I am so dead. Jeez, Dad! Smile a little bit or else you're going to scare the maid away!

My father, Alastair, is a little intimidating. Well, it's not surprising since he hates me. He clearly showed the hatred he had towards me on his handsome face.

"What business does Cordelia have today that requires her to be anywhere close to me? I am extremely busy right now, so if it is possible, please bring her at a later date," my father said with a gruff voice that strangely didn't suit him well. At this point, the maid was shaking in fear and shock. I guess I better save her or else she'll get killed by my dad's cold glares.

"Blah-da! Blah-da!" I said in my embarrassing baby voice. I was trying to get his attention off of the maid, but I think I may have turned red instead.

My father froze for a bit and looked at me. He observed my face for a moment before he said, "What a wretched child. She can't even properly stay silent in an office. Not only that, but her face reminds me of that idiotic woman."

I'm going to assume that the "idiotic woman" is my mom. In the otome game, Cordelia had the same aqua hair like her father. She inherited sapphire eyes, which was proof that she was from the direct line of the Duke. Even her mother didn't have sapphire eyes since she was from the Marquess family. So basically, none of my obvious features should resemble my mother. Maybe my face structure is the same as my mother, but other than that, he should have nothing to complain about! I don't even have my mom's lilac hair and violet eyes! SO SHUT UP, DAD! YOU'RE BEING TOO RUDE TO A BABY!!!!!

"Please excuse her, sir. This servant should have trained her properly," said the lady in a shaken voice.

"It's not your fault, Sophie. It's the baby's fault for existing. Now please calm down," Alastair said in a kind voice. For such kind words, he held such malice toward me. I guess the maid, Sophie, didn't care though. I could hear ba-bump behind me. Dad's charm is no joke.

I should hate my father. He is the worst dad ever...but I just can't hate him. I know the reason why he has hatred is because of mom. Needless to say, I want to punch him.

I began to push away from the maid. I needed to get away from Sophie anyway. She was squeezing me really hard after my father charmed her. Surprised, Sophie gently placed me on the ground and I began to struggle in order to get into a crawling position. Sophie understood(?) what I was trying to do and slightly rolled me over.

I was now on my hands and knees. But I was so heavy! Babies are supposed to be light...right? Am I just really fat? Maybe I have to go on my first diet at two months old...

My father stared down at me as I struggled to push myself up. Each of my tiny muscles burned as I moved each of my limbs past one another. IT HURTS A LOT! Don't underestimate how weak babies are!! I crawled slowly to my father, who showed a look genuine surprise. By the time I made it to his feet, which was only about ten feet away, about eight minutes had passed and I had fallen to the ground multiple times.

My legs and arms hurt. My chest was on fire. I was about to cry from overexertion, but I forced myself to bite my lip. Everywhere on my body was aching. I did my best to move my heavy head up to my father and stare at him in the face. I felt pretty proud of myself for being able to move as much as I did, so I gave a boastful smile at my father. All that was left was to punch him in the leg.

The man before me was now staring at me with utter shock. I guess he didn't expect me to do this. I'm supposed to be an underdeveloped baby that shouldn't understand anything...and I just learned how to crawl in front of him...at two months old! ~Oopsie! I guess I brought too much attention to myself.

My father picked me up off the floor and stared at me more. The awkward silence nearly choked me. Then, he began to chuckle. Why? I was trying to decode his chuckle. Was it pride? Was it relief? Was it happy? Whyyyyyy!

And then, he hugged and cradled me.

WHAT?!

~

Alastair POV

~

It's difficult to focus on my work. Every time I try to focus, the thought of that woman comes into my head and I burn with hatred and irritation. But the people need me, so I must continue through the endless piles of papers before me.

After working for a few hours, my hand began to ache from all of the writing I did. Then, I heard three knocks on my door.

"Excuse this servant, sir."

I was about to allow her to enter, but I heard her say something infuriating.

"I have brought your daughter, Cordelia, to your office," said the maid.

Hearing the name that woman came up with made my mind go blank with fury. I debated on whether to scare the maid off or tell her that I am too busy to care. I would feel bad for the maid, though. So, I decided to finish another paper before I allowed them to enter.

"You may enter," I said. I nearly regretted my choice in allowing her to enter, but the maid would be upset if I didn't.

