Chapter 8
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Chapter 8
* * *
"Take your staff and leave this place at once."
I spoke firmly to the Orphanage Director, whose face had gone blank with shock.
"Go home quietly and await your punishment."
In truth, disciplining them was not within my authority.
Inspecting the Orphanage's operations fell to the inspector's purview, and determining punishment based on the inspector's report was the Duke's prerogative. Strictly speaking, I was overstepping my bounds.
Of course, the Duke of Bellomen was far too occupied to concern himself with such matters. These trivial affairs fell entirely to his proxy or steward.
'But I cannot turn a blind eye to what stands before me simply because I fear the consequences.'
An Orphanage Director who exploited children, embezzled operating funds, and fed them rotten food—no less. Healthy children would surely fall ill living in such conditions.
How could I, as an adult, simply stand by and watch?
I did feel uneasy about invoking the name of House of Bellomen, though.
'Don't lose your nerve, Lucella. I'm merely doing what the inspector should have done.'
Had the inspectors witnessed this, they would never have remained silent.
Moreover, any resident of the Duchy could report misconduct occurring within its territories.
And I was nobility, no less. The Empire's aristocracy possessed the right to judge commoners at any time.
In other words, detaining the Orphanage Director and his staff of my own volition posed no legal problem.
Of course, what punishment to impose on them would be decided by the Duke of Bellomen—or more precisely, by his proxy.
"Please, I was wrong, Lady Lucella! I beg your mercy—"
"Mercy? You dare ask for mercy from me now?"
At such an absurd plea, I couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Even a lack of conscience has limits.
"A healthy adult would fall ill eating such food. Yet you would feed rotten food to children? And before me, you serve nothing but fine meals?"
I hurled a tomato, so decayed it had turned black with mold, at the Orphanage Director's feet.
"Eat it."
"...Pardon?"
"Eat all this rotten food here."
"..."
"Had I not discovered it, wouldn't all of it have gone into the children's mouths?"
I brought an entire basket of vegetables, long since spoiled and reeking of decay, and thrust it toward the Orphanage Director.
"If you consume all these rotten ingredients, I'll let the matter drop. Your eating them will prove they were still edible, after all."
"M-my lady..."
"Open your mouth. Now."
At my firm command, the Orphanage Director reluctantly opened his mouth and shoved the mushy tomato inside. His desperation to escape punishment was truly, sickeningly impressive.
But I had never intended to show him mercy.
"Do you not understand what eating means? Don't just hold it in your mouth—chew and swallow."
"Ugh..."
As he moved his jaw, red liquid from the rotten tomato dripped down the Orphanage Director's chin. But the act of chewing rotten food could not continue for long.
"Blech! Urgh!"
Unable to bear the revulsion, the Orphanage Director began to vomit.
I shook my head in disapproval as I watched the Orphanage Director continue retching. He hadn't even swallowed a single bite, yet here he was vomiting.
"If you couldn't eat the food yourself, you shouldn't have fed it to the children."
"Ugh...."
"I'll forget about showing you mercy."
I turned away from the Orphanage Director, who continued emptying his stomach, and left the Kitchen, heading toward the coachman standing in front of the Orphanage.
"Go to the Security Bureau immediately. There are some extremely vicious criminals here."
* * *
Once Lucella left the Kitchen, Amelia emerged from the jar.
Though the Orphanage Director remained, there seemed to be no need to worry about him anymore. He and the staff would never set foot in this place again.
As Amelia turned to head back to where Edwin was, she stopped abruptly in front of the Orphanage Director.
Even though quite some time had passed since Lucella left, he was still too preoccupied with emptying his stomach.
'I can't believe such a pathetic adult was trembling so much.'
A man who couldn't even stomach a single rotten tomato.
Amelia pulled out the cookie she had carefully tucked into her pocket to give to Edwin, then tossed it at the Orphanage Director's feet.
"Why don't you eat plenty of this cookie that the rats gnawed on, Director?"
"Ugh, Amelia, you...!"
"Oh, so you're not my teacher anymore?"
Amelia giggled mischievously with her hand over her mouth, deliberately provoking the Orphanage Director, then slipped out of the Kitchen. She heard him shouting something behind her, but she didn't look back.
'It's all thanks to that Sister.'
Amelia recalled the image of Lucella speaking in a low voice to the Orphanage Director. This sense of liberation was something she had gained because of Lucella.
Yet Amelia still couldn't be certain whether Lucella was someone she could trust. Every adult she had met so far had been two-faced.
'Still... she doesn't seem like a bad person.'
Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to trust her a little?
Amelia watched Lucella conversing with the coachman from a distance before moving on.
* * *
'This is making my head spin.'
I pressed my forehead as I met the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes fixed upon me.
The Security Force arrived at the Orphanage and swiftly took the Orphanage Director and his staff away. In the meantime, I had gathered documents from the Director's Office drawer that proved the Orphanage Director's embezzlement. If all went well, Sir Gillian, the Duke's representative, would handle this matter.
