Chapter 6
#06
The coachman dropped me off in front of an old building. As I got out of the carriage and approached the building, I could see that it was old but well-maintained.
"Young lady, are you sure you're alright with this?"
"With what?"
"I thought you didn't like going to places like this."
The maid cautiously pointed to the orphanage building.
"What kind of place is this?"
"A shabby, dirty place."
It didn't look particularly dirty. Rather, seeing the clothes neatly washed and hung out in the yard, I even felt it was more hygienic than I expected.
"Um, who... are you?"
A girl with pigtails cautiously approached, looking slightly frightened as she asked. Behind her, a small child clung to her leg.
It looked like they had been playing in the dirt together until recently, as both of them had dirt on their clothes, especially their hands.
"This is Bianca, the Young lady of the Croford Family. She has business at this orphanage, so go and fetch the headmistress immediately."
"Ah, yes, yes!"
Upon hearing my name, or perhaps upon hearing the words 'Young lady', the child was startled and quickly ran inside the building.
The little one standing behind her couldn't keep up with her speed and stood there blankly.
"It seems the headmistress is inside the building. Shouldn't we go in too?"
"But since the Young lady has come, the headmistress should come out to greet you herself."
That's just annoying...
Thinking there was no helping it, I waited for a moment, but the little one's gaze was persistently fixed on me.
It was so insistent that I couldn't ignore it, so I finally lowered my gaze slightly and looked at the child.
When our eyes met, the child widened their already round eyes even further. Their dark brown eyes were very clear.
As I stared at them, the child hesitated, then cautiously approached me.
"Um..."
The child quietly opened their mouth about three steps away.
"Are you a princess?"
"..."
What was this child talking about? They clearly heard me being called the Young lady earlier.
"Little one, this is Bianca de Croford, the Young lady."
"But..."
The child looked up at me with a tearful expression, as if unable to believe the maid's words.
"You're so pretty, are you really not a princess?"
They say children can't lie, and it seemed to be true.
"You look like a princess... You're so pretty..."
The child with the tearful expression looked dejected and drooped their shoulders.
"Similar."
I said to the top of the child's head.
"A Young lady and a princess are similar."
My position was similar to that of a princess from a neighboring kingdom. So it wasn't a complete lie.
"Really! You are a princess!"
The child's eyes lit up as they looked at me with a brightened expression.
"Wow, it's a princess!"
The little child circled around me, looking at my face, my dress, my necklace, my earrings, my ring, my fingers, and my hair, all with a look of wonder.
"A princess came to our orphanage! I must have prayed hard to God, and he granted my wish! I wished to see a princess just once!"
Looking at the child smiling brightly at me, I smiled back.
"Let's go in quickly. The headmistress will be so surprised!"
A small hand grabbed mine. A dirt-covered hand.
"Hey! Hey!"
The maid, knowing how much I valued cleanliness, was horrified and quickly tried to pull the child away from my hand.
"It's okay. Leave it."
"Yes? But, Young lady, you hate dirt."
"Yes. I'll wash my hands as soon as we go in, so prepare some water."
"Ah, yes, yes."
The maid scurried off, looking for water to wash my hands.
Now it was just the little one and me, alone.
"Can we go in, Princess?"
"Yes. Lead the way."
"Yes, yes!"
The child happily shook my hand as they led me into the building. I could faintly hear the giggling of girls and the shouts of boys in the distance.
It struck me anew how many children there were.
"So, you know, there were eggs in the side dishes today, and I like eggs. I wanted to eat two, but I couldn't. But Nicole gave me half, so I ate one and a half!"
"I see."
I didn't quite understand what they were saying, but at least their voice was brighter and clearer than the voices of the old men at the banquet, so I could smile more naturally than I could there.
"Wow! The princess is even prettier when she smiles!"
The child stopped in their tracks and stared at my smiling face, then exclaimed in admiration. They were truly an honest and bright child.
Only then did I realize why I was still holding this dirty child's hand.
This child looked at me honestly, showed me a genuine smile, and evaluated me without pretense.
They were qualified enough to hold my hand.
"Oh my, without any notice, what brings the Young lady to our orphanage? If you had given us a call, I would have prepared everything and waited for you! Ah, no, greetings first. Hello, I am Rienne Spata, the headmistress here."
At that moment, a middle-aged woman who had rushed down the hallway poured out words and bowed deeply.
