2.11

"Hey." His voice contained gentleness and not a hint of hostility, yet the boy was still on his guard.

The boy was barely visible in that place, where only the light that entered through the door illuminated the room. His brown hair was brittle and he looked thin, with dry, chapped lips, bruised arms, and dirty clothes. His smell wasn't the best either, he probably couldn't even take a shower because he was locked in that place. Brandon's heart dropped as he grasped these facts.

He looked like he was abused and neglected. It was something that could serve as even more solid evidence to build the case, but it only made him feel terrible to see such a thing happening. No child should be treated in such a way, in his opinion.

"You must be Anderson Polltz, right?" The boy's eyes widened at the mention of his name. The director might even know, but he usually treated them indirectly, without mentioning them. "Judging by your reaction, I am right." Brandon smiled at him. "It's you I've been looking for."

With those words, Anderson's heart skipped a beat. He wondered why that guy, whom he had never seen in his life, was looking for him, how he got into that room or why the director didn't come in or even show up at the entrance and rush him to go with him. If it was something the director did, surely he would have walked in and yelled at him to get out quickly with the man in front of him. Therefore, he was a bit confused and didn't know how to react.

'This isn't working…'

Brandon looked at the boy who was staring at him intently. It was clear that he was confused, but still on guard with him, as if his pale face and thin arms could somehow protect him in case he was someone with a darker, more violent purpose. He then decided to be clear with the boy sitting across from him. It would be better to be honest, as he could help you and would cooperate more easily.

"I'm Brandon. I'll be direct. Do you want Principal Ivor arrested?" Didn't even need to hear it twice, Anderson immediately shook his head. He did it subconsciously, so much so that he surprised himself by nodding his head at the sound of it. "Excellent. I need you to come with me downstairs and tell my lord everything."

The child looked at him suspiciously. It looked like he was thinking how true his words are. Her figure for him was that of a stranger who was talking about something he wanted, but which could be a trap. Brandon waited until he looked at him and nodded. In the end, Anderson decided to follow the man who had entered. If what Brandon had told him was true, then it was just too tempting not to refuse just out of distrust.

The redhead smiled and approached the child who recoiled a little in shock at the approach, but when he realized that there was nothing to be afraid of, he calmed down and let himself be supported until he was standing by him. Brandon thought he could carry him in his arm as he was so thin and small, but decided not to, as he thought he might be scared and tempted to run away.

Holding her small hand, Brandon noted how thin they were and their bones were almost crisp. His brow creased and his gaze deepened, only to soon guide him through the exit toward the light streaming into the room. The boy watched him, but stared out of the room as he approached. Anxiety and joyful feelings flared in his body, part of him was afraid that the director would find him and put him there again, while the other part was relieved to be able to leave this place.

"I'll tell you what you're going to have to do while we're on our way over there." Brandon spoke again as soon as they were gone. The boy nodded, understanding that he would have to do his part. "When we get to the reception hall, I'll say that you left the orphanage and ran outside and asked for help. I, who was waiting for my master to return, was shocked to see a child in his condition and thought I would report as soon as I saw him. He understood?"

Anderson shook his head again. Seeing that there was no one in the halls. He could only think of one thing: that someone had come to adopt, and it seemed that the one who had come was the lord of the red-haired boy who was accompanying him. That explained why the director hadn't shown up, but not why the man was in there. All he could conclude was that he had snuck in.

"You'll have to say what the principal did with the other kids and stuff." Brandon said as much, but thought his looks pretty much said it all. Thin, pale, and purple bruises across her nearly white skin. Anyone who saw it could deduce that they were the result of abuse and neglect.

"Can you speak?"

"Yes."

"That's nice."

Brandon didn't speak anymore after that and led him down the path. A comfortable silence settled between the two. There was no need to strike up a conversation since they were strangers and it wasn't a socializing situation.

The boy walked well and at a fast pace, although his condition was weakened. His steps were able to accompany Brandon who helped him and looked at the boy almost all the time. The path from where they were to the reception room wasn't far, it was quite fast, but he couldn't help looking at the boy who looked like he was going to fall if he deviated for a second.

Finally, they arrived. As soon as they stopped in front of the door, the small body tensed and that didn't go unnoticed by the redhead, who looked at her and smiled, as if to say that everything would be fine. Somehow that calmed Anderson down, but he still had nervousness in him.

