{ 3 DAYS LATER… }

'Alright, let's try to summarize what I've figured out!'

Vector was lying in the cradle, mulling over recent events and, as he did every day, mentally taking stock of the situation.

'It seems I've ended up awakening in the body of a newborn baby. This happened after my death in my old body. So... should I assume I've been reincarnated?!'

But even assuming an absurd event like this was true, Vector had no idea how or why it had happened.

'Is there a reasonable explanation behind all this? Or should I just assume it happened purely by chance?'

He fell silent for a moment, staring at the starry ceiling and the golden chandeliers above his head.

'Tsk, it doesn't matter!' he finally exclaimed inwardly. 'What's done is done. And frankly, for now, I don't care at all about how I reincarnated. Or even the reason, if there is one. Let's just focus on this life!'

However, before he could do so, Vector had made another startling discovery: the memories of his past life were all incredibly vivid!

He remembered everything: every step taken, every sneeze, every single face he had encountered. EVERYTHING, down to the smallest details!

Even the most distant memories, like the sensation of the amniotic fluid surrounding him when he was still in his mother's womb, were etched in his mind.

'It's nothing short of unsettling…' he reflected, feeling a shiver run down his spine. 'Could it be due to my reincarnation? Well, since I can't explain it now, I'll simply add it to the list of mysteries to solve sooner or later. Then again, if I think about it, this ability might actually come in handy!'

This was because, in 65 years, Vector had amassed knowledge in every imaginable field!

Since his youth, books had been his only true home. The smell of old paper, the silence broken only by the rustling of pages, felt like a soothing touch to his soul.

In short, he had always loved reading books!

Even when life forced him to live on the streets, he continued to find refuge among the pages, recovering discarded volumes from passersby or leafing through them quietly in libraries.

Those austere places, fragrant with old paper and silence, were his sanctuaries. A place where he could immerse himself in reading without spending a penny.

Without the means to obtain a library card, he read books only within the library, trying to remain unnoticed among the tables and shelves.

He spent hours and hours leafing through the yellowed pages of old and new editions, until someone noticed his presence and threw him out, annoyed by his smell and unkempt appearance.

But Vector never gave up! If he was kicked out of one library, he simply looked for another. If necessary, he even changed cities, hoping to find new books to devour.

Moreover, he had been a man who read anything: from literature classics to science, from philosophy to art, from computer science to foreign language books. In short, everything!

'Well, except for math, of course…' he thought, with a tone of self-irony, as if it were common knowledge for the whole world. 'But who cares!'

With an eidetic memory that bordered on miraculous, Vector retained every word he read from the almost endless volumes he studied, each page engraved in his mind like an indelible imprint.

This granted him constant access to an enormous amount of information, always available for any future need.

'Knowledge is power, isn't it?'

With this thought, Vector returned to reflecting on the information he had gathered during that time from the gossip of the maids and butlers working in the royal palace. Apparently, they were all big chatterboxes, who spilled all sorts of secrets to pass the time while completing their tasks. But to Vector, they were nothing more than a rich source of invaluable information!

'As far as I understand, on the same night he was born, the child of this body passed away. The cause of his sudden death appears to have been cardiac arrest. Damn, what a depressing way to go, I must say… Anyway: the next morning, I woke up in this child's body, making it look as though he had come back to life. And probably, the fact that the heart started beating again is related to my reincarnation. Now I understand why everyone keeps referring to me as a miracle! But who can blame them… Furthermore, despite this strange and irrational event, no one in the castle seems inclined to investigate how "the child" magically "came back to life." And the reason behind this is rather odd, if not downright bizarre: if I understand correctly, everyone is calling my resurrection a "Divine Miracle." A gift from a Goddess everyone calls "Mother Nature." How strange: looking at them, I was sure everyone here was Christian, but apparently, I was wrong. Anyway, religious matters aside, I’m glad they don’t want to go into too much detail about the "resurrection"! Who knows what would happen if Queen Ginevra and King Arthur discovered that "I" am not actually their "beloved son"…'

With his heart pounding, imagining the potential horrific consequences if the truth about him came to light, Vector turned his thoughts to one last matter:

'The man named Arthur… the father of this child… As he himself said, he is the King and sovereign of the "Flame Kingdom", one of the seven kingdoms of the continent called "Harmony". From this, I can also deduce that I've reincarnated into another world, vastly different from the one I lived in. Therefore, there will surely be many things to discover about this new world, completely unknown to me. But again, there's no rush! Sooner or later, as it has happened so far, all the information will reveal itself in time. Returning then to the matter of King Arthur… He never had a son: never! According to the gossip of some maids, King Arthur also married three other noble women besides Ginevra, and consequently spent many nights with them. All in the hope of obtaining a male heir for his throne. But even so, King Arthur was never successful in his endeavor. This explains why, after ten years of continuous efforts, he was so excited and happy to see me alive again!'

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Moreover, despite the other wives, Queen Ginevra continued to be the King's one true love.

From Vector's perspective, and as a servant had already hypothesized the day before while discussing it with a colleague while changing his diaper, King Arthur would surely divorce his other three wives sooner or later.

After all, King Arthur had now achieved his goal of having a son and a male heir to the throne, and, not feeling any true love for them, he would no longer have needed his other wives.

'I almost feel sorry for those three… Wait a minute! Speaking of the number "three": I almost forgot that those brats lives also here at the castle!'

With that term, Vector was referring to the three twins, daughters of Queen Ginevra and King Arthur, and thus the sisters of that child's body.

