Chapter 137
Chapter 137: Seeing Elle Again
***
Order City, northern district, Holy Street.
I hopped down from the carriage with a little jump, reached down to smooth out the slight wrinkles in my skirt, then lifted my head to look at the slightly rusty iron gate in front of me.
"Esteemed young miss, through here is the Cataloma Orphanage."
The coachman spoke from behind me. I turned and gave him a nod, then took out a silver coin and handed it over.
"Thank you for your generosity!"
Once the horned carriage had driven away, I walked slowly up to the iron gate.
From inside, I could faintly hear the sounds of children playing and messing around.
I hesitated for a moment, then raised my hand and knocked on the latch of the iron gate. After waiting a bit, there came a soft rustling from within. A hunched old man pulled the gate open just a crack, his deep-set eyes peering out at whoever was on the other side, and when he made out my face, he was clearly startled.
"Esteemed young miss... you— may I ask what brings you here?"
He spoke in a trembling, nervous voice, his hands clasped in front of him, fidgeting nonstop, as though he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.
Seeing that, I gave him a sweet smile.
"Grandpa, I'm here to find someone."
"F-find someone?" The old man looked a little flustered. "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for the director, Sister Theresa."
"Director Theresa... she's stepped out on some business, she's not in right now."
I blinked, slightly caught off guard. "She's out?"
"Yes... I'm truly sorry to trouble you, but may I be so bold as to ask your name, miss?"
The old man asked carefully, looking as though he was terrified that one wrong move might set me off and get him eaten alive.
So I did my best to put on a friendly smile. "My name is Peylo."
The old man's expression lit up with recognition. "Ah, you are Miss Peylo... Please, come right in!"
He opened the gate with some effort, bowing his head ingratiatingly to usher me through, his already small and hunched frame seeming to shrink down even further.
I looked at him, a little puzzled. "Grandpa, you know who I am?"
"No no, miss. Please don't call me grandpa, I'm just a humble old gatekeeper, and you're someone of great standing..." The old man waved his hands frantically. "Director Theresa specifically told me about you, that if you came by, I should bring you to her office first... she said she would be back shortly, so please wait just a moment."
"Oh, alright then."
Following behind the old man, I made my way into the Cataloma Orphanage.
The courtyard lawn was wide and open, with quite a few lush green trees standing tall throughout, along with some simple, worn-out recreational equipment that all looked rather beat-up. Children of all ages ran and jumped and played nearby, tossing curious glances my way from time to time.
I didn't spot Elle anywhere among them, so I couldn't help but ask: "Grandpa, do you know a girl named Elle?"
"Elle..." The old man thought for a moment. "Oh, I remember her. That well-behaved and lively little girl... always sensible and hardworking. At this hour, she's probably helping clean up the practice grounds?"
I tilted my head and thought about that for a second.
"Then, could you take me there first?"
"...You know her?" the old man asked.
I nodded. "Mm."
"Well then..." The old man hesitated briefly. "That works too, you'd just be sitting and waiting in the director's office anyway... right this way."
The practice grounds were to the left of Cataloma's main building. It wasn't a very large space, and before long, in the distance I could already see children gripping wooden swords with serious expressions on their faces, hacking away at battered straw dummies again and again with movements that were still a little clumsy.
They would probably become Holy Church knights before too long.
"There she is, miss. Elle's over there."
I followed the direction the old man was pointing.
A small girl, broom in hand, head wrapped in a strip of cloth, was sweeping dust and debris from a corner, while at the same time bickering with the boy beside her.
"Lucas, look at what you did! There's straw all over the place!"
"That just means I'm strong enough!" The boy named Lucas lifted his head with a smug look. "I'm definitely going to be an amazing knight someday."
"Being a knight isn't just about being strong! A real knight wouldn't cause trouble for others, go over there!"
"Why don't you go over there?"
"Because I need to sweep here!"
The two of them went back and forth without letting up, but you could tell they were close.
I smiled and walked over toward them. The boys who had been practicing with their swords all stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at me. Elle sensed that something was off in the air and turned around with a puzzled look, her gaze sweeping around before landing on me.
"Elle, I'm here."
"Sister Peylo! You actually came!" Her little face flushed bright red with excitement, and she rushed over and stopped right in front of me, all fidgety and not knowing what to do with her hands. "How did you actually show up... I thought you were just saying it... how did you actually come..."
Elle dropped her broom and raised her short little arms, clearly about to throw herself at me in a big hug, but then her eyes darted down to my clean, neatly dressed long skirt, and her face wavered for just a moment, the half-started motion froze in place.
I pulled her into a hug right away, drawing in her small, soft frame.
"Big sister, I'm dirty..." Elle murmured softly.
I gave a gentle shake of my head. "Are you doing well here?"
"Super well!" She raised her voice, small hands resting lightly on my waist, hesitating for a long while but never quite daring to hug back. "Sister Theresa treats us so well! Grandpa Pierre is wonderful too! The priest has taught me so many things... I've been working really hard! And we get to eat meat every day! I really... oh gosh, I'm just so happy! Big sister coming to visit me makes me so happy!"
Elle was so worked up her words were coming out all jumbled.
I let go of her and reached up to pat her fuzzy little head.
"As long as you're happy."
Heh, I'm happy too.
Patting someone else's head feels really nice.
I looked down, opened the small crossbody bag at my waist, and pulled out 2 stuffed little bags of candy, then handed them to Elle.
"Elle, share these with everyone."
It was my first time coming to an orphanage, and I had no idea what the kids would like, so I'd copied the cliche move I'd seen so many times on TV and bought candy on the way over... But looking around now, there were quite a few kids in the 14 to 15 age range, and some who even looked older than me... candy was probably too childish a gift for them to care about...
I did not expect it to go over so well.
"Whoa—"
"So much candy..."
"That's from the shop on Kulor Street... that's really expensive..."
The kids hovered timidly at a distance, eyes glued to the candy in Elle's hands.
Elle clutched them tightly to her chest. "No snatching! After prayers I'll divide it up fairly between everyone, no one gets more, no one gets less!"
The adorably righteous look on her face made me want to laugh, and then she turned her gaze back to me.
"Big sister, thank you... you're so kind to us..."
I patted her head again.
"As long as you're happy."
Just then, Lucas stepped forward.
His cheeks were a little flushed and his eyes were darting around nervously, and the moment I looked over at him he glanced away in a panic, not daring to meet my eyes.
"That... I know you don't remember me anymore, but back when we were in the Empire—"
"Lucas." I cut him off, curled my lips up slightly, and made a face at him. "You called me ugly. But you're the scaredy-cat!"
"...I am not a scaredy-cat!" Lucas called out indignantly, then his voice dropped back down. "And didn't I already apologize for that... let's just call it even! That's what a real hero would do!"
"Hehe."
I winked at him and laughed.
This guy is still just as adorable as ever...
I lifted my head, gaze drifting across the children standing near and far.
Most of them had plain-looking faces, and their clothes weren't very clean either.
They were all more or less children who had lost their families and had no one to rely on, but perhaps... in this bustling and grand capital city, they were the most pure-hearted people of all... Hmm?
I thought I spotted a familiar face.
"...Abel?"