In the medical room at Ztatzav Orphanage,
“What?! Did you get the wrong information, Aiden? Are you sure about that?” The hazel-eyed girl shook her head, not believing the other person’s answer. Meanwhile, the other three teenagers there had yet to comment, as some believed the information, while others thought it was made up.
“Yeah. You can believe it or not, I do not mind. Anyway, I heard the story from some of the older kids, and they have left the orphanage to work.” The tall youth said as he looked at his friends one by one.
“If I may know, is there an age limit to continue living in this orphanage?” Somehow, the last sentence that the opposite sex had just said was so interesting that she wanted to know more about it. The silver-haired guy heavily exhaled as if he was reluctant to answer. Without realizing it, Aileen, Adaline, and Samuel were also waiting for Aiden’s answer.
“As for the exact age, I do not know the details yet. Rumor has it that if a child does not get adopted by the age of twenty-one or does not get a job at all, then they should leave this place as soon as possible. There are even rumors of some children being cruelly kicked out by Madame Aufrodine, but then again, that was all just rumor because I have never seen anything like that happen at the orphanage.” Aiden said in a low voice, so the four friends had to move closer to the young man in order to hear his explanation.
“Expelled? That was scary. Hopefully, before that happens, a kind family will adopt the five of us or find us a job. I do not want to be treated badly like that.” Aileen shuddered, unable to imagine having to experience something like what the young man had described.
“May your prayers be answered by the Goddess Asiles, Sister. I also chose to go alone rather than be chased away by Madame Aufrodine or Loiston. They are so cruel, only pretending to be nice.” A long-haired, black-colored girl chimed in with her opinion, causing Alexa to lose her appetite. Samuel looked at his new friend and realized that the bread he had given her had not been finished.
“Alexa, do not leave your food. Just eat thay bread, then drink the milk.” Samuel admonished the Chesnut brown-haired girl, to which the Chosen One could only nod hollowly. The first daughter of the couple. Tristian Varden Writh and Lavena Isolda Keira resumed eating the bread that had been delayed for a while. Aiden watched her behavior in silence.
“Do not worry, Alexa. We are still twelve years old so that we will be in the orphanage for a long time.” Aiden finally opened the conversation again after being silent for a few minutes.
An idea began to occur to Samuel, which the chubby young guy felt was a good thing and was already looking forward to asking his roommate, who had been providing a lot of unexpected information to all of them. “How do we get a job, Aiden? Isn’t it rare for anyone from the kingdom to come here?”
“If I am not mistaken, the kingdom always sends some people to assess all the orphanages in Zlatav once a year. As for who comes, I can’t say who they are because the people who come are always changing.” Aiden tried to remember what he had heard so far so as not to greet his four friends in reply.
“How do you know so many strange things, Aiden? You made me surprised.” Adaline asked enthusiastically. Aileen’s twin sister did not hide her admiration for the opposite sex, so the boy turned his face to the girl he had known for a very long time. To be precise, they had been friends since childhood at the orphanage.
“I also hang out with the other kids in this place, but they do not consider our friendship to be anything burdensome. They just greet each other and talk about light things. From there, I have gotten many clues that are useful to all of us.” Aiden answered the other’s question, occasionally glancing at Alexa who was still eating her bread.
“Then we are all lucky that we are still at a safe age. I was afraid that the age limit was seventeen. It turned out that I was wrong, so Madame Aufrodine cannot ask any of the five of us to leave the orphanage yet.” Samuel replied, which made Aiden nod to him.
“You are right, Sam. I did not realize there was a maximum age limit for living here, but if you think about it, it has to be that way because if many children come in, the adults have to leave this place for sure.” The young boy, who had a height of one hundred and seventy-five centimeters, could only hope that before he turned twenty-one, he would have found a settled job so that he would not have to suffer a tragic fate.
“Why are you saying that? Wouldn’t it be better if we stayed together? Unadopted orphanage children who have not found jobs need shelter, food, water, and safety. They should still be welcome here.” A young lady with a mole on her nose challenged Aiden’s words, so the young man shook his head three times.
“Hey, Ai. You should not think like that. Let me give you an example: If there are fifteen twenty-one-year-olds and four to five babies are admitted to the orphanage every year, where would you put those babies? They can’t possibly sleep outside, right? So one of the most sensible ways is to send the fifteen adults away so that there are plenty of empty rooms for the babies.” Aiden did not like having to explain at length like this, but he did so anyway, just so the interlocutor could understand.
A young girl, who had a height of one hundred and sixty-five centimeters tall, was silent as if she was digesting all of Aiden’s words. There was silence again as the conversation between the two teenagers had ended. On the other hand, the messenger of Goddess Magia returned to being a good listener, even though she was eager to be seen in the conversation with her four new friends.
It never occurred to me that life at the orphanage was so harsh that the principal could kick out any adult child at any time. If only Mom and Dad had not brought me here as a baby, my whole life would be different. Sam is already thinking about how to get a job. Aileen was praying for all of us. I have no idea what Aiden and Adaline are thinking. Hopefully, I will be able to find a new place to live soon where people accept me for who I am and do not bully me anymore. Atvertha prayed as she continued to eat the bread Sam had given her.
Without the five teens realizing it, four sets of eyes were watching and ears listening to their every conversation, even though they were in slightly different areas. However, two spies had yet to comment, as if they wanted to tap into Sam, Aiden, Aileen, Adaline, and Alexa’s conversation. Instead, they remained silent, as if they were just letting the conversation that had been going on for a while.
“Would it be a good idea to eavesdrop on their conversation as we did, Madame Ethnia?” A woman’s voice was heard, to which the Healer turned to her.
“Why are you hesitating, Menka? The infirmary is our control area, so we must keep an eye on everything here.” A woman in white did not think what they were doing was a mistake, even though the other person thought otherwise.
“I just… I do not think this is a good course of action. I am sorry, Madame.” The blue-eyed girl did not dare to express her opinion further. The Healer, who had worked for seventeen years at the orphanage, could only glare at her assistant, but Madame Ethnia was mostly silent and had no intention of scolding Menka at all, although she could have done so.
“You keep asking the same questions, Menka, and it is really boring because I have to keep repeating the same answers.” Madame Ethnia finally expressed her concerns, while the blue-eyed woman could only look down, for what her superior had said was true.
“I will answer for one reason, and after this, you must not ask the same question again, or I will write to the Great Physician to find a replacement for you.” Menka was frightened when she heard the serious tone of the thirty-year-old woman’s statement, but she could only surrender while maintaining her speech so that the other person would not get angry with her.
“The reason why we have to do this. First of all, the Great Physician has ORDERED ALL HEALERS to remember that he ORDERED US to intercept all conversations that take place in the medical room so that if anything happens, especially if someone has ill intentions towards us, we will already have proof.” Madame Ethnia stifled her irritation, having to keep telling the same information to the assistant, who seemed to like to provoke her anger.
“The second one: All the words we have heard, then I, as the Senior Healer, will store all those memories in a special place. Even you cannot open them. They will be well kept in case the Great Physician needs them. And the third it would be-”
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