MWC Chapter 37

Chapter 37. Bbakangnage Jjomba Gisa Ttumbe-e

What she had just heard was neither babbling nor human speech—it was a bizarre language.

What on earth was that?

Adelen doubted her ears as she approached the baby.

The baby beamed brightly and lifted the card he was holding high, exclaiming once again.

“Bbakangnage Jjomba Gisa Ttumbe-e!”

“Bbakangnage Jjomba Gisa…”

It was definitely speech, but she had no idea what it meant. However, it was different from mere baby babbling. And the fact that he had repeated the same phrase twice meant that he was saying it with intent.

Adelen mumbled the words after the baby, and suddenly, an exclamation mark popped up in her mind.

“Red-winged spotted stag beetle!”

It was the name that the knight had muttered while making that very card.

Since it had been a while and he had only mentioned it once, she had completely forgotten about it. Who would have thought to remember something like that?

But the baby did.

Or maybe the knight had repeated it several times while playing with the baby.

Either way, it was amazing that the baby had accurately remembered and said the name of the insect.

Adelen held up another card.

“Baby, then what about this one? Green bug?”

“Nossaeppida Neo Jjeotto Bboongdei!”

“…Uh, that’s a tough one. No, no… Green bida… hmm?”

“Nossaeppida Neo Jjeotto Bboongdei!”

She couldn’t understand it, but it was clear that he knew the name and was saying it deliberately.

Adelen decided to test him with more insect cards.

“Neoran Jjomba Gi Muttappe-e!”

“Oh… Yellow-spotted ladybug.”

“Hingtteo Baki Jamjjai!”

“White-haired dragonfly!”

So insects weren’t just “bugs” after all. At that moment, Adelen’s world seemed to expand as much as the world of insects.

Even ladybugs and dragonflies had their own names. And the baby knew all of them.

“Oh, maybe…”

Could it be that their baby was an insect prodigy?

With his natural physical abilities and now an extraordinary talent for insects, maybe he could become a scholar who studies all the insects in the world!

Since he was the crown prince held hostage, he wouldn’t be able to become king, but… he could certainly become an excellent entomologist, couldn’t he?

Feeling as if she had just received a revelation about the baby’s future, Adelen trembled with excitement.

A mother’s greatest joy was the belief that her child was a genius.

“Attyue!”

“Yes, our genius baby!”

Overwhelmed with joy, Adelen lifted the baby high into the air and spun him around.

Lately, she had been trying to refrain from lifting him too much because of the strain on her wrists, elbows, shoulders, back, and knees. But this time, she was so happy that she couldn’t hold back.

“Kyaa! Aduye!”

“Yes! Our baby is flying high!”

But even when in the same place, even when doing the same things, people focused on different things.

This time, the baby’s attention was completely captured by Adelen’s hair ribbon, fluttering as she spun.

“Aduye! Wooong, ii!”

“Ack! Aah! W-wait a second! Baby! That’s my hair!”

The baby’s quick hands grabbed onto Adelen’s hair.

A baby’s grip strength was beyond imagination. Without any restraint, his raw strength made Adelen stagger.

“Wait, wait! Not the hair!”

“Mohi!”

“Yes, that’s right. Hair!”

“Mohi!”

The baby repeated after her and then grabbed onto her ribbon instead.

Adelen let out a sigh of relief as she set him down.

At least he let go of her hair.

The ribbon was fine. She could give him as many of those as he wanted.

“Here, you can have the ribbon. Just not my hair, okay?”

“Ibong?”

“Yes, ribbon.”

“Ibong!”

The baby grinned brightly and started shaking the ribbon back and forth, repeatedly chanting the same word.

“Ibong, ibong!”

“Oh?”

Lost in awe over the baby’s talent with insects, Adelen had completely missed something else.

Now, she finally realized it.

Looking around, she placed her hand on the sofa she was sitting on and turned to the baby.

“Baby, this is a sofa. So-fa.”

“Sso-ppa?”

“!”

“Then, um… oh. This is a cushion.”

“Kku-jjong.”

“!”

That was it.

The reason the baby couldn’t say “Happy Birthday” no matter how hard they tried was because he couldn’t see it.

Since she had never raised a baby properly before, she hadn’t realized that she needed to teach him step by step, showing him each thing.

But now, a breakthrough had appeared.

That meant… if she showed him “Happy Birthday,” he could say it right away!

But… how exactly could she show him “Happy Birthday”?

 

“So… I think if we show the baby what a birthday party looks like, he’ll be able to say it.”

“A rehearsal, then.”

“Yes, yes! I can’t throw a birthday party alone, after all.”

“That’s a great idea, Master.”

Everyone in Sigelion had been struggling because the baby couldn’t say “Happy Birthday.”

The butler, who had been deeply frustrated over his inability to assist with the preparations, was thrilled at Adelen’s idea.

Finally, a chance to contribute had come his way.

“Since we’re preparing one anyway, we could hold a real birthday party for someone whose birthday is coming up.”

Even though it was technically just a practice party for the baby, they would still be preparing real food and cake.

Rather than wasting the effort, it would be better to use the opportunity to celebrate someone’s actual birthday.

“Ah! That’s a great idea!”

Adelen clapped her hands together, smiling brightly.

It would feel more realistic if it were a genuine celebration, making it even better for the baby.

Rakalt nodded lightly in agreement.

The butler immediately began his investigation.

“My birthday has already passed, and Master’s is still far away. Baby’s birthday… wouldn’t work, since he’s the one who needs to say the words. What about you, Adelen?”

“Oh, me? I… I don’t know.”

“Huh? You don’t know your own birthday?”

“No… I don’t. So I’ve never celebrated it.”

The orphanage had never bothered to keep track of each child’s real birthday. Instead, they lumped all the new arrivals together and registered them with the state as a single date.

That registered date meant nothing to her—it wasn’t her real birthday.

Every year, the children were simply considered a year older on New Year’s Day.

Since all the children grew up with this system, they naturally accepted it.

Even after she started working, no household ever asked for a maid’s birthday, let alone celebrated it.

Unless they were already close friends, even fellow maids wouldn’t bring it up.

So Adelen had never paid attention to her own birthday.

She had never even thought about choosing one.

“How can you not know your birthday? There has to be a registered date, right?”

She knew that other people valued birthdays, but she hadn’t expected her ignorance of her own to be this shocking.

Flustered by the butler’s reaction, Adelen hesitated.

“Ah… actually, um… that date isn’t real… I don’t know my real birthday…”

“Didn’t your family tell you? Surely they celebrated at least once?”

She had planned to brush it off, but the butler was too baffled to let it go.

That was a mistake. She should have just made up a date.

She didn’t want to reveal her origins.

Just then, before the butler could press further—

Rakalt suddenly cut in.

***

 

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