Idiot

Demonic Law

Idiot

In truth, when Du Wei Roland had just been born, no one would have dared call him an idiot. For a time, he had even been considered a likely genius of the Roland Family.

Three years ago, when Du Wei emerged from the Countess's womb and entered this world, he had given the maids attending the birth quite a fright.

He neither cried nor shouted, and he never needed an adult to soothe him. His daily routine was more regular than an adult's: he woke at a set time, opened his mouth to eat at a set time, and slept at a set time. Yet aside from opening his mouth to eat, the child was almost unwilling to make any sound at all. Every day, the only thing he did was stare blankly... staring blankly with a pair of wide eyes.

He even rarely wet the bed. He had learned to gently shake the bell beside his cradle, and over time, whenever a bell rang from Young Master Du Wei's cradle, a maid would immediately rush over with a chamber pot. This earned the young master unanimous praise from the entire household. They all said he was so clever from such a young age that he would surely become a genius of the Roland Family.

Unfortunately, the word "genius" lost its luster above his head in less than half a year... because he could not speak.

Children his age could already babble or utter simple sounds such as "Papa," "Mama," and "pee-pee." But Young Master Du Wei's mouth seemed as if some supreme mage had cast a sealing spell upon it. No matter how the Countess wore herself out teaching him to speak, not even a single syllable would come from his lips.

Even someone born mute could at least hum a few sounds, but this young master was as silent as a stone. Whether he was cold, hot, hungry, or needed to relieve himself, he only knew how to ring the bell.

By the time he was three, the young master's golden mouth had still never opened. The Countess invited countless skilled physicians, even several fairly renowned mages, to see whether her son had fallen under some magical curse, but all to no avail. In the end, even the ever-optimistic Countess could only sigh in sorrow. It seemed her son was an idiot.

Fortunately, little Young Master Du Wei had learned to walk by the age of three. Though he still toddled unsteadily, he was no different from children his age in that regard.

But what else could explain a child who could neither cry, laugh, nor speak, and spent every day staring blankly, other than idiocy?

Then, a month ago, a violent storm suddenly broke out. Thunder roared and lightning flashed across the sky, while rain poured down in sheets. It was said that even the Grand Canal outside the Imperial Capital had nearly burst its banks, yet something major happened within the Count's estate.

While the maid caring for him was not paying attention, little Young Master Du Wei actually crawled out of his room by himself. He stood stupidly in the courtyard amid the rain, looking up at the heavens. With bolts of lightning flashing above and thunder booming around him, the child did not seem afraid in the slightest—or perhaps an idiot simply did not understand what fear was.

Instead, he clenched his tiny fists and suddenly began shrieking at the sky!

The young master, who had not spoken in three years, stood in the rain and screamed wildly at every peal of thunder. The rain drenched his tiny body, and by the time the servants found him, he looked as though he had been dragged from the water. He was shivering from head to toe, his face deathly pale and his lips bitten purple.

The Countess rushed over upon hearing the news and fainted at the sight. The servants hurriedly carried both the young master and the Countess into the room. The Countess woke quickly enough, then held her unconscious son and wept bitterly. The summoned physicians fussed about in panic for half the day, feeding him all manner of medicine, while two mages were invited to keep watch over him and cast healing spells of light upon him for a long while.

Yet the child's body only grew colder and colder. The Countess immediately rushed to the Temple of the Goddess of Light in the Imperial Capital as if she had gone mad. She brought back a black-robed cleric, who personally cast Goddess's Blessing on the child, while the Countess knelt before the goddess's statue in the Temple of the Goddess of Light for an entire night, praying endlessly for her son.

Only the next day did the child's body finally grow warm again, and his little life was saved. But he remained unconscious for another day and night. While he was unconscious, the Countess barely ate or slept as she held her son. By the end of two days, her lovely face had become haggard. Then Young Master Du Wei suddenly spoke in his sleep. His eyes remained closed, but as if murmuring in a dream, several syllables escaped his mouth. Everyone listened for a long time without understanding what they meant. Presumably, the foolish young master had not yet learned to speak, and was merely babbling meaningless infant sounds.

But the Countess wept with joy. She leaned close to the child and listened for a long while, finally making out something. Turning to the servants, who were all silent as cicadas in winter, she asked softly, "Among the servants who usually attend the young master, is there one named Made?"

The others looked at one another for a long time before one braver servant stepped forward and bowed. "Madam, it seems there is no one named Made among those responsible for the young master's daily needs..."

They searched the entire Count's estate before finding a groom in the stables named Made, who was immediately summoned before the Countess.

"My son has been calling your name even in his sleep... Made... Though I do not know why he is calling for you, it must be a divine sign bestowed by the Goddess of Light. The goddess has blessed you. From today onward, you will no longer feed horses. You will serve at the young master's side."

Made was overjoyed. In an instant, he had risen from the lowliest stable hand to an attendant of the young master in the Count's estate. It was as if he could already see a shining future beckoning to him!

Yet Du Wei, asleep at the time, had no idea that he had merely run outside in a moment of anger, shouted a few times at the heavens, and been caught in the rain, only to nearly lose his life. Nor did he know that because he had cursed "Damn it" a few times while unconscious, one person had benefited greatly as a result.

Young Master Du Wei's serious illness lasted a full month. His body, already that of a small child, became even weaker. Only after an entire month did a little color finally return to his small face.

But as always, the young master still did not speak. Since waking, he had not uttered another sound. Even the servant named Made, whom he had "personally chosen" in his sleep, received no kindness from the young master. Every day, he did nothing but stare blankly. The only difference was that when the maids around him occasionally mentioned how the Countess had held him without sleep or rest for two days and nights during his illness, and had knelt before the goddess's statue for an entire night...

Afterward, whenever the Countess came to visit her son, she found that the child's once vacant gaze held a trace of warmth when it turned toward her.

;