✯ Chapter 5 ✯
That night, after finally calming down from the shock, Hannah found herself wondering if she should help Masha become a more ordinary boy.
“Masha, have you ever thought about wearing comfortable pants?”
As she adjusted Masha’s blanket, she asked the question as naturally as she could.
Masha looked down at the doll in his arms before answering.
“Hmm… But pants aren’t pretty.”
“Don’t dresses feel uncomfortable?”
“I like frilly dresses. I like lace too!”
Masha smiled as he hugged his pink teddy bear tightly.
“I-I see…”
What should I do…?
He likes them…
Hannah looked away with teary eyes.
Think positively.
There were all kinds of people in the world.
Everyone had different tastes.
Even if Masha’s preferences were a little unusual, they weren’t wrong.
A teacher shouldn’t fill children with prejudice.
That’s right.
Hannah took out a small memo from her pocket.
[Children’s Gender, Proper Values, Parenting… Is Everything Really Okay Like This?]
She made a list of books to buy from the bookstore.
“Teacher.”
“Hm?”
Masha called her carefully.
“…Do you dislike me because I’m like this?”
Masha looked up at her with watery eyes.
They looked like balloons filled with water that could burst at any moment.
Could it be…
Was the usually cheerful Masha worrying about what she thought?
Hannah became anxious.
Did I accidentally make him think I was uncomfortable around him?
After thinking for a moment, Hannah sat beside Masha’s bed.
She slowly stroked his soft red hair.
“Masha.”
“I don’t like you because you’re a girl.”
“But…”
“Aren’t I… disgusting?”
His voice was filled with anxiety.
It was nothing like his usual self.
“The people who love you won’t care what you look like.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a girl or a boy. They love you simply because you’re you.”
“Teacher…”
Hannah had tried not to make him cry…
But Masha still shed a few tears and hugged her.
Even future villains are just insecure children when they’re young.
Hannah gently patted his back.
She patiently listened while Masha happily talked about frilly dresses for over thirty minutes.
“I like Imperial dresses, but I also like the simple dresses from the Duchy!”
“I see.”
Listening to what Masha liked and disliked…
Hannah felt even closer to him.
She had thought she knew the children pretty well.
Yet she hadn’t even known Masha was a boy.
It was almost funny.
Knowing their future as a reader meant almost nothing.
These children weren’t the villains yet.
They were simply small, fragile children who needed love and protection.
Hannah kept patting Masha’s back until his breathing became slow and steady.
Then another serious thought crossed her mind.
Then… should I buy girls’ underwear or boys’ underwear?
There was no way she could ask him directly.
Once again…
Hannah had taken one more step away from the Fireball Ending.
No one liked asking favors.
Especially not from the cruel High Priest.
It made Hannah miserable.
“Another advance on your salary?”
This was already the second time she had asked to receive part of her salary early.
“Yes…”
While answering, Hannah secretly looked around the office.
Everything looked the same as always.
It was neat and organized.
Where would he hide a ledger?
“Are you that bad at managing money?”
“You eat and sleep at the temple, so where does your salary go?”
“You’re probably wasting it on alcohol or something equally useless.”
The High Priest clicked his tongue.
That’s a pretty unfair assumption…
Maybe the original Hannah had really been that kind of person.
Seeing the High Priest look down on her made Hannah feel wronged.
But even if she explained that the money was for the children’s food and clothes…
She knew he wouldn’t care.
So she stayed silent.
“Tch. I’ll prepare it. Come back later and get it.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ptoo. Ptoo. Ptoo.
Inside her mind, she spat three times.
“The children are doing well, right?”
“They’re doing well.”
She knew his concern wasn’t genuine.
His words only made her clench her fists.
You shameless old man.
You’ll end up in hell someday.
“Alright. You may leave.”
“Yes.”
Even as Hannah walked toward the door, she carefully looked at the paintings, bookshelves, and furniture.
Click.
As soon as she stepped into the hallway…
A familiar face was waiting outside.
“Hello, Priest Chaison.”
“Hello, Miss Hannah.”
“How is the orphanage?”
He’s definitely checking if the children are still healthy enough to sell.
Hannah sighed inwardly.
Are there really no decent adults in this place?
No wonder the novel was called The World of Brilliant Villains.
Everywhere she looked…
There were nothing but terrible people.
“Everything’s going well.”
“The children aren’t sick, are they?”
There it is.
He’s being so obvious.
If she didn’t know the truth…
She would’ve thought he actually cared about them.
“Well… they got caught in the rain, so they haven’t had much appetite.”
“They really need to eat well to stay healthy.”
“But the food the temple provides is so poor…”
“I suppose you already know that.”
Hannah deliberately looked at Chaison with a worried expression.
“If even one of them catches a cold, it’ll spread to everyone.”
“And colds are hard to recover from these days.”
“Their bodies are already so weak…”
“It could turn into something much more serious…”
She intentionally made it sound very serious.
Chaison frowned slightly.
“Do they need medicine?”
Apparently…
Healthy children sold for higher prices.
He looked genuinely concerned.
“I think nutritious food would help more.”
“It would be nice if they could eat plenty of fruit rich in vitamins.”
“Write down everything they need.”
“Oh? Really?”
Just as I expected.
