Chapter 163 Tender Emotions

Elsa frowned at the sight of Charles’s condition. That was the second time she had seen this happen. The first time was fifteen years ago in the icy polar region. He fell prey to a plot and had to force himself ashore where unfortunately he failed to transform into a full-grown adult. As for the reason behind his current digression, she was clueless.

She turned to Bella and told her to keep calm. The last thing she wanted was Bella finding out more about the Lord’s unusual situation.

Bella who seemed unable to understand what was going on, let out a sigh and went to the kitchen in search of a glass of water. This was a blessing for Elsa who now examined carefully the legs of the child. Fortunately, there were no visible scales. The only problem seemed to be the excessive loss of blood.

“Is he all right?” asked Bella.

“Nothing too serious,” replied Elsa. “Where did you find him?”

“I found him lying on the coast. Maybe he’s a survivor from a shipwreck. I need to go back there to see if anyone else has been washed ashore.”

“It’s too late for you to do that. I will ask the guards to go and check if that makes you feel better.”

“All right,” said Bella. “What’s going to happen to the child?”

“He had better spend the night here,” replied the old woman.

“Won’t you call the police?”

“We can do that tomorrow.”

“Well, you are right.” Bella turned round and gazed at the child. To her surprise, the little fellow was awake.

The boy sat up and stared at her.

“Little boy, how do you feel?” asked Bella.

Charles’s face was as cold as ice.

Little boy? Have you met many little boys over two hundred years old? How could he explain that the reason he had digressed was that he was in such a hurry to see her as soon as possible?

“I’m okay.” Charles looked at her coldly, “Did you save me?”

Bella found amusing his cold expression. If he were Charles, the expression would scare her but it was just a cute little boy. She pinched his cheek and let out another sigh.

“Why are so many children nowadays more serious than adults?”

No reply.

“Where do you live, kiddo? Do you remember your name? Can you help me find your parents?”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“My parents have been dead for a long time.”

Bella felt sorry for the boy. He was an orphan and orphans usually had a sense of inferiority. She would have to be more careful with her questions.

“Where do you live? We need to get you back to your home.”

“You saved me and now you want to drive me away?” Charles looked at her with his cold eyes.

Such coldness would make a grown man like Charles look frightening. However, in the case of this boy, it only made him look more sympathetic.

“I’m not planning to drive you away. I was hoping to take you back to your home.”

“I do not have a home. Since you have saved me, you should let me stay here.” 

She stared at him with eyes full of pity. “I am also a guest here. Whether you can stay or not is not up to me. We should wait for the Lord to decide.”

“Why can’t you decide? Aren’t you the Lady of the house?”

Bella tried to avoid the boy’s gaze. He was too smart for his own good and the truth maybe could hurt him. “It is difficult to explain. You will not understand.”

Charles looked at Elsa coldly. Elsa immediately interrupted Bella, “Our Lord is not with us tonight, which makes you the highest authority. Why don’t you decide?”

“All right then,” said Belle to the boy. “You can stay here tonight and we can search for your home tomorrow.”

Charles suddenly reached out for her. He wanted to kiss her mouth but he was too short to reach her. He could only put his arms around her chest and press his face on her breasts. If a man ever did this to her, Bella would have slapped him on the face.

“Poor lonely boy,” she said and put her arms around the kid. “I think he has nowhere to go,” she said looking at Elsa. “He can stay at my room until the Lord returns. Then I will ask for permission to adopt him.”

The little boy raised his head from her chest, “Is the Lord of the house your husband? Do you love him?”

Bella almost choked upon hearing those words. “Better go to bed now,” she said. “Are you able to walk?”

“I’m not sure. My legs are hurting me.”