Chapter 5
‘Why does it look like there is a hierarchy?’
I looked back and forth between the children standing near me and the group sitting far away in the corner.
The children who played with me had neat appearances. Their clothes and hair were relatively clean. They looked so well-managed that I thought they could almost pass as children from noble families if they were taken care of a little more.
However, the children in the corner were different.
Some had faces full of freckles, while others had red skin because of skin diseases. Most of them had messy hair that covered their eyes.
Their clothes were the same.
Unlike the former group, who wore at least clean clothes, the children in the corner wore clothes that were no different from rags.
‘Why exactly……?’
That was when the description from the original novel came to mind.
[The director only cared for pretty children. The prettier and more handsome a child was, the higher the chance they would be adopted.]
Liking pretty and cute things was human instinct.
Rather than showing children who had no chance at all, presenting children who were pretty and charming would naturally increase the adoption rate.
‘The director must have dressed up the pretty children and presented them in front of nobles. The children who were separated from the group with adoption potential naturally got pushed into the corner.’
Children were smarter and more cunning than people thought.
The children chosen by the director naturally gained an advantage and ruled over the others.
The children who knew no one would choose them had no choice but to become timid.
‘Wow, this is seriously terrible.’
The fact that even this small space had a hierarchy shocked me.
However, what angered me the most was the director who caused all of this.
This would never have happened if the director had not discriminated against the children in the first place.
‘But I can’t blame these children. They are just doing whatever they can to leave this place.’
I let out a deep sigh.
I came here knowing the orphanage was a mess, but I never expected it to be rotten this deeply inside.
“Now, the meal is ready!”
Just then, the director and the employees entered while pushing carts filled with food.
“Wow, everyone, it’s time for a delicious meal, isn’t it?”
I deliberately raised my voice to attract the children’s attention.
But I didn’t even need to make a fuss.
Unlike when they hesitated to approach me, the children immediately jumped up from their seats like puppies seeing snacks.
“Looks like everyone was really hungry.”
“Haha, they are children who are still growing, after all.”
When a long low table was placed in the center, the children sat down as if they had been waiting for this moment.
Soon, steaming mushroom soup and bread were placed on the table.
“If I had known a guest would be coming, I would have prepared something better, but since it was so sudden, it is a little lacking—”
“Wow! There’s so much!”
“The bread isn’t hard!”
Before the director could even finish her humble words, exclamations came from all around.
Judging from their reactions, they usually ate food worse than this.
“When I ate cold soup that time, my stomach hurt so much—”
“Ahem, May.”
“……”
The moment the director cleared her throat, the child who had been chatting stopped talking.
The other children were the same.
“That time, the weather was cold, so the soup became cold quickly. You understand, right?”
“Y-yes.”
“As expected, you’re a good child.”
Pat, pat.
When she patted the child’s back, the small body swayed slightly.
‘I was planning to sit next to Edwin. But maybe it would be better to sit next to the director.’
If I stayed right beside her, she probably wouldn’t be able to glare fiercely at the children.
She would at least have some awareness of my presence.
Just as I was about to take a step toward the seat beside the director—
“Ah, Lady Lilfrey, you can sit there.”
One of the employees said while placing a large plate among the children.
Judging by its size, it seemed to be my portion.
“The children seem to like you very much.”
Since she said it like that, I couldn’t coldly refuse.
I went to the seat the employee suggested and sat down.
Across from me was the brown-haired girl who had been friendly toward me, and on my left was a boy with large eyes.
And on my right was……
‘Wow, she’s really beautiful.’
There was a girl with an especially noticeable appearance.
Her golden hair, as if melted gold had been poured into it, looked even more dazzling because of the dull colors of this place.
The light green eyes set in the middle of her round eyes were fresh, as if they contained the greenery of spring. Her long eyelashes, the same color as her hair, created a soft shadow around her eyes.
‘Can the word “picturesque” even be used for a person?’
That was the exact word that suited this child.
She looked only around Lucian’s age, yet even at such a young age, she had a very elegant and charming appearance.
And as far as I knew, there was only one girl in this orphanage with such a striking appearance.
“What is your name?”
“Me?”
The child pointed at her own chest with her chubby finger, and I nodded.
