Chapter~06
“Such a tiny thing, yet she eats an awful lot.”
Diana, who had never been scolded over food before, became terribly upset.
When Diana tightly pursed her lips and pouted with tears welling in her eyes, it was Ria who was startled instead.
‘Jack! She’s the lady you’ll swear your oath to in the future! You should be nicer to her!’
Unaware of Ria’s desperate thoughts, Jack threw away the tree branch.
He then walked over to the clothes he had set aside, took out half a piece of bread, and held it out to Ria.
“Hmm? Why are you giving me this……”
‘I wasn’t even noisy today.’
When Ria muttered in a barely audible voice, Jack became inexplicably more irritated.
“Just eat it.”
“But Jack, you saved this for yourself too.”
“You gave me some yesterday, and if you give me some again today……”
“If you don’t want to keep taking food from me, then take care of your own share!”
Jack suddenly shouted, making Ria’s body flinch.
“You’re doing the same thing, though, giving me your share……”
Ria muttered so quietly that her voice was almost inaudible.
She didn’t eat the bread in her hand and simply stared at it in silence.
Diana stared intently at her, and Jack spoke harshly.
“Don’t even think about asking for it!”
“I wasn’t!”
“Liar.”
Diana puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
Jack glared back at Diana without backing down.
Seeing Jack bickering with a child much younger than him, Ria found it so absurd that she burst out laughing.
In her memories, Jack had always been a quiet and blunt boy, but now that she had returned to the past, she could see that he had a childish side too.
“Why are you laughing?”
Jack narrowed his brows as he looked at Ria, who had suddenly started laughing.
Ria’s mouth moved before she could stop herself.
“I was just thinking that you’re handsome.”
It was a compliment that slipped out unconsciously because, after spending so much time around the older executives at the guild, flattering people had become a habit.
But it wasn’t a lie.
Despite his young age, Jack was a handsome boy with striking features.
‘No wonder he’ll have female admirers following him around later.’
He couldn’t possibly be that popular simply because he became a Sword Master or one of the Empire’s Three Great Knights.
Ria nodded to herself, but Jack suddenly fell silent and sharply turned his head away.
The back of his neck even seemed a little red.
‘Is it because he was training?’
Ria tilted her head in confusion.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Diana suddenly shouted.
“No!”
“Huh?”
“He’s not handsome! My oppas are better!”
Diana confidently put both hands on her waist.
Ria burst out laughing again at the sight.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
“You have older brothers?”
“Mm! Two!”
“Two people, idiot.”
“Dana isn’t an idiot! Sissy, my oppas are more handsome!”
Diana shook Ria’s sleeve as she insisted.
At that moment, Ria remembered the face of Diana’s eldest brother, Lucio, whom she had seen just before her death.
‘Yeah, he really is incredibly handsome.’
With features that closely resembled Duke Elrad’s and an indifferent expression befitting his nickname, the Ice Prince, he was a breathtakingly handsome man who looked almost like a sculpture.
But Ria didn’t think he was as cold as people claimed.
‘……What am I thinking? I don’t even know him that well.’
Realizing how crazy her thoughts sounded, Ria hurriedly shook her head.
Misunderstanding her reaction, Diana looked as if she were about to cry.
“It’s true. My oppa is handsome……”
“Huh? That’s right. If he’s anything like you, Dana, then he must be incredibly handsome!”
“Right!”
Diana smiled brightly at Ria’s hurried reassurance.
Jack twisted his lips as if he were about to say something else, so Ria quickly changed the subject for the sake of the future relationship between the two of them.
“More importantly, Jack! Do you train here by yourself?”
“Training? I’m not training. I just do it because I’m bored.”
“I see. Still, you were working hard…… It was impressive.”
Once again, Ria casually complimented him.
Jack’s neck turned red again.
Diana also pushed out her lips in a pout.
‘Why is the atmosphere like this?’
Their relationship shouldn’t become this bad.
Of course, Ria didn’t think their destined relationship would easily fall apart, but she continued speaking out of unease.
“You want to become a knight, don’t you, Jack?”
“What? A knight?”
Jack frowned the moment she finished speaking.
“Do you really think commoners like us can become knights that easily? I’m going to become a mercenary.”
“They say you can make a lot of money, even if you don’t have any honor.”
“Ah……”
Ria stared blankly at Jack as he confidently declared his ambition, then somehow felt like laughing.
The childhood dream of a knight who would later make a name for himself throughout the Empire was to become a mercenary.
“I think you’ll become a knight, Jack.”
“W-What do you know! Do you have any idea how difficult that is?”
Jack was about to get angry, thinking she was making fun of him.
But the expression on Ria’s face contained not the slightest trace of teasing, and he suddenly found himself unable to speak.
Looking into her sparkling eyes, completely free of deceit, he strangely didn’t want to give Ria an answer that would disappoint her.
“I know it’s difficult, but you’ll be able to do it.”
“You want to become one too, don’t you?”
Jack unconsciously answered the calm words.
“……If I could, I’d like to.”
“Then just keep working hard like you are now.”
‘You’re kinder and more diligent than anyone else, so you’ll be rewarded in the end.’
Ria swallowed the rest of her words and smiled brightly.
