Chapter 1
Entrance Gift
The difference was only who realized it first—there were so many things that effort alone couldn’t achieve.
Nigel had stopped praying to find his real family when he became a novice cleric at eleven.
The next year, he gave up the habit of secretly running away through hidden doggy doors scattered throughout the orphanage.
The year after that, he began wearing more often the cheap gemstone necklace he had received as a gift, instead of the toy rocket left behind when he was little.
And the following year, Nigel almost gave up eavesdropping on conversations in the director’s office from the narrow passage hidden behind the underground storage…
“…Is this true, Handel?”
“Yes, Director. After repeated contact, the description matches Nigel exactly.”
Nigel, whose legs were starting to go numb and who was about to leave, froze at the sudden mention of his name.
“Nigel really…”
At that moment, a stampede of children ran across the floor, and he missed the rest of the sentence.
‘…I knew these kids would stir up trouble.’
Determined to give a light tap on the head of the leading candidate, Nigel refocused on the conversation.
“But Nigel—!”
Thump!
This time, someone ran from the opposite direction.
“Hahaha!”
At the same time, Jack’s excited laughter faintly reached him.
‘…Jack, you’re getting a tap on the head too.’
Ultimately, with nothing accomplished, Nigel left the storage, rubbed his numb legs for a moment, and set off to find Jack.
Knock knock.
Soon the bedroom door slowly opened. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Jack.
“Nigel… your walk is scary. Are you mad again?”
“No.”
Nigel gently stroked the child’s soft brown hair and forced a smile.
“…Scary.”
The merciless judgment of a child made Nigel’s smile falter.
At that moment, a dark blond boy, one head taller than the brown-haired child, popped out from behind the door.
“You’re looking for Jack again, right, Nuna? He said he was going to get the remaining muffins, so he went to the kitchen!”
“Thanks. Everyone, come in quickly. You’ll freeze out here if we just stand around.”
Only after seeing the children get into bed did Nigel head to the kitchen.
From a corner of the kitchen, faintly scented with butter, came a rustling sound.
Following it, Nigel saw a familiar head.
“Jack.”
At the single word, the head jerked violently.
“Hahaha… hey?”
“Remember, if you eat snacks after bath time, you can’t have snacks for a week, right?”
“Oh, I haven’t eaten yet!”
Jack quickly hid his tiny hands behind him.
“Either wipe the crumbs off your mouth or stop lying.”
Compromising with two taps on the head, Jack narrowly escaped punishment and happily let Nigel take hold of him.
“By the way, Nigel, how did you know I was hiding in the kitchen so cleverly?”
“There’s always a way to know. You’ll see when you’re an adult.”
“Nigel, you’re not an adult yet.”
Nigel lightly ignored Jack’s comment. Regardless, Jack babbled naturally.
“Nigel… do you maybe even know the future?”
Nigel’s face stiffened slightly, but he soon let out a small laugh and spoke.
“Go to sleep quickly. If you stay up late, the monsters will take you.”
“Ah, that’s an old monster story. Even the youngest, Benny, wouldn’t be scared.”
“Suit yourself.”
At the bedroom door, Jack paused before entering and turned back.
“Oh right, Nigel. Handel the cleric said—”
Always giving advice too early.
Nigel ruffled Jack’s spiky hair just because.
“My hair!”
“Sleep well.”
Bang!
Nigel imagined Jack’s crumpled face behind the door and chuckled softly.
This was the fun of teasing children.
Watching the closed door, Nigel’s uplifted smile slowly faded.
Rustle, Nigel put his hand in his pocket.
It was time to get to work.
Plodding.
In front of the director’s office, the wooden door that usually required two pushes to open due to age looked even more worn today.
Nigel stared down at the wooden goddess statue atop the door and opened it.
Creak.
The chilling sound brushed his ears.
“You’ve come, Nigel.”
Director cleric Ron and Vice Director cleric Handel greeted Nigel with smiles. On the table in front of them sat cups of tea with no accompaniments.
