It was raining heavily, accompanied by thunder, as the sound of a baby crying could be heard from a horse stable. A strong, muscular man opened the stable door and was shocked to find a tiny baby wrapped in a cloth.
His strong, rough, and scarred hands reached for the baby, gently and carefully embracing him.
"Oh my, whose baby is this?" the man whispered, his eyes filled with emotion, cradling the baby in his arms, a smile appearing on his lips unconsciously.
The man never imagined that that night, a most precious gift would come to him. He had only intended to check on his horse, as it was raining and storming outside.
The man's footsteps quickly returned home, calling out to his wife in a cheerful and joyful voice.
"Honey! Honey, look..."
A red-haired woman approached with a sleepy expression, unaware of the thing in her husband's hand.
"What's wrong, honey? Why are you calling me so loudly?" his wife asked, staring at her husband's now smiling face.
But a second later, a look of disbelief appeared on the woman's face. With slow steps and her eyes locked on the bundle of cloth in her husband's arms, she unconsciously covered her open mouth.
"Honey... This..." he said in a nervous voice as his fingers touched the cloth wrapped around the baby.
"Yes, this is our child..."
A single tear fell down the woman's face, she sobbed but a small smile appeared on her lips.
"Our child..." whispered the husband and wife full of happiness.
They are a married couple who have been married for a long time, but have not yet had children. They really hoped for the presence of a little one in their family, and now a miracle came to them, a baby who was deliberately abandoned in the stable of his little family's horse.
Regardless of their origins, the husband and wife love their child very much.
**
Six years have passed....
A small boy with black hair and blue eyes sat huddled, protecting his head as small stones were thrown at him.
"He's a cursed child!" exclaimed one of the children, the one throwing the stones.
"My mother said black hair brings bad luck!" chimed in another.
"Uncle Abe adopted the devil's child!"
The small, black-haired boy remained silent, unmoving, even as a rotten egg hit his head.
It's no secret that black hair carries a negative stigma among the people of the Elpasha Empire. This stems from a past succession war between the second-generation crown prince and the youngest prince.
At that time, the crown prince, possessing only a title and no support, was in danger of being ousted from the throne. Fully aware of his ambition, he offered a deal to the demons.
That deal led to a racial war that devastated the continent.
Demons, characterized by their black hair and red eyes, were hated for being the center of chaos. However, since the racial war ended, the demons seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.
But now, a small child with these characteristics had appeared. Naturally, this drew much hatred, despite his mere age of six.
The child stood up and ran, his tiny footsteps taking him to a small stream in the forest.
"I have to clean this before mom and dad see..." the little boy whispered, dipping his toes in.
[Huh, if you wash your body like that, you'll catch a cold... come here, let me help you!]
The little boy looked up into the empty air. It might have looked that way to anyone else. But in truth, the little boy could see something that not just anyone could. The presence of a spirit...
"Thank you, Undine!" he exclaimed as the cool, refreshing sensation of the water touched his skin. Instantly, the smell of rotten egg liquid disappeared, and his hair was clean again, even looking a little shiny.
Undine, water spirit.
[Anything for you, my beloved Lyon!]
***