Chapter 57

Chapter 57

When Lange asked, the woman reflexively shot a vigilant look.

“By the way, we do not take orders for food and drinks. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. I don’t know how you got here, but if you want to stay and eat, it’d be better for you to go to another town.”

At the end of those words, the woman who had turned her head in a hurry began to whimper and drag the large box again. Miffed, Lange rolled up his sleeves and pulled the box instead. He doesn’t know what was in it, but it was very heavy.

“Where should I put it?”

“Oh… You’re strong. I won’t turn down your help. I don’t know what you want. Can you bring it this way?”

The woman guided Lange to the inside that was covered with a cloth. What was once the kitchen was littered with all sorts of junk. Whether it was true that it was deserted, it was hard for him to see anything to eat.

Lange placed the box roughly in the empty spot. Suddenly, sweat formed on his forehead.

“What’s inside this that it’s so heavy?”

“Just this and that? Things like antiques. I’m saving it in the hopes that I can sell them later.”

The woman rummaged through the bag she was wearing, pulled out a handkerchief, and held it to Lange. Lange bowed his head briefly, thanked her, took the handkerchief, and wiped his sweat.

“What do you want more than that? If there’s anything you want to ask, ask now. Usually, the reason that outsiders come all the way here is because they took the wrong way, or most of the time they came here for a specific purpose. It must be one of them.”

“Ah… If so, I would like to ask a few questions.”

Lange pulled out a notebook and pen from his arms. The woman who saw it gasped, and she gave out a small exclamation.

“It’s the latter. So what do you want to know?”

“Do you know about the Fitzgerald Orphanage that used to be around here?”

“…Why are you asking about the orphanage?”

“Do you know about it? Then it would be easy for you to talk about.”

Recognizing the woman’s uncomfortable reaction, Lange’s eyes lit up unknowingly. It didn’t look like she was happy, but the important thing here was that the woman knew something about it. For now, even one reference person was still a pitiful result.

“The Fitzgerald Orphanage, which existed until seven years ago, suddenly disappeared. Do you know why?”

“…It’s because of the fire. There was a big fire and the whole building burned to the ground. So the orphanage disappeared.”

“If it’s such a big fire, shouldn’t it have been featured in the papers? There was no mention of that fire anywhere.”

At Lange’s question, the woman let out a small sigh. Then she crossed her arms and gave Lange a stern look.

“Newspapers are a luxury for us, and people need to know how to read. Would a few better-off people care if an orphanage for commoners had disappeared?”

“Oh, I see. I didn’t even think about that. I’m sorry. So, do you know what happened to the people in the orphanage at that time?”

“I don’t know. Everyone scattered around. They either have a good life or a bad life, or both. Or they are already gone.”

In a rather sharp tone, Lange swallowed a gulp and roughly wrote ‘Whereabouts unknown’ in his notebook. At this, the woman looked at Langue’s notebook and asked a question.

“But why are you investigating the orphanage?”

“Ah, I’m looking for someone.”

“Is that person from an orphanage? Then it must be difficult to find. Because of the fire, all the related documents must have been lost.”

“Yes, I couldn’t find much.”

Lange shook his head following the woman’s words. So far, the only information he has gained from traveling here and there is that the orphanage disappeared due to a fire. Lange narrowed his brow as his head hurt. He can’t go back like this. At that moment, the woman asked Lange again.

“Is it important? Who is it? You never know. It might be someone I know. I’m from there.”

“…A woman with ginger-red hair and dark green eyes. She is a very neat and beautiful woman. Do you happen to know? It is confirmed that she was in the orphanage until seven years ago.”

“Red hair, green eyes… Tessa?”

Lange’s eyes widened as the familiar name came out of the woman’s mouth. He asked in a slightly exasperated voice.

“Do you know her?”

“Yes, we were friends at the orphanage. But why are you looking for Tessa? What happened to her?”

“I’m also just working on commission, so I don’t even know that.”

Lange told the lie without even a single blink of an eye. He opened the next page of the notebook and asked the woman a question again.

“Besides that, did you separate with her because of the fire?”

“No. Tessa left the orphanage a few months before the fire. She left without saying goodbye so hastily, that’s why I remember it clearly.”

“So you don’t know where she went.”

“Yes, I don’t know.”

“Then, did she do anything special before leaving the orphanage?”

While jotting down what he had heard in the notebook, Lange continued to induce the woman to answer.

