Operation Red Book

"How is that possible? I'm an arm wrestler who can rival Alexander! She's so small, how could she be moved so easily?"

Holmes kept shouting, and lifted up Joshua and Henry beside him in disbelief.

Joshua's limbs hung limply in the air, while Henry waved his arms and legs like a fish on land.

The childish ghosts behind him kept making gestures with their fists and feet. Holmes wanted to extend his claws to Ivy, but Ivy was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She escaped from the clutches at a trot and caught up with Dorian in front.

"Ms. Grace, is pickles and bread for lunch today?" Henry took advantage of the opportunity to grab Ivy's hand and shouted to Grace's back.

"Dinner is about to start, Henry, go to the kitchen and take a look!"

Grace responded gently, leading everyone into Florence's dining room.

The restaurant was no different from before, with the same two long tables, just as shabby and covered in dust.

Several children were already sitting in the restaurant. They leaned against each other, their cheeks and foreheads as red as apple frost, and they looked at Miss Grace obediently with their big eyes.

Their clothes were full of patches, with thin fabrics piled up layer upon layer, making them look bloated.

When the children saw people coming, they shouted "Hello, sir" and "Hello, ma'am" in sweet voices, which was very endearing.

"I am so sorry, Master Dorian, it is almost lunch time now. Ms. Maggie and I need to arrange meals for the children, so we do not have time to discuss adoption with you. I wonder if the gentlemen and Miss Ivy would like to have lunch with the children?"

Grace put down the two bags of bread and turned to Dorian and his group.

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but the food in the orphanage is simple and cannot be compared with the food of the nobles. If this is detrimental to your status, you can go to the prayer room to have some tea first. You just need to wait for a while."

"No, no, thanks. I'd better eat here. You can also introduce the children to me."

Ivy narrowed her eyes. There seemed to be a fleeting trace of fear on Dorian's face just now.

Holmes seemed to have noticed Dorian's mood swings. Before leaving, he nudged Ivy with his elbow and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "I know how to deal with him."

Ivy glanced at Holmes' smug look, then looked at Dorian's currently polite manner.

She shrugged and sat down on the long wooden bench in silence.

The children gradually arrived, and the old nun with round glasses was still the one serving the meals.

The trembling stirrer, the old and weak "God bless you", and the unchanging cherry radish all made Ivy feel like she was revisiting an old place.

Grace gave Ivy and her group a sumptuous meal, including steak, pasta and a small piece of cherry pie.

It is not difficult to imagine that it is the leftovers of Mr. Morris's dinner.

"Miss Ivy! Miss Ivy!"

Henry, who was sitting at another table, waved to Ivy. Ivy bowed, picked up her plate and sat next to Henry.

While saying the prayer before the meal, Ivy opened her eyes deliberately to look at Dorian who was sitting opposite her. Unexpectedly, she would meet Dorian's red pupils.

Dorian looked uncomfortable all over, and his frown made Ivy curl the corners of her mouth.

Ivy exchanged her plate with Henry and took a bite of the red cherry radish. The crisp texture made her feel refreshed instantly.

It would be nice to experience this feeling again before dying, Ivy thought.

"Ms. Ivy...there is something we want to tell you." A childish voice suddenly appeared and interrupted Ivy's distraction.

Henry looked at Ivy eagerly. Although his voice was childish, it was so formal and serious that Ivy couldn't help but swallow the lentils in her mouth.

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Ms. Ivy, can you please not let Master Dorian adopt the child from the orphanage?"

"Why? The children have been adopted to a good place and won't have to suffer anymore. Why are you so reluctant to leave your friends?"

"It's not that I can't bear to part with them, it's... because all the adopted companions were killed. We saw it with our own eyes."

"What did you say?"

A chill ran from her spine to Ivy's forehead.