Chapter 22
‘W-Why are we running away?!’
Right after saying I should wait quietly, now they’re shouting at me to run?
└ [“Mister Trot is coming ㄷㄷ”]
└ [“Villain after villain”]
“Mister Trot” was what the comment fairies called Count Tortor.
‘Why is he coming?! I thought the Duke was coming!’
└ [“They’re both comingㅠㅠ”]
Why on earth would both Duke Valent and Count Tortor suddenly show up at the orphanage?
‘At the same time? Or one after another?’
└ [“Don’t know”]
‘……’
Their half-hearted answer probably meant they really didn’t know. That only made me more anxious.
‘W-What do I do…’
The comment fairies sometimes spouted nonsense, but when they made accurate predictions like this, they were always right.
As I started to panic, so did the comment fairies. They began arguing amongst themselves.
└ [“What if Trot shows up first?”]
└ [“But if the Count takes her, doesn’t that mean she’s going down the Leon route? He’s planning to make her his daughter-in-law.”]
└ [“Tempting.”]
└ [“As a Leon supporter, I wouldn’t mind.”]
What do you mean tempting?!
So if I piece together the comment fairies’ info, they’re saying: now that the Duke’s son has appeared in public, Count Tortor started trying harder to find his illegitimate child?
‘So this is how changing the past is starting to show consequences.’
Though they were tempted at first, the comment fairies remembered that the Count only wants a daughter for political marriage purposes.
If Railey appears, wouldn’t he choose her instead of me?
└ [“Ah, true.”]
└ [“Ugh, thinking about the 2nd Prince betrayal still pisses me off.”]
└ [“Anyway, Tortor is trash, so nope.”]
It seemed like my words convinced the comment fairies.
└ [“But if Leon likes Rose now, wouldn’t it be best to just go straight to engagement?”]
└ [“Her real family’s trash anyway, so plot-wise no problem.”]
└ [“If it’s part of the build-up, then… kinda tempting again.”]
They flipped their opinion again!
How can they be so easily swayed?!
‘Anyway, I’m not going back to Count Tortor’s house!’
└ [“Yes, don’t goㅠㅠ Knight Commander Dad is better.”]
└ [“Please let him come first.”]
Although we don’t know what’ll happen with that dad either…
Right now, what I have to do is…
‘Be ready to run at any time.’
I began mentally reviewing the shortest escape route, no matter where I might be.
Thankfully, the nightmare of Count Tortor arriving at the orphanage first did not happen.
Duke Valent came with only a single coachman.
‘Well, yeah. If it’s Duke Valent, he doesn’t need guards.’
He was once the Emperor’s personal knight—who would dare protect him?
Surprisingly spry for his age, the coachman quickly unloaded the donation supplies from the carriage. The kitchen staff, who arrived right on time, helped move them to the storage.
Meanwhile, Duke Valent…
“……”
Got off the carriage. Stood on the ground. That’s it.
He really did seem like a man who came just to fulfill the bare minimum of a visit.
‘Was he forced to drop by the orphanage?’
Well, at this point, there’s really only one reason he’d come here.
Right after he donated funds, the embezzlement scandal broke out. He must’ve been sent here to clean up the mess.
‘Is he here to give a warning to manage things properly?!’
Unlike my worried self, the director happily greeted the VIP benefactor without showing an ounce of nervousness.
“How honored we are that you came in person. You must’ve been upset that such an incident occurred after your generous support. But as you can see, thanks to your concern, everything has already been resolved neatly! Haha.”
Just yesterday she was grumbling about using all the money for repairs and not being able to expand…
She caught me looking at her in disbelief and quickly turned to me with a smile.
“This child wished to greet you on behalf of everyone. Come here, Rose.”
└ [“It’s finally starting—the childcare arc!”]
└ [“So hyped rn”]
I still don’t really know what a “childcare story” means.
Anyway, just like always, I put on my best aristocrat-greeting smile and spoke politely.
“Hello, Duke! I’m so happy you came. I’d love to show you around where I live!”
Even as I cheerfully greeted him, Duke Valent’s face remained stiff.
Then he opened his mouth and said:
“You… can speak.”
└ [“Obviously she can talk??”]
