When I first saw the message, I was completely flabbergasted. I nearly choked while feeding from Christy, and all I could do was curse inwardly. I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I stared at that notification. I knew exactly who—or what—had put those damn restrictions on my powers.
After I slowly learned how things worked in the following weeks, my bad days didn’t stop.
Whenever Elina, John, or Ada wasn’t around, I was either asleep or practicing how to walk.
But things started getting complicated when Gustav insisted on changing my diapers. I knew very well how terrible he was at it, and I was convinced that the bastard had plans to yank off my "little brother."
Just the thought of him changing my diapers gave me nightmares. It was far worse than him trying to ruin my meals.
I could ignore Gustav glaring at me, or his stupid attempts to scare me by telling horror stories that might frighten a normal baby. But among all the misfortunes of my life, I had never allowed anyone to come close to my "little brother."
I had always been careful about that part of my body—never letting it get hurt, not even in a fight.
So how could I let a bastard like him get anywhere near my precious treasure?
Luckily, I quickly discovered the ultimate way to deal with Gustav.
Since the day I was born, my family couldn’t remember me crying for no reason. Not even when I was forced to eat. Even if someone bumped my cradle or made loud noises while I was asleep—or pretending to be—I wouldn’t cry or make a sound.
But Elina soon noticed something strange.
Every time Gustav came to change my diapers or clothes, I would cry. Not just cry—I would wail until he left. If I were any other baby, she might have thought it was normal. But coming from me, it was extremely unusual.
Once she noticed this pattern, she started limiting his access to me. Sometimes she even firmly reprimanded him. Every time that happened, I felt an inexplicable joy—like I’d won a war without even having to fight the battle.
After a few incidents like that, Gustav didn’t dare do anything that might make me cry or look unhappy. He even seemed a little afraid of me, which made me proud.
Honestly, when it came to certain lines, my personality alone was enough to make people uneasy.
Because of those awkward moments, Gustav eventually reduced—or completely stopped—coming close to me.
Instead, he started acting friendlier. But I knew better. The bastard was just putting on a facade.
Unfortunately, things weren’t over yet.
After the family adjusted how much food we consumed, everyone slowly realized that hunger had become our closest companion.
Even though my portions were barely reduced, I could feel myself growing hungry—constantly starving. It was a feeling I knew all too well from my past life.
Back on Earth, I had starved more times than I could count. Sometimes there was no money for food; other times, there simply wasn’t enough for everyone. Being picky about food had been considered a sin.
And now, it felt like history was repeating itself.
The good days were when Elina had time to feed me herself. Those days felt almost festive, like a holiday.
On bad days, I ate every meal down to the last drop. If my body allowed it, I wouldn’t hesitate to lick the plate clean.
Most of the time, I either lost myself in practicing my skills, or Gustav secretly hiding part of my food for himself. Whenever that happened, I would be so angry my stomach would ache—not just from hunger, but from rage directed at him.
Sometimes I had headaches that lasted all day, and food was the only thing on my mind.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one starving.
John and Elina were constantly worried and worked even harder to sell the produce they harvested. But with every passing day came the usual snorts, insults, and curses from the villagers.
Because of that, selling—or even buying—food became extremely difficult.
They always returned home disappointed and exhausted.
Even when John tried asking his step-siblings for help selling his goods, he was either rejected before he could even speak, or they demanded a cut so large it left him with no profit at all.
John slowly realized that his siblings’ attitude toward him had worsened. The fake kindness they once showed had started to fade after the birth of his first son.
Before, everyone treated him well when he had just gotten married. Now, they barely bothered hiding the contempt in their eyes.
It got so bad that he was forced to negotiate with his youngest sister just to get some help.
Aside from Elina, who always tried her best to feed me, only my big sisters Ada and Oge occasionally took care of my meals. They had big hearts and tried to be like our mother.
Gustav, on the other hand, became the black sheep of the family. He vented his frustration through food—eating half of my portion, wiping his mouth clean, and leaving the scraps for me.
And every time that happened, I swore silently that I wouldn’t forget it.
*****
Ada and Oge had the biggest hearts in the family. They both tried their best to be like our mother, Elina.
