Chapter 51
51
"The orphanage where the baby lived was more run-down than other facilities. The children were overcrowded, too. I heard that six or seven children slept together in that room."
Isaac was very shocked.
Six or seven children slept together in a place that wasn't even half the size of his dressing room?
'Is this hell?'
LeBlaine was selected as the Child of Destiny in the middle of this year and moved to the Imperial Palace in the fall.
That meant she had lived in a place like that until this year.
Come to think of it, LeBlaine had been unlike a child from the beginning.
She rarely asked for toys, coveted anything, or threw tantrums.
Having grown up in a place like that, it was no wonder she didn't know how to ask for things.
Isaac's face was somber as he left the administrator's office, and Henri's eyes were clouded.
"I initially snapped at the little one, asking if she knew how to eat carrots..."
"..."
"She grew up in a place where she would have to starve if she didn't eat even carrots."
Beside Isaac, who was muttering gloomily, Henri was also regretting.
[Just because you've been adopted, do you think you're really my sibling? Don't be ridiculous. Who really considers an orphan with no blood relation as family?]
Why did he say such a thing?
His heart ached when he thought of LeBlaine blinking blankly at him after hearing those words.
"I'm going to teach the little one that she can ask for toys and live in a nice room now."
"Yeah."
The two clenched their fists tightly.
After eating a hearty meal and then sleeping for another twenty hours straight, I finally regained my senses.
And as soon as I regained my senses, I tore at my hair.
'I was crazy!'
[Leubu's room is narrow and dark. So it's not my room. This is big and pretty, so it's not my room!]
I was incredibly embarrassed when I remembered the day I said that while sobbing.
"Here, Baby, have some more. I brought it without Leah knowing."
I rolled my eyes as I looked at Uni, who was handing me a donut with a determined expression.
"I don't wanna eat anymore."
"You can wish for things like this! You can wish for big, pretty rooms and delicious snacks..."
Then Uni teared up.
'No, that's not it, it's because I ate too much...'
No matter who I am, it's too much to eat five pancakes and then more donuts.
The way people looked at me because of yesterday's incident became very pitiful.
The maids piled up snacks and sobbed, saying, "Please tell us if you need anything else."
The retainers also sent toys and food.
It seemed that the story of how I had lived had spread publicly after yesterday's incident.
Everywhere I went, I was met with teary eyes, which was so burdensome.
'Let's run away.'
I should spend time in the greenhouse until the moisture disappears from those gazes.
I picked up my elephant bag, backed away slowly, and left the room.
Only after putting the bag down in the empty greenhouse did I let out a sigh.
'I should think about the merchant business.'
Seria and the Duke had started trading.
Even after securing enough Spinelle, the Duke said he would buy all the Spinelle that was mined.
It seemed he was planning to compete with the Temple using Spinelle.
'Then I'm the only one who benefits from this whale fight.'
If the Duke buys a lot of Spinelle, my warehouse will be full.
The Temple will be screwed and will have no choice but to sell the Spinelle mine.
If I buy the mine, Spinelle monopoly!
I laughed gleefully.
I'm broke right now because I bought the Spinelle Mutation Zone and paid for the launch of Seria's merchant group, but I'll be rich soon.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm hmm."
I hummed and scribbled on the stationery I had prepared in advance.
[To Seria.
I'm glad to hear you're doing well. I've decided on the name <Hope> for the merchant group. Please use this name when trading in the future.
I'm looking for someone to escort the merchant group in every way. Chairman's soldiers are Dubled territory residents, so every time they enter and exit this place, they have to record their entry and exit. He said that he might get caught, so it would be better to find someone from outside. I agree with that idea.
And I heard that you met the Chairman for the first time a few days ago. Why did you two fight? I hope you get along well since you'll be working together in the future.
P.S. Seria called the Chairman a nasty old goat, but I think he looks more like a leopard than a goat-]
I felt a presence while writing up to that point, startled, and quickly put the letter in my bag.
"Ah, here you are."
It was Isaac. The boy who saw me waved his hand wildly and shouted towards the door, "Brother, she's here!"
Then he ran to me.
"Ishak, hi."
"Hello."
"But what's that?"
I tilted my head, looking at the jewelry the boy was holding.
"I heard you were the only one who couldn't play with this kind of thing at the orphanage?"
How did he know that again?
There was a jewelry toy in the orphanage, and it was very popular because it was elaborate for a child's toy.
