Chapter 28: Two People in the Orphanage
When Oswald wheeled Aiwass through the door, it wasn't just the family's servants who came to greet them.
Yulia was wearing pajamas, holding her doll, and standing quietly in front of the window.
She watched Oswald pushing his wheelchair slowly coming up the front path, and then she trotted to the door to greet him.
"Miss Yulia is waiting for you."
Oswald said softly behind Aiwass.
Aiwass nodded and lowered his voice. "I think Yuli is just a little lonely. After all, those kids her age are all playing with their classmates at school. But I'm the only one Yuli can see."
The old butler sighed and said nothing more.
He simply closed the door as Yulia came over to greet him, blocking out the harsh winter wind of the evening.
He frowned and said seriously, "Ms. Yulia, it's cold in winter. Please don't get too close to the main entrance."
“…I’m fine.”
Yulia said in a low voice, somewhat stubbornly: "I have taken the medicine twice."
"That won't work either."
The old housekeeper said without hesitation: "You are already weak, and it will be even more troublesome if you catch a cold..."
"...It's okay, Mr. Oswald. Now if Yuli gets sick, I can help her treat it."
Aiwass interrupted gently, "I think the sacred skills Bishop Mathers taught me should be used at this moment."
As he spoke, he took off his coat first, revealing the sweater underneath.
Aiwass put his hands inside his sweater, trying to warm them with his body heat.
He had just returned from outside, and his coat and hands were drenched in cold air. For Yulia, whose body temperature was higher than normal, this was very uncomfortable, just like someone with a fever would be afraid of the cold.
This is also Yulia's old problem.
Since she was very young, Yulia has been harboring the juvenile phantom demon, the Flame-Defying Butterfly, within her body.
Qualified individuals like this who have a young ecological phantom demon in their bodies are called "Phantom Demon Eggs".
Their mental, physical, and even life force are constantly drawn from them and fed to the phantom demon within them. When they die from weakness or external forces, the phantom demon within them awakens, causing disaster. However, if they can safely develop the phantom demon to a certain level, they can borrow some of its power without even embarking on the path to transcendence.
As the phantom develops, the egg's strength gradually increases, and the nutrients it requires for growth become increasingly demanding and demanding. Only when the phantom has developed and attained a full personality is it considered fully developed. At that point, it can choose to forcibly awaken or become a symbiotic partner with its host.
The initiative of choice lies in the hands of the phantom demon, not the host. That is why the host is called the phantom demon's egg - because the phantom demons who choose the former are the majority.
Even though the phantom demon within Yulia hadn't awakened yet, it had already given her some strength, but it also placed a higher burden on her.
Yulia's body temperature is several degrees higher than that of ordinary people.
Specifically, it's like she's in a constant fever. Her body temperature is slightly higher than normal... When she was six or seven, it was half a degree higher than normal; now it's two degrees higher.
Her body temperature was around 38.5 degrees Celsius all year round... If she hadn't received regular treatment from the church pastor, she would probably have died long ago.
And the worst part was, this high fever had nothing to do with illness or curse, and therefore couldn't be cured by supernatural means. Her nerves and organs could only be healed through illumination magic, and potions could be used to replenish the nutrients the phantom needed.
Julia is not James' biological daughter either. She is also his adopted daughter.
The reason she was so close to Aiwass was because they lived in the same orphanage when they were children.
When Aiwas was four years old, his biological parents died in an accident. He was too young at the time and his memory is vague. He doesn't know the details of what happened.
After that, Aiwass entered an orphanage and met Yulia.
At that time, Yulia was still an abandoned baby in swaddling clothes.
Even as a baby, Yulia possessed immense, almost demonic strength, often injuring the caregivers. Few people could easily approach her: the director, Aunt Misu, the cook, and Aiwass. So, the responsibility of caring for her fell to the director... but since Aunt Misu was old, Aiwass, who had always been exceptionally sensible, would volunteer to help.
Aiwass was only three and a half years older than Yulia, yet he was remarkably mature. Not only did he lack the childish habits of his peers, but he was also remarkably calm and composed, never panicking in the slightest, like a knowledgeable adult. If it weren't for his childlike innocence and complete ignorance, some might suspect he harbored another soul.
This is not impossible.
The Twilight Way's preservers and amber craftsmen were able to insert one person's soul into another's body. Aiwass was even so abnormal as to be frightening.
The orphanage specially invited a pastor from the church to examine whether his soul belonged to them.
The relationship between the two equally unusual children grew stronger and stronger. Yulia almost always stayed by Aiwass's side.
