3 - The Protagonist Exits Here

Chapter 3

Right now, I am five years old.

At six, Count Torto adopted me, and at seven, my hair color started to darken.

In other words, if I encounter Count Torto in the next two years, my blonde hair will likely lead to my adoption.

'At least, the chances of him finding me are lower than before the Regression.'

Until he found me and Reilly, the Count wasn't sure if his illegitimate children were even alive.

-Do you have any memories of your mother?

-No…….

-I see. It's fortunate that even one of you is alive.

He said something like that.

In the first place, he wouldn't have searched every orphanage in the country to find a child whose life or death was uncertain.

'So, what should I do before the Count shows up?'

As a penniless orphanage kid who can't just wander out onto the streets.

After weighing several possibilities, I arrived at one solution.

└[Should I just meet him and kill him?]

Why is the Fairy so violent……?

Not the unrealistic method of dealing with a noble by breaking through the guards with a five-year-old's body, but...

'I need to catch the eye of another noble before the Count comes.'

* * *

The countries of this continent have been constantly at war, and the Develoa Empire, where I live, pushed forward with its conquest wars to end the long history of war, even if it meant overexerting itself.

It ended with the Empire's victory, but there were side effects.

'The number of orphans who lost their parents has increased.'

His Majesty the Emperor, thinking that the shadow of war would never disappear as long as orphans roamed the streets, said this:

-Actively support facilities to protect the children.

With the imperial family taking the lead, nobles also sponsored orphanages to curry favor with the imperial family.

In addition, there were those who sometimes lost their heirs due to war and had no suitable collateral relatives, so they came to adopt children from orphanages…….

└[Haa.. I don't like long world explanations. I'm too bored to watch anymore. I'm dropping this.]

Why does the Dropping Fairy keep repeating boarding and dropping?

└[Isn't it polite to drop quietly^^..]

└[This person says they're dropping but keeps following, they're just an attention seeker, ignore them]

To summarize for the Fairies who are fighting over the boring explanation, it means that there is an opportunity to meet nobles even as an orphanage kid.

└[1-line summary thx]

└[If it's a childcare story, they should be adopted into a duchy at least]

'No. What I'm aiming for isn't adoption.'

Because that's not something that will happen just because I try.

There was an easier way to form a relationship with adult nobles.

That is, the guardianship system!

'If you receive guardianship, the guardian's consent is required when you are adopted by someone else.'

It would be a disaster if someone who isn't even your biological parent takes away the talent you've invested money in raising, right?

Count Torto often sponsored children who showed talent in swordsmanship, so I knew this fact.

'Biological parents or relatives might show up, so the adoption process already takes a long time, and now there's even a guardian involved?'

Months will pass easily. That means I can buy a lot of time.

I don't even want support. I just need the existence of a guardian, whoever it is.

Then, even if Count Torto notices me, I'll have room to deal with it.

└[But isn't the female lead looking for her biological family?]

└[I think there's a secret to her birth]

Actually, I was worried about being kicked out of the Count's family, so I secretly looked into it.

But how detailed would the information about an ordinary commoner child be? Of course, I couldn't find any clues.

└[Is this foreshadowing?]

└[The female lead is probably a princess or empress]

└[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋNumerous female leads flash through my mind]

'…….'

The Comments Fairies had a tendency to talk plausibly as if they knew my situation very well, but sometimes they would say such extreme and absurd things.

'What country are the 'female leads' that the Comments Fairies know from that they live through such amazing things?'

Seeing as it's a story that even I, who collected all sorts of rumors to help the Count, don't know, the Comments Fairies must have come from a very distant country.

* * *

"A pretty flower bloomed, so I wanted to show it to the Baroness, hic……."

└[Ah, here comes a female lead with a lisp]

└[If she's 5 years old, she's probably fully 5 years old. Kids that age pronounce things pretty well..]

└[My nephew is 6 years old and still lisps]

└[I wish the female leads in childcare stories would just pronounce things properly]

'Is biting my tongue something to be scolded for like this?!'

I can accidentally bite my tongue because I'm not fully adapted to the smaller body structure.

