Chapter 204: The Young Girl’s Tenderness
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: The Young Girl’s Tenderness
Lota Orphanatorium.
Amidst the morning mist, a matron poked half her head out from behind the door, peering cautiously at the man dressed in a black formal suit standing before her.
"My Lord... may I ask who you are looking for?"
"Hello."
Muen removed his top hat and offered a polite greeting.
"I am Bruce Wayne, a... philanthropist."
"A philanthropist?"
The matron remained suspicious, but when Muen handed over a gold-plated card, the doubt and coldness on her face instantly melted away like winter snow.
The card bore official certification, detailing how this gentleman named Bruce had funded the construction of numerous academies and donated vast amounts of supplies. It even mentioned how he personally distributed food to the starving poor of the Lower District during the winter. He was a man deeply beloved by the common people—a rare, benevolent noble.
The matron immediately shifted to a warm, welcoming posture, respectfully ushering Muen inside.
"Ah, My Lord, why didn't you send word ahead of time? We haven't prepared anything for your arrival."
"This way, I can see the orphanage in its most authentic state, can't I? That will determine the extent of my donation."
Muen smiled and followed the matron into the facility.
Then, his smile gradually stiffened.
Outside the gates, his view had been blocked by the high walls. But once inside, he realized that this orphanage... was incredibly dilapidated.
At the end of a wide courtyard stood a row of houses cast from mud and earth. Time had left indelible marks upon them; the walls were riddled with cracks, most of the windows were shattered and patched with newspaper, and there were several large holes in the roofs, crudely covered with thatch.
Only the courtyard was spacious, scattered with a few trees and some rudimentary play equipment.
Could a building like this truly withstand the winter?
"Why is it so run-down?" Muen frowned, feeling a surge of anger. "The orphanage should be receiving government funding."
"That funding... it's too little."
The matron clutched her tattered apron, speaking hesitantly. "Moreover, the funds have been decreasing over the past few years. The authorities feel there's no point in this orphanage existing. Hardly anyone comes to adopt orphans anymore. If it weren't for the kind-hearted people who have continued to donate all these years, this place would have shut down long ago."
"No one comes to adopt the orphans?"
Muen was confused and about to ask why when a clear bell rang through the courtyard.
The entire orphanage fully stirred to life. A few minutes later, children emerged from the houses, rubbing their sleepy eyes. They headed to a small side room where other matrons were waiting to help them wash up.
"This is..."
Muen’s heart tightened. In his line of sight, every single child suffered from some degree of disability.
Missing hands.
Missing feet.
Blindness.
Deafness.
Cleft lips.
Albinism.
As these children walked past Muen, he didn't see a single "normal" or whole person among them.
"Is this why no one adopts them?" Muen realized. How could anyone be expected to adopt a group of disabled children?
But then, a pang of sorrow hit him. "And these children... can only stay until they are eleven?"
"You know about that, My Lord?" The matron’s face was etched with bitterness and self-reproach, her eyes reddening. "There’s nothing we can do. Giving them a peaceful childhood is the absolute limit of what we can manage."
"I see." Muen couldn't help but sigh.
As the matron said, for a poverty-stricken orphanage like this, they were doing all they could. One couldn't demand more. This was the limitation of the era.
"Are all the children in this orphanage disabled?"
"Yes. They are all children that other orphanages refuse to take—those with some kind of physical defect, great or small."
They only accept the flawed children that others reject?
Then Senior...
No, strictly speaking, although Senior has all her limbs, she was probably the most 'defective' child in this orphanage.
Muen followed the matron as she led him on a tour. The children with physical impairments looked at this rare guest with immense curiosity. Muen smiled and, like a magician, produced a large quantity of candies, snacks, and toys. Soon, the entire orphanage was filled with the sounds of children's laughter.
However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a little girl hiding far away, seemingly unwilling to approach.
*
Later, Muen was brought before an old woman with hair as white as snow. She was the Academy Head of this orphanage.
After a brief introduction, Muen stated his purpose directly.
"I want to investigate someone."
"Who?"
"Anna Kabulin."
"...What are you to her?"
"A friend."
"A friend?" The Director looked surprised, giving Muen a long, searching look. "How unexpected. That child always kept her heart locked away; I never thought she’d have a friend. And looking at you, it seems you might be more than just a friend."
The Director had the seasoned eyes of someone who could see through people. As if she had expected this, she handed a stack of documents to Muen.
"Actually, there isn't much to investigate. During her time here, that child was just an ordinary girl—unsociable and very withdrawn, though she could be quite wild when she was alone."
"No, Director, what you've described is hardly 'ordinary' for a young girl," Muen said with a smile, taking the documents and flipping through them.
The file wasn't thick; it was just a simple record of the girl.