The door opened and the first thing I saw was that wretched thing in Sophie's hands. My blood ran cold and all I could do was stare at that thing before me. The thing that stood out to me was her face. I'll admit that idiotic woman was beautiful by common standards, but that didn't excuse her from my hatred.

That idiotic woman was cruel. She took everything from me. She took my freedom, my peace, my money, my body, and my sanity with that infuriating fake smile of her's. But more importantly, she stole from the people. Stomping on commoner lives as if they were pests, she mercilessly killed many of the people for minor mistakes. She took the hard-earned taxes of the people and spent it on expensive and frivolous gems and dresses. That idiotic woman deserved my hatred.

When I glanced at that thing before me, I couldn't help but see the face of that idiotic woman on her tiny body. Her face was nearly the same as that idiotic woman, except for her aqua hair and sapphire eyes. Also, if she carried that woman's genes, I knew that she would become black-hearted and cruel in the future, just like her mother.

"What business does Cordelia have today that requires her to be anywhere close to me? I am extremely busy right now, so if it is possible, please bring her at a later date," I said, a bit irritated at the thing. Perhaps I was too harsh because Sophie was visibly shaking. Though, I couldn't help it. I couldn't show any compassion to the thing that may end up ruining many lives in the future.

I was about to comfort Sophie until I heard a small voice coming from the thing.

"Blah-da! Blah-da!" The thing was turning red for some reason. I hated it. Her voice was dreadful. I thought about her future and how she would have a shrill voice just like her mother. I shivered at the thought that this thing may become a copy of that idiotic woman.

"What a wretched child. She can't even properly stay silent in an office. Not only that, but her face reminds me of that idiotic woman," I blurted out. Now, Sophie was really scared. I am normally more composed than this, so it is not surprising that the maid was shocked at my behavior.

"Please excuse her, sir. This servant should have trained her properly," Sophie said in a fearful voice. No! This is wrong! It is not Sophie's fault! It is the thing's fault for existing. The thing's existence would harm people.

"It's not your fault, Sophie. It's the baby's fault for existing. Now please calm down," I said, trying to comfort Sophie. The maid stopped shaking, but her face slowly became red and she was nearly squeezing the thing to death. Strange.

Then, the thing began to fuss. It was pushing away from the maid. Sophie seemed a little surprised, but she placed the thing onto the ground. It began to twirl around, trying its best to do something. I assume Sophie understood the thing's goal because she helped roll the baby onto a crawling position.

How pointless. Most babies begin crawling from six to ten months old. The thing was only born two months ago. Her undeveloped muscles wouldn't be able to withstand any type of movement. But what she did next shocked me.

The thing began to slowly push itself upwards and slowly moved each of its limbs toward me. In its determination to reach me, it fell down numerous times. But, it continued to push itself back up and slowly crawl to me.

The thing will give up soon. Anything with the genes of that woman will give up soon. The thing is that woman's clone. She'll give up soon. I know she will.

But contrasting to my thoughts, the thing continued to crawl. Minutes passed as she tried to crawl toward me. When she finally made it to where I was standing, I couldn't do anything but look at her dumbfounded. As she stared up at me, straight in the eye, I saw an innocent smile.

Her smile almost seemed smug, except babies don't really show any emotions other than happiness or frustration, so I doubted myself.

What a cute child...

What did I just think to myself?! I can't possibly think that the clone of that idiotic woman is cute? It is true that the baby's innocent smiling face is adorable and refreshing, but one day, that smile may become as fake as that idiotic woman!

That isn't true...

...Maybe this baby isn't like that woman. She is stronger and more determined than that woman. Maybe, if I raise her properly, she will grow to become a model human being.

Maybe I can love her...

An absurd thought came through my head, but I accepted it. Maybe I could love this child...my child.

She isn't like that woman...

I picked up the small child before me and stared at her in the face. I chuckled. I cradled her in my arms. I will love you...my child, Cordelia.

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A/N: Wow! This is literally the longest chapter I ever wrote. I went through A LOT of work to edit this...

Anyway...here's some news about when I'll be updating! Currently, I am updating this story every Friday night. I think I'll stick to this schedule. If I miss a Friday, I'm sorry! I'll probably be very busy...probably... So, I think I'll be updating this story every 1-2 weeks on a Friday! I'll do my best to update every week!

It's almost Summer, though! Woohoo! Freedom! I may update more during the summer...who knows?

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 1921