Chapter 32

Chapter 32

I peeked inside the building.

Wow, there’s even a fireplace. It was empty, but there were many seats where children could warm themselves and get comfortable.

“What is this place?” I asked. I tried to stop my voice from wavering, but the tears came regardless. The tears were not of sorrow but of joy.

“A joint effort between me and Jade,” the duke said. “I heard you were concerned about the friends you had left behind, so we wanted to prepare a special gift.”

Jade then calmly stepped out of the carriage. “You always looked so morose when we passed by this street,” he said with a gentle grin.

“And so we wondered... What would bring a smile to your face?”

I bit the inside of my lip to quell the urge to cry.

“You’re still only a child. Sometimes, adults are best suited to reading a child’s heart,” Kallen said. “You wanted to break your promise to your friends, didn’t you?”

The duke had apparently long been aware that, in the event that we ever left the slums, we promised to pretend we didn’t know each other.

“J-Jade told you about that?” I turned to Jade, who simply shrugged.

“We bought all of the houses on this street and paid the owners handsomely,” Kallen began to explain quietly. “They were all very pleased about it. Then we connected the houses into a single, composite structure, a refuge where only children can enter and stay warm. They are welcome anytime during the winter.”

“Thank you so much, Your Grace. Really…” I clenched my trembling hands.

“There is no need to thank me. I only did this to earn some brownie points.”

“Brownie points?”

“Yes, in the hopes that you will finally refer to me as Dad.”

“I’m fine with Jade or Big Brother,” Jade chimed in.

At that moment, the last barrier shielding my heart completely crumbled and tears began streaming down my cheeks. I had hesitated to call Kallen “Dad” because I was terrified I would be forced to leave the family someday. I was afraid I would come to expect more, as if he were my real father.

But now… I can no longer help it.

“D-Dad...”

Kallen blinked.

“Thank you, Dad. And thank you, Jade.” I smiled brightly with tears in my eyes and hugged Kallen around the neck. Eventually, I released him and hugged Jade. “I’m so happy I could burst. I’m happy to be your daughter as well as Jade’s sister.”

I never imagined that such happiness would ever be mine. They’re a wee bit scary, but I don’t mind. I want to be a part of their family.

“Never forget what you’ve just said,” Jade teased with a smirk.

“You can now live as Lae or Leticia,” Kallen said, gently stroking my hair. “But leave behind the part of Lae who suffered on this street in this alley.”

I nodded slightly.

Sion then added kindly, “The part of ‘Lae’ that you leave behind will be transformed into this refuge and bring warmth to all the children here.”

I wiped away my tears and nodded again. Both the duke and his butler knew how to touch someone’s heart with their sweet words.

“A lovely turn of phrase, Sion,” Kallen said, smiling slightly at him.

After we returned to the carriage, Jade mentioned a familiar name. “By the way, we searched for a boy named Walter, but he was nowhere to be found. We had someone ask around, and the children all said he had left town.”

“I see…”

Walter was four years older than me. Did he find work? Has he moved to the lower village? But with Walter, I have no need to worry. Walter was strong and well-featured, especially for a child from the back alley. In fact, he was far sturdier and healthier than I.

“Should we continue searching for him?” Jade asked.

I shook my head and smiled. “I’m sure he’s doing well wherever he may be.”

Walter, the boy who had been destined to die at the hands of the murderer William. His destiny had been altered in just one night. I hoped that if we ever met again, he would be living a far better life than before.

We returned to the manor and ate dinner. As we ate, Kallen turned to me.

“Next year, House Lewelton will expand its orphanage. Of course, the children from the street where you lived will be welcome, no matter how many of them there are.”

I nodded, praying that at least one more of my stubborn friends would agree to live in the home. At last, I felt warm inside. On the day Lae’s Refuge was established, the winter season of my life finally turned to spring.

* * *

Ryan raised the newspaper to his face. A third death had been identified: Canden de Ruble, one of the boys who had tortured Eliza.

“Do you think the duke’s responsible?” Ryan asked Liden, who was eying those who passed them in the train station, his hat tilted low over his eyes.

“There’s no other explanation, is there?” Liden replied.

“I wonder how Lady Leticia is faring. We owe her our lives, after all.”

Ryan considered the duke’s mysterious, strawberry-blonde daughter. Given that she resembled a porcelain doll, he couldn’t believe she had grown up in the same back alley as his brother.

“Enough talk of her. We left a flower at the manor, no? Though I’m not sure if it will reach her…”

Ryan nodded. “She hasn’t left my mind. Who knows where we would be now if it weren’t for her?”

His heart ached just thinking about the young lady, but he wouldn’t call it affection. But if he could, he would pledge to her the loyalty of a knight when she grew up. A loyalty free of ulterior motives and full of respect and admiration—a devotion to the person who saved his life.

“Shouldn’t we meet her and tell her about the doctor?” Ryan asked.

Liden’s gaze suddenly shifted. “We weren’t the ones who hatched the plan of how to kill Percy. The doctor helped us. It’s his job to plan such crimes...”

As Ryan suffered day after day, wallowing in his resentment over Eliza’s death, the doctor had entered their lives.

“I sympathize with your situation. How sad you must be. I’ll help you dispose of Percy.”

Doctor Sibel was a handsome young man with glasses and silver hair. He had received his doctorate at an early age and told them he sometimes visited the academy for work.

“Do you remember the duke’s face?” Ryan asked.

“How could I forget?”

“When I think about it, the doctor and the duke almost resemble each other.”

“How so? An inhuman quality?”

“I’m not sure. They just appear to be of the same breed. As though they’d commit a dreadful deed without so much as a blink.”

Dr. Sibel’s plan had allowed them to kill Percy without a trace. However, there had been one anomaly they hadn’t counted on.

Who knew Lady Leticia would see through such a scheme? In fact, the entire Lewelton family was an anomaly in itself.

“We’ve already gone against the doctor’s instructions,” Liden whispered.

“He wanted us to deliver a red morning glory to the manor.”

“Right, but it was better that we delivered a different flower instead.”

“We needed to warn the young lady. Even though the doctor already knew about her.”

After the plan had failed, Ryan and Liden had had no choice but to tell the doctor what had happened—how a child named Leticia had discovered they were the culprits and how Duke Lewelton had allowed them to escape. Without further explanation, the doctor had then instructed the twins to deliver a flower to the manor. However, the two had decided to secretly leave behind a different flower: a blue rose. It was out of respect, gratitude, and apologies to Leticia. It was also meant to serve as a warning.

“You were the one who informed the doctor about Lady Leticia,” Liden muttered. “If the duke ever finds us out, we’re dead.” He cracked his knuckles anxiously. “That’s why we’re leaving this city. It will be as if nothing happened.”

Ryan sat in silence.

“Come on. This is the last train,” Liden said, standing up and carrying both pieces of luggage. Ryan continued to glance back toward the city out of lingering regret. But then he caught sight of something.

“Isn’t that…”

There was someone walking toward them. It was a tall and handsome man wearing glasses. He was dressed neatly in aristocratic attire and apologizing to those he bumped into as he passed.

“Haha, my apologies. I’m a bit clumsy...” The man with a docile face and smiling eyes then noticed the twins.

“Turn around, Ryan,” Liden whispered.

They both quickly spun around to run, but a voice spoke from just behind them.

“Now, where are you two going?” Sibel’s words were deceptively low and gentle. “You weren’t trying to catch the train, were you?”