Chapter Text
Julius was tired. After a long day of completing duties, getting yelled at by Marx for skipping out on some documents, and listening to the king’s temper tantrum, he was done for the day. He retreated to a private cottage he had in the Forsaken Realm without telling Marx. He would kill him for this later but Julius just wanted some time to himself.
It was a chilly night and Julius had the fire going as he sat on his recliner and wrote down in his journal the cool magic he saw earlier in the day. Just as he was about to finish, he heard what sounded like a baby crying.
Now, he has heard rumors that this is how the lure young women out of their homes to kidnap them. But he was no young woman so whoever was planning to kidnap him was going to have the surprise of their life when they saw the new Wizard King step out of the cottage. Julius set his journal on the coffee table and walked towards the door, taking a moment to read the area only to find out the only mana signature was that of the babe that was placed in front of the door.
Feeling safe, Julius opened the door and saw a cardboard box set in the middle of his step. The cries of the baby came from the cardboard box! Julius flipped the flaps open in haste, seeing the baby wrapped in blankets cry, tears streaming down their little face. The first thing Julius noted was the scar that covered half of the babe’s face. He was shocked at this because it looked like a curse mark and if it was, why curse a baby? He would be shocked by the baby’s shockingly white hair but the scar really took his attention away.
The cold wind that can cut through skin hit Julius’ face, causing him to shiver. No doubt the baby in front of him was cold as well. He grabbed the box with care and brought the baby inside, setting the box on his bed.
The inside of the cardboard box was plain. It didn’t even have a cushion of some sort to lay the baby on. Julius pitied the baby and wondered why the baby’s parents abandoned him. But he guessed it had something to do with the scar. The baby continued to cry, their little hands reaching out to Julius as if begging to be held. Julius hesitantly reached out to the baby, gasping lightly when he felt their cold hands. He looked around the open room for a blanket, remembering the location of one on the couch. Julius went to quickly grab it and did his best to wrap the baby around the blanket, making sure to tuck their arms in. Then he carefully picked the baby up, aware that he would have to hold onto his head since the baby looked so young.
Julius settled the baby into his arms and hoped some of his body heat would warm up the baby. The baby still cried and Julius was desperate to stop the baby from crying. He began to rock the baby, easing their woes. His gaze went to the box briefly where he saw a folded note. Curious about it, he reached for it and opened it with one hand. To his surprise, there was neat handwriting on it with information on the baby.
His name is William Vangeance. He was born on December 24th and he’s only two months old. He was born with that cursed scar and he has World Tree Magic. Please take care of him. I’m afraid under my care, he would have died.
The note went into more detail about the baby about how he was the illegitimate son of a noble. No doubt that it was the mother that left him on the steps. Julius looked down at the baby boy. He was still crying.
“So your name is William Vangeance and you are only two months old? My, you’re very young and you have already lived a hard life,” Julius said. He tried to sound like he normally did when he talked to his Knights but he couldn’t help but let slip a bit of baby talk as he talked to William. Julius walked over to where the fireplace was in hopes that it would warm William up.
William’s cries were soothed after a minute of being in Julius’s arms. Julius was cautious to wipe the baby’s cheeks away, wondering if he should have washed his hands before he did that. William began to move a little bit, almost as if he was getting comfortable in his arms before he opened his eyes.
Julius almost wanted to gasp when he saw just how bright his eyes were. They were purple like his but William’s purple was more vibrant than his. And William had eyelashes. Yes, Julius did too but William’s eyelashes were plentiful and long. And while William a head full of white hair, his hairline made an M shape and he had no eyebrows. Julius wondered if he’d grow more hair or what.
“You’re probably wondering who I am,” Julius began to talk to him. He couldn’t help it. William just stared at him almost as if he was asking himself who Julius was. “I’m Julius Novachrono. The new Wizard King. It seems like your mother was desperate to keep you safe…”
It occurred to Julius that although the note asked him to take care of William, he had no idea how to do that. Hell, he could barely take care of himself. What do babies eat? He knew most breastfed them and well, he had no breast to feed the little one. His nipples were utterly useless. And what about a place to sleep? Where do babies sleep? What about going to the bathroom? William was still too young to potty train, right? What do babies do !?
