The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

CRASH

The sound of ceramic shattering broke the silence in the third lord's mansion, and Evelyn gazed at her tiny toes in embarrassment as her 'maid' Amara cleaned up all the broken shards.

'If I was a few inches taller, this wouldn't have happened… I'm not stupid or clumsy, I'm just short!'

Being reborn as a baby, Evelyn had expected a lot of embarrassment heading her way. Breaking a few things while getting used to her new body was of course within her expectations. It wasn't something that she would be too bothered about. If it looked too expensive and easy to break, she wouldn't try to touch it anyway.

However, the two things she dreaded the most since her first day were… breastfeeding, and changing diapers.

She remembered neither of those from her first life, and she wasn't even sure if anyone would have bothered taking care of her like that then. But she was quite certain that facing those things in this life would leave her with permanent memories of deep embarrassment and shame.

Much to her shock, however, the adults seemed completely unconcerned with either of those, and she didn't seem to need them either. Not that she wasn't happy, but it was quite simple to conclude that her body in this life was considerably different from 'normal'.

It was as if her body operated entirely on pure energy, and she did not need to rely on eating food. Even though that was the case for her, everyone else seemed to need to eat regularly, which she found very curious.

Now almost three years old, Evelyn was able to easily waddle through various parts of the mansion on her own. Of course, her dutiful 'maid' Amara followed her around to make sure she didn't fall face first.

With everyone treating her like a child, even she unconsciously showed some childishness from time to time. After a while, there was no other way but to just get used to it.

She got over her embarrassment very quickly, and began running around looking for things of interest again. The mansion was chock full of interesting little gadgets, and she fell in love with exploring it ever since she left her crib.

Once, she even stumbled upon the very same orb she saw when she first arrived in this world, and it was indeed a recording device as she thought! Not only that, it also showed her parent's wedding! It was the only expensive and easily breakable thing that she really couldn't resist touching.

Unfortunately, before she could tinker with it for long, she was quickly picked up by the panicked servants. Well, they can't be blamed, as at that time she was barely sixteen months old.

With her father and mother being unusually busy these days, Evelyn was of course being looked after by someone else. With shoulder length red hair and emerald green eyes, Amara was quite a striking ten-year-old. From the day she first saw her, Evelyn knew she wasn't just some servant. She stood out too much, both in terms of age and appearance.

There were almost ten servants in her father's mansion three years ago, but now she barely saw anyone else. Perhaps she would have believed it was the lack of manpower that led to this ten-year-old looking after herself, if she didn't have her system.

There was no point of having the 'Basic Probe' skill if she didn't use it on anyone she came across! Even if it consumed one spirit power per use, it was all restored after a good night's sleep anyway.

[ Amara Gilmore: Level 16 ]

[ Special Physique: Blessed Spirit ]

[ Physique: 58 ]

[ Spirit Power: 72 ]

[ Vitality: 439 ]

[ Soul Value: 66 ]

[ Enhancement (available): Burn-me-not ]

[ Affection: Budding ]

Even though Evelyn had grown tremendously over the last three years, she was still baffled when she first saw the stats of this little girl. She had already tried to view the stats of everyone she met, but most of the time the results were far more 'normal'. Most people had all their stats below twenty, with only vitality being close to a hundred.

Evelyn frowned as she looked at her own stats with slight disappointment.

[ Evelyn Knox (Age 3): Level 9 ]

[ Hybrid Physique: Blessed Spirit, Lotus Throne ]

[ Physique: 110 ]

[ Spirit Power: 35 ]

[ Vitality: 107 ]

[ Soul Value: 1215 ]

For servants, whom she considered normal civilians, their spirit power would not exceed twenty points. As for the vitality, the older they were, the less vitality they had. The highest she had seen among servants was a hundred and twenty.

The 'outstanding' stats she had seen so far included her mother and father, and Amara's stats were multiple times higher. She couldn't see her grandfather's stats, unfortunately, since her probe skill didn't work on him.

Her curiosity drew her closer to the redhead, and unknowingly, she began to indulge herself in talking with her more and more.

After staying with Amara for a long time, Evelyn was able to dig out that this little redhead was from a prominent family that no longer existed, and was seeking shelter in the Knox family. Looking after 'little Evey', as she called her, was apparently this girl's hobby.

Evelyn thought it was a little strange, because most people would consider babysitting a chore.

She had some pride when she thought 'Well, with someone as smart and mature as myself, I guess it's not such a chore, right?', while ignoring all the trouble she has been causing so far.

"Do you like children?"

As she asked this question with a curious tilt of her head, the redhead gave her a thoughtful hum, wondering what kind of trouble was brewing inside her adorable little pink head, again. "I have a little sister, just like you… We don't have parents, so I'm used to taking care for her, it's much easier to care for you."

Normally she wouldn't tell this to a child, but being with Evelyn for a while, she felt that this child, no matter how adorably cute she looked, was far more advanced than her age in terms of mental maturity. She didn't consider her a peer yet, but refused to treat her like an idiot.

Amara herself did not like it when adults looked down on her for being a young. Despite her age, she was the one who had looked after both herself and her little sister, all by herself. If she hadn't grown up, the world would have long since chewed them both up and spat them out.

This was the reason that she decided that until Evelyn did something to show she didn't deserve being treated like a good kid, she would treat her like a peer in her heart. No one can blame her for bullying the baby from time to time though, okay? Her reactions were adorable!

Evelyn's eyes were shining, completely oblivious to Amara's 'evil' thoughts. "A little sister? Huh… hmm… I know! Why don't you bring her here next time? We can play together, and you can take care of both of us. Twice the results for half the effort!"

Of course, her internal thoughts were 'If Amara has an enhancement to unlock, then maybe her sister does too! If we're childhood playmates, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to max out her affection eventually?'

Of course, it did not matter what kind of affection it was, only its strength mattered. Otherwise, she would not have had two ongoing missions of maxing out the affections for both of her parents. Given that they already loved her so much, she could already feel the juicy experience points and enhancements coming her way.

Amara burst into giggles at her words. "Where did you hear that from? More like twice the trouble! Do you even know what that little devil is like?"

The redhead gave Evelyn a mischievous smirk. "That little devil plays around in the worker's quarter or the gardens while I'm with you. Trust me, she can eat up a cutie pie like you in one bite!"

'What? Do you think I can't handle a little kid? Who do you think I am?! She'll love me like I'm her mother within a week, humph! Don't you go dropping your jaw when she follows me around like a little duckling!'

Seeing her look skeptical, Amara couldn't help but grin. "Alright then, since you don't believe me, don't come crying once she pulls out all your hair and makes you bald."

Evelyn shuddered. She had forgotten how unscrupulous some children can be in their innocence and had grown complacent due to the doting and care from the people around her. Who's to say Amara's little sister really won't make her bald? Although her long pink hair got stuck in places from time to time, and she even tripped over it once, she would very much love not to part with it.

Their conversation was rudely interrupted by sharp whizzing sound followed by a loud thwack.

Evelyn couldn't tell what happened at all, only that Amara suddenly knelt down while holding her closely in her embrace.

"What happened?! Amara… Amara?!"