Maybe approaching him slowly was the better idea. For him to be in a better mood he shouldn't be on the streets. She took Aaron and went into the orphanage. The lady in charge saw them and ignored them. What could two children possibly want from her?
*Ahem*
Adeline coughed loudly to get her attention. The lady rolled her eyes but started to walk towards them. It was clear from her attitude that she didn't really care about anything.
She was only in it for the money, the Emperor allocated money to go to orphanages based on the number of children they housed. Because of this, the number of people willing to house orphans rose substantially.
They didn't do it because of their kind hearts, they only did it for the money. They simply provided the children the bare minimum and cashed in whatever was left.
The Emperor didn't care about how this scheme could be misused, it gave him a good reputation among the people and that was all he cared about.
Even though the orphans didn't live in the best conditions, they lived better than the refugees. It showed the stark difference in how people treated their fellow citizens and those who 'leeched' off of their resources.
Adeline knew that if she started sponsoring this orphanage, there was a high chance that the money she would spend wouldn't even reach Dimitri.
So to make sure this lady does exactly as she instructed Adeline dug out the emblem of the House of Kendrick. She didn't reveal it yet, she turned to Aaron and told him to go bring his Master.
"Just tell him I ran off and to come pick me up here."
Adeline didn't bother acting like a child. She told him with a straight face to do as she said. Aaron unconsciously followed her, her aura didn't seem like that of a child anymore. After Aaron left the orphanage, Adeline turned to the lady who was quickly turning impatient.
"Another child left behind? The rooms are full kid, we can't take in any more. But since you are so young I think we can make space. Be grateful you ran into one of the good ones."
The lady thought the children were orphans and the oldest left the youngest as he was unable to take care of her anymore.
Every word uttered by her reeked of manipulation, she wanted to make sure this child knew her place and wouldn't ask for too much, she should be grateful that anyone wanted to take her in.
Seeing the sad state of affairs Adeline couldn't help but get angry. She decided to help out the people in this orphanage at any cost.
The emblem that she held in her hand was strongly imprinted on her skin. Her fist was balled so tight that she unconsciously hurt herself.
Facing the lady, she took off her hood to reveal her pink hair. This territory was technically within the capital and not under the Marquess' domain but there wouldn't be anyone who wouldn't recognise her hair.
Showing the emblem in her hand she ordered, "There is a kid outside in the alley. Bring him in and take good care of him." She emphasised on the word 'good'.
Seeing the seal of the House of Kendrick the lady immediately changed her tune, she was much more submissive, and there was no trace of her previous impatience. "But, he is one of those people."
Why wouldn't she have taken an orphan in if not for the fact that he was a refugee? She wouldn't have missed out on the extra money if she had no other choice. There was no law prohibiting taking them in but it was like an unknown rule to ignore them and pretend they were dead.
"This is an order directly from the House of Kendrick. Do you have a problem with it?"
'Noble children sure are different...' Adeline was not like any of the kids she looked after, what five-year-old had such an imposing tone? She wouldn't dare to disobey the Marquess so she decided to do as she was told.
"My Lady!" Aaron's Master came bursting in. He was sweaty and agitated. He couldn't imagine what could've happened if he had lost the precious daughter of the Marquess.
"Sorry for running off..." She said in a childlike tone, she shot a glance at the lady who had her head down. "This kind lady brought me in after she found me. I think she should be rewarded." There was a shift in her tone that the owner of the orphanage immediately recognised and gulped. This was compensation for taking care of the boy, this was also hush money.
"Oh... I..." She stuttered, her voice sounded weak.
"No, I insist. Please tell Father to reward this lady."
Once they were in the carriage, the Master couldn't help but reprimand Aaron, "You couldn't catch up to a child? Seems like I have to increase your training."
Aaron's jaw dropped. He truly understood the meaning of being an older sibling, sometimes you take the fall for your sibling's naughty actions.
Adeline could only offer a meek apology. She mouthed the words 'Sorry' and 'Thank you'.
She thought that Dimitri could experience some warmth that would soften up his tough exterior but there were still hurdles she had to face before the fish caught the bait.
