Whispering Verse

"Messenger of Justice?"

Mr. Bernhard frowned deeply:

"Where would a messenger of justice kill people so casually? The autopsy room where Ptolemy works recently received more than one or two corpses of heart attacks."

"I have an idea about that relic, a relic of fate, a persistent pursuit of justice."

Mr. Albert said softly:

"But I'd better go see Mrs. Jude again, we need to verify it."

It was not yet four o'clock in the afternoon, and the days were long in summer, so they still had some time.

"No matter what promise Momsen has given you, I can also give it to you. Let's resolve this matter as soon as possible."

So the captain said again.

"He said he could help us deal with the troublesome issues in Moon Bay in the future. He was even willing to mobilize his servants and summon friends to participate in such a large-scale battle."

Mr. Bernhard said, Captain Rudolf was quite surprised:

"Are you sure that Moon Bay will be destroyed? I was still a little unconvinced before. I have never believed in prophecies and I can make such a promise. My ship can be a weapon in naval warfare with a slight modification. My sailors are willing to do it for I have a lot of money to spare, and I also have some friends in Yuewan.

You three keep me safe and help me solve this troublesome matter, and I can join you. In the current situation in Moon Bay, we people are basically better than wanted criminals. It is indeed time to do something. I don’t want to give up Yuewan, which has been in business for so many years. "

Captain Rudolph did not sponsor the three people with money or special items, but he promised that after the matter is resolved, he can give them a bottle of undiluted No. 2 holy water that he obtained a long time ago as an early thank you.

Then it was time to set off to see Mrs. Jude. Mr. Bernhardt had been in contact with Mrs. Jude and Miss Rice and therefore knew their location.

Now Miss Rice is still waiting for the good news of the three people in her own manor, while Mrs. Jude went to visit the children in the orphanage she ran, so the destination of the three people is the orphanage.

The building called "Red Heart Orphanage" is not in the city, but in the suburbs in the northeast of the city. The orphanage is located on a small hill, not too far from the city.

That land belongs to Mrs. Jude herself, and the income from the rice fields, mills and orchards surrounding the orphanage is enough to maintain the orphanage's daily expenses. There are actually quite a few charitable organizations like this in Yuewan City, and the "Red Heart Orphanage" is not the largest among them.

Choosing an address in the suburbs was also a common practice for orphanages in this era. On the one hand, the land price in the city was too expensive, and on the other hand, it was also to facilitate the management of the children and ensure their healthy growth.

When we arrived at the orphanage, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. The carriage stopped at the intersection of the main road extending from the city, and then the three of them followed the path directly to the entrance of the orphanage. From a distance, you can see the gray-white wall surrounding the building and courtyard, which makes the place look quite formal.

The iron gate of the courtyard was open. The older children were probably helping in the orchard, while the younger children were playing in the yard or running around elsewhere in the neighborhood.

The arrival of the three strangers first caused the dog guarding the yard to bark a few times, and then the children in the yard ran back to the low two-story building with vigilance, which is also the main building of the orphanage. Herr Bernhard took one look at the dog and it immediately retreated into the kennel.

However, the three of them did not enter the building directly. Instead, they stood in the yard and waited for the people inside to come out.

So Shade raised his head to look at the protruding tower structure in the center of the two-story building, and then turned to look at the rice fields outside the yard, as well as the mills and windmills in the distance.

It would probably be very pleasant to live in a place like this. Growing up healthy and away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the bad air is something that many children living in this era cannot imagine. Of course, orphans who have lost their parents are much more miserable than ordinary children breathing bad air in the city. Shade was just sighing that the scenery here is very good.

"These kids are in pretty good health."

Schade heard Mr. Bernhardt whisper, and Mr. Albert added:

"But all we see are children who can play outside. Maybe there are sick children in the room. The cleaning here is very good. Look at the chicken coop over there. It is much neater than the chicken coop in the alley of the Spider Hotel. ."

Soon, a fat woman wearing an apron and a headscarf walked out of the two-story building of the orphanage and came to greet three strange visitors.

Mr. Bernhardt followed the plan discussed by the three people in the carriage and did not say that they knew Mrs. Jude:

"Hello, we would like to donate to this orphanage."

