“This is the playground where all the children play around.”

  The rich fat man said to me.

  As I looked outside the windows, the children were all sitting around like broken toys discarded. Their eyes were filled with gloom, with no hopes for tomorrow.

  I turned to the fat man.

  “They don’t seem to be playing.”

  “Well… They’re just sunbathing currently.”

  He said with a nervous smile. I gave him back a naive smile.

  “I see! What an interesting spot you have here!” Mr. Mann relaxed a bit, thinking I was fooled, and tensed up again as I opened my mouth, “Do you mind lining all the children of this orphanage in a line so I could examine them one by one?”

  “Yes, young lord, right away!”

  The fat man then ran away nervously.

  I turned toward the cloaked man standing behind me, he was none other than my Father’s secretary, Bedivere Sigurd.

  “Mr. Sigurd, I believe you would report to my Father about the current situation of this orphanage, would you?”

  “Of course, I work for Lord Camelot after all.”

  He smirked. I smiled back childishly then I looked back at the children.

  “Sometimes it takes the struct of reality for a fortunate soul like me to realize how lucky I am.” I said with a soft, sorrowful expression, “Poor children are just being used by those heartless adults as tools for profit.” I shaked my head, letting the right amount of anger show on my face.

  “Young Lord Percival, think about it this way,” He gently comforted. “If it wasn’t for your visit, we could’ve never found out about this. And these children would’ve continued suffering.”

  I could see it in his eyes that he was moved by my words.

  “Promise me that you would urge my Father to do the right thing.”

  I said with heartfelt conviction.

  “I promise you, Young Master.”

  I nodded my head and looked back outside. I let the conversation settle, appearing as if I needed some time to recollect myself. Once I was done, Bedivere spoke again.

  “However, Young Lord Percival, you certainly do possess a mind that’s way beyond your age. Though you try to fake it by being childish, people can easily see through your mask, perhaps you are too mature to act that way.”

  “Or maybe your generation was a bit slow?”

  I giggled and tilted my head.

  “Certainly not, Young Lord Borse and Galahad still engaged in childish bickering like little boys do.”

  I lifted a finger to my lips with a playful smirk.

  “Then it’s certainly because of the teachings of my Mothers.”

  “It would seem so.”

  And to him, I was a kind and loving prodigy pretending to be a child.

  Looking at all the children lining up, they were all malnourished and they all smell like dumpsters. They were wearing dirty rags instead of any decent clothing. I closed my eyes for a while to let my “empathy” calm down. Reopening them, I gestured for Mr. Sigurd to bring out the mana testing device.

  He reached into the inside of his cloak to bring out a necklace with a transparent gem hanging down at the end of it. We then walked from children to children, hovering the gemstone over their head. Most of them only emitted a minor glow.

  Which is the average capability for 8 years old. It’s nothing for them to worry about, since mana capacity can be trained just like muscle. However, I was not just looking for any average Joe, I was looking for gifted individuals.

  Then suddenly, the gem began glowing brightly, brighter than ever.

  “Oh?” Mr. Sigurd was surprised.

  “No way….” Even the fat man was surprised that such a gifted individual would be in his orphanage.

  I looked in front of me, there were two identical girls. Thin and malnourished, their golden blonde hair was tainted by coal dust, chimney cleaning, perhaps. They were clinging to each other, providing comfort to themselves, and unlike all the other kids’ dead fish eyes, their eyes were filled with caution.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I smiled to try comforting them and then turned toward the fat man.

  “Both of them shall suffice, they will be adopted by our family.”

  “Understood, it’s just that the adoption process could take some time…”

  The fat man said with a greedy smile, locking his eyes onto the twins.

  “Hmm... but I thought all we have to do is sign a few pieces of paper.”

  “Young lord, adoption takes way more steps than just signing a few pieces of paper…” The fat man gave another excuse.

  “You’re not planning to sell them to the black market and claim that they disappeared mysteriously after we leave, are you? I have to make sure of that because human trafficking is illegal in this country.”

  The twins were visibly scared when hearing this, while the fat man was shocked as if I had read his mind.

  “Actually, I had enough of this already, such a greedy man like you does not deserve to be fined or sentenced to a few months in jail. I will personally urge Father to send you to our Far East Colony to join the brave Penal Frontiers.”

