Edward was dead and gone forever... At least that's what he thought.
#"It's a boy, it's a boy, Thank the gods."# (# shows words that Edward can't understand.)
#"Praise be the gods, they have blessed us with a male child."#
'what is this language? It sounds like chinese.'
Edward had died and now he was hearing a language that sounded much like chinese, he was confused. Thinking that he had maybe regained consciousness in a hospital.
'was I taken to a hospital in china? No it's not possible, my body got... divided, I saw my own legs get chopped apart- Then is this the after life?' He kept pondering.
His eyes were closed. He tried to open his eyes to look around, he wanted to see what heaven was like, he had heard many good things about it, although he didn't believe in it himself. But how would he go to heaven? He was not a good person, he didn't exactly live a good life, and he had killed his father, he didn't kill him directly, but He lived his entire life believing himself to be a murderer.
When he finally forced his eyes open, What he saw shocked him.
'what are these giant hands? Where am I? This can't be heaven! It smells like shit around here.' He was bewildered, he saw giant human like hands touching him and the environment he found himself in was dark and gloomy and smelled like feces and urine. He was the one that smelled, his body was stained with blood, feces and urine but of course, he didn't know this.
'wait... isn't that a woman?' He said to himself as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better view on the person holding him. She was the midwife.
The other women in the room were dressed in maid uniforms, black gowns underneath and white gowns untop like something you'd see on a cosplayer, but they were more raggedy and looked more used, and they weren't embarrassed about it, it felt like something they were used to.
Edward was looking around the room, trying to process the insanity of his situation.
'why are these giants all dressed like they're acting a medieval play? Or are we in a fare? It can't be, this room is too dark and gloomy to be a fare. And something doesn't feel right, why can't I speak? Even when I try hard to speak my mouth just doesn't want to move.'
He gave up trying to speak and focused his gaze on the one maid who seemed to be the midwife, she held him as he was limp on her arms, he furrowed his brows to look at her face again, she was definitely human not a giant.
'something' feels wrong... Is it what I think it is?' He said to himself, thinking that what he read in webnovels back on earth might have happened to him.
He looked at himself, glancing at his small legs and hands and body.
'I'm- I'm a baby?!' He finally came to a realization. He was shocked, more shocked than when Marcelle had told him that he was her first love, more shocked than when his father had died while saving him.
'hahahaha, this has got to be a joke. Maybe I'm dreaming.' Edward thought as he couldn't come to terms with the bullshit that had become his reality.
'i'm a baby? A baby? Me? What about my life with Marcelle? Huh? It'll better if I had just died goddamit!!' He became more and more frustrated at the fact that he couldn't express his frustration properly right at that moment. He felt like screaming his lungs out, but all his body did was twitch a little.
#"Huh? but why isn't he crying? Aren't babies supposed to cry as soon as their birthed?"# one maid pointed out, she found it odd that Edward was just limp on the midwife's arm without making any sort of noise whatsoever, and he was twitching too, it made her scared because she had never heard a situation that a newborn baby was twitching like that.
#"she's right. Or Is he a still baby?"# Another maid supported.
#"lord Alex isn't gonna be happy if he hears that."#
The midwife was cleaning of the feces, and blood stains on Edward with a wet towel, her annoyed expression tightened with the words of the maids. They were just assuming things without even knowing.
#"He's not a still baby. You shut up. He's alive and breathing. Lord Alex was like that too when he was a newborn, it's a Flameworth thing."# She said, her tone mixed with annoyance, she just wanted to clean the blood and feces and urine off of Edward and continue her business, she was forced to help with the labour process because she was the only one with experience as a midwife in the household.
#"How do we tell Lord Alex that lady Kila passed away while birthing the young master?"# The one annoying maid asked the midwife.
#"He didn't about her when she was pregnant, do you think he'll care if she's dead? She was just a servant anyways."# The midwife responded to the annoying question, she quickly wrapped Edward in a of warm cloth as there was no blanket.
#"that's true, but he did like her at least a little bit, she's the only one he showed actual emotions towards, I even saw him smile while talking with her once, something I thought of as impossible."# The other maid replied, her voice was filled with excited, ready to indulge in fruitless gossip.
