Amor said.
“Mom!”
Still a bit clumsy compared to an adult’s pronunciation, but it was definitely ‘words.’
Expressing what she wanted to convey through her voice.
Clear language. Words.
“Uh, mom…?”
Eliya repeated those words with trembling hands.
She couldn’t believe it.
It felt like she misheard it.
Amor had mumbled something similar to ‘mom’ before, especially when she was hungry.
But today, for the first time, she was being looked at directly and called ‘mom.’
Yuda, who was a step away, rushed over.
“Ah, Amor. What did you just say?”
Amor stared blankly at Yuda and Eliya for a moment and then said again.
“Mom!”
Eliya cautiously picked up Amor and hugged her tightly.
The small warmth enveloped her.
So precious.
After a brief pause, her mouth finally spoke.
“That’s right…. I am Amor’s mom.”
It was like a vow.
Amor, snug in her embrace, smiled and said again, as if it were fascinating that Eliya was responding to her words.
“Mom!”
At that, Eliya hugged Amor even tighter.
Her daughter’s face, touching her cheek, was so warm.
Almost dangerously cute for her heart.
“Mm. Yes, mom is here.”
Eliya stroked Amor’s head.
Yuda timidly spoke.
“What about me? Amor, what about me?”
Amor’s gaze met Eliya’s as her face was buried in Eliya’s shoulder.
Amor’s bright red eyes, resembling Eliya’s, stared intently at Yuda.
Amor opened her mouth.
“…Mom?”
“Good. Starting today, I’m also a mom.”
“No way. I’m the mom!”
“Urk…! If only I had milk…”
“…Even if you did, it wouldn’t work.”
From then on, Amor repeatedly said ‘mom’ over and over.
It seemed amusing to Yuda and Eliya that their first language was eliciting reactions.
“Mom!”
“Mm-mm. That’s right.”
Every time she heard it, it brought forth new emotions.
While stroking Amor and hugging her tightly, Eliya thought.
‘I must write about today’s events in my diary.’
Since giving birth to Amor, Eliya has been diligently keeping a parenting diary.
Writing little snippets whenever there was a special occasion.
Today was the first day she was called ‘mom.’
It was worth adding a star in her diary.
Yuda spoke beside them.
“Amor. Let’s try saying ‘dad.’ You can do it, right? Amor is a genius just like Eli.”
“Mom?”
“Not mom, dad.”
“Bravaba?”
“Ooh? That was kind of close!”
Amor tilted her head and said again.
“Erba?”
“That, just a bit more….”
“Mom!”
“……”
Seeing his cheerful daughter, Yuda couldn’t help but laugh.
“Right. I am mom.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Anyway, our daughter is just like Eli. She thinks everything is forgiven as long as she’s cute.”
“When have I….”
“It’s really true, being cute helps you get away with things.”
Yuda chuckled as he stroked Amor’s hair.
Her tiny head fit perfectly in his hand.
Her hair, grown just to her ears, was endlessly thin and soft.
“Well, someday she’ll call me dad too. She won’t just keep saying mom for her whole life.”
And that day came sooner than expected.
After finishing a hellish training session as usual, Yuda returned to the bedroom after washing up.
Knock, knock, and the door gently opened as always.
Standing in the gap was his lovely wife.
Eliya welcomed him with a smile.
“You’re back?”
And in her arms was a daughter just as lovely.
In this moment where the mother and daughter smiled at him, Yuda felt he might never adjust to this feeling for his entire life.
Every day was filled with new joy and happiness.
Amor also smiled and opened her mouth, and the words that came out shocked Yuda.
“Dad!”
“…!”
Eliya was also taken aback and looked down at Amor.
“Amor, say that again…”
“Dad!”
Clumsily yet clearly pronounced.
It was a call directed right at Yuda.
Dad.
Yuda immediately pulled Amor and Eliya into a tight embrace.
“Yes… I am dad…!”
Hearing his somewhat serious declaration, Eliya burst out laughing.
“Oh my, Yuda, are you crying?”
“…I’m not.”
“Seems like you’ve become quite the crybaby.”
That was what Yuda used to say jokingly to Eliya when she would cry.
“…I usually cry a lot when I have a reason to cry. I’m not a crybaby.”
With that unconvincing excuse, Eliya merely smiled.
