Chapter : 04
The child’s limbs wrapped heavily around one of my arms. I stared blankly at the child and tapped the bridge of their nose with my free hand.
Fortunately, it seemed to have been done in their half-asleep state, because the tension in their body loosened slightly.
That didn’t mean they let go, though, so I remained trapped in the child’s grip for a while.
You can’t forcibly pull a sleeping child away. In that situation, the only thing to do was stare at their face.
“Even sleeping, you look like a little rabbit.”
The child’s face was completely relaxed as they opened their mouth slightly and surrendered their body fully to my arm. Seeing that naturally brought a smile to my face.
But it was fleeting; worry soon crept in.
I had really brought them home without thinking. What was it about my pity? Originally, my purpose was just to see if they were okay.
If I were going to make an impulse purchase, I should have bought beef. Why did I impulsively pick up a living child?
“What should I do with this little one…”
A black-haired beast isn’t something you take in lightly. In a novel full of flags like this, even a small flag can’t be inserted recklessly.
At least the reassuring thing was that this child wasn’t the same person as the male lead.
Male lead Hyden Berto is now a 17-year-old adult man, and only a year later, because of the Empress’s scheme, he suffers amnesia and becomes a slave in another country.
In contrast, this kid looked no older than 13, far from 17.
Their hair and eye color were also completely different from Hyden, who had brown hair when he was sold as a slave.
But…
“Think carefully, Louisa. In novels, even if you fall backward, you break your nose.”
In other words, incarnated characters in these novels have their lives ruined no matter what. You can’t pick up just anything.
“And yet… I picked them up? Haha, hahaha… hahaha.”
Now, I can’t just leave them on the street…
“Nope. Not happening. That would be a really damn terrible thing to do.”
So at least I needed to keep as much distance as possible from the child—physically, if not emotionally.
I brushed the bangs away from the child’s eyes, lost in thought.
There were a few people around here with decent character. I slowly narrowed down the candidates in my head.
“Noah is out.”
Although the age fits, Noah had to be excluded first. Otherwise, the child could become a test subject for alchemy.
“The better options would be Hart or Rivael?”
One has the flaw of killing people before even getting to know them, while the other has the flaw of killing anyone who blasphemes against God. But those are minor faults.
They would likely raise a 13-year-old much better than I could. I should go ask tomorrow.
“Ugh…”
The child, now deeply asleep and limp, released my arm, so I slumped onto the sofa.
Strangely, thinking about letting the child go left a pit in my chest.
“I’m not abandoning them.”
Right. I could think of this as temporary guardianship.
I tried to erase from memory the shy, tentative “please take care of me” the child had said and closed my eyes. Somehow, I didn’t think I’d sleep tonight.
But contrary to my plan to meet Hart the next day, I couldn’t leave the house for a week.
“Louisa… cough cough!”
“Don’t force yourself up. Your fever hasn’t gone down yet.”
The child had caught a terrible cold, perhaps from all the stress releasing at once.
Even after summoning the most renowned doctor in the underground city, there was nothing to do but care for the child diligently. It was frustrating.
I wiped the feverish child’s face with a cool cloth. At first, I struggled with applying the right pressure, but after a few days, I had already adapted.
I replaced the now-warm cloth with a cold one and placed it on their forehead.
The child opened their eyes weakly at the cool sensation and looked at me.
“Am I… going to be… abandoned because I’m sick?”
“…Spend less time talking and get better.”
I hid my complicated feelings and managed to reply.
How could someone like me, who can barely manage basic care, raise this child? As time passed, I realized it would be better to send the child somewhere safer.
The child pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with my answer, but then glanced at me and smiled with their relaxed face.
“Because you’re here, Louisa… cough, I’m… so happy…”
“…Don’t use your strength to speak.”
They always managed to shake my heart when I let my guard down.
Feeling a bit cheeky, I tapped the cloth on their forehead lightly before standing up.
“Where are you going…?”
I headed to the kitchen, leaving the child behind. I hadn’t explained I was just fetching medicine, but soon I heard a clatter from the room.
Returning quickly with the medicine, I found the child had fallen off the bed, tangled in the blanket, lying on the floor.
“Ha… you little troublemaker. Stay still.”
