Acting as harmless as possible, I cautiously approached Louie, not wishing to alarm the little boy. Once I've reached a couple of feet away from him, his injuries were more apparent to my eyes. The sight made me want to go back to the few living minions out there and plummet them to the ground multiple times, but I decided that caring for the traumatised boy was more of a priority. Thankfully, there's no large wounds that would be deemed as dangerous.
"Louie…do you remember me?" I asked softly.
Lucius was still standing behind me, not getting his words out and decided to just scratch it off. Louie slowly raised his head. The sniffles could still be heard while his eyes were all welled up in tears. He hesitantly nodded to my question as his eyes lighted up ever so slightly. Not so far from him, there were a few other people who had also been kidnapped, hugging onto their body as if to protect what's left of their sanity.
Were they all tortured before? Perhaps they've been used in the production of dark apparatuses. Mana emitted from negative emotions could also be used in its making.
*A very nasty power down to its very core,* I grimaced.
"All of you are free now," I said. "We will escort you back to the village."
Despite being so broken, a glint of relief could still be seen in their eyes. Louie was still trembling quietly, guess he won't be able to forget the incident anytime soon. It's totally understandable as he is still a child in the fragile age of 12. His timid and gentle self will make it even harder for him to overcome the trauma. It is not an unexpected sight. Also, this is not an unfamiliar sight for me.
"Louie, do you want big sis to carry you?" I formed the warmest smile I could while offering my arms.
Louie flinched away from my extended hands. He's still scared, I know. Hence, I waited patiently for him until he slowly reached back for me.
"Atta boy," I said before lifting him up in my embrace.
Louie sure is small for his age. He also felt so light in my arms. Is he malnourished? In the novel, he was only mentioned in a passing. Usually, he appeared when there was a war occurring where healers were needed. The little background I knew of him was that he's an orphan, sheltered by the orphanage in this barony.
*What if the orphanage wasn't so 'sheltering'?* I frowned at the thought.
"Everyone, let's move now," I turned to the people who had slowly got back on their feet. "Help the injured ones, please."
Louie had turned calmer by the time we left the hamlet and his trembling came to a stop. The child buried his face on my shoulder as he started to doze off. Now that he's out of the hellhole, he could finally rest peacefully. Thinking about it, I sure had carried a lot of people in this world. First was that bastard Lucius, then this adorable boy here. Having a strong body is very useful, indeed.
"Hey, Lucius. Take my horse with you. I'll walk with the others."
Lucius, who had already retrieved Cassie, shook his head before replying, "I'll bring the horse, but I'll walk too."
"Ohh, what do we have here?" I nudged his side before teasing him. "Has empathy finally made its way to your heart?"
"You're obviously not reliable. Who knows what'll happen if I leave the people in your care," he said. "You can't even listen to my orders."
"Hey, I have my own reasons to be here, alright?"
On foot, the journey back to the village took about an hour. The hamlet was quite deep into the forest, after all. There were a few monsters lurking around, but only a few attacked. Obviously, Lucius dealt with all of them without a hitch. He's a very reliable Pozemon, that one.
As we reached halfway through, Louie began to stir in his sleep. Perhaps from a nightmare. It must've been a horrifying one, seeing how pale he had become. Louie only stopped grimacing over it after I woke him up, just to fall asleep again.
"Lucius, what do you think of this child?" I asked.
"Are you paedophilic?"
"Not that, you jerk!" His comment was so outrageous that I just had to check whether I'm talking to the same person or not. "I mean, he's in the orphanage. If he agrees, I want to adopt him as my family. Any thoughts on it?"
"…he doesn't seem to be one who'll cause troubles," Lucius said.
"Right? I don't have any family members here, either. Would be great to have one."
"…you want a family?"
"Yeah!" I nodded. "Even you got one, don't you? A lil' brother?"