The leader-like child monopolized it and only let her favorite children play with it, so I never got to play with it.
"Yeah."
"Play with it as much as you want now."
Then he handed me the jewelry.
'Is it a toy?'
It looked just like the real thing. I picked up something that looked like an amber necklace and looked at it carefully before flinching.
'Isn't this a beetle in the center?'
Amber is a gemstone made by hardening resin, and there were cases where insects were inside like this.
It is considered more precious if something like an insect is inside.
Do they put real beetles in children's toys?
I looked at it carefully and flinched.
"I, I, Iza, Izaku."
"Why?"
"This, this is re... real jewel!"
"It's real, then?"
What do you do if you tell a young child to play with real jewels?
I quickly returned the jewels to Isaac and held my pounding heart.
'Calm down. I'm going to be rich. If Seria's trade goes well, I can buy ten of those.'
I tried to think that way, but I was a beggar in my past life, and I had never even seen such jewels in my 1st and 2nd lives, so I couldn't calm down easily.
"Don't you like amber? Then play with diamonds."
Then he handed me a diamond that was so big that I had to hold it with both hands.
It was a huge, huge diamond that would only be in the Empress's jewelry box.
'I can't get this even if I have money.'
"Izaku, if you bring things like this without permission, Gongzhanmi will scold you."
"It's not Duke Amitié's. It's mine."
"Huh?"
"I brought it from my second jewelry warehouse."
"...How many jewelry warehouses do you have?"
Isaac blinked as if asking why he was saying something obvious.
Henri, who came into the greenhouse, saw me trembling while holding the diamond and scolded Isaac.
"What did you do that made LeBlaine scared?"
"She doesn't seem to like my jewels."
"That's why I said to bring it from my third warehouse. Yours are just big."
"Then let's give her this and bring her something better from your warehouse."
"Okay."
...I felt sorry for myself, who thought I had become rich.
The aura of the real rich was dazzling.
"Little one, then what do you want to do? Should I buy you clothes?"
"How about bringing a dessert master from the Imperial Palace?"
"I'll build you an amusement park."
I glanced at the two people next to me who were shouting that they would do this and that for me.
"It's okay."
If I enjoy too many things in the Empire and then defect, my standards will only get higher.
Spinelle is enough for me.
'So I need to quickly find an escort for the merchant group and start trading in places other than Dubled.'
Isaac drooped his eyebrows.
"Shall I kill the director of the orphanage?"
"Why the director?! (Why the director?!)"
I asked in surprise, and Isaac frowned.
"I heard that you made six or seven people sleep in such a narrow and dirty room. The orphanage receives support from the country, so if the room is that dirty, they must have embezzled the support money."
"That's because the orphanage is not run by the country."
The orphanages in this country are divided into three categories.
- National orphanages supported by the Imperial Family.
Orphanages built by the state, with managers sent down as administrators. So the facilities are good and the support is good. When they reach adulthood, they also give them settlement funds.
- Public orphanages supported by temples or nobles.
Orphanages that have been evaluated as suitable by temples and noble families. It varies depending on where you support, but they are generally good places.
- Private orphanages run by commoners.
Orphanages built for the purpose of subsidies. Taxes are used for small amounts, so they are audited, but they are almost just for show.
Above all, commoners cannot operate like national or public orphanages, so it is naturally the worst place.
Unlike other places, there are almost no children who are adopted because they are not managed at all.
So parents who cannot raise their children, or parents who do not want to pay taxes for their children, leave them and come to pick them up. These parents were the second source of income for private orphanages.
And the place where I was was the third type of orphanage.
They raised me because they needed a real orphan like me to make up the numbers, but I didn't receive much attention.
The director took care of the children whose parents paid a lot of money, or the children whose parents were sure to pick them up, in that order.
'That's why I tried so hard to be loved by Duke Amitié and Duke Valois.'
Still, it was thanks to that orphanage that I lived without dying every time until I went to the Empress Dowager.
'Wait a minute, orphanage?'
Speaking of orphanages, something suddenly flashed through my mind.
There are four knights who will reach the pinnacle of all knights in the future.
Duke Amitié, the knight with the rumor of defeating the dragon.
Isaac, called the genius of the century.
Sir Surelle, the holy knight known as the nightmare of the battlefield.
And Zachary, the master of military operations.
Zachary is from a private orphanage.
He was said to be a gentle and considerate person.
'If it's Zachary, I can trust him to escort the merchant group.'
And the orphanage where he was said to be was nearby.
