Miss Witch's Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 226: Orphanage

"Headmaster, I'm back to see you."

Seraphina knocked on the orphanage's gate. It was very dim inside, with only a faint light in a small room, and that light kept flickering.

"I'm here..."

An old woman's voice came from inside the yard. As she opened the door, she even reached out and switched off the light.

The old woman opened the gate and saw Seraphina, and she also saw Loren standing beside her.

"Sorry, I didn't know Your Honor was visiting, I couldn't welcome you properly. May I ask what brings you here?"

The moment she saw Loren, the old woman made a move to kneel, but Loren stopped her in time.

"No need, skip the formalities."

"Headmaster, I'm Seraphina. I used to be a child of this orphanage. This is my master, Loren."

Seraphina introduced Loren to the headmaster, her tone full of pride, as if returning home in triumph.

"Loren? Master Mentor?"

The headmaster froze when she heard the name. It was so dark here that at first she didn't recognize Loren. She only saw Seraphina and instinctively thought that someone who could have Seraphina as a maid must be a big figure, but she never expected someone this significant.

Then the headmaster felt her legs go weak. Someone this important—she figured she could only read about them in newspapers; in her lifetime, they shouldn't intersect with people like her.

"Why would you come to this broken place..."

Suddenly the headmaster thought of something and grew emotional:

"Could it be that you want to adopt a child?"

But she quickly realized that was impossible and talked herself down:

"If you wanted to adopt a child, the king would probably give you the princess. You couldn't possibly favor a child from this orphanage..."

At that moment, Anna began whispering to the others:

"I think what Seraphina said before was true. She really treats herself as Master Mentor's possession, so she won't feel inferior. Being raised that way from childhood, it's understandable she thinks like that."

Laila and Naclis also recalled what Seraphina had said on the train, and suddenly felt a little sympathy for her.

Loren could of course sense all of this too, but he found nothing wrong with it.

In a sense, devotees of the God of Pain do live happily. No matter how miserable their lives are, as long as they do not feel pain, that is happiness. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The children here were the same. Without hope, there was no disappointment; they never asked for much, and so they could be satisfied with what they had.

They simply couldn't endure much; surviving in the cracks was already hard. Living was everything.

"I came back with Seraphina, and I want to ask you about something."

"Yes, Headmaster, do you remember that half-vampire sister who used to come tell stories at the orphanage? My master has some business with her."

"Do you mean Lilith? People like us at the bottom are mostly ignored. Only Miss Lilith comes by sometimes, and she brings a lot of fancy sweets. I sold those sweets, though, and exchanged them for normal food so the children could eat for a long time."

The headmaster thought for a moment, then gave a name.

"So her name is Lilith..."

"Where is Lilith now? I'll pay a hundred gold for information."

Loren produced a money pouch and showed it to the headmaster. It was full of gold coins, denominations the headmaster had never seen. With that kind of money, the orphanage children would have no more worries.

The headmaster's excitement was obvious, but she still didn't reach out.

"May I ask what you need Miss Lilith for?"

Lilith had helped the orphanage many times. If Loren intended harm, the headmaster would not reveal Lilith's whereabouts.

Lilith was a half-vampire and fared poorly in the Uridia Kingdom. Neither humans nor vampires treated half-vampires well, and many proud vampires considered them a shame.

Still, the headmaster felt Loren probably wouldn't harm Lilith; she only wanted confirmation.

"Miss Lilith knows many fairy tales. Master Mentor is interested in those, so he would like her to tell stories..."

"I see..."

"Lilith hasn't come for a long time. I'm not sure of her whereabouts. She's gluttonous and quite wealthy, often frequenting certain dessert shops. If you check those places, you might find her."

"Alright, the money is yours."

Loren tossed the pouch over. The headmaster flusteredly caught it, holding it as if it were not money but the children's future.

Having obtained the information and offered aid, Loren was about to leave when Seraphina suddenly spoke:

"Headmaster, have you forgotten me? I left the orphanage at twelve and went to the Gedlan Kingdom to make my way. I had lived here before that..."

The headmaster did not reply, which meant she had indeed forgotten Seraphina.

If she truly remembered Seraphina, she would not have been indifferent when Seraphina said her name, nor would she have questioned their motives.

"So she's twenty this year? Went to the Gedlan Kingdom eight years ago at twelve..."

Anna instantly worked out Seraphina's age. It was the prime of youth, and Anna couldn't understand why Seraphina had been reluctant to reveal her age—was she sulking with Naclis?

The headmaster remained silent and a little embarrassed.

"Where did the children go?"

To ease the awkwardness, Seraphina changed the subject. When she heard the answer, she did not feel much sadness; there were many children in the orphanage, and the headmaster was old—forgetting was understandable.

"They went out to the streets. The orphanage gets little light. Staying in the dark long-term causes psychological problems, so they only come back to eat."

"How does the orphanage usually sustain itself?"

Loren glanced around the yard. It was shabby but clean.

"I do some simple work, and some nobles donate small amounts for their reputations, but the money they spend on photos is more than what they donate."

"What about the children who have left here? Don't they donate?"

Anna asked. After all, this orphanage had raised many people.

"They can barely survive..."

Contrasting with the silence here, music from an electronic player on the main street drifted in. Cecelia's song sang out:

"Skyscraping spires,

"Long since rotten and changed,

"Under neon lights the streets cast seductive shadows,

"Corpses stacked with bones..."