## Chapter 28
The Two Who Were Once in the Orphanage
When Oswald pushed Eivass through the door, they were not greeted solely by the household servants.
Yulia, holding her rag doll in her pajamas, stood quietly by the window. She watched intently as Oswald slowly pushed the wheelchair along the front path, then trotted to the entrance to greet them.
“Miss Yulia is waiting for you,” Oswald said softly from behind Eivass.
Eivass nodded, lowering his voice as well, “I think Yuli is just a little lonely. After all, children her age play with their classmates at school. But I’m the only peer Yuli can see.”
The old butler sighed, saying nothing more. He simply closed the door as Yulia approached, shutting out the biting winter wind of the evening.
Frowning deeply, he said sternly, “Miss Yulia, the winter wind is cold. Please do not stand too close to the main entrance.”
“…I’m fine,” Yulia replied softly, a hint of stubbornness in her voice. “I’ve already taken my medicine twice.”
“That won’t do,” the old butler said without hesitation. “You are already frail, and catching a cold would be even more troublesome…”
“…It’s alright, Mr. Oswald. If Yuli falls ill now, I can also help her heal,” Eivass interrupted gently. “I believe the Sacred Skill Bishop Mathers taught me is meant for such moments.”
With that, he first took off his coat, revealing his sweater. Eivass slipped his hands inside his sweater, trying to warm them with his own body heat. He had just returned from outside, and his coat and hands were covered in the chill. For Yulia, whose body temperature was higher than normal, it would be very uncomfortable, much like how someone with a fever fears the cold.
This was Yulia’s old ailment. From a very young age, a nascent Phantom Demon, the Butterfly, had resided within her. Those who harbored a nascent Phantom Demon within their bodies were called “Phantom Demon Eggs.” Their mental strength, physical strength, and even their life force were relentlessly drawn out to supply the Phantom Demon. If they died due to weakness or external force, the Phantom Demon within would awaken, leading to disaster. However, if the Phantom Demon could be safely nurtured to a certain extent, some of its power could be borrowed without even embarking on the path of the extraordinary.
As the Phantom Demon continued to develop, the strength of the Phantom Demon Egg would gradually increase, and the nourishment required for its growth would become higher and more demanding. Only when the Phantom Demon developed a complete personality was it considered fully grown. At that point, it could choose to forcibly awaken or become a symbiotic partner with its host. The choice rested with the Phantom Demon, not the host. Hence, the host was called a Phantom Demon Egg, as most Phantom Demons chose the former.
Even though the Phantom Demon within Yulia had not yet awakened, it had already granted her some power, while also burdening her. Yulia’s body temperature would be several degrees higher than that of an ordinary person, akin to a perpetual low-grade fever. Her body temperature was slightly higher than normal; at six or seven years old, it was half a degree higher, and now it was two degrees higher. Her body temperature, consistently around 38.5 degrees Celsius, would have likely led to her death long ago if not for regular treatment from the church priests.
What was even more dire was that this state of elevated temperature was unrelated to illness or curses, and thus could not be cured by extraordinary means. Only the Illuminate Spell could heal her nerves and organs, and potions could help her body replenish the nutrients required by the Phantom Demon.
Yulia was not James’s biological daughter; she was his adopted daughter. The reason she was so close to Eivass was that they had been in the same orphanage when they were young. Eivass’s biological parents died in an accident when he was four years old. He was too young to remember the specifics of what happened. Afterward, Eivass entered an orphanage, where he met Yulia.
At that time, Yulia was an abandoned infant still swaddled in blankets. Despite being an infant, she possessed almost demonic strength, often injuring her caregivers. Few could approach her easily, only the kind old matron, Aunt Misu who did the cooking, and Eivass. The task of caring for her fell upon the matron, but as she was elderly, the exceptionally sensible Eivass would voluntarily help.
Eivass was only three and a half years older than Yulia, yet he was remarkably mature. He not only lacked the childish habits of his peers but was also exceptionally calm and never flustered, appearing like a well-traveled adult. If not for his genuinely childlike innocence and ignorance, some might have suspected he harbored another soul within him. This was not entirely impossible. Preservers of the Twilight Path and Amber Craftsmen could even place one person’s soul into another’s body. Eivass was exceptionally uncanny, to the point of being frightening.
The orphanage specially invited a priest from the church to verify that his soul belonged to himself. The relationship between the two equally unusual children grew stronger. Yulia almost always stayed by Eivass’s side, unwilling to leave.
