I Will Be The New Me
CHAPTRE 45

As Quinn struggles to deal with a problem that becomes a little more complicated than expected, Finn has spent two days touring Verenity in search of traces of the child trafficking business conducted by three major royals including Vincent Van Marchetti.

"This is the place?" Finn was already standing right in a fairly large building and was no longer inhabited, "even though he said it was closed, but this place was still very well maintained. Even the grass remained short," the young man's eyes swept through the entire forecourt of the former orphanage.

"Hm, looks like I can make this building a home. Too bad no one occupies— or it's just a guise."

Finn walked into the building, walking around without finding a clue.

"They have a basement?"

Finn opened a room that was once used for the office space of the head of the home. Finn was already there, but he put his curiosity first in every corner of the building. Eventually, the young man returned to the place.

From earlier Finn trampled on a creaking floor near a table that was still intact and not too dirty, "it's clear this business is not closed. They're just trying to find a new 'shell' so they don't get suspected. This table looks well maintained even though it has stopped operating for two years." at this time the man with the blindfold is taking the profession like a detective.

"Lady Quinn really has no compassion. I was just about to visit, he had already sent me as far as possible." his grunts on the sidelines shifted the table.

And it's true. The shape of the wooden floor hidden under the table was different and had a hole to insert the key. Finn crouched down to get closer, "It's broken?! someone broke it!"

Finn hurriedly opened the basement door and went down each creaking staircase to see what was inside. "A rooming prison, huh?" Finn smiled as he knew what was stored down there.

There are rows of small perforated doors just for peeping prisoners. Each room is filled with three bunk beds. Each room door is not locked, there is a long dining table for them to eat, there is also a bathroom. The point is they're forced to live all the trouble down there.

Finn is now walking towards the long dining table, there are some dishes with pieces of bread still left. He lifted the bread to be analyzed, his nose sniffed the aroma of this bread. "It's new, it looks like it was only about four days ago. Where did the kids go? did they manage to escape?" Finn looked up. His sharpened ears began to catch a sound of footsteps.

The footsteps approached the office. "I'd better hide first" Finn put the piece of bread back down and immediately returned to one of the rooms.

"Master, sir? I've brought you some more food."

Finn from inside the room frowned in wonder, "food supplies? so he's in charge of delivering groceries?" he peeked out of the hole in the door.

A man carried two sacks of groceries and placed them on the dining table. "Well, where's that feminine master? I still have a lot to do. Uh, by the way why is it so quiet? where did the kids go?" his question was confused, he looked back and forth but never found a single person.

"Huh..masa I also have to clean this up? didn't they say un— eeekk?!"

"Don't move or I'll cut off your vocal cords." Finn had put his dagger on and placed it on the skin of the delivery man's neck. "If you cooperate, I'll spare your life."

"B-well! please don't kill me! my cows will feed nothing" said the man, pleading, his eyes already glazed with fear. Finn blinked his eyes a few times quickly, he glanced at the man in astonishment.

Cows said? did I not hear wrong?

Finn pointed to the sack that was on the table, "What was the delivery from the nobles who set up this orphanage? you better explain everything in detail."

"I-iya, right. It was the food supply for the next few days. I-I go here three times a week."

"Open."

The man began to sob, "can you keep this away first?" he bargained as he pointed at the dagger around his neck, "if I advance further than this it looks like I will die on the spot and not be able to tell you anything."

"Tck. Alright."

Finn pulled back his dagger and let the crybaby do his bidding.

The contents of the food delivered are all of good quality and almost all of them are healthy foods. "They deliberately maintain the health of his 'product' so that the selling value is high, huh? it's so sneaky."

"The children here are always checked for health before being sent to their new place. I was only in charge of delivering food supplies, while the one guarding him was Mr. Long-haired." said the man with a forced face.

Finn took the big green apple in the sack and ate it without hesitation, "so? did they never directly come to see the state of these children?" ask Finn again.

"They'll only come when it's time they send the children to their new employer's place."

