Ever since Adrian and Charles learned about what was going to happen to the orphanage soon, it was as if the entire predicament had began to piece itself together as things eventually fell into place.

That residential institution is going to go bankrupt, and it is all because of the huge loss of sponsors as well as donations. To begin with, Maruschca was the only one who kept giving them enough funds - more so even. But ever since she stopped coming by, the sum of money she donated had decreased to a great degree.

​​

Moreover, with the headmaster getting replaced, their security and finances are at stake. While this person may seem to be trying to find a solution to the issue regarding their bankruptcy, nothing is really being solved as days continue to pass by.

"I wanna kick that good-for-nothing old geezer in the face."

Cassidy was very upset when she told Adrian about the situation.

He only listened and played it off as if he knew nothing, but hearing how she and the other children were beginning to get a bad impression of their new headmaster, he himself was raring to end those low lives at once. For now, though, he had to make sure that she was not going to continue carrying that murderous desire of hers.

"I'll treat you to some ice cream. Let's go and get your head cooled off in the meantime," Adrian offered on their way to meet Asher, much to her delight.

"Thank you...! Oh, and by the way, why are you still visiting? That old lady isn't coming anymore, you know. Isn't she the only reason why you're here?" Cassidy brought up all of the sudden, taking him aback for a second.

"Well, at first, that's indeed the case, but it's different now."

"Hmmm... Since you want to meet up with Asher, then I guess you grew fond of him? You're best friends now?"

"As if I'll be best buds with that guy! I just want to talk with him."

"About what exactly?"

As she looks up to him with those endearingly innocent eyes of hers, he finds himself blushing for a bit. It's actually a good thing that he's still wearing quite a cumbersome disguise. With his cap on, he can hide his flushed face somehow. But even when he is already acting this sheepish, she doesn't want to tear her gaze off of him -

And with that, her stubborn curiosity is making her look even more irresistibly cute in his eyes.

"S-Say, will you promise me one thing...? In return, I'll buy ice cream for you everyday..." Adrian then started again after realizing something much more important than what he was feeling.

"To be honest, I'll be more than willing to give you anything you want if you agree to it."

"Huh? You're being weird, Mister Shady. Is something going on?" Cassidy asked with a brow lifted.

"Promise me that you won't involve yourself to any more trouble. Take care of yourself more. Avoid baddies no matter what. Don't just charge right in only because you know how to kick and punch-"

"Wait, wait, wait! You're being really weird! Why're you saying that as if you're saying goodbye?"

Right then, she realized something. Her whole expression dropped the moment she remembered that there was actually no reason for him to visit anymore. That's why it made sense if he was going to bid her farewell at that moment.

"Silly, what are you thinking about now? Didn't I promise that I'd still treat you to lots of things? Why say that I'm leaving...?" he suddenly pointed out with a smile before taking off his cap and putting it on her head, making her perk up in surprise.

"Just don't get into trouble, okay? Soon, I'll even tell you my real name."

That's when Adrian leans towards Cassidy and pulls down the cap to cover her eyes. Closing his own, he then places his lips on top of it. He does the gesture as if kissing her forehead for real - without her realizing what he is doing all the while.

She can only stand still as she fails to find it in herself to push him away. Despite her confusion, she only lets him do whatever it is he's doing to her, and the reason for that may have something to do with the loud, boisterous thumping in her chest.

'Don't worry. I'll protect you,' Adrian wanted to tell Cassidy that time but chose to keep it to himself in the end.

---

After Adrian revealed the troubling predicament that the orphanage is presently in, Asher and his gang did not hesitate to lend a hand in exposing Maruschca's private courier, the headmaster, and other corrupt individuals who are related to them.

Apparently, they were also involved in a number of crimes that concerned them. That was one of the reasons why they agreed to aid him right away.

Since Asher and the others have different sorts of connections with people who specialize in collecting personal data, mostly sourced privately and gathered illicitly, before selling such information to third parties for a variety of uses, he decided to ask help from them. Charles could not possibly handle all the work alone. What's more, there should be someone around Cassidy who is aware of what is going on in case something unprecedented happens to both of them.

At the moment, they are about to conduct yet another scheme.

In order to bring their opponents down altogether, they have to gather more and more evidences - even if that means kidnapping those they suspect as accomplices. As much as possible, they try to get them on their side. Otherwise, they will just use blackmail and threaten the heck out of them.

With how capable and meticulous Adrian is, Asher and the others don't even get to work too much. His plans are always faultless, and his judgement gets them on the right track most of the time. That's why they have managed to accomplish so much in only a few days since they began conducting this whole thing.

"In the end, you did not really tell Cassie, huh?" Asher asked Adrian while they were stalling around in an alley at a particular secluded backstreet - secretly waiting for their targets to arrive.

"You said it yourself. She is too young."

"Well, I didn't get to tell you that she often thinks like an adult despite how she looks. She had been through so much, after all."

"What do you mean?"

"She's an orphan in case you don't know, meaning she already lost both of her parents. In the past, her father took care of me and so did her mother. Everyone in our place knew about how good they were. They're an ordinary family. That's until they were killed, consequently leaving their daughter orphaned."

"Killed? You mean... someone wanted them dead?"

"Hey, I'm telling you this because I trust you, Shade! And I believe you trust me too, considering that you had let us know about this situation and practically turned everyone in our gang into your slave. To be honest, you can be a fitting leader-"

"Now, you're getting out of topic."

While Asher only laughed at how Adrian shot him a "no, thank you" expression, they failed to realize that someone was approaching them. Only when the person stood right in front of them did they get to notice that they had been too caught up in their conversation for a while now. They were so startled by this sudden appearance that they thought that the targets already arrived.

But then, it only turns out to be Cassidy.

"H-Huh? Wait, Cassie?!" Asher exclaimed, completely thrown off guard.

"Aha...! I knew it! You two are hiding something from me! I was wondering why you didn't want to hang out with me as much as before...!" Cassidy bolted out as she crossed her arms and huffed indignantly.

"What are you doing in this dark alley?! Were you making out?!"

"Of course not! M-More importantly, how did you even know we're here?" Adrian chimed in while looking at her in utter shock and incredulity.

"How else?! I followed you, dummy! I nearly got lost!"

"What the...?! That's dangerous, you know! This place is far from the orphanage! I thought you promised me not to get yourself into troubles-"

"I didn't promise anything! I'll go with you whenever I want to!"

"Uhhh... Cassie, Shade... Can you please not shout? You're gonna get us busted out-"

"Busted out by who?! Your girlfriends?!"

Right then, though, the three of them started hearing a racket nearby.

Both Adrian and Asher were alarmed by this. After all, they shouldn't be making too much noise when they are kidnapping someone. Their traps as well as the lookouts who are guarding around the area are always enough to capture their targets in one go. There will be no more time for futile resisting on the part of their captives.

Their plan always goes like this - first, they contact their targets and lure them in that location by threatening to expose their dark secrets to the public. The process after they take the bait is much more complex since they have to be certain that they will come there on their own. Of course, they will be very cautious with keeping their identities hidden.

But now, that noise they are hearing - it seems to be a sound that is telling them that something has gone wrong for once.