Chapter 165

Chapter 137: Farewell Ellie

In the Order Imperial City, in the northern district, on Sacred Street.

A small figure jumped down from the carriage. I reached out to pat the slightly wrinkled hem of my skirt and lifted my head to look at the somewhat rusted iron gate before me.

“Esteemed lady, this is where you’ll find the Cataloma Orphanage.”

The driver spoke from behind me. I turned to nod at him and took out a silver coin to hand over.

“Thank you for your generosity!”

Once the horn carriage had driven away, I slowly walked up to the iron gate.

I could hear faint sounds of children playing and roughhousing inside.

After a moment’s hesitation, I knocked on the latch of the gate. After a while, I heard a soft noise. The hunched old man opened the door just a crack, his sunken eyes peering out cautiously. Upon seeing my face clearly, he visibly startled.

“Esteemed lady… may I ask what brings you here?”

He spoke with a quivering voice, his hands fidgeting in front of him as if he were uneasy.

Seeing this, I smiled sweetly at him.

“Grandpa, I’m looking for someone.”

“Looking… for someone?” the old man seemed puzzled, “Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for Mother Teresa.”

“Mother Teresa… she has gone out on some business and is not currently in the orphanage.”

Hearing this, I paused slightly. “Gone out?”

“Yes… I apologize, but might I ask for your esteemed name?”

The old man said carefully, as if afraid I would devour him if he displeased me.

So I tried to smile kindly, “My name is… Paylo.”

The old man suddenly understood, “Ah, so you’re Miss Paylo… Please come in!”

He struggled to open the gate fully, bowing slightly to gesture me inside, his already hunched frame seeming to shrink further.

I looked at him curiously, “Grandpa, do you know me?”

“No no, miss, please don’t call me grandpa, I’m just a small old man guarding the gate. Your status is so high…” the old man waved his hands hurriedly, “Mother Teresa specifically instructed me that if you came, I should take you directly to her office… She said she will be back soon, so please wait a moment.”

“Oh, alright.”

Following the old man, I entered the Cataloma Orphanage.

The courtyard was spacious with many lush trees standing tall, and there were some simple entertainment facilities that looked quite worn. Children of all sizes were running and jumping around, occasionally casting curious glances at me.

I did not see Ellie anywhere and couldn’t help but ask, “Grandpa, do you know a girl named Ellie?”

“Ellie…” the old man recalled, “Oh, yes. That obedient and lively little girl…懂事又勤快的女孩。She should be helping clean the practice ground right now, shouldn’t she?”

I tilted my head in thought upon hearing this.

“Can you take me there first?”

“…Do you know her?” the old man asked.

I nodded, “Yes.”

“Well then…” the old man hesitated for a moment, “Alright, since you’ll be waiting in the office anyway… I’ll take you there.”

The practice ground was located to the left of the main building of Cataloma. It wasn’t very large, and soon enough, I saw children wielding wooden swords, their faces serious, clumsily striking at the tattered dummies.

They will likely become Church Knights in the near future.

“You see, Ellie is over there.”

I followed the direction indicated by the old man.

A small girl, holding a broom and wrapped in a cloth, was sweeping the dust in the corner while bickering with a boy beside her.

“Lucas, look what you’ve done! You’ve scattered the straw everywhere!”

“It shows I have enough strength!” the boy named Lucas raised his head proudly, “I’ll definitely be a great knight one day.”

“A knight needs more than just strength.”

“Are you serious? A knight wouldn’t cause trouble for others, go over there!”

“Why don’t you go over there?”

“I need to clean here!”

The two of them argued back and forth without stopping, but it was clear that they had a good relationship.

I smiled and walked towards them. The boys practicing swordsmanship all stopped what they were doing and stared at me in astonishment. Alice sensed the unusual atmosphere and turned around with some confusion, her gaze wandering until it settled on me.

“Alice, I’m here.”

“You… Sister Peyilo! You really came!” Her little face flushed with excitement as she quickly ran up to me and stood still, waving her arms about but unsure what to do next, “How did you really come… I thought you were just saying that… how did you really come…”

Alice dropped the broom and raised her short arms, seemingly wanting to give me a big hug, but her gaze suddenly shifted to my clean and exquisite long dress. She hesitated, and her half-finished action froze.

I immediately hugged her smaller and softer body.

“Sister, I’m dirty…” Alice murmured.

I gently shook my head, “How have you been here?”

“It’s great!” She raised her voice, her small hand lightly resting on my waist, hesitating for a long time before daring not to hug further, “Sister Teresa has been so kind to us! Grandpa Pierre has also been so kind! The priest taught me a lot of knowledge… I’ve worked very hard! We even get meat to eat every day! Really… well, I’m so happy! Sister coming to see me makes me so glad!”

Alice’s emotions were so excited that she started speaking incoherently.

I let her go and reached out to pat her fluffy little head.

“As long as you’re happy,” I said.

Hmph, I’m happy too.

Patting someone’s head feels really good.

I lowered my head, opened the small bag at my waist, took out two bulging packets of candy, and handed them to Alice.

“Alice, share these with everyone.”

This was my first time visiting an orphanage, and I didn’t know what the children liked, so I imitated the old cliché I saw on TV and bought candy on the way… but now looking at it, there were quite a few kids here around thirteen or fourteen years old, and even some who seemed older than me… candies like this might not interest them much…

But unexpectedly, the effect was very good.

“Woah—”

“So much candy…”

“That’s from Kuroer Street… it’s very expensive…”

The children stood timidly in the distance, their eyes fixed on the candy in Alice’s hands.

Alice hugged it tightly, “No snatching! After the prayer ends, I will distribute them fairly; no one will get more, and no one will get less!”

That cute and earnest look made me want to laugh. Then she turned her gaze back to me.

“Sister, thank you… you’ve been so kind to us…”

I patted her head again.

“As long as you’re happy,” I said.

At this moment, Lucas walked up.

His cheeks were slightly red, his eyes showing signs of shyness. As soon as he looked at me, he hastily looked away, afraid to meet my eyes.

“Um… I know you don’t remember me anymore, back in the Empire—”

“Lucas.” I interrupted him, curling my lips slightly and making a funny face at him, “You called me a hideous monster. But you’re… a coward!”

“…I’m not a coward!” Lucas shouted angrily, then his voice softened, “But I’ve already apologized… let’s just drop it! Otherwise, I won’t be a hero!”

“Hehe.”

I winked at him and laughed.

This guy is still so cute…

Looking up, my gaze swept over the children standing near and far.

Most of them had unattractive appearances, and their clothes weren’t very clean either.

They were mostly orphans who had lost their families and had no support, but perhaps… in this bustling city, they were the purest people… Eh?

I seemed to see a familiar face.

“…Abel?”