The girl described here was exactly like the version of herself Senior had mentioned—someone who would sneak out in the morning, play wildly, and then return. She would use the money she earned to buy candy for the matrons to distribute, yet she never interacted with the other children in the orphanage.
There was nothing special; he couldn't see anything significant from the documents alone.
"Senior... I mean, has Anna ever returned since she left the orphanage?" Muen closed the file and asked softly.
"No," the Director answered firmly.
"No?" Muen was stunned. That didn't sound like Senior’s style at all. "Not even once?"
"Of course not. She hasn't returned, nor has she sent money. Once they leave the orphanage, they have nothing to do with us anymore, don't they?"
The Director’s tone suddenly turned cold. "Mr. Bruce, even if you are Anna's friend, if your purpose isn't to donate to the orphanage, please don't waste our time. I have many matters concerning the children to attend to."
"...No."
Muen fell silent for a moment, turning to look out the window. His hands repeatedly opened and clenched into fists as he murmured under his breath.
He felt the Director was hiding something.
"Please let me look around a bit more. Just a bit more."
Behind the buildings was a large stretch of farmland belonging to the orphanage.
It was harvest season. After breakfast, these children—precocious for their age—took up various tools to help the matrons harvest. Some looked only three or four years old; some were on crutches; some even had to feel their way forward. Yet, this group of children abandoned by fate seemed quite harmonious here, their faces lit with innocent smiles.
Muen walked to the edge of the field. When the children saw him, they immediately waved and shouted, "Mr. Bruce!"
Muen nodded and smiled in response. It seemed his earlier distribution of candy and snacks had indeed bought him a lot of goodwill.
But Muen wasn't happy.
His goal for coming here was still at a standstill. Even if the old man had told him to come to the orphanage to find a potential truth... how was he supposed to find it?
Senior had left this place ten years ago. The Director said she had never returned and had long since cut ties. How could there be a so-called "truth" here?
No matter how he looked at it, there was no connection between the recent incident and this orphanage.
"Is it time to give up?"
Instead of wasting time on something so far-fetched, he might as well think about how to kill the Moon...
Hmm?
Muen, whose frustration was almost turning into killing intent, suddenly looked toward a tree beside the field.
In stark contrast to the harmonious atmosphere, a little girl in black clothes sat alone under the tree, focused intently on drawing something.
The people of the orphanage seemed used to her being unsociable. Even the matrons didn't mind her blatant "slacking."
"She is..."
Muen recognized her. When he was handing out candy earlier, she was the only child who hadn't been drawn in.
"I feel... a strange sense of dissonance."
*
"What are you drawing?"
The little girl looked up warily at the stranger. After a moment, she tucked her small feet in and said softly, "A cake."
"A cake?"
Muen’s gaze fell on the drawing board, and his lip twitched. He had thought it was a millstone.
"Do you like cake?"
"Yes, very much. Cake is sweet and delicious. Blowing out candles is fun, too."
"Then..."
Muen flipped his palm, and a small cake wafting a sweet aroma appeared in his hand like a magic trick. He shook his hand slightly, wearing the mischievous grin of a "wicked uncle" tempting a little girl.
"Want some?"
"It... it smells so good." The girl sucked her finger, her eyes glued to the cake, drool nearly escaping her mouth.
But after a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly looked away. "Sister said I shouldn't eat things from strangers."
"I'm not a stranger. Look at your friends—didn't they eat my food too? They're perfectly fine."
"This..." The girl began to waver again. After fidgeting for a while, she finally succumbed to the temptation. She took the cake from Muen and began to eat in large gulps.
She ate with gusto, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel. She was quite adorable.
Watching her, the frustration in Muen’s heart dissipated significantly.
Taking advantage of her eating, Muen looked at her drawing again. While it looked like a millstone at first glance, once you knew it was a cake, you could see the resemblance. It was colorful, decorated with brown bits that looked like chocolate—clearly a birthday cake that an ordinary citizen of the Lower District could hardly afford.
Wait.
A birthday cake?
Muen suddenly looked up at the dilapidated orphanage.
Did this place have the spare money to buy cakes for the children?
But this girl said cake was delicious and blowing out candles was fun, meaning she had actually experienced it. And she just mentioned a "sister."
As if grasping a thread, Muen’s heart rate suddenly accelerated.
"Can I ask you a few questions?"
"Mmhmm..." the girl nodded, her mouth full.
"How... how old are you this year?"
"Ten."
Ten years old. That was almost the age to leave the orphanage. It was unlikely there was anyone among the children she would call "Sister."
Which meant...
"Did you eat cake for your birthday this year?"
"Yes."
"Was it your sister who bought it for you?"
"Yes."
The innocent girl remained focused on her cake, entirely unaware she was falling into Muen’s trap.
