When Molly returned, the butler took her straight to the Earl.
The moment she saw the Earl, she dropped to her knees.
"Tell me, what exactly happened with Colleen?"
There was no trace of anger or pleasure in the Earl's voice.
"My lord, it was because of that orphanage..." She then told him everything, including the results of her investigation.
This was the second time the Earl had heard the orphanage's name, and his impression of its director, who was quite a skilled craftsman, deepened further.
Whether that impression was good or bad, however, was open to interpretation.
"Then what was Colleen looking for in the study?"
Molly hesitated at this question.
What would she know, as a maid? But since the Earl had asked, she could only venture a guess based on how well she knew her young mistress.
"Perhaps the young mistress was curious about the clause prohibiting the sale of bread and wanted to find some relevant information. After all, she does intend to study law..."
The Earl paid little attention to the first part, but the mention of law suddenly gave him an idea, and he spoke immediately.
"All right, I understand. Tell Colleen the results of your investigation, then have her come see me. I would like to hear her thoughts..."
"Yes, my lord!"
After that brief exchange, Molly withdrew from the room.
About half an hour later, Colleen knocked on her father's door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in!"
"Father, you wanted to see me?"
"Have a seat!" The Earl pointed to a nearby chair and spoke with a smile.
Colleen sat in the seat closest to her father. After a moment's thought, she spoke first. "Father, you know?"
"Yes. Is there anything you would like to tell me? Or what do you intend to do? You can tell me either!"
Now that he was asking about specifics, Colleen found herself unsure how to answer.
The Earl was in no hurry. Instead, he guided her a little at a time.
"Do you think the director of that orphanage did anything wrong?"
"I don't think so. He only wanted to give the children a better life..."
"Then was the person who reported him at fault? A small bakery owner with some gang connections and a brother-in-law at city hall? Was he the problem?"
"He had something to do with it, but he wasn't the main cause..."
"Then what was the main cause?"
"Those parasites at city hall. They made conditions at the orphanage so strained that it led to this result!"
With his guidance, Colleen had come to understand a great deal.
"Then what should we do? Round them all up and deal with all the greedy officials at once, and that will do, won't it...?"
The way the Earl spoke, dealing with a large number of permanent city hall employees seemed perfectly ordinary, no different from eating or drinking.
But Colleen frowned instead. There was nothing wrong with doing that, yet something seemed off.
Seeing that Colleen had not simply followed his lead pleased the Earl even more.
"I don't know, but something about that seems wrong. I just can't think what..."
Colleen looked at her father in distress, hoping for the right answer.
The Earl did not keep her guessing. Instead, he continued prompting her. "If all these people were dealt with, would their replacements necessarily be more honest? And would the situation of that orphanage you care about improve?"
Those words struck like a thunderbolt, shaking Colleen as nothing ever had before.
That was right. What she had wanted to do in the first place was help the orphanage's children.
If those parasites really were dealt with, would the children's situation truly improve?
Would the city hall staff really refrain from retaliating afterward?
Colleen had come very close to making a terrible mistake.
The thought frightened her.
Fortunately, the Earl promptly patted her hand and reassured her. "Don't worry. It's all a small matter. Nothing has happened yet, has it?"
Only then did Colleen slowly relax. For the first time, she realized that helping others was no easy matter either.
The Earl was even more pleased.
Although he had no son and only this one daughter, it seemed she, too, had the qualities needed to inherit his title.
"Then, Father, what would be the best solution? Please tell me..."
Colleen earnestly appealed to her father. In her eyes, there was nothing he could not do.
And indeed, this matter was exceedingly simple for him.
"First, you need to understand that the director doesn't want any relief money. He simply wants to sell bread legally so the children can live better lives. So it's very simple..."
"As long as he entrusts the sale of his bread to someone else, with the orphanage serving only as the children's own production workshop, there won't be any problem..."
Colleen immediately spotted a problem. "But wouldn't that mean the merchant takes the vast majority of the profits? Then the children's lives would..."
"But what if this merchant is very charitable and donates all the proceeds to the orphanage? As charitable donations, they would meet all the requirements..."
Colleen's eyes lit up at that. "And if this merchant is also someone with considerable influence, this arrangement could offer the orphanage better protection and reduce the trouble there. Wouldn't that be even better?"
The Earl finally could not help laughing.
"It seems you've figured it out. This is how you adapt to the rules... Sometimes, brute force doesn't necessarily produce good results."
Colleen was excited, not only because she could help the orphanage's children, but also because she seemed to have grown a great deal and learned many useful things.
"Then I'll reply to the director tomorrow and tell him the plan. That way, the children won't have to live in fear anymore..."
But once again, the Earl stopped her. "Now is not the time. A favor has the greatest effect when it comes at a critical moment."
"Then when would be the best time?"
"I think, if you could help resolve this on the day Director Mo is taken away, he would certainly be very grateful to you. This would also bring you the greatest return. Everyone would know how kindhearted and helpful you are..."
That was the Earl's plan.
But Colleen hesitated. Using Mo Fei like this left her uneasy.
The Earl saw what she was thinking and continued reassuring her. "If he's clever, he'll be grateful even if he sees through it. And if he's a fool, it's better to see that early, and guard against any crooked ideas he might have... Isn't that a good thing?"
The Earl's words persuaded Colleen after all.
The next day, Colleen sent her reply in that letter.
They had both underestimated Mo Fei. After all, he came from the twenty-first century. Although he had never experienced anything like this, movies were full of scenes where the protagonist appeared at the critical moment and earned the supporting characters' gratitude.
The instant he read the letter, he understood what the Earl's family was planning.
Although he did not know what about him was worth exploiting, he was still happy to accept this mutually beneficial cooperation.
That was also why he remained completely unworried after being taken away.
Of course, there might have been another reason: a new month had arrived, and he had Belief Points again, which he could use to upgrade useful skills as the situation demanded.
If all else failed, breaking out of prison was hardly that difficult.