Although I had my doubts, I had long suspected that my mother was not a normal person.

Quite a few years had passed already, and my sister and I were already six years old. Even at a young age, I noticed our mother's unordinary actions. She'd often leave the house early and come home late. Not long after my sister and I had begun walking, our mother had hired a maid to take care of us.

Lillianna was her name. Lillianna was quite young for a maid, but I saw that she tried her best. She always wore a smile and did her job quite well, as she took care of us and raised us alongside our mother. It was odd having something akin to two mothers, but it still felt normal all the less.

For the six years I've been alive, I haven't even seen the shadow of the man I was to call my father. But for some reason, as of now, I wasn't too fussed about it. I wasn't angry nor held a grudge against a man I hadn't met, yet for some reason, I quite like my life as it was.

There was something I forgot to mention. Although our mother left home early and would come back late, she owned a cake shop and a small cafe. Our home was the loft directly above the cake shop and cafe, yet Mother seemed to never be working there either. Lillianna, our maid and babysitter, would help out in the shop while other staff members worked there seamlessly as well. It was like a small team and family.

While learning to walk and talk, eavesdropping was the best, as no one would suspect a toddler to understand the complexities and machinations of their speech.

There was also this guy named Terry. He worked for the shop and was in his mid-twenties. A few years ago, I even suspected him to be our father, but I couldn't be any further from the truth. However, through some eavesdropping, I did find out that he was infatuated with our mother.

All in all, my mother, Victoria Clement, was an interesting woman.

Wait, had I not introduced myself? In this life, my name is Christopher Clement, or just Chris, for short.

I have an older twin sister named Julie, and my honest thoughts on being a baby are that it's super boring.

Oh, how relieved and happy I was when I first learned to walk.

I had been sixteen years old before dying in my past life, so it felt great to finally be able to move freely. These past six years have truly been a dark time in my life. I couldn't go places as I wished, and I couldn't communicate my thoughts and feelings to the people around me. I didn't have control over when and where I could relieve myself. Such humiliation.

...

On a normal Sunday afternoon, I sat at one of the tables on the ground floor of the building we lived in—the cake shop. I sat staring at the streets in front of the shop as a few pedestrians would walk there occasionally. I sat while eating a cone of ice cream, as the expression of boredom could easily be noticed on my face.

"Chris! Chris! Why are you angry?" The voice of a cute little girl could be heard coming from behind me. It didn't take a genius to figure out the identity of this little rascal.

Julie quickly ran up to me while holding onto a stuffed animal toy. Unlike a conventional teddy bear, the teddy was a fat rabbit with light brown fur. Julie wore a cute little flower dress, and her purple eyes shone as she looked at me while grinning from ear to ear, her silly twin tails eliciting a smile from me.

"I'm not angry, you silly kid." I responded while trying to sound a little angry; however, almost as if able to see straight through me, Julie knew how much I actually cared for her as another mischievous grin grew on her face.

"Ouch!" Julie didn't react too favourably to my karate chop to the head. She hugged her stuffed bunny tightly as she looked at me with a wronged expression.

Who was I kidding? This little brat has a grasp on my heart already.

Julie still pouted, not so angry because she was bonked but because she was called a kid.

Tch! Being a twin was quite scary, as sometimes I had a feeling that Julie had the ability to read my mind.

As I peeled my tongue away from my ice cream, I saw Julie staring at it intensely, as if hypnotised, as I thought to myself, 'Were my expressions so obvious? Maybe I can read her mind too after all.'

After teasing and playing with Julie, I felt a small sense of satisfaction. The expressions she made when she was angry or flustered were just too cute!

I sighed while finishing my ice cream cone. Julie had long since gone upstairs to take a bath, and I was sitting alone downstairs.

I couldn't help but feel dissatisfied, though. I spent six years in this body, yet I haven't learned anything about this world. I had tried meditating and sensing for Qi or Mana, but I couldn't feel anything.

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This was just way too frustrating. I was still just a toddler and couldn't do as I wished. Mother would always come home late, and Julie and I would barely go outside, which is understandable since we were just toddlers, but I craved an adventure.

The world, magic, and everything about it.

All I had gathered so far was hearsay and nothing of value.

Although I had Julie, who could be compared to my best friend, I still felt a bit lonely. Lillianna, who was like a second mother, was a sweet young woman who made me feel very happy at times. The cake shop cafe was already cemented as my home in my heart, and the staff all treated me kindly and were very nice too. But I often still wish my mother would be around more often.

After so long, I had finally gathered the courage to ask my mother about magic.

...

"You're home early, Victoria." Lillianna greeted Victoria with a smile on her face. It was 6:30 p.m., and Lillianna was holding onto a homemade cake that she'd made for dessert that night.

