Kneeling before a stack of presents, Vivia began distributing it to the kids. Eurus stood close by, always clutching onto her clothes at her back. The orphanage kids locked their eyes with his, sizing him up. Up close, the kids looked too tall and broad for him. He promptly remained hiding behind her.
As she continued handing the presents, she noticed an older kid cut the line as he pushed the younger one at the back. The younger one didn't protest and lowered his head.
When it was his turn, Vivia said, "You're last in the line. The one behind you was there first."
"Who cares? Just give me the present."
"Stand back in the line and I'll give it to you when it'll be your turn."
His face twisted. "You're just some coachman. You think you're someone great just because you work for the Crown Prince?"
"You think you're someone great just because you're older?" She snapped.
Zerath and Lucian dropped their work at once and stared at her. The other kids in the line giggled and laughed, some even openly pointing their fingers at him.
The older kid fumed and was about to pull Vivia's hair in retaliation, but she grabbed his wrist before he got the chance. Her fist clutched his hand with such a tight force that he yelped in pain. He squirmed and wriggled, but the strange frostiness in Vivia's gaze never settled.
"It's not a nice thing to pull anybody's hair like that. Shall I pull yours and show you how it feels?"
A broad shadow loomed over them and Razaas cast his piercing gaze downward. "What are you doing?"
Vivia's eyes narrowed. Without a doubt, Razaas was a strong demon. She had witnessed his strength herself, but she wasn't going to back off the fight.
She had barely turned to face him when he said again, "Strength is to fight, not to oppress. Did you forget Lord Bellor's teachings already!"
The rumble of his deep voice and menacing stare was enough to melt the kid's knees. Coachman Ril was one thing, but messing with Razaas or any other acknowledged fighter in Bellor was a suicide mission. The tiger baring its fangs was reduced to a cowering rabbit.
"Your fists are not meant to bully the weak! So get back in line!"
He jolted and scrambled back. "...Y-Yes."
"And you!" Razaas landed his piercing gaze at the younger kid next. "Don't just stand there like a coward but fight! People who give up are the worst of all. It doesn't matter if you get beaten up black and blue, but you must fight for your honor until the very end! Will you let a beast eat you if you got lost in the wild? Won't you even bother to fight for your life? It's the same thing with people too!"
The younger one trembled and though he didn't want to shed tears, his eyes wetted nevertheless.
Razaas looked at Vivia next, dropping his fearsome pat on her back. "Good going teaching him a lesson, Ril! We must never yield to oppression! That's what Lord Bellor says!"
Vivia's cold gaze toned down, but it didn't provide any comfort to her. "Indeed."
She looked up at him. "Will you take over from here? I'll just head out for a bit."
"Okay."
She smiled at Eurus. "Will you help him?"
Eurus frowned slightly. He wanted to be by Vivia's side, not with a bunch of stranger kids giving him the menacing looks.
"Don't worry. Crown Prince and Sir Lucian are here too."
His face dropped and he nodded once.
—
Vivia actually didn't step outside. She hung in the orphanage's compound, walking around the building's perimeter. She cast a glance in all directions and realized that the place didn't look any different from the orphanage she had lived at.
Same cold stone buildings. Same tasteless food. Same menacing gazes. Same suffocating atmosphere. The orphanage had felt less like a shelter for the helpless and more like a battleground for survival.
Vivia walked in the silence. She had no particular destination in her mind and casually took the stairwell to the first floor. The upper floors had sleeping chambers for the children, and the lower floors were reserved for the Matron and other administrative offices. Not a very different structure from the Human Realm's orphanages.
Vivia wanted to cross over at the floor's balcony at the far end when she heard hushed voices from one of the nearer rooms. She was about to cross the room, but an anxious voice startled her.
"You call this being prepared!?"
Vivia thought for a moment and pressed her back to the wall, listening in.
"Where is the food inventory here, Ruri? You haven't listed any blankets and sweaters too!"
Vivia was puzzled.
"But I already did, Madam. I listed everything as you told me to."
"It's not enough, you fool! The numbers are not matching at all. We have to show the record of every penny we got."
Then Vivia wasn't puzzled anymore because the truth dawned upon her. Her lips trembled and she closed her eyes, trying to reign in her anger.
Yes, what I did expect?
Same cold stone buildings. Same tasteless food. Same menacing gazes. Same suffocating atmosphere.
Same bent people stuffing up money in their pockets.
She had seen it in the past. Over and over again. It turned out that the establishment wasn't any different in the Demon Realm either.
Vivia didn't think twice and opened the door. The Matron and Ruri gasped in shock, hands to their chest. One moment they were alone, and the next moment, the coachman had appeared out of nowhere.
"You…you're my lord's coachman?" The Matron eyed her. "What are you doing here? You might be the Crown Prince's coachman, but that doesn't mean you can walk around wherever you want without permission."
Vivia gave her a deadpan stare. "So that you can embezzle the orphanage funds for yourself and lie to the Crown Prince?"
The two froze.
"I don't really understand what's the problem in the world. Why can't people live honest lives? Does it feel good to steal the money that's supposed to feed a child's hungry stomach? To keep them warm in the cold? Or give them new clothes to wear? What I'm asking is…is it so hard to be a decent person?"