Linia Took in a Child - Chapter 1: The Child (5)

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if sparing her life had less to do with her divine power and more to do with the undeniable pull she exerted over him—one that even he could not resist.

He untied the knotted ribbon resting on her slender shoulder. As the garment slipped away, her full, pale chest was revealed. Edwin cupped her rounded breast entirely with one large hand.

He didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about doing this to a woman who was in pain. He just wanted to touch her softer skin, which was much softer than he had expected.

His large hands continued to gently knead her breasts. Edwin moved his thumbs to gently touch the area under her nipples. As he slowly stroked the area around her areola, her light pink nipples were stimulated and puffed up. As her soft nipples gradually began to harden, his lower body also became stiff.

At that moment, Linia’s long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened. Her emerald green eyes, still hazy from sleep, searched aimlessly through the darkness.

Someone was on top of her.

The unexpected situation left her body instinctively frozen, but soon a sharp pain forced her to grimace. It felt as though a blade had pierced deep inside her chest. Familiar with the sensation, she bit her lips hard before struggling to part them and speak.

“Wh-who…?”

“…Ah, caught me.”

A relaxed, low-pitched voice reached her ears. The warmth that had been pressing against her chest vanished, leaving behind a cold, empty sensation.

Though his face was obscured by the darkness, Linia could sense that he was smiling. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she furrowed her brow, trying to identify him. However, as if mocking her efforts, the man placed a hand directly over her chest.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you feel at ease soon,” he whispered.

With those words, Edwin gently covered her mouth with his other hand. The sight of her looking up at him with an anguished expression, as if on the verge of tears, struck him as oddly endearing.

He still felt it was a shame to kill her, but after she had seen his face, there was no way he could let her live. Edwin began to draw out the magical energy he sensed beyond her chest.

However, the woman’s magic, which should have obeyed his own power, didn’t budge. It felt as though her heart was wrapped in a tangled and intricate web. Frowning, he forced more of his power into the effort, coercing her magic to move. After some time, the energy enveloping her heart began to stir ever so slightly.

The strange sensation caused Linia to writhe. Enduring the pain, she struggled to lift her hand, grasping weakly at his wrist. But her trembling fingers had no strength behind them, and simply holding on was the best she could manage.

The faint warmth that brushed against his wrist made Edwin lower his gaze to look at Linia. Perhaps because he was extracting her magic so slowly, the woman beneath him didn’t appear to be in intense pain. On the contrary, her expression grew more serene as time passed.

There was no need to forcibly shake off her hand; her fingers gradually uncurled and slipped away on their own. Edwin could feel the faint thread-like strands of her magic being drawn into his grasp.

By the time the thought of stopping crossed his mind, it was already too late.

Before long, her heart, now drained of all its magic, fell silent. The woman remained still, her long eyelashes lowered as if she were merely asleep.

By morning, the red-haired maid would find the young lady’s cold, lifeless body. The blind maid would only fully grasp her mistress’s death after touching her cold, unmoving form. Would she scream first, or would the tears fall before any sound escaped her lips?

Edwin, leisurely imagining the reactions of the two in his mind, grasped his manhood with one hand. His member, which had been standing erect for quite some time, showed no sign of subsiding. On the contrary, the tip was slick, glistening with a generous coating of transparent fluid.

‘I couldn’t believe l get horny looking at a corpse.’

He spread the precum coating the tip along the shaft, moving his hand up and down. It was the first time he had ever felt such an overwhelming surge of desire, as if he were losing his mind. He thought to himself that he must look like a rutting dog. Yet, his body responded honestly, and as his gaze lingered on the milky-white breasts, he began to slowly stroke himself.

At last, as Edwin climaxed over her body, he felt his excitement heighten even further. With a gentle touch, he wiped away the semen that had landed near Linia’s lips.

She was a beautiful woman—so much so that he even considered whether he should take her body with him, lifeless as it was. Edwin pressed his lips against Linia’s pale, tightly closed ones. Like a lover savoring the aftermath of passion, he lingered, refusing to let go of her body for some time.

