575: The Orphanage

The Orphanage

Alan and Damien headed towards Alan's home, which was also the orphanage.0

While heading there, Alan finally asked the most important question of all, "Um… I didn't get to ask your name. What do I call you?"

"My name is Damien." Damien gave a wide smile to Alan.

Alan couldn't help but admire that sweet-looking demon baby. He smiled at him and said, "That's a very ambitious name. I bet your mother expects great things from you."

Damien nodded his head and nonchalantly said, "My mother said I need to make all the demons bow to me." He placed his palm over his chest and claimed, "I'm going to conquer Hell one day."

Alan saw a fragment of his brother in that boy. He smiled and gave a piece of advice to the boy, "Rather than making them bow to you, you might want to gain their trust first. If you do that, they will bow to you even if you don't ask them to."

"Hmm…" Damien nodded but his attention was already robbed by a bush of wildflower around them.

Alan smiled again because from the way Damien was talking earlier, he could have sworn that the boy was not as young as he looked. However, the way he was easily distracted by the surroundings made him believe that the boy was just a boy after all.

While Damien was distracted, Alan asked again, "And what's your mother's name? If she is a powerful demoness then I might have heard about her."

Damien had already shifted his gaze from the wildflowers to the houses that were now in view. But he still answered Alan, "Her name is Lilith."

Alan felt a pang in his chest and suddenly stopped moving. After hearing Lilith's name, he suddenly got a flashback of the war. To be more precise, he was suddenly reminded of the heaps of corpses left by his mother after losing her mind.

Damien tilted his head to take a better look at Alan's face. And then he asked, "Did you know my mother?"

Alan resumed walking again and answered, "I didn't personally know your mother. But most of the people in our Kingdom know her name."

"Oh…" Damien then excitedly asked, "Is she that famous in the Earth realm?"

Alan pressed his lips into a thin line because he didn't want to dishearten the kid. He didn't want to say that she was actually infamous for siding with Wyverndale's enemy during the war.

So instead, he simply replied, "Yeah. She is famous. For being too powerful."

"Yeah, that she is." Damien proudly boasted.

Alan cleared his throat and gave him a warning upon seeing that smug look on Damien's face, "The humans might get scared if you mention that you are her son. So, don't mention it to anyone in the Earth realm, okay?"

Damien, however, didn't think that those from the Earth realm would get scared of his mother. "Ariel and her father know that I am her son. They've even met her. They used to come to my home… but…"

He suddenly glanced at Alan and mumbled, "But they stopped visiting our home. Ariel hasn't visited me recently. Is it because they are scared of my mother?"

Alan chuckled lightly and replied, "I don't think they are scared."

He didn't know how much he was allowed to reveal about Theodore and Ariel so he simply said, "Ariel's mother was planning to start classes for Ariel. Maybe she is busy with her classes and training."

Damien silently nodded. He hoped that it was the case.

As the two of them were now walking on the village's path, Alan warned the demon baby in a soft voice, "Damien, most of the humans in this village still don't know that demons like you exist. So, while you are here, don't manifest your wings in front of others, okay?"

Damien raised his brows and exclaimed, "What? They don't know that we exist?" He giggled and then jokingly asked, "Do they live under a rock or something? How can they not know about the dem–?"

Alan hastily covered Damien's mouth and grinned at a passerby.

And then he whispered to Damien, "They don't know because they have never seen one. So, you have to be careful while you are here, alright?"

Damien wanted to laugh at the oblivious humans but he still nodded.

After walking for some more time, they were nearing a somewhat private area. There were fences around a huge plot of land.

Alan then pointed inside that fence and informed Damien, "That is where I am currently living. I and my wife look after two boys and a girl who don't have parents. They are a lovely bunch. You will love them."

Upon reaching the gate, Alan and Damien were greeted by the guards.

And when they crossed the gate, Damien's eyes were wide open. There were tall trees on both sides of the path. There were beautiful gardens. There were several small houses. And at the center, there was a huge mansion.

The area wasn't as big as Damien's whole village. The mansion was smaller than his. But he liked it better here because of the peaceful environment. He could hear birds chirping, he could smell something aromatic in the air, and he could see humans who were busy with their own work.

This was originally the rest house of King Dragomir. Grazia was located near the border of Wyverndale and Frostford. The King would come here to spend a few days during summer. And he would rest here while traveling from Wyverndale to Frostford and back.

And before passing away, Dragomir had passed down this property to Alan.

Alan's guards, servants, and maids had also followed the Prince and Princess to Grazia. So, the place was quite lively even when there were just three children in this rest house turned orphanage.

Alan's wife came running to him after she saw him with the boy. And she said in a breathless voice, "You are finally here. I was starting to get a little worried when you didn't return soon."

Alan smiled and said while looking at the boy in his arms, "I was having a little chat with Damien. So, it took some time."

Veronica, Alan's wife, glanced at the boy and asked in a soft voice, "Damien. He will be staying with us from today?"

Alan briefly answered, "He will be staying with us for the night. I will explain everything in detail later. Will you ask the servants to prepare for the travel to Wyverndale Palace? Damien and I will be heading there tomorrow morning."

Without prying further, Veronica nodded and went away.

Alan took Damien to one of the rooms which was right beside his and his wife's bedroom. "You will be staying here tonight. I will ask the maids to give you a bath and after that, I will introduce you to the other children."

Damien looked a little nervous so Alan asked him, "You don't have any problem being surrounded by humans, right?"

Damien smiled and shook his head.

"Good. I will send a few maids right away." Alan then turned to walk away.

But before walking away, he furrowed his brows and asked just to confirm, "Umm… I forgot to ask… what do you eat? Is there any particular food you like?"

Damien didn't think that he would get to consume the aura of anger here in the Earth realm. He had encountered several humans during the walk from the woods to this room. But he didn't catch the scent of the aura to fill his hunger.

So he answered Alan, "I eat the meat of the beasts."

Alan let out a quiet sigh after hearing that answer. It was no news to him that Lilith had conceived a child of Reginald during the time of war. And if this child was Reginald's baby then he was worried that his diet would include human blood.

Alan smiled in relief and said, "Okay. It's settled then. We will have meat items for dinner."

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