Chapter 21: Chapter 20

“That woman is not an ordinary woman. She has been touched by angels.”

Rinaldo stared at her in shock. Clarissa was right. He honestly didn't want to know. Asking her for an answer was a mistake, and Rinaldo had paid the price. There was no way he was going to forget this. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. It was like being stuck in a carriage that just blew up.

Angels were the winged messengers of the White God. Each angel was unique in appearance and ability, but most took the form of an eldritch abomination. Rinaldo had seen enough abominations in his time. He didn't want to see more of them.

Their abilities were beyond what mortals had ever imagined possible. Angels were the strongest spirits regarding raw power, and their presence alone put pressure on other spirits. Some people, like Clarissa, were sensitive to angels and could detect anyone touched by them.

“So what do we do now?”

Clarissa looked at him for a moment, as if considering something. “We need to report this to Lady Ragnell.”

They both stared at each other in silence. There was so much going on inside Rinaldo's mind that he didn't know what to think. He was still thinking about Olivia's mother. What was so special about her?

Unlike other spirits, angels lacked free will. They had no control over their actions. The White God, their creator, made all their decisions. They just had to comply with them. They couldn't give their blessing to a random woman. The White God must have a reason.

“Okay, well, we report this to mother. What do we tell her?”

“I think we need to keep this as quiet as possible. If someone finds out, it will create a panic. Everyone will rush to get their blessings from the White God.”

“Agreed. This is not something to be spread around.”

The white god had done something extraordinary to Olivia's mother. Why? There was something else he had to think about, but he couldn't put the thoughts together properly. Whatever it was would remain a mystery.

Maybe it was better that way. It would be a lot easier to manage it this way. Rinaldo was grateful for that. Then again, this arrangement could easily backfire. It was in his best interest to be ready for anything. No way was he going to get surprised.

They went to the study where his mother was waiting. A teenage girl was sitting in her usual seat. Rinaldo thought she was his sister Beatrice, but he could not be sure. He had been wrong once today, and had no desire to make the same mistake twice.

Rinaldo looked at the girl and stared. She was certainly no older than sixteen or seventeen. He went over and sat in the chair next to her instead of making assumptions. The girl looked too bright to be Beatrice, and Rinaldo was unsure if he wanted to be right about her identity.

He was about to say something when Clarissa spoke first. “Milady, we have something important to tell you.”

The girl looked worried. “Well, what is it?”

Rinaldo and Clarissa exchanged a glance. They both didn't really want to tell her what had happened. It was bad enough that they were in trouble. The information was sensitive. It was better to be careful. As much as they wanted to tell her, they must be sure no one else was listening. A few minutes passed.

“Well?” She sounded impatient. “Come on. Tell me.”

Clarissa took a deep breath. “One of our guests is not an ordinary woman. She has been touched by angels.”

Rinaldo observed his mother. There was a moment of silence as she digested the information. He wasn't sure how she would react. She was still sitting at the table with her eyes fixed on the floor. Her expression seemed to show she was feeling anxious about something.

His mother looked at Clarissa, and he could see she was deep in thought. There was a tense atmosphere in the room. The only sounds present in the room were the ticking of the clock and the soft creaking of the wood.

Then her words came slowly, reluctantly. “For now, we need to make sure no one else knows about this.”

“Agreed. Let's keep it that way.”

The maid paused to think. It was clear she was looking for a solution. Then the answer came to her. “Yes, Milady. The young master and I will handle this matter. Thank you.”

He wanted to argue with her, but this was not the time for arguments. He nodded instead. Rinaldo looked at Clarissa. He didn't know what to think. He had no experience with this kind of situation. What could they do?

Clarissa bowed and left the room. Rinaldo stayed seated next to his mother. They were both silent for a moment. There were too many things going through his head. He didn't know what was going on. He couldn't imagine what was coming next.

For one, there was that awkward moment of silence. It was clear Rinaldo's mother was thinking, but he wasn't sure what she was thinking about. Rinaldo couldn't say anything. He wasn't sure what to say. At that point, Rinaldo's mind went numb.

What was she thinking about? He looked at her sitting there. She had a faint smile and then took a long look at Rinaldo. She must have been thinking about him. He had been staring at her for a long time.

“You look troubled, my son.”

“So, it's true? You turned yourself into a child?”

“I, um, well, I guess so.” His mother looked embarrassed. “I don't think it's exactly a choice, but there are definite benefits to being young again.”

Rinaldo felt a little uneasy about his mother's statement. His mother wasn't one to make mistakes. “And the reason for it?”

“That's…” She looked thoughtful. “That's a hard question to answer.”

She stood from her chair and motioned for Rinaldo to follow. He felt confused and tried to make sense of what was happening.

“Where are we going?”

“To show you the answer.”

He followed her to a secret entrance that opened behind a bookcase. She stood before the shelf and pressed on something to open the floor. The stairs descended into the bowels of the earth. Bright lights flickered as the air grew colder and colder.

There were no doors or windows in the corridor. The only light came from the small red lights scattered throughout the walls. They descended for a long while, and the light kept changing. The tunnel itself curved gently. They finally reached a large door at the bottom of the stairs.

