The eighth month was nearing its end, and winter was only a couple of weeks away. My daily walks in the garden had stopped, as the cold had increased a lot these st few days.

  Everyo the mansion started to get very busy. Apparently, during this time the workload decreased, but from the way everyone was ag, this year it wouldn’t be that way for both, maids and my family.

  The only one who stayed with me most of the time was Zenya, the wonderful big sister she wao be and was. Even Maki rotated with some of the maids to take care of me because of how busy she was.

  Thanks to the fact that I now had a different maid almost every day; sometimes 2 at the same time, I overheard some iing versations. Things reted to a festival that was ing up; "the white dy parade", which would take p the ter of town and gh all the main streets. I also heard from Zenya that her birthday was ing up soon and that they would be inviting many people, including randparents. I didn't even remember they existed. I had never met them in my previous life.

  Acc to that man, they had already died by the time I was very young, so I didn't have the eet them. I think, had they been alive, they would have taken care of us when the fire happened.

  Anyway, unnecessary thoughts are out.

  That day I was being watched by 2 maids and Zenya. Both maids talked about the Nazzik family, something about their you daughter that I couldn't hear very well. I only picked up that they were talking about what was expected of her or something like that. They were murmuring so it was hard to uand what they were saying. It wasn't until I crawled closer, and one of them picked me up, that I could hear them better.

  What was iing about that versation was that one of the maids called them "stray cats".

  Sure, you might think it's just a maid badmouthing another noble house. The usual, right?

  Well, no.

  The point is, it wasn't just a maid talking bad about other people. Acc to the nguage, she called them "cat people" literally.

  Let's see, the words she used were "Kibi 'shi neri". From what I uand of the nguage, Kibi is the word for cat, and the 'shi, is used to refer to “person” or “kin”. This I discovered while watg Zenya do her "homework". Three words I already knew came up there. Asherian, Atenos, and Friasan.

  Acc to Sathalia, Asherian was the general name used here to refer to the "demon" races. Atenos and Friasawo of those races and Zenya mentiohem in this way, "Ateno 'shi and Friasan 'shi". I cluded that 'shi should mean something like "person", just as in Japahe kanji "人" or "jin" is used when referring to someone's nationality. For example, a person from Japan would be called "Nihonjin" (日本人). It is teically the same usage.

  Thanks to that, I say with plete certainty that, the Nazzik family is some feline race of beastkin. And now I want to meet them. I hem in my life. NOW.

  I've always been a cat person, and obviously, that includes cat girls. To know that in this world I have the pleasure of seeing or eveing a cat girl... well, let's just say my heart is beating pretty hard.

  But that aside, I've e to realize that not only do I not know where in this world I'm living, but I know practically nothing about my race. Those questions I probably answer in a couple of years, but I'm very curious about what kind of Asherian I am. And e to think of it, is this empire exclusive to Asherians? I mean, the way Maki is hiding may be the answer, but she could be a special case, taking into at that the Nazzik, one of the 4 great families, are cat Teriants... Well, for now, I have no way to find out, so it's no use for me to think about it. So, I'll leave it in the er of my mind.

  So many things in that er… looks like my room in my previous life.

  The rotation of maids taking care of me was not the only ge. I grew up. No, seriously, I grew up quite a bit.

  The clothes I was wearing a month ago are too small now, so it was a very noticeable and wele ge. I liked knowing that I was growihily.

  My tail, or well, my "Vah" had grown too. It grew until it reached my knee. And! I COULD MOVE IT! I never felt so excited. And I couldn't stop pying with it, it was so much fun. Although, I must say, Mom was right. The Vah is sensitive. It was simir to new skin after rec from a burive enough to hurt a little, but not so sensitive as to be unfortable.

  Thanks to that, I was now well aware of why Zenya reacted that way that day, and now I felt guilty and ashamed about it. But I'll leave that topic aside. I feel sad just remembering it.

  Another ge that occurred was in my feeding. Remember when I mentiohe bottles? Well, they do have them, which surprised me quite a bit. It wasn't pstic, or some clear material. It was made of metal, and the teat was quite simir to rubber. I had no idea how they got that, but as long as it worked, I wasn't going to pin.

  Aside from the bottle, there was an increase in the variety of foods. Just this m, I had a fruit pe for breakfast with some honey. Other times I have been given very small pieeat, what I think was fish and something that tasted like mashed potatoes.

  Oh, that reminds me, my first teeth started to e in, and that’s why my diet was even more diverse. But I must say it was a real torture while the teeth were ing in. Now I uand why this time is so hard for babies.

  Still, I'm quite happy to be able to eat something besides breast milk. But my mother's breasts were still the best... and I should have chosen a better way to say it, I know.

  Back to the present.