—
After Jack finished training, we headed back to the orphanage.
I felt pleased when I saw Jack, who was walking ahead of us, occasionally glance back to make sure we were following him.
‘He pretends not to care, but he really does look after us.’
‘He may grumble all the time, but he must be concerned about Diana.’
After all, if that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have stepped forward to protect Diana at that moment in the past when no one else had.
‘I suppose that’s what being a knight is all about.’
‘Protecting those who are weaker than you.’
“Ugh.”
A groan escaped me unconsciously.
I had been walking faster than on the way there because I didn’t want to fall behind Jack.
My calves were aching terribly.
“Sissy, I’m tired. Carry me.”
As if things couldn’t get any worse, Diana tugged at my sleeve and called out to me.
“Okay, get on.”
Thinking it would be better to get back as quickly as possible, I was just about to crouch down.
“Are you trying to kill her? Where do you think you’re getting on?”
Jack, who had been walking ahead, had already turned around and grabbed my arm.
Then he crouched down in front of Diana as if telling her to climb onto his back instead.
“No! Sissy……”
“Haa.”
Jack let out a deep sigh.
He glared at Diana for a moment before twisting his body toward me.
My eyes widened.
I had been about to shamelessly ask him to at least carry the washed clothes and the water container.
But the way he had spread both arms backward and presented his back was unmistakably an invitation to climb on.
Why was Jack doing that in front of me?
“What are you waiting for? Get on.”
“Huh?”
“You can carry her and then get on my back.”
“……Huh?”
What kind of ridiculous suggestion was that?
Knowing how serious Jack was about everything, I knew he couldn’t possibly be joking.
Still, I laughed awkwardly, thinking he had to be kidding.
But there wasn’t a trace of playfulness in Jack’s black eyes.
“Hurry.”
Jack urged me once again.
“Sissy, carry me.”
On top of that, Diana was tugging at my sleeve.
‘Could these two have something in common because they’re destined to become master and servant in the future?’
Both of them were unbelievably stubborn.
Neither was willing to give an inch as they stood there stubbornly facing me.
Unable to do anything else, I nodded.
It was a little strange and embarrassing, but Jack would be the one doing the hard work, not me.
Wondering why Jack was going out of his way to do this, I picked Diana up onto my back.
“Now you get on too.”
I hesitated as Jack bent down in front of me.
Then I cautiously leaned forward and climbed onto his back.
Once I carefully wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, my view rose effortlessly.
“Wow, it’s high!”
Diana, riding on my back, giggled excitedly.
—
The reward for enduring the embarrassment was as sweet as honey.
Fortunately, no one saw our strange arrangement on the way back, and we reached the orphanage without me feeling tired at all.
“Thank you, Jack.”
I was grateful that he had carried us so comfortably, but I also felt sorry, so I fidgeted with my fingers as I spoke.
Jack silently turned his head away.
‘He really knows how to make someone feel awkward.’
Still, considering that he had carried me like this and also saved bread for me, Jack was truly a good boy.
‘Fine, I’ll be the mature one and let it go.’
Although I was technically two years younger than him now, I had lived until the age of eighteen.
I smiled brightly without paying attention to Jack’s reaction.
For a moment, his pupils widened, and I felt him stop breathing.
‘Is my smiling face really that strange?’
I was feeling embarrassed and was just about to stroke Diana’s hair when—
“You two! Where have you been wandering around?”
The director was standing at the entrance with a coat in his hands, apparently about to go out.
“Waaah! Scary man! He’s all black! I don’t like him!”
Diana shuddered and hid herself in my arms.
She had been afraid of the director even in the past, so I hurriedly shielded Diana and spoke to the director, whose brows had begun to twitch.
“We went to do the laundry.”
I quickly lifted the hem of Diana’s dress to show him.
The director glared at me coldly for a moment before suddenly asking Jack,
“How old are you?”
“……Ten.”
“Hmm. Good. Very good.”
Jack answered awkwardly, unable to understand the meaning behind the question.
The director nodded with a deeply satisfied expression, then walked past us and left the orphanage.
It seemed he was going out to drink again today, just as he had yesterday.
“Hmm……”
I couldn’t help wondering where the director was getting his money.
“You should go inside now too.”
Jack brought me back to my senses as I watched the director’s retreating figure.
Not wanting to bother him any further, I quietly took Diana’s hand and headed back to our room.
When we returned to the bedroom, the other children had already gotten ready for bed.
As soon as she lay down, Diana began nodding off, apparently exhausted from our short outing.
I watched her fondly before turning my gaze toward the window.
The sun had already set, and the sky was growing dark.
A little while later, after confirming that everyone in the communal bedroom was completely asleep, I quietly got out of bed.
In the past, Duke Elrad had found Diana and Jack after they lost consciousness and were locked in the attic, then killed the director with a single stroke.
And now, while protecting Diana, I intended to give the director the exact same fate.
‘And I’ll save the orphanage children who would otherwise be thrown out onto the streets for ignoring Diana.’
Having vividly remembered the miserable days I had spent as a beggar, this was something I absolutely had to do.
‘So I have to report the director first and earn Duke Elrad’s mercy.’