Julius knew it wasn’t mama William’s intention to send her son to death, but that’s exactly what she did when she left him in his care.
I could call Marx and ask him what to do…
As much as Julius didn’t want to hear him blast his ear off, he knew he had to call. This was out of his hands. Julius tried to remember where he put his communicator but then he remembered it was in his pocket. On the side where he was holding William. At first, Julius tried to switch William to his other arm but he was scared to hurt him so he decided not to do that. Instead, Julius twisted his torso around and with his free hand, he reached for the pocket and fished out the communicator. When he turned back straight, he looked down at William to see that he had his fingers in his mouth, eyes closed.
“Now how did you do that? I swear I put your hands inside the blanket,” Julius told him. He set down the communicator on the table and pulled William’s hand out of his mouth but that only caused him to cry. “Ah! Okay, okay, you want your hand in there,” Julius said as he returned William’s hand to his toothless mouth.
Julius called Marx and patiently waited for the small man to answer.
“Julius you’re in trouble!” Marx exclaimed.
On second thought, he should have just called Owen.
“Hiya, Marx! How has it been,” Julius sheepishly smiled, wondering if Marx noticed the baby he was holding.
“How’s it been? How’s it been !? Where are you Lord Julius,” Marx exclaimed.
There was a movement from William and it caused Julius to look down to see he was upset. “Ah, Marx… can we talk quietly,” Julius asked. “I need your help.”
“Oh? With what,” Marx asked though he was still irritated.
“You haven’t noticed the bundle of joy I have in my arms,” Julius asked. He was careful to lift William up in Marx’s view but when he did, he saw the color in Marx’s face disappear. His eyes widened at the sight of baby William.
“Y-you have a love child,” Marx choked out.
Julius couldn’t help but laugh. He brought William close to his chest. “No. This little one was dropped on my doorstep,” Julius said. “His mother abandoned him…” he said a little too quietly that he wondered if Marx heard it.
“Oh… do you need me to put the baby in an orphanage,” Marx asked.
Julius wanted to say yes. He was unfit to be William’s parent and provide the love and care needed to raise him. However, part of him told him that there was no way that William would receive the love and care needed to raise a child at an orphanage. Let alone with his cursed mark that covered half of his face. Julius was torn.
“I… need some advice on how to take care of a baby,” Julius said. “You see, I don’t have the slightest idea what babies do,” he chuckled nervously.
Marx looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. The small man took a deep breath before he replied to Julius.
“That is something Owen can answer,” Marx said. “So… are you going to keep the baby? You’re a busy man, you know, and you can barely take care of yourself or these documents.”
“I’ll work something out,” Julius said.
Marx sighed, knowing there was no changing his mind. “Give me a moment to contact Owen,” Marx said as he readied the communication spell and got ahold of Owen. When he did, he connected the lines together.
“Ah, Julius, what can I do for you,” Owen asked.
“Give me some tips on how to take care of a baby,” Julius said, motioning William up.
Owen fell from his seat from pure shock. Julius couldn’t help but sheepishly laugh again at the commotion, especially when Marx gave Owen the rundown of what he had told him earlier. Owen nodded his head, thinking deeply of Julius’s decision to keep William.
“How old is the baby,” Owen asked.
“William is two months old,” Julius stated proudly.
“William? So he has a name,” Owen murmured. “Two months is considered a newborn as well.” Owen paused as he did something off-camera. “I would like to check how he is. Just to make sure the newborn doesn’t need anything,” he began to say as he looked at something. “Marx, how’s his schedule for tomorrow?”
“Well if Lord Julius doesn’t play hooky, he has a free period after lunch,” Marx said. “12:30-1:30.”
“If it’s alright with your Julius, I’ll need you to stop by my office to check up on the lad,” Owen said. “At 12:30.” Owen looked back at the camera, his gaze traveling the bundle of blankets that were wrapped around William. “You’re going to need to do some shopping,” he said.
“Hmm?” Julius asked, tilting his head to the side in question.
“You need to buy diapers, wipes, baby washtub, shampoo, baby formula, clothing for the child, toys, a crib, blankets, stuffed animals, and anything you think may benefit in raising William,” Owen said. “Ointments too. Babies tend to get diaper rashes at this age.”
