Charles and his older sister, Vivian, couldn’t suppress their anxiety as they looked at Eris, their younger sister.
After the little girl took Aurelia’s Tear, she clutched her chest with a pained expression, tears brimming in her eyes as she endured the agony.
"Eris, does it hurt?" Charles asked worriedly.
The young man only knew that Aurelia’s Tear could cure his sister, but he did not know how it worked. It was pretty simple—Aurelia’s Tear would erase all traces of Child’s Bane in Eris’ body, curing her in the process. However, the purification process was painful.
It wasn’t extremely painful. At least it didn’t hurt as much as flare-ups caused by the disease.
But for children, pain was pain.
So, the little girl looked up at her brother with teary eyes and said...
"Bwather it hurts!" Eris cried. "Wuwuwu!"
"Eris!" Vivian hugged her little sister, holding her close. She made sure not to hug her too tightly, lest her little sister got even more hurt.
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim encouraged Eris to be strong and pressed its cheek gently against hers, giving the little girl moral and physical support.
Charles also held her sister’s hand, telling her that he was there and that everything was going to be fine.
The fourth person inside the room looked at this scene and bit her lips.
She was Eris’ and Vivian’s biological Aunt, the one who had taken both of them to the City of Harmonia.
Her name was Helen Lambert.
She was also the Headmistress of the Sunveil Orphanage.
Since she wanted to look after her sister’s children, she had brought them to the City of Harmonia. Thɪs chapter is updated by ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
Vivian wished to find the cure for Eris, so Helen had paid for her tuition fees.
She might not look much, but she was actually from a Noble Family.
Her sister had eloped with a commoner, which she thought was very foolish. Knowing the suffering her sister must’ve faced, she hated Eris’ and Vivian’s father.
However, she couldn’t possibly hate the children of her sister. So, when her sibling died, she decided to take them in and treat them as her own.
Since he wasn’t the biological child of her sister, she treated him with indifference.
Helen even went as far as telling him that if he couldn’t pass the scholarship test of Frieden Academy, he shouldn’t even attempt to show his face before his sisters again.
To her surprise, Charles had managed to become a student of Frieden Academy, showing that he had potential.
Although reluctant, Helen had acknowledged his efforts and allowed him to see Eris and Vivian. She hadn’t been hopeful, but she had accepted his help. After all, his goal was to find the cure for her youngest niece’s disease as well.
Honestly, Helen had believed that it would take a miracle to cure Eris.
She just didn’t expect that the miracle she was waiting for would happen so soon! In fact, it happened only a few months after the new school term had started.
Seeing the three siblings embrace each other with tears streaming down their faces, Helen knew that she would be worse than a monster if she were to forcefully separate them again.
Most importantly, Charles was the one who had acquired Aurelia’s Tear, which was the only medicine capable of curing Child’s Bane.
This medicine was extremely hard to get since the ingredients needed were incredibly rare. Not to mention, the demand was higher than the supply.
With only one cure known to work on the disease, many viewed it as a death sentence and pitied the unfortunate children who acquired them at a young age.
Several minutes later, Eris opened her eyes.
The pain plaguing her had disappeared completely, and now her body felt strong and healthy.
Even so, since her older siblings and Dim Dim were still crying, she continued to sob with them.
Only after half an hour did everyone calm down.
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim raised its hand and proposed something.
"A celebration party?" Charles looked at the little bun, who nodded its head firmly.
"Let’s do it!" Vivian said with a smile before kissing her sister’s cheek for the fifth time due to how happy she was. "Let’s celebrate!"
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim took out a party popper from its dimensional storage and popped it, sending confetti flying around the room.
This made Eris beam brightly and she clapped her hands happily.
"Very well. We will celebrate."
Helen finally spoke as she walked toward the siblings.
She then glanced at Charles and told him that she wanted to have a private talk with him after the party.
Charles readily agreed. He had wanted to talk to his Aunt since the time she took his sisters away from him.
The children of the orphanage, especially the younger ones, didn’t understand why they suddenly had an influx of good food. There was even a cake on their dining table!
Only the older ones understood that a miracle had happened—Eris was finally cured of her illness.
Of course, aside from the good food and desserts, Dim Dim made sure to put its dim sums on the table as well.
Dim Dim had always enjoyed spending time with children, because in its eyes, they were the seeds of the next generation.
Nurturing them, helping them, and making them smile was something that it believed paved the way for a brighter tomorrow.
The party lasted until the sun had set.
Vivian asked her Aunt to allow her to stay overnight, which Helen permitted without hesitation.
She then took Charles to her office so they could have a heart-to-heart talk with each other.
"Before anything else, I would like to thank you for helping Eris," Helen said and bowed her head towards Charles.
"I also want to apologize for the treatment you have received from me. Make no mistake, I still believe I was right to be cautious. But after what you’ve done for my niece, I can no longer forbid you from spending time with them because you’ve earned it."
Charles looked at the middle-aged lady, who had once looked very intimidating to him. But seeing her in this state, he now understood that she had her own circumstances for treating him the way she did.
"Thank you, Lady Helen," Charles replied.
"Aunt," Helen stated as she looked at the young man with a steady gaze. "Call me Aunt from now on."
Charles was surprised at first, but his heart felt warm because this only meant one thing.
Helen had accepted him as one of her family members, just like how his adoptive parents had treated him as their real child when they were still alive.
Dim Dim peeked at this scene from the window of Helen’s office and smiled faintly.
The little bun was someone who really liked to read stories with happy endings.
But of course, Charles’ story was far from ending.
It had just begun, just like Alex’s adventure in the world of Arcana.
Dim Dim knew that the young man would face many tough challenges in the future, but that was fine.
It would be there to support him and fight alongside him.
Not wanting to spy any longer, Dim Dim moved away from the window and climbed down the walls of the orphanage.
It returned to the main living room, where the children were happily chatting with each other.
"Dim Dim!" Eris pointed at the little bun, who had just entered through the window.
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim waved at Eris, who ran in its direction to hold it in her hands.
The little girl then kissed Dim Dim’s cheek, making the little bun giggle.
It allowed itself to be hugged by the little girl, who had found her second chance at life.