Episode 8
The comment fairies had a tendency to overanalyze everything in terms of romance.
Kids just want to spend all day with their close friends. That’s how it is.
“It’d be nice if we could, but I’m not sure what’ll happen. Let’s think about it then!”
“Okay.”
It was a vague answer, but Leon seemed reassured by it, his expression relaxing.
I never realized it before because he always sat gloomily in gloomy corners, but he really does resemble Duke Clarke.
└ [If his father’s handsome, then of course Leon is too]
└ [The flirty prince felt sketchy, but Leon’s definitely the real male lead, thank goodness]
└ [Bookmarking this. Leon’s growing on me.]
I don’t know who the actual male lead is.
But after learning that Leon is the duke’s son, all sorts of possibilities opened up for me.
‘If I return the duke’s son to him, maybe I’ll get a bit of a reward too?’
└ [Ooh, going to ask him to be your guardian?]
I thought about that too.
Getting involved with the duke might be a way to get closer to Count Tortor.
‘There has to be a reason I recognized the Clarke family’s crest.’
In the future, I even exchanged letters with Count Tortor. That has to be why.
So instead of asking for something long-term, it might be better to go with a one-time reward.
Something like requesting a temporary place to stay until my hair color changes, maybe…
└ [No no, you need to marry into the duke’s family]
└ [He’s a duke! He can trample Mr. Trot underfoot 😭]
└ [My dad listens to trot a lot, but I’d still pick the duke]
└ [Please give us a “duke’s daughter-in-law gets pampered” story]
The comment fairies were adamant, but asking too much would only raise suspicion.
While I was calculating my options in my head, Leon led me to the dining area where the other children were gathered.
“Can I eat with you?”
“Uh-huh. You don’t have to ask just to sit next to me.”
Leon, who had always worn a blank expression, showed the faintest hint of a smile for the first time.
└ [Spoke just a few lines and already winning the male lead’s heart. Typical overpowered heroine. I’m out.]
You’re the ones who said the male lead would open up after a few words…
‘But from Leon’s perspective, I’m the only one he can trust.’
The adults here don’t even know what Duke Clarke looks like.
And the comment fairies kept bringing up stories about orphanages selling kids off, which made me anxious…
With no reliable adults around, I was the only one who could find the duke and return his son to him safely.
‘The real issue is figuring out how to make contact with Duke Clarke…’
As I stood there, lost in thought, absentmindedly accepting my food tray and getting ready to sit—
“Sit next to me.”
“Huh?”
Leon pushed me toward the end of the table and sat beside me.
Looking up, I saw Edin, tray in hand, who’d been about to sit next to me but ended up stuck standing there awkwardly.
‘We could’ve just all sat in a row…’
The seat across was already taken by another kid, so Edin had to circle around and sit on the other side of Leon.
└ [Yep… that’s a possessive male lead]
└ [Edin 😭😭😭😭]
└ [This is your fault, MC]
The comment fairies who liked Edin wailed, saying he was now headed down the second lead route.
‘It’s nice not being Veleta Tortor anymore, but it’s tough without a noble status.’
What if I went to Duke Clarke as I am now?
He’d never even hear me out. The guards would toss me out the second they saw some ragged kid begging at the gate.
I’d considered sending a letter, but anything from a commoner would just get filtered out by the steward.
There were people who harmed Leon’s mother. They might try to harm Leon too.
With no way of knowing who the enemy is, I need to either meet the duke directly or speak to someone he trusts.
‘But how am I supposed to meet him?!’
I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to contact him, but nothing useful came to mind.
Duke Clarke’s territory was in the west, and this place, Zeltun, was in the east. I didn’t even have a single coin for carriage fare.
‘If there’s any way to make a connection with my current status…’
There was a possibility. I did have some contact with nobles.
Specifically, the benefactors who visited the orphanage.
Hoping to find some kind of link, I went out of my way to flatter them more than usual.
“I’m so, so happy you all came! It’s like the whole orphanage lit up with your presence!”
“Oh-hoho. You still talk so sweetly.”