Julius did not think far into his decision to keep William but he felt like he was now responsible for him. He looked down at William who was fast asleep.
“And he probably needs them now too, huh,” Marx said. “Where are you, Lord Julius? In your private cottage?”
“Yes.”
“Pack your bags. I’m sending Cob over so you can portal back to the capital. In the meantime, I’ll go buy the necessities for tonight,” Marx said.
He didn’t realize it, but Julius was glad to have trusted friends that had his back. No matter how radical or odd his decisions were.
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Cob had transported Julius to his room back in the castle. So here he was, sitting on his bed looking at William who was asleep. His head turned to one side and both of his hands were sprawled out to the side. Julius couldn’t help but adore him. There were so many rolls on his smooth arms that Julius had an urge to pinch them.
Julius sighed and laid down on the bed. What an eventful day, Julius thought to himself. He looked over at William again and couldn’t help but smile brightly at him. William had chubby cheeks that were a bit rosy and his eyelashes were noticeable through his scar. Julius tentatively reached out and with his index and middle finger, he gentle traces over William’s scar. He could feel the texture of his pocked skin. It was a different feeling than if he touched his lower cheeks. Julius couldn’t help but frown. He couldn’t understand why anyone would curse a child like this.
Julius quickly removed his hand when William began to move, whining a bit before sighing and going still. Julius held his breath and looked at William’s round stomach when he couldn’t hear him breathe but then suddenly, William took a deep breath and exhaled, continuing his regular breathing patterns. “Phew,” Julius said, putting his hand over his heart. For a moment he thought William had stopped breathing.
Julius closed his eyes, feeling a bit tired. He never realized he fell asleep with William on the bed until he heard a knock on the door. He was startled awake whereas William was still asleep. He rubbed his eyes and crawled out of bed to open the door. There, he saw Marx along with two Castle Knights who were carrying what seemed like a crib. Marx was carrying a lot of bags and he quickly handed them to Julius.
“I bought baby formula, bottles, a book on how to take care of a baby, diapers, wipes, bedding for the crib, a stuffed animal, a nightlight, and some pj’s for the poor kid,” Marx said in one breath.
“Thank you,” Julius said.
Julius moved aside to let the two Castle Knights carry the crib into his room. They set it down against the wall closest to his bed and put the bedding before saluting to Julius and leaving the room. Marx set the nightlight near the crib and put the stuffed animal on the desk so Julius could give it to William later. He took off the tags on the pajamas and handed them over to Julius.
“They should fit them. Baby sizes go by their age oddly enough,” Marx said.
Julius took it from Marx and unfolded it so he could take a look. They were plain. Nothing special. Julius was sure that Marx grabbed it because it was the cheapest, probably doubting Julius was going to keep the baby. Julius eyed the size and looked over at William.
“I have a feeling it’s a bit big for him,” Julius commented. “He may have rolls but William is a tiny fella.”
“He’ll grow into it,” Marx said. “I blocked out two hours in the afternoon in case you need to buy more things for the baby. Speaking of which, is that him on the bed?”
“Yes! He’s fast asleep,” Julius said.
Though Marx was a bit hesitant on Julius’s decision to adopt the baby, he was curious to see who the baby was. He walked up to William and looked down at him. He gasped and looked up at Julius with concern. “We must get Owen here!” Marx exclaimed.
“Easy there, Marx. The letter said William was born with it. It’s a curse mark,” he informed him.
“A curse mark? Why would someone curse a baby,” Marx asked. He couldn’t help but feel pity for him.
“I’m not sure,” Julius said. “I suspect it has to do with the fact that he’s an illegitimate child of a nobleman.”
“And you’re going to keep him,” Marx questioned.
“I fear if I put him in an orphanage, he might be treated badly,” Julius said. He set the pajamas down and carefully pulled William to his side, taking off the blanket over him to reveal a white short-sleeved onesie that was thin. No wonder he cried when he was left outside. Julius inspected the outfit and tried to find a way to take it off.
“There are buttons in between his legs,” Marx pointed it out. “Easy access when you need to change diapers.”
