章 125: Julie's Recovery

After getting some food in Julie's stomach, I carried her back to my Manor with Zanoba in tow. Even by the time we arrived at my front door, she still hadn't woken up. It had me terrified.

Lilia answered the door and was completely shocked to see me carrying a slave girl of unknown origin, let alone someone who is so terribly malnourished.

"Goodness Rudeus! Who is that? Come inside; get her out of the cold!"

I carried her upstairs to the guest bedroom and set her on the bed. It didn't take long for Zenith to hear the news and rush upstairs. She immediately began chanting a healing spell; Julie's complexion improved slightly.

When we had first found her in that cold, iron cage, Julie's skin had no semblance of color to it. It almost looked gray. Additionally her face had looked so gaunt that it was terrifying. Even before Zenith's healing magic, the bit of food I'd managed to get her to swallow in addition to warming her body up had already caused the color to begin to return to her skin. Just a few bites of food wasn't going to put meat on her bones overnight though, she was still incredibly gaunt and frail.

"This poor girl!", Zenith cried. "She needs something to eat! Lilia, bring up some food right away!"

"I've already fed her right before bringing her here", I assured Mother.

"She obviously needs more to eat. Just look at the poor girl!", Zenith reiterated.

"We need to be careful not to overfeed her though. When someone is in such a malnourished state, eating too much in a short time can actually be quite dangerous."

"Are you sure? I've never heard of such a thing."

"I'm no doctor, but I'm fairly certain I remember this to be true. She definitely needs to eat and put on some weight, but let's take it slow."

"If you say so..."

Zanoba and I went back downstairs to let Julie rest. At least she looked stable enough that I no longer felt she was on the verge of death.

"It would seem that your newly purchased slave will likely recover", Zanoba happily said.

"She's not my slave. She is your apprentice."

"But you are the one who purchased her", Zanoba protested. He's always been one to get hung up on things like that.

"Seeing that I purchased her, it is entirely within my right to grant her freedom, is it not?"

"Well, yes. You can certainly do that."

"Then I officially do so. In addition, I shall grant her the name: Juliette."

"Juliette?"

Zanoba pondered the name for a moment.

"I like it. It reminds me of my poor little brother whom I accidentally killed when he was a baby."

"That's good. I'm glad her name will provide some familiarity to you, seeing as she will be living with you."

"Living with me?", Zanoba said in surprise.

"Of course. It's only natural since she is your precious apprentice."

"Master Rudeus...", Zanoba said in exasperation.

"At least give her a chance? Won't you please consider it?"

"Well... I'm not sure why this means so much to you... but if you insist, then it will be my pleasure. I will not fail you", Zanoba said while giving a sudden bow. "I will make sure to pass on all of my knowledge of dolls and figurines. Though I hate to say it, I don't think I'm qualified to teach her magic or craftsmanship."

"Don't worry about that. Sylphiette and I will work with Juliette to teach her earth magic. The two of you can work on dexterity exercises together to help improve her craftsmanship."

"Very well. I will instruct Ginger to take care of her physical needs. I'm certain we will be able to ensure her continued recovery."

"Hmm... I'm not totally against that, but it may be best to let Juliette remain at my place for the time being; just until she's recovered enough to walk on her own. We have people here who can assist using healing magic as well."

"Aurora is also capable of beginner level healing spells", Zanoba reminded me. "However, you might be right about leaving her here. It might be best if we don't move her for now."

Julie slept for the next two days. I was beginning to worry she wouldn't wake up, but Zenith, who had been constantly monitoring her condition, assured me she was alright. Everyone else in the household was shocked when they found out I purchased a slave, especially Sylphiette. I made sure to clarify to everyone that she is no longer a slave and will live with Zanoba once she has recovered.

I've been so troubled by the state I found Julie in that I've not made any further progress on my battle aura training. Since I've been too preoccupied to make any progress, I decided to stay home for now until Julie recovered. Finally, on Julie's third day here, she woke up.

Only Mother and I were home to greet her. Zenith was the first to find she woke up and called me upstairs. Julie looked up, surprised and confused by her surroundings.

"Good morning", Zenith said with a warm smile. Julie didn't respond, but only stared at her in silence.

"She doesn't speak the human tongue", I informed her.

"Good morning", I told her in Beast-God tongue.

Julie moved her mouth slightly as though she tried to speak, but only an inaudible whisper escaped her cracked lips.

"You must be thirsty. Here, have something to drink."

I held a glass of water to her mouth and she slowly drank the water.

"Is that better? Do you want more?"

Julie's eyes stared off blankly. She had the look of someone without hope. Considering what she's been through, I completely understand why she would feel that way.

"You don't have to worry", I told her. "You'll never have to go back to that terrible place again. You're safe now."

Tears began to swell up in Julie's eyes.

"Here. Have her eat something", Zenith asked while handing me a bowl of stew.

"We have some food for you. Are you hungry?"

Julie eyed the bowl of stew and her mouth began to drool. I helped her sit up against the bedrest and gave her the bowl of stew and a spoon. The moment I set the bowl down in front of her she became wholly focused on gulping down the food, spilling stew on the blankets as she went.

"Goodness!", Zenith exclaimed. "And here I was, worried that it would be a struggle to get her to eat."

Julie stared at the empty bowl in front of her and then looked pleadingly at me.

"Alright, you can have another bowl. Just don't go too overboard."

It's already been three days since we got her eating and drinking again. She's looking much, much better now, but she's still very thin. Mother went downstairs and prepared another bowl for Julie.

After finishing her second bowl, she finally decided to speak.

"T-thank you", she whispered in Beast-God tongue.

"You're very welcome", I answered.

Julie began to push the blanket to the side as though she wanted to get up, but Zenith worriedly blocked her path.

"It might be better if you rested a little more", I cautioned her. "You seem to be getting better each day, but you're still very weak. Do you think you can wait until tomorrow before you try to walk?"

Julie nodded in response.

Zenith spent the rest of the day doting on Julie. Once people started getting home from work / school, everyone was excited to say hi to our new houseguest. Eris and I were the only ones here who knew Beast-God tongue though, and Eris was a little bit rusty on the language herself.

Even though she couldn't understand Human tongue, Julie began to realize that everyone in the household was calling her 'Julie' or 'Juliette'.

She pointed to herself and said "Julie?" with a questioning look on her face.

"That's right", Aisha said excitedly. "That's your name!"

"Juliette", Norn said as she pointed at her.

"Julie", our new guest repeated with a clumsy grin.

I was happy to see the hope returning to her eyes. I could tell. Julie was going to be just fine.

By Julie's fourth day living at our house, she began walking around. We gave her free roam of the house. She excitedly wandered the whole of the building exploring every nook and cranny. By the fifth day, we deemed she was well enough to move in with Zanoba.

Julie seemed rather sad to leave our place. Norn and Aisha begged for us to keep her.

"She's not a pet", Paul scolded them. "Rudeus bought her with the intention of having her serve his friend as an apprentice."

"I have a feeling that she and Zanoba will get along great", I assured my sisters. "If she really is unhappy there, we won't force her to stay."

At first Julie seemed shy to meet Zanoba, Ginger, and Aurora, but it didn't take long for them all to become fast friends. Aurora doted on her the same way that Zenith did at our home. Well, Aurora wasn't living in Zanoba's quarters, but she promised to visit every day.

Now that I felt comfortable that Julie would be fine, I could get back to focusing on the most important topic for me. Picking the perfect birthday gift for Sylphy.