Since Chaison wanted to sell the children for as much money as possible…
He was the most eager person to keep them healthy.
Of course…
His reasons were disgusting.
“Then I’ll bring you the list this evening.”
“Very well.”
“I’ll go see the High Priest now.”
“Yes. Have a good day.”
Hannah bowed politely and walked away.
Creak.
Click.
As soon as the office door closed…
She quietly turned around.
After making sure no one was in the hallway…
She pressed her ear against the office door.
“…Found out…”
“…Each one…”
“…When…”
“…Inspection…”
“…Summer…”
“…Central Temple…”
The voices were faint.
But Hannah understood enough from the scattered words.
As soon as the Central Temple completed its final inspection…
They planned to sell the children.
I have to stop them before summer ends.
Unfortunately…
She didn’t hear anything about the ledger.
Deciding she had learned everything she could…
Hannah quietly hurried away.
“Wow!”
The next day…
A large wagon arrived at the orphanage.
Hannah had spent the entire day making a list.
Nutritious food.
New bedding to keep the children healthy.
New clothes.
Thankfully…
Priest Chaison was so focused on his dream of selling the children for a high price…
That he willingly approved everything.
Hmph.
What an idiot.
She had no intention of letting his plan succeed.
But there was nothing wrong with using him while she could.
“Teacher!”
“What are all these?”
“These are presents from God.”
“You’ve all been such good children and are growing up so well.”
She didn’t want to say something that sounded so fake.
But she couldn’t tell them the truth either.
“Wow! There are dresses too!”
“They’ll look great on you.”
“Teacher! Can I eat this?”
Jeremy had already picked up another sweet snack.
“Yes.”
“You can eat as many snacks as you want today.”
Normally…
Hannah limited how many sweets they could eat.
But today she was in such a good mood that she decided to let them enjoy themselves.
“Teacher.”
“Please wash this blanket before putting it on my bed.”
Ian pointed at an especially soft, pure white blanket.
“You like this one?”
Ian nodded.
His cheeks were slightly red.
Goodness…
He liked the blanket even more than the snacks or new clothes.
He’s so unusual…
But he’s so adorable!
“Alright.”
“Let’s carry everything inside together!”
Now she finally had a way to stop spending all of her own salary.
Hannah felt as light as a bird.
Taking money from bad people feels surprisingly satisfying.
“Hm hm~”
She couldn’t stop humming.
That night…
The darkness was especially deep.
It was the perfect chance to move around unnoticed.
Holding a candle, Hannah quietly headed toward the temple.
Since there was nothing worth stealing…
The guards weren’t paying much attention.
That worked perfectly for her.
She tiptoed toward the High Priest’s office.
Creeeak.
You’ve stolen so much money.
Couldn’t you at least oil the door?
She frowned as the noisy door slowly opened.
That painting.
That drawer.
Behind the bookshelf.
She started searching the places she had always found suspicious.
The painting was always slightly crooked, even though no one touched it.
One drawer was always locked.
The bookshelf looked the most suspicious.
The High Priest acted as if he couldn’t even read.
Yet it was filled with difficult books.
Everything looked suspicious.
Let’s start with the bookshelf.
Using the candlelight…
Hannah carefully moved the books one by one.
She searched for a hidden compartment.
Judging by the thick layer of dust…
No one touched the books very often.
“Cough.”
Apparently…
The priests only cleaned the places people could see.
Giving up on the bookshelf…
She moved to the locked drawer.
As expected…
It was locked.
So she searched the other drawers first.
Ink.
Pens.
Memo paper.
…Why are there walnuts in here?
I should’ve learned how to pick locks instead of studying for government exams in my previous life.
Then…
“Hm?”
A small key was stuck to the underside of one of the drawers.
Why would anyone hide it here?
…Please don’t tell me that’s chewing gum.
She was happy to find it.
But the sticky feeling made her uncomfortable.
A bad feeling suddenly appeared.
Whenever things go this smoothly… something always goes wrong.
Click.
The key turned.
The drawer opened.
Inside the surprisingly deep drawer…
“…You disgusting pervert.”
It was completely filled with dirty picture books.
I knew it!
I knew it couldn’t be that easy!
Thinking it might be a fake hiding place…
She checked every single book.
Forget fake hiding places.
Where did he even get books like these?
After searching the entire drawer…
She put everything back.
The High Priest isn’t just greedy…
He’s also a pervert.
I really need to be careful around him.
She locked the drawer again.
Then she carefully returned the key to its original place.
“As expected…”
A safe should always be hidden behind a painting.
At least the High Priest understands that much.
She walked toward the last suspicious place.
Then she slowly lifted the painting.
“Hm?”
There wasn’t a safe behind it.
Only a wall.
But something strange had been drawn there.
Is that… the temple’s symbol?
No…
It was a symbol she had never seen before.
It was drawn in red.
Inside a circle…
Several numbers overlapped each other.
2?
5?
8?
They were tangled together so badly that she couldn’t tell.
Hannah quietly put the painting back exactly as it had been.
After carefully checking that she hadn’t left any traces behind…
She slipped out of the office.
Even though she hadn’t found what she wanted…
At least she had eliminated one possibility.
She quietly walked through the dark hallway toward her room.
…But what was that strange symbol?
