As the night falls, the stars that have traversed light years reappear with an unparalleled purity and brilliance, illuminating the small puddles of water accumulated in the ancient streets and courtyards. The moist ground is thus adorned with a mysterious starry sky.
In the six-story building of the orphanage, which was originally the second floor dining hall, now transformed into a banquet hall. At this moment, a banquet was being held here.
In terms of the grandeur of the banquet, this evening feast clearly cannot be compared to the opening banquet at Hogwarts or the Halloween Ball, but in terms of its liveliness, it was even more so.
As the banquet progressed, the once focus of the crowd, Amortost gradually became neglected to the side. Even on Christmas, there were no such rich food as this. The children moved with quick steps through tables piled high with sizzling fried steaks, roasted sausages, potato pies, cream pudding, and an assortment of fruit juices. The smiles on their innocent faces were more radiant than blooming tulips.
Amortost leaned against the wooden railing of the stairs, watching the scene before him with a gentle expression.
His gaze shifted, and when his focus landed on the figure of a woman with a slight smile, dining with the children, his eyelids trembled slightly imperceptibly. A hint of a different color flashed in his eyes.
This is a woman with a gentle and serene appearance.
She wore a simple, floor-length dress in a soft milk white, just covering her knees, and her emerald green hair, the same color as her eyes, fell smoothly over her shoulders. Her pale skin glowed with an unobtrusive fluorescence under the not particularly bright lights. The fresh scent that lingered around her was faintly detectable by Amortost even from dozens of feet away.
With misty bangs and cloud-like hair, graceful and elegant -- this is Amortost's evaluation of her.
In all honesty, Amortost, who has seen and experienced a lot by moving between two worlds, has never encountered a woman with such an alluring and graceful aura.
The lady, Valtorai Hill, who volunteered at the orphanage seemed to have noticed Amortast's gaze, turned her head and nodded towards Amortast beside the staircase with a smile on her lips.
Amortost smiled in return, and then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, turned and went up the stairs.
The noise of the bustling crowd from the second floor could still be heard above. Amortast walked expressionlessly through the dim corridor, his gaze scanning about, occasionally knocking on the walls to judge the quality of the dormitory. Unconsciously, he had reached the top floor.
Amortost climbed up the roof through a steel staircase by the laundry room and walked to the railing.
The view from the roof was not particularly open, as the dense rows of low-rise buildings on the opposite side and on both sides blocked most of the scenery around the orphanage. Fortunately, here it was far from any disturbances, and the lighting was dim, so the starry sky seemed bright.
Amortast placed his arms on the railing, leaned back, and gazed up at the night sky silently. He didn't know how long he had been there when a cool night breeze blew by. Amortast squinted his eyes and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.
Smoking was Amortost's habit from his previous life, and at that time, he was quite addicted to it. However, since he came to this world and experienced the stages of infancy, childhood, and adolescence again, he had successfully quit this bad habit and had no intention of picking it up again.
But when he is in a bad mood, he still reaches into his pocket to pull out a cigarette and sniff the scent of the tobacco.
Suddenly, the sound of crisp footsteps echoed from the steel staircase behind him. After crushing the cigarette in his hand and tossing it into the wind, Amortast turned to look. When he saw Valtorai's overcoat hanging on her arm, the depths of her eyes flickered for a moment.
"Mrs. Reagan told me that every time you return here, you like to stay alone on the rooftop for a long time--"
Valtoria walked gracefully to Amortast's side and handed over the overcoat.
"It seems that you're someone who likes peace, Mr. Amortast."
"Thank you,"
Taking the coat, Amortast did not put it on. He sized up Valtoria, who was tall even with her flat sandals, and casually said with a smile,
"No need to be polite, Miss Hill. Just call me Amortast."
Although she tried to hide it, there was still a glimpse of another emotion in Valtoria's pure eyes.
Every day she worked at the orphanage, she could hear the children speaking of their longing for the return of this young man with a hopeful tone. Over time, it was inevitable that she would feel curious.
"According to Mrs. Reagan and the children, you solved the problem of their going to school here. That's really impressive, Miss Hill. It's not easy to deal with those officials who are just there for their positions and the greed of the staff in the school."
Amortast's gaze lingered on Valtoria's eyes and hair, smiling and asking.
"In fact, I'm not as outstanding as you might imagine, Brennan... Amortast. I simply sought some help from my father, who is a professor at the University of London and has some connections with certain government officials. Though trivial, they were enough, and the problem wasn't complex either--"
Amortast nodded indifferently. He looked down at the street below, where there were few people left. Although he was expressing gratitude, his voice was calm and unruffled.
"Regardless, Miss Hill, I still have to thank you on behalf of the children."
The two stood side by side at the railing, in the deepening night. Though they were strangers, they conversed with an intimacy that seemed to know each other well.
"--When I was here, the environment of the orphanage was much worse. In summer, the rooms were stuffy and couldn't bear people. We had to spread mats in the courtyard and endured the many mosquitoes brought on by the backward drainage system while trying to sleep."
In winter, with lack of funds for repairing windows and the cracked walls, drafts seeped into the rooms from every corner. The biting cold wind could not be resisted by thin blankets. To avoid freezing to death, we would huddle together in one bed with several people, shivering and longing for dawn...
Many children my age who left the orphanage have completely severed all ties with it. I understand this behavior, as this orphanage brought them too many unpleasant memories that can hardly be described as joyful--"
Amortast began to speak of the past, the topic was sudden, but Valtoria did not show any surprised expression. She pursed her lips and asked,
"Mrs. Reagan told me that you went to a boarding school later. I heard that your parents registered for you before you were born..."
Amortast twirled his fingers, giving a casual smile.
"I spent all my teenage years there. It was a very good school. The food was delicious and I could sleep peacefully... So, you, Miss Hill, must have grown up in a much better environment than these children..."
Valtoria lifted her tangled hair in front of her face, not directly answering Amortast's question, but spoke in a ethereal voice,
"Actually, it's not as beautiful as you might imagine."
Amortast nodded slightly, without saying anything else.
The two stood side by side, gazing at the deepening night. Alongside the silence, there was an indescribable oppression.
From start to finish, no child came up to look for Amortast or Valtoria. These shrewd little ones had their own thoughts. After the staff quietly cleaned up the chaos in the restaurant, they went back to their rooms, tucked into bed, and giggled while discussing Amortast brother and Miss Valtoria on the rooftop.
The lights in the houses on both sides of the street one by one went out, and finally, except for the dim yellow light of two rows of streetlights, there was silence.
"So, Miss Valtoria,"
As the bright moon began to set, Amortast turned his head without expression and spoke again.
"Can I ask for your true name?"
"Valtoria."
The elegant lady beside him showed a surprised but not unexpected smile on her pure face. She lowered her eyes and whispered, intertwined with a touch of regret.
"My name is Valtoria Creon. That's my real name, Mr. Bore--"
PS: I've started working, so the second chapter is a bit late. Sorry--
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The Library of Reading