“Cough cough… I-I was… scared…”
I hurriedly scooped up the almost-crawling child. Their flushed face pushed against my shoulder.
“You might catch my cold…”
“Now? Don’t worry, I don’t catch colds. Just stay in my arms.”
I brushed the wet hair from their face and gently laid them on the bed.
“I’m sorry…”
“Okay? Then that means you take all your medicine, right?”
“Ugh… yes.”
They looked reluctantly annoyed but still nodded. Cute.
I spooned the warm medicine and blew on it before giving it to the child. Hesitant at first, they eventually opened their mouth and drank it.
“How is it? Not too bitter, right?”
“Because you’re giving it, Louisa, it doesn’t taste bitter.”
They really knew how to navigate social interactions.
I pressed a cool hand against their flushed cheek and continued feeding them the medicine.
“…But it tastes bitter if I keep drinking it.”
Children can be so capricious. Leaving just one spoon, the child turned their head and refused the medicine.
“You have to finish it.”
“Noooo…”
They were clearly scheming. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Candy, then. Eat it.”
I handed them a jar of candy. The child seemed unimpressed.
“Want something else?”
“Uh… no, it’s just… Ah! Louisa, I can’t hold the candy.”
“What?”
You’re holding it now! When I alternated my gaze between the child and the jar, they dropped it onto the bed.
Their eyes sparkled more than before.
“You want to eat it but can’t hold it?”
“…Do you want me to feed it to you?”
“If you don’t mind, Louisa!”
Of course I didn’t mind. Nodding, they immediately drank the remaining medicine as if they hadn’t complained at all.
Children really love candy.
They opened their mouth expectantly. I peeled the candy and fed it to them. The candy, sticky from their warm hands, smeared on mine.
Too lazy to wash, I licked it off roughly. Then I felt someone staring and looked up.
“What? Your fever’s back?”
“No? No, I didn’t…!”
The child’s red face stared at me as they waved their hands frantically.
Why is the fever back after taking the medicine? That doctor—was he a quack?
I decided that when we returned to the underground city, I would confront him. For now, I laid the feverish child back down.
For some reason, every time I touched them, it felt like their temperature rose even more… maybe just my imagination.
It took another week for the child to fully recover.
Watching the child sleep after finishing the last dose of medicine, I realized I’d spent more time with them than expected. Not intentional, but it made me more certain I should entrust the child to someone else.
“Am I really going to raise a kid?”
I was spending far too much time on the child. With my frequent absences on the battlefield, I couldn’t possibly raise them.
After observing the sleeping child, I quietly left the bedroom.
A space that had seemed empty a month ago now felt full.
For a moment, my resolve wavered, but I laughed wryly at myself.
“One kid doesn’t make it weird.”
I shook off the distracting thoughts and left the house quietly.
I worried briefly about leaving the child alone, but it would be fine. Despite the exterior resembling a falling-apart shack, the inside’s security rivaled the royal palace.
“It’s confusing after such a long time.”
I walked the ruined streets as if on a light stroll. Darkness made recognition difficult for some, and a few tried to rob me, but
“Eek! W-Witch! Sorry!”
A smile from me sent them running.
After repeating this a few times, I reached the fountain, once beautiful but now covered in some unknown liquid.
“This is the place, right?”
I entered the alley at the 2 o’clock direction from where I stood. A door was set into a narrow wall, barely wide enough for one person.
When I grabbed the doorknob, sparks flew.
Fzzzt—!
A force that would have killed an ordinary person instantly. I was fine, but nearby rats were incinerated.
“…Bringing the child here would’ve been a terrible choice.”
I shook off the horrific images in my mind and turned the doorknob.
Upon opening, magical energy surged stronger. Surprisingly, it felt soothing, like receiving physical therapy after a long time.
“Grandpa, the magic feels weaker. I should take care of my body!”
I brushed off the currents and stepped inside.
An immense space welcomed me. A hall too vast for the eyes to take in, with spiral staircases on both sides rising endlessly.
I couldn’t see the ceiling. The once-grand interior was now even more magnificent and opulent. I called out again.
“Hart! Grandpa!”
My voice echoed through the hall. From the wall of books, someone suddenly emerged—a man in a fairy-tale-like wizard pajama hat, scolding me.
“What nonsense is this, coming here in the middle of the night, you brat!”
