Inside the mansion that belongs to Count Peter Raymond, servants could be seen running here and there. A tall man with dark black hair and green eyes, dressed in army attire adorned with various medals and insignia on his dark fabric uniform, with a red cape flowing gracefully from his shoulders, could be seen pacing. Normally, his eyes look sharp and vigilant, surveying the surroundings with a sense of duty and unwavering determination. But right now, the same man is pacing left to right in front of the master bedroom of the mansion while looking worried.
A mature woman with a little bit of grey hair on her head, dressed in a maid uniform, came running to the room with a hot water basin. The count looked at the woman and said, "Maria, is everything okay? Do you need my help?"
The maid looked at the count with a sharp gaze and said, "Please, sir, this is not a battlefield you can win with a sword. You need to calm down. Not even madam looks as pale as you; it is going to be fine." The maid entered the room.
Other servants present in the vicinity looked at this scene with surprise as it never gets old. No servant dares even look at the count as they respect and fear him, not because he is a bad lord. It is the way he conducts himself, his firm character, and sharp eyes. The only people who can speak to him in this way are his wife, the madam of the house, and the head maid Maria, which is one of the reasons that all the servants fear Maria as much as they fear the count.
"Ahhhhhhh…" The screaming of a woman followed with another wailing, "UWA… UWA…" The count immediately entered the room and saw a red-haired woman holding a small baby. The normally stern face of the count showed a warm smile as he looked at the cute baby boy in the hands of his mother.
"Look at you, all emotional. This is our third child, you know. Look at your daddy, baby… look at him," the red-haired woman said while smiling at the baby. The count looked at this woman who was holding his baby. She is Rebecca Raymond, the wife of Count Peter Raymond. She is a redhead with brown eyes, and even though she just went through childbirth, it has not made her look ugly one bit.
"He has your eyes, Reb," said the count.
"And he has your face and hair," said the countess. Just then, a child who looks to be around 8 years old with red hair and green eyes came running, followed by a maid. He started jumping around the bed happily.
"Mommy, mommy, can I hold him?" the child asked.
"Wait a bit, Liam. Let me look at my boy," Peter said while taking the little baby from the hands of his wife.
"Madam, Sir, we need to decide a name for the child. Have you both decided on a name?" Maria said while looking at the child.
"Yes, Maria, we have decided the name. His name will be 'Damian Raymond,'" said the count.
I just opened my eyes to a whole rollercoaster of emotional family drama. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it. They look like good parents, loving, and I think I have two elder brothers who also love me. And I have servants as well. It looks like I am born to a rich family. The stern-looking guy with the red cape that looks like my father seems to be a count, which means I am nobility. Not bad at all for a new start.
Now, there are a few things that caught my undivided attention in this room: the woman called Rebecca and two other maids. One of them is Maria; the other maid I have no idea about. The speciality among all three of them is that they are the most beautiful women in this room right now.
Life as a child sucks, especially when you are a grown up inside that body . Nothing much to do except waking up, crying, drinking milk, shitting my pants, bathing, and looking at my favourite three women whenever I get a chance. I mean, I got sent to this universe to do something, and here I am stuck in a baby's body. Ahh… just imagining it makes my small heart beat with excitement. I will just have to suck it up and live until I can talk and walk, I guess…
When I turned 5, I was very excited, as I was getting my own personal maid. Until 5, I was practically with my mom 24/7. Apart from this, when you turn 5, elders check the magic aptitude of every kid, which is important as it is said that this decides how strong our foundations are.
The aptitude testing ranks are:
Rank F – Fail: You do not have the aptitude for magic.
Rank C – Below average: This aptitude can make you become a support type magician.
Rank B – Average: This is the minimum requirement to enter the Magic academy to be a war mage.
Rank A – Good: This aptitude is considered good, as they are given direct attention by the kingdom and can become leading powers in the kingdom.
Rank S – Rare: This rank is rare and can shift the scale of war among humans. They are considered gems by the kingdoms.
Rank SS - ???: This rank is not well-defined. Some call them calamities, others call them children of gods. They are treated as extreme cases because anyone with the SS rank was either one who attained godhood or became a devil. Some nations have gone to war for these powerhouses.
According to the aptitude test, I turned out to be Rank S.
After everything was out of the way, came the thing that I was excited about. My own maid. Apparently, my eldest brother has only Rank A aptitude and my second eldest has a Rank B aptitude, so they were very excited.
My mom said, "Damian, I am so happy, my baby."
My dad just nodded at me with his stern face, but I could see he was struggling not to smile from ear to ear. Everyone was happy. I knew this was the perfect opportunity. Normally, it is mom who chooses the maid for my brothers, but if I want the one I like, I have to strike while the iron is hot.
"Mom, since I made you so happy today, can I also ask for something?"
My mom looked at me curiously. "What is it, son? What do you want to ask?"
"Mom, can I choose my own maid? Please…" I looked at her with my puppy eyes.
My mom stayed silent for a moment, then said while smiling, "Oh, okay. If that is what you want, then I will allow it. So, who do you want as your maid?"
I was practically jumping in my mind, but I looked calm and pointed at the maid who looked like Tsunade. The fact is, this maid was not even among the maids that mom wanted to choose for me. She was, in fact, a battle maid who is more experienced in defensive combat and healing. She doesn't know squat about raising kids, but that is why she is perfect.
"Hmm… so you want Tanya as your maid, but Tanya is not really that type of maid, son. She is…" Rebecca looked at me with hesitant eyes.
"Please, mommy…" I looked at my mom like a puppy. I need her for my future, I need her!
"But Liam… she is not for…" Just as Rebecca started speaking, my father intervened.
"I will allow it."
"Peter…"
"I understand your concern, Reb. But it is not that bad. I mean, with Liam having Rank S aptitude, having someone like Tanya, who is a Rank B defense mage, is also not that bad if you ask me. He can learn the basics from her."
"But Peter, he just turned 5," my mom protested.
"Mom, it is fine. I am just asking her to be my maid," I said with a pleading voice.
My mom looked at me for a couple of seconds before sighing in defeat. "Fine… I will allow it."
"Yay!" I jumped with excitement.
Everyone looked at me smilingly, except for one person. Tanya was the only one who looked dumbfounded by what happened. She was supposed to be in the protection detail but now she was assigned to babysitting.
While everyone was looking at the action of this little kid happily, Liam was thrilled as he heard what he was waiting for.
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