“Even though it’s February, it’s still cold, isn’t it? Have a cup.”
Too late for him before midnight.
Nigel took a cup from the cupboard, white with a single blue stripe.
Luckily, steam rose from the teapot.
Nigel took a sip, frowning at the bitter taste that overwhelmed the aroma.
While Nigel’s tea cooled, the two of them talked about trivial matters—weather or tomorrow’s menu.
Finally, unable to hold back, Nigel spoke first.
“If nothing important is going on, may I go to bed?”
Only then did the two exchange glances and slowly nod.
“Um, Nigel. Actually…”
Handel swallowed and took a stack of papers from his robes.
“Uh… it seems you’ve found your family, child.”
Ron said awkwardly.
Nigel examined the papers and took out the envelope with the most recent date.
The creamy envelope had delicate woodgrain patterns along the edges and a complex seal in the center.
It was clearly different from the cheap pale envelopes usually used in the orphanage.
“This is a letter from your family. I thought you should see it first, so we haven’t opened it yet.”
Handel said with a smiling eye.
Nigel broke the seal and read the letter.
In elegant handwriting, it listed how much they wanted to meet Nigel.
At the bottom, beside the seal, was the family name Nigel had expected.
“We’ve already booked your train ticket to the capital, so write a reply and leave in a few days.”
Handel, excited, produced a silver second-class ticket from his robes.
Despite the orphanage’s tight budget, they had spent enough to cover the children’s fortnightly snack allowance and still wasted money.
“You’ve worked hard, Nigel.”
Ron said, his eyes slightly red.
Looking at Handel, his glasses were fogged with moisture.
How should one even respond in this atmosphere?
After a short hesitation, Nigel spoke.
“I don’t want to meet them.”
“What?”
“But Nigel, you’re a Lady of a duke’s family in the borderlands. Considering all your hardships here…”
Handel and Ron’s eyes went wide.
It had indeed been hard. Sent to the orphanage as a baby because of her name alone, growing up alone among boys.
Whenever the temple visited with gratitude, they’d shave her carefully grown hair, and adoption of girls was rare. Ultimately, she passed the novice cleric exam, which was nearly impossible without connections.
As she grew, she took on more tasks. The orphanage, lacking temple support, had a mountain of chores, and Nigel’s day ended quickly even doing just household work.
Ron and Handel had always felt sorry for Nigel, who at the age others were dressing up and learning romance, wore no pretty clothes and only cared for children.
Even when they pooled money for clothes, she’d be scolded for buying them, selling them back, and sometimes going to shop for groceries with her day’s wage after finding work.
Now knowing Nigel was actually a Lady of a duke’s family, they thought her hardships were over…
“I won’t meet them.”
Nigel firmly planted her decision.
“Then… will you stay here?”
Nigel was seventeen, with little time left before adulthood.
Once an adult, she’d have to either leave the orphanage entirely or become a full cleric and stay.
“No. I should start preparing to leave too.”
“Then your original family—”
Handel started, but Nigel’s unwavering gaze stopped him.
“I’m going to the Academy.”
Their eyes widened again.
The Academy was an elite educational institution where everyone pursued knowledge with clear goals. Graduating from a few prestigious academies guaranteed good jobs.
The main hurdles were entrance and tuition…
“A few months ago, I was accepted into Sienia.”
Nigel produced an envelope with gold foil on the corner.
Ron and Handel quickly read it.
[Congratulations. We inform you that Nigel As has been officially accepted into the Royal Sienia Academy.]
“Officially…?”
“Top of the class. Tuition waived.”
Nigel calmly explained to Ron, who blinked in disbelief.
Thud—
The letter dropped limply to the floor.
“My goodness…”
“Nigel…”
Sienia was the empire’s only royal academy. Graduation practically guaranteed employment.
“You were brilliant, but not this much…”
“We’ve made you work so hard…”
As the mood sank, Nigel spoke again.
“I’ll accept the train ticket as an entrance gift.”
A perfectly timed, perfect gift.
