The Two Who Were Once in the Orphanage

When Oswald pushed Iver through the door, it wasn't just the house's male servant who came to greet them.

Yulia, wearing pajamas and holding her doll, stood quietly by the window.

She was eagerly watching Oswald push the wheelchair, slowly coming along the front path. Only then did she trot over to the door to greet them.

"Miss Yulia has been waiting for you."

Oswald said softly behind Iver.

Iver nodded, similarly lowering his voice: "I think Yulia is just a little lonely. After all, those children her age are all playing with their classmates at school. But the only peer Yulia can see is me."

The old butler sighed, not saying much.

He simply closed the door as Yulia came up to them, blocking the biting winter wind of the evening outside.

He frowned, saying sternly: "Miss Yulia, the winter wind is cold. Please don't get too close to the front door."

"...I'm fine."

Yulia said softly, a little stubbornly: "I've already taken my medicine twice."

"That won't do either."

The old butler said without hesitation: "You're already physically weak, it would be even more troublesome if you catch a cold..."

"...It's okay, Mr. Oswald. Now, if Yulia gets sick, I can help her treat it."

Iver interrupted gently: "I think the Sacred Art Bishop Mathers taught me should be used at times like this."

As he spoke, he first took off his coat, revealing the sweater underneath.

Iver put his hand inside the sweater, trying to warm his hand with his own body temperature.

He had just returned from outside, and his coat and hands were covered in cold air. This would be very uncomfortable for Yulia, whose body temperature was higher than normal, just like a person with a fever is afraid of the cold.

This was also Yulia's chronic problem.

From a very young age, Yulia had a juvenile Phantom Demon: Paradoxical Flame Butterfly residing within her.

Adepts like this, with a juvenile Phantom Demon residing within them, are called "Phantom Demon Eggs."

Their mental strength, physical strength, and even vitality are constantly drawn away and supplied to the Phantom Demon within them. When they die due to weakness or external forces, the Phantom Demon within them will awaken, leading to disaster. But if the Phantom Demon can be safely developed to a certain extent, they can borrow some of the Phantom Demon's power without even embarking on the path of transcendence.

As the Phantom Demon further develops, the strength of the Phantom Demon Egg will gradually increase, and the nutrients required for growth will become higher and more demanding. Only when the Phantom Demon grows to acquire a complete personality can it be considered fully developed. At that time, they can choose to forcibly awaken, or become symbiotic partners with their host.

The power of choice is in the hands of the Phantom Demon, not the host. That's why the host is called a Phantom Demon Egg—because the Phantom Demons who choose the former are the vast majority.

But even though the Phantom Demon within Yulia had not yet awakened, it had already given her some power. It also gave her a greater burden.

Yulia's body temperature is several degrees higher than that of ordinary people.

Specifically, it's like being in a perpetual state of fever. Her body temperature is higher than normal... at the age of six or seven, it was half a degree higher than normal; and now it is two degrees higher than normal.

A body temperature of around 38.5 degrees Celsius year-round... if she didn't regularly receive treatment from the church's Priests, she would probably have died long ago.

And the most deadly thing is that this high fever is unrelated to disease or curses, so it cannot be cured by transcendent means. The only option is to use Illumination Spell to heal her nerves and organs, and use potions to help her body replenish the nutrients needed by the Phantom Demon.

Yulia is not James's biological daughter either. She is also his adopted daughter.

The reason she was so close to Iver was because they were in the same orphanage as children.

When Iver was four years old, his biological parents died in an accident. He was too young at the time, and his memory was vague. He didn't know exactly what happened.

After that, Iver entered an orphanage and met Yulia.

At that time, Yulia was just an abandoned baby in swaddling clothes.

As a baby, Yulia had an almost demonic strength, often injuring the caregivers. Not many people could easily approach her at the time, only the old headmistress, Aunt Misu who cooked, and Iver. So the job of taking care of her fell to the old headmistress... but the headmistress was old, and Iver, who was unusually sensible from a young age, would take the initiative to help.

Iver was only three and a half years older than Yulia, but he was unusually mature. Not only did he not have the childish habits of his peers, but he was also unusually calm in the face of things, never panicking, like a knowledgeable adult—if his personality was not indeed as innocent as a child and he really didn't understand anything, some people would probably suspect that another soul was residing in his body.

This was not impossible.

The Preservationists of the Twilight Path, the Amber Artisans, could put one person's soul into another person's body. Iver was even abnormal to the point of being frightening.

The orphanage specially invited a Priest from the church to examine whether his soul belonged to him.

