Chapter 7
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Chapter 7
"I... what?"
I opened my mouth again to address the Orphanage Director, who stared at me in bewilderment.
"The reason I've come all this way is precisely this—to verify that the Büsnie Orphanage is being operated in accordance with the reports submitted."
Of course, it was a lie.
The Duke of Bellomen had merely permitted me to enter the grounds of House of Bellomen, but he had never delegated any special authority to me. There was no way he would entrust me with an orphanage inspection.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been cautious, fearing my deception would be exposed—
'But if I slip up now, my nephew could die.'
For the sake of my beloved nephew Lucian's future, there was nothing I wouldn't do.
In truth, what troubled me most was something else entirely.
'The condition of this orphanage is far worse than I expected.'
With broken doors and windows allowing bitter wind to seep through relentlessly, the Büsnie Orphanage was no place for children. Worse still, one wall was covered in thick black mold. The skin ailments afflicting the children were undoubtedly caused by that fungus.
Children at an age meant to play cheerfully were instead occupied with cleaning, and even their meager meals went largely uneaten as they nervously watched the Director's expression.
Witnessing such a sight, I could not remain idle as an adult.
It wasn't because I was virtuous. This was compassion and morality that any human being, any adult, ought to possess.
'And then there are those plaques.'
The plaques displayed on the bookshelf in the Director's Office bore inscriptions like "Best Orphanage for Children's Growth" and "Orphanage of the Month."
'What in the world makes this orphanage worthy of such praise?'
It was obvious. He must have embezzled funds and offered them to his superiors to obtain these awards. The nobility, hearing only that this was a well-decorated orphanage, would have adopted children from here without question.
'I cannot let this stand, if only because the Director is so contemptible.'
All the budget allocated to the orphanage came from House of Bellomen's coffers. Should the Duke of Bellomen later take issue with this matter, I could excuse myself by claiming I had stepped in to prevent the House's funds from being misused.
'Besides, this is also for the sake of the Duke's son.'
The Duke ought to be bowing to me, not the other way around.
With that thought, I withdrew the documents I had carefully placed in my handbag.
"According to the paperwork submitted last month, 20 gold was spent on window repairs and playground maintenance. Yet..."
As I trailed off, the Director's Adam's apple bobbed sharply.
"Neither the windows nor the playground show any signs of repair. Twenty gold is hardly a trivial sum, and you're telling me it was spent on this?"
Ten gold was a month's living expenses for an ordinary family. He had received double that amount.
"I heard the orphanage received a top-tier rating in this quarter's evaluation, but from what I can see, it hardly deserves even a fourth-tier rating."
Fourth-tier was the lowest evaluation grade. Yet somehow this place had swept up various awards.
"Th-that is... ah, well, winter brings particularly harsh winds, doesn't it? That's why the windows and playground have fallen into such disrepair..."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
The Director nodded vigorously, believing he had found an escape route.
"If the repairs have deteriorated so badly within a month, it's clearly shoddy workmanship. Summon the construction company at once. I'll have them punished in the name of House of Bellomen."
"..."
I'm no fool. I wouldn't fall for such an absurd lie.
"Why aren't you answering?"
"I-I was just trying to remember where I put the relevant documents..."
"Think hard while I step into the kitchen. I'll be back shortly."
"The k-kitchen? Why...?"
The Orphanage Director stared at me with frightened eyes.
"I thought I should check whether the children are being fed properly."
* * *
Amelia, peering through the window with only her eyes visible, watched Lucella and the Orphanage Director in conversation. However, she couldn't hear their words. The window was firmly shut.
Yet she couldn't simply open the window either. The moment she opened the old window, it would creak loudly.
The only thing she could deduce was that the Orphanage Director's expression wasn't good. Especially when Lucella pulled out some mysterious document, his face turned positively ashen.
'I don't know what they're talking about, but judging from his reaction, it doesn't seem like she's here to adopt a child.'
Amelia exhaled a sigh of relief.
I still couldn't tell what kind of person Lucella was, but seeing how she flustered the Orphanage Director made me think she might not be a bad person.
'I've never seen the Orphanage Director make that kind of expression before.'
The Orphanage Director's face, dripping with cold sweat, looked ridiculous.
'Those sluggish brats! Can't you move any faster?! Don't you see the trash in that corner?!'
It was completely different from how he looked when he was shouting and ordering the children around.
Amelia, covering her mouth as she giggled, turned away from the Director's Office and headed toward the Kitchen.