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"Linny, why did you run off by yourself?" Her father sounded pretty angry. She blinked and shifted from side to side. Her head hung low as she thought about a good excuse. She needed to come up with an excuse that allowed her to keep visiting that orphanage, otherwise she could kiss goodbye the chance to rope in Dimitri.
"Linny..." She heard his pitch rise and immediately looked up.
'See my cute face! How can you be angry at this cute face?' She looked at him with watery eyes. Don't scold the child! She's gonna cry!
He wavered immediately seeing how she looked like she was going to cry. No, she ran away, he must discipline her so that she wouldn't do it again.
"Dad..."
An arrow went straight through his heart. *Cough* "Why don't you tell me why you ran away?" He questioned in a much softer tone.
"I heard a bell rang followed by a few children running towards the sound. I wanted to know what was happening so I followed them, Daddy. Aaron told me that it was an orphanage, I felt sad because I had you but they didn't have anyone so I thought I'd help them out. Was I wrong?... Daddy...."
That sounded plausible, right? Adeline mustered up every ounce of cuteness she had.
The Marquess fell deep in thought. She was just a child that didn't know better. How innocent. She reminded him of his late wife too much. She too had a philanthropic spirit. All the children she sponsored made sure to visit her grave from time to time. She left a deep impression on all of them.
He couldn't help but sigh. Helping out an orphanage wasn't a big deal to him, he would do as she liked. He sighed because he wished her innocence would last forever.
"Is that the entire truth Adeline?"
She nodded vigorously.
"Very well. Go apologise to your brother and the Captain. They were extremely worried after you ran off like that."
Adeline immediately went to find her brother. The Captain earned a few reprimands from the Marquess, being distracted like that was no way a Captain should behave. He accepted the scolding well, he didn't blame the children.
He knew he was the one who took his eyes off the ball. How could he blame Adeline? When she just wanted to help other children. The reprimands didn't feel too heavy after seeing why the child ran off like that.
Her brother didn't get scolded too much by the Marquess, in his eyes he too was just a child. But that didn't stop Alaric from going off on Aaron.
When she went to apologise to Aaron the first thing she could see was the red dot on his forehead. It was bright red in contrast to his fair skin. She realised what had happened. Poor Aaron got flicked on the forehead by Alaric. He was cheery for someone who had just been scolded by their older brother.
"Are you happy, Linny?"
If Adeline didn't know how much of a cinnamon roll Aaron was she would assume he was being sarcastic. Seeing the question mark on Adeline's face, Aaron began to explain.
"Are you happy that Father decided to help that orphanage?" His face was beaming, he couldn't hide his joy.
He was truly the purest among the siblings. He was genuinely happy Adeline decided to plead their case with Father. Because of this happy turn of events he completely forgot that Adeline had schemed to get this done.
Initially, he questioned how she knew about the place but it quickly changed. Aaron followed his mother whenever she went to help the poor and needy, he was very much interested in continuing his mother's work.
"I thought about checking up on them after a few days. Will you join me, brother?"
The enthusiasm on his face only grew. He would love to accompany her and make sure all the proper arrangements had been made. The orphanage was getting by but wasn't exactly in the best condition.
Because Adeline wanted to help, the Marquess decided to take it upon himself and better the place. Renovated rooms, new beds, better food and supplies. Finally, a good educator would be hired to make sure the children can make something of themselves.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why are you being so stubborn? You should be grateful that I gave you the chance to stay in the orphanage."
The owner was losing her mind trying to get this 'street-urchin' into the orphanage. The daughter of the Marquess left her with specific instructions, but she didn't take her seriously until many men showed up and renovated the home. The emblem of the House of Kendrick on their uniforms was unforgettable.
Instead of crying tears of joy and joining the orphanage, this brat had the audacity to bargain with her. He refused to come with her until she took in the pair of children he was with.
She didn't care about them! She didn't care about him either, she wouldn't have batted an eye if he died of starvation. But now that the lady has her eyes on him she had to play nice.
"I don't know why you're suddenly being nice. You refused to give me food scraps you were about to throw away, why would I come with you?!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
He was filled with anger but he quickly became horrified at what happened.
"My- my magic-"
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