At that time, their clothing in the orphanage was thin. Yulia, whose body temperature felt like a furnace, allowed Eivass to have a comfortable winter. Back then, Eivass could only sleep soundly by holding Yulia to avoid shivering from the cold.
It wasn’t until Eivass was six years old that they were adopted by James Moriarty. Eivass remembered this clearly—
Actually, James initially only intended to adopt Yulia, not Eivass. However, as soon as Yulia was pulled away from Eivass, she began to cry inconsolably, her mental state extremely unstable. Furthermore, her strength at the time was abnormal—completely different from her current frailty—possessing a terrifying innate power. The three-year-old could overpower several adults. Some were even dragged to the ground, causing chaos. The entire orphanage was in an uproar for a long time, with Yulia, in her frenzy, toppling and smashing many things.
Later, after James inquired about something from the matron, he suddenly changed his mind and took both of them away together. Only then did Yulia calm down.
As Yulia gradually learned to read and her personality became gentler and more introverted, the strange, innate colossal strength began to fade. To this day, her body is so weak that she is less robust than girls her own age. She can barely sustain her life through the treatment of priests and potions.
Eivass had always been grateful to Yulia. Because of her, he had the chance to change his original fate. Coming from an orphanage with no parents, his future would undoubtedly be vastly different from that of a noble young master with the surname “Moriarty.” He was not even the intended adoptee; he was merely Yulia’s “add-on.” Although James treated Eivass well, he never forgot that he was initially unwanted.
For Eivass, who had lost his parents at a very young age, Yulia was the person he had spent the most time with. Two years longer than his foster father and his elder brother. Yulia was also very dependent on Eivass. She had no feelings for her biological parents. For her, who had no parents before she could even remember, Eivass was her true family. After him came the matron, Aunt Misu, James, and his elder brother, Edward.
After warming his hands, Eivass reached out to signal Yulia to come closer. The frail girl with white hair and red eyes obediently hugged Eivass’s neck from the front. She knelt beside his leg with her left knee, carefully avoiding putting her weight on him.
“Don’t worry, Yuli. I’m not that fragile,” Eivass couldn’t help but chuckle. He extended his right hand and gently placed it on Yulia’s left back, just behind her heart. With a spark of fire Mana as a catalyst, a gentle radiance bloomed from his palm. As the soft light seeped through Eivass’s fingers, Yulia’s body gradually relaxed. Her rapid, shallow breaths also became steady—her ailments were easily dispelled by Eivass. Although she had been ill for a long time, with James’s persistent treatment, she wasn’t severely ill—he would always call for a priest to treat any hidden injuries before her condition worsened. Eivass had only spent two points of light Mana to heal her body.
Next, Eivass removed his glowing right hand from her back and placed it on Yulia’s forehead. As the light nourished her spirit, her listless mental state immediately improved significantly. This time, Eivass spent less than a point of Mana. Yulia’s body was still burning hot, but she would clearly be able to sleep well tonight.
“Good girl,” Eivass’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Let’s go, it’s time to eat…”
Just then, Eivass casually reached for the Shepherd’s Secret Manual resting on his lap. His movement paused for a moment. He hadn’t touched Yulia’s Shepherd’s Secret Manual, but it now felt intensely hot, radiating a surging heat similar to Yulia’s body, and had a peculiar texture, completely different from before. It was as if Eivass was not touching the book’s cover but Yulia’s skin on her back. Without the barrier of clothes, the heat was even more intense than what Eivass had felt when touching Yulia earlier, almost scalding.
However, a strange sense of incongruity made Eivass look down. The air showed no sign of heat distortion, and its material had not changed. It was still the same cowhide-like material. Eivass then realized—it was so hot, yet he felt no heat on his leg. Only his right hand, which had just used the Illuminate Spell, seemed to have created this illusion; even his left hand felt a normal temperature. Thus, Eivass calmly handed the scorching hot Grimoire to Yulia, “Help哥哥 put this book in哥哥’s study, okay?”
“Mm,” Yulia nodded gently in agreement. Receiving the book, she showed no special reaction, as if she felt no heat from it at all.
Eivass asked with concern, “Are you feeling a bit cold? It was exposed outside for a long time just now.”
“A little, but it’s fine,” Yulia hummed before asking, “Where should I put it,哥哥?”
“In front of the desk. It’s a book哥哥 will be reading after dinner.”
“Okay.” Yulia nodded, then took the book and left. Eivass confirmed one thing. It seemed only he could perceive the change in the Shepherd’s Secret Manual’s temperature and texture. *Interesting*, he thought. *I’ll study it properly after dinner.*
