Varys knocked on the door with a peculiar rhythm.
The door opened, and Varys slipped inside.
He crossed the courtyard, entered the corridor, and hurried along.
The houses on both sides are inhabited by homeless orphans, who are fast asleep in the dead of night.
Varys knew this place well. He wandered around, pushed open a door, and entered the backyard. There was a storage room in the backyard. He lifted the wooden lid of the storage room and found a narrow staircase.
Varis pulled up the staircase cover and went down the stairs.
He discovered a large amount of grain piled up in the basement of the storeroom, in bags packed neatly. The orphanage had received another donation, but the bags bore no insignia of the Great Cathedral of Baelor, indicating the grain wasn't donated by monks or nuns. Varys was slightly puzzled; he hadn't received any news of other high-ranking nobles donating grain.
Varys examined the grain sacks and found that there were many kinds of grain, including wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and carrots. A tall bookcase stood against the wall, filled with books, mainly on mathematics, writing, social history, customs, and geography.
Varys pressed somewhere on the wooden cabinet, gave it a gentle push, and the cabinet moved aside, revealing a small door behind it. He crouched down and crawled inside. The cabinet returned to its original position, and in front of him was a corridor lit by bright red candles, followed by several rooms with their doors tightly shut. One of the rooms had candles lit, and the sound of people talking could be heard coming from inside.
This is where Varis trains his little birds.
The little birds are not trained in martial arts; Varys trains them in mathematics, literacy, history, noble genealogy, customs and etiquette, and the faith of the Seven Gods. There are four teachers, each teaching one of these things to the children. These four teachers are Varys' followers, and they too were orphans who grew up.
The little birds that go out to work must be able to calculate and read, understand letters, and each little bird must also have the skill of understanding complex ledgers.
Varys felt so relaxed here; it was so much freer than his room in the Red Keep of King's Landing.
Varys lifted the hood covering his head and appeared in the doorway illuminated by the light. Then, the expression on his chubby white face froze instantly.
"Greetings, Lord Varys!" a clear, polite voice rang out. A girl rose from among Varys' four teachers and greeted him.
This girl Varys knows: Little Witch Julie.
Julie Clegane, who killed several fallen knights with a short sword in the arena, impressed everyone with her ruthless killing, earning her the nickname "Little Witch" from the people of King's Landing.
Varys was shocked and had the urge to turn around and run away immediately, but he felt himself smiling, calm and composed, and covered in cold sweat.
This is Varys's nest. The Mountain's little witch has found Varys's nest, leaving him with no way to escape.
Fine, so be it. Varys steeled himself and decided to see what tricks the Mountain was up to.
Who exactly is that blood sorcerer who took Varys's blood through the Mountain?
What does it mean that the little witch suddenly appeared here?
The trick the Mountain played truly shocked Varys. Or perhaps it wasn't the Mountain playing a trick, but rather the Blood Wizard behind the Mountain.
Varys, a man who had weathered many storms, had a cold sweat beading on his back, yet a kind smile graced his face. The smile was for others to see; only he knew the cold sweat trickling down his back.
"Good evening, Miss Julie!"
"Sir, you're only arriving now? Miss Julie has been waiting for you here for a long time. If we hadn't stopped her, she would have left already," the math teacher said warmly.
The math teacher was a pale-faced young man, gentle and shy, honest and sincere. He was the boy Varys raised and who taught him math.
The little birds' math skills and their ability to understand the nobles' complex ledgers were all taught by this introverted math teacher.
The fact that the introverted math teacher was the first to speak made Varys even more wary. Did this mean Julie was popular among the teachers? How could that be? The math teacher was introverted, but he wouldn't be introverted with people he knew well and who were compatible with him; he would become talkative.
The language teacher who taught the children to recognize and write words stood up and bowed humbly to Varis.
Varys was the biggest supporter of the orphanage. The orphanage was able to continue operating and help many orphans avoid starvation, all thanks to Lord Varys.
The language teacher is a middle-aged man and an orphan. Varys rescued him from the clutches of Rhys's dark wizard and taught him to read and write. He is now Varys's right-hand man, not only teaching languages but also taking the little birds out for practical battles.
"Lord Varys, the first batch of food we promised to send has arrived, and the second batch will arrive tomorrow," Julie said.
The teachers all nodded in agreement.
"Lord Varys, Miss Julie not only donated grain, but also three hundred golden dragons," the history teacher said. The history teacher was an elderly woman, and Varys noticed that when he entered, the history teacher held Julie's hand as if an old grandmother were lovingly caring for her granddaughter.
Varys's understanding of Julie was limited to her ruthless killings in the arena. Why Julie could gain the trust of these teachers was something that made Varys very wary, as if this little witch possessed some kind of magical 'witch evil power'.
During the tournament, Varys didn't visit the orphanage; all the messages were delivered to the Red Keep in King's Landing by the little birds, and missions were also issued from there. To avoid suspicion and maintain secrecy, Varys never entered or left the orphanage openly. The orphanage's underground nest for training the little birds was a secret. Even if Julie donated money and food, the teachers should have been entertaining guests in the living room above ground; why were they here?
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Varys looked at his history teacher, math teacher, language teacher, and fake teacher. These people were genuinely sincere, but after recovering from the shock of turning to run away, he immediately noticed the strange atmosphere in the room, like the polite, fake smiles of noblewomen warmly welcoming guests they disliked.
His four teachers' enthusiasm and humility were forced!
Varys' heart tightened again!
Has The Mountain taken control of the orphanage?!
when?
Why didn't he receive any news at all?
He's the Minister of Intelligence in King's Landing, and the little birds are his pets, much like the maester is to the raven. The raven will only listen to the maester, not anyone else. The only difference is that the raven is a feathered creature and might not be easily threatened, but the little birds are people, as are the teachers. Did the Mountain threaten to kill everyone in the orphanage, or perhaps he captured some little birds to blackmail the teachers?
"Miss Julie, where is the Mountain?" Varys asked bluntly.
He was arrogant and extremely intelligent, but he failed to see the situation clearly, nor did he understand why the little bird did not give a warning, nor did he understand why the teachers did not tell him about the money and food donated by the Demon Mountain.
How did The Mountain know that his Little Bird training base was in the Flea Nest orphanage?
The Mountain is a rough fellow!
Is he a blood sorcerer?
Varys smiled amiably, appearing calm and composed, but cold sweat broke out on his back once again.
He hated wizards! And he feared wizards!