'I promised to bring cookies to Edwin.'
I had to steal the cookies before Lucella and the Orphanage Director finished their conversation.
Amelia stepped into the Kitchen. The moment she entered, a foul stench assaulted her nose. It was the reek of rotted ingredients.
When the weather was cold, food shouldn't spoil easily. Yet the Orphanage Director and his staff had managed that impressive feat.
'Let's see.'
Holding her nose with one hand, Amelia headed toward the drawer beside the oven. If her memory served correctly, the cookies should be inside this drawer.
'Found it.'
Soon enough, Amelia found the cookies in a paper bag inside the drawer.
But her joy was short-lived. The mice had gnawed at them so badly that nothing remained intact.
'I promised Edwin....'
What Amelia hated most in the world was lying. Of course, I was already lying to prevent adoption, but still.
In any case, I didn't want to do the thing I hated most to Edwin.
Eventually, Amelia took out one cookie. Then she carefully cut away all the parts the mice had gnawed.
The cookie, which had been palm-sized, was now reduced to half its size, but it wasn't bad. Smaller things were easier to hide anyway.
'I need to get back before I'm discovered.'
I had just wrapped the cookie in paper so it wouldn't crumble and placed it in my pocket.
"Is the Kitchen this way?"
At the voice coming from nearby, Amelia's shoulders stiffened with a start. The footsteps of two people were drawing steadily closer.
'I can't be discovered!'
If I was caught entering the Kitchen without permission, I might go hungry for the entire day.
'What do I do?'
As Amelia looked around frantically for a hiding place, her eyes fell upon a large earthenware jar. The jar used to store baked oatmeal was large enough for a child to hide in comfortably.
Amelia opened the jar's lid without hesitation. Then she folded her small body and climbed inside.
The moment she closed the lid, Lucella and the Orphanage Director entered the Kitchen.
'Phew, that was close.'
I had barely released a sigh of relief when Lucella's curiosity stirred.
'But why did she come to the Kitchen?'
And dragging along the Orphanage Director in such a flustered state, no less.
Lucella carefully cracked open the jar lid and peered through the narrow gap to observe what was happening outside.
The first thing that caught her eye was Lucella herself, her face deeply furrowed in displeasure as she pinched her nose shut with her hand.
"What is this stench?"
"It's the smell from food waste. The disposal day changes depending on the day of the week."
"It's the middle of winter and the smell is this putrid?"
Lucella dismissed the Orphanage Director's words lightly and began moving forward, sniffing like a hound. She was searching for the source of the odor.
It wasn't long before she succeeded in locating the cause.
"The food waste is stored quite... beautifully, isn't it."
"...."
"If it hadn't rotted, it could have been prepared as is."
Faced with such a pointed remark, the Orphanage Director found himself unable to speak.
If Lucella hadn't visited the Orphanage today, all this rotted food would have ended up in the children's bellies.
But the problems didn't end there.
"Why are the ingredients stored next to the trash bin? How filthy."
"The floor is covered in water stains."
"This is all the food for twenty children? Are you trying to starve them?"
Lucella turned the Kitchen inside out, her face cold and merciless—utterly unlike when she played with the children.
"What food is supposed to be served as a snack today?"
"A, a snack?"
There was no way such a thing existed. For the children of the Büsnie Orphanage, simply having three meals a day was something to be grateful for.
But he couldn't say this outright. The Orphanage Director's mind raced, and he hastily opened a drawer.
"H, here are some butter cookies we've been keeping."
"...Are you joking?"
The moment Lucella tore open the cookie packaging, her expression turned vicious.
"You were planning to feed the children these cookies that rats have gnawed on?"
"I, it wasn't intentional! I had no idea the rats had gotten to them!"
"How are you managing things so poorly that you can't even properly care for today's food?"
At the sharp rebuke that made his ears sting, Amelia found herself squeezing her eyes shut and opening them again without meaning to.
"There's no need to see more. I'll report everything that happened here today directly to the Duke."
"P, please forgive me, Miss! I was wrong! Please, anything but that...."
"Do you understand that you were wrong?"
"Yes! I have committed a grave sin!"
"You knew you were wrong, yet you never thought to correct it. Your character is truly wretched."
"M, Miss!"
Lucella looked down at the Orphanage Director with cold eyes and spoke in a tone of finality he had never heard before.
"You and all the staff of the Büsnie Orphanage are hereby dismissed, effective immediately."
It was a pronouncement no different from a death sentence.
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