Chapter 10
“Ugh……. It’s noisy.”
Amelia woke up from her sleep because of the loud crying. She had always been a light sleeper.
She raised her head and looked toward where the sound was coming from.
“She pooped…….”
Judging from the unpleasant smell spreading around and Ruchella’s resigned expression, it was clear that Cherry had made a big mess.
A very big one.
‘Normally, Ritz would have taken care of it.’
Nine-year-old Ritz was the oldest child in the Vusnier Orphanage.
Because of that, the director made Ritz do all kinds of chores. Since Ritz was older and had an ordinary appearance, the chances of her being adopted were very low.
From putting children to sleep to changing the diapers of babies who woke up during the night, Ritz took care of the children instead of the director and employees who slept without moving.
“Grrr.”
But right now, Ritz was far from taking care of Cherry. She was still struggling to wake up from her sleep.
She had simply gone through too much in a single day.
The other children were the same. Perhaps because they had been tense all day, none of them moved even when Cherry cried.
‘Do I have to step in?’
Ruchella was a noble young lady who knew nothing about the world.
There was no way someone like her would get up to change a dirty diaper.
Poop was dirty and smelled bad, but that did not mean Cherry could be left like this.
Just as Amelia made up her mind and was about to get up—
“I’ll do it quickly. Just wait a little longer, okay?”
A gentle voice reached Amelia’s ears.
Ruchella entered the bathroom carrying a new diaper and clothes.
‘She’s going to do it herself?’
The director never got her own hands wet. All the unpleasant work was left to the employees.
However, the employees were not much different.
They decided who would do annoying and dirty tasks like washing diapers or bathing babies through rock-paper-scissors.
Even when they were assigned a task, they often did it carelessly.
Many diapers were not properly washed, and the babies’ bodies were not cleaned well.
In the end, older children like Ritz and Amelia had to do the work again.
But a noble lady was not only going to wash a baby, she was also going to change her diaper?
‘She must be doing it half-heartedly because it’s annoying.’
Amelia continued watching Ruchella.
But for Ruchella, there was no such thing as doing something carelessly.
She carefully washed Cherry.
At the same time, she moved her hands quickly because she was worried Cherry might catch a cold.
“Oh my, you really made a big one. I guess you ate well? You opened the whole bag.”
Even while frowning from the terrible smell, Ruchella forced herself to smile.
Her attitude was completely different from the director and employees.
Not only that, she comforted the children who woke up without getting angry.
‘She’s definitely…… different from the director.’
Amelia looked at Ruchella with shaking eyes.
Ruchella was holding two children at the same time.
Because Ruchella’s body was so small, it looked especially difficult for her.
And that sight made Amelia move.
“Give her to me.”
“Amelia, are you awake?”
“Give me Cherry.”
“Hmm?”
Leaving behind the confused-looking Ruchella, Amelia picked up Cherry.
Then she went to a corner, laid the baby down skillfully, and removed her clothes.
“Luckily, she didn’t make that much of a mess. We don’t need to wash her. Changing the diaper is enough.”
“Really?”
“I’ll do it. You can take care of something else.”
“Huh?”
Ruchella, who had looked confused the entire time, finally realized something.
“You’re saying you’ll change the diaper?”
“Yes.”
There was no time to stop her.
Amelia quickly changed Cherry’s diaper and was now putting clothes back on her.
“Usually, they don’t wake up this often. It’s probably because she ate much more than usual tonight. Days when she can eat this much are rare.”
Amelia continued explaining quickly, afraid that Ruchella might stop supporting the orphanage because she thought it was too troublesome.
Even while speaking, her hands continued moving steadily.
Ruchella opened her mouth in surprise.
“I see. But Amelia, you don’t have to involve yourself in something this difficult.”
“Why?”
“Because this is not something children should do.”
“You’re right. It’s not something a noble lady should do either.”
“…….”
Ruchella was speechless for a moment.
When she thought about it, Amelia was right.
If it were not for her memories from her past life, she probably would not have stepped forward to take care of children like this either.
Even so—
“If one of us has to do this, between you and me, it should be me. You’re still young, and it’s nighttime.”
Ruchella took Cherry from Amelia’s arms.
Then she looked at Amelia, who had a slightly blank expression for some reason, and spoke.
“Thank you. I really appreciate that you wanted to help.”
She thought Amelia might be hurt if her kindness was rejected.
“But I can handle it alone, so you should go back to sleep—”
Before she could finish.
“Waaah!”
This crying sound came from somewhere else.
It was not Cherry.
Another child had started crying.
Amelia tilted her head and asked.
“You really don’t need my help?”
