Ch 2: The abandoned baby [pt2]

By the time the Chlorance couple left the room, Emily was shaking so badly that she dropped the baby once or twice. 

The maids around Emily gave her looks filled with pity and understanding, but no one stepped up to help her. She had to drag her body toward the side tower and keep the baby from falling.

"Tsk, what a horrible day to be alive right now. Why did I have to be the one to open the door and find you? Out of everyone, why did you have to ruin my life like this?"

Emily asked as she kept on walking toward the tower. She hated the baby in her arms for ruining her life, but she also could not help herself. She had to take care of this baby now.

She slammed the door to the tower building open and looked around with a disapproving look on her face. The room was filthy, and it did not help Emily's situation anymore.

She placed the baby on the dirty bed and sighed. She wanted to ignore her situation, but the filthy room was driving home the fact that everyone had abandoned her.

"If only you did not exist in my life…. Ah, whatever, I do not care anymore. I better start cleaning up this place if I am going to stay here. I refuse to die from an unknown disease."

Emily cursed her fate and began to clean. She scrubbed the floor and brought the sheets to clean as well. The dark clouds in the sky meant that Emily could not dry the sheets even if she did wash them.

That also meant the bed had to be left mattresses since those needed to be disinfected. So where did Emily put the kid until then? 

On the dirty table, of course. 

It did not even occur to her tired mind that this could harm the kid. She just wanted to get done with her work and collapse into bed.

By the time she was done, Emily was beyond exhausted. She did not remember picking up the kid and collapsing into the bed. But she indeed would have done something like that.

Because when she opened her eyes in the morning, the kid was lying in the bed adjacent to her and breathing hard.

"You stupid child. Look at you, sleeping away calmly as if you do not have a care in the world. Do you know I must clean up after you just because you cannot look after yourself?"

Emily touched the kid, only to find the kid's forehead burning hot. The hot temperature almost made Emily lose her grip on the child.

But thankfully, she caught the kid at the very last second and then frowned as she looked down.

"Ah, you are burning up. This is not good. This is not good at all. My mistress might have tossed you away here but does not want you to die like this. I…what should I do now?"

Emily asked as she held the kid close to her heart. Finally, she decided to hold the kid and care about the consequences later. She *did* need the kid to be alive after all.

"I guess I have no choice but to ask my masters for forgiveness and tell them your life is in danger. No matter how cruel they are, they cannot ignore a plea regarding a child."

That was what Emily hoped when she quickly picked up the kid and ran toward the main house. Once she reached the main house, she noticed how quiet it was around it.

The servants looked startled to see Emily, and they gestured for her to go back. Emily knew what they were asking from her, but she could not afford to head back now. She had to brave it all and ask her master for this favour.

"Excuse me, master, mistress. I am Emily, and I would like an audience with you…"

Emily opened the door and quietly pushed it open. The air inside the room was suffocating, but Emily pushed the door open; no one else answered her. She was even afraid that she had walked into an abandoned mansion, not the one she worked in.

Her mistress held her daughter, Rose, tightly in her arms. Her eyes were filled with love and pride when she looked at her daughter. Her other hand clutched her son Adrain's hand tightly.

It seemed she was getting ready to head out, and her suitcase was ready. Young master Adrian was the first to notice the bundle in Emily's arms, and he quickly pointed it out.

"Hey Emily, what do you have in your hand? Is it a treat? A big box of chocolates? Let me see."

Adrian reached out to touch the child in Emily's arms, but Emily pulled back with a jerky motion. At the same time, the mistress reached out to Adrian but missed him because of the child in her arms. Adrian managed to take a sneak peek at the child in Emily's hands.

"Y-Young master, I don't think it is a good idea for you to play around like this. You might hurt the baby in my arms."

Emily tried to convince the young master that it was a bad idea for him to touch the child. However, the kid needed help understanding what was good and evil. 

"But that is a baby, right? Is it a boy or a girl? How old are they? Older than my sister? Younger? Where did they come from? Are they yours?"

Emily was sweating hard as she recalled her sister's words. Her sister had called her child a devil spawn who could open their mouth and ruin everything. Of course, her sister had said it in jest.

But right now, Emily could feel as if she was holding a devil in her hand, and her mistress was the one who wanted to devour her for that sin. Emily was sure that if looks could kill, she would be ten feet under by now.

"That child…is not a child. It's a demon here to suck all our happiness out of our lives. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to keep the devil alive for now."

Mistress Sherry sounded as if she was in pain when she spoke. Her voice was hoarse and full of disgust. No child should be the subject of such anger, but here they were.

Curiosity shined brightly in young master Adrian's eyes. He wanted to ask his mother questions, but a nagging feeling held him back.

It was also telling him that his mother was not happy and he should be careful to agitate her any further. 

There was no better reward for a small child his age than to keep his mother happy. So, even if Adrian wanted to ask more questions from his mother, he could not help but stay quiet.

The house patriarch entered the room that very second, and he looked recessed up. Emily could count on her hand the number of things that could surprise her master.

But this time, her master looked not only shocked but in pain as well. His eyes fell on the child in Emily's arms, and he instantly ignored the child.

"Let's go, my love. It's time for us to leave for our outing. Today is a day for our family, so do not think much about anything else."

Emily was at a loss now. She had no idea how to save the life in her arms. At this rate, the child was going to die.

"How could I enjoy this evening when the reminder of your infidelity roams before my eyes like a bug? First, do something about it, and then I will consider forgiving you."

Only after his wife said that Rocx paid attention to the child in his servant's arms, but he looked far from happy to see the child.

Adrian, like the child he was, observed it all. He could tell that there was too much going on, but his moral compass did not like that his father was ignoring someone in need like this.

The small child watched his father turn toward the maid with a thunderous expression. The annoyance in the man's eyes was enough to make Emily bow her head and vow never to return here.

"You! What do you want from me now? Did I not ask you to remain in the side building and not show me this baby's face? Why is this baby here, of all places?"

Master's booming voice was enough to make Emily second-question her decisions. But she also knew she needed to save the baby if she wanted to live.

"M-Master, I had no intention of coming here. But the b-baby. You asked me to ensure it survived, and I am afraid the baby is sick. We need to call for a doctor."

For the first time, Emily begged to save someone else's life. And that 'someone else' would be her ticket to hell.

"If that thing is sick, then why does it matter? It had the resilience of house Chlorance so that it would survive somehow. Now go and leave me alone. I do not want to look at your face anymore."

Just as things were getting bad, they somehow got worse. The child, which had not made a sound up until now, began to cry its lungs out. 

Not only did the master and mistress flinch at the loud noise, but the young miss of the house joined after hearing the loud cry of the first baby.

"Make it stop. Make that darn thing stop. Fine, get a doctor for that thing if you want. Just take it out of here. I do not want to see that thing ever again. You have my word that I will foot the bill."

Once Emily had her master's vow, she quickly exited the room. A vow from a noble with magic was akin to a solid promise. It could not be taken back.

Behind her, the sound of fighting started once more. But Emily was not concerned about it. She was only concerned about saving her own life.