Episode 14
Luna was kind and soft-hearted, so she wouldn’t be able to kick out a man who had lost his memory and had nowhere to go. That meant Estelle might be able to stay in Luna’s house if she stuck with him.
‘Even if that mister gets his memory back and leaves later… by then, I’ll already be Luna’s daughter!’
Grinning foolishly as she imagined a future full of dreams and hope, Estelle suddenly realized that now was not the time to be dawdling.
‘I need to go take care of him!’
If she missed this timing, he might suspect her later—asking where she went when he was sick, questioning if she was really his daughter!
“There should be a carriage waiting outside…”
Would telling the director even help?
“What are you doing here?”
“Eek, you scared me! …Ugh, I almost got caught.”
Once Estelle confirmed that the director wasn’t looking her way, she let out a relieved sigh and turned around.
“You startled me, Rock! Why are you sneaking up like that and talking all of a sudden?”
“Knight training. Suppressing presence.”
The boy smirked and placed his clasped hands behind his head as he asked Estelle,
“So, what are you doing here?”
“Uh? I mean… well…”
“I know. You’re trying to sneak out again, aren’t you?”
“What? N-no, I’m not?”
“Yes, you are. I found out everything~”
“No, I said I’m not!”
“Really? Then I guess I can call the director? Direct—”
Panicked, Estelle rushed over and clamped her hands over Rock’s mouth.
“Shh, shh! Be quiet!”
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“What?”
“Mmmph mmmph.”
Pointing at her hand over his mouth, he seemed to be saying, ‘I can’t talk unless you let go.’
“I’ll let go, but don’t call the director.”
Rock nodded, and Estelle released him, quickly starting to make excuses.
“I really wasn’t planning on leaving the orphanage. I just wanted to play hide-and-seek with the director.”
“Really? I thought if you were sneaking out, I’d show you the dog hole.”
“You would? That’s nice, but—wait, what?!”
Estelle grabbed Rock by the collar, eyes wide with urgency.
“There’s a dog hole? Where?!”
“Back there, behind the building. None of the adults know about it yet. It’s small and hidden in the bushes.”
“Show me! Take me there!”
“Alright, alright—just let go.”
Rock nodded easily, but Estelle didn’t release his collar right away.
She was suspicious of his motives.
“Why are you helping me anyway? The director told all the kids not to leave the orphanage and to stop anyone who tried.”
If they were close friends, that might be one thing—but Rock had no reason to help her like this.
‘And in my dream… Rock was…’
Just as unpleasant memories began to cloud Estelle’s face—
“Did you notice how much our meals improved?”
“Huh?”
Rock began counting on his fingers with a serious face.
“Every morning, we get freshly baked bread until we’re full. We even get a cup of fresh milk. We get snacks twice a day too—once it’s cookies packed with chocolate chips or dried fruit, and once it’s fresh fruit that’s not too mushy or sour.”
“Really? I had no idea!”
Of course she didn’t—Estelle always snuck into the cafeteria at dawn and swiped a single piece of bread from the basket.
Now that she thought about it, there had been more bread in the basket lately…
“And they’re building a new dorm and a playground out in the open lot.”
“Dorm? Playground?”
“Yeah. They’re gonna have two kids share a room, and the playground will be covered in soft grass and soil so no one gets hurt if they fall.”
“No way. With what money?”
There were nearly thirty kids in the orphanage.
Just feeding them three meals a day was no small expense—let alone building new dorms and a playground?
‘Wait a second… don’t tell me…’
Did the Duke of Holtzen already find this place?
A chill ran down her spine, but Estelle quickly shook her head.
‘That didn’t happen in my dream.’
Besides, the duke never supported the orphanage—in fact, when his daughter disappeared, he suspected the orphanage of helping to hide her.
He had accused the staff of kidnapping and had them arrested.
As a result, the children were scattered and their fates became unknown.
That was exactly why Estelle had to become Luna’s daughter—no matter what.
“What do you mean, what money? It was your sponsor’s donation.”
“What?”
All other thoughts were erased from Estelle’s mind in an instant.
“My sponsor?”
Estelle tilted her head in confusion, and Rock looked back at her, equally puzzled.
“You really didn’t know? The menu changed the day after you arrived here holding that lady’s hand.”
“Lady?”
Estelle blinked a few times. Then her eyes sparkled.
“Luna!”
That’s it! Luna was the sponsor!
‘Maybe she couldn’t give me money directly because I’m still young—but she donated a big sum so I could live comfortably at the orphanage!’
“Right. Luna’s the sponsor. She’s gonna be my mom!”
“I figured that lady must’ve been the one. The director said she might even send us to school.”
The Royal Academy was for nobles and royals only, but the capital of Arcadia, Alkard, had three other academies that accepted commoners.
Still, the tuition was expensive—too expensive for kids from the orphanage to even dream about attending…
“As long as we pass the entrance test, we don’t have to worry about tuition. So I’m gonna start studying hard from today.”
“I see. Rock, I’m sure you’ll get into the military academy!”
“Huh? Oh… yeah, thanks.”
“No need to thank me. We’re all here to help each other.”
Behind the wall where Rock led her, there really was a small dog hole. It looked too small even for Rock to crawl through.
“Well, I’m off. Don’t tell anyone else about this hole! It’s our secret!”
“Yeah, sure. Just don’t get kidnapped.”
“Okay! See you!”
Giggling, Estelle tucked her body like a turtle and crawled into the little hole.
Rock crouched down and watched through the hole, tilting his head as Estelle dashed off full of energy.
“That’s weird…”
‘Did I ever tell her I’m aiming for the military academy?’
But the one who could answer was already gone, and all Rock could do was scratch his neck awkwardly.
* * *
Knock knock knock, knock knock!
A rhythmic knock echoed from far away, followed by the scrape of a chair nearby.
The man, awakened by the noise, slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.
Then—tap, tap, tap—footsteps faded into the distance.
Soon, he heard two voices in conversation.
“Oh? You’re home, Luna? Didn’t you go to work?”
“There’s a sick person here. Did you eat?”
“Mmm, I did, but I think I digested it all already…”
Hearing that pitiful tone, he could easily picture a little child clutching her empty belly with both hands.
The image was so unexpectedly adorable, he let out a dry chuckle on his own.
Then a gentle, soothing voice came through:
“Want some oatmeal? I made it for the patient, so it’s a little bland.”
“That’s okay! Estelle is a good girl who doesn’t complain about food!”
“Really now? Don’t go saying something else later.”
Oh no, kid… what are you going to do when something you don’t like ends up on the table?
Chuckling quietly, the man slowly sat up in bed—just as a damp washcloth slipped off his forehead.
“……”
It was nearly dry and lukewarm.
He instinctively grabbed it and touched his still-wet forehead with the other hand, then glanced over at the bedside table.
There was a kettle, a cup of water, and a packet of medicine. On the floor, a basin filled with clean water.
Signs of care were everywhere.
Seeing all this made his chest stir strangely.
As he wrung out the moist towel, he tried to recall the last memory he had before losing consciousness.
