The Adored Daughter of the Disliked Duke's House: My Magic Power Increases Every Time I'm Praised, So I've Been Perfecting Cuteness Since Infancy! - Episode 3

“This kind of job, I actually hated it, you know?”

I tried to complain to Millicent, who was changing my diaper while grinning, but…

“Ba, bu, ba!”

What came out of my mouth was nothing but a babble tinged with dissatisfaction.

“Alright, alright. Please behave.”

Her expression seems cheerful at first glance. It’s a lewd smile, but at least she’s smiling.
However.

“……Please don’t make me go through unnecessary trouble.”

In the depths of those eyes, there is clear malice.

“I actually wanted to become the nursemaid for the young master of the Carlisle family, who are also a family of dukes like us.”

From what I can gather from my parents’ conversation, this woman named Millicent seems to be an incredibly skilled nursemaid. Indeed, her hands are quite sure. Even though I was still squirming in dissatisfaction, she changed my diaper in no time at all without paying me any mind.

In terms of parenting skills, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her an expert.

But, anyway, he has a bad personality.

“The Duke and Duchess are going to the ball tonight as well, but… I wonder if their presence is a bother to everyone.”

Again, Millicent grinned slyly.

(Indeed, if that stern-faced father and that ice-cold mother came to the ball…)

A little scary.
That’s for sure.

(Although both of them are cheerful at home, they maintain the facade of the cold and ruthless duke and duchess in public.)

It was revealed during the recent palace visit.

I even suspected they were acting on purpose, but the moment we returned to the mansion and I saw the tension dissolve and their expressions go limp, that thought disappeared.

Those two are just socially awkward.

Due to being feared for their strength as a magician, and with their inherent social awkwardness added to the mix, the hated duke’s family was formed… it’s a tragedy.

“The duke is called the strongest magician in the country, but that’s all he has going for him.”

When the Duchess was at the royal court, she was called iron-faced and couldn’t find a marriage partner…

When these two decided to get married, the nobility across the country felt relieved, you know?

I see.
No one wants to marry these two, but since they have high status, it has been difficult to deal with them.
Since those two got married, the possibility of being chosen for the role was eliminated, and the high-ranking nobles felt relieved.

(How can you tell such a disgusting story to the person’s own child?)

Really, this nursemaid has a terrible personality.

“Come now, miss, please go to bed early. That way, I can go to bed early too.”

Saying this, Millicent rolled me onto the bed and, while elegantly sipping her tea, began to read a book.

By the way, the other maids have been banned from entering the children’s room because she said they were distracting her.

In the single bed, I tried to move my limbs that wouldn’t obey me, but I gave up quickly.

Surely, even if I cry out, it will just be brushed off.

Usually.
My mother gently hugs me and pats my back.

Lonely.
No, even more than that.

(You can complain all you want, but do your job properly!)

I got angry at Millicent for treating the work requested by those two so carelessly.

Anger wells up.
Then, at the same time, the pit of my stomach became hot.

(Huh, could this be…?)

This time, I’ll intentionally engage my core.

Then, the heat deep within my abdomen intensified.

An invisible, mysterious something is inside the body.

I have a memory of this feeling.

It’s magic!

Apparently, there seems to be magical power within my body as well. Could it be because of my bloodline?

(This power becomes magic, right?)

Alright, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

(Burn!)

I strongly wished for it in my heart.
However.

Nothing happened.

(……To use magic, we might need some kind of special training or something.)

When I gave up and relaxed my body, the heat that had been deep in my abdomen gradually diminished and eventually disappeared.

(Is there any way to find out how to use magic?)

If I could use magic, maybe this small body could do something.

(For example, punishing a wicked nursemaid, or something like that…)

Above all, what a baby needs is sleep.

I fell asleep imagining the sight of Millicent collapsing in shock, exclaiming “Gya-fun!”

The next day, I immediately started devising a plan to study magic.

I thought about it, but I couldn’t come up with anything at all.

Anyway, I can’t do anything with this baby’s body.

(At least, if I could see someone use magic and study it…)

Right now, I am a baby and spend most of my time in the nursery.

Sometimes I go for a walk in the garden, but only for a short while. I have no opportunity to meet anyone other than my parents and the nursemaid, Millicent.

Then, there’s only one thing we can do.

It’s just about trying various things with the magic within me.

Fortunately, I have seen my father use magic just once.

At that time, how did the magic move within my father’s body?

While recalling that, you will discover the way to use magic on your own.

(However, you have to do it where your father and mother can’t see you.)

They say the two of them are excellent wizards.

If they notice the secret training, it would seem strange.

Since Millicent arrived, I’ve only been able to spend a little time with my parents in the morning. Millicent, who is in charge of me, does only the bare minimum of work and then leaves me alone.

This situation is a blessing in disguise.

(This is perfect for secret training.)

When I was alone with Millicent, I immediately began our secret training.

Day one.
Just like yesterday, I increase the magic power in my stomach.

(I feel like when Father used lightning magic, he also initially amplified his magical power within his body.)

If I can increase my magical power, I will surely be able to use stronger magic.

I made sure not to accidentally poop while tightening my stomach.

The magical power kept growing larger and eventually, with a pop, it deflated.

It seems there are limits.

However, the second time I was able to make it bigger than the first time.

(If we repeat it, it might become even bigger.)

I decided to make this part of my daily training routine.

Second day.
I’ll try to move the magic power in my stomach to another part of my body.

At first, it didn’t go well, but as I kept repeating it, I gradually got the hang of it.

I can’t move large amounts of magical power, but I’ve become able to move magical power the size of the tip of my finger with my arms and legs.

It’s easy to understand because when I move my magic, it gets warm. When I move my magic to my toes, I can sleep comfortably.

Third day.
I discovered something.
When I moved the magic power in front of my eyes, my vision became clear. When I did the same with my ears, I could hear distant sounds more clearly.
This is a great harvest.

Fourth day.
I’ll try to move a greater amount of magic to my eyes and ears.
If this power becomes stronger, we should be able to see and hear various things even while in the children’s room.

In the same manner, the magical power that can move the hands and feet will also increase.

(If eyes and ears can enhance their abilities with magic, then perhaps hands and feet could move freely as well.)

This prediction was confirmed three days later.

Seventh day.
For the first time since becoming a baby, I was able to move my fingers freely.

“Ahh! Baubub!”

Seeing my hand shaped like a “choki,” I couldn’t help but let out a joyful exclamation.

However, I decided to make this training the last one.

Just by moving one hand’s fingers into a “peace” sign, all the magic power inside was used up.

(The fuel efficiency is too poor. It seems better to wait for the body to grow.)

Rather than that, it seems more efficient to train to be able to use other magic.

Thus, I continued to knead the magic within me day after day.

And then, two weeks later, I realized something.

(Wait, could it be that my magic power increases when I’m praised!?)