“Thank you, Marx,” Julius smiled, lifting William’s legs to unbutton his onesie. He should have guessed it. After all William’s new set of pajamas had the buttons there as well. It wasn’t until then that he caught a whiff of a bad smell that almost made his eyes tear up. He coughed and looked up to prevent his tears from falling.
Marx raised an eyebrow, seeing how red Julius had turned. “Is everything alright,” Marx asked.
“I just got hit with a horrible smell,” Julius said. “I-is it coming from William!?”
Marx walked over and caught a whiff of the smell too. He backed away and pinched his nose so he wouldn’t smell. “He needs to be changed,” Marx said.
“I am changing him,” Julius exclaimed.
“Diapers! He needs to be changed from his diapers sir!” Marx exclaimed. “Babies aren’t potty trained!”
“Oh!” Julius exclaimed. He looked down at William’s diaper as he woke up. William moved his chubby legs, kicking Julius with a force he never knew babies had. Julius wheezed, the breath taken out of him when William kicked his stomach. It was at this moment that Julius reflected on his karma.
Marx ripped open the box of diapers and grabbed the wipes, placing them on the bed next to William so Julius could change him. He backed away, avoiding the horrendous smell that came from such a tiny creature. “Change him,” Marx exclaimed.
“Give me a moment! I’m new at this,” Julius said. He turned his attention to William and began to analyze the diaper. He found pull up sticky tabs that looked like they kept the diaper in place. He pulled on them, seeing the diaper come undone but a strong unpleasant smell hit his face again. Julius’s eyes began to tear up at the smell and the view wasn’t great either. William began to cry and Julius and Marx began to panic.
“Sir, just change him quickly,” Marx cried out.
“But he’s crying, Marx!” Julius exclaimed.
“Probably because he knows under your care he will die,” Marx said. “Open the wipes, sir, and clean him for mana’s sake!”
Julius pulled the soiled diaper from William and cleaned him up with haste, using four wipes to do so. Then he grabbed the new one, tears still formed in his eyes but at least the smell was now gone. He looked at it and looked at William who had turned red from crying.
“M-Marx how do I open this,” Julius asked.
“Sir, I don’t know,” he said. “I wish we had Owen here…”
Julius felt his heart ache at hearing William cry but the anxiety was building up inside of him and he tried to figure out the diaper. He swore the longer he took, the louder William’s cries were. “Aha!” Julius found out. He opened it but realized something: he didn’t know which was the front and which is the back. “Uhhh, Marx… which part is the front,” Julius sheepishly asked.
Marx was going to pray for that kid’s safety tonight.
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Julius had a dream that he was given a baby. The baby had a scar that covered half of his face with shockingly white hair. He thought it was a dream. Julius was startled awake to the sound of William’s cries. His room was still dark with the exception of the nightlight that illuminated softly where William’s crib was. Julius couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been sleeping for. Surely it must be awhile but his eyes burned as if he barely slept at all. Julius rubbed the sleep away from his eyes, seeing the book he was reading (the one Marx bought him to increase William's survivability) sprawled on his bed.
He could see William's tiny hands reach out up to the sky through the slats of the crib. Julius hurried over and peered down to see William's red and wet face. He carefully picked William up and rocked him but that didn't help.
"Shhh, I'm here, William," Julius cooed at him but no matter how much he tried to comfort him, William continued to cry. William's hands would reach out and Julius thought this meant that he wanted to be held but he learned that wasn't the case. "It's okay, William," he said.
Julius put his hand in William's grasp but William grabbed his index finger and put it in his mouth, sucking on it. That's when it occurred to Julius that William was probably hungry!
With haste, Julius looked around the room for the bottles and the formula, remembering the passage from the book. He took his finger from William's grasp, causing him to cry and set him back down on the crib. As soon as he found the baby bottles, he ripped the package open and washed them before making the formula, heating it up and checking the temperature before heading over to William to pick him up and feed him. William gave a little whine before going silent. The only sound he made was the little sounds of his breath after a moment of sucking and swallowing.
Julius sighed and went to go sit on his bed. That was some stress. He wasn't too fond of the crying but he always got a little nervous when William would turn red the longer he cried. Julius looked down at William and gave a warm smile as he stared at him. William's cheeks were so cute he just wanted to pinch them. He raised William up a bit so that when he leaned down, he could easily press a kiss on his forehead. It was the first kiss Julius gave to William, his new son.
