Julia's Fear

"...Kylia, don't forget to wash your hands and feet before going to bed... Don't forget to brush your teeth. Always speak politely to the caretakers, and don't fight with your friends, but if they are rude to you, don't hesitate to report them to Madam Yeva... So.."

"I will take care of Kylia, Madam Blume; you don't need to worry" Del interrupted Julia, who had been spouting out her worries for half an hour straight.

Julia glanced at Del with narrowed eyes; she felt that Del's attitude towards her and the other adults was very different. Del was always polite and full of smiles to Madam Yeva; even Madam Yeva herself told her how adorable Del was sometimes.

However, after feeling the overwhelming killing intent from Del earlier, Julia could no longer think of Del as an ordinary five-year-old kid. She felt that he was harboring a secret far more terrifying than she could imagine. After all, Del was the black figure she had dreamed of, so being able to emit such a large amount of killing intent was normal for him.

Maybe Del felt that Julia already knew his true nature, so he no longer need to pretend as before. Del showed his true nature to Julia openly, and it was much colder than what Julia had ever felt in her life.

Del's cold nature was not artificial, and he wasn't imitating the styles of other adults; his cold nature seemed to come from within him. Like someone who was born into the world to be the king of others, the pride, and dignity that he carried were already seeping into his bones and flesh.

"Mother, I will be fine. I have Del in this place" Kylia's voice, which was like a broken record, woke Julia from her thoughts.

Julia saw that Kylia's face was full of smiles. She looked happy from the bottom of her heart, something Kylia rarely showed. Julia knew that Kylia always hid her suffering behind her smile. She was her mother, so how could Julia not know how Kylia really feels?

But Julia couldn't do anything; she was too weak to change anything in the Blume family. She couldn't even punish the maids who were rude to Kylia. She could only move the maids who were torturing Kylia physically, but for those who were harassing Kylia with words, Julia could only reprimand them indirectly.

Julia was also unable to ask Kylia to show her true feelings and to stop giving fake smiles with gaping wounds behind them. Because she knew that the fake smile was Kylia's way of showing her love for Julia.

However, right now, Kylia no longer needs to show a fake smile. She already had Del by her side, and Kylia felt safe and protected. Her face, which was full of happiness, showed that if the sky fell, then Del would support it.

There was no pain or suffering in this world that could touch Kylia's hair while Del was beside her. This feeling was not only felt by Kylia but also by Julia, who saw the intertwined little fingers of the two children.

"I know Kylia, but I just—"

"MADAM YEVA, THIS IS BAD!!"

Suddenly, there was a scream from behind them. A woman wearing a Flower Garden Orphanage staff infirmary uniform was seen running with all her might while shouting Madam Yeva's name. But when she saw that Madam Yeva was not alone and was accompanying a guest, she immediately covered her mouth.

Madam Yeva's forehead creased, and in a whispering voice, she asked, "What's wrong, Elish? Can't you see I am accompanying guests?"

"I'm sorry, Madam Yeva, but this matter is very urgent," Elish answered in a low voice.

"What? Tell me!"

Elish whispered something in Madam Yeva's ear, and not long after, Madam Yeva's face suddenly changed.

"WHAT!!!" She was so shocked that she couldn't control her voice.

But Madam Yeva quickly regained control of her horrified facial expression. With the same smile as before, she said to Julia, "Madam Blume, I'm very sorry; I can't see you off; I have something urgent that I must attend to immediately."

"It's okay, Madam Yeva. Thank you for hosting and receiving Kylia at the Flower Garden Orphanage," she said, nodding.

"You're welcome. Then.. excuse me!" Without delay, Madam Yeva and Elish immediately walked away.

Julia's forehead creased as she watched Madam Yeva leave quickly. For some reason, she had a bad feeling after seeing Madam Yeva's face suddenly show that expression of horror.

There was something going on while she and Madam Yeva were talking in her office. Even though she didn't know what happened, Julia felt that it had something to do with herself or the two children in front of her.

Seeing Del's face, which had not changed at all, still with his usual poker face, Julia could only shake her head to get rid of the unreasonable worry in her heart. But Kylia said something that gave her goosebumps.

