When Oswald pushed Aiwass through the door, they were greeted not only by the male servants of the house.
Yulia, wearing her pajamas and holding her doll, stood quietly by the window.
She had been eagerly watching Oswald push the wheelchair, slowly making his way along the front path. Then she ran to the door to welcome them.
"Miss Julia was waiting for you," Oswald whispered behind Aiwass.
Aiwass nodded, also lowering his voice, "I think Yuli is just feeling a bit lonely. After all, kids her age are usually playing with classmates at school. But the only peer Yuli has to see is me."
The old butler sighed but said nothing more.
He simply closed the door as Yulia approached, keeping the biting winter wind of the early evening outside.
His brow furrowed, he said sternly, "Miss Julia, the wind is chilly in winter. Please don't come too close to the front door."
Yulia stubbornly murmured, "I've already taken medicine twice."
"That's still not good," the old butler said without hesitation. "You're already frail, and catching a cold would only make things more troublesome..."
"...It's alright, Mr. Oswald. If Yuli gets sick now, I can also treat her," Aiwass interjected warmly. "I believe the Sacred Arts taught to me by Bishop Mathers are meant to be used at times ."
With that, he first took off his coat to reveal the sweater underneath.
Aiwass placed his hands inside his sweater, trying to warm them with his own body temperature.
He had just come back from outside, his coat and hands covered in the chill. This would be very uncomfortable for Yulia, whose body temperature was higher than normal. It was much like how a person with a fever would feel cold.
This was also an old problem for Yulia.
From a young age, Yulia's body had been home to a Phantom Demon in its larval state—the Defiant Flame Butterfly.
Individuals like her, hosting a larval Phantom Demon within them, were called "Phantom Demon Eggs."
Their spiritual, physical, and even life force would be continually drained, nourishing the Phantom Demon inside. If they died due to weakness or external forces, the Phantom Demon within would awaken and cause a disaster. However, if the Phantom Demon could be safely nurtured to a certain stage, they could borrow some of its power even without taking the Transcendent path.
As the Phantom Demon further developed, the strength of a Phantom Demon Egg would gradually increase, requiring more and more stringent nutrition for growth. Only when the Phantom Demon developed a complete personality would its growth be considered complete. At that point, it could choose to awaken forcefully or become a symbiotic partner with its host.
The choice lies in the hands of the Phantom Demon, not the host, which is why hosts are called Phantom Demon Eggs—because most Phantom Demons choose the former.
Even though the Phantom Demon inside Yulia had not yet awakened, it had already granted her some of its powers. This, in turn, placed a heavier burden on her.
Yulia's body temperature was a few degrees higher than that of a normal person.
Specifically, it was as if she was in a constant state of fever. Her body temperature was a bit higher than average... at six or seven years old, it was half a degree higher; and now it was two degrees higher than the average person's.
With a constant temperature around 38.5 degrees Celsius... if it weren't for regular treatments from the church priests, she would've probably died a long time ago.
More troubling was the fact that this kind of fever was unrelated to diseases or curses, and thus could not be cured through Transcendent methods. It could only be treated using Illumination Art on her nerves and organs, and with magic potions to help her body replenish the nutrients required by the Phantom Demon.
Yulia was not James's biological daughter, either. She was his foster daughter as well.
The reason she was so close to Aiwass was that they were both in the same orphanage as children.
When Aiwass was four years old, his biological parents had died in an accident. He was too young at the time and his memory was very blurry. He didn't know exactly what had happened.
Afterward, Aiwass entered an orphanage where he met Yulia.
At that time, Yulia was an abandoned baby in swaddling clothes.
Baby Yulia, with an almost demonic strength, often injured the caretakers. There were only a few people who could easily approach her: the matron of the orphanage, Mrs. Misu who cooked, and Aiwass. So the task of caring for her fell upon the matron's shoulders... But the matron was old, and Aiwass, who was uncommonly sensible from a young age, would take the initiative to help out.
Aiwass was only three and a half years older than Yulia, but he was exceptionally mature. He didn't have the childish habits of his peers and always remained calm in any situation, never showing a hint of panic, like a well-seasoned adult—if it weren't for his genuinely innocent childlike nature and apparent ignorance, some might have suspected another soul dwelled within him.
And this was not impossible.
The Preservers of the Dusk Path, the Amber Craftsmen, could indeed place one person's soul into another's body. Aiwass was so unusual that it scared people.
The orphanage specially invited a Priest from the church to verify if his soul was truly his own.
The two exceptional children grew increasingly close. Yulia almost always clung to Aiwass's side.