Brandon opened the door and the interior filled with children with a few adults showed. All heads turned to him and the boy with him. They were surprised, even the headmaster who, unlike the last time, was closer to Ferion than the door.

"Excuse me sir." Brandon began, catching Ferion's attention and drawing everyone's eyes to him. "Sorry to interrupt, but when I was outside, this child ran out of the orphanage and asked me for help… I was shocked and thought I should let you know…"

Brandon said and stared into Ferion's black eyes the whole time. His voice and face should express that he was a subordinate who wouldn't know what to do in such a situation and that he was worrying about a child who appeared to be fragile and in need of help, and he successfully did so. The children widened their eyes at what he said, taking it as the truth.

"All right." Ferion's stern face didn't express anything as he spoke to Brandon, but his brows deepened when he saw the state of the boy beside him. "It's him?"

"Oh yeah." He shook his head and looked at the boy. Anderson, taking his cue, took a step forward and began to speak.

"Hello sir. My name is Anderson Polltz and I humbly ask for your help."

"Could you tell me with what?" Ferion asked. The director next to him was attentive to the child's words. Ivor couldn't enter the conversation without sounding more suspicious than the situation already imposed on him. And his hands were clenched with nervousness and anger.

"Yes. That man is abusing us." He points to Principal Ivor.

"What?!" He protested but was ignored.

"He beats us, locks us up and lets some starve." He continued. "When we are sick, we don't have access to medicine, but he makes sure we don't die. The food here isn't the best either and the ingredients are the cheapest you can buy. And the building is practically falling apart, but he doesn't do anything to fix it."

With the words coming out of the boy who was next to Brandon, the director got scared and started sweating nervously, and he looked at Ferion, starting to explain.

"That is a lie, sir. That child is a liar. He is a troublemaker who often disobeys my orders and challenges my authority. I'm sure he's just saying that to put me in a bad light. He also fights with the other kids, so I usually ground him."

"Principal." Ferion looked at the man. A look that gave nothing away, there was disgust when looking at him. "Do you take me for an idiot?"

"H-huh? Of course not, sir."

"So how do you try to explain a situation that is clear?" He inquired. "Just looking at it, I see that the boy is thin and I see wounds on his arms and legs, if you doubt it, even on his torso as well. This shouldn't happen in an orphanage that is run well, is it?"

Ivor didn't answer anything, Ferion's gaze on him was startling him. He didn't think that would happen when a rich man came to adopt one of the children.

"Let's not even mention the others either." The orphans in the room straightened up upon hearing the noble refer to them. "Who wears a long-sleeved shirt in the middle of summer? When it's hot? The place also looks clean, but it is obvious that it is not in suitable condition for housing children."

He said and some kids looked at his arms. The knights were in readiness for their First Young Master's orders and Brandon and Anderson watched from the doorway. Anderson's hand that was held in Brandon's hand tightened a little, showing how the young man's condition was with the scene he saw.

"Nott and Oliver, pick him up and get him out, we'll start the investigation now."

"Yes, sir."

Both said at the same time. The two knights quickly moved in and grabbed the director who was still suffering from the effects of the pressure he felt from Ferion. Soon, as soon as they reached the door, he realized what was happening and began to struggle, screaming and asking to be released. Anderson grew closer to Brandon as they walked past the two, the fear he feels for the man, even though he was held by the knights, couldn't be erased with just the fact that he was taken.

Silence reigned in the room as the man's screams began to fade as he disappeared down the hall.

Ferion faced the children shortly after and stood up, lowering his head a little and straightening his posture. It was an apologetic stance and the words that followed from his mouth as well. Brandon was surprised to see him that way, he didn't think Ferion would either.

"I'm sorry and so is my family. If we had been more attentive, we could have dealt with this a lot longer." Ferion spoke, lifting his head and seeing the shocked faces of the smaller ones. They also looked confused by the sudden statement. "I don't think I performed last time or this one. I am Ferion Raven Miller, the eldest son of Earl Miller."

Whispers that ran wild were heard by Ferion from the children who were surprised. There was no one in the city of Verth who did not know the surname. Even Anderson was left to discover that he was related to the lord of the county. He thought the man Brandon said was his lord was someone important or some nobleman with a little bit of authority.

"I'm sorry we didn't arrest him sooner and only became aware of it recently." He continued, but no response was heard. "You will be managed by us for now, until the government people come and we discuss how to proceed. I will send someone from the estate to work here."