Meanwhile, Amor was simply delighted to be in Yuda’s arms.
It seemed that getting a response from Yuda with her words brought her endless joy.
“Dad!”
“That’s right, that’s right, I’m dad.”
Seeing Yuda beam with pride, Eliya also smiled and thought.
I must write about today in my diary.
*
“Mom! Dad!”
Amor was now completely familiar with those two words.
Calling them at any time, but it was absolutely no problem for the listeners.
It was just a delightful sound to hear.
“Oh my, so cute.”
Maria cherished seeing the babbling Amor.
It reminded her of Eliya’s childhood.
It was like looking at a mini version of Eliya.
“How can it be? She’s so cute.”
“Exactly! My heart jumps every time she calls me mom.”
Today, Yuda and Eliya had brought Amor to Maria’s Empress Dowager Palace.
Maria sat Amor on her lap and spoke.
“When did you grow up so fast? When I first saw you, you were tiny.”
Currently, Amor only understood a minimum of words.
Words like mom and dad from Yuda and Eliya, or her name ‘Amor.’
Anything else was limited to ‘mamma’ when she was hungry.
Not understanding Maria’s words, Amor merely stared blankly.
Those sparkling eyes made anyone smile.
“Chubby and too cute.”
Maria gently stroked her granddaughter.
“Can you say grandmother too?”
Yuda found that word somewhat awkward.
By lineage, she was indeed a grandmother.
But Maria was quite young.
Both he and Eliya were currently 20.
Maria was 38.
Just looking at her face, she was far from the ingrained image of ‘grandmother’ in Yuda’s mind.
Her actions might be somewhat similar though.
“Say grandmother, please? Okay?”
“…?”
Amor merely tilted her head.
When she first uttered the word ‘mom,’ she called out to just anyone, just like when she did with Yuda.
But now, she was definitely able to distinguish between mom and dad and wouldn’t call just anyone carelessly.
“Hammi?”
Hearing the mispronunciation made not only Maria but also Yuda and Eliya chuckle.
“Not hammi, it’s grandmother.”
“Hammi?”
“Oh dear. It can’t be helped. If Amor calls me hammi, then I’ll be hammi.”
“Hammi!”
In the end, Maria happily raised the white flag to Amor’s cuteness.
Seeing that Amor seemed to want down, Maria carefully placed the child on the sofa.
The large guest sofa was almost the size of a bed, allowing Amor to roll around freely.
The three watched, dumbfounded, as Amor gazed around curiously before they began their conversation.
Eliya suddenly asked.
“Did I look like Amor when I was little?”
The time spent with her mom was the only color of Eliya’s past.
She still vividly remembered it.
But she couldn’t recall being as small as Amor.
Maria smiled as if reminiscing a fond memory.
“Of course. You were so adorable. A little one sticking to me all day saying mom, mom, I never got tired of it.”
Eliya perfectly understood that sentiment.
She felt it right now.
It had been only a few days since she said mom, but even still, it flooded her heart every time she heard it.
“Also, you kept trying to put things in your mouth, which was quite troublesome. So when I tried to stop you, you sucked on your fingers instead.”
Maria laughed, sharing amusing stories from the past.
Meanwhile, Yuda couldn’t laugh as bad thoughts crept into his mind.
At night when they made love, Eliya really loved Yuda’s fingers.
She would often put and suck on them.
‘Fingers… since she was young… No, stop it. Don’t think weird thoughts.’
Eliya didn’t have any bad thoughts.
She was merely fascinated.
Going through Amor made her hear about aspects of her past she hadn’t even known herself.
“Looks like you only did cute things from a young age.”
Freed from the bad thoughts, Yuda spoke.
He, too, was intrigued by stories of Eliya’s childhood that he couldn’t know otherwise.
Eliya jabbed his side, but he didn’t budge.
Maria watched the two and smiled.
Seeing her daughter being loved so much by her son-in-law and her daughter blushing was incredibly heartwarming.
“Well, our Eli should be a bit cute.”
“Mom too…”
Eliya flushed and hurriedly changed the topic.
“Oh, mom, remember how you wanted to go to the sea?”
“Uh-huh. I remember.”
“Now that the North has settled down, we have plenty of time. Shall we go and see? Amor can come too.”
Back when they were headed to see Beelzebub Peninsula with Yuda.
Maria had also said she wanted to ride a boat.
