Regarding the Matter of Me Being Picked Up and Adopted by Talula

Orson tried to stop W, but a bill was shoved into his cheek.

"Sir, you're not planning to skip out on the bill, are you?"

"Of course not... Whoa, Long Island Iced Tea is this expensive!?"

"That's the average price, sir. Will you be paying by card or facial recognition?"

Orson paused, fumbled in his pockets, and then shrugged.

"I'll pay by washing dishes."

He really shouldn't have given all his money to Uncle Isaac earlier.

40. Your Daughter, I Shall Raise Her (?)

"Eeeewww..."

That night, Orson stumbled back to the Rostov mansion, rubbing his head groggily. He felt like he was about to die from dizziness.

He had almost fallen asleep while chatting with an enemy who wanted to kill him... In the end, W had to splash water on him with veins popping out of her forehead to wake him up, and her first words were, "Killing someone like you has no sense of accomplishment."

"Ugh, how embarrassing..."

While in a real emergency, Orson could quickly sober himself up through self-tuning, doing so would accelerate the increase of Originium concentration in his body, and besides, it was really making a mountain out of a molehill.

In short, he swore he'd never touch alcoholic beverages again...

Orson made such a vow, washed his face, and then returned to the mansion to resume his duties as a senior bodyguard. He happened to run into Lumen.

"Good evening, Miss Natalia."

"Orson? Where did you go after school?"

Upon seeing Orson, Natalia came over and asked with a hint of displeasure.

"Uh... because other bodyguards were watching over me, I went to investigate Duke Baikal's situation."

Orson gave a half-truth, Natalia frowned and stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"I see... So, Orson, do you have time to explain what's going on with Sonia and that club?"

Natalia smiled and leaned closer to Orson. At that moment, as the eldest daughter of the Rostov family, Natalia exuded an overwhelming pressure. In comparison, Orson truly felt like a "cat whose tail had been stepped on."

"Well... actually, Sonia is a student I saved before. We just happen to be in the same class, so... that's how it is."

"Mm, I understand."

Natalia nodded in understanding, and Orson finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Orson, you should transfer schools tomorrow."

"Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?!"

"Ha..."

Natalia also sighed awkwardly. She found herself losing composure more and more lately, for some reason.

"So, Miss Natalia, how was your day?"

Orson tried to change the subject, while Natalia pondered with her finger against her cheek.

"Mm, it's the same as usual. All around me are fake flattery and adoration... It's ridiculous. I'm surrounded by so many people, yet I can't find a single friend to share this fear with..."

"Why not try talking to Sonia and Anna?"

Orson tried to play matchmaker for Lumen and Natalia, but Natalia frowned.

"I must refuse. Sonia... Hmph."

Natalia let out a hmph, her reaction at this moment was quite fitting for a high school student.

"Well, you'll get used to it. Everyone's a good kid. I'll be going now, Miss Natalia."

Orson waved goodbye to Natalia and was about to leave when she called him back.

"Orson—"

"Yes? Do you have any instructions, Miss Natalia?"

"You don't need to call me 'Miss.' Since we're going to school together, it feels strange to address me like that..."

Natalia said softly, looking away.

"While you're not wrong, didn't you also reveal my identity at school earlier?"

Orson muttered under his breath. After Natalia and Lumiere had carelessly said things without thinking, they had both blushed and spent a long time explaining themselves.

The end result was that Orson's undercover persona was completely thrown in the trash.

"Let's just leave it at that. And one more thing—Orson, will you be angry that I dragged you to school for that reason?"

"Please don't worry, Natalia. I was actually quite happy about it."

Orson smiled at Natalia before leaving the room.

After saying goodbye to Natalia, Orson went to the Rostov family head's room as originally planned.

Could it be that my slacking off after school has been discovered and I'm going to be fired...

Orson thought nervously.

"But they paid me, so it's fine if they fire me!"

Orson thought cheerfully.

"Mr. Andrei, you were looking for me?"

Orson, prepared to be fired, knocked and entered the room. Opposite the luxurious solid wood desk sat the leader of the Rostov family, Lumen's father.

"Yes, because time is precious right now, so I'll get straight to the point—Audie"

"It's Orson."

"You've been here for four or five days, which isn't long, but it's enough for me to observe someone—do you have any leads on the amnesia incident involving the heir of the Rossa family, a vassal of Duke Baikal?"

Lumen's father pushed his glasses up, his eyes seeming to pierce through everything.

"Hmm, you drank fake liquor, right? There's fake vodka too, how heartbreaking!"

Orson spoke nonsense with a straight face.

"Actually, I can vaguely sense it, Orson. You're different from other guards, not just in your professional ability, but also in your level of understanding."

Lumen's father ignored Orson's joking and continued.

"It's just your perception, Mr. Andrei. More importantly, as a senior security officer, may I ask if the Rostov family currently has any countermeasures against Duke Baikal?"