"Employer? don't you know where they were actually sent?"

"Don't know...? I've never seen those nobles directly."

Finn shook his hand, "Forget it. About that long-haired guy, has he been working here for a long time?" now he changed the topic as it seemed to already understand who the children were running away from.

"Yes, he's been working here for about two years. He's the one who's keeping the kids here."

Finn stood up and approached the man, "hey, I'll spare your life on one condition."

"W-what? what'sthat?"

"Get out of here and be a witness for me."

"What?! are you asking me to betray? dqsama only I will be harmed."

"No. My lady will guarantee your life. Go to the border area between Verenity and Helldelune. If you're wise and don't want severe punishment, you'll definitely accept my offer. Hey, if you're lucky you'll probably get a free place to stay."

Finn was trying to persuade in a more subtle way not to scare the poor man.

However, unexpectedly Finn the man actually immediately responded to Finn's request. "I want to do it, t-but what about my cows?"

Finn let out a lazy sigh, "this man has been thinking about his cows ever since," Finn's inner wonder. The sapodilla-skinned young man patted the eel and said, "yes you just bring it all. Can cows not travel?"

"But you're really gonna guarantee my life and my cows, aren't you?" the man looked at Finn with teary eyes.

"Yes, yeah. Why the hell have you been fussing about cows since? god, you're making me dizzy."

"The cows are a tool that I will make evidence on my wife to show that I can also be a person with a lot of money and no trouble eating." confide in her while wiping the corner of her watery eyes.

"Why your wife?"

"She just left me and took our son away. This heart felt torn in two, I was devastated. How could he think of leaving me just like that when we both made a vow together. It's really painful" without any excuse the man leaned on Finn's shoulder. His very expressive and silly face irritated Finn. "Hey, don't you think you want to be an opera player? looks like you're gonna make a big success."

Ten meters away from where he was standing, Finn could already see the roof of a secluded house that stood alone on the mountain slope.

Upon arriving, Finn was surprised to see the two-story courtyard. They clean the grass and make it as a field of crops such as tomatoes, corn, mustard, and various other vegetables.

Many children who were running around, playing here and there seemed very happy. They look as healthy and cheerful as they should be.

Finn's arrival there instantly scares the children, they run in and name someone who has saved their lives. "Sister Rupert! someone is coming! he looks so creepy!" shouted the little children in the range of six to eight years.

"Currently, the kids are disrespectful. I'm not surprised, because the one taking care of them is Rupert." Finn grumbled.

The handsome, long-haired man came out to check who the guest was, "alright, fine. I'll check it out." he smiled wryly as he waved softly at Finn, "he's my friend. Don't be afraid, he's also a good person like me, just that he's a little brash."

"Stop instigating, you feminist."

"seen? he was a grouch, indeed" Rupert deliberately ignored Finn and invited the children who followed him to talk. The little ones laughed in response to Rupert's taunts. "Big grouch, what do you want to come here? did you visit Rupert's brother to ask him to come back?" ask a six-year-old boy.

"No, I came here to have a chat with an old friend of mine. Thank you for calling him to me," Finn smiled warmly, he changed his attitude so that the children would not be afraid of him. "Here, I'll bring you sacks of food supplies, can you please bring them in? I'd like to have a word with Rupert, would you?"

"Yes! we're going to go. Brother Rupert, take good care of yourself!"

They flocked to help each other lift the sack and enter the house. The number of children here was already over two hundred people, "So you also took care of their mentality here? it seems like slowly they have begun to heal and some are still traumatized, seen from the way they run in and away."

Finn observed the number of children on the front page, "Don't you have saved a child that should have been sold," Finn looked at Rupert again.

"Let's sit down first. You're such a fuss."

The two of them entered the mansion and chatted together in the living room. A twelve-year-old girl came to bring two glasses of tea and some cake. "Sister Rupert, I just did some baking practice."

"Well, it's fitting. Can I get it to my guests?"

