“What is this supposed to be?”
The trembling bundle under the fabric began to sniffle.
Jean, alternating his gaze between the bundle and Jerome, silently demanded an explanation.
Scratching his cheek, Jerome answered nonchalantly.
“Ever heard of primordial evil?”
“Primordial evil…?”
The familiar term made Jean frown.
Primordial evil referred to the original malevolent force born into the world.
It was said that demons, including Mephisto, and monsters originated from this entity.
In short, it was the parent of all evil beings, capable of upending the world simply by existing.
As Jean’s expression turned skeptical, Jerome gave him a faint smile.
“No way… Primordial evil was destroyed centuries ago.”
“That’s what scholars thought, too.”
“…”
“Until this baby was found in a mine a few months ago.”
Jerome pulled back the fabric, revealing the crouching child.
The baby, their tear-streaked face full of fear, looked up at Jean.
As the child squirmed, Jerome chuckled softly.
So this was the last remnant of primordial evil.
Jean clenched his fists.
“And yet, such a dangerous being is in an ordinary house. Why?”
“Well, you see, the temple immediately ordered me to eliminate it upon confirming its identity as primordial evil. Makes sense—they couldn’t risk its rampage destroying the world.”
“…”
“But…”
Jerome’s expression turned serious.
If he’d gone so far as to defy the temple, there had to be a significant reason.
Jean, his face growing grim, watched as Jerome sighed deeply.
Pressing his cheek against the child’s, Jerome spoke in a low, subdued voice.
“Even if it’s primordial evil… Seriously, can you imagine? A bunch of grown-ups sitting around, not even considering any other solutions, and just deciding to stab this cute baby to death…?”
“…”
“I couldn’t stand it, so I took them.”
Jean was speechless.
Moments later, his rising blood pressure made his head throb.
He briefly wondered if he’d have preferred Jerome having an affair instead.
Meanwhile, the primordial evil, snug in Jerome’s arms, opened their lips to speak.
“Uh…”
“Oh? Are you trying to say something? Go on, tell me. Daddy’s listening.”
“De…struc…”
“…”
“Mass… massacre…”
Jean gawked at the child’s eerie vocabulary.
While he stared in shock, Jerome, eyes brimming with tears, hugged the child tightly, overcome with emotion.
“So cute! Look, darling! Our child spoke their first words!”
“What part of that is cute?! They’re spouting nothing but creepy, violent words!”
“Well… My first words as a baby weren’t ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ but ‘Bring me your superior.’”
“That’s just you! And why does this kid look exactly like you? Are you hiding a secret child from somewhere and lying about it?”
Jerome froze at my accusing finger, my repeated suspicions clearly unsettling him.
Then, tilting his head slightly, he began to speak, even as the primordial evil clamped down on his forearm like a rabid dog.
Without showing any sign of pain, Jerome deliberated silently before responding in an uncertain tone.
“I don’t really know. When I first found it, it looked like a shadow—just a black silhouette. But then it started to resemble me more and more, and one day, it looked exactly like I did as a child.”
“Is it imitating humans?”
“Maybe. It’s possible, but I can’t say for sure. Primordial evils are so rare, and there’s hardly any research on them.”
At that moment, the baby pushed Jerome away and dropped to the floor.
Crawling clumsily, it disappeared back under the blanket.
It struck me again how different its behavior was from that of an ordinary child.
Jerome, who had been stealing glances at my frozen expression, suddenly leaned in close to my face.
I shoved him away instinctively, but with a cheeky grin, he slung an arm around my waist.
“So, why were you following me?”
“…”
“Don’t tell me you thought I was cheating on you or something.”
“Who’s the girl staying here?”
“Oh, her? She’s the daughter of an old friend. Both mother and daughter are highly skilled ward mages, so I had them hide here in case of emergencies.”
His explanation made sense.
She did seem much younger than Jerome.
While I felt relieved, another question arose.
No matter how close they were, what kind of friend would agree to shelter a primordial evil in their home?
Eyeing Jerome suspiciously, I asked bluntly.
“They agreed to take care of it, knowing it’s a primordial evil?”
“Huh? They don’t know it’s a primordial evil.”
“Why not?”
“Because they never asked?”
Jerome replied with a carefree smile.
