Chapter 7
“Excuse me…?”
I opened my mouth again toward the director, who asked back stupidly.
“The reason I came all the way here was because of this. I came to check whether Vusnier Orphanage is being operated according to the reports submitted.”
Of course, it was a lie.
Duke Belloman had only allowed me to enter the duke’s household. He had never given me any special authority. So there was no way he would have assigned me the task of inspecting an orphanage.
Normally, I would have been careful because I might get caught lying…
‘But if I make even one mistake, my child might die.’
For the sake of my beloved nephew, Lucian’s future, there was nothing I could not do.
Actually, there was something else that bothered me even more.
‘The condition of this orphanage is worse than I expected.’
Because the entrance door and windows were broken, cold wind was blowing freely inside the orphanage. This was not a place where children should live. On top of that, one side of the wall was covered with black mold.
The cause of the children’s skin diseases was obvious. It was definitely because of that mold.
Children who should have been happily playing at their age were busy cleaning instead of playing house.
And because they were afraid of the director’s eyes, they could not even properly eat the already poor meals.
Seeing that, I could not just stand by as an adult.
It was not because I was kind.
This was simply the compassion and morality that any human being, any adult, should have.
‘And those plaques.’
The plaques displayed on the director’s office bookshelf had words written on them like:
“Orphanage Where Children Grow Happily.”
“Orphanage of the Month.”
‘What part of this orphanage is good?’
It was obvious without even looking.
The director must have taken the stolen money and given it to important people to receive those awards.
The nobles probably heard that this was an award-winning orphanage and adopted children from here.
‘Even if it’s only because the director is shameless, I can’t leave this alone.’
The entire budget used for the orphanage came from the Belloman Duke Family’s money.
If Duke Belloman later questioned me about this, I could say that I acted to prevent the duke’s money from being wasted.
‘Above all, this is also for the duke’s son.’
The duke should actually be bowing to me.
Thinking that, I took out the documents I had carefully kept inside my handbag.
“Looking at the documents submitted at the end of last month, it says that 20 gold coins were spent on repairing the windows and maintaining the playground. However…”
As I dragged out my words, the director’s throat moved greatly.
“Both the windows and the playground. I don’t see anything that has been repaired. 20 gold coins is not a small amount.”
10 gold coins were enough for one commoner family’s living expenses for a month.
That meant he had taken twice that amount.
“I heard that this orphanage received first grade in this quarter’s evaluation, but from what I see, even giving it fourth grade seems too generous.”
Fourth grade was the lowest evaluation rank.
Yet this place had swept up all kinds of awards.
“Th-that is…”
The director quickly searched for an excuse.
“Ah, it is winter, isn’t it? The wind is especially strong during this season. Because of that, the windows and playground became damaged…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Exactly!”
Perhaps thinking he had found a way out, the director nodded repeatedly.
“Then it seems the construction was poor, since it became like this only a month after repairs. Call the company that handled the construction immediately. I will punish them in the name of the Belloman Duke Family.”
“……”
Did he really think I was an idiot?
There was no way I would believe such a ridiculous lie.
“Why are you not answering?”
“I-I was thinking about where I put the related documents…”
“Think carefully while I go to the kitchen.”
“T-The kitchen? Why…”
The director looked at me with frightened eyes.
“I need to check whether the children are being properly fed.”
Amelia only showed her eyes above the window and watched Lucella and the director talking.
However, she could not hear their voices.
The window was firmly closed.
She could not open it carelessly either.
The moment she opened the old window, it would make a loud creaking sound.
The only thing she could guess was that the director’s expression looked terrible.
Especially when Lucella took out the unknown documents, the director’s face became completely pale.
‘I don’t know what they are talking about, but judging from the director’s reaction, it seems she isn’t here to adopt a child.’
Amelia let out a relieved sigh.
She still did not know what kind of person Lucella was.
But seeing her make the director so nervous, Amelia thought that maybe she was not a bad person.
‘I’ve never seen the director make that expression before.’
The director’s face covered in cold sweat looked ridiculous.
It was completely different from when he shouted at the children.
‘You useless worms! Hurry up and move! Can’t you see the trash over there?!’
The director who yelled and forced the children to work looked like a completely different person.
Amelia covered her mouth and giggled before turning away from the director’s office and heading toward the kitchen.