*

As morning broke, Sophie entered the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She used the remaining ingredients to cook a vegetable stew and bake bread. The rich, savory aroma soon filled the kitchen when Bessie walked in.

“Good morning, Bessie,” Sophie greeted cheerfully.

“Good morning. Looks like it’s vegetable stew for breakfast today,” Bessie replied with a smile.

“That’s right. I can’t hide anything from your nose! Breakfast is almost ready, so why don’t you take a seat?”

“No, that’s alright. The young lady and the child haven’t woken up yet, have they? I’ll go upstairs and wake them.”

Turning around, Bessie headed toward the stairs. She climbed them with practiced familiarity, her hand gripping the railing as she silently counted each step in her mind.

“Eleven, twelve, thirteen,” she murmured.

Fourteen was the last step. Bessie moved confidently toward Linia’s room, her steps sure despite her blindness.

“Young Lady?”

Bessie knocked on the door and called out to her. Normally, Linia would respond immediately, but today there was an unusual silence. Assuming her mistress was still asleep, Bessie opened the door and stepped inside.

“Breakfast is ready. It’s time to get up,” she said gently.

Taking six more steps forward, her legs brushed against the edge of the bed. Reaching out, she felt the quilt and traced it carefully. Her hands soon found Linia’s form beneath the blanket.

As Bessie pulled the quilt back slightly to rouse her mistress and placed her hand on Linia’s body, she froze. The moment her fingers touched the young lady’s skin, a sense of wrongness washed over her. The body beneath her hand was cooler than it should have been.

“Young Lady?”

With trembling hands, Bessie reached out to feel Linia’s face. Bringing her fingers to Linia’s nose, she detected a faint breath, so weak that it seemed on the verge of fading entirely.

“Please wake up, Miss Linia. Please…”

“She seems to be in a lot of pain,” a young voice chimed in softly.

Bessie fell silent, her attention snapping toward the direction of the voice. She heard the rustling of blankets—it sounded like the boy, who must have been lying next to Linia, was now sitting up.

“…So you slept here too,” Bessie muttered. “Go downstairs and fetch Sophie, will you?”

She figured the boy would be faster than her. Without a word, the boy climbed off the bed and left the room. As his footsteps faded, Bessie let out a heavy sigh.

*

Even after the village doctor came and went, Linia’s condition showed little improvement. He couldn’t provide a proper diagnosis and simply advised them to keep her warm until she regained consciousness.

After the doctor left, Sophie muttered bitter curses, calling him a quack, while staying by Linia’s side with Bessie. They spent the entire night tending to her with care and diligence.

Perhaps thanks to their efforts, Linia finally opened her eyes the next morning. However, after a day spent unconscious, her face was pale as snow, utterly devoid of vitality. She looked so fragile, as though the slightest touch might cause her to collapse. Despite this, Linia’s first words were to express concern for Sophie and Bessie.

“I’m fine, so you both should go and rest,” she said weakly.

“Who just woke up and started worrying about us? We took turns resting, so we’re not that tired,” Sophie retorted.

“Sophie, please,” Linia pleaded, smiling faintly despite her exhaustion.

Seeing her frail state and hearing her gentle tone, Sophie couldn’t argue any further.

“Alright. Just a few hours, and then I’ll be back up here,” she relented.

“Okay,” Linia agreed softly.

“Try to get some more sleep, Miss Linia. We’ll be back soon,” Sophie said as she and Bessie left the room.

Linia mustered a bright smile as they departed, but as soon as the door closed, she let her expression falter. She clenched her eyes shut, overwhelmed by the weight in her head and the dizziness that made her feel like the world was spinning. Her body felt drained, and she feared she might drift back into unconsciousness at any moment.

Lying there with her eyes closed, it almost felt like night had returned. As her thoughts wandered, fragmented memories surfaced—low whispers in the darkness, the face of a stranger looming over her, his hand covering her mouth, and the sensation of warm, wet lips pressing against her chest.