But whenever my pronunciation was inaccurate, the Comments Fairies would urge me to speak clearly.

This was the first time I had been scolded for my pronunciation since the etiquette lessons at the Count's family, which were strictly enforced to quickly shed my commoner image.

'Harsh…….'

When my expression hardened as I held out a flower I had picked from the backyard, the noblewoman in front of me looked down at me with worried eyes.

"Are you okay, dear?"

"I-I saw an adult prettier than the flower for the first time, so my heart was pounding and I got the hiccups. Hehe."

"Oh my……."

The noblewoman blushed slightly, as if she liked my compliment.

'Thank goodness. I made a good impression again today!'

If I meet her often like this, she might become my guardian!

Recently, my daily routine has been to monitor whether a noble's carriage is approaching, and if it looks like a carriage is stopping in front of the orphanage, I'm the first to run out and greet them.

Thanks to my actions, the stingy Director's face brightened as well.

"This orphanage seems to pay a lot of attention to the children's care."

"Of course, of course."

"The Director bought me this ribbon too!"

"It's right to use the donations sent by good people for the children. I think it should be that way because we're not doing this for money."

The stingy Director also knew how to put on a benevolent smile in front of money.

As I praised them and gained the favor of the nobles, the Director often kept me by her side.

Thanks to this, I was able to confidently represent the children whenever nobles came.

'Hehe…….'

I was playing the role of a good child who doesn't forget to appreciate even small acts of kindness, and the Director was using me to create the face of a kind orphanage Director who loves children.

We were building a strategic relationship where we both got what we wanted. The Director doesn't know, though.

└[#BlackHeartFemaleLead]

What's a black heart? No one is harmed by my actions, so this is a white heart.

However, unlike me, who welcomes anyone who can be my guardian without hesitation, the Comments Fairies evaluated visitors with strict standards.

└[Baroness? A Baron is a bit disappointing]

└[Of course, she'll be adopted by a Duke, right?]

'It's not a given, people of the Duke's rank hardly ever show up here.'

Even though nobles frequently visited the orphanage, high-ranking nobles above the rank of Count rarely came in person. They usually sent a representative.

But the Comments Fairies kept obsessing over 'Duke'.

└[Father, please come quickly, our child is being kidnapped by Tartㅠ]

Not Tart, Torto…….

Even calling a Duke they've never seen and don't even know who he is 'Father'.

I shook my head at their train of thought, but I was faithful to my work.

"This is the playroom. There are picture books and dolls."

I stuck close to the Baroness, who was looking around the orphanage environment, and chattered like a guide.

└[The scene of child laborㅠㅠ]

└[The female lead is doing a good job, do more]

Is that sadness or urging?

"Thank you for the tour."

"No, it was more fun for me. Goodbye!"

Whew. Another one completed today.

When I went out to the front door to see off the beautiful Baroness and returned, the attention of the erratic Comments Fairies turned to the other children.

Especially when I talked to a boy, they kept saying things like this.

└[Are you the male lead?]

I'm the female lead, and the boy is the male lead.

So that means male protagonist.

'If the male lead is also a protagonist, can he hear the Comments Fairies?'

I asked the boy in front of me.

"Edin. Have you ever heard the word 'male lead'?"

"Huh? No."

It doesn't seem like he can hear them.

While I was wondering what a male lead was, Edin rummaged through something he was holding tightly in both hands and held it out to me.

What he held out was bread wrapped in paper.

└[Bread shuttle?]

……I don't know the word, but I know it has a bad nuance.

But Edin's actions came from a pure heart.

"This was the snack today, but Rose didn't get to eat it."

"So you saved it for me?"

"Yeah. Rose seemed busy hanging out with the adults."

"I'm okay. You eat it."

"Still……."

"You need to eat a lot."

Edin was so small that I thought he was younger than me, but it turned out he was the same age as me.

You can't know until a boy's growth spurt has passed, but they need to get good nutrition from a young age to grow well.

Like Garold, Count Torto's son and my former older brother-.

└[Eh? His name is Garold the troll?]

No, Garold…….