"t-of course. Then I go first." the girl ran back inside. He was embarrassed to be stared at by Finn intensely, even though the young man was checking whether there were injuries on his body parts caused by their buyer. "It turns out you're rich too. You should very rarely be in Helldelune."

"This isn't my house, you know. This is my master's house. He saved them and I just have to take care of the rest" Rupert replied casually as he drank his jasmine tea.

Finn raised his eyebrows "how did you get them all to escape?"

"By sacrificing more treasure perhaps? I also don't understand why he insisted on helping for so long. He pretended to be one of the clients and spent a lot of money to buy. Sometimes he would wait until the transaction was completed, and snatch the children from that noble client. This is where they're treated."

He has been in Verenity and following the case for about five years. He still tried to do various ways so that the children could survive without being caught by the three nobles. All evidence has been collected, children who have recovered from their trauma can be used as witnesses.

Rupert showed his ambiguous smile, "Do you know? actually we want to solve their case with our own hands. Well it's like killing or just unmasking them, but we both didn't so doing it once there's a person with a big impact will be able to replace us imposing that punishment."

"..." - ".Finn could already guess who Rupert meant. "So you never went back to Helldelune to keep them here?" ask Finn.

"I only come home once a week to Helldelune when it's time for me to check on their work in the Guild."

The slightly disheveled haired youth looked at his interlocutor, "You already know I'm coming here, it means you've predicted that this case will be investigated soon. You haven't brought the rest of those kids here for long." Finn looked suspiciously.

"Haha, it's true. Right after Lady Quinn asked about her own Uncle being with you back then, I immediately notified my Master and he immediately returned to Helldelune. Plus, now the Word of God has been spread. I'm sure my Master has now managed to get close to Lady Quinn."

Finn's forehead was wrinkled, he was curious how Quinn's development in the Helldelune. "It's spread? how does the word sound?" Finn asked in a calm manner.

"Lady Quinn is predicted to kill her own Uncle and destroy Ethereal."

Finn pecked for a while before his brain managed to walk again, finally he took a deep breath "huh.he's always been involved in new problems," Finn never thought Quinn would be tired of putting herself in danger. "How many times have I told you not to look for new problems."

Rupert chuckled at Finn's muttering. "How does it feel to have an employer who likes extremes?" ask her.

"exhausting. It felt like he had never given me a pause to calm down even if it was just a minute. I just stayed a little while he was hit by another disaster. Gosh darn. I always feel restless, if I take my eyes off for a second, he's already hurt."

Seeing the genuine concern of his old friend left Rupert speechless, trying to cultivate what was really going on. "The finn I know doesn't like to be tied to anything, which is why he always wanders. Now you've really changed, yeah."

"Not really. I just want to have a purpose to go home." Finn drank the tea provided.

"You like Lady Quinn?"

"Uhuk! uhuk!" Finn is choked by his own tea which accidentally gets into the esophagus. "W-what do you mean ask that?! how could I like it. I just feel indebted."

Rupert smiled broadly, "Ah, so you really like Lady Quinn," he said confidently as he watched Finn's ears turn red. It was a reflex of Finn's habit when he was embarrassed to admit something.

"Don't say that again!" Finn stood up and acted pretentious when he increasingly showed that he was wrong. "So, you want to help us get this into the law? do you mind being a witness?" Finn went back to their main topic.

"of course. Why would we be willing to stop all the plans we've put together if it wasn't for Lady Quinn?"

"Aren't you friends with Lady Penelope? you're not afraid of hurting her heart because you're the weight of her father's demands?"

"I've been friends with him for wanting to gather evidence."

"But you've always followed her every whim as if you really liked Lady Penelope."

Rupert shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "To make his guard down, of course. Anyway, I'm not sure she'll be sad."

"Why?"

"You'll know later."

Finn snorted softly, "Then who is your Master you've been telling me about since?" ask her curious.

"He was also a noble..." Rupert smiled again as he pointed out the window, "His name is Julien Bianchi."