Since then, there hadn’t been many opportunities, and now seemed like the perfect time.
“That’s great! Amor would love it too.”
“Hmm… I need to make sure Amor doesn’t get cold.”
Yuda’s advice.
They had given birth to Amor around last autumn.
A year has passed, and now it was a similar late autumn.
Eliya smiled.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got something developed just for Amor.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s a little stone I keep in my pocket; it maintains a constant temperature. It will protect her from the cold.”
Yuda didn’t need to hear more.
After recalling the memory, it was obvious what she meant—it was an object magically resembling a ‘hot pack.’
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. We can look up the date and available ships right away.”
It couldn’t be just any ship and captain; it was a vessel royal family would ride.
“I’ll ask Gallahaid about it later. I’ll see if there’s any captain who can sail and has recently had a break.”
“Mm-mm. Okay. …Oh, right! I want to see the fireflies too…”
Just as Eliya was about to say this,
All three’s attention suddenly turned to Amor.
“…Ooh!”
Amor was wobbling and trying to stand up.
Without any support, only using her strength.
Maria, sitting on the same sofa, froze in place.
She was scared to move and accidentally interfere with Amor.
Both Yuda and Eliya also stayed silent as they watched Amor.
“……”
In the sudden silence, Amor bravely raised her body.
From a crouching position, she slowly straightened her knees and hips, lifting her upper body.
She looked precariously about to fall over at any moment.
But at the end of this struggle,
“…!”
Amor stood tall.
“O-oh…!”
“Amor, I believed in you! You really are a genius like Eli…”
But Amor didn’t stop at just standing.
With her short arms stretched out to either side, she took a shaky first step.
This was the moment of her first walk.
All three members fell silent again, watching Amor intently.
One step.
And another step.
On the third step, she stumbled and plopped down.
“Amor!”
Yuda and Eliya hurried over to check on her.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Did you injure yourself at all?”
Their concern seemed pointless as Amor laughed brightly.
In reality, falling on the soft sofa wouldn’t hurt at all.
Maria chuckled while watching the two who were worried.
“Don’t worry too much. Children are light, and they get right back up even if they fall.”
“Phew…”
The two quickly relaxed.
Yuda and Eliya both knew that truth.
Yet seeing Amor fall, their worries surged to the forefront.
“Mom! Dad!”
As Amor called out, smiles bloomed instantly on the young parents’ faces.
“Oh my, so cute! Our Amor has taken her first steps!”
“Definitely a genius. Really. So admirable.”
With Yuda excitedly praising and Eliya calmly doting on her, they formed a beautifully complementary pair.
Amor happily grinned, sandwiched between the two.
“Mom! Dad! Hammi!”
Maria also gave Amor’s bottom a gentle pat.
“Well done, Amor! You did great. You’re going to have a bright future!”
“Mm!”
The child, just like Eliya, nodded in agreement, responding like Eliya would.
These days, this cute little creature has left both Yuda and Eliya breathless.
*
“Wow!”
Amor, nestled in Yuda’s arms, exclaimed.
Before her was a massive ship.
It was the largest thing she had seen in her year-long life.
It was enough to elicit gasps.
Excited, Amor squirmed in Yuda’s arms.
Yuda smiled warmly at his wriggling daughter.
With the North stabilized, the previously blocked sea routes were now open.
Recently, it had become the trend among the nobility to travel abroad for education or leisure.
This large passenger ship docked at the massive pier was at the forefront of that trend.
While it could ordinarily hold hundreds, today, there were only four passengers.
Yuda, Eliya, Amor, and Maria.
Departure was prepared solely for the current royal family.
“Oh my…. It’s amazing that something so enormous floats in the water, truly incredible.”
At Maria’s delightfully innocent response, Eliya chuckled.
At that moment, the captain of the voyage came out to greet them.
A man bowed before them.
“It’s an immense honor to serve His Majesty the Emperor and his family. I will do my utmost to ensure your comfort throughout the voyage.”
Edward Prudein.
He was a navy veteran recommended by Gallahaid and a relative of his.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Yuda said, and Eliya took his hand, sticking close.
Next to her was Maria too.
Their daughter, tightly hugged in Yuda’s embrace, glimmered with excitement at the sight of the gigantic ship.
As they all stepped towards the vessel, a family adventure began.
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