After that, I summoned servants from the House of Bellomen. I had them thoroughly clean the dilapidated Kitchen and stock it with fresh ingredients purchased from nearby. I had the windows, through which cold air had been seeping, repaired, along with the door I had broken. I discarded the tattered bedding and brought in clean new linens. I even called for a physician, just in case. I was concerned that the children who had eaten spoiled food might fall ill.
As expected, several children were suffering from stomach aches, and I had them examined by the physician immediately. Every child—those with skin conditions, those with colds, all of them.
The real problem came next.
"Sister, where did all the teachers go?"
"They went to be punished for doing bad things. They won't be coming here anymore."
"Really...?"
The children, who had been nervously watching my expression, suddenly brightened. But it was short-lived—soon their faces were clouded with another worry.
"Then who will we live with now?"
"That is...."
I couldn't answer immediately. I hadn't yet decided who would take charge of the Orphanage.
'I never even established a successor in the first place.'
"We didn't decide on a successor in the first place."
I hadn't expected to dismiss the Orphanage Director so immediately when I first arrived at the Orphanage.
My original plan was to observe the situation more carefully, appoint a successor, and then remove him from his position. Though the Director and staff were undoubtedly cruel people, I thought it would be disorienting for the children if their guardian changed so abruptly.
But the Orphanage was far more deplorable than I'd anticipated, and I couldn't suppress the fury that welled up inside me. In that moment, I acted without considering the consequences.
"Starting tomorrow, a new teacher will come. The new teacher won't make you work, and won't starve you."
"Really?"
"Yes."
The moment I returned home, I would need to find a replacement immediately.
'If I demand they start tomorrow, they'll be reluctant, but offering extra compensation should convince them.'
Money speaks louder than anything else.
If I still couldn't find someone... I'd have no choice but to run the Orphanage together with the maids from the Bellomen Mansion.
'How much money would I need to spend?'
I mentally calculated the figures in my head.
If I recovered the embezzled funds along with the monthly subsidies, operating the Orphanage wouldn't be a problem.
But the issue was immediate.
The Director had squandered all the subsidies and donations that had come to the Orphanage, leaving no available funds for immediate use.
In other words, I would have to use my own money until the Orphanage's operations stabilized somewhat.
'I don't lack for money.'
I received a monthly allowance from the House of Bellomen. It was something my Sister had secured in exchange for not interfering in the Duke's private affairs.
I also had the inheritance my Sister left for me. Our parents' inheritance had been completely seized by my uncle, leaving nothing behind.
'If I use my Sister's inheritance, I could renovate the Orphanage properly and send the children to good adoptive families.'
There would be more than enough left over.
But I couldn't bring myself to spend this money so readily. It wasn't that I begrudged spending it on the children.
'...It's money exchanged for my Sister's life.'
Despite the objections of those around her, my Sister had insisted on leaving her inheritance to me instead of to her son, Lucian.
'I want you to live happily. Money doesn't guarantee happiness, but it's true that the more money you have, the higher your chances of being happy.'
My Sister had said this while squeezing my hand tightly.
'Lucella, please live happily. Please.'
It was money left behind by my Sister, who had wished for my happiness even as she was dying.
But did I have the right to spend this money as I wished?
And especially for Edwin, Lucian's enemy.
Not just any money, but my Sister's life price. The moment I thought of it that way, I couldn't easily spend it.
So until now, I had saved this money without using it, vowing to return it to Lucian when he came of age. After all, this was money he should have received if I hadn't existed.
But could I use my Sister's life price, which I'd set aside for Lucian, for the child of the person who made my Sister unhappy?
'But...without my Sister's inheritance, I have no money to spend right now.'
Recovering the embezzled funds would take time as well. If the Director claimed he had no money and refused to repay, there was a high possibility I wouldn't recover it.
All that remained was the monthly operational subsidy for the Orphanage, but it would take time before the budget was reassigned.
'If I don't spend money immediately, the children will have to endure hunger and cold in this place.'
I gazed at the children, their eyes blinking with crystalline clarity. Their faces held a faint glimmer of hope mixed with a touch of fear.
The hope that I might be a good adult, and the fear that I might turn out to be just like the Director.
It was an expression no child under ten should have to wear.
I met the gaze of each child in turn, and my eyes found a pair of crimson irises staring directly at me.
The child's eyes were clear and innocent, untouched by the burdens of the adult world.
'Yes. I'll use it.'
An innocent child must not be wounded because of a guilty adult's circumstances.
Besides, turning away from starving children was beneath me as an adult.
If I used it not for my own benefit, but to help these children, then my Sister in heaven would surely be pleased.
'And this is for Lucian's sake as well.'
Lucian's future rested almost entirely in the hands of Edwin and Amelia. Caring for the Orphanage children was ultimately helping Edwin and Amelia, and those two, having received my aid, might spare Lucian's life in the future out of consideration for me.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org