Linia Took in a Child - Chapter 8: Ruin (5)

The next morning, the clothes they had bought fit the boy perfectly. When Linia complimented him on how well they suited him, he shyly lowered his head, unsure of how to respond. His bashful reaction was so endearing that Linia couldn’t help but smile warmly.

“Can I call you Noah?” Linia asked gently.

She had chosen the name “Noah,” meaning “eternal happiness,” since she couldn’t keep addressing him as just “the boy.” When he hesitantly nodded in approval, Linia’s smile grew wider.

Throughout the day, Linia stayed by Noah’s side, sharing stories from fairy tales she had read. The boy sat quietly, listening intently to her soothing voice.

Though he had initially avoided her gaze, by the end of the day, Noah was beginning to meet her eyes more often. Linia noticed how strikingly beautiful his pale blue eyes were, like a clear sky reflected in water.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, signaling dinnertime, Linia patted Noah’s head affectionately before standing up.

“Are you hungry? Wait here for a bit, okay?”

She left to help prepare dinner. In the kitchen, Ruin was already busy stirring a pot of stew.

“Anything I can help with?” Linia asked as she walked over to him.

Ruin turned immediately, his arms extending to pull her close. He wrapped her in a tight embrace, resting his head lightly on her shoulder.

“…Finally, some attention after six hours, Linia. You’ve been with the boy all day,” he murmured, his voice tinged with mock sulkiness.

“I’m sorry. You must’ve been bored being by yourself,” Linia replied, chuckling softly.

“Tonight, put him to bed early and come back to me. I need compensation for all the neglect,” he grumbled, his tone playful yet unmistakably longing.

Linia nodded quietly, feeling a twinge of guilt. But even as she agreed, Ruin refused to let go, holding her even closer.

Just as Linia was about to ask him to release her, there was a knock at the door.

“Wait, Ruin. Someone’s here,” she said, glancing toward the source of the sound.

“Just ignore it. They’ll leave,” he muttered, unwilling to let her go.

“I’ll go check. Let me go,” Linia insisted, patting his arm. After a moment’s hesitation, he relented, releasing her reluctantly.

Linia walked to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a man she didn’t recognize. He looked to be in his forties, with a scruffy beard covering his jaw and a large, imposing frame clad in fur-lined hunting clothes.

“Excuse me. Has a young boy come here? He can’t speak—about this tall,” the man said, gesturing with his hand to indicate the boy’s height.

“…Yes, he’s here. He’s inside. May I ask who you are?”

“I’m his father.”

The tone of his speech, though mimicking politeness, was crude and rough. Linia was certain that the man before her could not possibly be Noah’s father.

“Are you really the child’s father?”

“If you don’t believe me, shall we go together with the kid? You took care of my child, so I’d like to repay you somehow.”

“…No, if you’ve come to pick him up, could you return tomorrow during the day? The child is unwell right now, and moving him would be too difficult. I’ll keep him here for one more day.”

“No, I couldn’t let you be burdened like that. I’ll take him now.”

As the man attempted to enter the house without permission, Linia blocked his way.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Are you telling me to wait outside? It’s cold out here…”

Ignoring his grumbling, Linia closed the door. Worried that he might barge in, she secured the door tightly with a latch.

She headed to the room where the child was. The moment she entered, Noah shot up in his bed. Having likely overheard everything, his face was pale with fear.

Noah climbed off the bed and ran straight into Linia’s arms, clutching her clothes desperately and shaking his head. The usually calm and composed child was now showing a strong and determined refusal.

“It’s alright, Noah. I won’t let them take you away,” Linia reassured him, holding his trembling little hands and guiding him back to sit on the bed.

While she was soothing the child, Ruin entered the room. Still wary of him, Noah lowered his head again, gripping Linia’s skirt tightly. Linia gently took his hand and spoke warmly, encouraging him not to be afraid.

“Can I see your face for a moment?”

Ruin bent down in front of the bed and spoke softly.

Noah, still nestled in Linia’s embrace, cautiously raised his head. He met the red eyes of the man, who had lowered himself to match the child’s gaze.

Ruin smiled gently as he looked into Noah’s eyes.

“Linia, I have an idea.”

Duke, who had been pacing in front of the house, turned when he heard the door open. Standing beside the beautiful blonde woman was a small child wearing a thick robe that covered even his head.

“Take him.”

“Thank you for your trouble. Let’s go.”

Duke roughly grabbed the child’s arm. The boy, his pale blue eyes downcast, stood frozen. Dragging the reluctant child along, Duke’s face twisted in annoyance.

“Causing me all this trouble… You little piece of trash! If you don’t walk faster, I’ll cut off your foot this time instead of your tongue.”

He expected the child to cry out or whimper in fear at the threat, but the boy remained silent. Duke assumed the woman had been truthful about the child being sick and dismissed it as unimportant.

Gripping the child’s arm more tightly, Duke yanked him along. He had spent hours trudging through the snow to capture the runaway, and now his patience was wearing thin. Though he wanted to kick the boy, he refrained, fearing the child might end up unable to walk.

An hour into their journey through the forest, darkness began to fall. Duke, still muttering curses, spotted three figures approaching from a distance and raised his hand in acknowledgment.

“Hey, Duke! You actually caught him!”