At that thought, she felt a strange sensitivity in her chest, a tingle that made her toes curl involuntarily. Everything felt hazy, like a surreal dream she couldn’t fully grasp. She couldn’t tell if it had been real or just a feverish nightmare.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Linia turned her head toward the sound and saw the boy standing in the doorway, bathed in the slanting sunlight streaming in from outside.

“Ruin,” she greeted warmly, her lips curling into a smile.

Ruin approached silently and perched on the edge of her bed, his gaze lingering on her with a faint look of concern.

“You were really worried, weren’t you?” Linia asked gently, reaching out to stroke his hair with a soft hand.

“Everything’s alright now. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Despite Linia’s reassurance, Ruin remained silent, his unease still evident. Linia, wondering how she could ease his anxiety, slowly withdrew her hand from his head.

But only a few seconds passed before a small hand reached out and held hers. Linia responded by gently clasping his tiny hand, which was only half the size of her own. She felt both pity and affection for the worried child before her.

“Shall we sleep a little more together?” she asked softly, pulling the blanket back slightly.

Ruin obediently climbed under the covers, and Linia released his hand to wrap her arms around him. She thought perhaps a deeper physical connection would help him feel safer.

To her surprise, it was her own heart that began to calm. His small body fit perfectly in her arms, his hair was soft, and he smelled like freshly dried linens, clean and comforting.

Linia gazed down at the boy nestled against her. His squished cheek looked irresistibly soft. She fought the urge to kiss him and instead settled for gently stroking his hair.

“Having you here with me makes my mind feel clearer,” she murmured.

“…”

“I guess it’s because you make me feel safe. Do you feel the same way, Ruin?”

She felt him nod slightly, and the gesture warmed her heart, bringing a smile to her lips. For a while, she said nothing more, simply running her fingers through his silky hair.

Eventually, however, her smile faded, and her lips pressed into a firm line. It took her a moment to work up the courage to speak again.

“…Ruin, when you slept with me last night, did anyone come into the room?”

The small head resting against her chest shook side to side. So it really was just a strange dream, she thought. After all, Ruin had been sleeping right next to her. If someone had entered her room, surely the boy would have woken up.

Yet she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling. The memories of what she had seen and felt in that dream were too vivid to dismiss entirely.

“Then do you remember how I looked when I was sleeping this morning? Was my clothing disheveled or undone…?”

Again, she felt him shake his head against her chest. After a moment, his sleepy voice replied, “You looked the same as before you fell asleep. I tried waking you up, but you wouldn’t wake, and I got worried.”

“I see… I’m sorry for bringing up something unpleasant,” Linia said softly, deciding she had to let go of her suspicions. Logically, it made no sense for it to be anything other than a dream.

“Could you keep this a secret from Bessie and Sophie?” she asked.

If they heard her mention that she thought someone had entered her room, they would undoubtedly worry. When Ruin nodded, Linia gave him a small, grateful smile.

Having Ruin by her side made her feel more at ease. Relaxed and reassured, Linia slowly drifted back to sleep.

By the time she woke up, it was well past lunchtime. From downstairs, she could hear faint noises, likely Sophie preparing a meal.

“You’re probably hungry, Ruin. Why don’t you go downstairs and have some food?” Linia said gently, trying to coax the boy as he stirred awake.

However, Ruin shook his head and burrowed deeper into her arms instead.

“Then should we eat together here?”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

Still drowsy, Ruin clung to her waist, his eyes drifting closed again. Rather than waking him, Linia simply began stroking his soft, silver-gray hair with gentle fingers.

A few minutes later, Sophie entered the room, carrying a tray of dishes. Upon seeing Ruin nestled firmly in Linia’s arms, Sophie frowned slightly.

“Hey, get up. Miss Linia can’t eat properly with you clinging to her like that.”

“It’s fine, Sophie. Could you bring some food for Ruin as well? I’d appreciate it,” Linia said with a soft smile.