By day three of his new life, Sharath had settled into a routine — which was both comforting and horrifying.
Comforting, because stability meant fewer surprises in a world where glowing cradles and magic butterflies were apparently normal. Horrifying, because that routine mostly involved eating, sleeping, and producing an alarming number of diaper changes.
The latter was particularly humbling for a man who used to defend national infrastructure from cyberattacks.
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## Morning Briefings (a.k.a. Waking Up to Gossip)
Every morning, he woke to the rustle of servants preparing the nursery. They didn't know he understood nothing of their words beyond tone and a few repeated terms, but tone alone told him volumes.
The same young maid who'd been present on his first night — he was starting to think her name might be "Vinya" from how others addressed her — often began her day by tidying the herbal bundles hung along the wall.
"…Lord Varundar is speaking to the steward again… something about the harvest accounts… and the outer ward repairs…" she muttered, clearly thinking the baby wouldn't care.
Joke's on you, Vinya. This is exactly the kind of thing I care about. Information is power, and I'm basically a sponge with a heartbeat.
Other days, she'd gossip about the other nobles. "Lady Anara wore the same gown twice this week… and with the same jewels! The audacity."
Sharath would store the name away — maybe useful later. You never know when repeated gown-wearing could become a point of blackmail leverage.
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## Experiments with Magic
Of course, he couldn't just *listen*. He had to *test*.
Day 3's project: Determining cradle rune input sensitivity. Procedure: Alternate between calm breathing and deliberate fussing while focusing on specific runes. Results: Strong correlation between focused agitation and increased rune brightness in the corresponding quadrant.
Vinya caught him doing this once — tiny baby squinting at a single corner of his cradle like he was trying to mind-control it. She called it "intense curiosity."
If only she knew she was watching the magical equivalent of a penetration test.
Day 4's project: Voice-triggered magic. He tried humming different intervals and lengths of sound. The results ranged from a faint shimmer in the air to a small burst of warm wind that sent Vinya's hair flying.
That incident resulted in her crossing herself (or the local magical equivalent — she tapped her brow and then pressed her palm to the rune nearest his head) before giving him a suspicious look.
"Little master," she whispered, "you mustn't call the spirits without warning."
Right, because startling the spirits is worse than startling the maid.
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## Meals, or The Endless Parade of Mystery Liquids
Sharath had been breastfed in his previous life, obviously, but he had no *memory* of it. Now, every few hours, it was back on the schedule — except here, there were also magical additives.
On Day 5, his milk had a faint golden shimmer to it. It tasted faintly like honey and… something that made his brain feel like it was running defragmentation in the background.
On Day 6, the milk was tinted a pale blue. That one made his vision sharpen so much he could count the tiny motes of dust dancing in a sunbeam.
He suspected Lady Ishvari was deliberately enhancing his feedings. Which raised the question: how much did she suspect about his "specialness"?
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## Accidental Mayhem
It was inevitable that sooner or later, the magic would misfire.
Incident #1: The Bath Levitation On Day 7, Vinya attempted to give him a bath in a small copper basin. He sneezed mid-splash. Suddenly, the water lifted entirely out of the tub, forming a perfect shimmering sphere around him.
Vinya screamed. Sharath just stared at it, fascinated, until the sphere collapsed back into the basin with a spectacular splash.
Vinya: "You're blessed by the water spirits!" Sharath: *More like I have a buggy API call between my respiratory reflex and local hydromancy.*
Incident #2: The Sleepwalking Cradle On Day 8, he woke up to find the cradle gently gliding across the nursery floor. No one was touching it. The runes on one side pulsed in sequence, like lights on a runway. It stopped perfectly by the window before tilting just enough for him to see the courtyard below.
This… actually impressed him. Not just magic, but magic with an understanding of user experience.
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## The Nobles Notice
By the second week, word had spread beyond the nursery. Nobles began stopping by "to see the miraculous child."
A portly man with too many rings leaned over the cradle one afternoon. "Strong hands. Good grip. Might make a fine swordsman."
Sharath obligingly latched onto his index finger. The man yelped. "Strong teeth too!"
Sharath did not, in fact, have teeth. Which made that even funnier.
Another lady with a tall feathered headdress cooed over him for ten minutes straight, then whispered to Ishvari, "He's… watching me. With *intent.*"
Well, yes, that's because you just tucked a gem into your sleeve and I'm pretty sure it's not yours.
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## The Strange Night
The real turning point came on Day 9.
The household had gone quiet. Even the faint background hum of the cradle seemed softer. He should have been sleeping, but instead he stared at the darkened ceiling.
Then he felt it — a faint tug, like static against his skin.
He turned his tiny head toward the window. Beyond the stained glass, past the courtyard and outer walls, the dark forest loomed.
And in that darkness… something was watching. He couldn't see it clearly, but his instincts screamed predator.
The pendant Lady Ishvari had started hanging over his cradle — a simple disk etched with runes — flared once with a cool blue light.
Somewhere deep in his newborn mind, a thought bubbled up: *Not yet. But soon.*
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