The two equally abnormal children became closer and closer. Yulia almost always stayed by Iver's side and never left.

At that time, their clothes were very thin in the orphanage. Yulia, whose body was like a stove, could make Iver feel comfortable in winter. At that time, Iver could only fall asleep peacefully while holding Yulia, without shivering from the cold.

Until Iver was six years old, they were both adopted by James Moriarty.

Iver remembers this very clearly—

In fact, James initially only wanted to adopt Yulia, not Iver.

But at that time, as soon as Yulia was pulled away from Iver, she cried very hard, heartbroken, and was very mentally unstable. Moreover, her strength at that time was unusually great—completely different from her current weakness, there was a terrifying power that was innate.

At the time, she was only three years old, but even several adults could not pull her away.

Some people were even dragged to the ground by her, and the scene was chaotic. The entire orphanage was in turmoil for a long time, and many things were knocked over and broken by the crazed Yulia.

Later, James inquired about something from the old headmistress, and suddenly changed his mind, taking both of them away together. Only then did Yulia calm down.

And as Yulia gradually learned to read and her personality gradually became gentle and introverted, that innate strange strength also gradually faded away. To this day, her body is so weak that she is not even as good as girls of the same age. She can barely maintain her life with the help of Priests and potions.

Iver has always been grateful to Yulia in his heart.

It was because of her that he had the opportunity to change his original destiny. An orphanage background with no parents, and a young nobleman surnamed "Moriarty," they were bound to have very different futures. And he was originally not going to be adopted, merely Yulia's "add-on." Although James was very kind to Iver, he never forgot that he was initially unwanted.

For Iver, who lost his parents at a very young age, Yulia was the person he had the longest contact with. Two years more than his adoptive father and older brother.

And Yulia was also very dependent on Iver.

She had no feelings for her biological parents. For her, who had no parents before she could remember, Iver was her real family. Secondly, there was the old headmistress, Aunt Misu, James, and her older brother Edward.

Iver warmed his hands before reaching out to signal Yulia to come over.

The frail girl with white hair and red eyes obediently hugged Iver's neck from the front. Her left knee was kneeling beside Iver's leg, carefully not to put her weight on Iver.

"Don't worry, Yulia. I'm not that fragile."

Iver couldn't help but laugh.

He reached out with his right hand and gently pressed the left side of Yulia's back, behind her heart.

Using a little fire-attribute mana as a trigger, a soft light bloomed from the palm of his right hand.

As a soft light seeped from Iver's fingers, Yulia's body gradually relaxed. Her shallow, rapid breathing also gradually became even—the pain was easily dispelled by Iver.

Although she had been sick for a long time, with James' continuous treatment, her illness was not severe. Before her condition worsened each time, he would bring in a Priest to heal her hidden injuries. Iver only spent two points of Light-attribute mana to heal her body.

Immediately afterward, Iver removed his right hand, still glowing, from her back and placed it on Yulia's forehead.

As the light nourished her spirit, her listless mental state immediately improved a lot. This time, Iver spent less than a single point of mana.

Yulia's body was still burning hot. But clearly, she would be able to sleep well tonight.

"Good girl," Iver's lips curled slightly upward. "Let's go, let's eat..."

Just then, Iver casually reached for the Shepherd's Secret Covenant placed on his lap.

His movement paused for a moment.

Having not touched Yulia with the Shepherd's Secret Covenant at all, he felt a surge of heat as scalding as Yulia's body, and a strange sensation completely different from before.

It was as if Iver was not touching 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 Iver had felt when he touched Yulia just now, scalding to the point of almost burning his hand.

But the strange sense of incongruity made Iver look down.

The air was not shimmering with heat, and its material had not changed in any way. It was still that leather-like material.

Then Iver suddenly realized—it was so scalding, but he didn't feel any heat on his legs. Only his right hand, which had just used the Illumination Spell, had this illusion; even his left hand felt a normal temperature.

So Iver calmly handed the scalding hot secret covenant book to Yulia: "Help brother put this book in brother's study, okay?"

"Okay."

Yulia nodded gently in response.

She had no special reaction to receiving the book.

As if she didn't feel its heat at all.

Iver asked with concern, "Does it feel a little cold? It's been exposed outside for a long time."

"A little, but it's okay," Yulia hummed, then asked, "Where should I put it, brother?"

"Put it in front of the desk. It's a book brother will read after eating later."

"Okay."

Yulia nodded in response and left with the book.

Iver confirmed one thing.

It seemed that only he could feel the change in temperature and touch of the Shepherd's Secret Covenant.

Interesting, he thought.

I'll study it carefully after dinner.