Oh he felt giggly when he thought of that. William was his son now. He may not be of flesh and blood, but he was his. If someone had told him last week that he would become a father, Julius would have laughed.
Formula was spilling on the corner of William's mouth, indicating that he was done eating. Julius took the bottle and set it down on his nightstand. He looked for a washcloth to wipe away the milk that dribbled down William's cheeks. In hindsight, Julius should have tucked a washcloth underneath William's chin before feeding him. Julius made a mental note for the next time he fed him as he wiped away the residue from William's cheeks and neck.
There's something else that I need to do after I feed him… what was it again? Julius tried hard to remember. He felt like it was important. He searched for the book again and flipped its pages until he found the passage on feeding a baby. Julius skimmed through it, mentally check-marking what he had done, only to stumble over the fact that he did not 'burp' William, which was the topic of the next passage.
Julius carefully read what the book said, mimicking the graph as he carefully positioned William up against his chest. He began to lightly hit William's back until he heard the loudest burp he had ever heard. Julius was surprised by the mighty force William used to burp that it made him chuckle.
"You're such a small thing, but your burp is the mightiest of them all," Julius laughed. He waited a couple of more minutes after the big burp to see if he would burp more. When nothing came out, Julius set William down on the crib, seeing he was already fast asleep and crawled back into bed.
Little did he know that William would demand to be fed every 2-3 hours.
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Julius yawned as he fed William his breakfast. He hadn't even had time to change into his clothes when he heard someone knock on his door. He didn't need to read the person's mana to know who it was.
"Come in, Marx," Julius called out.
Marx came in and Julius couldn't help but wonder what time Marx slept to look so fresh this early in the morning. He could see the face of bewilderment when he saw him. "G-good morning, sir," Marx greeted. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"I tried to but William kept crying to be fed and I had to change his diaper again," Julius answered.
"I see. Babies wake up a lot throughout the night when they are this young," Marx said. "Well at least we'll take the kid to Owen so he can see him. Maybe he'll give you pointers on some things. In the meantime, you have work to do. I'll give you some time to get ready."
"Yes, Marx," Julius whined as Marx walked out of his room. He yawned again and did the same routine when William was done feeding. He gave a loud burp again which always surprised Julius. Where did William keep all that gas in such a tiny body? Julius marveled at what a tiny body is capable of.
He set William down on his bed, putting pillows around him so he could change into his outfit without worry that William could fall off. William simply stared up at the ceiling, kicking his legs slightly. Julius was quick to change and get ready, worried that being separated from William any longer could mean that William could get hurt. Not even on the days he overslept was he this quick.
Putting on his Wizard King robe, Julius grabbed the plain white onesie that William was wearing yesterday. He looked at it and saw it was too thin and in poor condition for his liking. He turned to look back at William, who was still kicking and moving his arms about. I need to buy clothes for the little man, Julius thought as he walked over to William. He undid William's pajamas which brought goosebumps to his smooth skin and for William to cry.
Julius couldn't help but wince a little but he was quick to undress William, leaving him in his diapers. Oh, I should probably change him!
If it's one thing that Julius dreaded other than doing paperwork, it was changing diapers. Groaning a bit, he went to get the wipes and a fresh diaper, mentally preparing himself for the disaster the lies ahead. He did the same routine as before only this time, he thought he was getting the hang of changing William's diapers.
"I know, I know. It's unpleasant to be naked," Julius said to William who was still crying. "If you cooperate, this will be over soon." Julius held his breath seeing if William would stop crying once he secured the new diaper in place, but he didn't. He sighed and grabbed the outfit for William and began to put it on. It was difficult as Julius didn't want to harm William as he pulled the onesie over his head.
But that was the easy part. The hardest part was getting William's arms through the short sleeves. Julius began to sweat. William was still crying, tears streaming down his eyes. Julius took a deep breath and gently grabbed William's left hand and did his best to put it through the sleeve. It was a struggle. William wouldn't stay still and he was surprisingly strong as he jerked his hand to free himself from Julius's grip.
