CH 22

As Astein spoke up, four men appeared from somewhere in the alley.

“Hahaha. What kind of fish did we catch today? I think we made a fortune today.”

Their grumpy appearance didn’t seem to be a simple passer-by.

“Phweee—”

The man who whistled with his thumb and index finger giggled as he scanned Astein’s appearance.

“But what kind of boy’s face looks so smooth? Wow, I feel excited for some reason.”

“Where, where? Let me take a closer look. Hoo~ It’s no joke!”

A somewhat big man put his face in front of Astein’s nose and grinned.

“Haha, better than that girl I saw during the day—”

It was that moment. The man who was talking suddenly became like a puppet whose thread had been cut.

Thud. The eyes of the three men, who had been grinning, turned to the same place. Their faces, which confirmed what had happened to their fellow, instantly filled with astonishment. Looking at the unrealistic reality, the three men stepped back, swearing at the same time.

“Shit.”

“What the hell.”

“M-Monster.”

Astein, who wiped the blood from his cheek, frowned. The three men, terrified by his  behavior, suddenly came to their senses.

“This, this, this crazy bastard!”

“This brat, I’m gonna kill you right now!”

Was it because they had more people? The three men rushed towards Astein at the same time as if to deny their momentary fear. Astein, who looked at them with a cold gaze, raised one hand and drew it horizontally as if he was annoyed.

Swish. It became the last scene they could see in just a blink’s eye.

Astein recited in a low voice, staring boredly at those who had lost their breath. “So, why are you rolling your dirty eyes carelessly? If you had taken good care of it, you wouldn’t have died like this.”

His eerie eyes shimmered with a strange light.

Those people were the ones who had been hovering around Waieos’s mansion for the past few days with an evil look. Those who look like trash.

Astein then shot a sharp glance at Soda snooping under his feet.

“Didn’t you say you cleaned up everything around here?”

-I’m sorry.

Soda held Astein’s trouser leg with its front paws. But Astein only pushed Soda away.

“I let you go freely, but you came back as a loose cat.”

-What do you mean! This is ridiculous nonsense! You don’t know how bloody the efforts I made!

“Don’t make excuses. Allowing you two years free meant you fulfilling your responsibilities.”

-You’re kidding, right?

“I’ll give you a second to think.”

Astein nudged Soda’s side and flicked his fingers lightly. Then, blue flames rose from his fingertips. When the wind blew up, the blue flames landed on top of the corpses.

At that moment. Fwoosh. The blue flames devoured them.

“…!”

Soda, who had been peeking in from a distance, grabbed its stomach and spat out swear words.

-T-This crazy Lord!

It was clear that if it didn’t work properly in the future, he would soon look like them.

* * *

The next morning, Elusiana and the others rode on a public carriage and headed to the ‘Angel’s house.’

Angel’s house was an orphanage founded by Simon to commemorate Elusiana’s recovery from dying 10 years ago. From then on, Elusiana, Simon, and Astein would visit that place every weekend and spend time with the children. However, Elusiana had been busy lately, so it had been a month since the last time she went there.

Are the children doing well? It was when Elusiana, impatient with useless thoughts, opened the carriage window quietly. Just in time, the carriage stopped, and the coachman tapped on the outer wall of the carriage.

“We’re here, Customer.”

The three people got off the wagon and stood in front of the main gate of the Angel’s house. A relatively clean and tidy two-story building on the outskirts. At the time of the establishment of the orphanage, Simon’s motivation was sky-high, so his support was overflowing to the point of being excessive.

The purchase of the land alone was unnecessarily costly. But that wasn’t all. Basic education to read and write, food, clothes, and even sleeping places were provided. On top of that, they were allowed to learn the basic etiquette and skills that only a noble family could afford. Thanks to that, most of the children raised in the Angel’s house were able to get good jobs and live a satisfying life.

However, with the fall of the family, it wasn’t easy to maintain such support. Nevertheless, Elusiana couldn’t give up easily because she also grew up in an orphanage.

