Professor Stoker stepped inside and followed Mr. Wolfs into the living room. He sat down on two small couches across from each other.
Without wasting time, Mr. Wolfs asked why the professor wanted to know about the incident at the old orphanage.
"I'm conducting research where incidents like that serve as essential data to use for my formulas," Stoker replied.
Mr. Wolfs sighed. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that… given my situation."
The room fell silent for a moment as both men stared at each other. Then, a sound came from the room next door.
The professor frowned and asked if he was home alone.
The man nodded and said that it was just his pet walking around the house. With narrowed eyes the professor looked at him, because he didn't believe him.
Then he jumped up and strode toward the door from where the sound had come.
"Stop!" shouted Mr. Wolfs, trying to stop him from entering, but he was too late.
Professor Stoker swung the door open and froze. His eyes widened at the sight before him.
Inside were several young children, all staring back at him. Some were playing and others quietly coloring drawings.
"What is this?" Stoker asked demandingly.
Mr. Wolfs walked past him, stepping into the room. "These are all vulnerable children who have parents and no one left to rely on."
Stoker's voice rose. "Are you trying to secretly repeat the past, Mr. Wolfs?"
"That incident wasn't my fault!" Wolfs yelled back.
"But what you're doing now is illegal! That's why they built a new orphanage… without you!"
Stoker turned to leave, but Mr. Wolfs reached out and held his arm. "Please… stop. These children are safe here. Safer than in that new orphanage."
He pointed toward the frightened children, who were now pleading through tears because of their shouting.
They all started begging the professor to leave Mr. Wolfs alone, saying that he was a good man, the best caretaker they could ever ask for.
But the professor Stoker wasn't moved at all.
Then Mr. Wolfs let out a long and heavy sigh. "Alright… I'll tell you everything that happened in that cursed orphanage."
Meanwhile, Achie was walking through empty streets while glancing around as he searched for the address written on the paper he had received from the city hall.
He eventually stopped in front of a jewelry boutique with furniture and boxes piled outside. He checked the address again and it matched.
As he approached, the front door opened and an elderly woman walked out carrying a box in her hands. She looked up at him. "Sorry young man, but the shop is closed."
Achie smiled and replied "You requested help from the city hall for moving, didn't you?"
Her face lit up with a wide grin as she set the box down. "Oh, you're such a sweetheart! I thought no one would come, especially during the second day of the Festival."
"Don't worry, ma'am. I'm happy to help."
He followed her inside and began helping move the boxes and other stuff outside. After a few minutes, a puzzled look crossed his face. The old woman noticed this and asked him,
"What's troubling you, dear?"
Achie hesitated for a minute, but then asked, "Why aren't you celebrating the festival today? It's supposed to be about peace, silence and honoring the dead. Not moving out, right?"
The woman stopped packing jewelry for a moment and sighed. "That's what they want you to believe. But the festival isn't truly about remembrance of the dead. It's a distraction for the suffering people of Verdane."
"Suffering?" Achie repeated. "But everyone I saw yesterday looked happy while buying food and celebrating."
She gave him a sad smile. "Verdane is a city filled with poverty, young man. In our culture, it's shameful to show that you're struggling.
So people hide it from others like their family or neighbors. They start to borrow money they can't pay back, just to keep up appearances.
That's how they fall into deeper debt and sometimes… it leads to murder… or ever worse, like selling their own ch—"
A sudden shout from Achie cut her off. "That boy is stealing your stuff!"
Through the shop window, Achie spotted a small boy that sprinted past the front of the boutique, snatching a handful of jewelry from a box that laid outside.
The old woman spun around in shock while Achie sprinted out the door, chasing after the thief.
The boy glanced back, realizing he was being followed. He darted into a narrow alley, twisting and turning through the maze of small streets between tall buildings.
But no matter how fast he ran, Achie was gaining on him. He looked over his shoulder again, noticing a grinning smile on Achie's face as he closed the gap.
These narrow streets won't save you kid, Achie thought. My neighborhood alleys in Kenza City are twice as confusing as this.
Panicking, the boy ran back into the main street, hoping to lose him in the crowd. But because of the festival just a few people were found on the streets.
He weaved between pedestrians and used them as obstacles, but Achie kept right on his tail.
Then the boy passed a fruit stall and grabbed a banana as he ran further.
"Hey!" shouted the vendor of the fruit stall angrily.
Achie signaled with his hand that he'd catch the thief, but then looked forward again to see the boy shoving the entire banana into his mouth.
The next second, Achie's view shifts downward toward the ground and hits his head by crashing to the ground.
Groaning while rubbing his head, Achie realized he had slipped on the banana peel that the boy had thrown while he was signaling the fruit stall vendor.
With his mouth full, the boy laughed and mocked Achie as he ran, until he suddenly bumped against something solid.
He fell backward onto the ground, looking up at the tall figure towering over him.
A bearded man with wild black hair and a scar cutting across his cheek stared angrily down at him with blazing eyes.
It was Captain Stefan he had run into.