……I thought the same thing, but I understood why he said it.
Usually, the other children would crowd around visiting nobles, but today they all stayed back, wary and afraid.
His reputation spread across the entire empire—including his infamous reputation. Even the kids at the orphanage knew it.
So the only child standing next to him right now was me.
└ [“Classic trope: scary dad only one kid isn’t afraid of → gets adopted”]
This is a trope too?
As I was thinking about the comment fairies’ new trope theory, my eyes met Duke Valent’s.
I gave him my most welcoming smile, but he turned his gaze toward the orphanage building.
“Let’s go inside.”
└ [“Doesn’t even recognize her from before?”]
Well, my hair was burned shorter now, and back then I had it dyed too.
‘If I want to avoid Count Tortor, who’ll be here soon, this might be my chance.’
Maybe I should trust in this “trope” the fairies keep talking about.
With that thought, I gave a tour of the orphanage more sincerely than usual…
“This is the playroom! It has toys and dolls and everything!”
“……”
“This is the library! It’s full of storybooks. And—”
“……”
No matter what I said, he didn’t react at all!
└ [“If brains don’t work, hit him with cuteness.”]
└ [“Cuteness is the only way to break down cold-hearted dads.”]
Cuteness… maybe?
I remembered how Duke Clark’s knight had grabbed my hand and walked me along. When someone physically experiences a small, soft child, their emotional barriers come down a bit.
So I tried subtly getting closer.
‘……Why is he backing away?’
When I took a step closer, he—calculating for his longer legs—took a half-step back!
‘This situation… it feels familiar.’
I tried approaching again under the guise of moving—and again, he dodged.
It wasn’t just the kids avoiding Duke Valent.
‘He was avoiding me!’
└ [“This ain’t it.”]
└ [“He’s too stiff, come on.”]
└ [“Author, forget logic. Just please start the childcare story alreadyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”]
Apparently even the director noticed that the Duke had zero interest in the orphanage.
“Haha. I suppose this isn’t a particularly fun place for adults. By the way, do you plan to visit anywhere else after this?”
“There’s someone I know nearby. I thought I’d drop in.”
“Ahh, I see! What an honor it is, that your acquaintances are in this area!”
Was it because this was close to Count Matteo’s territory?
So the orphanage was just a convenient stop on the way?
Having said he had other plans, Duke Valent left the orphanage right after the tour…
└ [“Come on. Met her twice and just leaves again?”]
└ [“Is he coming back later?”]
└ [“At this pace, she’s getting adopted around Chapter 100 lol”]
└ [“Or maybe the series ends right after adoption.”]
└ [“We were promised a childcare story, but all we’ve gotten is dad-hunting. I’m dropping this.”]
With the Duke’s exit, the fairies’ complaints exploded.
The director, who had been all smiles in front of the Duke, wiped her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief as soon as he left.
“It’s hard to tell if he was pleased or not.”
Then she muttered to herself:
“Maybe I should’ve skimped a bit on the repairs and asked for more money.”
It’s honestly impressive she can think like that after facing the fearsome Duke Valent…
“Fortunately, someone else is coming today. I will get the repair costs next time…”
“Someone else is coming today?”
“Ah, yes. Actually… someone heard there was a blonde girl here and said they’d like to visit.”
└ [“It’s Trot.”]
└ [“It’s Totoro.”]
└ [“Tart’s coming.”]
“W-Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Usually she tells me in advance to dress up nicely when a benefactor is coming!
The director, who had looked so greedy moments ago, suddenly turned calm and said,
“Rose, I thought you might be adopted by someone good. I really wanted to find a good family for you, if possible.”
“F-Family…?”
“I didn’t tell you in advance in case it didn’t work out and you got disappointed. But thinking about it now, you’re smart—you probably already figured it out.”
So she really just wanted to send me to a good place?!
‘Don’t show your warm side in moments like this! It’s too rare!’
└ [“Isn’t that why she sent her to Totoro in the past too?”]
└ [“Pushing someone into hell out of kindness lololol”]
└ [“The director is really unpredictable.”]
Here it is—the truth behind the adoption scam!
‘Wow. I’m grateful… but also not grateful!’