While they were talking, Edward was in deep thought, He couldn't understand anything they were saying. He was trying to calm himself.
Edward wasn't the type to give up immediately, he was the type to try to find a solution in any problem he came across.
He finally made a plan, in that short time, he didn't even pay attention to the midwife that was wiping his buttocks with towel.
'i'm going to go find Marcelle as soon as I get a little bigger, then I'll tell her that I never left her. That I'm still here, her love.'
He resolved himself, he just had to run away as soon as he gets big enough.
'But she might get scared. To avoid scaring her with the fact that I'm still alive, I'll act like a homeless kid. Marcelle loves kids, she can't stand the sight of one suffering alone. Then I can be by her side and comfort her, even if I have to abandon my identity as Edward.
'But first I need to get away from here, I don't know who these people are but I'll bare with them for a few years and run away. I need to be with Marcelle. I am thankful for the blessing of this second life
'If there is a god out there. I promise I won't kill whoever my father is in this life.' The first thing he thought of once he realized that he was given a new life was a way to go back to Marcelle. He was in the middle of thinking when the room door opened abruptly. It opened with a loud bang.
#"Ugh! I hate the smell of this place!"# a bratty kid walked in with an air of mischievousness surrounding him. He was dressed in fine leather jacket and a short with boots, a medieval dressing. One that the nobles in the England of old would wear.
All the maids and the midwife bowed down to greet him as soon as he stepped in. The fear on their faces when they heard his voice couldn't be missed.
He motioned from the door towards the direction where Edward was on the ground wrapped in warm cloth, the midwife had finished cleaning him up. His expression, that of curiosity, he had an evil smile that crept on his face and went ear to ear.
He looked at Edward like he was his toy that had finally arrived.
"So... This is the new Flameworth? The child of that Maid whore who slept with my father? It's a boy. Perfect!" He leaned down and looked directly into the eyes of Edward who was on the ground.
"But- are you all sure he's a Flameworth? He has black hair." He turned to focus his gaze on the midwife who was standing at his back trying to at least prevent any danger or harm from that the young master might bring to Edward.
"I can assure you, Young master James, He's a Flameworth. Although he's hair isn't red, His eyes carry the molten, crimson colour of a Flameworth." The midwife curtsied as she said this, choosing her words carefully to avoid pissing of the young master who was notorious for being a tyrant. She didn't want to get roasted alive.
"Hmmm, you are right. He does have red eyes." He turned to look directly at Edward's eyes again.
This time, his eyes glowed dangerously "Hello kid, I'm your big brother. Your step brother, we're going to be having a loooot of fun when you grow older hahahahaha" As the sound of his laughter filled the air. The maids were frozen in fear. None of them dared raise their heads up, The midwife was no exception. The tension was felt by all of them present in the room.
Edward felt something from inside his body vibrate. He was shaking, it came from inside of him, like a force had compelled him to fear. His body was afraid, he didn't even know when he pissed himself, But his matured mind remained steady.
'what was that? This brat's eyes gave off a strange and eery feeling that made this body piss itself, I do not understand a thing he's saying but that laugh was the scariest thing I've ever heard and I've heard a lot of scary things in my life. Just what is going on? What kind of place is this?'
Edward found himself confused, but his confusion didn't last long as he felt himself getting more and more drowsy.
'why do I feel soo... slee- ' He fell asleep, he was a newborn baby who had been exposed to raw and exposed energy.
"Well, that was fun." The bratty kid said as he stood up, tucking his hands in the pocket of his leather jacket. "I'll be on my way now." He paced slowly towards the door.
"Make sure to dispose the mother's dead body properly... And next time- don't make them have a labour in an old, abandoned storage room." He gave the midwife one final glance as he walked out of the door. The kid was scary to the core, he didn't even act like a kid.
The midwife nodded her head "yes, Young Master James." And he left. 'Flameworths...' The woman thought to herself with a smile on her face, the sweats of nervousness on her face were still present.
END OF CHAPTER