Chapter 03
“What did you say? What did you just say? Do you know who I am….”
“I do. You’re the ‘someone’ being sponsored by House Count Charlotte.”
After answering flatly, Anisha’s eyes curved into crescents, and she soon broke into an adorable smile that seemed ready to melt at the corners of her mouth.
For high-ranking nobles, social standing and honor were important. As part of noblesse oblige, they performed various acts of charity, one of the most common being “sponsorship.”
It was an extremely simple system: a noble paid money to sponsor someone, and if the person they sponsored achieved outstanding results, the noble’s own reputation rose as a result.
At the orphanage, children sponsored by nobles received not only private rooms but also excellent meals, luxurious clothing, quality education, and various supplies.
In particular, this orphanage deliberately used such preferential treatment to make the other children feel deprived, thereby encouraging competition and admiration.
So, naturally, the sponsored children couldn’t help becoming arrogant.
“That’s right. I’m not some stupid bastard like you who wasn’t chosen….”
“Be careful. That count’s family is the kind of place that kills people and doesn’t even say they’re sorry afterward. I’d recommend cutting ties with them quickly.”
Anisha cut off the boy’s words and said this as she brushed past him.
The boy, still young and inexperienced despite being somewhat intelligent, reached out and roughly grabbed Anisha by the shoulder.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Aren’t you going to apologize right now? Do you want me to beat you half to death and make you apologize?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“What?”
“If you hit me, I’ll report this to the newspaper. It’ll make for an interesting story. ‘Shangrila Orphanage’s sponsored student, backed by House Count Charlotte, brutally beats a ten-year-old girl….’ Not a bad headline, is it?”
“Report it? Who’s going to believe a little kid like you! How dare you try to threaten me…!”
“You think I can’t do it? Do you think your sponsorship will continue if you cause trouble? Since a noble is involved, the newspapers will swarm in like bees. The teachers certainly won’t just sit around and do nothing.”
Even while being grabbed by the collar, Anisha’s gray eyes showed no trace of agitation.
The light that had been sparkling in the boy’s eyes only moments ago suddenly disappeared, along with his expression.
It was as though that part of a painting had suddenly faded.
“You worthless low-class bastard who wasn’t even chosen!”
After spitting out the insult, the boy finally lost his temper and raised his hand high.
‘I don’t like pain.’
This orphanage taught its residents a wide variety of things. The boys’ curriculum even included swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.
With my powerless body right now, I couldn’t dodge.
‘It’s fine. Compared to what I’ve been through, this won’t even tickle.’
Just as I tightly shut my eyes in anticipation of the pain that was about to come—
“Peter! What do you think you’re doing?!”
A voice crashed down like thunder, and my eyes flew open.
When I turned my head, Teacher Irina, who always had a gentle expression, was looking at us with a stiff face.
Behind the teacher stood a man wearing a robe, along with several people who appeared to be his escort knights.
“T-Teacher. It’s not like that….”
The boy stammered in confusion at the sudden situation.
Since I had absolutely no intention of helping him, I simply looked away.
“I heard this was a high-quality orphanage, but apparently that isn’t entirely the case.”
The robed man spoke.
His voice was pleasant and melodious, but there was something close to contempt in his tone.
She hurriedly shook her head in apparent panic.
“That isn’t the case. As you know, young children naturally cause accidents, both big and small…. I apologize for offending such an esteemed guest. Peter, go back to your room for now. Whatever happened, violence is absolutely unacceptable.”
“Yes… I’m sorry, Teacher Irina.”
The boy’s face turned deathly pale as he turned around. His tightly clenched fists were trembling.
‘He might be locked in solitary confinement for a while.’
Still, since he was sponsored, his life probably wouldn’t be in danger.
If I had been the one who caused trouble, I might have been sold straight to the crazy scientist.
“Ah! This is the child you asked about. Her name is Anisha. Anisha, say hello. We have a guest.”
I slowly raised my head.
The vivid purple eyes visible beneath the hood of his robe gave him a mysterious air.
I was momentarily dazed, but at Teacher Irina’s urging, I lightly lifted the hem of my skirt and bowed at the waist according to noble etiquette.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency. My name is Anisha.”
I remembered the saying that you shouldn’t spit in the face of someone who smiles at you, so I smiled brightly.
However, his reaction was much more lukewarm than I’d expected.
‘I thought I was pretty cute.’
He seemed to be a noble, so I’d tried to make a good impression, but apparently I’d failed.
‘He might become my sponsor, after all.’
I considered acting a little more charming, but decided to withdraw cleanly instead.
I didn’t know what kind of person this noble was, so I couldn’t afford to take an unnecessary gamble.
“…Have you taught the child noble etiquette?”
The man finally spoke after a long while.