“Uh… Looking back, Tessa was very busy at the time. She was often called by the director. She didn’t tell me what she was doing, but… She seemed overjoyed. Like her worries were over… So I thought since Tessa is a good and sincere girl, she was getting paid to do a few of the director’s personal errands. Or maybe she got a job arranged for her. Tessa was due to be independent the following year, that’s why she said she was very worried.”

“Independent?”

“Do you know she’s been living in an orphanage all her life? When you reach a certain age, you have to become independent. So, usually when it was time to become independent, everyone was busy trying to get a job. In particular, the girls tried their best to look good in the director’s eyes. Unlike boys who find it relatively easy to find a job, there are times when the director will arrange a job for the girls. So I didn’t really think twice about Tessa suddenly leaving the orphanage. Because she wanted to get a job in a hurry. Also, the boy who was attached to Tessa also went out at the same time as her.”

Lange, who had a rough idea of ​​who the boy the woman was talking about, nodded slightly.

“Was there no news after that?”

“Yes. Well, half of the news was cut off when I left the orphanage, so I didn’t hear from the others. That fire broke out in the orphanage a few months later, too, so.”

“…I see.”

Lange paused his pen for a moment and pondered in his head. It was difficult to completely rule out the fact that Tessa Jutert betrayed Hert Shine, as the clear circumstances are still unknown. It is because there is very little that can be known from the testimony of the woman in front of him now.

What was sure of the information in the conversation with the woman was that Tessa Jutert had frequent meetings with the director before leaving the orphanage and entering Barony Settebien.

‘A job arrangement…’

Lange moved his pen again, thinking he should dig there.

“Do you know the whereabouts of the orphanage director at that time?”

“Weird. A few days ago, someone came to me and asked me to tell you about the whereabouts of the director.”

The woman rummaged through her bag again, and soon she pulled out the square chips. After receiving it, Lange narrowed his eyes and looked at the chip. Chips circulated in gambling establishments? Once Lange understood, he shoved the chip into his arms.

“They told me to take you to Lindehal’s estate.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“I don’t know either. When they say give, I just gave. Have you asked all your questions now?”

“Oh, if possible, can you tell me the structure of the orphanage? Before coming here, I looked at the site and drew a rough guess, but I wondered if this was correct.”

Lange unfolded the previously jotted notes and showed it to the woman. The woman traced her memory and roughly corrected only the parts that were wrong. Lange was satisfied and took his notebook and put it in his chest. Then he extended a hand to the woman.

“Thank you. Come to think of it, I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Ro. May I ask what the lady’s name is?”

“What lady…”

The woman took Lange’s outstretched hand and said.

“It’s Joannie.”

* * *

A warm breeze ruffled Tessa’s hair.

Tessa looked at Jean, who was picking flowers right in front of her, and Janet, who was weaving the flowers to make a garland. The wreath in Janet’s hand was nearing completion. The crown of colorful flowers was beautiful just looking at it.

“…You have such good dexterity, Janet.”

“Is that so? That’s good. What should I pick for the last flower?”

Janet asked Tessa, examining the flowers Jean had brought. When Tessa pointed to a yellow flower among them, Janet smiled and picked a yellow flower to finish the flower crown. Then she put it on Tessa’s head. Next to her, Jean and Mani made a fuss about how it matched her well. Only Tessa looked at Janet with a puzzled expression.

“Why…”

“It suits Tessa the best.”

“It doesn’t…”

“What are you talking about? Tessa should do this, if not who should? Look here. Well, it looks good on you too. In fact, Tessa is such a beautiful woman, I think you would have looked good no matter what.”

At that remark, Tessa rolled her eyes awkwardly. She felt strange when she heard that she was a beauty. She is nothing more than a duck pretending to be a swan. The young marquis’ words, which were vulgar and insignificant, echoed in her ears. Tessa lowered her gaze.

Then Janet said, clapping lightly in front of Tessa’s face.

“Why do you have that expression again? You’re really pretty. How pretty is this outfit you’re wearing right now? I would have been really upset if you hadn’t made the clothes with that fabric. As expected, my eyes are amazing.”

Pointing to Tessa’s clothes, Janet grinned.

“…Janet, why… Are you nice to me?”

“Well, because I want to eat and gobble you up later?”

“…What?”

“It’s a joke, you and I are friends after all, Tessa. Don’t tell me… Am I the only one who thought so? I definitely said we were going to be friends.”

When Janet said in a sad tone, Tessa quickly waved her hand.

“No, not that. You’re my… friend too…”

“Mmh, that’s great to hear. It’s about time I bring this up, too.”

“…What?”

“I’ve decided on the day I’ll be leaving.”