The place where dozens of children could learn. In modern times, that place was called a ‘school.’ However, human rights were poor here. From that point of view, Angel’s house could be said to be the children’s only hope. That was why she didn’t want to take that hope, the only escape route, from those bright children.

“It’s been… a long time.”

“Hehe, it’s only a month.”

“The children must have grown up a lot, right?”

“Don’t be so surprised, Lusi. When you were young, you grew up this fast too. Now, let’s hurry inside. The children must be waiting for you.”

Simon pushed the well-greased iron gate. Creak. Even though it wasn’t a loud sound, the eyes of the children playing in the open space were all directed to the same place.

Simon then stepped inside Angel’s house, followed by Elusiana and Astein. There was an awkward short silence. Just then, a very small child shouted with a big smile.

“Sister!”

Starting with it, the children came running screaming towards Elusiana’s party.

“Sister Lusi!”

“Wow— It’s Viscount!”

“Viscount! Please play with me!”

Elusiana and Simon were surrounded by children in an instant. They lost their minds because the children screamed so much that it hurt their ears. Even so, Elusiana and Simon’s faces were filled with big smiles.

“Guys, don’t push. You will get hurt.”

Astein took a couple of steps back and quietly watched. Elusiana’s gaze briefly turned to Astein. But when the child grabbed her arm and shook it, her attention turned back to the child. She squatted down to match their eye level and said, “Maikel, have you been eating well?”

Elusiana laughed as she ruffled the boy’s curly hair. Five-year-old Maikel smiled broadly and shouted vigorously as if her touch was pleasant. “Yes! Sister! I eat well every day.”

“Good boy, Maikel. No wonder, I think you grew a little taller.”

“Really?”

“Yes, indeed. I think you’re this much bigger than before.”

“Hehe.”

Mikael, whose cheeks were flushed, smiled cutely. Then the girl next to him suddenly showed her face.

“Sister, Sister, what about me?”

“Jessica has become pretty too. You were so pretty that I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Humph— What was that?”

Even though her mouth was pouting, Jesicca quickly smiled as if she didn’t hate being told that she had become pretty.

“I missed you, Sister.”

“Sister, me too.”

“Me too. I missed you a lot.”

Elusiana hugged Maikel and Jessica tightly. The two children also stretched out their cute arms and hugged Elusiana. Starting with that, the children who were waiting once again screamed “Wooow—” and hugged Elusiana.

Astein, watching the scene from the top of the tree, but suddenly looked away. After a while, he quietly disappeared into the building.

* * *

Pour.

Angela, the director of Angel’s house, poured the hot tea into a white teacup and put it down in front of the plump man.

“This is all I have to offer you, Sir Pablo.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to be treated.”

The man who said it politely raised the teacup and smelled it. Tsk, it’s the lowest among the lower classes. In addition, it looked cloudy and had a musty smell.

Pablo put down the teacup, which made him feel sick just by looking at it. Then he looked at the dignified man sitting across from him. That person must be Viscount Waieos.

Pablo laughed low at Simon, who had just entered the parlor. As the rumor has it, he had a ‘pushover’ look, as if he would give out anything Pablo asked for. I feel it’s a waste to fully prepare myself.

Pablo had come here in the name of sponsoring the Angel’s house. Of course, his real purpose was Elusiana, the only daughter of Viscount Waieos.

Before, he didn’t know that the Viscount Waieos family had declined. Now, he thought their family might end up sitting on the street sooner or later. Although his own status was a commoner, the Taak Merchant was a huge merchant recognized even in the Empire.

I’m going to be a nobleman this time. If he married Elusiana and succeeded to the title, he could naturally have the status of noble. But even if that didn’t happen, there wouldn’t be a big difference between the two because his child would be born as a noble. Either way, it’s not bad.

Angela, who had no way of knowing Pablo’s dark intentions, smiled softly.