“Yes. Many of the children at our orphanage are sponsored by nobles or selected to serve as maids or attendants in noble households, so we provide them with a comprehensive education in various fields.”
“You managed to recognize that I’m a noble.”
Well, he had come wearing such a luxurious robe and was treating Teacher Irina so condescendingly. Did he really expect me not to recognize him?
What a shameless man.
“Your walk and manner of speaking are so elegant!”
Contrary to my thoughts, I answered with a bright smile.
He abruptly turned his head as though something about my answer displeased him.
“It seems my dignity can be felt even while I’m wearing a robe. Well, that’s only natural, isn’t it?”
Ah, yes.
What’s wrong with him?
Was he some narcissistic noble completely absorbed in himself?
“Anisha, this gentleman came here looking for you.”
“Me?”
This noble?
Why me?
How did he know about me?
Questions instantly flooded my mind.
The fact that he’d specifically come looking for me was suspicious.
The guard that had been relaxed within me suddenly became covered in sharp thorns.
“Come with us for now.”
The place we arrived at after following them was the reception room.
This was where guests were usually entertained.
And this was specifically where important guests were received.
“Please sit here. I’ll have some tea brought out shortly.”
At Teacher Irina’s polite guidance, the man arrogantly nodded and sat in the center of the sofa, crossing his legs as though it were only natural.
‘Is he a very important noble?’
I’d never seen Teacher Irina act this deferentially before.
Many nobles and merchants had visited this place, but she’d never been this submissive toward any of them.
I glanced once at the teacher who had entered the refreshment room, then stood quietly at one side of the sofa.
At this orphanage, a resident couldn’t do anything without a teacher’s permission.
That was the very first lesson the children received upon entering the orphanage.
It was just as Teacher Irina brought the tea and sat down across from us.
“You may leave now.”
“Pardon? But regarding the adoption….”
“When did I say I was adopting her? I will make the judgment and the decision myself. I don’t believe there’s anything for you to do here.”
Wow.
They say there are people in the world who can make the exact same words sound particularly unpleasant.
Apparently, this man was one of them.
“Um….”
“I clearly told you to leave….”
The man dragged out the end of his sentence in displeasure.
“Do you intend to make me say it twice?”
How dare someone like you?
He didn’t say the words that followed, but somehow that’s exactly what it sounded like to me.
It probably sounded the same to the teacher.
Sure enough, the teacher’s face reddened. She clenched her teeth and stood up.
“Then I’ll wait outside. Please call me when your conversation is finished.”
Despite the teacher’s polite words, the man didn’t even react, as though she were merely an annoyance.
“Anisha.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Don’t do anything that would be rude to our guest.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
At the teacher’s warning, I politely clasped my hands together and answered demurely.
This man was the one who selected the children at the orphanage and determined who would sponsor or adopt them.
‘He’s the person I need to impress the most in this orphanage.’
Seeing my obedient behavior, the corners of her mouth soon softened.
‘I can play the good little girl for as long as necessary.’
However, once I had accumulated enough money and secured someone powerful to back me, I intended to tear this orphanage apart from top to bottom along with that crazy scientist.
If this orphanage hadn’t sent me to that crazy scientist in the first place, I never would have had to die like that.
‘I wonder if they’ll still be able to smile like that someday when I stab them in the back.’
I wanted the teachers of this orphanage to suffer exactly as much as I had suffered in that hell.
Thud—
The thick door of the reception room closed.
The door was well soundproofed, so no matter how hard someone outside tried, they wouldn’t be able to hear what was happening inside.
“It’s irritating being so stuffy.”
The moment the teacher left, he took off his robe irritably and threw it onto the floor.
Thump.
One of the escort knights went over to pick up the robe he’d tossed onto the floor.
‘Wow, what a nasty personality….’
For a moment, my attention was drawn to the robe he’d thrown, but I quickly came to my senses and looked back at him.
His hair resembled lush greenery illuminated by the blazing midsummer sunlight, while his vivid purple eyes stood out in stark contrast.
For a moment, the man looked so beautiful and noble that I even forgot to look away.
‘But something about him feels familiar.’
Green hair braided and hanging down, along with purple eyes?
Each feature by itself was common enough, but the combination wasn’t particularly common.
And among nobles, the number of people with such a combination would be rather limited.
“You….”
“Yes.”
I answered politely while standing quietly, rummaging through my memories.
‘Green hair, purple eyes….’
Suddenly, a name flashed through my mind.
“You look exactly like a mangy mutt.”
That’s right.
This was my first meeting with the one and only Duke Shacol Aubrey—
the genius of the era who had neither blood nor tears, was impossible to deal with, and could drive people to death from sheer stress whenever he felt like it, a renowned sharp-tongued speaker, and, on top of all that, a man with the worst personality imaginable.
The damn Duke Shacol Aubrey.