  The day was going pretty smoothly so far. As always, Zenya was the only oh me, and she never left me alone. Always making sure that, while I was expl whatever room I was in, there was nothing that was going to hurt me. If I crawled somewhere, she was right behind me.

  I knew she was trying to protect me, but it was a little stressful having her behind me all the time. She was being like a helicopter mom.

  And just as I was thinking that, the door opened and my savior appeared.

  "Orinthya, Mami is here."

  Just hearing that little phrase was enough to make me go full speed towards her. It had been 3 days since I st saw her, and I was already starting to get worried. She was too because as soon as she walked through the door and saw me, she was already running to take me in her arms.

  "My baby, how are you today, are you having fun with your sister?"

  "Hmm! Tya's been expl everything and I make sure she doesn't get hurt," Zenya said, in a proud pose and smile that she usually does when someoalks about what a good sister she is.

  Sihat day ihroom, her fidence has grown by leaps and bounds. Her fidend her overprotectiveness. If it weren't for the maids, I think she would leave me locked in a cage, which is a little scary. I just hope she doesn't bee a sis, or my teenage life will be a real hell.

  "That's my little girl. There is er guardian for Orinthya than my little Zenya."

  "Hehehehe!"

  Despite her words, she didn't seem to be very vinced of what she said. The maids in the room ughed in plicity.

  "So, this little girl is the famous new daughter of the Duchess."

  A voice I didn't reize sounded behind Mom. A woman came through the door. With slow steps and very refined movements, she approached us and looked at me with a smile.

  "She certainly looks lovely. Her gaze has a certain sparkle to it. I'm sure she's a very intelligent child."

  "Isn't she? Ever since she was born, I felt she was destined freat things." Mom replied with great fiden her voice. She almost looked like Zenya did a moment ago...or should I say, did Zenya look like her? Well, like mother, like daughter...and that will surely end up applying to me iure as well.

  "I see that my Duchess. I am already looking forward to teag her."

  "I am looking forward to it too, I don't think there is ater to teach her manners aiquette than Lady Grawfalls."

  "Please Duchess, you ftter me too much."

  "I don't like to speak iy fttery, only the truth. And please drop the formalities. You'll be with us a long time so you'd better get used to it."

  "I wouldn't dare be so disrespectful in your house." Lady Grawfalls stepped back a couple of steps, her hands took her dress by the sides, lifting it a little, and then bowed slightly.

  Just watg such precise and refined movements, I could tell she was very experienced in the rules of etiquette. Every movement was smooth but quick, eveeps she took, in apparent nervousness, were done gracefully. However, it didn't fail to seem... acted as if this was in itself part of the manners expected of her.

  "Please Lady Grawfalls, it is precisely because we are in my house that I allow such a thing."

  "I see. Then I will follow your wishes madame." Lady Grawfalls smiled slightly and made a short bow. If I had to guess, this had all been an act to keep up appearances. But to what end?

  "Zenya, my little joy, as of today, Lady Grawfalls will be your utor."

  Zenya nodded almost oblivious; she was... weird. It took me a while to notice, but Zenya was looking with sparkling eyes at Lady Grawfalls as if she were looking at a movie star or an a heroine.

  "It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Zenya, my name is Igrid Grawfalls." Lady Grawfalls smiled kindly at my sister and then wi my mother.

  Ah, that was the ahis whole act was not only to gain some admiration from the girl but also to teach her proper etiquette. She had only just bee her tutor and had already begun to act like one. Admirable.

  "I-I am Zenya Dri Baelian. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Grawfalls." As if she had just remembered, Zenya made her curtsy, of course, full of nervousness-induced mistakes. Something that earned warm smiles from both my mother and Lady Grawfalls.

  Lady Grawfalls gave me the same smile she uses with Zenya, perhaps expeg me to show i in her or react the same way as my sister, but... "Sorry miss, I don't fall for those tricks so easily," I replied in my mind, and simply decided to ignore her and stiy mother's chest. She just kept an uurbed smile and didn't try anything else.

  "Then, Lady Grawfalls, I will leave you in charge of my daughter. I hope that, in the few days, you will teach her everything she o be prepared for her birthday. Zenya, do your best, will you?"

  "It will be an honor, madam."

  "Ehhh, 't I stay with Tya?" Her disappoi was greater than the admiration she had gained just moments ago. No matter how great Lady Grawfalls had been, nothis the time she spent with me. I am touched, but it is exhausting to have her following me around all the time. I am uo do anything or enjoy my thoughts calmly.

  "No, my child. I will take care of her today. I have to get her dress ready."

  "Dress?"

  What? A dress for me?

  "Yes, I want Orinthya to wear a very nice dress at your birthday party. Wouldn't that be great?"