  I turned back to Mr. Sigurd, he gave me a nod and said,

  “Robert Mann, on suspicion of stealing charity funds, you have been arrested.”

  Guards standing in the corner suddenly came to the fat man and upheld him, pulling him outside.

  “Forgive me! I was just joking! I never inte-“

  Then the door slammed shut.

  “Ah, sweet justice.” I said with a smile, listening to Mann's last cry fading beyond the door. “What do you think, Mr. Sigurd?”

  “I believe you handled the situation well” he said calmly, then continued

  “Though I must say, urging Lord Camelot’s intervention may stir trouble. The noble society isn’t particularly fond of a bastard son wielding his father’s name so openly.” He gave his honest opinion, like he always does, which is also one of the reasons why Father liked him.

  “I am not too worried about what the noble society thinks of me, all I cared about was repaying my Father for what he has done for me and my Mother.”

  After all, my character was someone with gratitude.

  “Well said.”

  Though Mann’s arrest was based on suspicion, I was confident that we would find enough evidence before his trial. One great aspect of living in feudalism was that you can arrest people without warrant, that is, if you are the one sitting on the top.

  It’s amazing how he has been running this fraud for years without getting caught. Makes me wonder how many more were going to join him in the Eastern Frontier.

  I turned my attention to the children lining up in front of me, smiling at them wholeheartedly

  “No worries, we will find a better man to manage this. Someone more competent than Robert was.”

  The children’s eyes lit up in hope that they had long lost.

  “And you two, would you mind following me to my carriage waiting just outside?”

  I pointed to the two twins, they looked at each other’s eyes before nodding their heads and began following me.

  The coachman opened the door of the carriage for me

  “It’s best for me to sit with the coachman, after all, it’d be a bit rude to interrupt young people’s conversation.” Mr. Sigurd excused himself.

  I stepped into the carriage, gesturing my hand for the seat on the opposite side.

  They were a bit hesitant, glancing at their dirty attire. I tilted my head in confusion and asked.

  “What seems to be the problem?”

  “It’s just that… we don’t want to stain your seat…”

  One of the girls said meekly, from nervous talking to a nobleman maybe.

  I made a childish laugh “Don’t worry, our coachman is very responsible, he makes sure to clean this carriage every ride.” I playfully knocked on the carriage wall, “Isn’t that right, Mr. Morris?”

  The coachman was startled by my sudden call to him, and the fact that I remembered his name. From the outside, Mr. Sigurd teased him.

  “Ri- Right indeed, Young Master, this carriage is my pride. You young ladies can surely enjoy yourselves there without any worry.”

  Then, the twin carefully stepped into the carriage.

  With a loud crack of the whip, the carriage began to move.

  I adjusted my posture and expresion to portray confidence and warmth.

  “What are your names?”

  “Sola” “and Luna.” The other twin soon followed up.

  “What a great pair of names to have.” I complimented, and both of them smiled, visibly pleased.

  “What about your surname?”

  The girls, now looked a bit embarrassed

  “We don’t have a surname, we have been passed around orphanages since we were little. No one knows who our parents were.”

  “I see…” I paused before comforting “There’s no need to feel ashamed, everyone has their own stories.”

  They nodded.

  “So, you two, I will explain why I invited you here.”

  I raised my index finger.

  “First, you will become a servant of the Camelot house.”

  Technically, I did force the twins to have this job. However, becoming the servant of a noble family is considered the dream job for many in the lower class.

  Luna’s eyes were now sparkling with excitement, while Sola’s was contemplating.

  I then lifted my middle finger to join with the index finger.

  “Second, you will become my personal servants, my close friends.”

  Now both of them were filled with disbelief. The position of close friends were usually reserved for other nobles. They exchanged quick glances with each other.

  And, finally, my ring finger also came up, completing my gesture.

  “Third, be loyal to me and me only.”

  It was an understandable request. But before hearing their response, I had something to declare.

  “Before you agree, I do have to let you know that I am a bastard son. Though my Father admitted me, other nobles still treat me like a parasite. Even if you understand that, would you still follow me?”

  Luna turned toward her sister.

  Sola looked directly into my eyes and nodded, her gazes were filled with determination.