Ferion said and looked one last time at the children and turned to Brandon who was there looking at him.

"Brandon, stay here with them, I'll order some of the knights outside to come, and wait for the person I'm going to send."

Brandon nodded and watched as Ferion walked past him and headed for the exit with quick steps. The children followed the noble figure out and then to the redhead who was watching them too. He had no idea what to do, but since it was temporary, he should just keep an eye on them.

"Thanks…"

A murmur was made and attracted his attention. The kid, Anderson, who was next to him, had his head down, but Brandon was pretty sure he was the one who thanked him.

"It's all right." Brandon took his hand and stroked the boy's head, who even though he was surprised by the sudden act, didn't remove it.

*

The sounds of wood on earth and stone were heard, although it is almost silent. The landscape changed through the window and Ferion was sitting right in front of her, staring at the same window that Brandon was looking at.

"I'm glad it all worked out." Brandon said.

"Me too. Although I wasn't happy that we had to act like this to sort things out." Ferion commented, creasing his face a little.

He didn't like having to sneak Brandon in. It was not like him to act in such a way, just because it is forbidden. During the war, he met the problem head on, but now he couldn't, because there was politics in the middle. It was uncomfortable, but not that he couldn't understand.

Both had already left the orphanage. One of the knights went to the property and asked the count to send someone to stay in the place, managing it while they still couldn't find someone to officially manage it. Ferion had stood outside the gates and ordered the functions, before going back inside and seeing the children more relaxed, with Brandon chatting with the boy, Anderson, from earlier.

"If it weren't for Bellum's Law, we could have solved this more easily."

"Bellum's Law?" Brandon cocked his head, confused by the mention of something he'd heard for the first time.

"You do not know? I thought you knew, since you work with my dad." Ferion said, seeing that Brandon was silent. "The Bellum Law states that lords of territories, up to a certain level, may not interfere with government buildings without good reason. It was established five years ago, because of Count Zervic who had committed crimes using a government building, which he practically ruled. That's why we couldn't arrest the director so easily, even though it was obvious what he was doing. There was no allegation either, we couldn't act without concrete evidence."

"Why would it seem like we're trying to interfere with the running of an orphanage? Isn't that pretty much being petty? They would know what would happen just by looking."

"Yes it's right. But that would mean that the government is not doing a good job of looking after its institutions and would fail the true purpose of the law: to contain the power of the nobility. They wouldn't want to admit it, and would try to push it under the hood while they sort out the situation and deal with the noble who "disobeyed" the law. Therefore, when interfering with government buildings one has to be very careful, because it can seem like rebelling against an imperial order."

Ferion's always serious face seemed even more so in Brandon's eyes. He would explain something without losing his temper and clearly, well enough that it was easy to understand. And it made sense why they had to come up with a plan to have the warden arrested and their intervention done. Though he disliked children being victims.

"I understand…"

"I don't like the situation either, but there's nothing you can do about it. The law also created confusion in the imperial court, but due to the war, it seems to have been set aside. Anyway, we just have to be responsible for the children from now on, until the government people come, and do an investigation in the other orphanages, just to find out."

"And when will they come?"

"Possibly this week, but you won't be on the day. It will be my father who will take care of it, since he is the representative, and I, as the one in charge of the prison. After that, we will be able to intervene a little in the care of the little ones because we will make an agreement for that. No need to worry, I will do everything possible for them. Since most of them are war orphans, I feel responsible for them."

"How do you know they are war orphans?"

"The children's register contains their information and what they were able to report. Most are from parents who abandoned because of the war or died."

Brandon nodded. However, he focused on the fact that they were war orphans. He didn't know who they were, but it would make sense why the orphanage had more than he would have expected. Generally, in a region that had a few orphanages and a well-traveled region with enough wealth, it was difficult for there to be more than thirty children, without any occurrence or disaster happening.

A sour feeling he got whenever he thought about the things that had happened because of the war settled in his mouth. Brandon still remembered how many papers he saw the earl signing for honorable death in the war or that refugees were entering the territory, as Miller territory was relatively close to the Torzik kingdom, where the war took place.

All he could do was sigh and settle for what he could so they could live at least a little bit well. Nott was from the orphanage, so he would ask his friend to come with him sometimes and keep an eye on what was going on. Sure enough, he would accept it, as it looked like he really felt sorry, even if it wasn't his fault.