At that time, the orphanage's clothing was very thin. Yulia, with her body like a furnace, made Aiwass very comfortable in the winter. At that time, Aiwass could only sleep peacefully with Yulia in his arms and not shiver from the cold.
It wasn't until Aiwass was six years old that the two of them were adopted by James Moriarty.
Here Aiwas remembers clearly -
In fact, at the beginning, James only wanted to adopt Yulia, not Aiwass.
But when Yulia was pulled away from Aiwass, she cried very hard, her heart piercing, and her mental state was very unstable. Moreover, her strength at that time was extremely huge - completely different from her current weakness, she had an innate terrifying power.
She was only three years old at the time, but even several adults couldn't pull her away.
Some were even dragged to the ground by her, and the scene was in chaos. The entire orphanage was in turmoil for a long time, and many things were pulled down and broken by the crazy Yulia.
Later, James asked the dean's mother-in-law for something, and suddenly changed his mind and took them both away. Only then did Yulia calm down.
As Yulia gradually learned to read, her personality became gentler and more reserved, and her innate, uncanny strength gradually faded. Today, her body is so frail that it's even weaker than that of other girls her age. She relies on priests and potions to barely stay alive.
Aiwass has always been grateful to Yulia in his heart.
Because of her, he had the chance to change his fate. Born in an orphanage without a father or mother, his future was bound to be very different from that of the nobleman named "Moriarty." He was not originally adopted, merely a "surplus" to Julia. Although James treated Aiwass kindly, he never forgot that he was originally unwanted.
For Aiwass, who lost his parents at a young age, Yulia was the person he had spent the longest time with, two years longer than his adoptive father and older brother.
And Yulia is also very dependent on Aiwass.
She had no feelings for her biological parents. Having been without parents since she could remember, the Aiwass were her true family. Then there were the dean, Aunt Misu, James, and her eldest brother, Edward.
After Aiwas warmed his hands, he gestured for Yulia to come over.
The delicate girl with white hair and red eyes obediently hugged Aiwass's neck from the front. Her left knee knelt beside Aiwass's legs, carefully avoiding letting her weight press on Aiwass.
"Don't worry, Yuli. I'm not that fragile."
Aiwass couldn't help laughing.
He stretched out his right hand and gently pressed the left side of Yulia's back, behind her heart.
With a little fire-attribute magic as a trigger, a soft light bloomed from the palm of his right hand.
As soft light seeped out from Aiwass's fingers, Yulia's body gradually relaxed. Her shallow breathing also gradually became smoother - Aiwass easily dispelled the pain.
Although she had been ill for a long time, James's continued treatment meant her condition wasn't serious. He would always call in a priest to heal any hidden injuries before her condition worsened. Aiwass only expended two points of light mana to heal her.
Then, Aiwass took his right hand, which was still shining, from his back and pressed it on Yulia's forehead.
As the light nourished her spirit, her sluggish mental state immediately improved a lot. This time, Aiwass didn't even have to spend any mana.
Yulia's body was still hot, but it was clear that she would have a good sleep today.
"Good girl," Aiwass said with a slight smile on his face. "Let's go and have dinner..."
At this moment, Aiwass casually reached for the Shepherd's Tantra on his knees.
His movements paused for a moment.
Because he had never touched Yulia's "Shepherd's Secret Sutra", when he touched it now, he felt the same scorching heat as Yulia's body, and a strange feeling that was completely different from before.
It was as if Aiwass was not stroking the cover of the book, but touching the skin of Yulia's back.
Without the barrier of clothing, the heat was even greater than what Aiwass had felt when he had just touched Yulia. It was scorching, almost scalding.
But the strange sense of incongruity made Aiwas look down.
The air didn't emit any steam, and the material didn't change at all. It was still the same cowhide-like material.
At this moment, Aiwas suddenly realized that it was so hot, but he didn't feel any heat on his legs. Only his right hand, which had just used the illumination technique, had this illusion. Even his left hand felt normal temperature.
Aiwass calmly handed the scorching hot tantra book to Yulia and said, "Please help me put this book in my study, okay?"
"Um."
Yulia nodded slightly in response.
She took the book without any special reaction.
It was as if I didn't feel its heat at all.
Aiwass asked with concern, "Does it feel a little cold? It's been exposed outside for a long time just now."
"A little, but it doesn't matter," Yulia hummed and then asked, "Where should I put it, brother?"
"Put it in front of the desk. This is the book my brother will read after dinner."
"OK."
Yulia nodded in response and left with the book.
Aiwass confirmed one thing.
It seems that I am the only one who can feel the changes in the temperature and touch of the Shepherd's Tantra.
Interesting, he thought.
Let’s study it carefully after dinner.
(End of this chapter)
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