A few days later, the orphanage residents were unexpectedly asked to gather in the common hall.
Honestly, I didn't know what had happened this time, but I still had to go there, since the caretaker said so.
According to rumors, some guest had come to our orphanage again. Not far from the gates, a luxurious carriage was spotted parked, which indicated that the visitor to the orphanage was not a simple person.
Again... Hadn't there been many of them lately?
When we came to the common hall, I expected that we would again be introduced to some nobleman who had deigned to visit our hole for charitable purposes. But instead of that... Honestly, my jaw involuntarily dropped.
"Children, please meet. Mr. Reeves, the assistant of Marquis Blackwell, has come personally today to meet you!"
When the orphanage director announced the guest's name in an unnaturally cheerful voice, silence hung in the hall where the children were.
And that was not surprising. Even children who had grown up in the limited socialization of the orphanage had heard of the Blackwell family. Even if you don't know much, any person in this empire definitely knew one thing: it's better not to get involved with these people.
They were the so-called terrifying "villains of the empire."
And yet the marquis's assistant who had come here didn't look like a servant of the devil at all. Quite the opposite. A middle-aged man with slicked-back light brown hair and glasses gave the impression of an intellectual. Such a person could easily be imagined as a school teacher or a government employee.
But no... as it happened, this person really was a servant of the devil.
Noticing the unnatural atmosphere that had settled here, and that all the children had fallen silent at once upon hearing the guest's name, the director tried with all her might to fix it.
She laughed unnaturally again and said:
"Mr. Reeves, pay no attention. It seems the children are simply too overwhelmed at seeing you. They can't believe their eyes that they have met such a great person as you!"
But the man only nodded indifferently.
"Yes, I understand."
It seemed what was happening didn't interest him very much either.
While the director made strained jokes and tried to somehow dilute this terrible atmosphere, I, meanwhile, was in the same shock as the other children. But my shock was caused by a somewhat different reason.
I couldn't believe that the assistant of Marquis Blackwell had really come here!
This person was a background character in the novel, who appeared in the plot only occasionally, accompanied by the marquis, so I didn't remember him very well. Nevertheless... the main thing was that he was a man of Marquis Blackwell.
This person had suddenly visited our orphanage with an unknown purpose. Was something like this mentioned in the original novel? Honestly, I didn't remember, but hardly... In any case, right now I was too excited to think clearly.
I knew that whatever happened and for whatever reason this person had come here, I couldn't miss such a chance and was obliged to make contact with him!
When the orphanage director finally finished her nervous introduction, the atmosphere in the hall became not a bit more lively. Feeling that she needed to do at least something to save the situation, the director continued:
"Mr. Reeves, how about a tour of our orphanage? I'm sure you would be interested to see how our children live!"
The marquis's assistant only nodded slightly.
"All right."
Obviously, the director herself was going to conduct the tour for such an important guest. But then I realized that this might be my most suitable chance.
I unexpectedly stepped forward and declared:
"Excuse me, could I conduct the tour for Mr. Reeves?"
Not only the children in the crowd, but also the director stared at me in shock. For a few seconds she just looked at me, and then said nervously:
"Uh... your name is Hazel, right? What are you talking about?"
"Director, let me conduct this tour. I am a big fan of Marquis Blackwell, and it is a great honor for me to meet his assistant!"
A fan... Of Marquis Blackwell?
Now people looked at me not only shocked. They looked at me as if I were insane. After all, essentially my confession was equivalent to saying I was a fan of a bloodthirsty maniac whose crimes shake the empire.
Is that normal?
At that moment the gaze of Marquis Blackwell's assistant also slid over me for a moment. It seemed he was also a little surprised.
"Director... you don't mind, do you?" I asked hopefully. "I know the orphanage well and can show everything properly!"
After a short silence caused by the shock of my statement, the director came to her senses a little. Despite the fact that she had completely not expected such a turn of events, she smiled nervously.
"Ah, I see... In that case, we should find out Mr. Reeves's opinion."
She turned to the man.
"Mr. Reeves, do you mind if our resident conducts the tour for you?"
The assistant again measured me with a short glance.
"No, I don't mind."
"Ah... in that case, Helena, please take care of our guest!"
I wanted to correct her that my name was actually "Hazel," not "Helena," but I didn't do it. After all, it didn't matter. Several hundred children lived in the orphanage, so it was not surprising that the director couldn't remember everyone.
Instead, I smiled and came closer, behaving like a real tour guide:
"In that case, Mr. Reeves, now please follow me!"
The man nodded slightly and followed me without unnecessary actions or emotions.
Wow... this person really is a bit like a robot. Well, on the other hand, only such a person, resembling a robot, could survive constantly being near the bloodthirsty marquis.
