At six in the morning, the church bells ring out from the town church. The smell of the sea wafts into the orphanage through the open windows. The day seems heavy with noise in the building. Lady Lynda seems to be preparing for quite an important event, as several of the maids have started cleaning the children and picking up the trash. This must be because a noble family wants to adopt a child, otherwise she would never go to such trouble to make the place perfect.
It seems my intuition was correct. Around noon, a crude and ugly man dressed in a fancy manner entered the orphanage. He is tall and a bit overweight around the belly. He wore several rings and carried a wooden cane adorned with various motifs and a jewel on top. Madame Lynda presented the children one by one, however, the nobleman didn't seem interested in most of the children except a few. Strangely, most of the children chosen during adoption times each month never return. It would be normal for some families to lose interest in their choice and send the child back to the orphanage, but that has never happened here.
The tension finally seems to ease, and life seems to be back to normal. Even Amelia seems to have recovered from the punishment she received a few weeks ago. Even her wounds seem to have healed, and this isn't the first time. Amelia has always been a powerful child who heals very quickly. Once when we were playing outside, she chased away some ruffians who were harassing her. Although Amelia is a divine beauty compared to most of the children in the orphanage, she is not as weak as one might think. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if she gets this strength from her unknown parents. We'll never have the answer anyway.
Amelia - "Heyyy... Mao! What are you doing there? Are you daydreaming again? You need to focus on your task. The windows won't clean themselves," said Amelia with a sigh on her face.
Mao - "Easy for you to say. You're never out of breath during household chores. I remind you, we don't have the same strength!"
Amelia - "hehehe! Not wrong! You should put on some muscle if you want to surpass me, Mao, otherwise you'll remain weak as an insect your whole life!"
I rolled my eyes and sighed deeply. Although I try to get a little stronger, my physical constitution has always been weak, and any heavy effort leaves me breathless. Even if I asked for advice from the venerable God, I would be chased away by the Church because of my hair and eyes. The Clergy has no interest in abominations like me.
Amelia - "Say, Mao, would you like to explore the attic with me after we finish our tasks? Supposedly, there are very old things up there, it could be interesting!"
Mao - "You're not capable of going alone, or are you just afraid and want me to accompany you?" I said, laughing.
Amelia jumped in shock, her face turning red as she exclaimed, "O-of course not, idiot!" she said, hitting me on the head with her broom.
Mao - "Ow... That wasn't necessary..." rubbing my head.
Amelia - "Well, you deserved it! It would just be less fun to go alone in the attic..." she said, looking at me with a disappointed face.
I took my time to think, interrupted by Amelia's face mimicking a cat staring at a man for his food with fake tears.
Mao - "Ugh... Okay! But we'll have to be quick to avoid getting caught by someone," I said, irritated.
Amelia - "Great! Finally, a bit of adventure will do us good!" she said, jumping for joy with her hands in the air.
We waited until nightfall to put our plan into action. It's a bad idea, I repeated in my head during the journey. That's when I should have listened to my intuition.