As he spoke, he looked up at the entire building:

"I'm a businessman from Willendale, and these two are my friends. We heard about this orphanage at the club in the city. Could it be convenient for us to take a look at the situation today? We won't disturb you for long. ."

As he spoke, he took out an envelope and stuffed it into the fat woman's apron pocket. Inside was part of the money Shade won from the Parsifal Club in the afternoon:

"This money should be used to provide extra meals for the children. Please accept it."

The woman held the envelope but did not refuse, but said with some embarrassment:

"I'm so sorry, our dean is having another guest."

That is Lady Jude.

"It doesn't matter."

Shade shook his head indifferently:

"We just want to see what's going on here. If possible, you can take the three of us around for a while."

The fat woman nodded:

"No problem, I am the lower grade grammar teacher here, and the chef also does some kitchen work when he is on leave. You three, please come with me. Our orphanage is actually operating well. But let the children live It never hurts to be better.”

The orphanage has a total of two floors, and with the central tower, it can be counted as three floors. The tower is the dean's office and accounting room, and children are not allowed to go up there. The first and second floors are functional areas such as public activity areas, laundry rooms, restaurants, dormitories, etc.

The fat woman calls herself "Mrs. Lesa" and has been working in this orphanage for three years. According to her, there are currently 27 children living here and 12 staff at the orphanage.

“Very suitable proportions.”

Mr. Bernhardt said while touring the kitchen on the first floor, while Mr. Albert looked around the slightly shabby kitchen. The kitchen only has a small window, high above the stove, so it's not very bright even during the day.

The space here is very small, with the stove and cabinets taking up most of the space. The walls are covered with kitchen utensils and various dried pickles, making it a bit crowded for four people standing here.

The coroner twitched his nose a few times:

"The food here is very good. I smell the vegetable soup and the smell of blood."

Mrs. Lesa smiled and said:

"The kind-hearted Mrs. Jude, the founder of the orphanage, requires that the children be given meat twice a month. This generous lady does not like thin children. Today happens to be food improvement day, and the children's lunches contain salty food. Meat and fish are bought by chefs who go out to the pier in the evening. If Yuewan is short of anything, there will be no shortage of fish."

In contrast, the three men had nothing to eat at noon today.

The interior walls of the orphanage are somewhat damp, but you can't ask for too much from an orphanage. The furniture here is mainly made of wood, and most of it is sponsored by well-wishers.

Mrs. Jude's main investment in opening the orphanage is the land that people walk on, the house that was originally a farm, and paying the staff's salaries, so fundraising outside of Mrs. Jude's is also important to this orphanage. .

Although it is shabby, it is still warm overall. During the visit, Mrs. Lesa first took three people to meet the groom of the orphanage - four other women who are mainly responsible for pulling goods and purchasing, and taking care of the children with her, as well as the key keeper of the orphanage - a The old man, who was blind in one eye, then took the three of them to visit the children's bedroom on the second floor.

Shade originally thought that there would be two large rooms filled with beds to accommodate boys and girls respectively, but what he didn't expect to see was four bunk beds in each room, and each room also had a separate wardrobe and table. bench.

These conditions are almost the same as those for foreigners studying.

While visiting the orphanage, the three of them also saw the children who were hiding from strangers like them. The children living here are mainly between 6 and 13 years old, and everyone is assigned a job every day. Even the youngest child has to help in the kitchen.

There were only a few patches on the clothes they wore, and none of the children had any color on their faces. Not only Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert are carefully distinguishing, but Shade is also relying on his unique ability to try to find vampires.

But the good news is that except for the two companions around him, there is no vampire race here. This not only shows that Mrs. Jude really did not transform the children into her own kind, nor did she even arrange vampire servants to look after them here.

"It really shouldn't be arranged. Otherwise, what's the difference between arranging monkeys to guard the peach orchard?"

Shade thought in a good mood.

She was in a good mood because Mrs. Jude told the truth. She did not do anything extreme to the children. Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert could easily detect anemia caused by large amounts of blood taken in the children, but they did not see this phenomenon in any of the children in the orphanage.

The three of them walked through the entire building except the tower, but found no traces of magic spells cast by ring warlocks or the power of rituals. This was just an ordinary orphanage. This shows that Mrs. Jude did not regard this place as a "pig pen" or "pasture" at least in action and psychology, otherwise she would definitely be more cautious.