Devourer's Legacy: I Regressed With The Primordial Crest
Chapter 82: Infiltration (1)

Chapter 82: Infiltration (1)

The sound of the morning bell echoed through the stone corridors of Malborne Orphanage, pulling Renard from his shallow sleep. He’d barely gotten three hours of rest after his training session, but his body was used to functioning on little sleep.

Around him, the orphanage was already stirring to life. He could hear footsteps in the hallway, the creak of old floorboards, and the distant chatter of children getting ready for the day.

Renard sat up carefully, making sure not to disturb Boa, who was still coiled in a small circle on his pillow. The serpent’s breathing was slow and steady – she was deep in sleep after using her abilities the night before.

"Time to wake up," he whispered, gently stroking her scales.

Boa’s golden eyes opened immediately. Unlike humans, beasts didn’t need time to shake off sleep. She was alert and ready within seconds, lifting her head to look around the room.

Renard scooped her up and carefully tucked her inside his shirt, where she settled against his ribs. To anyone watching, it would look like he was just adjusting his clothes. No one would suspect he was hiding a magical beast.

A sharp knock on his door made him freeze.

"Ray? Are you awake?" Sister’s voice came through the thick wood.

"Yes, Sister," Renard replied, putting just the right amount of sleepiness in his voice. "I’m getting ready."

"Good. The representatives will be here within the hour. Make sure you have your belongings packed."

Renard listened to her footsteps fade down the hallway before allowing himself to relax. His belongings consisted of exactly three items: a spare set of clothes, a small wooden carving of a horse that supposedly belonged to his "dead father," and a worn leather pouch containing a few copper coins.

All of it fake, of course. The clothes were aged with dirt and careful stitching to look like hand-me-downs. The carving was something he’d bought from a street vendor and deliberately scratched up. Even the coins were chosen specifically – the right mix of old and new that a farm family might have saved up over the years.

Every detail of his cover story had been planned and prepared. Ray the orphan was as real as Renard could make him without actually being him.

He dressed quickly in his rough brown clothes and made his way downstairs to the dining hall. The morning meal was already underway, with children of all ages sitting around the long table eating bowls of thin porridge.

The atmosphere was different today. Usually, breakfast was a cheerful affair with plenty of chatter and laughter. But this morning, everyone seemed subdued. Three of their number were leaving, and no one knew if they’d ever see them again.

Renard took his usual spot at the end of the table, next to the other two children who would be departing. Zameena was a girl of about twelve with dark hair and serious eyes. She’d been at the orphanage for two years, ever since her merchant parents died in a bandit attack. Kai was younger, maybe nine, with the pale skin and light hair common in the northern provinces. His parents had abandoned him when he was five, and he’d been here ever since.

Both children looked nervous. They pushed their porridge around their bowls without really eating, stealing glances at the door as if expecting their mysterious benefactors to burst in at any moment.

"Are you scared?" Zameena asked quietly, looking at Renard.

Renard put on the uncertain expression that Ray would wear. "A little," he admitted. "But Sister says they’ll teach us things. Make us stronger."

It wasn’t entirely a lie. The Silent Monastery would certainly teach them things – just not the kind of education that would help them in life. The children taken there were used as test subjects for dangerous magical experiments. Most died within the first year.

But Zameena and Kai didn’t need to know that. Renard would make sure they survived long enough for the rescue plan to work.

"I heard they live in a big castle in the mountains," Kai said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And they have libraries full of books about magic."

"That sounds amazing," Renard replied, maintaining his act. Internally, he winced. The boy’s innocent excitement made what was about to happen even more terrible.

Sister appeared at the head of the table, her face wearing its usual mask of calm authority. But Renard could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands gripped her robes a little too tightly. She knew exactly what kind of people she was handing these children over to.

But the orphanage needed the money. The "donations" from House Aster kept this place running, kept the other children fed and sheltered.

What’s House Aster had enough power and means to take the children even if she refuse, so she had made her choice long ago – sacrifice a few to save the many.

"Finish your breakfast," she told the three departing children. "Our guests will arrive soon, and they don’t like to be kept waiting."

The next thirty minutes passed in tense silence. Renard forced himself to eat slowly, playing the part of a nervous farm boy facing an uncertain future. Inside his shirt, Boa remained perfectly still, understanding somehow that this was not the time to move around.

When the sound of hooves echoed from the courtyard outside, every head in the dining hall turned toward the windows.

"They’re here," Sister announced unnecessarily.

Through the small windows, Renard could see a black carriage pulled by two dark horses. The vehicle was simple but well-made, designed to travel long distances without drawing attention. No family crests or decorations marked it as belonging to any particular house.

It was similar to a mercenary carriage, making anyone who saw it believe it was transporting some goods instead of smuggling children!

As Renard watched, the driver pulled the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt, and two figures stepped down from within.

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