"Then... is the sister who bought you the cake named... Anna?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the girl’s eyes widened. Her cute face filled with terror. The unfinished cake fell to the ground, but she didn't care about the sweet treat anymore. She grabbed her drawing board and tried to bolt.
But Muen wasn't about to let her run.
"Don't run! Please, don't run!"
Muen caught her by the shoulder, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm not a bad person. I'm a friend of your Sister Anna. Really, I'm her friend."
"A friend?" The girl looked deeply suspicious.
Just as Muen was wondering how to earn her trust, she suddenly leaned in and sniffed him a few times.
"Sister’s scent..." The distrust in her eyes began to fade. "You have Sister’s scent on you."
"Scent..." Muen blinked.
He had indeed been in close contact with Anna—very close contact. But he had soaked in the bath for so long; could she still smell it?
"I remember Senior... Anna’s sense of smell is also very keen..."
Muen suddenly recalled that small detail.
This offhand remark seemed to fully gain the girl's trust. She sat back down and blinked. "You know that... are you really Sister’s friend?"
"Yes." Muen nodded vigorously, then couldn't help but flash a mysterious smile. "And in the future, we might be more than just friends."
"More than just friends?" The girl blinked in confusion. Her innocent mind couldn't grasp the meaning behind his words.
"Let's not talk about that for now." Muen returned to the main topic. "Since you believe I'm her friend, can you keep answering my questions?"
The girl thought for a moment. "Sister told me not to tell anyone about these things, but since you're her friend, I guess it's okay."
"On your birthday, the one who gave you the cake was indeed Anna, right?"
"Yes."
"And when was your birthday?" Muen stared into her eyes, feeling slightly nervous.
"It was..." The girl counted on her fingers. "Seven days ago."
Seven days!
Muen’s heart jolted.
That was exactly the first day of the Open Day—the day Teke Rhode was murdered!
"Was it at night?"
"Yes, because during the day, the matrons would find out."
"Did she stay for a long time?"
"Yes, a long time."
Muen suddenly lowered his head, looking at the strange cake on the drawing board. His face wore an expression that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh.
Nighttime.
The exact window when Teke Rhode was killed.
And this orphanage was on the complete opposite side of the city from where the murder took place. Unless Senior could fly, it was impossible for her to cross half the city in such a short time. But this was the Royal Capital; flying was prohibited.
In other words...
Senior couldn't have killed Teke Rhode. She had the perfect alibi.
"But why... why didn't she just tell the truth?"
During the interrogation at the Silence Bureau, she could have told the truth. This wasn't something difficult to prove.
Even for someone with Snake Transformation Disease, there was a world of difference between being a murderer and not being one. The truth of that one sentence was the difference between life and death for her.
But why?
"Could it be..."
Suddenly, a thought struck Muen. He looked back at the little girl.
"Can you... stand up and spin around for me?"
The girl tilted her head in confusion but stood up and obediently spun in a circle. Her slightly faded black skirt flared out, making her look like a dancing butterfly.
In that moment, Muen finally understood what that sense of dissonance was.
—This little girl was physically whole.
But in this orphanage that only accepted disabled children, being "whole" was the greatest abnormality of all.
Even without lifting the girl's sleeves to see the bandages that had accidentally peeked out when she turned, Muen knew what it meant.
She... had Snake Transformation Disease.
Just like Senior, she was infected.
That was why Senior hadn't told the truth.
Just like on their first date, when Senior had insisted on bandaging a kitten even after being scratched.
That girl, who clearly loved being mischievous and playing pranks, was more tender-hearted than anyone. She had been protecting this little girl all along.
*
"I have to go now." Muen patted the girl’s head.
"So soon?" The girl, who had completely "fallen" for Muen’s cake offensive, blinked reluctantly.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to eat cake often very soon. But I can't stay with you right now; I have something very important to do."
"What are you going to do, Big Brother?" Unknowingly, the girl had started using an affectionate title.
"Hmm, what am I going to do? Let me think..."
Muen adjusted his top hat, looking up at the sun through the brim. A pleasant smile curled on his lips.
"First, I'm going to beat some bad guys to death—well, they probably aren't even human. Then, I'll stop the plot of some evil forces. If I can kill that thing along with them, that would be best. If I can't... I'll find someone else to kill Him.
And finally... I'm going to drag a certain lying bad woman home and give her a thorough spanking—the kind that leaves her unable to get out of bed for days."
"You're not allowed to hit Sister!" The girl bared her teeth and waved her claws, looking "fierce" in a cute way.
"Haha, I won't hit her."
Muen leaned down and pinched the girl’s soft cheek.
"But as for making her unable to get out of bed for days, I'm definitely doing that! I said it, and not even Jesus can stop me!"
"Not even an Evil God can stop me."