  "Yes! Very!" With great excitement, Zenya jumped up and down, before realizing that those were not "proper manners". She stopped after giving a nervous g Lady Grawfalls, who was using her hand to hide a small giggle. Of course, in a refined way. With a slightly red face, Zenya replied the same thing again, but with less enthusiasm.

  "Then, I think it is the best time for us to retire. Madam, I will begin my duties at once. Lady Zenya, please apany me."

  "C-certainly. T-then, mother, I'll be retiring." With obvious nervousness, Zenya left, walking...as gracefully as she could.

  "Have a good afternoon, Duchess, Lady Orinthya." With a slight bow to both of us, Lady Grawfalls left behind my sister.

  There was a short silence when it was just my mother, me, and the maids in the room. For my part, I felt good. I missed Mom and hadn't been off her chest since I'd attached myself to her.

  "Well, now that they are goina, Seria, you may retire. Kar is in the guest room, one of you go and guide her here. You take your time, uand?"

  Without wasting a sed, they both ughed in plicity, then gave a bow and walked as "fast" as they could. I don't know who this Kar was, but I didn't care, my priority now was to recharge from Irnium.

  "So..." my mom said, giving a small pause before letting out a huge sigh. "My little Tya, you don't know how much I've missed you. My precious baby."

  In that instant, I received hundreds of kisses on my cheeks, my forehead, and my head. Every iny face had been kissed at least twice. She hugged me tightly, as she gently rocked bad forth. She radiated a radioactive amount of happiness and relief, which was so tagious that it immediately ied me, making me ugh with delight.

  "Five me, my precious baby for not being with you tely. I have too many things to take care of. I wish everything was easier, but having to take care of Zenya's birthday, invitations, decorations, security, everything has been a plete chaos." Lamented my mother as she held me close to her chest in a warm embrace. I felt like she was afraid I was going to disappear. "And after that, I still have to take care of the route and security at the White Lady parade. I don't think I get time off until spring."

  She let out a sigh of sadness, and as soon as she did, her mood ged. Of course, without letting go of her embrace for a single sed.

  "But I'm here now, and I have to recharge my Orintium... which will hopefully st me for the few weeks."

  With those words, she proceeded to sit down on the couch where the maids, Tina and Seria, had been before, and we spent a good while amidst ughter and kisses on my cheeks, but mostly an almost dangerous amount of tig.

  After a while, we heard a kno the door, and Tina's voinoung Kar’s arrival. Mom stood up with another small sigh, disappoihat our time together was so short-lived. Then she answered loudly, "e in," and immediately the door opened, letting me see a whole squadron of maids led by a womaering the room.

  Several of them carried in their arms a rge set of fabrics of different colors and materials, ribbons of different designs, and others carried some kind of boxes that I imagined tained jewelry, buttons, beads, and other small accessories.

  "Thank you for ing on such short notice, Kar. I hope I have not been too inve."

  "Greetings my Duchess. Not at all. When I heard about the birth of your daughter, I was w if I would be fortunate enough to be called upon in the ing years. I feel immensely graced that you requested me for su important task."

  "I really couldn't ask for a better person for this. I want my little Orinthya to have the best of the best. And drop the formality, you know with me there is no need for such things."

  "As you wish my Duchess." With an amused smile on her face, she bowed and the air around her felt much more rexed.

  While she seemed a very eic person, by how she ged the instant my mother asked her to rex, you could tell she still maintained a certain gra her speech.

  Kar was a woman with a certain kind of hard-to-fiy. Her milky white skin plemented her dark brown hair, which was tied in a high bun and held back by a long, silver hairpin. Her eyes were bright e, just like the fruit for which the color is named.

  Of course, the pointed ears were there, much like my mother's. Around her neck was a gold neckce with various types of gems, in blue, purple, and green colors, all in dark shades, plementing her bck, mid-shih dress, which en at the shoulders, leaving the upper part of her abundant chest uncovered.

  She was wearing high leather boots, which seemed to go up to her knee, as I could only see them when she walked. And at that moment I noticed that she had a tail. Well, a Vah.

  So, Kar is also the same race as us.

  Kar walked toward us, greeting my mother with a kiss on the cheek. That's a thing in this world too. They shared a few quick words, greetings, and such, and then the focus turo me.

  "So, this little sugar ball is the new Baelian" Kar said bringing her face closer to me, keeping her curious smile. "She looks exactly as you described her. Quite an adorable little girl."

  For some reason, those words made me feel happy, but very embarrassed. I mean, not only am I not used to being told "adorable," especially by people outside of my family, but I'm also not used to being "an adorable child."

  "I told you; I only have adorable children."

  "Does that include Sir Losward?"

  "W-well... he was more lovable when he was little. Now he's..."

  "Handsome and dashing."

