Chapter 11: Turmoil

“Hey!”
Bai Jin tried to make her voice sound gentle, though the hoarseness still lingered.

She stopped a few steps away from Vera and squatted down, bringing her gaze level with the little one.

“The party is about to start. Everyone is playing out front. Why are you hiding here all by yourself?”

Vera flinched violently, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
When she saw it was Bai Jin, the panic in her eyes intensified.

“I… I…”
She stammered, her small face turning beet red.
“I wasn’t… I wasn’t hiding… it’s just cooler here…”

Vera clumsily made up excuses, but her eyes uncontrollably darted back to Lilith, her fingers subconsciously twisting the hem of her dress.

Bai Jin found her flustered appearance somewhat cute.
“It’s so boring to stay here alone. Look, the Saintess is over there handing out candy. Aren’t you going to get some?”

“I… I don’t like candy…”
Vera’s voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz.

She kept her head down, staring at the tips of her shoes, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance.
“And… they don’t seem to like playing with me very much…”

This sentence caught Bai Jin’s attention.
She understood now.
Class differences and exclusion truly existed in every world.

“Why do you say that?”
Bai Jin asked softly, moving in front of Vera and leaning against the tree trunk in a listening posture.

“I don’t know why… I really want to get along with them.”

Bai Jin looked at Vera’s lowered head, her conflicted expression making her seem particularly vulnerable.
She remembered how she had been marginalized by her classmates in her past life due to her withdrawn personality.
After entering society, she was busy all day and didn’t even have a close friend.

That sour feeling of wanting to fit in but being rejected was now clearly replaying itself in Vera.

She reached out her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gently patted Vera’s small shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, Vera. Sometimes people are just afraid of people who are different from themselves because they don’t understand.”
Bai Jin said gently.

“Have you tried to approach them on your own? Or, do something to help everyone? Let them see that you’re actually great too?”

Hearing Bai Jin’s words, Vera’s eyes once again filled with tears, but she tilted her head up, her little face turning red.

‘She’s not saying anything…’
Bai Jin looked at her silent, resistant appearance and knew that her favorability wasn’t high enough to unlock Vera’s new plotline.
She could only sigh.

Just then, Director Emma’s loud, smiling voice came from the front yard, “Children! It’s time to eat! Go wash your hands and sit down!”

The aroma of food, mixed with the excited cheers of the children, drifted over, and the hunger worms in both their stomachs were stirred.

“Let’s go,”
Bai Jin stood up and extended her hand to Vera.
“Let’s eat first. You need strength to think about other things. Maybe some kids will be willing to play with you today?”

Vera looked at Bai Jin’s outstretched hand, fair and slender, yet with strange ligature marks.
She hesitated inwardly.

“Gurgle…”

In the end, the desire for food and a little bit of inexplicable trust in Bai Jin prevailed.
She timidly reached out her own hand and gently grasped one of Bai Jin’s fingers.

The front yard of the orphanage was now a lively scene.

The long wooden tables pushed together formed four large tables, and everyone in the orphanage was seated at their corresponding table according to age.

There were no exquisite silver or porcelain plates on the tables, only simple pottery bowls and wooden dishes.

A large basket of freshly baked bread was placed in the center, exuding a rich wheaty aroma.

A large pot of steaming hot vegetable stew, with a few precious drops of oil floating on the surface.

Several adults ladled the soup into each child’s or elder’s bowl.
The small portion of stewed cured meat was also sliced thinly and placed on wooden dishes.

The children sat around the tables, their small faces beaming with pure joy, their eyes fixed on the adults distributing the food.

Bai Jin took Vera to a corner seat.
She noticed that after Vera sat down, she subconsciously shrank back, trying to keep her distance from the other children.

Bai Jin silently pushed a portion of food in front of Vera.

“Eat up, while it’s hot.”
Bai Jin picked up a piece of bread herself and broke it open.

She copied the others, dipping it in a little soup and putting it in her mouth.
The coarse texture, with the most primitive taste of grain, filled her heart with a sense of fulfillment.

Bai Jin looked at the happy and harmonious orphanage.
Her tense nerves since she transmigrated were soothed a little in this simple, lively atmosphere.

However, just as Bai Jin lowered her head to drink her soup, the corner of her eye sharply caught a cold gaze.

Lilith was sitting at the large table for the clergy.
She ate her food with an elegant posture, but her gaze passed through the bustling crowd and landed on Bai Jin and Vera beside her.

‘That little girl who showed unusual interest in the church seems to be getting very close to her attendant nun now, interesting…’

Vera was quietly nibbling on her bread when she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, as if she were being stared at by a viper.

She looked up abruptly and also saw Lilith’s playful gaze.

“Pfft… cough cough cough!”
Vera was so scared that a piece of bread got stuck in her throat.
She coughed violently, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Eat slowly, don’t rush. Have some soup to wash it down.”
Bai Jin quickly put down her own bowl, reached out to pat Vera’s back, and shot Lilith a reproachful look.

Bai Jin just thought she was scared by Lilith’s gaze and had eaten too quickly.

Just then—

“Bang!!”

A dull, loud noise came from outside the orphanage, followed by the shrill neighing of a frightened horse and the chaotic sound of hooves.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden loud noise.
The children looked up in confusion, and the adults looked towards the source of the sound with suspicion.

The hand Bai Jin was using to pat Vera’s back instantly froze.
That sound came from Lilith’s carriage.

“What’s going on?”
Director Emma stood up in astonishment, about to go out and see what was happening.

“Everyone, don’t move!”
Lilith had stood up at some point.
“How dare some petty thieves touch my things!”

Lilith’s voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority that instantly suppressed all the noise and suspicion.

Before she finished speaking, her figure had already appeared at the entrance of the orphanage, the hem of her dress fluttering in her swift movement.

Then, two muffled groans of pain and angry shouts were heard.

“Damn it! It’s a trap!”

“Forget the carriage, the target is right there, let’s go!”

Two figures that seemed to have blended into the shadows rolled out from the carriage, which now had a large hole in it.

They were wearing inconspicuous gray robes, their faces covered with masks that only revealed their eyes, which were fierce.

One of them had an arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and the other’s robe on his chest was in tatters, seeping blood.
They were clearly badly injured by the trap on the carriage.

However, their movements did not hesitate in the slightest.
As soon as they stabilized themselves, the two of them shot out like arrows from a bow, attacking Lilith from the left and right!

“Director Emma! Take the children and the elderly inside! Quick!”
Lilith shouted into the courtyard, yet she left a huge opening for the two attackers.

She didn’t even look at the two approaching figures, just casually raised her right hand.

Director Emma’s face was pale, but she reacted extremely quickly.
“Quick! Get inside!”
She quickly directed the frightened women, dragging and pulling the children and the elderly into the house.

Bai Jin also sent Vera into the house and looked back anxiously in Lilith’s direction.

The two gray-robed figures were rapidly approaching, their hands glinting with a cold light, aimed straight at Lilith.