"Oh my! Lara! How can you hold the Young lady's hand with such dirty hands!"
"It's okay."
As the headmistress reached out to pull the child away from me, the child quickly hid behind me.
And I followed the child's quick movements with my eyes and told the headmistress that it was okay.
"Instead of doing this in the hallway, I'd like to go inside."
"Oh my, look at my mind! Please, allow me to guide you to the headmistress's office."
I followed the headmistress into the office, and the child called Lara also held my hand tightly and went in with me.
The headmistress's office was neatly and warmly decorated, with no extravagant items or artificial decorations.
I couldn't tell just by looking, but seeing the children treating the headmistress so brightly, I could tell that this was a well-run orphanage.
While waiting for the headmistress to bring tea herself, we washed our hands with the water brought by the maid and wiped our hands together with my handkerchief.
"The reason I came here is that I'm thinking of sponsoring this orphanage."
"Sponsor...?"
"Yes."
The headmistress, whom I expected to be happy, simply blinked her eyes and stared at me with a surprised expression.
"...Do you dislike it?"
"Ah, no! It's not that I dislike it. I'm just too surprised... Yes. They say there are three opportunities in a person's life, and I think I've used up all three of my fortunes now."
Now that it seemed real, the headmistress smiled.
"However, there is a condition."
"A condition...?"
The headmistress seemed a little nervous at the word 'condition'.
She seemed old enough to know better, but to think that I would give without any compensation, she was too naive.
"Spread the word that I am sponsoring this place."
"...Pardon?"
"Whether you have the children do it, put up posters, or do whatever it takes, spread the word that I am sponsoring this place."
The headmistress was still blinking, as if she didn't understand what I was saying. It's okay. She's old, so she'll figure it out on her own after a while.
"So, you're saying that the condition is to promote that the Young lady is sponsoring our orphanage?"
"Yes."
What I needed now was to create an image.
I had to spread the word far and wide that I wasn't the wicked person described in the novel, but rather a kind person.
That's why I thought of sponsorship. I was planning to visit not only this orphanage but also other places. Nursing homes, homeless shelters, and other places as well.
At least if I built up these good deeds, no one would dare call me a villainess.
"Of course, that's not difficult."
"Good. Then I'll write a check right away."
I held out my hand to the maid, and she took out the checkbook as if she had been waiting for it. As I held the pen in my hand and tried to write the amount, I realized that I didn't know how much to give since it was my first time sponsoring.
I heard a lot of children's voices earlier, so it seemed like there were quite a few children?
I wrote down the price of about three dresses. Then I tore the check out of the checkbook and handed it to the headmistress.
"Goodness! This is so much!"
Was it too much?
Seeing the headmistress's surprised expression, I wondered if I had written too much, but seeing Lara smiling brightly next to me, I thought, "So what if it's a lot?"
I had plenty of money anyway.
"Then make sure you carry out what I said."
"Of course!"
The headmistress nodded repeatedly.
"Then I'll be on my way."
I got up from my seat, and Lara automatically stood up as well. The maid, of course, had to return with me, and even the headmistress followed me out to see me off.
"Thank you so much."
The headmistress kept saying thank you.
She was actually talking about how the building was old and the repair costs were high, and how there was a limit to passing down the children's clothes, so they were always lacking.
And then she said thank you again.
It was probably the seventeenth time I had heard the word 'thank you'.
I saw a familiar figure at the exit.
The man standing against the sunlight also narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at me.
"Bianca?"
I couldn't see his face clearly because of the backlight, but the voice was definitely one I knew.
"Ricardo."
I couldn't understand why he was here.
"Why are you here?"
And it seemed Ricardo felt the same way.
"What business do you have here?"
His voice was a little sharp.
As my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, Ricardo's face, which had only appeared dark, gradually became clearer.
There were beads of sweat on his furrowed brow, and his usually taciturn lips were tightly closed, as if he was angry about something.
What was so infuriating about running into me here? Did he think I was doing something to the orphanage?
I suddenly felt lost as to what that man thought of me.
"Don't be angry with our princess, Ricardo!"
Lara bravely stood in front of me.
"Even if you're Ricardo, if you get angry with our princess, Lara will scold you!"
A brave one-meter-tall knight protected me.
I felt very secure.
"If you don't want to be scolded, you'd better step aside."
Protected by the young knight, I gave Ricardo, who had a bewildered expression, a very relaxed smile.
