"Hmm? Who are you? What are you doing here so late at night?" A young girl who happened to be sweeping the ground littered with dried leaves asked in an ice-cold tone as she looked at a black-haired boy who was a head taller than her.
Vincent inclined his head to the side to look at the source of the sweet but distant voice. He saw a young girl with silky black hair and big black eyes. She was slightly shorter than him and looked exceptionally cute with her baby-like face.
"I am here to meet Old Mille. Can you lead me to him?" Vincent asked as he looked at the cute girl with a calm expression.
"Uncle has just laid down to rest. As it is already late at night, you may come tomorrow," She refused in an ice-cold tone.
"Please don't refuse me. It's urgent." Vincent needed to talk to Old Miller right away as he didn't want to sleep in the sleep tonight.
"I can't allow a stranger to enter the orphanage. Can you tell me your name? I will ask Uncle whether or not he knows you." The young girl felt that it is urgent and decided to help him.
"My name is Vincent Sangue." Immediately after, he said, "Shouldn't you also follow basic manners and introduce yourself?"
"I am Leilani." Her expression didn't change as if she was a thousand years old piece of ice.
"Wait here. I will go and alert my uncle about your presence."
"I understand!" Vincent said as he watched Leilani's graceful figure stepping inside the orphanage and vanishing from his sight with a disgruntled expression.
"Does she think I am a criminal just because I arrive late at night?" Vincent laughed it off.
"Well, it's good not blindly to trust a stranger. I would do the same, if not worse if I were in her shoes."
A few moments later, the doors of the orphanage opened, and she said, "It's cold outside. Come on in!"
Vincent walked up to her and leaned closer to her face, as he then whispered into her ears, "I told you so!"
As he was too close to her, the face of Leilani slightly turned red, but her expression hardly changed.
She said, "Do you want me to apologize?"
"No need. I can understand you did what you had to protect yourself and the fellow residing here. Besides, it was all a misunderstanding that has already been solved. Let's add sand to the word's old and move on."
As soon as Vincent said those words, Leilani walked in front of him with a slightly amiable expression on her face.
"Okay, follow me. I will bring you to Uncle Miller."
Following after the cute little girl, Vincent reached outside of Old Miller's room in a few moments.
Knock* Knock*
"Mister, someone wants to see you," Leilani said after knocking on the door to Old Miller's room.
"The door is open. Come inside," said a husky voice through the door.
As the owner of this place has given his permission, Vincent and Leilani didn't hesitate to enter the room.
"You are Captain Aaron's and Lady Jennifer's son?" A man with a height of six and a half feet and seemingly in his mid-40s calmly inquired as he looked at Vincent with eyes filled with gentleness.
There were some wrinkles on his somewhat old face, while a trim white beard complemented his strong jaw. His short, completely grey hair was in harmony with his white mustache. One could see a long sword attached to the wall just beside the bed.
All of Old Miller's military honors hung from the hilt of the long sword.
"Yes, indeed," Vincent replied as he looked at the old man sitting on the bed.
"Care to explain why you are here?" Old Miller asked with a pondering expression on his face.
"You will know after reading this," Vincent said as he handed over Aaron's letter to the old man.
After Old Miller finished reading the letter, a few tears could be seen streaming down his weary eyes, and he said, "Leilani… leave us alone."
"Uncle, you don't seem alright, but I will do as you say. Call me if you need something." Leilani said before she then left the room to the two of them.
Although the cure little girl felt worried at him suddenly tearing up, she didn't want to trouble her caretaker and not follow his words.
'Sigh, I have seen much death, but this one hurts the most.' Sadness surged from Old Miller's very core, spreading to every fiber of his beings. 'If I knew this was going to happen just years after my retirement, I would have fought by his side till the very end rather than retiring under pressure from the higher-ups. The poor child of my lord and lady is now all alone.'
After clearing the tears in his eyes, Old Miller's sad gaze flickered with traces of pity as he looked at Vincent.
"I am sorry to hear about their death." He said with an expression of empathy on his face.
"Don't be. The one who should be sorry will pay with their lives.'"
As he said those words, Vincent's eyes were calm as the sea, but Old Miller discerned an enormous amount of rage swirling behind the facade of calmness.
Old Miller shook his head as if he was dissatisfied with Vincent. "It isn't good for a young and healthy man like you to be so angry. Listen well; this emotion will just get in your way. It will cloud your judgment and be the end of yourself. If you can let it go, then I sincerely advise you to do so. Anyway, I will train you with the others. Besides that, I will also give you lessons on combat and teach you how to create inscriptions that can be used to wound magical beasts and even slay them greatly. How far you go is entirely up to your willingness to learn."
"Please teach me to the best of your abilities. It doesn't matter how hard it gets or how painful it becomes. I'll endure no matter what!" Vincent said.
After a moment, he continued, "Are you a good friend of my parents?"
In reply, Old Miller nodded as his eyes glistened in a profound gaze and the images of the past resurfaced in his mind. "We fought together and saved each other from the brink of death a lot of time. Captain Aaron was a charismatic man and friendly with everyone. Similarly, Lady Jennifer was well-liked by everybody. They used to mention how talented you are a lot after getting drunk, haha!" Old Miller said laughter died down pretty quickly as the one who showered him with the glory of life has passed away, "For now, what do you think about staying here till the entrance exam of the military academy?"
Aaron's son was still alive, and Old Miller wanted to repay what he owes by helping the young man in all way possible.
"I was planning to do that." Vincent's eyes squinted as he suddenly realized how rude he has been to interior other so late at night. "Sorry for suddenly intruding."
"No problem. Treat this place like your own home. Go and ask Leilani to prepare a room for you. She acts all cold and distant, but it's because her parents died in the war, leaving her–an orphan–to survive in this cruel world with her little brother. She's a kind and nice girl if you get to know her. So please don't feel offended by her behavior. Please befriend her and a few others in the orphanage."
"I understand," Vincent said. "I will leave you to rest now. Should I close the lights for you?"
"Yes, please," Old Miller replied as he thought that Vincent is a sensible child.
After turning off the light with the snap of a button, Vincent excused himself and stepped out of the room.
"The boy didn't ask too much nor too little. He is just like you, my lord." Old Miller internally smiled, and he continued with a sigh. "My lord, you were always mysterious, and I still don't believe you died out there, but since you want me to take care of your son, I will take care of him to the best of my ability. It is the least I can do for you who took care of a war slave like me."
Sometime later, Leilani escorted Vincent to his room.
As it was late at night, and the rest of the kids were fast asleep, they didn't encounter anyone.
"Here's the key to this room, it's been unused for some months, but I cleaned it regularly so there won't be any dust." Leilani asked with the familiar ice-cold tone she used before, "Do you need help with anything else?"
"Thanks, but I am fine," Vincent replied as he moved up to his room, indicating that he didn't need any help at all.
After he said those words, Leilani turned around to leave, going back to her room in less than a minute. Meanwhile, Vincent peeked at her lithe figure with pity because she also lost her parents because of the ongoing galactic war between the races under Earth Federation and the creature from hell.
A few moments later, He entered the room allocated to him. As he clapped his hands, the light orb automatically turned on and somewhat illuminated the room.
Under the dim light, Vincent looked about and was able to make out the room around him. The room was neither large nor small. A single bed was seated against the wall. By the window were a table and a chair. A bookshelf was placed nearby, and although this room was not comparable to his home, it wasn't a bad place to spend a few months.
"I will be staying here until the military academy examination!" Vincent said, somewhat exhausted and a feeling tired to his bones.
He immediately collapsed on the bed and entered the land of dreams.