Lucius was adopted into the Leonhart family due to his excellent capabilities. He caught the interest of the previous marquess during a war with the Kingdom of Aravis, the old nemesis of Edesia. The marquess and marchioness had both passed, leaving the family without a head.
The accident was soon exposed to be an intentional assassination by the remaining nobles of the fallen kingdom who lost to the Kingdom of Edesia. They had been holding grudges which drove them to take the life of the General who led Edesia to its glory—also known as the late Marquess of Leonhart. The couple had left an heir; a young son at the meagre age of ten. However, the boy was still too young to handle the responsibilities. Hence, Lucius took on the title as he had turned 20 at the time. It's been five years since then.
Nodding slightly, Lucius replied to my previous question, "Yes, Jeremy. You haven't met him, right? He's currently at the academy."
"Won't he be returning anytime soon?"
"Probably during autumn. His semester will end by then."
It was described that Jeremy Leonhart behaves somewhat similarly to Lucius. He respected Lucius so much to a point of admiration and idolisation.
"If I adopt Louie, then we'll both get a little brother. Sounds neat!" I chuckled at the thought when it suddenly hits me.
*Wait a minute, he knows that I haven't met with Jeremy, yet? I thought that all memories of me had been altered as if I existed a few years back? Naturally, I must've crossed path with him, right? Ah, he must've meant formally. Yeah, a formal meeting!*
Getting lost in my own thoughts, we soon arrived by the village. The rescuees rushed towards their respective homes, eager to be back to their safety. The joyful cries of the united families filled the deserted village as more of the doors began to swing open.
A couple of the victims informed me that they don't even live here so I had to send them to the Willowfield manor later for further transportation. Maybe they got kidnapped from another town or even another land. Thankfully, the Baron himself had sent a few guards to check on the village so I left the victims in their care. Once everything was settled, I noticed that Louie had woken up, silently staring at me while I was handling the matters.
"Oh, hey. You're awake."
"Mhm…" Louie nodded a reply, still timid as ever.
"So," I began while setting him down on the ground. "…where will you go now?"
"Dame…" Louie looked up at me, his eyes were filled with confusion and uncertainty. "…d-didn't you say that you will adopt me?" he asked.
"Haha, did you heard that? Do you want to be my family, then?"
His eyes brightened up noticeably. Even his battered body couldn't hold back his enthusiasm as he bobbed up and down, saying 'I do' multiple times.
"Alright! Let's go settle it with the orphanage, then!"
Louie's face turned sullen at the simple mention of the orphanage, the exact opposite of his previous reaction."T-there's no need to go there. They aren't expecting me to return," he said.
"Really?"
Louie nodded slowly as a reply. Maybe kidnapping wasn't the case for Louie being in the hamlet. There's also the possibility of being sold to those weirdos. This poor child was a victim over and over again. Orphaned, sent to war, sold, abused, everything.
*Should I just destroy that trash of an orphanage? Oh, I really should,* I thought.
"All the more easy for me then!" I picked up the previous conversation cheerfully, covering the building anger I felt. "From today on, you are officially my little brother!"
Louie turned even more ecstatic at the mention, albeit only by his actions. He's still too shy to express it in words."T-thank you, dame," he said, fiddling his fingers. Louie still had something more to say but he's too bashful for it. So I decided to give him a little push.
"Oh, is my brother calling me 'dame'?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Ah…um, t-then…may I call you…" Louie's voice trailed off to a very small whisper. "…..sister?"
"Of course!"
Once again, he beamed of joy. Louie clenched his fist tightly before saying it even louder, "S-sister?"
"Yes," I answered, happy to be called that again.
"Sister!" he repeated, even more confidently.
"Yes, Louie! Sister's here!" I chuckled, giving him an uppy out of joy.
Louie's reactions was very adorable! He's like a little duckling, happily giggling and flapping his arms as I swung him around in the air. Not wanting to make him nauseous, I put him down and just held him by the hand.
Now, I have a baby brother again and I'll never lose him, ever.