40 Fate

Though he had given a similar account to Ryuuna, Linnaeus quickly noticed that Eliza was paying a lot more attention to what he was telling her. She seemed attentive and, at times, even empathetic to the experiences he had growing up. He wasn't really trying to earn her pity but, having someone just quietly listening got him to talk a lot more than he had intended...

Linnaeus started off his story in a solemn yet disinterested manner, stating in a dull tone, "Though I have bits and pieces of memories from an earlier period, the first cohesive memory I have is being hungry. I remembered crying out for my mother instinctually but, due to the nature of her work, my cries were answered, not with kindness, but cruelty. You see, my mother had been a harlot, someone who made a living by selling her body. She had been a beautiful Manalyte woman so it wasn't really her fault as, in the slums, most women do not have a choice in how they live..."

Without realizing it himself, Linnaeus' face had formed a deep frown but, rather than wait for Eliza's questions, he unhesitantly added, "My father had been a low-tier Enforcer for a gang called the Blue Ivy Noose. They were a group that specialized in trading slaves and running brothels in one of the middle districts of the slums. He had been assigned as my mother's keeper and, though I can't really say much about their relationship, he took good care of her after especially difficult clients...I'm can't say with certainty that there was any love between them but, as they lived together, they at least had some kind of bond..."

Linnaeus could remember his father much better than his mother, despite hating and fearing the former a great deal. This was because, as he explained to Eliza, "My first real memory is crying out, only for my own father to try and smother me with a blanket to keep quiet. I remember fearing for my life and desperately struggling only for him to repeat words like, "Be quiet you little rat" and "You're bothering the customers!" as he unhesitantly deprived me of oxygen..."

As he mentioned his father, Linnaeus' tone was largely emotionless and, rather than the focused gaze he normally had, his ruby-red eyes had dulled over slightly. Still, he intended to continue his story so, after shaking his head with a crooked smile on his face, he added, "After that, I learned not to cry. I kept as quiet as possible, regardless of how hungry, cold, or lonely I was. If I had known it was an option at the time, I might have just readily accepted my death...hahaha..."

Shaking his head once again, this time in self-ridicule, Linnaeus then adopted a more natural smile as he continued in a happier tone, "It was during these lonely times that the only truly good thing in my life appeared. One day, another infant was put into the same box-like crib that served as my bed and prison. This was my sister and, after only knowing loneliness and brief periods of comfort, she became my reason for living. Her warmth and presence gave meaning to my life so, no matter what happened to me, I decided I would do my best to protect her..."

During the earliest periods of Linnaeus' life, the memories that were most clear were the moments when he had been taking care of his sister. She was so tiny and frail but, despite being born into the same cruel world as him, she was a lively and cheerful baby. Her smile gave him strength and, much like how some children would become dependent on toy animals and dolls, his developing mind could not imagine life without her...

With his mood becoming melancholic once again, Linnaeus took a deep breath before releasing a sigh and saying, "Though she was only an infant, my sister had already been claimed by one of the cadres of the Blue Ivy Noose. She was born as an unnaturally beautiful girl and, after she reached adulthood, her fate was to become the personal sex slave of that middle-aged piece of shit. To make matters even worse, my parents were fully in support of the idea as it made their own lives a little easier to have the favor of a cadre. My mother was even..."

Just as he was about to mention his mother's attempts to educate Gwen, Linnaeus found himself at a loss for words as a cocktail of negative emotions surged forward. He managed to largely suppress them before ultimately deciding that it wasn't really pertinent information. With that in mind, he just skipped over it, stating in a deflecting tone, "When I was around six years old, my parents suddenly vanished into motes of bluish-white light. According to Rebecca, the kindly caretaker who had taken us into her Orphanage, they had been given the opportunity to enter the Tower. My sister cried a lot but, knowing what kind of future awaited us under the care of my parents, I believed that fate had been on our side..."

Linnaeus had very confliction emotions regarding his parents but, despite having been a little upset at their sudden appearance, he had been genuinely grateful to fall into Rebecca's care. She not only began training Gwen to be able to protect herself but, when time allowed, she also provided a basic education to help the boys survive as Street Urchins. Some might say that her treatment was unfair between the boys and girls but, in the slums, just being given free shelter was a boon most could only hope for. If not for her teachings, he wouldn't have been able to survive and, no matter what anyone else said, Linnaeus was grateful for the acceptance Rebecca had shown him after his first series of kills...

Since the years leading up to his tenth birthday blended together quite a bit, Linnaeus only gave a brief accounting of his daily life and the training he had underwent to survive his encounter against Skaadi, the Vulna woman. He talked about the daily beatings, his attempts to earn even a pittance in order to treat his sister, and how he would often go days, or even weeks, without a meal. All of these things were rather jarring to Eliza as, being born a daughter of the Evendoom house, she had been left wanting for very little in life.

