The counseling room, or what was commonly known by the orphans as the judgment room, was a room located behind the hall in the middle of the orphanage. The room was round in shape, with five tall chairs located behind a semicircular table. In front of the semicircular table was a lonely chair facing the opposite direction.
The orphans called this lonely chair the convict chair, and the five chairs behind the semi-circular table were the Judges' Throne.
Creepy stories about the Judgement Room were rife among the orphans. Whether it was about a child who fainted after they were called in or those who were haunted by nightmares when they left the room.
To the children of the Flower Garden Orphanage, being called into the judgment room was the most terrible punishment that could be meted out. Because of that, the Sisters used the name of the room to frighten the orphans who were naughty, just like mothers who frighten their children by threatening to call the police.
(A/N: I will use the word "sisters" instead of the word "caretakers" to differentiate this position from the other Flower Garden Orphanage staff.)
Of course, Del, being Madam Yeva's favorite, had never been summoned to the judgment room. But right now he was sitting on the convict chair, facing the five people sitting on the Judges' Throne.
The poker face he gave Julia and the affectionate face he showed Kylia disappeared. The expression on his face was full of innocence, with a little fear in his eyes. Of course, Del had already thought about what expression he should show at this point.
An innocent smile was not appropriate at this time. All the orphans have heard stories about the horrors of the judgment room. So if Del didn't show any fear, then that would be a very strange thing.
However, if he showed too much fear, then the arrogant image he had shown the orphans would be wasted. So the most correct expression to make was that of a child who was arrogant because of his intelligence but could not hide his fear when facing adults in the judgment room.
While adjusting his facial and body expressions, Del glanced one by one at those sitting on the Judges' Throne and analyzed their roles in this meeting. From the far right to the far left, the order was like this:
On the far right was Mr. Andrew, head of security at the Flower Garden Orphanage. Apart from protecting the orphanage from outside threats, he also maintained security within the orphanage. If there was one member of the Flower Garden Orphanage staff that the orphans feared the most besides Sister Yudith, then it was Mr. Andrew.
Even so, Del and Mr. Andrew have a very good relationship. The two of them often chatted at the security post, and Del treated Mr. Andrew like a father. Of course, this was because Del wanted to be close to those with military power in the Flower Garden Orphanage, not because he wanted to find a father figure in Mr. Andrew.
This brown-haired man with a tall, muscular body was 30 years old. Based on Del's analysis, Mr. Andrew had hidden feelings for Chika, and that's why he was biased towards Del, who is considered a child by Chika.
From the way he talked and walked, Del knew that Mr. Andrew had experience in the military, and it seemed that he was also included in the elite team. However, what was his background before he became head of security at the Flower Garden Orphanage? Del had never known about it, and it seemed that Mr. Andrew also did not want to speak about it.
From his very serious face, without the slightest smile, Del realized that Mr. Andrew had taken on the role of a threat. With his tall, muscular body and his ex-military aura, Mr. Andrew didn't need to say anything, and his threatening stare would be enough to make the orphans piss in their pants.
Then, on the right side of Mr. Andrew, was Sister Yudith. Sister Yudith was not actually a 'Sister', she was assigned the role of Head of Orphanage External Relations. However, Sister Yudith insisted on being able to stay close to the orphanage because she felt that the main task of the orphanage was to look after children without parents.
Even though it was very likely that only a few of the children at the Flower Garden Orphanage really didn't have parents, Sister Yudith still loved them like her own children. But her face, which was always stiff and cold, only made her more feared by the orphans.
Only Del understood and knew that Sister Yudith loved the Flower Garden Orphanage's children. Just like now, Sister Yudith's face remained stiff and cold as if she were harboring anger at Del, but her eyes showed concern and pity for Del, who looked 'scared'.
Del didn't need to find out or know what role was assigned to Sister Yudith in the judgment room. But he knew that if he got into trouble today, Sister Yudith would not hesitate to protect him.
That's why Sister Judith had a special place in Del's little bit of kindness.
Next in line was Madam Yeva. She sat at the center of the five Judges' Throne, indicating her position as the head of the Flower Garden Orphanage. Even so, the main task of Madam Yeva herself as being the head of the sisters.
She regulates the shifts of the sisters' working hours, their place of residence, their salaries, and so on related to the sisters. Even so, Madam Yeva had the final say in the Flower Garden Orphanage.