After a bit of a power struggle, Julius was able to get William's arm through the sleeve and braced himself to do the same with the other arm. Once through, Julius pulled down one the onesie and began to button it up. William's cries slowly died down now that he was clothed. Julius leaned down a bit and dried off the stray tears from his cheeks.
"There. No more torture," Julius smiled down at William. William blinked, giving a shaky sigh as he finally calmed down. Julius wrapped William around in a blanket and picked him up, setting him in his arms. "Alright William, we're ready for the day," Julius expressed. William gave a small grunt and Julius smiled even wider at him. "Let's go meet up with our tiny ball of anxiety," he laughed.
Julius, carrying William in his arms, left his room and headed to his office. He hummed happily for William who was wide awake. Every couple of seconds, William would hum with him. "You're a talkative one, aren't you," Julius said. As if he were talking back to him, William hummed back happily.
He walked out of his residential building and headed to the Magic Knight headquarters where his office was located. He passed a couple of Castle Knights who gave him a questioning look when they saw William in his arms but Julius didn’t think much of it. He couldn’t. He was too happy to notice.
When he got to his office, Marx was standing to the side, looking through some paperwork in his arms. Marx looked up and eyed William. “Do you want me to find a sitter,” Marx asked once he realized there was no one to take care of the baby if Julius left William in his room.
“There’s no need,” Julius smiled. “I kind of want to keep him close to me.”
He would very much survive for a long time if he had a sitter, Marx thought to himself. He sighed and looked around the cramped office that had a multitude of bookshelves and a couple of chairs. “Well if you want to keep him in here with you, we should probably get a crib in here,” Marx began to say. “But are you sure you want him in here? Won’t he distract you?”
“Well if William cries I’m going to have to attend to his needs,” Julius answered.
So yes, Marx groaned to himself. If finding cool magic is the leading cause of his absence, a baby will surely divert his attention away from his paperwork. “I’ll have one of the Knights fetch for another crib,” Marx said. “Speaking of the baby, he has an appointment at 12:30 with Owen, remember?”
“Of course, how can I forget,” Julius said, proud for once recalling an important appointment in his schedule. William grunted, almost as if he was agreeing with himself. Julius couldn’t help but smile wider at him. “Even William remembers,” he gleamed.
“Well hold onto him while I go give a Knight the order,” Marx said. “You’ll probably need more bottles and formula to keep it in here for him…” Marx hummed to himself as he looked around the room, making a mental list of all the things Julius would need to keep William in here. “Maybe four Knights should get this stuff,” he murmured to himself before turning his attention towards Julius. “If you can, work on reading and signing paperwork I left on your desk,” Marx ordered. “I’ll be back, hopefully before your appointment with Owen.”
“I’ll get them done,” Julius said.
“No running off to find cool magic,” Marx warned. He saluted and left the office, on a mission to find four unfortunate souls for some baby shopping.
Julius looked down at William who was wide awake, staring at the decorated ceiling. His purple eyes were vibrant as if discovering the wonders of ceilings. “I don’t think I’d be able to find cool magic for a while,” Julius said. “At least, not until you’re a bit older. Maybe I can carry you in a baby carrier, then we can leave mean old Marx behind and find cool magic together. What do you say, William?”
William kicked, humming almost as if he was excited at the promise of adventure. Julius couldn’t help but bring William up a bit so he could kiss his forehead. It caused William to kick and flap his arms around more, his mouth forming an open, wide smile before letting out a little scream.
“Oh, you like that, huh,” Julius laughed, finding William’s joy contagious. He leaned in again and pressed more kisses against his scar, causing more joy to William who squirmed at the affection, letting out more little screams.
Oh how his heart swelled just hearing the happy noises William made and when Julius saw his gummy smile, he wanted to melt. Julius was feeling giggly on the inside, like a child who opened his gift on Christmas morning. Though a curse scar covered half of William’s face, Julius found him to be the most adorable baby in Clover Kingdom and possibly throughout the continent.
Julius, with a couple of giggles escaping his lips, made his way to his chair and sat down. “Let’s see if I can do paperwork, though I never promised Marx I’ll get it done,” Julius snickered as he grabbed the first sheet. When he saw William looking at him, he had to put the paper down just so he could play with him.
Sorry Marx, but it’s not getting done.