The Orphan

St. Martin Orphanage, Three Branches

In St. Martin Orphanage, there are a total of five branches, each with the capacity to accommodate about a thousand people, making a total of five thousand. However, in reality, St. Martin doesn't have that many orphans. Apart from the first branch, which has a larger number, the others only have two to three hundred children.

Among them, the first branch is located within the city of St. Martin and houses the orphans of martyrs, ministers, officials, and those who have contributed to the kingdom. This branch provides the best treatment among all the orphanages, with specialized teachers, medical staff, and psychological counseling services.

Growing up in this branch, although not everyone becomes a talent, the proportion of talented individuals is exceptionally high.

On the other hand, branches two, three, four, and five are located in the suburbs of St. Martin, in the east, west, south, and north of the city, respectively. While the treatment is not as good as the first branch, they still have dedicated teachers, medical personnel, and regular psychological counseling for all the orphans, just not at the same level.

Most of the children in branches two to five are orphans from ordinary families.

The reason for the different treatment in these branches is to convey a message to the people of St. Martin: if you contribute to the kingdom, even if you sacrifice your life, your children will receive top-tier treatment, education, and will grow up to be talents! For those who are commoners, there is no need to worry either. Even though their children might not receive the highest treatment, as long as they are citizens of the kingdom, the kingdom will take responsibility for their children.

"Waves upon waves… waves upon waves…."

Today, after finishing work, Old Newcastle went to the Royal Bank of St. Martin to obtain income and deposit certificates. He also went to the security team in the city to obtain identification documents. Afterward, he went to the hospital to get a certificate of good health. With all the necessary documents, he happily walked towards the third branch of the orphanage, located in the west of the city.

Adopting orphans in St. Martin is not a simple process. Besides meeting age requirements, adopters must also meet certain economic and physical conditions. If they do not meet these conditions, the orphanage will not allow them to adopt.

After all, if you can't meet the economic conditions, why should the orphanage cultivate the orphan for you?

If you can't meet the physical conditions, what will happen if you adopt the orphan and then die?

It's better to let these orphans stay in the orphanage, where they will receive better education and treatment!

However, since Old Newcastle was selected by Hugmore, he naturally met all the conditions!

In terms of economy, Old Newcastle was single and usually earned a considerable salary from delivering vegetables to the palace every month.

His hobbies were simple: drinking a little alcohol, dancing, and singing. These activities didn't cost much, so he had accumulated a considerable amount of savings in the bank.

In terms of physical condition, although he had minor health issues, he had never had any major illnesses and was in good health. He could easily live for another twenty or thirty years, and if lucky, he could live up to a hundred years.

Old Newcastle arrived at the third branch with ease.

Although it was called an orphanage, the third branch was nothing like those terrifying and gloomy orphanages in horror movies like "The Orphan" or "The Orphanage."

The orphanage had three parts, all of which were bright and spacious:

A vast playground filled with various recreational toys and exercise equipment, where orphans could play and exercise. The edges of the playground were lined with trees and flowers, giving it a lively and spring-like atmosphere.

A five-story dormitory building, with the first floor serving as the dining hall and the second to fifth floors used for sleeping and washing. During normal times, specialized teachers managed the order here.

A five-story teaching building, with one floor for the kindergarten and the second to fourth floors for grades one to six. The fifth floor was for the orphanage staff.

Grades one to six represented the compulsory education in St. Martin. After completing this education, those who excelled would enter the newly established St. Martin Middle School for three more years of advanced studies. Those who performed average or below average would be assigned to various workshops to become apprentices and learn a skill to make a living. Once they turned sixteen, the orphans would move to the accommodation provided by the St. Martin Kingdom and begin an independent life.

Old Newcastle entered the third branch and easily found his way to the office of the vice principal on the top floor of the teaching building.

The unified director of all the orphanages in St. Martin was Princess Satomi. However, during regular times, the vice principals were in charge, and she would only visit during holidays to bring gifts and show care for the children.

"Knock, knock!"

"Come in!"

A gentle voice came from the office.

Upon hearing the voice, Old Newcastle opened the door and walked in directly.

"Oh, it's Old Newcastle! Is everything ready?" Maeda Mariko looked up, recognized the person, and kindly asked.

Mariko was an elderly woman in her sixties, dressed in a traditional kimono. Her face looked benevolent, and she had silver hair styled in an updo. Originally a descendant of a noble family in the city of St. Martin, she had been married once, but her husband passed away due to illness, and she never remarried. She had no children of her own but had adopted many orphans. When Arthur ascended to the throne, she was invited to become the director of the orphanage.

"Everything is ready!" Old Newcastle smiled and handed over various certificates in his hands.

Mariko carefully checked the documents and nodded with satisfaction. Nevertheless, she picked up the telephone beetles next to her and made calls to the bank, the security team, and the hospital, carefully verifying the information.

After a while, she put down the telephone beetles.

"Alright, everything is in order!" Mariko smiled slightly and stood up. She walked towards the door and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see the little girl you have in mind."

"Sure!" Old Newcastle nodded and followed her.

Today was Saturday, so there were no classes in the orphanage. The orphans were either playing on the playground or sleeping in their dorms.

As Old Newcastle and Mariko left the teaching building and passed by the playground, they arrived at the dormitory.

"Who is that person? How can they adopt someone on their first visit?"

"Yeah! Don't they usually observe for a few days before adopting?"

"I know him. He's Old Newcastle, the one who delivers vegetables to the palace. I spoke to him last time when the teacher took us out to play!"

"Who is he going to adopt?"

"I don't know! Normally, the director would inform us in advance. Why is it so sudden today?"

A group of orphans on the playground were discussing this scene.

The orphans were naturally sensitive to adoption matters. They knew who came for a visit, who observed them for a few days, and they had an idea of what was going on.

Usually, before entering the adoption phase, at most, the teachers and staff would take the prospective adopter around to observe the orphans. It was only during the adoption phase that the director would be present.

Under Mariko's guidance, Old Newcastle arrived at a room on the fifth floor of the dormitory, furthest inside.

"Knock, knock!"

"Creak!"

The door opened instantly.

It was a standard six-person room, and it housed six little girls of the same age, all five years old.

"Ah, it's Grandma Director!"

"Grandma Director!"

"Director!"

As soon as they saw Mariko, the five little girls playing in the room rushed over with smiles on their faces.

The only blonde girl sitting on the bed in the corner had her legs crossed, leaning against the wall, quietly reading a book. Mariko's arrival only made her look up briefly before she lowered her head to read again.

After soothing the five little girls, Mariko pointed to Old Newcastle and said to the girl in the corner, "Cariva, he wants to be your adoptive parent. Are you willing?"