my mother behind her back? After being considerate towards you, after taking her money, after caring for you, you still have the gall to bark at your master?' Nara's eyes flashed in disdain. 'Since you're looking for death, this little miss you call a wretched brat will give it to you. You said you're much better than my mother? Then let's put that to a test!'