“He has cuts all over his body and is malnourished.”
The doctor who had finished examining Raphel glared at Wilhazelle as he said this. The expression he had on seemed to be scolding her for allowing the child to end up like this.
‘A malnourished child in this day and age, even in a nobles house.’
The doctor shook his head and muttered to himself that the world must be ending.
“Will he be okay?”
Wilhazelle asked, fixing her gaze on the child lying on the bed.
The child, who had his eyes closed, was breathing heavily, appearing to be in pain. His lips were pale and trembling slightly, cold sweat forming on his forehead and running down his dry skin.
“I will prescribe some medication, but the most important thing is that he gets rest and nutritious meals.”
Wilhazelle accepted the small vial that the doctor handed to her. The vial contained a thin liquid and was red, like strawberry syrup.
“You need to make sure he eats three whole meals and give him one spoonful of this medication after each meal.”
Wilhazelle nodded in response.
The doctor put his medical equipment back into his bag.
The woman, who had been fidgeting the whole time, not taking her eyes off the boy even for a moment since the doctor had gotten there, seemed very worried about the child.
But the child was malnourished. He must have starved and been so neglected… It’s true, you can’t judge a person by how they look. People can be so cruel.
The doctor left the room thinking he had seen everything now.
If Wilhazelle had looked at the doctor’s expression even once, she might have been able to tell what the doctor was thinking and correct the misunderstanding. However, she was unaware because all of her attention had been focused on Raphelion.
She had no choice but to find out later due to the strange rumors that started floating around.
“Lizelle, who is this child?”
The Baroness, who entered the room after the doctor had left, hesitated as she asked.
“He’s a child who has lost both his parent and collapsed… I couldn’t pretend not to notice.”
Originally, according to Wilhazelle’s plan, she would have gone to the Duke’s residence as soon as she found the boy, but the child’s recovery came first, so she had brought him home instead.
Baroness Rosalie was horrified when she had seen her daughter return home wearing a torn dress above her knees and messy hair. She was even holding a child…
She was worried that, without her knowing, her daughter had hidden a child from them. It was only then that Rosalie was able to calm herself after hearing Wilhazelle’s answer.
Fortunately, it wasn’t what she had thought.
“I see. Is the child okay?”
“Yes. If he eats and rests well, he should recover quickly.”
Lizelle said, brushing aside the sweaty black hair that was stuck to Raphel’s cheek.
“Ah…Mo…”
Then, a small moaning sound came from the small parched lips. Although his voice was quiet, you could still vaguely tell that he was looking for his mother. However, even if he desperately searched for his parents, he would be unable to find them. They have already passed from this world.
Wilhazelle sighed softly, unable to suppress the sympathy that naturally arose. Even if she tried not to show pity, it was inevitable.
The child resembled her past self. Right now, just as she had desperately needed attention and affection herself, Raphel was the same.
“I’ve boiled the soup, so give it to the child when he wakes up.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Rosalie patted Lizelle’s shoulder, comforting her, and left the room.
Wilhazelle took good care of Raphel, replacing the wet towel on his forehead with a new one. His temperature, which had been like fire, was slowly returning to normal, just as the doctor had said.
“You will meet your family soon.”
She said, as she covered him with a blanket up to his neck so he wouldn’t get cold.
Although it wasn’t his parents, it was still his uncle.
Duke Chaser Halos, who was portrayed as a fool in the novel, would definitely cherish Raphelion.
“So, get better quickly and go see your uncle.”
Wilhazelle placed her hand on his small head and patted it, hoping to comfort him as to not have any bad dreams.
Before she knew it, her priority had become this child. It would not be too late to think about the reward after he had completely healed.
Time passed quickly and the sun began to set.
“Ummm…”
Raphelion lifted his heavy eyelids with difficulty. As he blinked, his blurry vision began to clear.
He didn’t know how many times he had blinked, but the unfamiliar space he was seeing for the first time continued to be there every time he opened his eyes. It was bewildering.
Raphel carefully looked around.
“How do you feel?”
Raphel’s head turned to the side when he heard a worried voice next to him. The woman he had seen earlier was seated next to him. Raphel was unable to hold back a sob.