“I’ll even read one of my favorite poems for you later!”
Today, four noblewomen had come to volunteer at the orphanage.
Though “volunteering” mostly meant letting their maids do all the work while they planted a few flowers in the garden.
I’m not complaining. That’s just what nobles do—pretend they’re helping.
Their mere presence is something to be grateful for.
└ [Harsh class society…]
Do the comment fairies even know a country without classes?
From the way they talk, it sounds like their daily lives as “commoners” aren’t all that different from mine…
Anyway, I wasn’t looking for help with manual labor.
‘I need to eavesdrop on their idle chatter if I want to gather information.’
Once the flower planting was done, the noblewomen handed out snacks to the children and sat down for tea time at their own table.
I quietly slipped into the scene.
“Wow, it smells amazing.”
“Would you like a sip?”
They offered me a fresh teacup, but I shook my head vigorously.
“No, I tried it before, and it was too bitter… Grown-ups are amazing. You drink bitter tea like it’s nothing.”
The noblewomen giggled, amused by my childlike remark, and raised their teacups.
“That’s right. There are tastes only adults can appreciate.”
└ [You think soju is bitter? I think it’s sweet…]
└ [Tea snobs lol]
└ [These nobles need to taste some real DejaX]
└ [But that’s my favorite drink though??]
The comment fairies knew quite a lot about tea, apparently.
‘I know a fair bit about tea too.’
This one came from southern leaves—light aroma but a strong bitterness that pairs well with sweet tea snacks.
But since I couldn’t show off that kind of knowledge here, I just followed along with their laughter.
Seeing that I wasn’t leaving anytime soon, one of the maids poured milk instead of tea into my cup.
“There’s a cookie here that shares your name.”
“Wow!”
I nibbled on the rose-shaped cookie like a squirrel, carefully.
The slower I ate, the longer I could stay near and gather intel.
└ [#SchemingHeroine]
Calling this a scheme over one cookie seems dramatic…
Anyway, the noblewomen, unaware that the child sitting next to them was a gossip collector of the capital, chatted freely.
“The capital’s fashion trends probably aren’t too different, right? I’m wondering if I should get my dress made there.”
“But going too flashy wouldn’t be proper. The spotlight belongs to someone else, after all.”
The main character?
My ears perked up reflexively at that word, but of course, they weren’t talking about me.
“It’s a title ceremony, not just a party.”
“But there’ll be so many nobles in attendance… if you want to stand out even a little…”
I picked the right moment to interject.
“A party? Who are you celebrating?”
“The war ended recently, didn’t it? His Majesty the Emperor plans to grant titles to those who distinguished themselves in service.”
Ah. So this is when that happened!
The long war meant lots of people earned merits.
The Emperor distributed titles and territories to those people, and this was the title-granting ceremony they were talking about.
“Are you ladies all going to the capital?”
“Of course. A new duke will be born that day. Most nobles from nearby regions will gather to celebrate. It’ll be a grand festival.”
This was it!
A new duke’s investiture ceremony would bring in nearly all the high-ranking nobles from across the empire.
A duke like Clarke had to attend.
Even if he couldn’t, he’d surely send someone important to represent him.
It’d be far easier to travel to the capital than to Duke Clarke’s western territory from here.
I’d been lost on how to meet Duke Clarke, but finally—finally—I had a lead.
└ [But I’m more curious about the new duke??]
If someone received a new dukedom at this time… it would be Duke Valente.
He was a former commander of the Imperial Knights and known as the Emperor’s right hand.
No one had achieved more in the war. He even personally escorted the Emperor on the battlefield.
Even I, who collected every scrap of gossip, didn’t know much about him beyond what was publicly known.
‘He rarely ever appeared in public.’
Even when he was by the Emperor’s side, he never stayed long. To most, he probably looked more like a royal bodyguard than a duke.
To me, he was as mysterious and elusive as the saintess.
└ [So… you’re saying we’ll learn more about him this lifetime?]
└ [I have a feeling… the new duke might be the father?!]