"Del, why are you smiling? Did you have any fun?" Kylia brought her face close to Del.

Julia's head spun rapidly until a *gokhi! Sound was heard from her neck. She found that there was no smile on Del's face, and the boy still had the same poker face as before. However, if Kylia said Del was smiling, then it was most likely true.

Del stroked Kylia's cheek gently and replied, "I'm just curious about the results of the experiment I just did. I'm a little impatient to see it."

"Experiment?"

"Hmm... When I was born in this world, I encountered a little problem. It's not a big problem, but I had to find a solution to the problem. I already had many theories on how to solve this problem, but unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity or the materials to try them. But today it seems that I will know if my theory can solve this problem or not."

"What? Del, do you have a problem? What problem? Let's solve it together! Tell me what I have to do to help you?" Kylia tightly held Del's hand, stroking Del's hand on her cheek; her voice was full of worry; and her eyes said she would do anything for Del.

Del's cheek muscles twitched, forming the most sincere smile he had ever shown, and he softly said, "Thank you, Kylia. I know you will always be by my side, no matter what. However, the experiment is already done, and it's just a matter of waiting for the results."

"Oh? Okay, then! Hehehe"

Hearing the innocent conversation between the two children, Julia's body suddenly shivered. Her face turned pale, and cold crept up her spine. Del's black eyes, which were like bottomless pits, seemed to suck Julia's life into them.

Del's flat, emotionless voice made Julia's hair stand on end. His smile, which was so sincere and full of affection, increasingly contrasted with the horror that seeped into Julia's heart.

She now knew.

Del was a monster.

A hideous monster clad in the body of a very handsome five-year-old boy. His every move conveyed meaning and his every word implied blood.

Julia felt like an ancient mother who drowned her virgin daughter in a river to appease the raging Water God. But right now Julia had no other choice, Del was the only way out for her and Kylia.

Del turned to Julia, still with the same genuine smile he had shown Kylia. But his eyes showed no affection at all, with only two black orbs absorbing the surrounding light.

Julia gulped loudly, trying to moisten her dry throat. "…Hmm… Kylia, I'll go now. I'll come to visit you once a wee—No, once a month."

Julia immediately got into her car, waving her hand out the window.

"Okay, bye, mother. Have a safe trip!" Kylia waved her hand back.

Julia closed the car window, and the wheels started turning. But somehow she seemed to hear Del's voice from behind her ear.

"Have a safe trip, lucky girl"

--------------------------

"Tell me chronologically, how you found them?" Madam Yeva speed walked down the hall to the book room, which was behind the orphanage.

Elish tried to match Madam Yeva's pace and answer her question while still panting, "It wasn't me who found them but Sister Lily. At that time, she had just changed shifts with Sister Deli but couldn't find Frank and the other three children."

Elish excluded Del from her calculations because this child had never followed the orphanage's schedule, but his location was easily deducible.

"After looking everywhere and not being able to find them, Sister Lily heard a story from the sleeping room keeper that Del and Frank had previously fought. Sister Lily was worried that Frank would find trouble with Del so she immediately went to the book room, where Del usually is at this hour.

"However, Sister Lily found the book room locked from the inside, and even though she had shouted the names of Del and Frank and the others, there was still no answer at all. Because of that, Sister Lily glanced through the window beside the book room. She saw that Frank and the other three children were lying motionless in the book room.

"She immediately called Mr. Anton to break into the book room. But before he could open the door, Mr. Anton smelled a strange smell from inside the room. He immediately asked Sister Lily to stay away and call me."

Mr. Anton is the security guard who is on duty tonight, and Elish is the Flower Garden Orphanage infirmary staff.

"I immediately found out that the strange smell was a dangerous poison gas. I asked Mr. Anton to break the window and let the poison gas out of the book room. Not long after that, we managed to still get to the book room, but Frank and the other three children couldn't be saved again." Elish explained the chronology of events with horror on her face, she still rememberd the dead faces of Frank and the other three children every time she closes her eyes.

"Did you find the cause?"

"Hmm… I found the origin of the poison gas… however…"

"However, what?"

"I want to say this was an accident, but my gut feeling says otherwise."