'Camilla, Veronica, and Michelle… They're all seven years old, if I'm not mistaken. Even though they've come to see me almost every day, I still can't match names to faces. Damn, how could I?! I mean, they're practically three peas in a pod! Huh, damn brats!'

The reason Vector kept calling them that was simple enough: as a cranky old man, he detested spoiled children!

In his past life, he could never tolerate how children addressed their parents just to get what they wanted. And when they didn't, they cried and complained non-stop, even in the streets, often disturbing the public peace and everyone nearby.

'Damn ungrateful brats!'

In short, he loathed spoiled kids and pampered offspring. And those three girls, with their ridiculously elegant outfits at such a young age, with the way they carried themselves and the way they spoke, seemed just that.

'Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe one day I'll change my mind. But until then, those brats won't have my sympathy!'

After what could have been a huff, a loud sound from Vector's stomach took him by surprise.

'Hmm… I think it's time.'

Taking a deep breath, filling his small lungs with as much air as possible, Vector took a moment to clear his throat. Then, with all the strength he had, he screamed as loudly as he could, almost as if intending to rupture someone's eardrums.

'In these three days, I've learned that this technique is the most effective way to call them when I'm hungry. I've named it "Infantile Scream"!'

Taking a breath now and then, lowering and raising the pitch of his voice, Vector continued to scream for a couple of minutes.

'Come on, hurry up! It's rather embarrassing to have to scream like this…'

Right after he thought this, the sound of doors flying open cut through Vector's deafening cry, though he did not stop.

Peering through the gaps between the vertical slats of his wooden cradle, Vector managed to glimpse the two people he had successfully summoned according to his plan.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! My son is hungry!" exclaimed Ginevra, rushing toward the cradle.

Beside her, a maid with long, reddish hair and rectangular glasses with thick black frames was trying to keep up. Her dark, deep eyes, resembling polished obsidian, sparkled with determination, reflecting her firm will to help the Queen.

Like all maids, she wore a Victorian-style maid's dress, consisting of a high-necked black bodice with a small white collar and long, fitted sleeves, finished with lace cuffs.

The white apron, made of cotton or linen, was wide and decorated with lace along the edges, almost completely covering the front of the dress. The contrast between the black bodice and the white apron, along with the modest lace finish, lent the ensemble a somber and impeccable elegance.

Despite the heels, both were running: Ginevra dashed forward without minding the wavy hair falling over her face or the golden crown that threatened to fall with each step. The woman with reddish hair, meanwhile, lifted her long servant's skirt with one hand and skillfully balanced a silver tray holding a bottle filled with fresh milk with the other.

"I'm coming, my Queen!" she called out, breathless, remembering to close the doors behind her.

With every step she took, she was full of energy, her light and agile feet dancing across the floor, while her gaze immediately fixed on the crying newborn.

Arriving first, Queen Ginevra gently lifted the newborn, Vector, into her arms. Gazing calmly at her child's face, she moved gracefully to a chair in front of the mirror and sat down. Then, with an almost seductive motion, she drew out her large breast from her refined orange gown.

"Maybe this time it will work…" Ginevra finally added, her voice filled with a barely audible note of regret, as she glanced at the servant joining her.

'Oh damn! Here we go again…' thought Vector, staring at the woman's nipple.

In the past week, despite the Queen's many attempts, Vector had always refused to nurse that way. After all, he had the mentality and consciousness of an old man, always quite embarrassed by the sight of the Queen's breast.

Thus, Vector would keep his small mouth closed, preventing her nipples from making contact with his young lips.

Whenever this happened, Ginevra would simply sigh deeply with sadness, mixed with a bit of frustration. She would then withdraw her breast and, addressing the red-haired servant, take the bottle to feed the newborn, who would accept no other method of being fed.

So, once again, Vector stared at Ginevra's breast for a moment, avoiding it in panic by simply turning his small head.

Then, suddenly, as he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, a thought crossed his mind:

'Now that I think about it… It no longer makes sense to keep avoiding this situation! I'm not just talking about being nursed by this woman, or having my diaper changed, or being cuddled before sleeping, or the countless other things that would normally annoy and embarrass me, given my 80 years. I need to understand, once and for all, that this reality, as absurd and difficult to accept as it is, has now become my new life! With a new body and a new family, from this moment on, I will no longer be Vector Arangot. NO! That wouldn't make sense. From now on, I will be Mirac Strongold!'

Declaring this internally, Mirac slowly approached his mother's breast, while she looked at him in surprise.

'And, being just born,' Mirac added, now only a few inches from her nipple, 'there would be no sense in avoiding the normality of my new life!'

Swallowing nervously, Mirac gathered his courage and, with his toothless mouth, took hold of his mother's breast, hungrily drinking the milk that flowed from it.

Meanwhile, Ginevra's face filled with enthusiasm at the sight.

"It seems that the young master has finally decided to nurse directly from you, my Queen," said the red-haired servant, standing beside Ginevra and smiling at her.

'Oh, be quiet!' Mirac cursed internally, glaring irritably at the servant, who had once again embarrassed him with himself.

Ginevra returned the smile, turning to the servant and finally saying a few words:

"I'm happy too, Carmen…" her faint voice dissolved into silence, as an emotional tear ran down her face.

All the while, Mirac continued sipping his mother's milk, playfully holding onto her right breast.

'I'm sorry to have worried you… mom…' Mirac thought timidly as he sipped his milk and let himself be enchanted by Ginevra's affectionate gaze.

The very thought of calling her that way from now on, a term wrapped in sweet shyness, represented a small step toward accepting his new life.

'And who knows! Maybe this time, I will have a better childhood…'