Orson had dealt with three groups of mercenaries scattered over the past few days, but according to W's intelligence, Duke Baikal's methods would soon become more aggressive.

"Well... to be honest, I have almost no private army, and the Sarkaz mercenaries have almost all been hired by Duke Baikal in advance. Marquis Boris is also unable to spare any resources as he's dealing with the aftermath of a certain laboratory's cleanup."

Lumen's father said with a troubled expression.

"But I can't back down. I will guarantee the safety of my wife and Natasha. No one will forget how cruelly this city lived under the rule of the old nobles. I won't let history repeat itself and turn all that has been hard-won into nothing."

"That sounds passionate, but you haven't answered my question at all, Mr. Andrei."

Orson casually praised Lumen's father's resolve, but as Orson said, there was still no solution to the current situation in that speech.

"Indeed... so listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"Yes, please speak."

Orson raised the water glass in front of the table, trying to wash away the last traces of alcohol.

"If I die, I'll entrust Natasha to you."

"Pfft—!"

The water Orson hadn't swallowed yet spurted out of his nostrils.

"Are you crazy, man!"

Orson looked at Lumen's father in a panic, but the man didn't seem to be joking at all.

"No, I'm planning to go see the Emperor. I heard the current Emperor has always wanted to reform the old nobility. I tried to contact him before, but without success. So I've decided to go to Saint Gallant Castle myself—frankly, it's a suicide mission."

"You're too reckless, whether it's choosing to see the Emperor or entrusting Natalia to me. I might not be a good person, you know?"

Orson frantically tried to dissuade Lumen's father from this idea.

"There are two types of merchants: one excels at continuous observation, and the other prefers to make decisive bets. I am clearly the latter—I believe you are a trustworthy young man."

"That's just a twisted logic... What if I had impure intentions from the start when I approached you? Wouldn't that ruin everything? And if you leave, the Rostov family will be instantly devoured by Duke Baikal."

Orson continued to explain, trying to make the head of the Rostov family abandon this foolish idea.

Back in the North, Orson used to explain to others that he and Talula were good people. He never imagined that he would one day have to explain to someone that "he might not be a good person."

"No, I'll leave a 'gift' for Duke Baikal. It will at least keep him busy for a while. Of course, after that, he'll go all out in a desperate gamble. If I don't return alive by then, please protect Natasha."

"Even if you say that..."

"That's how it is. I'll be leaving tonight. I'll leave the explanation to you, Orson."

Lumen's father stood up, picked up a briefcase, and walked out of the room towards the door.

Just as Orson was hesitating about what to do, Lumen's voice came from behind him.

"As expected... Father! I felt something was off when I came home today—there must be another way! I haven't given up, and you can't either!"

Lumen, who had vaguely sensed something unusual, ran out of her room, trying to catch up with the Rostov family head, but was pulled back by the butler who followed behind.

"Stop him, Orson—Help me stop him, Orson!"

Lumen reached out and shouted, she knew very well that her father would never return alive.

"Natasha, I'm leaving her to you, Orson. If things turn out for the worst."

Orson, caught between the two, closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds before opening them and looking at Lumen behind him.

"I'm sorry, Natalia."

"Orson..."

Lumen was stunned. Everything that had happened in front of her changed too quickly for her to comprehend.

Orson instantly appeared beside the Rostov family head and casually grabbed a vase, smashing it directly onto the back of his head.

Bang!

"I don't do the gentle takedown like in the movies, so this is all I can manage. Sorry about that..."

Orson ruffled his hair. Beside him, Marquis Rostov lay on the ground in a daze, his head (including the hat) now two centimeters taller.

"Ah... um, okay, okay."

Lumen blinked.

41. So, there's only one possible answer!

"Owooo owooo owooo..."

In the main hall of the Rostov family estate, Orson was now surrounded by a group of bodyguards on the ground near the entrance. Numerous crossbows, firearms, and batons/knives pinned Orson down securely, with the tips of crossbow bolts and batons jammed into his mouth.

"Can someone help me...?"

Orson looked towards Lumen, who was frantically trying to persuade the bodyguards.

"Everyone, please calm down...! Orson wasn't trying to assassinate Father! He was just helping me hold Father back!"

Lumen desperately tried to prevent the situation from escalating. After all, if you only looked at the outcome and ignored the process, it was essentially "Orson bludgeoned the current family head's head with a vase."

"This guy's only been here a few days! Young Lady, you must have been charmed by him!"

The head of security, who was most aggressively subduing Orson, yelled loudly, twisting Orson's arm with either intention or carelessness.

"Orson isn't like that... and this is my order!"

"That's why I'm saying you've been deceived, Young Lady! This guy is definitely one of Duke Baikal's people!"

"Yeah! This guy looks really suspicious!" "He's a spy!" "Definitely!"