‘Because I promised Edwin I would bring him cookies.’
She had to steal the cookies quickly before Lucella and the director finished talking.
Amelia entered the kitchen.
The moment she stepped inside, a terrible smell attacked her nose.
It was the smell coming from rotten ingredients.
When the weather was cold, food was not supposed to spoil easily.
But the director and employees had somehow managed to accomplish that impossible thing.
‘Let’s see.’
Holding her nose with one hand, Amelia walked toward the drawer beside the stove.
If her memory was correct, the cookies should be inside this drawer.
‘Found them.’
Soon, Amelia found the cookies inside a paper bag in the drawer.
But her happiness only lasted for a moment.
There was hardly any cookie left untouched because mice had eaten them.
‘My promise with Edwin…’
The thing Amelia hated most in the world was lying.
Of course, she was currently lying because she had no choice if she wanted to avoid being adopted.
Still, she did not want to do the thing she hated most to Edwin.
In the end, Amelia took out one cookie.
Then she cut away all the parts that had been bitten by mice.
The cookie, which had originally been the size of her palm, became half its original size.
But it was not too bad.
A smaller cookie was easier to hide anyway.
‘I should go back before I get caught.’
She had just wrapped the cookie carefully in paper and put it into her pocket.
“Is the kitchen this way?”
A voice came from nearby.
Amelia’s shoulders stiffened.
The footsteps of two people were getting closer.
‘I can’t get caught!’
If they discovered that she entered the kitchen without permission, she might not be allowed to eat for the entire day.
‘What should I do?’
As Amelia looked around desperately for a hiding place, she spotted a large jar.
The jar used to store baked oatmeal was big enough for one child to hide inside.
Without hesitation, Amelia opened the lid.
Then she folded her small body and climbed inside.
The moment she closed the lid, Lucella and the director entered the kitchen.
‘Phew, that was close.’
After letting out a relieved sigh, Amelia became curious.
‘But why did they come to the kitchen?’
Especially while dragging along the director, who looked so terrified.
Amelia carefully opened the lid slightly.
Through the small gap, she watched what was happening outside.
The first thing she saw was Lucella, who was frowning deeply while covering her nose.
“What is this smell?”
“It is the smell from the food waste. The days we throw it away are different depending on the schedule.”
“Even though it is the middle of winter, the smell is this strong?”
Ignoring the director’s words, Lucella sniffed like a dog and began walking.
She seemed to be searching for the source of the smell.
Soon, she succeeded in finding it.
“The food waste is being stored very nicely.”
“……”
“If it had not already rotted, it could have been cooked immediately.”
The director could not respond to the sharp remark.
If Lucella had not visited the orphanage today, all of this rotten food would have entered the children’s stomachs.
And that was not the only problem.
“Why are the ingredients stored beside the trash can? It is filthy.”
“The floor is covered in stains.”
“This is all the food you have for twenty children? Are you planning to make them suffer from malnutrition?”
Lucella completely searched through the kitchen.
Her face was completely different from when she played with the children.
It was cold and emotionless.
“What food will be served as today’s snack?”
“S-Snack?”
There was no such thing.
For the children of Vusnier Orphanage, being able to eat three meals a day was already something to be grateful for.
But he could not say that honestly.
The director quickly thought of an excuse and hurriedly opened a drawer.
“H-Here are the butter cookies we prepared.”
“……”
The moment Lucella removed the cookie wrapping, her expression became fierce.
“Are you seriously saying you planned to give these cookies, which were bitten by mice, to the children today?”
“I-It was not intentional! I truly had no idea mice had eaten them!”
“How do you work that you cannot even properly manage the food that children will eat today?!”
Her sharp shout was enough to make Amelia unconsciously close and open her eyes.
“There is no need to see anything else. I will report everything that happened today directly to His Grace the Duke.”
“P-Please forgive me, Young Lady! I was wrong! Please, anything but that…”
“Do you even know what you did wrong?”
“Yes! I have committed a grave mistake!”
“You knew it was wrong but had no intention of fixing it. That makes your actions even worse.”
“Y-Young Lady!”
Lucella looked down at the director with cold eyes.
Then, in a voice filled with determination that Amelia had never heard before, she spoke.
“All employees of Vusnier Orphanage, including you as the director, are dismissed immediately.”
Those words were no different from a death sentence.