“…….”
“To take care of all the crying children, you would need four arms.”
“Ha……”
Ruchella looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.
She did not want to become a bad adult who relied on children for childcare.
But right now, there was no other choice.
“Then please help me just for tonight, Amelia.”
Amelia truly was skilled at taking care of crying children.
After making them stop crying, she even patted their backs until they fell asleep.
That was not all.
“I need to pee……”
“The bathroom is not that way. It’s over there.”
When did he even wake up?
Edwin also stepped forward and began helping me.
“I’ll hold your hand, so follow me. Don’t step on the children who are sleeping.”
“Okay……”
Thanks to Edwin’s help, the children were able to sleep comfortably without being stepped on.
The child who had been nervously stamping his feet because he was about to pee also quickly made it to the bathroom.
“Thank you. Your name is Edwin, right?”
I pretended not to know his name and thanked Edwin.
Until now, Edwin had never spoken to me.
He had always stayed in a corner and never even made eye contact.
Because of that, his help felt even more touching.
“You must be tired, but thank you so much for helping.”
“No, it’s nothing. I just followed Amelia……”
Edwin’s cheeks turned red as he stumbled over his words.
From what I heard, he had followed after seeing Amelia helping me.
‘As expected, Amelia is the one who can move Edwin.’
Even though they were still this young.
I became curious again.
What kind of child was Amelia, someone Edwin trusted without question?
“Ria sister, it hurts here. Sion stepped on me earlier.”
“Okay, I’ll make it better. Let me blow on it. It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
“Yeah. Hehe.”
She took care of the younger children with kindness.
“Ria, I can’t sleep. Pat my back.”
“Are you a baby, older brother?”
“I-I’m sorry……”
She controlled the older children with her charisma.
‘Amazing.’
It was truly the kind of appearance expected from the heroine of the original story.
“Hmm……”
While I was thinking that, the children who had been tossing and turning slowly fell asleep again.
After two full hours since the chaos began, peace finally returned.
The only child left was Cherry, who was in my arms.
‘Taking care of one child should be possible alone.’
The urgent situation was over.
Now I needed to let Amelia and Edwin rest.
“Amelia, Edwin, you can stop now and— huh?”
Just a moment ago, they had been patting a crying child’s back.
But somehow, Amelia and Edwin were now asleep, leaning against each other’s shoulders.
“They must have been really tired.”
It was natural.
It was the time when they should have been deep asleep.
And yet, they had endured their sleepiness just to help me.
I did not know what to do with these pitiful yet admirable children.
“Up you go.”
While sitting, I carefully picked up the sleeping children one by one and placed them on the blankets.
Then I covered them carefully so they would not catch a cold.
“Thank you so much today.”
I smiled happily while looking at the two children sleeping with angelic faces.
At this moment, they did not feel like the characters who would harm my nephew.
They were simply adorable little children.
The new childcare teachers arrived before the sun had even risen.
Until then, I had stayed awake with my eyes open.
When I saw them, I ran out like a person who had found an oasis in the desert.
There were five saviors standing in front of the door.
“My goodness, you still haven’t slept?”
“There were many things that happened last night…… But you all came earlier than expected.”
“Riley asked us to come quickly.”
Riley was the name of my personal maid.
The reason I could find childcare teachers so quickly was because she had many connections.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“No. Thank you. Really, truly……”
I held the hand of the teacher standing in front of me tightly.
The events of last night flashed through my mind, and I felt like I might cry.
“Lady Lilfrey……”
The teachers looked at me with pity in their eyes.
“Look at your dark circles. This won’t do. Please return to the mansion and rest quickly.”
“I wanted to see the children wake up before leaving.”
“From the looks of it, you stayed awake all night. You might collapse.”
“That’s right. You took care of twenty children alone. Please go and rest.”
Because of the maids’ urging, my desire to stay slowly weakened.
‘Honestly, I really did suffer a lot.’
I was a noble young lady who had grown up without knowing hardship.
“Alright. Then…… please tell the children well for me. Tell them that I left first today, but next time I come, I’ll play with them a lot.”
Worried that the children might feel disappointed, I reminded them several times.
“Ah, and this. Please give this to Edwin and Amelia. Secretly, so the others don’t know.”
“Secretly?”
“Yes. Those two helped me last night.”
I had wanted to tell them while looking into their eyes when they woke up, but they were too exhausted.
There would be another chance.
I could come again later.
“Then I’ll leave first. Please send the orphanage operation plan to Riley.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Carefully walking so the children would not wake up, I immediately got into the carriage.
And the moment I climbed inside, I fell asleep as if I had fainted.