One of the men approaching laughed as he spoke.

“Don’t expect me to go out chasing him again…”

“That’s why I told you to keep a closer eye on him in the first place.”

The men carried bows, quivers, and axes. Beside them, a donkey pulled a cart filled with freshly hunted game, their bodies still dripping with blood.

“So, this is the brat who ran away? What a rat-like little pest!”

As the men approached Duke and the child, the eldest among them swung a kick, sending the boy sprawling onto the snow. His small frame tumbled like a rag doll. To intimidate the child, the old man raised his axe high and slammed it down into the snow, just inches from the boy’s head.

“You’ll get your punishment when we return. I should’ve sold you to a good household, but maybe I’ll just feed you to the pigs!”

Expecting the boy to scream, the man was surprised when no sound emerged from beneath the hooded robe. Annoyed, another man nudged the child’s small body with his boot.

“Did he faint from fear? Maybe he wet himself.”

“Just toss him onto the cart. Let’s get back to the village before it gets any darker.”

Duke tied the child’s body with a rope, securing him tightly to prevent any chance of escape. Then, he carelessly threw the boy onto the cart. No one expressed concern over the child’s lack of movement.

“By the way, Duke, where did you catch this little rat?”

“There’s a house deep in the forest. He was being cared for there, so I pretended to be his parent and took him. But the woman living in that house was absolutely stunning.”

“Why didn’t you bring the woman along too?”

“Maybe I should have. She seemed to live alone, judging by how cautious she was around me.”

Duke, grinning foolishly, began describing the woman in detail. He excitedly spoke of her long, bright blonde hair, her figure, and the way her waist seemed slim.

“A rare beauty like that must’ve married early. No way the men in her village would’ve let her stay single.”

“Or maybe her husband moved her to the forest to keep other men from stealing her away.”

The men cackled with crude laughter, entertained by the idea. Their coarse jokes gradually turned into sinister scheming.

“How about this? Before we leave tomorrow, let’s sneak back and kidnap her. Selling a well-kept beauty like that would fetch way more money than some brats.”

“Right. And if she’s not a virgin, all the better—means we can enjoy her ourselves before selling her off.”

“Jeffric, now that’s a brilliant idea,” one of them agreed, smirking.

At that moment, the donkey pulling the cart came to a sudden stop, letting out a strange, eerie bray.

The men halted, turning to check on the cart. Despite the unsettling sound, the donkey stood unnervingly still, as though its legs were bound to the ground. Its massive body trembled slightly, like it was caught in an invisible grip.

“What’s going on now?”

That’s when they heard it—a young, calm voice slicing through the tension in the air.

“What were you planning to do?”

The men turned toward the source of the voice and froze. Duke’s gaze snapped to the cart. The child they had bound tightly with rope was now standing atop the stopped cart.

“H-How is that brat speaking…?”

It dawned on Duke that something was terribly wrong. The boy, whose tongue they had cut out long ago, was somehow talking. But before Duke could voice his confusion, he let out a piercing scream.

“AAAAAHHH!”

His shriek startled a flock of birds, which flew off into the darkening sky. Duke collapsed to the ground, staring in horror at his boots, which had begun to twist and warp grotesquely. A sickening crunch echoed as searing pain tore through his ankles.

While Duke writhed on the ground, screaming himself hoarse, the other men began thrashing as well, overcome by an unseen force. Their bodies convulsed unnaturally, bones cracking and twisting as though they were puppets on invisible strings.

The child stepped down from the blood-smeared cart. Ruin, crimson light glowing in his eyes, exhaled deeply into the cold night air, attempting to quell his rage. But the filth of the situation clung stubbornly to him, refusing to fade.

“Why so quiet? Weren’t you all so chatty just a moment ago?”

As Ruin released his power, the men collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing. Some had fainted, eyes rolled back into their heads.

Pondering how to make them atone for their insults toward her, Ruin bent down and picked up a fallen axe. Tossing it into their midst, he spoke lightly.

“Cut out your own tongues. If you do that, I’ll let you live.”

Feigning mercy, Ruin flashed a cold, cruel smile. He knew watching them die slowly and painfully was the only way to ease the disgust roiling in his chest.

Linia spent the entire night sitting on the edge of the bed, anxiously awaiting Ruin’s return. He had taken on Noah’s form and gone with the suspicious man, but he still hadn’t come back. She worried endlessly about the dangers he might have encountered.

At dawn, she tried to calm her nerves by brewing tea. Sitting by the window, she sipped the warm tea, keeping her eyes fixed outside, waiting for him. Hours later, after her tea had grown lukewarm, she finally spotted a small figure approaching from the distance.

Linia quickly opened the door and stepped outside. Ruin, still in the form of a small child, ran toward her with a radiant smile.

“Linia!”

He threw himself into her arms, acting like a sweet, affectionate child. Linia, however, carefully inspected him, scanning him from head to toe to ensure he wasn’t injured. That’s when she noticed the bloodstains on his robe. Her expression darkened.

“Are you hurt? Let me see,” Linia said, lowering her gaze with concern as she leaned closer. Following her eyes, Ruin glanced down. Dried, dark-red bloodstains were visible on his robe, though it wasn’t clear when the blood had splattered onto him.