The story got decidedly more interesting after he reached the point where he received his Blessing. It wasn't the most stable period in his life, and he was still haunted by the memories, but Linnaeus had a simple smile on his face as he recounted his journey westward before his inevitable return to the orphanage.

Linnaeus' journey wasn't all bad as, in between being hunted down and gathering information, there were some happy moments mixed in. He talked about some of the interesting sites he had seen but, what had left the deepest impact on Linnaeus were the times when he would help others walking the same path. Though he couldn't do much for them, Linnaeus tried to help out any Street Urchins he came across, so long as they did not seem to have been completely corrupted by the darkness of the slums.

It was his helping people that led to Linnaeus earning the [Charm] Skill as, knowing what kind of life they were forced to live, he had saved a fair number of young girls in his travels. Not everyone was patient enough to wait until a female Street Urchin matured into an adult, especially when it came to other Street Urchins.

When there was a girl in a group, she was almost always the experimental plaything of the boys in that same group. Some Enforcers even took great pleasure in goading the children to try and do terrible things to each other, baiting them with food and medicine as a means to pass the time. It wasn't even that uncommon for such acts to be carried out in broad daylight but, rather than do anything to interfere, some pedestrians would just stop to enjoy the show...

Though he could not save as many people as he'd like, Linnaeus couldn't ignore it when such acts were taking place right in front of him. It had gotten him into a lot of trouble at times but, as he had been on a warpath at the time, the vast majority of his kills were the result of him trying to protect other Street Urchins. As a result, some of the girls he had rescued wanted to follow him but, as he couldn't even protect himself, Linnaeus could only try to take them to a relatively safer area before having to leave them behind...

Eventually, Linnaeus' story reached the point where his sister obtained her Blessing and, as could be expected, Eliza was quite surprised. She even interrupted his story for the first time, asking, "You are the brother of the Saintess of the Southern Slums, Lady Finnian...?"

Since Saints and Saintesses were important existences that were few in number, Linnaeus wasn't too surprised that Eliza had heard of his sister. Still, it brought a smile to his face knowing that even the daughter of one of the Eight Heavenly Families showed genuine awe and surprise when mentioning Gwen.

What Linnaeus didn't expect was for Eliza to immediately follow his nod by saying, "There is no way that is true...it's impossible..."

At this point, Linnaeus realized there was a deeper meaning to Eliza's reaction, causing his mind to buzz with anxiety as he asked, "Do you know something about my sister? Please, tell me...!" Since it was much easier to imagine something terrible happening, Linnaeus was beginning to panic after seeing how Eliza was behaving.

With Linnaeus suddenly invading her personal space, Eliza instinctually brought her hands together without thinking about it. As a result, his body was suddenly pressed to the ground as a wispy purple field appeared beneath him. He could feel his bones creaking but, what made matters much worse, was the sensation that his blood vessels were bursting while his eyes felt like they were going to fall free from their sockets.

Almost immediately after activating her Blessing, Eliza separated her hands with a fluster, waving her hands from side to side as she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! You surprised me...!"

Linnaeus was in a lot of pain so, rather than respond, he just stared blankly at the notification asking if he wanted to expel Eliza from the Party and penalize her for attacking an ally. Part of him was very tempted to confirm it but, knowing he would likely die shortly thereafter, he managed to resist the urge. Instead, he blamed himself for getting riled up before dismissing the notification and focusing on recovery...

Seeing Linnaeus fall silent with a dull look in his eyes, Eliza began to feel extremely guilty. His story had actually affected her a great deal so, seeing him having to suffer in silence, she suddenly felt like all the terrible people he had talked about. Since the only times he smiled were when talking about his sister, she tightly clenched her fists before mustering up all of her courage...

Linnaeus noticed Eliza moving but, as he didn't feel any real threat coming from her, he continued to lay on the ground in silence. He would soon come to regret this as, moments later, Eliza was pulling his body into her embrace, an easy feat with her Strength. She squeezed him tightly but, rather than pain, Linnaeus felt an indescribable softness as her disproportionately large breasts pressed into his back. She also rested her forehead against the back of his head before whispering in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry..."

A lot was going through Linnaeus' mind when Eliza hugged him but, before he could find the words to say, his body had already moved to extricate himself from her embrace. He was breathing a little faster than normal as he backed away from her and quickly stated, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'm used to pain..."

Once again, Linnaeus quickly came to regret his words and actions as, after mentioning he was used to pain, Eliza's expression turned even more empathetic and concerned. At the same time, he heard a small ding in his head, followed by his [Charm] increasing in proficiency. This wasn't his intention at all so Linnaeus was beginning to grow a little flustered as he tried to deflect, asking, "Did you know something about my sister? If you do, please tell me. It has been more than three years since I heard anything about her..."

Eliza came back to her senses when she heard Linnaeus' words but, rather than recover completely, her expression turned apologetic as she explained, "I know your sister...she...she was in the same Party as me..."

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