Of course, as someone who had the highest position and the final word, Madam Yeva had a neutral role in the judgment room. Her gentle smile was still plastered on her face as if to comfort Del, who was scared.
To the right of Madam Yeva was Madam Alera, the Head of Education. She was in charge of arranging the study schedule and the books that go into the Flower Garden Orphanage. One of the curricula that Madam Alera was most proud of was the study of ethics, in which the orphanage children were taught how to get along with the upper class in Teduh City.
Because of this task, Del and Madam Alera was very close. Del couldn't remember how many times he had to stay in her room because he was so preoccupied with reading books that he forgot the time. Madam Alera also liked Del, who was very smart; she was the second person who liked giving Del the most difficult study problems to solve besides Madam Yeva.
From her thin smile, Del judged that Madam Alera was taking on the role of the appraiser. She would not speak and would only analyze Del's mindset to judge whether Del was telling the truth or not.
The children who came to the judgment room would be distracted by those sitting on the other Judges' Throne, especially Madam Yeva, and ignore Madam Alera. That way, they would never realize that Madam Alera had found out about their lies.
Madam Judy sat on the far left of the Judges' Throne; she was the head of the Flower Garden Orphanage's infirmary. Almost all of the Flower Garden Orphanage's children were underage. Even though some of them looked mature, they were still mentally young.
The orphans still had the mentality of children and wanted to be loved by the adults around them. That's why the infirmary tasks were very sensitive because they were close to pain.
In order to make the children of the orphanage not afraid to go to the infirmary for treatment when they were sick, the infirmary staff must be cheerful people with gentle smiles. That's why the infirmary staff, apart from the sisters, were very close to the orphanage.
As the head of the infirmary, Madam Judy was a middle-aged mother who liked to give candy to orphans. She always gave a feeling of safety and warmth to sick orphans who came to the infirmary.
As a result of her hard work, the health level in the Flower Garden Orphanage was always satisfactory. Healthy orphans who rarely got sick sometimes came to the infirmary just to chat with their favorite infirmary staff.
Del didn't need to think long to analyze what role was assigned to Madam Judy in the judgment room. She would certainly maintain the image of a loving middle-aged mother. So even in the scary Judgement Room, Madam Judy would still be the favorite of the orphans.
With Madam Yeva as the intermediary, the roles on the Judges' Throne seemed to be divided into two: heaven and hell. Of course, the Hell role was held by Sister Yudith and Mr. Andrew, whose cold and stiff faces could give orphanages nightmares.
The two of them didn't need to say anything as they just looked at the orphan sitting in the convict chair. Even though Sister Yudith didn't mean to look scary, it was just impossible for the orphans to read the affection in her eyes.
Meanwhile, the Heaven role was held by Madam Alera and Madam Judy. They had to keep a smile on their faces and speak in a soft voice to make the child sitting in the convict chair calm down.
Using a carrot and whip strategy, the Judgement Room never failed to get the Flower Garden Orphanage children to honestly say everything they knew.
Well… this petty interrogation would only tickle Del. Even so, he would enjoy it because an eerie atmosphere suits him better than a warm one.
But he had to finish this interrogation as soon as possible because it hadn't even been a minute since his body had not touched Kylia, and he was already feeling the effects.
"So.. Del, sorry for summoning you to this room all of a sudden. But we have some things to ask you?" Madam Yeva asked very gently.
"I..I.. It's okay, Madam Yeva! I.. will be a good boy and answer it.. but.. but.." Del stuttered 'naturally'.
"But, what? DELYRIAN, you better focus on answering Madam Yeva's question and not thinking about anything else!" Sister Yudith quickly interrupted Del after hearing the word 'but'.
Even without explaining, Del understood why Sister Yudith immediately cut him off. She was afraid that if he refused to answer, the other judges on the throne would suspect Del.
But that worry would easily be misinterpreted by those sitting in the convict chair as anger. Of course, Del fulfilled his role by cowering and freaking out when he got scolded.
"Sister Yudith, let Del finish what he was saying. Del, you don't need to be afraid; finish what you want to say. It's okay" Madam Judy's soft voice seemed to calm the atmosphere.
Gathering his 'courage', Del said after gulping loudly, "but.. but.. C.. Can you ask it quickly.. I.. I.. Del misses Kylia"
"Oh"