There was a kitchen upstairs in the living area, but Lillianna found it more conventional to use the cake shop's more advanced machines to make a delicious cake in a shorter amount of time.

Victoria had just used her keys to enter the shop, which was under their home, as it was obviously closed at this time. Of course, every night there'd be one person on the night shift, but they were always treated no differently than family.

"I'm totally beat. Did you cook anything delicious tonight?" Victoria's expression brightened as her eyes shone; she looked no different than a teenage girl who was ready to pounce on anything delicious. She was especially eyeing the fresh, oven-baked cake.

The two looked no different than sisters, even when Victoria had only just entered her thirties.

As the two walked up the stairs, they chatted while talking about their days and other mundane activities.

...

Tonight, it was Terry who worked the night shift; therefore, he joined the family for dinner. The lucky guy would once again get to taste Lillianna's godly cooking.

From what I've seen so far, Terry wasn't a bad guy, I don't think. If his infatuation for my mother wasn't so easy to read, then I might have had a slightly better impression...

He wasn't a bad guy; to be honest, he was more of a goof at times. He was only twenty-five this year but seemed like quite the stand-up guy. He was single but hard-working. He's honest and like the older brother next door.

While we ate, however, I couldn't help but feel as if they were all avoiding certain subjects around my sister and me. During these six years, I'd barely heard them speak about magic, this world, or the government, which were all things I was interested in, but I was just six years old after all.

How frustrating.

But tonight, all of this will end.

After waiting for the right time, waiting for everyone to finish eating, waiting for Terry to return to his shift, and waiting for everyone to go to bed, I took this opportunity to strike!

Our home was a large building—the same building on top of the cake shop. The ground floor was the shop, while the first floor had the kitchen, living area, bathrooms, and bedrooms.

I tiptoed quietly in the night. It wasn't too late, as there were still many lights beneath the cracks of a couple of doors, namely the door that led downstairs, Lillianna's room, and my mother's room.

Maximising the sneakiness my infant body could muster, I reached my mother's room. Without knocking or anything fancy, I gently tried to open the door.

There, I saw the woman who'd taken care of me and assumed the role of my mother. She was beautiful. Although the room was slightly dark, the moonlight was just enough for me to see her clearly. Although she was beautiful, I didn't feel anything else; I didn't feel any other way apart from admiring her beauty as she was my mother. I could somewhat see my new features in her. Her violet-purple eyes shone akin to the light of a meteor. And... was that it? Was that the only thing we shared?

I couldn't help but feel weird.

I knew nothing of the woman in front of me, yet I was so impatient and eager to learn about this world.

Victoria sat down, facing the door. It was as if she knew and was certain that I was going to show up at her door tonight.

She smiled knowingly and with confidence before crossing her right leg on top of her left. "Little Man, you want to ask me something, don't you?" Victoria looked at me with those eyes—those same intense eyes—as if they stored all the answers to my questions, as if they already knew about all of my questions to begin with.

I didn't know how to respond right away.

Little Man. That was what she called me when she wanted to tease me. She would call me that when she knew I was hiding something from her. Or she'd call me that if she knew I was lying or not telling her the truth.

"Mum, please teach me about magic!" I mustered the courage to ask her.

As if already aware of my troubles, Victoria smiled smugly with a strange and mixed expression. "Was that all?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I was confused by her response.

"My, my... well, it just seemed like you were worrying about something serious or important. But to think that my child, who was so young, would want to learn about magic this early..." Victoria had a bored expression, as if she had expected something a lot more serious.

She pouted her lips together before doing something I would never have expected.

"Oh well, children usually don't awaken before the age of twelve."

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was already planning to have you and Julie attend a primary school next month."

"I know, and I'm sorry that I haven't been a good mother; you two must have been bored out of your minds, unable to see the vast world."

After saying those words, Victoria motioned with her hands for me to come close, but without me having to do anything, I felt my body slowly rising in the air.

I felt my infant body go from the ground, into the air, and into Victoria's arms as if a gentle wave of space had picked me up and carried me before putting me down.

Telekinesis? Was that telekinesis?

I felt my heart thumping faster and faster; the mere thought of such magic got me excited.

But nothing fancy had happened. There was no magic circle or incantation; it was just a simple action, as simple as lifting her arm.

Victoria held me in her arms as she smiled.

"I'm not really a good teacher, so I can't teach you. Next week, I'll get you and Julie a home tutor."

"Well, I call him a tutor, although he's more of an old friend of mine. You'll meet him soon enough, and I hope you can learn to like him." Victoria smiled confidently.

"His name is Michael. Michael Constantine."