“I’m glad your fever seems to have gone down a lot.”
Wilhazelle placed her hand on Raphelion’s forehead to check his temperature again. It had gone down even more from the last time she had checked. Unlike before, she could see that he was breathing more easily. He seemed to have recovered a lot already.
“Mom…”
Raphelion reached out his small hand and grabbed her sleeve. He wanted to feel the warm embrace he had felt earlier again. It was like a soft and cozy cotton blanket.
“Raphel, I am not your mother,” Wilhazelle said firmly.
Just like a newly hatched duckling imprints the first life it sees at it’s mother, Raphel seems to have done the same thing after losing his memory.
But that wasn’t right. She would never be able to be Raphel’s mother.
“Huh! Mom!”
After he was rejected by Lizelle, tears, clear and thick, began to pour from his eyes onto the sheets as he cried out in sadness.
Seeing his tears, Lizelle’s heart ached with regret and guilt, her heart throbbed in remorse. But it had to be this way.
Feeling bitter, she spoke to Raphel in a stern voice.
“Stop, Raphel.”
“Waaahhhh!”
However, there was no way the child would be able to stop his tears so easily.
Wilhazelle bent down to be at eye level with the child, then with a stern expression, she waited until he stopped crying.
Raphel stretched out his thin arms and begged for her to hug him, but she only shook her head.
She was weak to the child and wanted to pull him into her arms and comfort him, but she had to hold herself back.
“Hik…Hik…”
The crying sounds that had echoed throughout the room gradually quieted down. Raphel eventually was able to hold back the tears that wanted to keep flowing and looked at Wilhazelle with wet eyes.
“Come here Raphel.”
Wilhazelle stretched out her arms and lifted the child.
“Wah…”
Raphel buried his face in her shoulder and cried again, as if he had been waiting.
“Raphel, it’s alright. Don’t cry.”
Wilhazelle gently patted his back as his arms tightened around her neck. Her shoulder became soaked with Raphel’s tears.
“Hik… Am I Raphel?”
Raphel hugged Wilhazelle tightly, not wanting to let go of the warm embrace he was able to feel again.
As expected, it was just like a cotton blanket.
“Yes. Your name is Raphelion Halos.”
Wilhazelle walked around the room, stroking his back.
“Where are my mom and dad?”
Wilhazelle was silent for a moment, his question catching her off guard.
She thought hard about how to answer.
“You will be able to meet your family soon. They are very nice people.”
In the end, she chose to be vague. She thought it would be better for him to hear about his parents’ death from family, such as the Duke, instead of herself. All she, a stranger, could do was send him back safely.
“Family?”
“Yes, family. They are waiting for you to go back.”
They should be very anxious to find him since they were trying any means possible in their search. She had to take him to the Duke as soon as possible.
“Aren’t you my family?”
Raphel looked up as he asked this question. She could clearly see his confusion in his red eyes that had now stopped crying.
“No. I’m Wilhazelle.”
“Wilhazelle?
“Yes, Wilhazelle.”
“Wilhazelle.”
Raphel seemed to like her name, pursing his small lips and muttering it a few more times.
Dimples appeared on his cheeks as he smiled brightly. She smiled as well in response.
‘It’s not so bad to hear a young clear voice calling my name. No, it’s actually really cute.’
Raphel was very well behaved. As she stroked his hair, she softened inside.
But, now that she thought about it, he still looked very scruffy. As soon as she had brought him home, there wasn’t time to wash him because he needed to receive treatment. Raphel’s hair was caked with dust and his face was covered in what looked like black ash.
“Raphel, let’s go do something fun.”
Since he seemed to have regained some energy, it was time to give him a bath. His body hasn’t completely healed yet, but leaving in in its dirty condition would only make things worse.
Raphel’s eyes sparked at the sound of her bright voice.
“Fun?”
“Yeah, something fun. Let’s go quickly!”
“Yeah!”
Raphel waved his arms and legs in the air, wiggling in Wilhazelle’s embrace.
Even then, Raphel had no idea he would shed tears again soon.
A few minutes later Raphel’s cries, who belatedly realized that baths were not fun, echoed throughout the bathroom.
“Wah, it’s cold!”