Unable to contain my growing frustration, I roared at him.
Switching my glare between the primordial evil, who now sat obediently on the floor, and Jerome, I sighed deeply.
“When your friend returns, the first thing you need to do is apologize.”
I had a sinking feeling that, whether I liked it or not, this was my problem to deal with.
Emma used to be a professor of ward magic at the academy, but she’d retired and was now researching ancient magic in Sacre.
She had also once fought alongside Jerome on the frontlines as a hero.
About an hour later, Emma returned from shopping, and when I saw her face, my eyes widened in surprise.
She was the beautiful woman who had handed Jerome a letter at the marketplace.
It was hard to believe she had a seventeen-year-old daughter, given how young she looked.
But before I could dwell on it, Emma greeted me warmly.
“Oh, we have a guest I’ve never seen before…”
“Ah, I’m Jerome’s… friend. I have something I need to discuss with you.”
“I see. By the way, where’s Ellie?”
“She’s outside with Jerome, in the garden.”
“I see.”
Adjusting her grip on her bags, Emma gestured for me to follow. She led me to a quaint, charming kitchen.
When she asked for help making lemon tea, I hesitated briefly before nodding.
From the kitchen window, I could see the garden clearly.
There, under the sunlight, Jerome and Ellie were watering the flowers.
“They seem to get along well,” I muttered.
Ellie, who had been calmly watering the flowers, suddenly got a mischievous look on her face.
She pinched the hose, spraying water unexpectedly, and laughed.
Jerome laughed back, grabbed a bucket, and dumped it over Ellie’s head.
Then he tripped her, sending her sprawling, and retaliated with the hose.
It was like watching an older cousin tease a younger one.
When Ellie, now soaked and bawling, finally stopped crying, Jerome handed her some money from his pocket. It was clearly hush money.
Ellie smiled brightly, and I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Does Emma know about this?’
Fortunately, Emma didn’t seem to care.
Watching Jerome’s antics, she sighed and commented.
“Ellie doesn’t really resemble me, does she?”
“…”
“Actually, Ellie isn’t my biological daughter. I rescued her from a slave market during a mission. I thought you might be curious.”
That explained why Emma looked so young to have a grown daughter.
Seeing my surprised expression, Emma chuckled.
She handed me a lemon to slice, and I prepared it, listening as she recounted Jerome’s eccentric past.
“He’s always been like this, you know. Back at the academy, he used to give his friends experimental potions as ‘gifts.’ I drank one once and spent an entire day as a frog.”
Emma laughed softly, passing me a clean glass for the lemon slices.
Just as I started to relax, a soft pattering sound came from behind us.
Both Emma and I turned our heads at the same time.
The primordial evil, which had been hiding in the bedroom, stood there, its gaze wary.
Emma’s eyes widened in surprise as she muttered, “This is the first time it’s come out here…”
“…”
“Why now? Is it hungry? But it’s never tried to eat on its own before…”
The creature stared at me and approached slowly.
Its long, unkempt hair dragged along the floor, and its ill-fitting clothes slipped off one bony shoulder, exposing sharp collarbones.
When it reached me, it grabbed the hem of my pants, tugging gently.
‘It wants something… but what?’
Any ordinary child, I could’ve dealt with easily.
But this wasn’t just any child; it was a creature that could plunge the world into chaos.
Emma, trembling, set down her knife and said, “Wait, I’ll get Jerome.”
“No, please wait.”
I stopped her, crouched down, and studied the creature’s face.
Its pure white, unmarked eyes reflected my image.
Hoping to calm it, I knelt on one knee.
The primordial evil’s expression brightened, and it threw its arms around my neck.
“Ah… ah…”
The sound it made was filled with joy, but the sudden contact froze me.
Memories of the black shadow that had demanded souls flooded my mind.
Yet, as I moved to push it away, something struck me.
It reminded me of Jerome, locked in a dungeon after sealing Mephisto within himself—isolated, shunned by everyone.
My hand, instead of pushing the creature away, patted its fragile back.
It pressed closer, as if longing for warmth. I whispered softly.
“Do you want to come with me?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
The primordial evil raised its head, its blank eyes wide.
I stared into them and felt a strange certainty.
“Come with me. What do you think?”
For some reason, I had the sense that this child would stay in my life for a long time.