  "…True." my mother hesitated in her response, looking a bit downcast when talking about my brother.

  Mom doesn't usually talk much about my brother Losward, for some reason he doesn't show up around the house much either. But that's a bit of a relief for me too. Every time he sees me, I feel like he's just evaluating me and looking at me like an object, or rather, a tool. I'm not too fond of that look; it brings back bad memories of a job I once had.

  Putting that aside, Kar started asking my mother questions about what she had in mind about the dress. With that, the attentiouro me.

  "Then I should get some measurements out so I think of a design that will fit the little ball of happiness."

  "Okay. Tya, I need you to stay very, very still, okay?" my mother ordered as she sat me down at a rge table in the room.

  Kar looked at her in fusion, perhaps w why she would give su order to a baby less than a year old, which she would surely be incapable of carrying out. Mom just winked and smiled at Kar.

  "I guess I'll get right on it then."

  Kar approached me and waved her hand, asking for something. Behind her appeared another woman. This one was carrying a book, a pen, and peared to be a tape measure. She looked something like a secretary. I was surprised that I hadn't noticed her until that moment.

  This one, an apparent ninja, had short bck hair, and her skin was slightly violet, a very pretty shade and ohat, oddly enough, made her skin look very smooth. Her eyes were silver-gray which, unlike mine, had a duller tone. Very odd, sidering the rge palette of eye colors I've seen so far in the people at the mansion. It made me wonder if maybe the gray color in the eyes is a rare thing to see.

  Moving on to her appearance; her ears, as expected, pointed, but quite a bit more elongated pared to everyone I've met so far. It made me suspect that she might be the first elf I've met.

  Her clothing was something simir to one of those secretary outfits with a white scarf tied around her ne a bow. A tight-fitting pencil skirt was a little above the knee. Her whole outfit was moss green. And of course, she wsses that made her look quite sophisticated.

  The full secretary outfit. It was a surprise to see that the gsses existed, but with everything I have seen, I say that nothing could surprise me anymore.

  She hahe tape measure to Kar, who immediately set about the task of measuring me.

  She started with my arms, measuring their length from shoulder to wrist. What she did was to take my hand aend it, I just let her move me as she o. I could uand the numbers she was describing, but I couldn't tell if it was the same, or simir, to the measurement system I knew.

  As Kar tinued, I could see on her face that she was surprised that I was so cooperative with everything. If she moved me one way, I would stay still until she o ge my position. The hard part was keepianding when she had to measure my legs a, but somehow it worked. All the numbers were jotted down smoothly by the secretary, who looked perfectly expressiohroughout.

  Having finished with that, she approached the irl to check the book, and they had a short versation, whifortunately I couldn't hear.

  Realizing that it was all over, Mom came over to hold me in her arms again. She had been watg everything with a wide smile, quite enjoying the strange poses I was forced into.

  "Well, I got all the measurements I needed. Now it's time to put everything I brought to use," announced Kar, who, with a wave of her hand, had all the maids lined up o us.

  They had been silent in the room, standing alone, as if they were statues. And now they looked more like soldiers ready for war.

  "This time, I bring some hings."

  "Really?"

  "It's a kind of cloth bought from the merts in the south. They call it 'silk' and it's produced in a kingdom in the Cajgu desert on the southern ti."

  "I didn't know that the empire traded with the kingdoms in the southern ti."

  "We don't. These fabrics passed through several merts and cities until they reached Hardrian port. My daughter bought them from a tailor who obtaihem from a mert after realizing their high quality. At first, I thought she had been ripped off, but after seeing and feeling them, I say that they are truly stunning." Kar reted with fasation in her voice, almost as if she were talking about one of the greatest discoveries of the tury.

  The story itself reminded me a bit of the beginning of trade between Europeans and a a. The spid silk route became the most important trade route in history. And if this situation is repeated in this world, we could be seeing the beginning of something historic.

  Also, I think this has given me some ideas about things I do iure. I know how to make some of the things that were traded by the ese in aimes, especially paper. I don't want to include bck powder because I don't see any use for it in a world with magic. But, knowing that there is silk in this world, makes me think that my idea of "bringing" fortable underwear into this world could work quite well. The problem to overe is whether the culture of these people accept lingerie of that style.

  At least now I had virtually all the elements to market it, the type of fabric, the designs, and someone who could create and distribute it. I just needed some time to grow a little and sell my idea to her. With luo one would get ahead of me at that time, and I could go on to create a revolution in fashion.

  While I kept in my thoughts of creating an underwear empire, which sounds much worse than it is, Kar started discussing with my mother the different types of fabrics, colors, designs, binations, and other things that my future dress could include. On their faces, I could see ghoulish smiles, and at that moment I realized that I would bee a dress-up doll for two (adult) girls with a lot of ideas in their heads.