In the orphanage, their clothes were very thin. With a body like a furnace, Yulia ensured that Aiwass stayed comfortable in winter. Back then, Aiwass could only fall asleep by holding Yulia so he wouldn't shiver with the cold.
This continued until the year Aiwass turned six, when they were both adopted by James Moriarty.
Aiwass remembered this very clearly—
In fact, originally, James wanted to adopt only Yulia, not Aiwass.
But when Yulia was torn away from Aiwass's side, she cried terribly and her spirit was extremely unstable. Moreover, her strength at the time was abnormally great—completely different from her present frailty, possessing a kind of innate terrifying power.
At only three years old, not even several adults could move her.
Some were even dragged to the ground by her, causing chaos at the scene. The entire orphanage was disturbed for a long time, and many things were knocked down and broken by the frenzied Yulia.
It wasn't until later that James inquired about something from the matron, which suddenly changed his mind and led him to take both of them away. Only then did Yulia calm down.
As Yulia gradually learned to read, her personality became more gentle and introverted, and that strange, innate strength also faded away. To this day, she has become so weak that she is even less robust than her female peers, barely sustaining her life relying on the Priest and magic potions.
Aiwass had always been grateful to Yulia.
It was because of her that he had the opportunity to change his fate. Being an orphan with no parents, and having the surname "Moriarty," they were bound to have vastly different futures. In fact, he was not supposed to be adopted, merely an addition to Yulia. Even though James was kind to Aiwass, he never forgot that he was initially unwanted.
For Aiwass, who had lost his parents at a very young age, Yulia was the person he had been in contact with for the longest time, even two years longer than his foster father and elder brother Edward.
And Yulia also depended a lot on Aiwass.
She had no feelings for her birth parents. For her, who had no parents even before her memories began, Aiwass was her real family. Next in line were the matron, Mrs. Misu, James, and her elder brother Edward.
After Aiwass warmed his hands, he gestured for Yulia to come over.
The fragile girl with white hair and red eyes obediently hugged Aiwass's neck from the front. Her left knee knelt beside his leg, carefully ensuring her weight did not press down on him.
"Don't worry, Yuli. I'm not that fragile,"
Aiwass couldn't help but laugh.
He stretched out his right hand and gently pressed on the position behind Yulia's left back, where her heart was.
With a bit of fire mana as a catalyst, a soft radiance bloomed from the palm of his right hand.
As the gentle light seeped through Aiwass's fingers, Yulia's body gradually relaxed. Her breath, which was short and shallow, also slowly became steady—the illness was easily dispelled by Aiwass.
Although she had been ill for a long time, under the premise of James's continuous treatment, she wasn't very sick—because before each deterioration of her condition, he would call for a Priest to heal her hidden injuries. Aiwass used only two points of Light mana to heal her body.
Subsequently, Aiwass moved his still-glowing right hand from her back and placed it on Yulia's forehead.
With the nourishment of the light on her spirit, her languid mental state also immediately improved significantly. This time, Aiwass used less than a point of mana.
Yulia's body remained feverishly hot. But clearly, she would be able to have a good night's sleep today.
"Good girl," Aiwass's mouth lifted slightly, "Let's go, time to eat…"
Just then, Aiwass absentmindedly touched the Codex Book that lay on his knee.
His movement paused for a moment.
For he had never touched Yulia's Codex Book, yet now when he did, it radiated the same burning heat as her body, and a distinctly different, bizarre sensation.
It felt as if Aiwass wasn't touching the cover of the book but was making contact with the skin on Yulia's back instead.
Without the barrier of clothing, the heat was even more intense than what Aiwass felt when touching Yulia moments ago, almost to the point of being scalding.
But the strange sense of incongruity made Aiwass look down.
There was no steam rising from the air, and the material hadn't changed at all. It was still the same sort of leather-like material.
That's when Aiwass suddenly realized—that although it was burning hot, his legs didn't feel the heat at all. Only his right hand, which had just used Illumination Art, experienced this illusion. Even when touched with his left hand, it felt like a normal temperature.
So, discreetly, Aiwass handed the hot Codex Book to Yulia, "Can you help your brother put this book in his study, alright?"
Yulia nodded lightly in response.
Receiving the book, she showed no particular reaction.
It was as if she didn't feel any of its heat at all.
"Does it feel a bit cold? It has also been exposed outside for a while," Aiwass asked with concern.
"A little, but it's okay," Yulia hummed a reply and then asked, "Where should I put it, brother?"
"Just place it in front of the desk. It's a book that your brother wants to read after dinner."
Yulia nodded, then left with the book.
Aiwass confirmed something.
It seemed that only he could feel the change in temperature and touch of the Codex Book.
Interesting, he thought.
I'll thoroughly examine it after dinner.