Gustav, on the other hand, had long since become the black sheep. He always poured his frustration into food—eating half of my portion, wiping his mouth clean, and leaving the rest for me.
Oge, the younger sister, was growing weaker by the day. Gustav never missed a chance to taunt her, calling her all sorts of insulting names whenever she made even the smallest mistake. I noticed the way his eyes followed her sometimes, cold and impatient, as if he were wondering when she would finally disappear.
Oge could barely walk properly, let alone feed herself properly. Because of that, our parents were forced to pay extra attention to her.
Once, she felt nauseous during dinner and threw up everything she had eaten. The entire house fell into panic. My parents didn’t know what was happening. They could only comfort her, telling her it was just a matter of time before the healing fairy took her illness away.
They were worried—deeply worried—but also helpless. They couldn’t understand why her condition wasn’t improving. If not for the cold winter season, she would have already been taken for treatment as usual.
Winter was always the hardest time of the year.
There wasn’t much work to be done, which meant no opportunities to restock food supplies. Whatever we had needed to last until summer—not just for us, but for the livestock too. Sales were nearly impossible.
Lately, Ada always came home with a frown.
Sometimes, I even heard my mother sobbing quietly. Whenever Ada or Gustav returned from outside, their faces were grim and heavy. I didn’t understand everything, but I could feel it.
When Gustav muttered something about a "leech" stealing his life, I felt uneasy. I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but I knew it wasn’t good. Still, there was nothing I could do—not even vent my frustration.
Whenever my mother or sisters came home, I tried to cheer them up the only way I could. I made exaggerated baby noises, blew raspberries, and sometimes giggled with drool slipping from my mouth. It usually worked.
They would smile, play with me for a moment, then return to their burdens.
I almost never cried—only when I was hungry or when Gustav tried to change my diaper.
But lately, I felt so bad that I nearly cried anyway.
I knew, deep down, that I might be the reason behind their sad faces. Yet all I could do was lie there and watch them suffer. It made me feel utterly useless.
That day, both my parents and Ada were out. Some of the livestock had been affected by parasites, so they had gone to deal with it.
That left only Oge, Gustav, and me at home.
I closed the system panel with a quiet sigh. I had just finished one round of meditation practice. I knew I wouldn’t gain any attribute points for weeks, but I still cultivated anyway.
At that moment, I noticed something, and I turned my gaze toward Gustav.
"Shush! Don’t you dare cry!" he snapped, grinning at me—a grin that would terrify a normal child.
I heard him clearly, but I pretended not to. I ignored him, still uneasy from the system panel.
"No daddy or mummy bitch in shining armor now, little four-eyes imp,"
He whispered as he moved closer to my cradle, my instincts screamed.
He lifted me out, unwrapping my cloth. Holding me far too casually, he raised his hand and gave me a light spank on my butt, as if exacting some petty revenge.
I grunted softly, staring at him in both rage and disbelief.
’Do you really think that’s enough to hurt me, bastard?’ I thought, my baby face probably wearing something close to a smug grin.
’Fine. I’ll test my skills on you.’
I was just about to open the system panel when a knock echoed through the house, making Gustav freeze.
I felt his heart skip as he panicked. He hadn’t expected anyone back so soon—not my mother, not Ada, not my father.
Cursing under his breath, he hurriedly wrapped me up and shoved me back into my cradle.
While doing so, he noticed I was staring intensely at the door.
He didn’t care what I was looking at. He assumed it was just the "mummy bitch in shining armor" returning.
Annoyed, he was already planning his next petty revenge when he noticed I had grabbed onto his shirt tightly. He slapped my hand away without hesitation, ignoring the babbling sounds leaving my mouth.
To him, it probably sounded like another nonsense, a four eyes imp would say.
But to me, it was clear. ’Don’t open the door.’I thought
Outside, the winter wind howled. The knocking continued, steady and insistent.
I knew it wasn’t my parents.
I stared at the door, my chest tight with unease.
Gustav reached the doorpost, turned back, and made a mocking face at me before opening it.
The moment the door creaked open, I felt his body stiffen.
His breathing quickened.His eyes widened in shock.
Whatever that stood on the other side— surely wasn’t what he had been expecting.