The child rolled her emerald-like eyes before finally opening her mouth.
“Amelia.”
“……That’s a pretty name.”
Just as expected.
I calmly nodded and ate my soup as if it was nothing.
However, my heart was beating violently.
Because Amelia was the female protagonist of <From Illegitimate Child to Head of the Family>.
Amelia took care of Edwin, who was especially introverted, like an older sister and cherished him.
Edwin also opened his tightly closed heart only to her.
However, the time they spent together ended when Amelia’s uncle, Marquis Claude Agris, came to find her.
Claude Agris was not originally the Marquis of Agris.
The true head of the marquis family was Amelia’s father, Ian Agris.
But because the marquis couple died in a carriage accident, Ian’s younger brother Claude inherited the title.
‘He was the person who helped Amelia grow into a kind adult.’
Amelia had also been inside the carriage when the accident happened.
However, only two bodies were found.
The body of the young girl was nowhere to be found.
The accident had been so severe that the possibility of Amelia surviving was extremely low.
But Claude never gave up hope that Amelia was alive.
Because her body had not been found.
“She was too small to be discovered,” or “She must have been thrown out of the carriage during the accident.”
People said those things, but Claude refused to give up.
Because his older brother, who had lost their parents early in life, had been like a father to him.
To find the child of his beloved brother, he traveled throughout the empire day and night.
In the end, he succeeded in finding his niece.
It was three years after Amelia disappeared.
‘Now that I think about it, her situation is very similar to mine.’
They both lost their parents early.
They both lost the person who was like a parent to them.
And they both struggled for the sake of the only remaining blood relative.
‘But the future we will face is different.’
Claude had planned from the beginning to pass the title down to Amelia.
After returning to the marquis residence, Amelia received heir education and gained power.
Later, she helped Edwin become the head of the duke family.
In other words, once the period at the orphanage ended, her future was guaranteed to be a path of flowers.
But I was different.
I had no wealth or title to give Lucian.
I had no ability to protect him either.
On top of that, the path waiting for Lucian was a thorny road filled with villains and a horrible death.
‘Since things have turned out this way, I should build a good relationship with Amelia too.’
So that she would show mercy to my Lucian because of me.
“Amelia, how old are you?”
I took a piece of meat from my soup and placed it on Amelia’s spoon.
Amelia looked back and forth between the meat on the spoon and me before answering.
“……Seven.”
“I thought you were the same age as my nephew. You’re actually one year older?”
“……Is that so?”
For some reason, Amelia’s expression looked unhappy.
‘Did I make a mistake?’
Maybe saying she looked the same age as a younger child hurt Amelia’s pride.
Children were sensitive about their height.
Especially in this orphanage, the children were smaller than others their age because of poor nutrition.
“What I meant was that you look cute. Because my nephew is also……”
I was making an awkward excuse to lift Amelia’s mood when—
Clack.
Amelia placed her spoon down.
“Big sister.”
“Y-yes?”
“My father is a murderer.”
“……What?”
“He killed quite a lot of people. Not just one or two. Scary, right?”
“……”
“I’m pretty sure my mother was a thief too.”
“……”
I lost my words.
Amelia spoke about things that should have been considered shameful with complete confidence.
Seeing me only blink stupidly, Amelia opened her mouth as if warning me.
“So be careful.”
“……”
“They say blood cannot be hidden.”
She glanced at my pocket.
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll steal your things.”
After saying that, Amelia calmly returned to eating.
Her expression was completely peaceful, as if she had not just dropped a huge bomb.
‘What was that just now?’
Completely flustered, I looked around.
The director and employees seemed too far away to hear our conversation, and the children sitting near me were eating normally.
As if this was not something that happened only once or twice.
‘Your parents were high-ranking nobles! The owners of the prestigious Agris family!’
But murderer and thief?
‘……Wait.’
As I searched through my memories because of this setting that never appeared in the original story, I soon remembered something.
[Amelia had no doubt that her uncle would come to find her. To make that happen, she could not be adopted. She could not allow herself and her uncle to miss each other. Therefore, Amelia used every method possible to prevent herself from being adopted.]
The original novel only briefly described her past, so it never explained what methods she used.
‘But preventing adoption was done this way?’