I conducted the tour for Mr. Reeves and tried to behave friendly, telling about our orphanage. But, of course, my main goal was not at all to make friends with him. In fact, I wanted something completely different.
First of all, my main goal was to bring this person together with Erica, so that in this way she would end up in the Blackwell family.
But the problem was that in the common hall where we were all gathered, Erica was not there... She had disappeared somewhere again!
For this reason I had to volunteer to conduct this tour. After all, in this way I hoped that during our wanderings around the territory I would manage to find Erica. While this person hadn't left, I had to introduce him to Erica no matter what! After all, otherwise... There might not be another chance.
In the original story, Erica reunited with her family in the following way: Erica tried to find the maniac who killed me, and as a result ended up in the most dangerous district of the city. In this dangerous district, Erica got into trouble that attracted the attention of Marquis Blackwell himself. As a result, the marquis personally paid attention to her, and subsequently adopted her. At least, that was how it was in the original novel.
But now... I wasn't sure that everything would turn out exactly the same. After all, this time, contrary to the original plot, I wasn't going to die. This meant that Erica also wouldn't need to avenge me and end up in the criminal district for that. And if she doesn't end up there, she won't be able to meet her father... In the end it was a dead end.
Since Erica wouldn't be able to reunite with her father in the same way as happened in the original story, it was necessary to find another way to do it. But in what exact way could one bring together an orphan child and the main villain of the empire?... Honestly, even I had no options. I really didn't know how Erica could meet her father under the current circumstances.
And that was precisely why the sudden arrival of Marquis Blackwell's assistant at the orphanage was simultaneously a shock and a great stroke of luck for me. I didn't know for what reason the marquis had become interested in our orphanage at all. But that wasn't so important. Since perhaps this was the only chance, I was obliged to bring Erica together with her father!
Nevertheless, while I was trying to do this, four hours had already passed.
I deliberately tried to conduct the tour as slowly as possible, pausing attention on every bush or piece of tile. Nevertheless, during this time I still didn't manage to find Erica. We had already gone around the whole orphanage! Where else could she be?!
I was already in despair, because time was running out. In turn, during all this time the marquis's assistant had hardly uttered a word, still silently following me and only occasionally dropping indifferent "uh-huh" and "yeah." Nevertheless, I understood that I couldn't take up the time of such a busy person forever.
After I had spent twenty minutes telling Mr. Reeves the rich history of the appearance of mold on the ceiling in the bathroom on the third floor of our orphanage, I realized that this was the end. I had already told and shown this person absolutely everything, and dragging it out further no longer made sense.
With a feeling of defeat on all fronts, I finally had to give up.
"...Mr. Reeves, this concludes our tour. Allow me to escort you back," I said dejectedly.
But the man shook his head slightly.
"Miss Brown, I have already taken up much of your time. There is no need to escort me."
What? No, quite the opposite... It was I who had taken up an indecently huge amount of his time for who knows what!
"Are you sure?"
"During this time you showed me everything in such detail that I have already memorized every corner of your orphanage. So now it won't be difficult for me to return on my own."
"Ah, I see..."
Well, since the marquis's assistant said he didn't need my help, I wasn't going to insist.
"All right. Then I'll go."
The man nodded slightly, and with a heavy heart I had to leave him. It was impossible to put into words how disappointed I was right now!
Meanwhile, when I left him and moved a sufficient distance away, Mr. Reeves also came out of the bathroom.
Unexpectedly he said:
"Now you can come out."
Nevertheless, after his words, silence still remained in the empty corridor, and no one appeared.
"I know you're somewhere here," Pyotr said calmly. "So you don't have to hide anymore."
After the man said this, the silence lasted a few more seconds, but he merely waited patiently. And finally, after all that, movement was finally heard in the empty corridor.
A child with black hair and eyes like fresh blood appeared from who knows where.
Pyotr frowned, looking at her.
"Who are you?"
First of all, he was attracted not only by the unusual appearance of this child, but also by her abilities. For an orphan from the orphanage, this girl possessed incredible stealth skills. Any other person would never have been able to notice her presence. But only Pyotr, who also couldn't be called an ordinary person, was able to notice it.
And now the marquis's assistant wanted to know only one thing: who this child was. It was only for this that he had endured this tiresome tour, only so that this meeting would take place.
But the girl, looking at him, only smirked carelessly.
"Pyotr."
The marquis's assistant was stunned that some orphan child dared to address him by name. But even more he was struck by how naturally it sounded.
"Do me one favor."
The man, looking at the child, continued to frown.
Why did he get the impression that the person standing before him had been giving him orders for far from the first time?...