Tap. Tap.
Lark curled his index finger into a hook shape and tapped on the desk. Then he spread his palm out and tapped it down sharply.
It was a lifespan of a whopping 15 years.
"A deal?"
A boy, ignorant of everything, had come to him with a deal that he couldn't resist.
'And at this timing too.'
Just when he had decided to take full responsibility for a girl.
Every deal has a price.
So, in this case, he had to give something in return for what he wanted.
This was a deal about 15 years of life and the well-being of Creed, that boy.
"What in the world did Queen Estelle see?"
Lark did not have the power of future foresight.
That was a rare phenomenon that only occasionally appeared in the daughters of the Eiles Ducal family.
'Every family has its peculiarities.'
Even the Eseled, known as the world's strangest group, forcibly brought in a divine being from the outside and turned a child into a 'god incarnate.'
"Two children in the Duke's mansion already."
He could simply leave the child here and be done with it.
But Navia's reaction bothered him.
He rubbed his temples and then made a decision.
"I need to spend some money first."
Having decided to take care of a child, he would need childcare supplies.
Lark began to make a list of items the child might need.
* * *
A tumultuous day passed.
Swoosh.
Navia woke up at dawn, checked the weather as usual, and then quietly prepared herself to avoid detection.
'Let's go find Creed.'
Navia, troubled by his condition the day before, packed blankets, ointment, bandages, and other items right before falling asleep.
'I should also grab some food from the kitchen.'
Creed was wearing a tattered tunic that barely covered his calves, and his black hair was unkempt and long.
Navia knew better than anyone what such a state meant.
It was a sign of abuse.
Navia searched in places where there might be a prison. Finding Creed did not take long.
A misty blue aura swirled intensely in one particular spot.
Creeeak.
Navia entered the prison.
'It's bright inside.'
Creed, bound in shackles and exhausted from struggling all night, was lying on the floor. The moment he saw Navia, he sat up abruptly.
Explosive murderous intent and massive magic power burst from his body.
Navia felt a stifling sensation on her face, as if something was covering it, but she kept her expression unchanged.
She simply called out to him calmly.
"Creed."
Clank! Clank!
Creed's arms were bound to long chains attached to the wall, preventing him from reaching forward.
Yet he struggled fiercely, trying to reach out to Navia.
Navia placed a basket she had brought beside her and grabbed the bars of the cell.
The key was hanging right next to it.
Since no one was supposed to intrude, it was left so carelessly.
Navia didn't enter right away. Creed was still looking fiercely at her, ready to pounce.
"What the..."
Navia vividly remembered the handsome and beautiful young man who had given her clothes in the 8th round.
Creed flared up but soon collapsed on the floor, exhausted. Yet his eyes continued to focus on Navia.
Clank!
Navia finally opened the prison and went inside.
"Are you hungry?"
Clink.
Creed, not understanding Navia's words, moved his exhausted body, trying to flail his arms.
"…I was right."
Navia choked up seeing the wounds visible on his face and the parts not covered by his tunic.
Navia envied Creed.
She had tasted a bit of the love and attention he would have received as an adopted son of this place, and that desire grew day by day.
But seeing him now, she couldn't even jokingly say she envied him.
Though different, they seemed to bear similar scars. That pained her.
Navia approached him and set down the basket.
"Creed."
Startle.
The exhausted and now calm boy finally realized that Navia kept repeating 'Creed.'
The same name echoed in his head with a voice steeped in sorrow.
"Creed."
The girl with red eyes was saying "Creed" as sadly as the voice in his head.
Navia bit her lip and contorted her face in pain.
"…I'm sorry."
While that boy had endured harsh times, Navia had experienced the happiest times of her life here.
That brought her immense guilt.
"I'll help you."
Creed, still glaring fiercely at Navia, flinched again.
Creed could not understand what Navia was saying.
He understood information not through the meaning of language, but through the emotions carried in the tone, expression, and volume of the voice.
However, Navia showed completely different behavior from Diana and Hudson, whom Creed had always encountered since he began perceiving the world.
Was that why?
He just quietly watched as Navia carefully approached him.
Navia, relieved that Creed was becoming tame, carefully examined his wounds.
"I need to apply the ointment."
The ointment made by Minerva was excellent at relieving pain and enhancing recovery.
Navia tried to apply it to him, but Creed showed a sharp reaction as soon as a hand approached his face.
"Grr!"
"What should I do?"
Navia, wearing a troubled expression, then rolled up her sleeve with a look of realization.
"Creed, look here."
She then unwrapped her bandage and removed the gauze.
"Do you see something similar?"
Creed, with a wrinkled expression, followed her pointing to see.
Navia also lifted her skirt to show the scars on her calf.
"I'm just like you."
Creed intently observed the scars on Navia's arms and legs.
Navia, not wanting to miss this moment, spread the ointment on her own wound.
"It doesn't hurt this way."
She smiled brightly, trying to convey a positive feeling.
'Will he understand?'
Creed still glared at Navia with a scrunched face.
Navia slowly extended her hand, covered in ointment, towards his face.
Unlike before, Creed just quietly looked down at the hand.
'It seems okay.'
Navia gently held Creed's face, examining it from different angles, and began applying the ointment.
"Grr!"
As the wound stung, Creed immediately shook his head, emitting a fierce aura.
"The ointment has anesthetic; it'll get better soon. Just bear with it a bit, okay?"
Navia gently soothed the grim-faced Creed.
Gradually, morning sunlight began to seep into the prison.
The light entered through a small window in the prison, shining down on Navia.
Creed stopped glaring at Navia's hand and instead quietly observed her, who seemed to become the sunlight itself.
Because the prison was entirely dark, Navia's presence stood out, making it impossible not to focus on her.
Unaware that Creed was observing her, Navia focused solely on treating him.
She had to return to her room before the attendants became active.
'They might be worried.'
After applying the ointment everywhere, Navia wrapped him in a blanket she brought.
Anyone seeing the blanket might discover she had been to the prison, but she couldn't leave him like that.
"This is bread."
Navia brought the bread to his mouth.
Creed wrinkled his brow and recoiled his head.
'He might not know it's food.'
Navia bit off a corner of the bread, chewed it thoroughly, swallowed, and then exaggeratedly exclaimed.
"Wow, delicious!"
Creed seemed to look at her with disdain, but she brushed it off.
Navia brought the bread to his mouth again.
This time, Creed slowly opened his mouth and took a bite.
Chewing softly.
For the first time, Creed's expression softened, not fierce or grim, but slightly improved.
His face, now calm and gentle, looked like that of a seven-year-old.
Navia watched, smiling happily, as he hurriedly ate the bread.
"You might choke."
"Cough! Cough!"
As expected, Creed immediately coughed.
Navia quickly opened the water jug and fed him water.
During the time she fed him five pieces of bread, Creed kept coughing, and Navia repeatedly gave him water.
Navia looked out the window. It seemed to be fully dawn now.
"I have to go now."
It didn't seem like Creed understood her words, but Navia kept talking to him.
"I'll come back later with more food."
As Navia picked up her basket and stood up, Creed slightly furrowed his brow and then stayed still.
"Goodbye."
Leaving only her farewell behind, Navia quickly returned to the main building.
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