For a whole month, Adrian kept coming to that orphanage until he finally realized that he was no longer visiting for only one purpose.

He eventually confirmed that Maruschca was not cheating on Grisham or doing anything bad behind his back. She was genuinely caring and thoughtful of the orphans there, which was why she would frequently pay them a visit. Perhaps, the same was starting to happen to him as well - he was slowly growing fond of that place without him realizing it.

​​

Meeting Cassidy was like exploring a new world that Adrian could never find within the walls of his luxurious home. As days passed by, he formed relationships with Asher and the others, hanged out with them in the most casual and fun ways possible, got to know more about these people and the world around him, and live like a normal teenager for once. He never knew he wanted something like this until he just came to realize that he did.

Even then, within that whole month, Adrian remained in his disguise.

As much as he wanted to tell them the truth, he couldn't find it in himself to say it. That's not because he was afraid that they were going to change how they treated him. It's just that there were still a few things he had to discover in regards to the mysteries surrounding his grandmother, the orphans, and the very place itself.

"So, you met Mrs. Donovan six years ago? And you are the reason why she keeps coming back? Which means you are her favorite?" was what Adrian asked Cassidy one time while they were hanging out with Asher and the others at their favorite spot at the marketplace - which they often did whenever he visited.

"I'm not bragging, okay?! That's the truth! To be honest, I got creeped out at first because there was just no way that a complete stranger would start pampering me out of nowhere! But at the very least, she eventually proved that she only meant well. That's why I just let her spoil me."

"Wait, you don't know why she even began paying attention to you in the first place?"

"Nope! She did tell me that I reminded her of someone she knew well, but apart from that, I had no idea at all."

If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't really know as much as he did now.

It helped that she was the closest to Maruschca among all the children at the orphanage. She never hesitates to tell him anything he likes to know about this secret side of his grandmother. That kind of baffles him. It doesn't seem like she is too trusting of people whose true identities she doesn't even know, but he still can't believe that she can tell him something this personal despite his firm refusal to confess who he truly is.

"Why I trust you so much? Wow, that suddenly got deep..." Cassidy giggled when Adrian questioned her about why she kept treating him this way.

"Don't forget I'm still calling you 'Mister Shady' - of course, you still have to earn my trust more. But even then, I feel comfortable with you. It's just like when I'm with the old lady. Even though I don't completely know you, I feel like I can still believe in you."

"I'm like Mrs. Donovan?"

"Yeah! I sense that you two mean well!"

Maybe Adrian does resemble Maruschca in a way that only those like Cassidy can tell - those who genuinely care about them, that is. This was his first time hearing that he was like his grandmother. After all, he was never like her. She seems approachable and likes to smile a lot while he can summon a blizzard with his gaze alone and looks stone-faced most of the time.

Yet to be told that he was like the person he admired the most - it was quite an honor.

"The heck, dude?! Why are you blushing...?!" Asher chimed in all of the sudden, making him snap out of his musing and realize that Cassidy already left him to play with the others.

"Wait... Don't tell me... You've got a thing on Cassie?!"

"Huh?! What are you talking about?! Who would have a thing on a brat?!" Adrian bolted out, blushing even harder.

"Why the heck you're blushing, then?! Leave her alone, you creepy pedo!"

"What pedo?! We're only six or seven years apart!"

"She's still young regardless. Just give it up. I bet she won't even make a good waifu material-"

"Shut up! You're getting ahead of yourself!"

But then, Adrian didn't get to rid of this kind of suspicion that day.

It's probably because he was starting to get obvious whenever he thought about Cassidy - or worse, he didn't know that he was already looking all starry-eyed or mushy. Even then, he couldn't help but react this way no matter how much he tried to repress the very thought and feeling of having a crush on someone.

That being said, even his very own grandmother has noticed it herself.

"Adrian, if you have your eyes on someone at school, you can always tell me. Grandma will have your back no matter what~" was what Maruschca told Adrian at the very same day Asher pointed it out.

"You can tell me what she is like at the very least! Don't leave me out of the fun of witnessing my grandson's first love. You said that you would introduce me to her as soon as you accepted your feelings or something along that line. It's what you promised me when you were still a little boy, right~?"

He recalls no such promise.

But he does remember that she can get overly excited when it comes to this. He doesn't even doubt that she will hire a detective to spy on him and investigate. In fact, he knows that she is not going to let it up unless she sees it for herself. However, he can't just straight up say that he has been spying on her for the past month while meeting a girl and this gang of hers at the same time.

And so, he denied her claims as well as his developing feelings for that certain someone.

Yet it was much too late.

Before Adrian knew it, he already started falling for Cassidy much, much harder than the time she literally fell on top of him back when they first met.

---

More weeks passed by, and all of the sudden, Maruschca started to be bedridden for real this time.

Since she could not go to the orphanage anymore, she hired someone she trusted to send her donations and fund their needs without letting anybody else know. It was an agent who once worked in their company as her personal assistant. She believed that this person could also keep this secret of hers.

Little did Maruschca know that the trustee she chose was stealthily deducting all the money she gave by more than half the amount and keeping it for personal use - a deception that Adrian got to unveil soon after learning about the existence of this courier.

'Someone from the Moriarty family, huh...' he thought while furtively trailing after the agent.

'Who would have guessed? One of the most loyal supporters of the Millicent's would betray Grandma Maruschca like this. What's more, it would turn out to be a relative of Charles of all people."

But of course, Adrian still trusts Charles himself.

After all, he used to be the only person he was sharing a close relationship with apart from his grandmother. Even then, close or not, the fault of a member should not be blamed to the whole family. So, instead of doubting someone who had spent his whole life preparing for the time he would work for him, he decided to get some help.

Adrian went to Charles after he stalked Maruschca's private courier that day in order to further his investigation, and that was when the unraveling of tons of other dark secrets commenced.

Charles had his future decided for him early on - he would be the secretary of the next head of the Millicent's family. That was why he had long been training to be competent enough by starting with studying how things worked around the most successful conglomerate in the country, including their system, hierarchy, commercial dealings, and even the affairs of most of the highest officials.

In other words, he had a sufficient number of means and methods for intelligence gathering.

With both of their strengths combined, they set off and strive to uncover every dirty little secret that the current leaders have been keeping from the next generation. It was not easy since they were risking a lot of things here. They were technically roping themselves into a violation of privacy rules and regulations at that point.

Yet in the end, it was all worth it as they eventually got to track down a number of corrupt executives, managers and other employees that were working alongside the Millicent's for many years.

"It was worse than you expected, Adrian..." Charles told Adrian the very moment they discovered one crucial fact that alarmed both of them the most.

"Mrs. Donovan's private courier was not the only one who was involved with the orphanage you told me about. A new headmaster will come next week, and he is one of the board of directors. What's more, just like what we had learned, he had a background of being accused of child trafficking."