Tenebrous Sovereign

A New Beginning

"Doctor?" Hearing Dean's words, a young woman in a grayish-white long gown in the crowd immediately had her eyes light up and said to Dean, "Little friend, I'm a doctor. Would you like to be my child?"

Dean had noticed her long ago. He didn't expect that before he could ask, she would speak up on her own. Originally, he had taken a risky attitude to refuse that gardener gentleman. He had thought that others would be afraid of offending the other party and wouldn't dare to choose him anymore. Now it seemed that the other party's identity wasn't as terrifying as he thought.

Dean didn't know that doctors were even rarer in this world than he imagined. Although it was still a civilian profession, it was one of the few senior occupations among numerous civilian occupations that could have contact with the nobility. If a steward from the Mell family came, naturally no one would dare to take the child he had his eyes on. But a mere gardener servant could at most only intimidate some ordinary civilians like "miners" and "tailors".

It was only then that Dean looked at her squarely. Her cheek lines were very gentle, and when she smiled, there were two shallow dimples. It couldn't help but remind him of his mother's gentle appearance when preparing breakfast for him. His heart ached. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while before nodding gently and saying, "I would like to."

The middle-aged man earlier looked slightly sullen, but after looking at the young woman, he still held back and didn't say anything more. But secretly in his heart, he felt sorry for Dean. After all, he was too young and short-sighted. Although being a doctor was good, not every child of a doctor could learn the skills of their parents. This was an occupation that was extremely difficult to enter. If a lot of effort was spent and ultimately one still couldn't learn it, it would be too late to switch to another career and could only become a low-level laborer.

But being a gardener was different. As long as one had a good memory, one could quickly get started. And as a gardener of the Mell family, not only could one immediately leave such a filthy place as the slum area, but in the future, one could also inherit his gardener status and live in the Mell family for a lifetime. This was a good thing that others wouldn't even dare to dream of.

What a pity, what a pity!

The middle-aged man shook his head vigorously.

When the other children saw that this young woman with the occupation of a doctor had chosen Dean, their faces turned ugly. Barton and the other deformed children were a little better. Although they were a bit jealous, they were more envious. But for those healthy children, it was undoubtedly Dean who had snatched away their precious opportunity. They couldn't help but feel resentment and jealousy in their hearts.

Aunt Dai's eyes revealed a smile. Dean was one of the few children in the orphanage that she found pleasing to the eye. Whether he was dull or not wasn't important. At least his snow-white and clean skin was comfortable to look at. She turned to the young woman and said, "Dean has been very obedient and well-behaved here. I hope you will take good care of him in the future and wish your family happiness."

"I will." The young woman was all smiles and was extremely happy in her heart.

"Mina, you take them to handle the household registration procedures." Aunt Dai said to a middle-aged woman beside her.

This middle-aged woman named "Mina" waved at Dean and smiled at the young woman, "Come with me."

"Dean, good luck!"

"Dean, don't forget us!"

"Remember to come back and visit us when you have time!"

Barton and the other deformed children were reluctant to part.

Dean had received a lot of care from them in these three months and smiled, "I will come back. But don't be too discouraged. Maybe when I come back, all of you will have been adopted."

Barton and the other deformed children smiled although they knew their own situations.

"I'll choose you." Just as Dean was about to leave, he suddenly heard the words of that middle-aged gardener gentleman. He couldn't help but look over and saw him pointing at Lisa in the crowd and smiling, "Little girl, you're quite well-behaved. How about being my daughter?"

Lisa stared at him blankly, looking incredulous.

The other healthy children surrounding her couldn't help but look at her enviously.

Dean took a glance and then withdrew his gaze. He walked to Aunt Mina and followed her and this soon-to-be "mother" in name and left this open space.

From now on, he and the other children in this orphanage would each live in their own families, separated by distance. Perhaps they would never meet again.

...

...

The household registration procedures at the orphanage were very simple.

First, verify the identity of the adopter.

Second, verify the work certificate of the adopter.

The above two points were to confirm whether the adopter met the adoption conditions stipulated by the law.

If one had no job or was doing the cheapest manual labor, one wouldn't be eligible to adopt a child.

The final third point was to sign the contract, confirm the adoption relationship between the two parties, and transfer the household registration that the orphanage had applied for Dean to the name of the adopter.

Finally, and most importantly, was the adoption fee!

Yes, this was the main source of income for orphanages in this world. In the orphanages of the old era, one only needed to meet the adoption conditions, and no money was required. But it was different here. Saying it was adoption was actually equivalent to a "sale". In a sense, it was the same as human traffickers in the old era. The only difference was that here, it was legal.

Dean had never seen the currency of this world. He saw that this "mother" in name took out a thick stack of green banknotes, about the same size as the banknotes in the old era. There was a tall great wall printed on it, quite similar to the Sylvia Great Wall.

Seeing her hand this stack of clearly already counted banknotes to the smiling Aunt Mina, Dean then knew why when he first came to the orphanage, they accepted him so easily. Clearly, the orphanage was so strapped for cash, and the surrounding environment was so dilapidated. But they still selflessly shared food and accommodation with him, a complete stranger. It turned out that in the short few months of his stay here, he could bring them such a large sum of money.

Sighing gently in his heart, Dean felt that perhaps he should properly recognize the differences between the two worlds. Survival of the fittest. Either adapt to this world or make this world adapt to him.

At this time, after paying the adoption fee, the young woman put away the contract signed by both parties, bent down, stroked Dean's hair, and gently said, "Child, from now on, I'm your mother. My name is Jura."

Dean looked into her light brown eyes and knew that this woman would be his only reliance until he grew up. He was silent for a while and said, "Can I call you Aunt Jura first?"

Jura was slightly stunned.

Mina, who was sorting out the contract beside them, heard this and said sternly, "Don't be disrespectful. From now on, she is your mother. Be good to her in the future and don't disgrace the name of our orphanage."

"It's okay." Jura smiled slightly, stroked Dean's hair, and gently said, "If you want to call me Aunt Jura first, then do so. I'll wait until you get used to it."

Dean felt a hint of warmth in his heart and said softly, "Thank you."

He was truly grateful because he knew that once adopted, his life and death were entirely in the hands of the adopter. And he also knew from the mouths of other children that in this world, even if parents killed their own children... it was also legal.

Jura smiled and said, "Let's go back and show you your new home."

...

...

Jura's home was in the residential area.

The people living here were all ordinary residents with jobs. The living environment was worlds apart from the slum area. Just the smell in the air was much fresher. There was no stench of feces or the rotten smell of some decaying things.

Among the huge residential area, Jura's living conditions were also relatively upper-class. Her home was on the south side of the residential area. The land price here was twice as high as that on the north side because the north side was close to the slum area while the south side was close to the business district.

Those who could live in the business district were either important figures with military positions or wealthy merchants. The money they spent with a casual wave was an astronomical figure that people in some residential areas couldn't earn in their entire lives.

There were tall and huge walls separating each area. The city gates only opened during the day and the divisions were strict. There was a saying circulating in the Sylvia Great Wall: "Face north, not south." The north was the slum area. To the south of the slum area was the residential area. This saying meant that people in the residential area could freely go to the slum area. People in the business district could freely go to the residential area. But for people in the slum area to go to the residential area, it was absolutely impossible. The same was true for the residential area.