Rinaldo's eye fell upon the door. It was the size of a wardrobe and had a strange pattern inlaid in its metal. This pattern was an irregular spiral. It reminded Rinaldo of the shape of a snail shell.

“What are we looking for?”

“Well, let's see….”

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She walked towards the door. Rinaldo followed her. They reached the door and stepped into the room. The first thing Rinaldo saw was a girl with wolf's ears in a short white tunic lying in a bed. She seemed to be asleep.

He looked in her direction, but did not move. “Mother, who is this?”

“A terminal stage infected. The Black Sun used them as attack dogs.”

Rinaldo frowned. He was still watching the girl. “She looked normal.”

True to his words, the girl didn't show any unusual features usually present in most infected, let alone those in the terminal stage. According to rumours, they looked like humanoid monsters covered in fur with a hunger for human flesh.

“That's because of my treatment. I wish I can say the same about her mind.”

“The same treatment that made you younger?”

“I had to perform it twice because my first attempt didn't work.” She sighed. “I was supposed to rejuvenate her, not myself.”

His mother never ceased to impress him. Most people believed rejuvenation therapy to be impossible, and only a few did it successfully. It completely revitalised the body, eliminating the ill effects of all previous disorders. However, it couldn't touch the mind, only the body.

Before Rinaldo could ask his mother if she was in no danger of dying now that she had become young again, she told him she'd still die since the problem was in the soul, not the body. Rinaldo didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Are you going to be okay?”

She looked back at Rinaldo and nodded. “I'll live. I still have some time left.”

He tried to change the subject. “What about the girl? Can she be saved?”

“I can't tell at the moment, but… if she can be saved, it would require a miracle.”

“I see…”

They kept their distance. Rinaldo watched the girl and wondered what kind of person she was before getting infected. He could almost imagine what her life was like. She probably spent her days alone or with a few other kids, thinking of nothing but living daily and doing nothing else.

His mother said nothing. She just stood there, looking down at the girl with a sad look. A lot of things ran through Rinaldo's mind at once. The girl's life, her personality, her dreams. But most of all, it was her fate—to be a patient of some strange diseases.

After a while, his mother turned to him. “Rinaldo, this is no normal disease. It's… unnatural.”

Rinaldo's eyes widened. “You mean…”

“What else can you call it?” Her voice was kind, but her eyes were stern, taking in Rinaldo's reaction. “It started in the Western Continent right after the Supreme King's coronation.”

“The coronation…” Rinaldo thought. He recalled what Charlie had said about the current ruler of the Western Continent. The Supreme King was young, but he didn't seem like a peaceful person. In fact, he seemed cruel to anyone who wasn't human.

The Oeste Kingdom preached human supremacy and promoted the persecution of demi-human races. Many of the inhabitants believed humans were superior to Demi-humans. They all but wiped out the demi-human race on the Western Continent, forcing them to flee to other continents or face enslavement.

Rinaldo's mother continued. “It was a sudden outbreak, and their government pretended it didn't exist. They might have started it.”

Rinaldo felt sick. “But why?”

“A eugenic experiment, perhaps.”

Rinaldo remained silent. He could tell his mother was very serious. He would have asked more questions, but the revelation of what she said shocked him. What kind of world was he living in? He could see his mother was getting angry, and she sighed long.

“In all likelihood, it failed.” His mother's voice didn't sound as calm as before. Her eyes were distant.

He turned his eyes towards the girl as she slowly began getting up. She was staring at the wall, seemingly not aware of her surroundings. Rinaldo frowned. “I can't help but feel sorry for her.”

His mother glanced at the girl. She was still staring blankly at the wall.

“Yes, well…” Her voice sounded strained. “Her mind… it's lost. I did everything in my power to restore it, but….”

The girl whimpered. She seemed to have trouble holding herself up. The sight troubled Rinaldo. He approached her and knelt on the floor. He reached out a hand towards her, but the girl turned away. She looked up at the ceiling and whimpered again.

“What is she feeling?” Rinaldo looked at his mother. “Do you have an idea?”

“No. I tried everything. She… she just can't hold it together.”

Rinaldo remained where he was, wondering what he should do. The girl stood up and was about to turn around and look at him. She staggered, but quickly regained her balance. She approached him, but she did not look him in the eyes. Her eyes appeared to be focused on a point far away.

She reached out her hand, but she let it fall just before she touched him. The girl closed her eyes and covered her face with both hands, as though to push away the image of the man he was. Rinaldo felt his heart twist in his chest.

His mother walked to the girl's side and gently stroked her hair. “You'll be alright.”

The girl's eyes were closed, but she was not sleeping. She was breathing in quick, short pants. Her hair was sticking up in different places. She looked like a madwoman. Rinaldo's mother continued to stroke her. It didn't take long for the girl to become calm.

She slowly opened her eyes. The dark circles under her eyes made them look red and swollen. When she turned around to look at Rinaldo, her face was a mask of shock and fear. Her lips trembled. She seemed to be unable to speak.

Rinaldo walked over to the girl, her gaze following him as he went closer. “I think I know how to help her.”

His mother looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

“We can bring her back to normal. A miracle is all we need, right?”