Chapter 258: One Hundred and Ninety-One: The Name of the Person (Part One)
Speaking of which, although Jessica was the oldest among the girls, she was far from being ready to become the mother of three children. The parents of these three children had chosen to sell them in order to ensure their survival. That’s why they chose Jessica, who might not seem reliable upon first glance, but who obviously possessed a kind heart—selling to a kind-hearted young lady like her was infinitely better than to those brutish-looking fellows.
At least, being a servant was far better than becoming a pickpocket.
And so, in the following days, the wolf girl played the role of both mother and father—the oldest of the three children, Bill, was seven years old, the eldest of the siblings. The middle child, Jack, was five and was the one Malin had lifted up previously. Their little sister, Rose, was only four years old, still at the stage of a cub.
Jessica took care of them with all her heart, which provided some consolation to Malin—if Jessica had only saved the children out of a moment’s compassion and ended up abandoning them because she found it tiring and was too busy, Malin would definitely have kicked her off the train.
What reassured Malin more was that the wolf girl hadn’t uttered a single complaint. Malin had been fully prepared for some grumbling from her, something he could tolerate and accept. After all, an eighteen-year-old girl was still partly a child, and although Jessica had siblings, Malin really respected the fact that she could take care of three little children without a single complaint.
This was because Malin had taken care of children himself. When he was older at the orphanage, he had also learned to care for the little ones when the aunts were too busy to manage on their own.
Therefore, when the train reached the city of Lelieni, Malin called for Jessica and the three children, took them into the city for a stroll, and bought new clothes for the kids—things were getting hotter as they moved further away from Carterburg. If they didn’t prepare some clothes for the children to change into, their body odor would soon overwhelm the entire train compartment, including both permanent residents and visiting guests.
As for bathing water, that was no problem, Malin himself was a caster. With a few spell formations for creating water each day, he could ensure an endless supply of bathing water for everyone.